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11943779 | MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, (a) preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Note that, in this specification and the appended drawings, structural elements that have substantially the same function and structure are denoted with the same reference numerals, and repeated explanation of these structural elements is omitted. Further, technologies, functions, methods, configurations, and procedures to be described below and all other descriptions can be applied to LTE and NR unless particularly stated otherwise. Wireless Communication System in the Present Embodiment In the present embodiment, a wireless communication system includes at least a base station device1and a terminal device2. The base station device1can accommodate multiple terminal devices. The base station device1can be connected with another base station device by means of an X2 interface. Further, the base station device1can be connected to an evolved packet core (EPC) by means of an S1 interface. Further, the base station device1can be connected to a mobility management entity (MME) by means of an S1-MME interface and can be connected to a serving gateway (S-GW) by means of an S1-U interface. The S1 interface supports many-to-many connection between the MME and/or the S-GW and the base station device1. Further, in the present embodiment, the base station device1and the terminal device2each support LTE and/or NR. Wireless Access Technology According to Present Embodiment In the present embodiment, the base station device1and the terminal device2each support one or more wireless access technologies (RATs). For example, an RAT includes LTE and NR. A single RAT corresponds to a single cell (component carrier). That is, in a case in which a plurality of RATs is supported, the RATs each correspond to different cells. In the present embodiment, a cell is a combination of a downlink resource, an uplink resource, and/or a sidelink. Further, in the following description, a cell corresponding to LTE is referred to as an LTE cell and a cell corresponding to NR is referred to as an NR cell. Downlink communication is communication from the base station device1to the terminal device2. Downlink transmission is transmission from the base station device1to the terminal device2and is transmission of a downlink physical channel and/or a downlink physical signal. Uplink communication is communication from the terminal device2to the base station device1. Uplink transmission is transmission from the terminal device2to the base station device1and is transmission of an uplink physical channel and/or an uplink physical signal. Sidelink communication is communication from the terminal device2to another terminal device2. Sidelink transmission is transmission from the terminal device2to another terminal device2and is transmission of a sidelink physical channel and/or a sidelink physical signal. The sidelink communication is defined for contiguous direct detection and contiguous direct communication between terminal devices. The sidelink communication, a frame configuration similar to that of the uplink and downlink can be used. Further, the sidelink communication can be restricted to some (sub sets) of uplink resources and/or downlink resources. The base station device1and the terminal device2can support communication in which a set of one or more cells is used in a downlink, an uplink, and/or a sidelink. A set of a plurality of cells is also referred to as carrier aggregation or dual connectivity. The details of the carrier aggregation and the dual connectivity will be described below. Further, each cell uses a predetermined frequency bandwidth. A maximum value, a minimum value, and a settable value in the predetermined frequency bandwidth can be specified in advance. FIG.1is a diagram illustrating an example of setting of a component carrier according to the present embodiment. In the example ofFIG.1, one LTE cell and two NR cells are set. One LTE cell is set as a primary cell. Two NR cells are set as a primary secondary cell and a secondary cell. Two NR cells are integrated by the carrier aggregation. Further, the LTE cell and the NR cell are integrated by the dual connectivity. Note that the LTE cell and the NR cell may be integrated by carrier aggregation. In the example ofFIG.1, NR may not support some functions such as a function of performing standalone communication since connection can be assisted by an LTE cell which is a primary cell. The function of performing standalone communication includes a function necessary for initial connection. FIG.2is a diagram illustrating an example of setting of a component carrier according to the present embodiment. In the example ofFIG.2, two NR cells are set. The two NR cells are set as a primary cell and a secondary cell, respectively, and are integrated by carrier aggregation. In this case, when the NR cell supports the function of performing standalone communication, assist of the LTE cell is not necessary. Note that the two NR cells may be integrated by dual connectivity. Radio Frame Configuration in Present Embodiment In the present embodiment, a radio frame configured with 10 ms (milliseconds) is specified. Each radio frame includes two half frames. A time interval of the half frame is 5 ms. Each half frame includes 5 sub frames. The time interval of the sub frame is 1 ms and is defined by two successive slots. The time interval of the slot is 0.5 ms. An i-th sub frame in the radio frame includes a (2×i)-th slot and a (2×i+1)-th slot. In other words, 10 sub frames are specified in each of the radio frames. Sub frames include a downlink sub frame, an uplink sub frame, a special sub frame, a sidelink sub frame, and the like. The downlink sub frame is a sub frame reserved for downlink transmission. The uplink sub frame is a sub frame reserved for uplink transmission. The special sub frame includes three fields. The three fields are a Downlink Pilot Time Slot (DwPTS), a Guard Period (GP), and an Uplink Pilot Time Slot (UpPTS). A total length of DwPTS, GP, and UpPTS is 1 ms. The DwPTS is a field reserved for downlink transmission. The UpPTS is a field reserved for uplink transmission. The GP is a field in which downlink transmission and uplink transmission are not performed. Further, the special sub frame may include only the DwPTS and the GP or may include only the GP and the UpPTS. The special sub frame is placed between the downlink sub frame and the uplink sub frame in time division duplex (TDD) and used to perform switching from the downlink sub frame to the uplink sub frame. The sidelink sub frame is a sub frame reserved or set for sidelink communication. The sidelink is used for contiguous direct communication and contiguous direct detection between terminal devices. A single radio frame includes a downlink sub frame, an uplink sub frame, a special sub frame, and/or a sidelink sub frame. Further, a single radio frame includes only a downlink sub frame, an uplink sub frame, a special sub frame, or a sidelink sub frame. A plurality of radio frame configurations is supported. The radio frame configuration is specified by the frame configuration type. The frame configuration type 1 can be applied only to frequency division duplex (FDD). The frame configuration type 2 can be applied only to TDD. The frame configuration type 3 can be applied only to an operation of a licensed assisted access (LAA) secondary cell. In the frame configuration type 2, a plurality of uplink-downlink configurations is specified. In the uplink-downlink configuration, each of 10 sub frames in one radio frame corresponds to one of the downlink sub frame, the uplink sub frame, and the special sub frame. The sub frame 0, the sub frame 5 and the DwPTS are constantly reserved for downlink transmission. The UpPTS and the sub frame just after the special sub frame are constantly reserved for uplink transmission. In the frame configuration type 3, 10 sub frames in one radio frame are reserved for downlink transmission. The terminal device2treats a sub frame by which PDSCH or a detection signal is not transmitted, as an empty sub frame. Unless a predetermined signal, channel and/or downlink transmission is detected in a certain sub frame, the terminal device2assumes that there is no signal and/or channel in the sub frame. The downlink transmission is exclusively occupied by one or more consecutive sub frames. The first sub frame of the downlink transmission may be started from any one in that sub frame. The last sub frame of the downlink transmission may be either completely exclusively occupied or exclusively occupied by a time interval specified in the DwPTS. Further, in the frame configuration type 3, 10 sub frames in one radio frame may be reserved for uplink transmission. Further, each of 10 sub frames in one radio frame may correspond to any one of the downlink sub frame, the uplink sub frame, the special sub frame, and the sidelink sub frame. The base station device1may transmit a downlink physical channel and a downlink physical signal in the DwPTS of the special sub frame. The base station device1can restrict transmission of the PBCH in the DwPTS of the special sub frame. The terminal device2may transmit uplink physical channels and uplink physical signals in the UpPTS of the special sub frame. The terminal device2can restrict transmission of some of the uplink physical channels and the uplink physical signals in the UpPTS of the special sub frame. Note that a time interval in single transmission is referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI) and 1 ms (1 sub frame) is defined as 1 TTI in LTE. Frame Configuration of LTE in Present Embodiment FIG.3is a diagram illustrating an example of a downlink sub frame of LTE according to the present embodiment. The diagram illustrated inFIG.3is referred to as a downlink resource grid of LTE. The base station device1can transmit a downlink physical channel of LTE and/or a downlink physical signal of LTE in a downlink sub frame to the terminal device2. The terminal device2can receive a downlink physical channel of LTE and/or a downlink physical signal of LTE in a downlink sub frame from the base station device1. FIG.4is a diagram illustrating an example of an uplink sub frame of LTE according to the present embodiment. The diagram illustrated inFIG.4is referred to as an uplink resource grid of LTE. The terminal device2can transmit an uplink physical channel of LTE and/or an uplink physical signal of LTE in an uplink sub frame to the base station device1. The base station device1can receive an uplink physical channel of LTE and/or an uplink physical signal of LTE in an uplink sub frame from the terminal device2. In the present embodiment, the LTE physical resources can be defined as follows. One slot is defined by a plurality of symbols. The physical signal or the physical channel transmitted in each of the slots is represented by a resource grid. In the downlink, the resource grid is defined by a plurality of subcarriers in a frequency direction and a plurality of OFDM symbols in a time direction. In the uplink, the resource grid is defined by a plurality of subcarriers in the frequency direction and a plurality of SC-FDMA symbols in the time direction. The number of subcarriers or the number of resource blocks may be decided depending on a bandwidth of a cell. The number of symbols in one slot is decided by a type of cyclic prefix (CP). The type of CP is a normal CP or an extended CP. In the normal CP, the number of OFDM symbols or SC-FDMA symbols constituting one slot is 7. In the extended CP, the number of OFDM symbols or SC-FDMA symbols constituting one slot is 6. Each element in the resource grid is referred to as a resource element. The resource element is identified using an index (number) of a subcarrier and an index (number) of a symbol. Further, in the description of the present embodiment, the OFDM symbol or SC-FDMA symbol is also referred to simply as a symbol. The resource blocks are used for mapping a certain physical channel (the PDSCH, the PUSCH, or the like) to resource elements. The resource blocks include virtual resource blocks and physical resource blocks. A certain physical channel is mapped to a virtual resource block. The virtual resource blocks are mapped to physical resource blocks. One physical resource block is defined by a predetermined number of consecutive symbols in the time domain. One physical resource block is defined from a predetermined number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of symbols and the number of subcarriers in one physical resource block are decided on the basis of a parameter set in accordance with a type of CP, a subcarrier interval, and/or a higher layer in the cell. For example, in a case in which the type of CP is the normal CP, and the subcarrier interval is 15 kHz, the number of symbols in one physical resource block is 7, and the number of subcarriers is 12. In this case, one physical resource block includes (7×12) resource elements. The physical resource blocks are numbered from 0 in the frequency domain. Further, two resource blocks in one sub frame corresponding to the same physical resource block number are defined as a physical resource block pair (a PRB pair or an RB pair). In each LTE cell, one predetermined parameter is used in a certain sub frame. For example, the predetermined parameter is a parameter (physical parameter) related to a transmission signal. Parameters related to the transmission signal include a CP length, a subcarrier interval, the number of symbols in one sub frame (predetermined time length), the number of subcarriers in one resource block (predetermined frequency band), a multiple access scheme, a signal waveform, and the like. That is, In the LTE cell, a downlink signal and an uplink signal are each generated using one predetermined parameter in a predetermined time length (for example, a sub frame). In other words, in the terminal device2, it is assumed that a downlink signal to be transmitted from the base station device1and an uplink signal to be transmitted to the base station device1are each generated with a predetermined time length with one predetermined parameter. Further, the base station device1is set such that a downlink signal to be transmitted to the terminal device2and an uplink signal to be transmitted from the terminal device2are each generated with a predetermined time length with one predetermined parameter. Frame Configuration of NR in Present Embodiment In each NR cell, one or more predetermined parameters are used in a certain predetermined time length (for example, a sub frame). That is, in the NR cell, a downlink signal and an uplink signal are each generated using or more predetermined parameters in a predetermined time length. In other words, in the terminal device2, it is assumed that a downlink signal to be transmitted from the base station device1and an uplink signal to be transmitted to the base station device1are each generated with one or more predetermined parameters in a predetermined time length. Further, the base station device1is set such that a downlink signal to be transmitted to the terminal device2and an uplink signal to be transmitted from the terminal device2are each generated with a predetermined time length using one or more predetermined parameters. In a case in which the plurality of predetermined parameters is used, a signal generated using the predetermined parameters is multiplexed in accordance with a predetermined method. For example, the predetermined method includes Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), and/or Spatial Division Multiplexing (SDM). In a combination of the predetermined parameters set in the NR cell, a plurality of kinds of parameter sets can be specified in advance. FIG.5is a diagram illustrating examples of the parameter sets related to a transmission signal in the NR cell. In the example ofFIG.5, parameters of the transmission signal included in the parameter sets include a subcarrier interval, the number of subcarriers per resource block in the NR cell, the number of symbols per sub frame, and a CP length type. The CP length type is a type of CP length used in the NR cell. For example, CP length type 1 is equivalent to a normal CP in LTE and CP length type 2 is equivalent to an extended CP in LTE. The parameter sets related to a transmission signal in the NR cell can be specified individually with a downlink and an uplink. Further, the parameter sets related to a transmission signal in the NR cell can be set independently with a downlink and an uplink. FIG.6is a diagram illustrating an example of an NR downlink sub frame of the present embodiment. In the example ofFIG.6, signals generated using parameter set 1, parameter set 0, and parameter set 2 are subjected to FDM in a cell (system bandwidth). The diagram illustrated inFIG.6is also referred to as a downlink resource grid of NR. The base station device1can transmit the downlink physical channel of NR and/or the downlink physical signal of NR in a downlink sub frame to the terminal device2. The terminal device2can receive a downlink physical channel of NR and/or the downlink physical signal of NR in a downlink sub frame from the base station device1. FIG.7is a diagram illustrating an example of an NR uplink sub frame of the present embodiment. In the example ofFIG.7, signals generated using parameter set 1, parameter set 0, and parameter set 2 are subjected to FDM in a cell (system bandwidth). The diagram illustrated inFIG.6is also referred to as an uplink resource grid of NR. The base station device1can transmit the uplink physical channel of NR and/or the uplink physical signal of NR in an uplink sub frame to the terminal device2. The terminal device2can receive an uplink physical channel of NR and/or the uplink physical signal of NR in an uplink sub frame from the base station device1. Antenna Port in Present Embodiment An antenna port is defined so that a propagation channel carrying a certain symbol can be inferred from a propagation channel carrying another symbol in the same antenna port. For example, different physical resources in the same antenna port can be assumed to be transmitted through the same propagation channel. In other words, for a symbol in a certain antenna port, it is possible to estimate and demodulate a propagation channel in accordance with the reference signal in the antenna port. Further, there is one resource grid for each antenna port. The antenna port is defined by the reference signal. Further, each reference signal can define a plurality of antenna ports. The antenna port is specified or identified with an antenna port number. For example, antenna ports 0 to 3 are antenna ports with which CRS is transmitted. That is, the PDSCH transmitted with antenna ports 0 to 3 can be demodulated to CRS corresponding to antenna ports 0 to 3. In a case in which two antenna ports satisfy a predetermined condition, the two antenna ports can be regarded as being a quasi co-location (QCL). The predetermined condition is that a wide area characteristic of a propagation channel carrying a symbol in one antenna port can be inferred from a propagation channel carrying a symbol in another antenna port. The wide area characteristic includes a delay dispersion, a Doppler spread, a Doppler shift, an average gain, and/or an average delay. In the present embodiment, the antenna port numbers may be defined differently for each RAT or may be defined commonly between RATs. For example, antenna ports 0 to 3 in LTE are antenna ports with which CRS is transmitted. In the NR, antenna ports 0 to 3 can be set as antenna ports with which CRS similar to that of LTE is transmitted. Further, in NR, the antenna ports with which CRS is transmitted like LTE can be set as different antenna port numbers from antenna ports 0 to 3. In the description of the present embodiment, predetermined antenna port numbers can be applied to LTE and/or NR. Physical Channel and Physical Signal in Present Embodiment In the present embodiment, physical channels and physical signals are used. The physical channels include a downlink physical channel, an uplink physical channel, and a sidelink physical channel. The physical signals include a downlink physical signal, an uplink physical signal, and a sidelink physical signal. In LTE, a physical channel and a physical signal are referred to as an LTE physical channel and an LTE physical signal. In NR, a physical channel and a physical signal are referred to as an NR physical channel and an NR physical signal. The LTE physical channel and the NR physical channel can be defined as different physical channels, respectively. The LTE physical signal and the NR physical signal can be defined as different physical signals, respectively. In the description of the present embodiment, the LTE physical channel and the NR physical channel are also simply referred to as physical channels, and the LTE physical signal and the NR physical signal are also simply referred to as physical signals. That is, the description of the physical channels can be applied to any of the LTE physical channel and the NR physical channel. The description of the physical signals can be applied to any of the LTE physical signal and the NR physical signal. NR Physical Channel and NR Physical Signal in Present Embodiment In LTE, the description of the physical channel and the physical signal can also be applied to the NR physical channel and the NR physical signal, respectively. The NR physical channel and the NR physical signal are referred to as the following. The NR downlink physical channel includes an NR-PBCH, an NR-PCFICH, an NR-PHICH, an NR-PDCCH, an NR-EPDCCH, an NR-MPDCCH, an NR-R-PDCCH, an NR-PDSCH, an NR-PMCH, and the like. The NR downlink physical signal includes an NR-SS, an NR-DL-RS, an NR-DS, and the like. The NR-SS includes an NR-PSS, an NR-SSS, and the like. The NR-RS includes an NR-CRS, an NR-PDSCH-DMRS, an NR-EPDCCH-DMRS, an NR-PRS, an NR-CSI-RS, an NR-TRS, and the like. The NR uplink physical channel includes an NR-PUSCH, an NR-PUCCH, an NR-PRACH, and the like. The NR uplink physical signal includes an NR-UL-RS. The NR-UL-RS includes an NR-UL-DMRS, an NR-SRS, and the like. The NR sidelink physical channel includes an NR-PSBCH, an NR-PSCCH, an NR-PSDCH, an NR-PSSCH, and the like. Downlink Physical Channel in Present Embodiment The PDCCH and the EPDCCH are used to transmit downlink control information (DCI). Mapping of an information bit of the downlink control information is defined as a DCI format. The downlink control information includes a downlink grant and an uplink grant. The downlink grant is also referred to as a downlink assignment or a downlink allocation. The PDCCH is transmitted by a set of one or more consecutive control channel elements (CCEs). The CCE includes 9 resource element groups (REGs). An REG includes 4 resource elements. In a case in which the PDCCH is constituted by n consecutive CCEs, the PDCCH starts with a CCE satisfying a condition that a remainder after dividing an index (number) i of the CCE by n is 0. The EPDCCH is transmitted by a set of one or more consecutive enhanced control channel elements (ECCEs). The ECCE is constituted by a plurality of enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). The downlink grant is used for scheduling of the PDSCH in a certain cell. The downlink grant is used for scheduling of the PDSCH in the same sub frame as a sub frame in which the downlink grant is transmitted. The uplink grant is used for scheduling of the PUSCH in a certain cell. The uplink grant is used for scheduling of a single PUSCH in a fourth sub frame from a sub frame in which the uplink grant is transmitted or later. A cyclic redundancy check (CRC) parity bit is added to the DCI. The CRC parity bit is scrambled using a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI). The RNTI is an identifier that can be specified or set in accordance with a purpose of the DCI or the like. The RNTI is an identifier specified in a specification in advance, an identifier set as information specific to a cell, an identifier set as information specific to the terminal device2, or an identifier set as information specific to a group to which the terminal device2belongs. For example, in monitoring of the PDCCH or the EPDCCH, the terminal device2descrambles the CRC parity bit added to the DCI with a predetermined RNTI and identifies whether or not the CRC is correct. In a case in which the CRC is correct, the DCI is understood to be a DCI for the terminal device2. The PDSCH is used to transmit downlink data (a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH)). Further, the PDSCH is also used to transmit control information of a higher layer. The PMCH is used to transmit multicast data (a multicast channel (MCH)). In the PDCCH region, a plurality of PDCCHs may be multiplexed according to frequency, time, and/or space. In the EPDCCH region, a plurality of EPDCCHs may be multiplexed according to frequency, time, and/or space. In the PDSCH region, a plurality of PDSCHs may be multiplexed according to frequency, time, and/or space. The PDCCH, the PDSCH, and/or the EPDCCH may be multiplexed according to frequency, time, and/or space. Downlink Physical Signal in Present Embodiment The PDSCH is transmitted through an antenna port used for transmission of the CRS or the URS on the basis of the transmission mode and the DCI format. A DCI format 1A is used for scheduling of the PD SCH transmitted through an antenna port used for transmission of the CRS. A DCI format 2D is used for scheduling of the PDSCH transmitted through an antenna port used for transmission of the URS. The DMRS associated with the EPDCCH is transmitted through a sub frame and a band used for transmission of the EPDCCH to which the DMRS is associated. The DMRS is used for demodulation of the EPDCCH with which the DMRS is associated. The EPDCCH is transmitted through an antenna port used for transmission of the DMRS. The DMRS associated with the EPDCCH is transmitted through one or more of the antenna ports 107 to 114. Uplink Physical Signal in Present Embodiment The PUCCH is a physical channel used for transmitting uplink control information (UCI). The uplink control information includes downlink channel state information (CSI), a scheduling request (SR) indicating a request for PUSCH resources, and a HARQ-ACK to downlink data (a transport block (TB) or a downlink-shared channel (DL-SCH)). The HARQ-ACK is also referred to as ACK/NACK, HARQ feedback, or response information. Further, the HARQ-ACK to downlink data indicates ACK, NACK, or DTX. The PUSCH is a physical channel used for transmitting uplink data (uplink-shared channel (UL-SCH)). Further, the PUSCH may be used to transmit the HARQ-ACK and/or the channel state information together with uplink data. Further, the PUSCH may be used to transmit only the channel state information or only the HARQ-ACK and the channel state information. The PRACH is a physical channel used for transmitting a random access preamble. The PRACH can be used for the terminal device2to obtain synchronization in the time domain with the base station device1. Further, the PRACH is also used to indicate an initial connection establishment procedure (process), a handover procedure, a connection re-establishment procedure, synchronization (timing adjustment) for uplink transmission, and/or a request for PUSCH resources. In the PUCCH region, a plurality of PUCCHs is frequency, time, space, and/or code multiplexed. In the PUSCH region, a plurality of PUSCHs may be frequency, time, space, and/or code multiplexed. The PUCCH and the PUSCH may be frequency, time, space, and/or code multiplexed. The PRACH may be placed over a single sub frame or two sub frames. A plurality of PRACHs may be code-multiplexed. Physical Resources for Control Channel in Present Embodiment A resource element group (REG) is used to define mapping of the resource element and the control channel. For example, the REG is used for mapping of the PDCCH, the PHICH, or the PCFICH. The REG is constituted by four consecutive resource elements which are in the same OFDM symbol and not used for the CRS in the same resource block. Further, the REG is constituted by first to fourth OFDM symbols in a first slot in a certain sub frame. An enhanced resource element group (EREG) is used to define mapping of the resource elements and the enhanced control channel. For example, the EREG is used for mapping of the EPDCCH. One resource block pair is constituted by 16 EREGs. Each EREG is assigned the number of 0 to 15 for each resource block pair. Each EREG is constituted by 9 resource elements excluding resource elements used for the DM-RS associated with the EPDCCH in one resource block pair. Configuration Example of Base Station Device1in Present Embodiment FIG.8is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of the base station device1of the present embodiment. As illustrated inFIG.3, the base station device1includes a higher layer processing unit101, a control unit103, a receiving unit105, a transmitting unit107, and a transceiving antenna109. Further, the receiving unit105includes a decoding unit1051, a demodulating unit1053, a demultiplexing unit1055, a wireless receiving unit1057, and a channel measuring unit1059. Further, the transmitting unit107includes an encoding unit1071, a modulating unit1073, a multiplexing unit1075, a wireless transmitting unit1077, and a downlink reference signal generating unit1079. As described above, the base station device1can support one or more RATs. Some or all of the units included in the base station device1illustrated inFIG.8can be configured individually in accordance with the RAT. For example, the receiving unit105and the transmitting unit107are configured individually in LTE and NR. Further, in the NR cell, some or all of the units included in the base station device1illustrated inFIG.8can be configured individually in accordance with a parameter set related to the transmission signal. For example, in a certain NR cell, the wireless receiving unit1057and the wireless transmitting unit1077can be configured individually in accordance with a parameter set related to the transmission signal. The higher layer processing unit101performs processes of a medium access control (MAC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a radio resource control (RRC) layer. Further, the higher layer processing unit101generates control information to control the receiving unit105and the transmitting unit107and outputs the control information to the control unit103. The control unit103controls the receiving unit105and the transmitting unit107on the basis of the control information from the higher layer processing unit101. The control unit103generates control information to be transmitted to the higher layer processing unit101and outputs the control information to the higher layer processing unit101. The control unit103receives a decoded signal from the decoding unit1051and a channel estimation result from the channel measuring unit1059. The control unit103outputs a signal to be encoded to the encoding unit1071. Further, the control unit103is used to control the whole or a part of the base station device1. The higher layer processing unit101performs a process and management related to RAT control, radio resource control, sub frame setting, scheduling control, and/or CSI report control. The process and the management in the higher layer processing unit101are performed for each terminal device or in common to terminal devices connected to the base station device. The process and the management in the higher layer processing unit101may be performed only by the higher layer processing unit101or may be acquired from a higher node or another base station device. Further, the process and the management in the higher layer processing unit101may be individually performed in accordance with the RAT. For example, the higher layer processing unit101individually performs the process and the management in LTE and the process and the management in NR. Under the RAT control of the higher layer processing unit101, management related to the RAT is performed. For example, under the RAT control, the management related to LTE and/or the management related to NR is performed. The management related to NR includes setting and a process of a parameter set related to the transmission signal in the NR cell. In the radio resource control in the higher layer processing unit101, generation and/or management of downlink data (transport block), system information, an RRC message (RRC parameter), and/or a MAC control element (CE) are performed. In a sub frame setting in the higher layer processing unit101, management of a sub frame setting, a sub frame pattern setting, an uplink-downlink setting, an uplink reference UL-DL setting, and/or a downlink reference UL-DL setting is performed. Further, the sub frame setting in the higher layer processing unit101is also referred to as a base station sub frame setting. Further, the sub frame setting in the higher layer processing unit101can be decided on the basis of an uplink traffic volume and a downlink traffic volume. Further, the sub frame setting in the higher layer processing unit101can be decided on the basis of a scheduling result of scheduling control in the higher layer processing unit101. In the scheduling control in the higher layer processing unit101, a frequency and a sub frame to which the physical channel is allocated, a coding rate, a modulation scheme, and transmission power of the physical channels, and the like are decided on the basis of the received channel state information, an estimation value, a channel quality, or the like of a propagation path input from the channel measuring unit1059, and the like. For example, the control unit103generates the control information (DCI format) on the basis of the scheduling result of the scheduling control in the higher layer processing unit101. In the CSI report control in the higher layer processing unit101, the CSI report of the terminal device2is controlled. For example, a setting related to the CSI reference resources assumed to calculate the CSI in the terminal device2is controlled. Under the control from the control unit103, the receiving unit105receives a signal transmitted from the terminal device2via the transceiving antenna109, performs a reception process such as demultiplexing, demodulation, and decoding, and outputs information which has undergone the reception process to the control unit103. Further, the reception process in the receiving unit105is performed on the basis of a setting which is specified in advance or a setting notified from the base station device1to the terminal device2. The wireless receiving unit1057performs conversion into an intermediate frequency (down conversion), removal of an unnecessary frequency component, control of an amplification level such that a signal level is appropriately maintained, quadrature demodulation based on an in-phase component and a quadrature component of a received signal, conversion from an analog signal into a digital signal, removal of a guard interval (GI), and/or extraction of a signal in the frequency domain by fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the uplink signal received via the transceiving antenna109. Further, in the present embodiment, the wireless receiving unit1057can support a plurality of uplink signal waveforms. The details will be described later. The demultiplexing unit1055separates the uplink channel such as the PUCCH or the PUSCH and/or uplink reference signal from the signal input from the wireless receiving unit1057. The demultiplexing unit1055outputs the uplink reference signal to the channel measuring unit1059. The demultiplexing unit1055compensates the propagation path for the uplink channel from the estimation value of the propagation path input from the channel measuring unit1059. The demodulating unit1053demodulates the reception signal for the modulation symbol of the uplink channel using a modulation scheme such as binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64 QAM, or 256 QAM. The demodulating unit1053performs separation and demodulation of a MIMO multiplexed uplink channel. The decoding unit1051performs a decoding process on encoded bits of the demodulated uplink channel. The decoded uplink data and/or uplink control information are output to the control unit103. The decoding unit1051performs a decoding process on the PUSCH for each transport block. The channel measuring unit1059measures the estimation value, a channel quality, and/or the like of the propagation path from the uplink reference signal input from the demultiplexing unit1055, and outputs the estimation value, a channel quality, and/or the like of the propagation path to the demultiplexing unit1055and/or the control unit103. For example, the estimation value of the propagation path for propagation path compensation for the PUCCH or the PUSCH is measured by the channel measuring unit1059using the UL-DMRS, and an uplink channel quality is measured using the SRS. The transmitting unit107carries out a transmission process such as encoding, modulation, and multiplexing on downlink control information and downlink data input from the higher layer processing unit101under the control of the control unit103. For example, the transmitting unit107generates and multiplexes the PHICH, the PDCCH, the EPDCCH, the PDSCH, and the downlink reference signal and generates a transmission signal. Further, the transmission process in the transmitting unit107is performed on the basis of a setting which is specified in advance, a setting notified from the base station device1to the terminal device2, or a setting notified through the PDCCH or the EPDCCH transmitted through the same sub frame. The encoding unit1071encodes the HARQ indicator (HARQ-ACK), the downlink control information, and the downlink data input from the control unit103using a predetermined coding scheme such as block coding, convolutional coding, turbo coding, or the like. The modulating unit1073modulates the encoded bits input from the encoding unit1071using a predetermined modulation scheme such as BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM, or 256 QAM. The downlink reference signal generating unit1079generates the downlink reference signal on the basis of a physical cell identification (PCI), an RRC parameter set in the terminal device2, and the like. The multiplexing unit1075multiplexes a modulated symbol and the downlink reference signal of each channel and arranges resulting data in a predetermined resource element. The wireless transmitting unit1077performs processes such as conversion into a signal in the time domain by inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), addition of the guard interval, generation of a baseband digital signal, conversion in an analog signal, quadrature modulation, conversion from a signal of an intermediate frequency into a signal of a high frequency (up conversion), removal of an extra frequency component, and amplification of power on the signal from the multiplexing unit1075, and generates a transmission signal. The transmission signal output from the wireless transmitting unit1077is transmitted through the transceiving antenna109. Configuration Example of Terminal Device2in Present Embodiment FIG.9is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of the terminal device2of the present embodiment. As illustrated inFIG.4, the terminal device2includes a higher layer processing unit201, a control unit203, a receiving unit205, a transmitting unit207, and a transceiving antenna209. Further, the receiving unit205includes a decoding unit2051, a demodulating unit2053, a demultiplexing unit2055, a wireless receiving unit2057, and a channel measuring unit2059. Further, the transmitting unit207includes an encoding unit2071, a modulating unit2073, a multiplexing unit2075, a wireless transmitting unit2077, and an uplink reference signal generating unit2079. As described above, the terminal device2can support one or more RATs. Some or all of the units included in the terminal device2illustrated inFIG.9can be configured individually in accordance with the RAT. For example, the receiving unit205and the transmitting unit207are configured individually in LTE and NR. Further, in the NR cell, some or all of the units included in the terminal device2illustrated inFIG.9can be configured individually in accordance with a parameter set related to the transmission signal. For example, in a certain NR cell, the wireless receiving unit2057and the wireless transmitting unit2077can be configured individually in accordance with a parameter set related to the transmission signal. The higher layer processing unit201outputs uplink data (transport block) to the control unit203. The higher layer processing unit201performs processes of a medium access control (MAC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a radio resource control (RRC) layer. Further, the higher layer processing unit201generates control information to control the receiving unit205and the transmitting unit207and outputs the control information to the control unit203. The control unit203controls the receiving unit205and the transmitting unit207on the basis of the control information from the higher layer processing unit201. The control unit203generates control information to be transmitted to the higher layer processing unit201and outputs the control information to the higher layer processing unit201. The control unit203receives a decoded signal from the decoding unit2051and a channel estimation result from the channel measuring unit2059. The control unit203outputs a signal to be encoded to the encoding unit2071. Further, the control unit203may be used to control the whole or a part of the terminal device2. The higher layer processing unit201performs a process and management related to RAT control, radio resource control, sub frame setting, scheduling control, and/or CSI report control. The process and the management in the higher layer processing unit201are performed on the basis of a setting which is specified in advance and/or a setting based on control information set or notified from the base station device1. For example, the control information from the base station device1includes the RRC parameter, the MAC control element, or the DCI. Further, the process and the management in the higher layer processing unit201may be individually performed in accordance with the RAT. For example, the higher layer processing unit201individually performs the process and the management in LTE and the process and the management in NR. Under the RAT control of the higher layer processing unit201, management related to the RAT is performed. For example, under the RAT control, the management related to LTE and/or the management related to NR is performed. The management related to NR includes setting and a process of a parameter set related to the transmission signal in the NR cell. In the radio resource control in the higher layer processing unit201, the setting information in the terminal device2is managed. In the radio resource control in the higher layer processing unit201, generation and/or management of uplink data (transport block), system information, an RRC message (RRC parameter), and/or a MAC control element (CE) are performed. In the sub frame setting in the higher layer processing unit201, the sub frame setting in the base station device1and/or a base station device different from the base station device1is managed. The sub frame setting includes an uplink or downlink setting for the sub frame, a sub frame pattern setting, an uplink-downlink setting, an uplink reference UL-DL setting, and/or a downlink reference UL-DL setting. Further, the sub frame setting in the higher layer processing unit201is also referred to as a terminal sub frame setting. In the scheduling control in the higher layer processing unit201, control information for controlling scheduling on the receiving unit205and the transmitting unit207is generated on the basis of the DCI (scheduling information) from the base station device1. In the CSI report control in the higher layer processing unit201, control related to the report of the CSI to the base station device1is performed. For example, in the CSI report control, a setting related to the CSI reference resources assumed for calculating the CSI by the channel measuring unit2059is controlled. In the CSI report control, resource (timing) used for reporting the CSI is controlled on the basis of the DCI and/or the RRC parameter. Under the control from the control unit203, the receiving unit205receives a signal transmitted from the base station device1via the transceiving antenna209, performs a reception process such as demultiplexing, demodulation, and decoding, and outputs information which has undergone the reception process to the control unit203. Further, the reception process in the receiving unit205is performed on the basis of a setting which is specified in advance or a notification from the base station device1or a setting. The wireless receiving unit2057performs conversion into an intermediate frequency (down conversion), removal of an unnecessary frequency component, control of an amplification level such that a signal level is appropriately maintained, quadrature demodulation based on an in-phase component and a quadrature component of a received signal, conversion from an analog signal into a digital signal, removal of a guard interval (GI), and/or extraction of a signal in the frequency domain by fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the uplink signal received via the transceiving antenna209. The demultiplexing unit2055separates the downlink channel such as the PHICH, PDCCH, EPDCCH, or PDSCH, downlink synchronization signal and/or downlink reference signal from the signal input from the wireless receiving unit2057. The demultiplexing unit2055outputs the uplink reference signal to the channel measuring unit2059. The demultiplexing unit2055compensates the propagation path for the uplink channel from the estimation value of the propagation path input from the channel measuring unit2059. The demodulating unit2053demodulates the reception signal for the modulation symbol of the downlink channel using a modulation scheme such as BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM, or 256 QAM. The demodulating unit2053performs separation and demodulation of a MIMO multiplexed downlink channel. The decoding unit2051performs a decoding process on encoded bits of the demodulated downlink channel. The decoded downlink data and/or downlink control information are output to the control unit203. The decoding unit2051performs a decoding process on the PDSCH for each transport block. The channel measuring unit2059measures the estimation value, a channel quality, and/or the like of the propagation path from the downlink reference signal input from the demultiplexing unit2055, and outputs the estimation value, a channel quality, and/or the like of the propagation path to the demultiplexing unit2055and/or the control unit203. The downlink reference signal used for measurement by the channel measuring unit2059may be decided on the basis of at least a transmission mode set by the RRC parameter and/or other RRC parameters. For example, the estimation value of the propagation path for performing the propagation path compensation on the PDSCH or the EPDCCH is measured through the DL-DMRS. The estimation value of the propagation path for performing the propagation path compensation on the PDCCH or the PDSCH and/or the downlink channel for reporting the CSI are measured through the CRS. The downlink channel for reporting the CSI is measured through the CSI-RS. The channel measuring unit2059calculates a reference signal received power (RSRP) and/or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) on the basis of the CRS, the CSI-RS, or the discovery signal, and outputs the RSRP and/or the RSRQ to the higher layer processing unit201. The transmitting unit207performs a transmission process such as encoding, modulation, and multiplexing on the uplink control information and the uplink data input from the higher layer processing unit201under the control of the control unit203. For example, the transmitting unit207generates and multiplexes the uplink channel such as the PUSCH or the PUCCH and/or the uplink reference signal, and generates a transmission signal. Further, the transmission process in the transmitting unit207is performed on the basis of a setting which is specified in advance or a setting set or notified from the base station device1. The encoding unit2071encodes the HARQ indicator (HARQ-ACK), the uplink control information, and the uplink data input from the control unit203using a predetermined coding scheme such as block coding, convolutional coding, turbo coding, or the like. The modulating unit2073modulates the encoded bits input from the encoding unit2071using a predetermined modulation scheme such as BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM, or 256 QAM. The uplink reference signal generating unit2079generates the uplink reference signal on the basis of an RRC parameter set in the terminal device2, and the like. The multiplexing unit2075multiplexes a modulated symbol and the uplink reference signal of each channel and arranges resulting data in a predetermined resource element. The wireless transmitting unit2077performs processes such as conversion into a signal in the time domain by inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), addition of the guard interval, generation of a baseband digital signal, conversion in an analog signal, quadrature modulation, conversion from a signal of an intermediate frequency into a signal of a high frequency (up conversion), removal of an extra frequency component, and amplification of power on the signal from the multiplexing unit2075, and generates a transmission signal. The transmission signal output from the wireless transmitting unit2077is transmitted through the transceiving antenna209. Further, in the present embodiment, the wireless transmitting unit2077can support a plurality of uplink signal waveforms. The details thereof will be described later. Signaling of Control Information in Present Embodiment The base station device1and the terminal device2can use various methods for signaling (notification, broadcasting, or setting) of the control information. The signaling of the control information can be performed in various layers (layers). The signaling of the control information includes signaling of the physical layer which is signaling performed through the physical layer, RRC signaling which is signaling performed through the RRC layer, and MAC signaling which is signaling performed through the MAC layer. The RRC signaling is dedicated RRC signaling for notifying the terminal device2of the control information specific or a common RRC signaling for notifying of the control information specific to the base station device1. The signaling used by a layer higher than the physical layer such as RRC signaling and MAC signaling is referred to as signaling of the higher layer. The RRC signaling is implemented by signaling the RRC parameter. The MAC signaling is implemented by signaling the MAC control element. The signaling of the physical layer is implemented by signaling the downlink control information (DCI) or the uplink control information (UCI). The RRC parameter and the MAC control element are transmitted using the PDSCH or the PUSCH. The DCI is transmitted using the PDCCH or the EPDCCH. The UCI is transmitted using the PUCCH or the PUSCH. The RRC signaling and the MAC signaling are used for signaling semi-static control information and are also referred to as semi-static signaling. The signaling of the physical layer is used for signaling dynamic control information and also referred to as dynamic signaling. The DCI is used for scheduling of the PDSCH or scheduling of the PUSCH. The UCI is used for the CSI report, the HARQ-ACK report, and/or the scheduling request (SR). Details of Downlink Control Information in Present Embodiment The DCI is notified using the DCI format having a field which is specified in advance. Predetermined information bits are mapped to the field specified in the DCI format. The DCI notifies of downlink scheduling information, uplink scheduling information, sidelink scheduling information, a request for a non-periodic CSI report, or an uplink transmission power command. The DCI format monitored by the terminal device2is decided in accordance with the transmission mode set for each serving cell. In other words, a part of the DCI format monitored by the terminal device2can differ depending on the transmission mode. For example, the terminal device2in which a downlink transmission mode 1 is set monitors the DCI format 1A and the DCI format 1. For example, the terminal device2in which a downlink transmission mode 4 is set monitors the DCI format 1A and the DCI format 2. For example, the terminal device2in which an uplink transmission mode 1 is set monitors the DCI format 0. For example, the terminal device2in which an uplink transmission mode2is set monitors the DCI format 0 and the DCI format 4. A control region in which the PDCCH for notifying the terminal device2of the DCI is placed is not notified, and the terminal device2detects the DCI for the terminal device2through blind decoding (blind detection). Specifically, the terminal device2monitors a set of PDCCH candidates in the serving cell. The monitoring indicates that decoding is attempted in accordance with all the DCI formats to be monitored for each of the PDCCHs in the set. For example, the terminal device2attempts to decode all aggregation levels, PDCCH candidates, and DCI formats which are likely to be transmitted to the terminal device2. The terminal device2recognizes the DCI (PDCCH) which is successfully decoded (detected) as the DCI (PDCCH) for the terminal device2. A cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is added to the DCI. The CRC is used for the DCI error detection and the DCI blind detection. A CRC parity bit (CRC) is scrambled using the RNTI. The terminal device2detects whether or not it is a DCI for the terminal device2on the basis of the RNTI. Specifically, the terminal device2performs de-scrambling on the bit corresponding to the CRC using a predetermined RNTI, extracts the CRC, and detects whether or not the corresponding DCI is correct. The RNTI is specified or set in accordance with a purpose or a use of the DCI. The RNTI includes a cell-RNTI (C-RNTI), a semi persistent scheduling C-RNTI (SPS C-RNTI), a system information-RNTI (SI-RNTI), a paging-RNTI (P-RNTI), a random access-RNTI (RA-RNTI), a transmit power control-PUCCH-RNTI (TPC-PUCCH-RNTI), a transmit power control-PUSCH-RNTI (TPC-PUSCH-RNTI), a temporary C-RNTI, a multimedia broadcast multicast services (MBMS)-RNTI (M-RNTI)), an eIMTA-RNTI and a CC-RNTI. The C-RNTI and the SPS C-RNTI are RNTIs which are specific to the terminal device2in the base station device1(cell), and serve as identifiers identifying the terminal device2. The C-RNTI is used for scheduling the PDSCH or the PUSCH in a certain sub frame. The SPS C-RNTI is used to activate or release periodic scheduling of resources for the PDSCH or the PUSCH. A control channel having a CRC scrambled using the SI-RNTI is used for scheduling a system information block (SIB). A control channel with a CRC scrambled using the P-RNTI is used for controlling paging. A control channel with a CRC scrambled using the RA-RNTI is used for scheduling a response to the RACH. A control channel having a CRC scrambled using the TPC-PUCCH-RNTI is used for power control of the PUCCH. A control channel having a CRC scrambled using the TPC-PUSCH-RNTI is used for power control of the PUSCH. A control channel with a CRC scrambled using the temporary C-RNTI is used by a mobile station device in which no C-RNTI is set or recognized. A control channel with CRC scrambled using the M-RNTI is used for scheduling the MBMS. A control channel with a CRC scrambled using the eIMTA-RNTI is used for notifying of information related to a TDD UL/DL setting of a TDD serving cell in dynamic TDD (eIMTA). The control channel (DCI) with a CRC scrambled using the CC-RNTI is used to notify of setting of an exclusive OFDM symbol in the LAA secondary cell. Further, the DCI format may be scrambled using a new RNTI instead of the above RNTI. Scheduling information (the downlink scheduling information, the uplink scheduling information, and the sidelink scheduling information) includes information for scheduling in units of resource blocks or resource block groups as the scheduling of the frequency region. The resource block group is successive resource block sets and indicates resources allocated to the scheduled terminal device. A size of the resource block group is decided in accordance with a system bandwidth. Details of Downlink Control Channel in Present Embodiment The DCI is transmitted using a control channel such as the PDCCH or the EPDCCH. The terminal device2monitors a set of PDCCH candidates and/or a set of EPDCCH candidates of one or more activated serving cells set by RRC signaling. Here, the monitoring means that the PDCCH and/or the EPDCCH in the set corresponding to all the DCI formats to be monitored is attempted to be decoded. A set of PDCCH candidates or a set of EPDCCH candidates is also referred to as a search space. In the search space, a shared search space (CSS) and a terminal specific search space (USS) are defined. The CSS may be defined only for the search space for the PDCCH. A common search space (CSS) is a search space set on the basis of a parameter specific to the base station device1and/or a parameter which is specified in advance. For example, the CSS is a search space used in common to a plurality of terminal devices. Therefore, the base station device1maps a control channel common to a plurality of terminal devices to the CSS, and thus resources for transmitting the control channel are reduced. A UE-specific search space (USS) is a search space set using at least a parameter specific to the terminal device2. Therefore, the USS is a search space specific to the terminal device2, and it is possible for the base station device1to individually transmit the control channel specific to the terminal device2by using the USS. For this reason, the base station device1can efficiently map the control channels specific to a plurality of terminal devices. The USS may be set to be used in common to a plurality of terminal devices. Since a common USS is set in a plurality of terminal devices, a parameter specific to the terminal device2is set to be the same value among a plurality of terminal devices. For example, a unit set to the same parameter among a plurality of terminal devices is a cell, a transmission point, a group of predetermined terminal devices, or the like. The search space of each aggregation level is defined by a set of PDCCH candidates. Each PDCCH is transmitted using one or more CCE sets. The number of CCEs used in one PDCCH is also referred to as an aggregation level. For example, the number of CCEs used in one PDCCH is 1, 2, 4, or 8. The search space of each aggregation level is defined by a set of EPDCCH candidates. Each EPDCCH is transmitted using one or more enhanced control channel element (ECCE) sets. The number of ECCEs used in one EPDCCH is also referred to as an aggregation level. For example, the number of ECCEs used in one EPDCCH is 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32. The number of PDCCH candidates or the number of EPDCCH candidates is decided on the basis of at least the search space and the aggregation level. For example, in the CSS, the number of PDCCH candidates in the aggregation levels 4 and 8 are 4 and 2, respectively. For example, in the USS, the number of PDCCH candidates in the aggregations 1, 2, 4, and 8 are 6, 6, 2, and 2, respectively. Each ECCE includes a plurality of EREGs. The EREG is used to define mapping to the resource element of the EPDCCH. 16 EREGs which are assigned numbers of 0 to 15 are defined in each RB pair. In other words, an EREG 0 to an EREG 15 are defined in each RB pair. For each RB pair, the EREG 0 to the EREG 15 are preferentially defined at regular intervals in the frequency direction for resource elements other than resource elements to which a predetermined signal and/or channel is mapped. For example, a resource element to which a demodulation reference signal associated with an EPDCCH transmitted through antenna ports 107 to 110 is mapped is not defined as the EREG. The number of ECCEs used in one EPDCCH depends on an EPDCCH format and is decided on the basis of other parameters. The number of ECCEs used in one EPDCCH is also referred to as an aggregation level. For example, the number of ECCEs used in one EPDCCH is decided on the basis of the number of resource elements which can be used for transmission of the EPDCCH in one RB pair, a transmission method of the EPDCCH, and the like. For example, the number of ECCEs used in one EPDCCH is 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32. Further, the number of EREGs used in one ECCE is decided on the basis of a type of sub frame and a type of cyclic prefix and is 4 or 8. Distributed transmission and localized transmission are supported as the transmission method of the EPDCCH. The distributed transmission or the localized transmission can be used for the EPDCCH. The distributed transmission and the localized transmission differ in mapping of the ECCE to the EREG and the RB pair. For example, in the distributed transmission, one ECCE is configured using EREGs of a plurality of RB pairs. In the localized transmission, one ECCE is configured using an EREG of one RB pair. The base station device1performs a setting related to the EPDCCH in the terminal device2. The terminal device2monitors a plurality of EPDCCHs on the basis of the setting from the base station device1. A set of RB pairs that the terminal device2monitors the EPDCCH can be set. The set of RB pairs is also referred to as an EPDCCH set or an EPDCCH-PRB set. One or more EPDCCH sets can be set in one terminal device2. Each EPDCCH set includes one or more RB pairs. Further, the setting related to the EPDCCH can be individually performed for each EPDCCH set. The base station device1can set a predetermined number of EPDCCH sets in the terminal device2. For example, up to two EPDCCH sets can be set as an EPDCCH set 0 and/or an EPDCCH set 1. Each of the EPDCCH sets can be constituted by a predetermined number of RB pairs. Each EPDCCH set constitutes one set of ECCEs. The number of ECCEs configured in one EPDCCH set is decided on the basis of the number of RB pairs set as the EPDCCH set and the number of EREGs used in one ECCE. In a case in which the number of ECCEs configured in one EPDCCH set is N, each EPDCCH set constitutes ECCEs 0 to N−1. For example, in a case in which the number of EREGs used in one ECCE is 4, the EPDCCH set constituted by 4 RB pairs constitutes 16 ECCEs. Details of CA and DC in Present Embodiment A plurality of cells is set for the terminal device2, and the terminal device2can perform multicarrier transmission. Communication in which the terminal device2uses a plurality of cells is referred to as carrier aggregation (CA) or dual connectivity (DC). Contents described in the present embodiment can be applied to each or some of a plurality of cells set in the terminal device2. The cell set in the terminal device2is also referred to as a serving cell. In the CA, a plurality of serving cells to be set includes one primary cell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCell). One primary cell and one or more secondary cells can be set in the terminal device2that supports the CA. The primary cell is a serving cell in which the initial connection establishment procedure is performed, a serving cell that the initial connection re-establishment procedure is started, or a cell indicated as the primary cell in a handover procedure. The primary cell operates with a primary frequency. The secondary cell can be set after a connection is constructed or reconstructed. The secondary cell operates with a secondary frequency. Further, the connection is also referred to as an RRC connection. The DC is an operation in which a predetermined terminal device2consumes radio resources provided from at least two different network points. The network point is a master base station device (a master eNB (MeNB)) and a secondary base station device (a secondary eNB (SeNB)). In the dual connectivity, the terminal device2establishes an RRC connection through at least two network points. In the dual connectivity, the two network points may be connected through a non-ideal backhaul. In the DC, the base station device1which is connected to at least an S1-MME and plays a role of a mobility anchor of a core network is referred to as a master base station device. Further, the base station device1which is not the master base station device providing additional radio resources to the terminal device2is referred to as a secondary base station device. A group of serving cells associated with the master base station device is also referred to as a master cell group (MCG). A group of serving cells associated with the secondary base station device is also referred to as a secondary cell group (SCG). Note that the group of the serving cells is also referred to as a cell group (CG). In the DC, the primary cell belongs to the MCG. Further, in the SCG, the secondary cell corresponding to the primary cell is referred to as a primary secondary cell (PSCell). A function (capability and performance) equivalent to the PCell (the base station device constituting the PCell) may be supported by the PSCell (the base station device constituting the PSCell). Further, the PSCell may only support some functions of the PCell. For example, the PSCell may support a function of performing the PDCCH transmission using the search space different from the CSS or the USS. Further, the PSCell may constantly be in an activation state. Further, the PSCell is a cell that can receive the PUCCH. In the DC, a radio bearer (a date radio bearer (DRB)) and/or a signaling radio bearer (SRB) may be individually allocated through the MeNB and the SeNB. A duplex mode may be set individually in each of the MCG (PCell) and the SCG (PSCell). The MCG (PCell) and the SCG (PSCell) may not be synchronized with each other. That is, a frame boundary of the MCG and a frame boundary of the SCG may not be matched. A parameter (a timing advance group (TAG)) for adjusting a plurality of timings may be independently set in the MCG (PCell) and the SCG (PSCell). In the dual connectivity, the terminal device2transmits the UCI corresponding to the cell in the MCG only through MeNB (PCell) and transmits the UCI corresponding to the cell in the SCG only through SeNB (pSCell). In the transmission of each UCI, the transmission method using the PUCCH and/or the PUSCH is applied in each cell group. The PUCCH and the PBCH (MIB) are transmitted only through the PCell or the PSCell. Further, the PRACH is transmitted only through the PCell or the PSCell as long as a plurality of TAGs are not set between cells in the CG. In the PCell or the PSCell, semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or discontinuous transmission (DRX) may be performed. In the secondary cell, the same DRX as the PCell or the PSCell in the same cell group may be performed. In the secondary cell, information/parameter related to a setting of MAC is basically shared with the PCell or the PSCell in the same cell group. Some parameters may be set for each secondary cell. Some timers or counters may be applied only to the PCell or the PSCell. In the CA, a cell to which the TDD scheme is applied and a cell to which the FDD scheme is applied may be aggregated. In a case in which the cell to which the TDD is applied and the cell to which the FDD is applied are aggregated, the present disclosure can be applied to either the cell to which the TDD is applied or the cell to which the FDD is applied. The terminal device2transmits information (supportedBandCombination) indicating a combination of bands in which the CA and/or DC is supported by the terminal device2to the base station device1. The terminal device2transmits information indicating whether or not simultaneous transmission and reception are supported in a plurality of serving cells in a plurality of different bands for each of band combinations to the base station device1. Details of Resource Allocation in Present Embodiment The base station device1can use a plurality of methods as a method of allocating resources of the PDSCH and/or the PUSCH to the terminal device2. The resource allocation method includes dynamic scheduling, semi persistent scheduling, multi sub frame scheduling, and cross sub frame scheduling. In the dynamic scheduling, one DCI performs resource allocation in one sub frame. Specifically, the PDCCH or the EPDCCH in a certain sub frame performs scheduling for the PDSCH in the sub frame. The PDCCH or the EPDCCH in a certain sub frame performs scheduling for the PUSCH in a predetermined sub frame after the certain sub frame. In the multi sub frame scheduling, one DCI allocates resources in one or more sub frames. Specifically, the PDCCH or the EPDCCH in a certain sub frame performs scheduling for the PDSCH in one or more sub frames which are a predetermined number after the certain sub frame. The PDCCH or the EPDCCH in a certain sub frame performs scheduling for the PUSCH in one or more sub frames which are a predetermined number after the sub frame. The predetermined number can be set to an integer of zero or more. The predetermined number may be specified in advance and may be decided on the basis of the signaling of the physical layer and/or the RRC signaling. In the multi sub frame scheduling, consecutive sub frames may be scheduled, or sub frames with a predetermined period may be scheduled. The number of sub frames to be scheduled may be specified in advance or may be decided on the basis of the signaling of the physical layer and/or the RRC signaling. In the cross sub frame scheduling, one DCI allocates resources in one sub frame. Specifically, the PDCCH or the EPDCCH in a certain sub frame performs scheduling for the PDSCH in one sub frame which is a predetermined number after the certain sub frame. The PDCCH or the EPDCCH in a certain sub frame performs scheduling for the PUSCH in one sub frame which is a predetermined number after the sub frame. The predetermined number can be set to an integer of zero or more. The predetermined number may be specified in advance and may be decided on the basis of the signaling of the physical layer and/or the RRC signaling. In the cross sub frame scheduling, consecutive sub frames may be scheduled, or sub frames with a predetermined period may be scheduled. In the semi-persistent scheduling (SPS), one DCI allocates resources in one or more sub frames. In a case in which information related to the SPS is set through the RRC signaling, and the PDCCH or the EPDCCH for activating the SPS is detected, the terminal device2activates a process related to the SPS and receives a predetermined PDSCH and/or PUSCH on the basis of a setting related to the SPS. In a case in which the PDCCH or the EPDCCH for releasing the SPS is detected when the SPS is activated, the terminal device2releases (inactivates) the SPS and stops reception of a predetermined PDSCH and/or PUSCH. The release of the SPS may be performed on the basis of a case in which a predetermined condition is satisfied. For example, in a case in which a predetermined number of empty transmission data is received, the SPS is released. The data empty transmission for releasing the SPS corresponds to a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) including a zero MAC service data unit (SDU). Information related to the SPS by the RRC signaling includes an SPS C-RNTI which is an SPN RNTI, information related to a period (interval) in which the PDSCH is scheduled, information related to a period (interval) in which the PUSCH is scheduled, information related to a setting for releasing the SPS, and/or the number of the HARQ process in the SPS. The SPS is supported only in the primary cell and/or the primary secondary cell. HARQ in Present Embodiment In the present embodiment, the HARQ has various features. The HARQ transmits and retransmits the transport block. In the HARQ, a predetermined number of processes (HARQ processes) are used (set), and each process independently operates in accordance with a stop-and-wait scheme. In the downlink, the HARQ is asynchronous and operates adaptively. In other words, in the downlink, retransmission is constantly scheduled through the PDCCH. The uplink HARQ-ACK (response information) corresponding to the downlink transmission is transmitted through the PUCCH or the PUSCH. In the downlink, the PDCCH notifies of a HARQ process number indicating the HARQ process and information indicating whether or not transmission is initial transmission or retransmission. In the uplink, the HARQ operates in a synchronous or asynchronous manner. The downlink HARQ-ACK (response information) corresponding to the uplink transmission is transmitted through the PHICH. In the uplink HARQ, an operation of the terminal device is decided on the basis of the HARQ feedback received by the terminal device and/or the PDCCH received by the terminal device. For example, in a case in which the PDCCH is not received, and the HARQ feedback is ACK, the terminal device does not perform transmission (retransmission) but holds data in a HARQ buffer. In this case, the PDCCH may be transmitted in order to resume the retransmission. Further, for example, in a case in which the PDCCH is not received, and the HARQ feedback is NACK, the terminal device performs retransmission non-adaptively through a predetermined uplink sub frame. Further, for example, in a case in which the PDCCH is received, the terminal device performs transmission or retransmission on the basis of contents notified through the PDCCH regardless of content of the HARQ feedback. Further, in the uplink, in a case in which a predetermined condition (setting) is satisfied, the HARQ may be operated only in an asynchronous manner. In other words, the downlink HARQ-ACK is not transmitted, and the uplink retransmission may constantly be scheduled through the PDCCH. In the HARQ-ACK report, the HARQ-ACK indicates ACK, NACK, or DTX. In a case in which the HARQ-ACK is ACK, it indicates that the transport block (codeword and channel) corresponding to the HARQ-ACK is correctly received (decoded). In a case in which the HARQ-ACK is NACK, it indicates that the transport block (codeword and channel) corresponding to the HARQ-ACK is not correctly received (decoded). In a case in which the HARQ-ACK is DTX, it indicates that the transport block (codeword and channel) corresponding to the HARQ-ACK is not present (not transmitted). A predetermined number of HARQ processes are set (specified) in each of downlink and uplink. For example, in FDD, up to eight HARQ processes are used for each serving cell. Further, for example, in TDD, a maximum number of HARQ processes is decided by an uplink/downlink setting. A maximum number of HARQ processes may be decided on the basis of a round trip time (RTT). For example, in a case in which the RTT is 8 TTIs, the maximum number of the HARQ processes can be 8. In the present embodiment, the HARQ information is constituted by at least a new data indicator (NDI) and a transport block size (TBS). The NDI is information indicating whether or not the transport block corresponding to the HARQ information is initial transmission or retransmission. The TBS is the size of the transport block. The transport block is a block of data in a transport channel (transport layer) and can be a unit for performing the HARQ. In the DL-SCH transmission, the HARQ information further includes a HARQ process ID (a HARQ process number). In the UL-SCH transmission, the HARQ information further includes an information bit in which the transport block is encoded and a redundancy version (RV) which is information specifying a parity bit. In the case of spatial multiplexing in the DL-SCH, the HARQ information thereof includes a set of NDI and TBS for each transport block. Frame Configuration (Time Domain) of NR in the Present Embodiment A frame configuration of NR can be specified by a sub frame, a slot, and a minislot. A sub frame includes 14 symbols and can be used in the definition of a frame configuration in a reference subcarrier interval (a specified subcarrier interval). A slot is a symbol interval in a subcarrier interval used for communication, and includes 7 or 14 symbols. The number of symbols constituting one slot can be set to be specific to a cell or a terminal device from the base station device1. A minislot may by constituted by fewer symbols than a slot. For example, the number of symbols of one minislot is from 1 to 6 and can be set to be specific to a cell or a terminal device from the base station device1. Both a slot and a minislot are used as units of time domain resources for performing communication. For example, a slot is used for communication for an eMBB and an mMTC, and a minislot is used for communication for a URLLC. Further, the names of the slot and the minislot may not be distinguished. FIG.10illustrates an example of an NR frame configuration in the present embodiment.FIG.10illustrates a frame configuration in a predetermined frequency domain. For example, the frequency domain includes a resource block, a sub band, a system bandwidth, or the like. Therefore, the frame configuration illustrated inFIG.10can be frequency multiplexed and/or spatially multiplexed. In NR, one slot includes downlink communication, a guard period (GP), and/or downlink communication. The downlink communication includes a downlink channel such as an NR-PDCCH and/or an NR-PDSCH. Further, the downlink transmission includes a reference signal associated with an NR-PDCCH and/or an NR-PDSCH. The uplink communication includes an uplink channel such as an NR-PUCCH and/or an NR-PUSCH. Further, the downlink communication includes a reference signal associated with an NR-PUCCH and/or an NR-PUSCH. The GP is a time domain in which nothing is transmitted. For example, the GP is used to adjust a time to switch from reception of downlink communication to transmission of uplink communication in the terminal device2, a processing time in the terminal device2, and/or a transmission timing of uplink communication. As illustrated inFIG.10, NR can use various frame configurations. In (a) ofFIG.10, it includes the NR-PDCCH, the NR-PDSCH, the GP, and the NR-PUCCH. A notification of allocation information of the NR-PDSCH is performed through the NR-PDCCH, and a notification of HARQ-ACK to the received NR-PDSCH is performed through the NR-PUCCH in the same slot. In (b) ofFIG.10, it includes the NR-PDCCH, the GP, and the NR-PUSCH. A notification of allocation information of the NR-PUSCH is performed through the NR-PDCCH, and the NR-PUSCH is transmitted using allocated resources in the same slot. The frame configurations illustrated in (a) and (b) ofFIG.10are also referred to as self-contained frames since the downlink communication and the uplink communication are completed within the same slot. (c) to (g) ofFIG.10illustrate slots including only downlink communication or uplink communication. In (c) ofFIG.10, the NR-PDSCH can be scheduled by the NR-PDCCH in the same slot. In (d) and (e) ofFIG.10, the NR-PDSCH and the NR-PUSCH can be scheduled by the NR-PDCCHs mapped to different slots, RRC signaling, or the like. In (h) ofFIG.10, the entire slot is used as a region in which communication is not performed as the guard period. Overview of Uplink Signal Waveform in the Present Embodiment In the present embodiment, a plurality of types of signal waveforms are specified in uplink. For example, two uplink signal waveforms are specified as a first signal waveform and a second signal waveform. In the present embodiment, a first signal waveform is assumed to be CP-OFDM, and a second signal waveform is assumed to be SC-FDMA. Further, the second signal waveform is also referred to as discrete Fourier transform-spread-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM). In other words, the first signal waveform is a multicarrier signal, and the second signal waveform is a single carrier signal. Further, the first signal waveform is identical to the downlink signal waveform in LTE and NR, and the second signal waveform is identical to the uplink signal waveform in LTE. These signal waveforms can differ in power efficiency, transmission efficiency, transmission (generation) method, reception method, resource mapping, or the like. For example, since the second signal waveform can reduce a peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), the second signal waveform is more excellent in power efficiency than the first signal waveform. Further, since the first signal waveform can perform data and frequency multiplexing on the reference signal in a frequency direction, the first signal waveform is more excellent in transmission efficiency than the second signal waveform. Further, in a case in which it is necessary to perform frequency domain equivalence in the reception process for the second signal waveform, the second signal waveform is higher in the load of the reception process than the first signal waveform. Further, since the first signal waveform is narrower in the subcarrier interval than the second signal waveform, the first signal waveform is likely to be affected by phase noise particularly in a high frequency band. Details of Wireless Transmitting Unit and Wireless Receiving Unit of Uplink Signal Waveform in the Present Embodiment The wireless receiving unit1057in the base station device1supporting both the first signal waveform and the second signal waveform will now be described in detail.FIG.11is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the wireless receiving unit1057. The wireless receiving unit1057includes a signal waveform switching unit301, a first signal waveform receiving unit303, and a second signal waveform receiving unit305. The signal waveform switching unit301switches whether the received uplink communication is a first signal waveform or a second signal waveform according to a predetermined condition or situation. In a case in which received uplink communication is the first signal waveform, the uplink communication undergoes the reception process by the first signal waveform receiving unit303. In a case in which received uplink communication is the second signal waveform, the uplink communication undergoes the reception process by the second signal waveform receiving unit305. A condition or a situation of switching in the signal waveform switching unit301will be described later. Further, the signal waveform switching unit is also referred to as a signal waveform control unit. Further, although the first signal waveform receiving unit303and the second signal waveform receiving unit305are described as different processing units inFIG.11, only a part of the reception process can be switched and performed by one processing unit. The wireless transmitting unit2077in the terminal device2supporting both the first signal waveform and the second signal waveform will now be described in detail.FIG.12is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the wireless transmitting unit2077. The wireless transmitting unit2077includes a signal waveform switching unit401, a first signal waveform transmitting unit403, and a second signal waveform transmitting unit405. The signal waveform switching unit401switches whether uplink communication to be transmitted is the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform in accordance with a predetermined condition or situation. In a case in which the uplink communication to be transmitted is the first signal waveform, the uplink communication undergoes the transmission process by the first signal waveform transmitting unit403. In a case in which the uplink communication to be transmitted is the second signal waveform, the uplink communication is transmitted by the second signal waveform transmitting unit405. The condition or the situation of switching in the signal waveform switching unit401will be described later. Further, the signal waveform switching unit is also referred to as a signal waveform control unit. Further, although the first signal waveform receiving unit403and the second signal waveform receiving unit405are described as different processing units inFIG.12, only a part of the transmission process can be switched and performed by one processing unit. FIG.13is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the first signal waveform receiving unit303. The first signal waveform receiving unit303performs the reception process on the uplink channel and the signal transmitted by the CP-OFDM as the signal waveform of the uplink communication. The first signal waveform receiving unit303includes a CP removing unit3031, an S/P unit3033, a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) unit3035, and a P/S unit3037. The CP removing unit3031removes a cyclic prefix (CP) added to the received uplink communication. The S/P unit3033converts an input serial signal into a parallel signal of a size N. The DFT unit3035performs a Fourier transform process. Here, in a case in which the size N is a power of 2, a fast Fourier transform (FFT) process can be performed as the Fourier transform process. The P/S unit3037converts the input parallel signal of the size M into a serial signal. Here, the signal of the uplink communication transmitted by the terminal device2performing the reception process is input to the P/S unit3037. Further, the size M is decided depending on the size of the frequency domain resources used as the uplink communication. FIG.14is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the second signal waveform receiving unit305. The second signal waveform receiving unit305performs the reception process on the uplink channel and the signal transmitted by the SC-FDMA as the signal waveform of the uplink communication. The second signal waveform receiving unit305includes a CP removing unit3051, an S/P unit3053, a DFT unit3055, and an inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) unit3057. The CP removing unit3051removes the CP added to the received uplink communication. The S/P unit3053converts an input serial signal into a parallel signal of a size N. The DFT unit3055performs the Fourier transform process. Here, in a case in which the size N is a power of 2, the FFT process can be performed as the Fourier transform process. The IDFT unit3057performs an inverse Fourier transform process on the input signal of the size M. Here, the signal of the uplink communication transmitted by the terminal device2performing the reception process is input to the IDFT unit3057. Further, the size M is decided depending on the size of the frequency domain resources used as the uplink communication. FIG.15is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the first signal waveform transmitting unit403. The first signal waveform transmitting unit403performs the transmission process on the uplink channel and the signal transmitted by the CP-OFDM as the signal waveform of the uplink communication. The first signal waveform transmitting unit403includes an S/P unit4031, an IDFT unit4033, a P/S unit4035, and a CP inserting unit4037. The S/P unit4031converts an input serial signal into a parallel signal of a size M. Here, the size M is decided depending on the size of the frequency domain resources used as uplink communication. The parallel signal of the size M is input to the IDFT unit4033to correspond to a predetermined frequency domain. The IDFT unit4033performs the inverse Fourier transform process on the parallel signal of the size N. Here, in a case in which the size N is a power of 2, the IFFT process can be performed as the Fourier transform process. The P/S unit4035converts the parallel signal of the size N to a serial signal. The CP inserting unit4037inserts a predetermined CP for each OFDM symbol. FIG.16is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the second signal waveform transmitting unit405. The second signal waveform transmitting unit403performs the transmission process on the uplink channel and the signal transmitted by the SC-FDMA as the signal waveform of the uplink communication. The second signal waveform transmitting unit405includes a DFT unit4051, an IDFT unit4053, a P/S unit4055, and a CP inserting unit4057. The S/P unit4051performs the DFT conversion on a parallel signal of a size M. Here, the size M is decided depending on the size of the frequency domain resources used as uplink communication. The parallel signal of the size M is input to the IDFT unit4053to correspond to a predetermined frequency domain. The IDFT unit4053performs the inverse Fourier transform process on the parallel signal of the size N. Here, in a case in which the size N is a power of 2, the IFFT process can be performed as the Fourier transform process. The P/S unit4055converts the parallel signal of the size N to a serial signal. The CP inserting unit4057inserts a predetermined CP for each SC-FDMA symbol. Signaling Related to Control Method of Uplink Signal Waveform in the Present Embodiment As described above, the first signal waveform and the second signal waveform have different characteristics or features in various points. Therefore, it is preferable for the base station device1and the terminal device2supporting both the first signal waveform and the second signal waveform to switch and use an optimal signal waveform in accordance with a situation or a condition. Signaling related to the control method of the uplink signal waveform in the present embodiment will be described below. An example of the signaling related to the control method of the uplink signal waveform in the present embodiment is performed in a quasi-static manner by RRC signaling.FIG.17illustrates an example of signaling related to the quasi-static control method of the uplink signal waveform. The base station device1performs settings related to the uplink signal waveform to the terminal device2through RRC signaling. The RRC signaling may be a setting specific to the terminal device2or a setting specific to the base station device1. Then, the base station device1notifies the terminal device2of downlink control information for performing a grant (allocation) related to transmission of the uplink channel. The downlink control information can be transmitted through the NR-PDCCH. The terminal device2transmits the NR-PUSCH as the uplink channel on the basis of the uplink grant. The NR-PUSCH is transmitted by an already set uplink signal waveform. Another example of the signaling related to the control method of the uplink signal waveform in the present embodiment is dynamically performed by NR-PDCCH signaling.FIG.18illustrates an example of the signaling related to the dynamic control method of the uplink signal waveform. The base station device1notifies the terminal device2of downlink control information for performing a grant (allocation) related to transmission of the uplink channel. The downlink control information includes information related to the uplink signal waveform. The information related to the uplink signal waveform may be included in the downlink control information different from the uplink grant and notified in a manner specific to the terminal device2or the base station device1. The downlink control information can be transmitted through the NR-PDCCH. The terminal device2transmits the NR-PUSCH as the uplink channel on the basis of the uplink grant. The NR-PUSCH is transmitted by the uplink signal waveform decided on the basis of information which is notified simultaneously or separately. Details of Control Method of Uplink Signal Waveform in the Present Embodiment As already described above, it is desirable for the base station device1and the terminal device2supporting both the first signal waveform and the second signal waveform to switch and use the optimal signal waveform in accordance with various situations or conditions. The situation or the condition in the control method of the uplink signal waveform will be described below. Further, the situation or the condition described below may be applied alone, or a plurality of situations or conditions may be applied in combination. Further, the uplink communication can be transmitted using a predetermined signal waveform until the signal waveform for the uplink communication is set by RRC signaling or the like. In other words, a default signal waveform can be specified in advance. Further, a default signal waveform can be set by broadcasting information from base station device2. For example, a default signal waveform is the second signal waveform. (1) Specific Examples of Control Performed in Manner Specific to Terminal Device or Base Station Device in Quasi-Static Control Method of Uplink Signal Waveform Specific examples in a case in which control is performed in a manner specific to the terminal device or the base station device in the quasi-static control method of the uplink signal waveform will be described. (1-1) Control Based on Frame Configuration As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is performed on the basis of the frame configuration. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on the frame configuration used for the uplink communication. For example, the uplink signal waveform is decided depending on whether the frame configuration used for the uplink communication is a self-contained frame or a non-self-contained frame. A self-contained frame is a frame including downlink communication and uplink communication associated therewith in one frame (slot) as illustrated in (a) and (b) ofFIG.10. In a self-contained frame, since the number of symbols of the NR-PUCCH is small, it is desirable that the first signal waveform be used as illustrated in (a) ofFIG.10. Therefore, in a self-contained frame, only the first signal waveform may be able to be set. In other words, in a case in which a self-contained frame is set to be used for predetermined uplink communication through RRC signaling, the terminal device2transmits the uplink communication through the first signal waveform. On the other hand, in the case of a non-self-contained frame, the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform may be further set for the uplink communication. Further, in the case of a non-self-contained frame, the uplink communication may be specified to use the second signal waveform. (1-2) Control Based on Subcarrier Interval As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is performed on the basis of the subcarrier interval. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on the subcarrier interval used for the uplink communication. For example, in a case in which the subcarrier interval used for the uplink communication is equal to or less than a predetermined value which is set or specified, the uplink communication uses the second signal waveform. The predetermined value may be 15 kHz. Further, in the case of a subcarrier interval exceeding the predetermined value, the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform may be further set for the uplink communication, or it may be specified to use the first signal waveform. For example, in a case in which the subcarrier interval used for the uplink communication is a reference value (default value) which is set or specified, the uplink communication uses the second signal waveform. The reference value may be 15 kHz. Further, in the case of a subcarrier interval other than the reference value, the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform may be further set for the uplink communication, or it may be specified to use the first signal waveform. (1-3) Control Based on Transmission Mode Related to Spatial Multiplexing in Uplink As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is performed on the basis of the transmission mode related to the spatial multiplexing in the uplink. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on the transmission mode related to the spatial multiplexing set for the uplink communication. For example, in a case in which the transmission mode related to the spatial multiplexing set for the uplink communication is a mode in which multi-stream (multi-layer, spatial multiplexing) communication can be performed, the first signal waveform is used for the uplink communication. Further, in a case in which the transmission mode related to the spatial multiplexing set for the uplink communication is a mode in which only single stream (single layer, non-spatial multiplexing) communication is supported, the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform may be further set for the uplink communication, or it may be specified to use the second signal waveform. (1-4) Control Based on Transmission Time Interval Length (TTI Length) As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is performed on the basis of a TTI length. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on the TTI length used for the uplink communication. Here, the TTI length may be defined by a physical time length or may be defined by the number of OFDM symbols or the number of SC-FDMA symbols. For example, in a case in which the TTI length used for the uplink communication is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the first signal waveform is used for the uplink communication. The predetermined value is a value smaller than a length of a slot which is set or specified and is a value smaller than 7 or 14 symbols or a value smaller than 0.5 ms or 1 ms. In other words, in a case in which it is required to perform the uplink communication with low latency, the uplink communication may use the first signal waveform. Further, in a case in which the TTI length used for the uplink communication exceeds the predetermined value, the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform may be further set for the uplink communication, or it may be specified to use the second signal waveform. (1-5) Control Based on Transmission Mode Related to Schedule in Uplink As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is performed on the basis of the transmission mode related to a schedule in the uplink. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on the transmission mode related to a schedule set for the uplink communication. Here, the transmission mode related to the schedule in the uplink is a grant-based transmission mode and a non-grant-based transmission mode. In the grant-based transmission mode, each uplink communication is scheduled and performed on the basis of the uplink grant notified by the base station device1through the NR-PDCCH. Therefore, in the grant-based transmission mode, since collision does not occur with other uplink communication, highly reliable communication can be realized. In the non-grant-based transmission mode, the base station device1does not notify of the uplink grant for each uplink communication, and the terminal device2performs the uplink communication using uplink resources set by the RRC signaling. Therefore, even in a case in which uplink data occurs, the terminal device2can perform the uplink communication without waiting for the uplink grant from the base station device2. Further, in order to reduce collisions with other uplink communications, a non-orthogonal access scheme may be supported for the uplink communication. For example, in a case in which the transmission mode related to the schedule set for the uplink communication is the non-grant-based transmission mode, the first signal waveform is used for the uplink communication. This is a suitable method in a case in which the non-grant-based transmission mode is used for the URLLC. Further, in a case in which the transmission mode related to the schedule set for the uplink communication is the grant-based transmission mode, the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform may be further set for the uplink communication, or it may be specified to use the second signal waveform. For example, in a case in which the transmission mode related to the schedule set for the uplink communication is the non-grant-based transmission mode, the second signal waveform is used for the uplink communication. This is a suitable method in a case in which the non-grant-based transmission mode is used for the mMTC. Further, in a case in which the transmission mode related to the schedule set for the uplink communication is the grant-based transmission mode, the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform may be further set for the uplink communication, or it may be specified to use the first signal waveform. (1-6) Control Based on Type of Uplink Communication As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is performed on the basis of a type of uplink communication. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on the type of uplink communication. Here, the type of uplink communication includes uplink channels such as the NR-PRACH, the NR-PUCCH, and the NR-PUSCH and uplink signals such as the SRS and the DMRS. For example, in a case in which the type of uplink communication is the NR-PUCCH, the second signal waveform is used for the uplink communication. This is a method suitable for transmission of control information requiring high reliability. Further, in this case, it is desirable that the NR-PUCCH be transmitted through the non-self-contained frame. Further, in a case in which the type of uplink communication is the NR-PUSCH, the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform may be further set for the uplink communication, or it may be specified to use the first signal waveform. (1-7) Control Based on Modulation Scheme of Uplink Communication As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is performed on the basis of a modulation scheme of the uplink communication. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on the modulation scheme of the uplink communication. Here, the modulation scheme of the uplink communication includes a binary phase shift keying (BPSK), a quadrature PSK (QPSK), and a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). Further, the modulation scheme of the uplink communication includes a uniform constellation in which intervals of signal points are constant and a non-uniform constellation in which intervals of signal points are not constant. For example, in a case in which the uplink communication is a predetermined modulation scheme, the first signal waveform is used for the uplink communication. The predetermined modulation scheme is a modulation scheme with a high modulation level and is, for example, 256 QAM. Further, the predetermined modulation scheme is the non-uniform constellation. This is a method suitable for transmission requiring high transmission efficiency. In other words, the predetermined modulation scheme uses only the first signal waveform. Further, in a case in which the uplink communication is not the predetermined modulation scheme, the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform may be further set for the uplink communication, or it may be specified to use the second signal waveform. (1-8) Control Based on Frequency Band of Uplink Communication As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is performed on the basis of a frequency band of the uplink communication. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on the frequency band of the uplink communication. For example, in a case in which the frequency band of the uplink communication is equal to or larger than a predetermined value, the second signal waveform is used for the uplink communication. The predetermined value is a high frequency band, for example, 40 GHz. In other words, only the second signal waveform is used in a frequency band of the predetermined value or more. Further, in a case in which the frequency band of the uplink communication is less than the predetermined value, the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform may be further set for the uplink communication, or it may be specified to use the first signal waveform. (1-9) Control Based on CP Length in Uplink Communication As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is performed on the basis of a CP length in the uplink communication. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on the CP length in the uplink communication. Here, in NR, a plurality of CP length types can be supported in a predetermined subcarrier interval. For example, NR supports a first CP length and a second CP length. The first CP length and the second CP length are also referred to as a normal CP and an extended CP, respectively. In the first CP length, the CP length is specified such that one slot is constituted by seven symbols. In the second CP length, the CP length is specified such that one slot is constituted by six symbols. For example, in a case in which the uplink communication is the second CP length, the second signal waveform is used for the uplink communication. In other words, in the uplink communication in which the second CP length is used, only the second signal waveform is used. Further, in a case in which the uplink communication is the first CP length, the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform may be further set for the uplink communication, or it may be specified to use the first signal waveform. (1-10) Control Based on Predetermined Parameter in Uplink Communication As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is performed on the basis of a predetermined parameter in the uplink communication. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on a value of the predetermined parameter in the uplink communication. Here, the predetermined parameter includes a timing offset (Timing Advance Offset) of uplink transmission, a transmission mode related to repetitive transmission of uplink transmission, a RNTI to be set, and a transmission mode related to a transmission path of uplink transmission. For example, in a case in which the predetermined parameter is a first value or state in the uplink communication, a predetermined signal waveform is used for the uplink communication. In other words, in the case of the second signal waveform, only the first value or state is used as the predetermined parameter. Further, in a case in which the predetermined parameter is a second value or state in the uplink communication, the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform may be further set for the uplink communication, or it may be specified to use a signal waveform different from a predetermined signal waveform. For example, in the uplink communication, a range of a settable value of the timing offset of the uplink transmission is specified to be different between the first signal waveform and the second signal waveform. For example, in a case in which the predetermined parameter is the transmission mode related to the transmission path of the uplink transmission, it is specified that the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform is decided depending on whether or not the transmission path is a relay communication. (2) Specific Examples of Control Performed in Manner Specific to Terminal Device or Base Station Device in Dynamic Control Method of Uplink Signal Waveform Specific examples in a case in which control is performed in a manner specific to the terminal device or the base station device in the dynamic control method of the uplink signal waveform will be described. (2-1) Explicit Control Based on Uplink Grant for Uplink Communication As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is explicitly performed on the basis of the uplink grant for the uplink communication. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is explicitly decided depending on the DCI in the uplink grant. For example, a predetermined bit field includes signal waveform notification information indicating whether the uplink signal waveform for the uplink communication is the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform. The signal waveform notification information may be a single piece of information or may be joint-coded with other information. Further, in a case in which the predetermined bit field is not included in the uplink grant, the uplink communication may be set or specified to use a predetermined signal waveform. (2-2) Implicit Control Based on Uplink Grant for Uplink Communication As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is implicitly performed on the basis of the uplink grant for the uplink communication. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is explicitly decided depending on predetermined information in the DCI in the uplink grant. For example, in a case in which the predetermined information is a predetermined value, a predetermined signal waveform is used for the uplink communication. Further, in a case in which the predetermined information is not the predetermined value, a signal waveform different from the predetermined signal waveform is used for the uplink communication. For example, in a case in which a parameter such as modulation and coding scheme (MCS) or the like is schedule independently for two transport blocks in the DCI in the uplink grant, a predetermined parameter for a second transport block is implicitly notified with respect to the uplink signal waveform. Specifically, in a case in which the predetermined parameter for the second transport block is a predetermined value, the uplink communication uses the second signal waveform. In a case in which the predetermined parameter for the second transport block is not a predetermined value, the uplink communication uses the first signal waveform. Further, in a case in which the predetermined parameter is not used for the schedule of the second transport block, the uplink communication uses the second signal waveform. In a case in which that predetermined parameter is used for the schedule of the second transport block, the uplink communication uses the first signal waveform. This is because single stream communication can be performed in a case in which the second transport block is not scheduled, in this case, it is desirable to use the second signal waveform. (2-3) Control Based on DCI Format of Uplink Grant for the Uplink Communication As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is implicitly performed on the basis of a DCI format of the uplink grant for the uplink communication. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on the DCI format of the uplink grant for the uplink communication. For example, in a case in which certain uplink communication is scheduled in a first DCI format, the uplink communication is transmitted using the first signal waveform, and in a case in which certain uplink communication is scheduled in a second DCI format, the uplink communication is transmitted using the second signal waveform. For example, the first DCI format is a DCI format corresponding to the communication mode in which multi-stream communication can be performed, and the second DCI format is a DCI format corresponding to the communication mode in which only single stream communication can be performed. Further, the second DCI format is a DCI format used regardless of the communication mode to be set and can be used for the purpose of fallback. (2-4) Control Based on Search Space of Uplink Grant for Uplink Communication As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is implicitly performed on the basis of the search space of the uplink grant for the uplink communication. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on the search space in which the uplink grant for the uplink communication is detected. For example, in a case in which certain uplink grant for an uplink communication is detected in a first search space, the uplink communication is transmitted using the first signal waveform, and in a case in which certain uplink communication is detected in a second search space, the uplink communication is transmitted using the second signal waveform. For example, the first search space is a USS, and the second search space is a CSS. Further, the second search space is a search space that does not depend on a parameter specific to the terminal device and can be used for the purpose of fallback. (2-5) Control Based on Type of Frame Scheduled for Uplink Communication As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is implicitly performed on the basis of a type of frame scheduled for the uplink communication. In other words, the control of the uplink signal waveform is implicitly performed on the basis of the type of frame used for the uplink communication scheduled by the uplink grant. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on the type of frame scheduled for the uplink communication. For example, in a case in which the type of frame used for certain uplink communication is a first frame, the uplink communication is transmitted using the first signal waveform, and in a case in which the type of frame used for certain uplink communication is a second frame, the uplink communication is transmitted using the second signal waveform. For example, the first frame is an uplink sub frame, and the second frame is a special sub frame. This method is suitable for the non-self-contained frame. (2-6) Control Based on RNTI of Uplink Grant for Uplink Communication As one of the specific examples, the control of the uplink signal waveform is implicitly performed on the basis of an RNTI of the uplink grant for the uplink communication. For the uplink signal waveform, the uplink signal waveform to be used or the uplink signal waveform which can be set is implicitly decided depending on the RNTI used in the uplink grant for the uplink communication. For example, in a case in which the RNTI used in the uplink grant for certain uplink communication is a first RNTI, the uplink communication is transmitted using the first signal waveform, and in a case in which the RNTI used in the uplink grant for a certain uplink communication is a second RNTI, the uplink communication is sent using the second signal waveform. For example, the first RNTI is an RNTI specific to the terminal device, and the second RNTI is an RNTI independent of the terminal device. Further, the second RNTI is an RNTI specific to the base station device or a RNTI specified in advance and can be used for the purpose of fallback or broadcasting to a plurality of terminal devices. Criterion for Control of Uplink Signal Waveform in the Present Embodiment In the control of the uplink signal waveform, the base station device1can be controlled on the basis of various criteria. In one example of the criterion, the control is decided on the basis of a distance of the terminal device2from the base station device1. As a method of recognizing the distance, the base station device1can decide it using a path loss, a transmission power, a power headroom indicating the remaining power to the maximum power which the terminal device2can transmit, or the like. In one example of the criterion, the control is decided on the basis of a service of the base station device1and/or the terminal device2or a setting of a network. For example, it is decided in accordance with an eMBB, a URLLC, or an mMTC as a service requested or set in the terminal device2. Further, it is decided in accordance with information related to a network slice requested or set in the terminal device2. In one example of the criterion, the control is decided on the basis of terminal position information and/or zone information. For example, the terminal position information is information used for sidelink communication or road-to-vehicle communication. Further, the zone information may be defined by the number of transmission and reception points (TRPs) existing in the periphery thereof. In one example of the criterion, the control is decided on the basis of channel congestion information. For example, the channel congestion information is information related to a congestion degree within a predetermined resource measured by terminal device2, and the information can be reported to the base station device1. Further, the channel congestion information may be measured by the base station device1. Further, the uplink signal waveform may be controlled by terminal device2. For example, the terminal device2can decide the signal waveform depending on whether or not the maximum transmission power is exceeded or not. In this case, the base station device1can receive all the signal waveforms used by the terminal device2by performing the reception process. Application of Uplink Signal Waveform to Sidelink in the Present Embodiment The content described in the present embodiment can also be applied to sidelink communication. In a case in which NR supports a plurality of signal waveforms for sidelink communication, it can be controlled by the method described in the present embodiment. In other words, a sidelink signal waveform can be decided depending on a predetermined condition or situation. For example, as described above, the sidelink signal waveform supports the first signal waveform and the second signal waveform. In other words, in the description of the present embodiment, the uplink can be read as the sidelink. For example, the uplink communication and the uplink signal waveform can be read as sidelink communication and the sidelink signal waveform, respectively. In addition, the sidelink signal waveform can be set independently for each predetermined resource pool. Further, the sidelink signal waveform is decided on the basis of whether a resource (including a sub frame, a frame, a slot, a carrier, a resource block, or the like) used for the sidelink communication is a first resource or a second resource. For example, in a case in which the resource is a downlink resource as the first resource, the sidelink communication is transmitted using the first signal waveform, and in a case in which the resource is an uplink resource as the second resource, the sidelink communication is transmitted using the second signal waveform. Terminal Capability Information Related to Uplink Signal Waveform in the Present Embodiment In the present embodiment, the terminal device2can notify the base station device1of terminal capability information indicating functions or capabilities of the terminal device2. The base station device1can recognize the functions or the capabilities of the terminal device2on the basis of the terminal capability information, and uses it for settings and a schedule to the terminal device2. For example, the terminal capability information includes information indicating functions or capabilities related to the uplink signal waveform. In the present embodiment, predetermined terminal capability information can be independently set for each uplink signal waveform. For example, the predetermined terminal capability information is information related to support of simultaneous transmission of predetermined uplink communication. Specifically, the predetermined terminal capability information is information related to support of simultaneous transmission of the NR-PUCCH and the NR-PUSCH. Further, the terminal capability information can individually define information related to support of simultaneous transmission of the NR-PUCCH using the first signal waveform and the NR-PUSCH using the first signal waveform, information related to support of simultaneous transmission of the NR-PUCCH using the first signal waveform and the NR-PUSCH using the second signal waveform, information related to support of simultaneous transmission of the NR-PUCCH using the second signal waveform and the NR-PUSCH using the first signal waveform, and information related to support of simultaneous transmission of the NR-PUCCH using the second signal waveform and the NR-PUSCH using the second signal waveform. Further, similarly, the terminal device2supporting the sidelink communication can individually notify of information related to support of simultaneous transmission of the uplink communication and the sidelink communication for each signal waveform. Further, for example, predetermined terminal capability information is information related to support of discontinuous resource allocation. Specifically, a notification of information of whether or not the uplink communication (including the sidelink communication as well) supports the discontinuous resource allocation can be given individually for each signal waveform. Further, in a case in which the discontinuous allocation is supported, the terminal capability information can notify of the maximum number of clusters (resource division number). APPLICATION EXAMPLES The technology according to the present disclosure can be applied to various products. For example, the base station device1may be realized as any type of evolved Node B (eNB) such as a macro eNB or a small eNB. The small eNB may be an eNB that covers a cell, such as a pico eNB, a micro eNB, or a home (femto) eNB, smaller than a macro cell. Instead, the base station device1may be realized as another type of base station such as a Node B or a base transceiver station (BTS). The base station device1may include a main entity (also referred to as a base station device) that controls wireless communication and one or more remote radio heads (RRHs) disposed at different locations from the main entity. Further, various types of terminals to be described below may operate as the base station device1by performing a base station function temporarily or permanently. Further, for example, the terminal device2may be realized as a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, a portable/dongle mobile router or a digital camera, or an in-vehicle terminal such as a car navigation device. Further, the terminal device2may be realized as a terminal that performs machine to machine (M2M) communication (also referred to as a machine type communication (MTC) terminal). Moreover, the terminal device2may be a wireless communication module mounted on the terminal (for example, an integrated circuit module configured on one die). Application Examples for Base Station First Application Example FIG.19is a block diagram illustrating a first example of a schematic configuration of an eNB to which the technology according to the present disclosure may be applied. An eNB800includes one or more antennas810and a base station apparatus820. Each antenna810and the base station apparatus820may be connected to each other via an RF cable. Each of the antennas810includes a single or a plurality of antenna elements (e.g., a plurality of antenna elements constituting a MIMO antenna) and is used for the base station apparatus820to transmit and receive a wireless signal. The eNB800may include the plurality of the antennas810as illustrated inFIG.19, and the plurality of antennas810may, for example, correspond to a plurality of frequency bands used by the eNB800. It should be noted that whileFIG.19illustrates an example in which the eNB800includes the plurality of antennas810, the eNB800may include the single antenna810. The base station apparatus820includes a controller821, a memory822, a network interface823, and a wireless communication interface825. The controller821may be, for example, a CPU or a DSP, and operates various functions of an upper layer of the base station apparatus820. For example, the controller821generates a data packet from data in a signal processed by the wireless communication interface825, and transfers the generated packet via the network interface823. The controller821may generate a bundled packet by bundling data from a plurality of base band processors to transfer the generated bundled packet. Further, the controller821may also have a logical function of performing control such as radio resource control, radio bearer control, mobility management, admission control, and scheduling. Further, the control may be performed in cooperation with a surrounding eNB or a core network node. The memory822includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores a program executed by the controller821and a variety of control data (such as, for example, terminal list, transmission power data, and scheduling data). The network interface823is a communication interface for connecting the base station apparatus820to the core network824. The controller821may communicate with a core network node or another eNB via the network interface823. In this case, the eNB800may be connected to a core network node or another eNB through a logical interface (e.g., S1 interface or X2 interface). The network interface823may be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface for wireless backhaul. In the case where the network interface823is a wireless communication interface, the network interface823may use a higher frequency band for wireless communication than a frequency band used by the wireless communication interface825. The wireless communication interface825supports a cellular communication system such as long term evolution (LTE) or LTE-Advanced, and provides wireless connection to a terminal located within the cell of the eNB800via the antenna810. The wireless communication interface825may typically include a base band (BB) processor826, an RF circuit827, and the like. The BB processor826may, for example, perform encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, multiplexing/demultiplexing, and the like, and performs a variety of signal processing on each layer (e.g., L1, medium access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)). The BB processor826may have part or all of the logical functions as described above instead of the controller821. The BB processor826may be a module including a memory having a communication control program stored therein, a processor to execute the program, and a related circuit, and the function of the BB processor826may be changeable by updating the program. Further, the module may be a card or blade to be inserted into a slot of the base station apparatus820, or a chip mounted on the card or the blade. Meanwhile, the RF circuit827may include a mixer, a filter, an amplifier, and the like, and transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna810. The wireless communication interface825may include a plurality of the BB processors826as illustrated inFIG.19, and the plurality of BB processors826may, for example, correspond to a plurality of frequency bands used by the eNB800. Further, the wireless communication interface825may also include a plurality of the RF circuits827, as illustrated inFIG.19, and the plurality of RF circuits827may, for example, correspond to a plurality of antenna elements. Note thatFIG.19illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface825includes the plurality of BB processors826and the plurality of RF circuits827, but the wireless communication interface825may include the single BB processor826or the single RF circuit827. Second Application Example FIG.20is a block diagram illustrating a second example of a schematic configuration of an eNB to which the technology according to the present disclosure may be applied. An eNB830includes one or more antennas840, a base station apparatus850, and an RRH860. Each of the antennas840and the RRH860may be connected to each other via an RF cable. Further, the base station apparatus850and the RRH860may be connected to each other by a high speed line such as optical fiber cables. Each of the antennas840includes a single or a plurality of antenna elements (e.g., antenna elements constituting a MIMO antenna), and is used for the RRH860to transmit and receive a wireless signal. The eNB830may include a plurality of the antennas840as illustrated inFIG.20, and the plurality of antennas840may, for example, correspond to a plurality of frequency bands used by the eNB830. Note thatFIG.20illustrates an example in which the eNB830includes the plurality of antennas840, but the eNB830may include the single antenna840. The base station apparatus850includes a controller851, a memory852, a network interface853, a wireless communication interface855, and a connection interface857. The controller851, the memory852, and the network interface853are similar to the controller821, the memory822, and the network interface823described with reference toFIG.19. The wireless communication interface855supports a cellular communication system such as LTE and LTE-Advanced, and provides wireless connection to a terminal located in a sector corresponding to the RRH860via the RRH860and the antenna840. The wireless communication interface855may typically include a BB processor856or the like. The BB processor856is similar to the BB processor826described with reference toFIG.19except that the BB processor856is connected to an RF circuit864of the RRH860via the connection interface857. The wireless communication interface855may include a plurality of the BB processors856, as illustrated inFIG.20, and the plurality of BB processors856may, for example, correspond to a plurality of frequency bands used by the eNB830. Note thatFIG.19illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface855includes the plurality of BB processors856, but the wireless communication interface855may include the single BB processor856. The connection interface857is an interface for connecting the base station apparatus850(wireless communication interface855) to the RRH860. The connection interface857may be a communication module for communication on the high speed line which connects the base station apparatus850(wireless communication interface855) to the RRH860. Further, the RRH860includes a connection interface861and a wireless communication interface863. The connection interface861is an interface for connecting the RRH860(wireless communication interface863) to the base station apparatus850. The connection interface861may be a communication module for communication on the high speed line. The wireless communication interface863transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna840. The wireless communication interface863may typically include the RF circuit864or the like. The RF circuit864may include a mixer, a filter, an amplifier and the like, and transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna840. The wireless communication interface863may include a plurality of the RF circuits864as illustrated inFIG.20, and the plurality of RF circuits864may, for example, correspond to a plurality of antenna elements. Note thatFIG.20illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface863includes the plurality of RF circuits864, but the wireless communication interface863may include the single RF circuit864. The eNB800, the eNB830, the base station apparatus820, or the base station apparatus850illustrated inFIGS.20and21may correspond to the base station device1described with reference toFIG.8and the like. Application Examples for Terminal Device First Application Example FIG.21is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone900to which the technology according to the present disclosure may be applied. The smartphone900includes a processor901, a memory902, a storage903, an external connection interface904, a camera906, a sensor907, a microphone908, an input device909, a display device910, a speaker911, a wireless communication interface912, one or more antenna switches915, one or more antennas916, a bus917, a battery918, and an auxiliary controller919. The processor901may be, for example, a CPU or a system on chip (SoC), and controls the functions of an application layer and other layers of the smartphone900. The memory902includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores a program executed by the processor901and data. The storage903may include a storage medium such as semiconductor memories and hard disks. The external connection interface904is an interface for connecting the smartphone900to an externally attached device such as memory cards and universal serial bus (USB) devices. The camera906includes, for example, an image sensor such as charge coupled devices (CCDs) and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), and generates a captured image. The sensor907may include a sensor group including, for example, a positioning sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor and the like. The microphone908converts a sound that is input into the smartphone900to an audio signal. The input device909includes, for example, a touch sensor which detects that a screen of the display device910is touched, a key pad, a keyboard, a button, a switch or the like, and accepts an operation or an information input from a user. The display device910includes a screen such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, and displays an output image of the smartphone900. The speaker911converts the audio signal that is output from the smartphone900to a sound. The wireless communication interface912supports a cellular communication system such as LTE or LTE-Advanced, and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface912may typically include the BB processor913, the RF circuit914, and the like. The BB processor913may, for example, perform encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, multiplexing/demultiplexing, and the like, and performs a variety of types of signal processing for wireless communication. On the other hand, the RF circuit914may include a mixer, a filter, an amplifier, and the like, and transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna916. The wireless communication interface912may be a one-chip module in which the BB processor913and the RF circuit914are integrated. The wireless communication interface912may include a plurality of BB processors913and a plurality of RF circuits914as illustrated inFIG.21. Note thatFIG.21illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface912includes a plurality of BB processors913and a plurality of RF circuits914, but the wireless communication interface912may include a single BB processor913or a single RF circuit914. Further, the wireless communication interface912may support other types of wireless communication system such as a short range wireless communication system, a near field communication system, and a wireless local area network (LAN) system in addition to the cellular communication system, and in this case, the wireless communication interface912may include the BB processor913and the RF circuit914for each wireless communication system. Each antenna switch915switches a connection destination of the antenna916among a plurality of circuits (for example, circuits for different wireless communication systems) included in the wireless communication interface912. Each of the antennas916includes one or more antenna elements (for example, a plurality of antenna elements constituting a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmission and reception of the wireless signal by the wireless communication interface912. The smartphone900may include a plurality of antennas916as illustrated inFIG.21. Note thatFIG.21illustrates an example in which the smartphone900includes a plurality of antennas916, but the smartphone900may include a single antenna916. Further, the smartphone900may include the antenna916for each wireless communication system. In this case, the antenna switch915may be omitted from a configuration of the smartphone900. The bus917connects the processor901, the memory902, the storage903, the external connection interface904, the camera906, the sensor907, the microphone908, the input device909, the display device910, the speaker911, the wireless communication interface912, and the auxiliary controller919to each other. The battery918supplies electric power to each block of the smartphone900illustrated inFIG.21via a feeder line that is partially illustrated in the figure as a dashed line. The auxiliary controller919, for example, operates a minimally necessary function of the smartphone900in a sleep mode. Second Application Example FIG.22is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation apparatus920to which the technology according to the present disclosure may be applied. The car navigation apparatus920includes a processor921, a memory922, a global positioning system (GPS) module924, a sensor925, a data interface926, a content player927, a storage medium interface928, an input device929, a display device930, a speaker931, a wireless communication interface933, one or more antenna switches936, one or more antennas937, and a battery938. The processor921may be, for example, a CPU or an SoC, and controls the navigation function and the other functions of the car navigation apparatus920. The memory922includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores a program executed by the processor921and data. The GPS module924uses a GPS signal received from a GPS satellite to measure the position (e.g., latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the car navigation apparatus920. The sensor925may include a sensor group including, for example, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, a barometric sensor and the like. The data interface926is, for example, connected to an in-vehicle network941via a terminal that is not illustrated, and acquires data such as vehicle speed data generated on the vehicle side. The content player927reproduces content stored in a storage medium (e.g., CD or DVD) inserted into the storage medium interface928. The input device929includes, for example, a touch sensor which detects that a screen of the display device930is touched, a button, a switch or the like, and accepts operation or information input from a user. The display device930includes a screen such as LCDs and OLED displays, and displays an image of the navigation function or the reproduced content. The speaker931outputs a sound of the navigation function or the reproduced content. The wireless communication interface933supports a cellular communication system such as LTE or LTE-Advanced, and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface933may typically include the BB processor934, the RF circuit935, and the like. The BB processor934may, for example, perform encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, multiplexing/demultiplexing, and the like, and performs a variety of types of signal processing for wireless communication. On the other hand, the RF circuit935may include a mixer, a filter, an amplifier, and the like, and transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna937. The wireless communication interface933may be a one-chip module in which the BB processor934and the RF circuit935are integrated. The wireless communication interface933may include a plurality of BB processors934and a plurality of RF circuits935as illustrated inFIG.22. Note thatFIG.22illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface933includes a plurality of BB processors934and a plurality of RF circuits935, but the wireless communication interface933may include a single BB processor934or a single RF circuit935. Further, the wireless communication interface933may support other types of wireless communication system such as a short range wireless communication system, a near field communication system, and a wireless LAN system in addition to the cellular communication system, and in this case, the wireless communication interface933may include the BB processor934and the RF circuit935for each wireless communication system. Each antenna switch936switches a connection destination of the antenna937among a plurality of circuits (for example, circuits for different wireless communication systems) included in the wireless communication interface933. Each of the antennas937includes one or more antenna elements (for example, a plurality of antenna elements constituting a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmission and reception of the wireless signal by the wireless communication interface933. The car navigation apparatus920may include a plurality of antennas937as illustrated inFIG.22. Note thatFIG.22illustrates an example in which the car navigation apparatus920includes a plurality of antennas937, but the car navigation apparatus920may include a single antenna937. Further, the car navigation apparatus920may include the antenna937for each wireless communication system. In this case, the antenna switch936may be omitted from a configuration of the car navigation apparatus920. The battery938supplies electric power to each block of the car navigation apparatus920illustrated inFIG.22via a feeder line that is partially illustrated in the figure as a dashed line. Further, the battery938accumulates the electric power supplied from the vehicle. The technology of the present disclosure may also be realized as an in-vehicle system (or a vehicle)940including one or more blocks of the car navigation apparatus920, the in-vehicle network941, and a vehicle module942. The vehicle module942generates vehicle data such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and trouble information, and outputs the generated data to the in-vehicle network941. Further, the effects described in this specification are merely illustrative or exemplified effects, and are not limitative. That is, with or in the place of the above effects, the technology according to the present disclosure may achieve other effects that are clear to those skilled in the art from the description of this specification. Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.(1)A terminal device configured to perform communication with a base station device, including:a wireless transmitting unit configured to transmit an uplink channel using a first signal waveform or a second signal waveform on the basis of control information notified by the base station device,in which the first signal waveform is a multicarrier signal, and the second signal waveform is a single carrier signal.(2)The terminal device according to (1), in which the control information is information related to a frame configuration used for transmission of the uplink channel, andthe wireless transmitting unit decides the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform on the basis of the frame configuration.(3)The terminal device according to (1) or (2), in which the control information is information related to a subcarrier interval used for transmission of the uplink channel, andthe wireless transmitting unit decides the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform on the basis of the subcarrier interval.(4)The terminal device according to any one of (1) to (3), in which the control information is information related to a transmission mode related to spatial multiplexing in transmission of the uplink channel, andthe wireless transmitting unit decides the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform on the basis of the transmission mode related to the spatial multiplexing.(5)The terminal device according to any one of (1) to (4), in which the control information is information related to a transmission time interval length in transmission of the uplink channel, andthe wireless transmitting unit decides the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform on the basis of the transmission time interval length.(6)The terminal device according to any one of (1) to (5), in which the control information is information related to a transmission mode related to a schedule in transmission of the uplink channel, andthe wireless transmitting unit decides the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform on the basis of the transmission mode related to the schedule.(7)The terminal device according to any one of (1) to (6), in which the control information is information related to a frequency band used for transmission of the uplink channel, andthe wireless transmitting unit decides the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform on the basis of the frequency band.(8)The terminal device according to any one of (1) to (7), in which the control information is signal waveform notification information indicating whether a signal waveform for the uplink channel is a first signal waveform or a second signal waveform,the signal waveform notification information is included in allocation information of a physical layer used for allocation of the uplink channel and notified, andthe wireless transmitting unit decides the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform on the basis of the signal waveform notification information.(9)The terminal device according to any one of (1) to (8), in which the control information is allocation information of a physical layer used for allocation of the uplink channel, andthe wireless transmitting unit decides the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform on the basis of a format of the allocation information.(10)The terminal device according to any one of (1) to (9), in which the control information is allocation information of a physical layer used for allocation of the uplink channel, andthe wireless transmitting unit decides the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform on the basis of a search space in which the allocation information is detected.(11)The terminal device according to any one of (1) to (10), in which the wireless transmitting unit decides the first signal waveform or the second signal waveform on the basis of a type of frame used for transmission of the uplink channel.(12)A base station device configured to perform communication with a terminal device, including:a wireless receiving unit configured to receive an uplink channel transmitted using a first signal waveform or a second signal waveform on the basis of control information of which the terminal device is notified,in which the first signal waveform is a multicarrier signal, and the second signal waveform is a single carrier signal.(13)A communication method used in a terminal device configured to perform communication with a base station device, including:a step of transmitting an uplink channel using a first signal waveform or a second signal waveform on the basis of control information notified by the base station device,in which the first signal waveform is a multicarrier signal, and the second signal waveform is a single carrier signal.(14)A communication method used in a base station device configured to perform communication with a terminal device, including:a step of receiving an uplink channel transmitted using a first signal waveform or a second signal waveform on the basis of control information of which the terminal device is notified,in which the first signal waveform is a multicarrier signal, and the second signal waveform is a single carrier signal. REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1base station device101higher layer processing unit1011setting unit1013communication control unit103control unit105receiving unit1051decoding unit1053demodulating unit1055demultiplexing unit1057wireless receiving unit1059channel measuring unit107transmitting unit1071encoding unit1073modulating unit1075multiplexing unit1077wireless transmitting unit1079downlink reference signal generating unit109transceiving antenna2terminal device201higher layer processing unit2011setting unit2013communication control unit203control unit205receiving unit2051decoding unit2053demodulating unit2055demultiplexing unit2057wireless receiving unit2059channel measuring unit207transmitting unit2071encoding unit2073modulating unit2075multiplexing unit2077wireless transmitting unit2079uplink reference signal generating unit209transceiving antenna | 150,988 |
11943780 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION In order to understand the features and technical content of the embodiments of the present disclosure in more detail, implementations of embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are for reference and explanation purposes only and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure. Before describing the embodiments of the present disclosure in detail, a brief description of a PDCCH is given first. In the NR system, the terminal device needs to detect the PDCCH to obtain Downlink Control Information (DCI). Before the terminal device detects the PDCCH, it needs to receive an SS configuration and detect the PDCCH based on the SS configuration. If the detection of the PDCCH is to be changed, the network device needs to reconfigure the SS of the terminal device through Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. Moreover, since the PDCCH serves the data service of the terminal device, and the data service has a bursty property, when a large amount of data arrives, the terminal device is expected to detect the PDCCH more frequently to realize timely scheduling of the data service, and when the data service is inactive, the terminal device is expected to reduce PDCCH detection opportunity so as to save power. Changing the PDCCH detection opportunity requires the network device to reconfigure the terminal device through the RRC signaling, and thus such method for detecting the PDCCH is not flexible enough. In order to detect the PDCCH flexibly, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the DCI or Media Access Control (MAC) Customer Edge (CE) is used for dynamical activation or deactivation, or the SS of the terminal device is switched, for example, between the SSs of different periods so as to save power. However, all of these methods control the terminal device to switch the SS through downlink signaling, which increases the signaling overhead. In view of the above problems, the present disclosure provides a physical downlink control channel detection method, which can be applied to various communication systems, such as a Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, a LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, a 5G system, etc. For example, a communication system to which the embodiments of the present disclosure are applied is as shown inFIG.1. The communication system100may include a network device110which may be a device that communicates with a terminal device120(or referred to as a communication terminal or a terminal). The network device110can provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area, and can communicate with terminal devices located in the coverage area. Optionally, the network device110can be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in a GSM system or a CDMA system, a NodeB (NB) in a WCDMA system, an Evolutional Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in a LTE system, or a wireless controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN). Optionally, the network device can be a mobile switching center, a relay station, an access point, an on-board device, a wearable device, a hub, a switch, a bridge, a router, a network side device in a 5G network, a network device in future evolutional Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), or the like. The communication system100also includes at least one terminal device120located within the coverage range of the network device110. As used herein, the terminal device includes, but is not limited to, a device configured to receive/send communication signals and/or an Internet of Things (IoT) device, which may be connected with another device via wired lines, such as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), digital cables, and direct cable connections; via another data connection/network; and/or via a wireless interface, such as cellular networks, wireless local area networks (WLAN), digital TV networks such as DVB-H networks, satellite networks, and a AM-FM broadcast transmitter. A terminal device configured to communicate through a wireless interface may be referred to as a “wireless communication terminal”, a “wireless terminal” or a “mobile terminal”. Examples of the mobile terminal include but are not limited to satellite or cellular phones; Personal Communications System (PCS) terminals that can combine cellular radio phones with data processing, fax, and data communication capabilities; PDAs that may include radio phones, pagers, Internet/intranet access, Web browsers, memo pads, calendars, and/or Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers; and conventional laptop and/or palmtop receivers or other electronic devices including radio telephone transceivers. The terminal device may refer to access terminals, User Equipment (UE), user units, user stations, mobile stations, mobile sites, remote stations, remote terminals, mobile equipment, user terminals, terminals, wireless communication equipment, user agents, or user devices. The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), and wireless communication functional handheld devices, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks, terminal devices in the future evolution of PLMN, or the like. Optionally, Device to Device (D2D) communication may be performed between the terminal devices120. Optionally, the 5G system or 5G network may also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) system or NR network. FIG.1exemplarily shows one network device and two terminal devices. Optionally, the communication system100may include multiple network devices, and other numbers of terminal devices can be included in the coverage of each network device, which are not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Optionally, the communication system100may also include other network entities such as a network controller and a mobility management entity, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the device with a communication function in the network and/or system of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be referred to as the communication device. Taking the communication system100shown inFIG.1as an example, the communication device may include a network device110and terminal devices120which have the communication function. The network device110and the terminal devices120may be the specific devices as described above, which will not be repeated here. The communication device may also include other devices in the communication system100, such as a network controller, a mobility management entity, and other network entities, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.2, an optional processing flow of a physical downlink control channel detection method applied to a terminal device provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure includes the following steps. In step201, a terminal device sends control information to a network device. In some embodiments, the control information explicitly indicates an SS used for the terminal device to detect a PDCCH. In some other embodiments, the control information is an SR. In still other embodiments, the control information is a BSR. In still other embodiments, the control information is the SR and the BSR. In step S202, the terminal device determines an SS based on the control information. In some embodiments, when the control information explicitly indicates the SS used for the terminal device to detect the PDCCH, the terminal device determines the SS indicated in the control information as the SS used for the terminal device to detect the PDCCH. In some other embodiments, the control information is an SR, the SR is signaling for a terminal device to request scheduling resources from a network device, and the SR is carried by a PUCCH. Each SR configuration is associated with one or more logical channels, each logical channel is mapped to zero or one SR configuration, and the SR configuration is configured through the RRC signaling. The network device configures Logical Channel Configuration information elements for the terminal device through the RRC signaling. The Logical Channel Configuration includes a SR ID information element, which includes a SR Resource ID for indicating PUCCH resources for transmission of the SR. In specific implementations, the SR is associated with at least one logical channel, and different logical channels have different delay requirements. A first mapping relationship between the logical channel and the SS is pre-configured, as shown in Table 1 below. The terminal device determines the SS based on the logic channel associated with the SR. TABLE 1ID of logicalchannelassociatedCorrespondingwith SRSS1SS 12SS 23SS 3 In configuring the mapping relationship between the logical channel and the SS, the delay requirement of the logical channel can be used as a reference factor. For example, a logical channel with a high delay requirement corresponds to an SS with a short period. Taking Table 1 as an example, the delay of the logical channel with ID 1 is less than the delay of the logical channel with ID 2, and the delay of the logical channel with ID 2 is less than the delay of the logical channel with ID 3. Accordingly, the period of SS1 is less than the period of SS2, and the period of SS2 is less than the period of SS3. Herein, in Table 1, the mapping relationship between logical channel ID and the SS is taken as an example, and in practical applications, it is also possible to configure the mapping relationship between a combination of the logical channels and the SS. For example, the logical channel combination of the logical channels with IDs 1 and 2 corresponds to SS1. It is also possible to use other forms that can characterize the mapping relationship between the logical channel ID and the SS. Alternatively, in specific implementations, the terminal device determines the SS according to the number of SRs sent at one time. A second mapping relationship between the number of SRs sent at one time and the SS is established in advance, as shown in Table 2 below. The terminal device determines the SS based on the number of SRs sent at one time. TABLE 2NumberCorrespondingof SRsSS1SS 12SS 23SS 3 In Table 2, when the number of SRs sent by the terminal device at one time is 1, the terminal device switches the SS to SS1; when the number of SRs sent by the terminal device at one time is 2, the terminal device switches the SS to SS2; and when the number of SRs sent by the terminal device at one time is 3, the terminal device switches the SS to SS3. Alternatively, in specific implementations, the terminal device determines the SS according to the number of times of sending the SR within a preset period of time. A third mapping relationship between the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time and the SS is established in advance, as shown in Table 3 below. The terminal device determines the SS based on the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time. TABLE 3Level indexof numberof timesof sendingCorrespondingthe SRSS1SS 12SS 23SS 3 In Table 3, based on the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time, the number of times of sending the SR is divided into different levels of numbers of times of sending the SR, a corresponding index is configured for a level of the number of times of sending the SR, and a correspondence between the level index of the number of times of sending the SR and the SS is established. When the level index of the number of times of sending the SR is 1, the terminal device switches the SS to SS1; when the level index of the number of times of sending the SR is 2, the terminal device switches the SS to SS2; and when the level index of the number of times of sending the SR is 3, the terminal device switches the target SS to SS3. Alternatively, in specific implementations, the terminal device determines the SS based on at least two of the following: the at least one logical channel associated with the SR, the number of SRs sent at one time, and the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time. It can be understood that two or three factors among the at least one logical channel associated with the SR, the number of SRs sent at one time, and the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time can be used as a reference basis for determining the SS. For example, the SS can be determined only when the number of SRs sent at one time meets a first preset condition and the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time meets a second preset condition. As an example, the at least one logical channel associated with the SR and the number of SRs sent at one time can also be collectively used as the reference basis for determining the SS, or the at least one logical channel associated with the SR and the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time can be collectively used as the reference basis for determining the SS. Alternatively, in specific implementations, the terminal device determines at least two candidate SSs based on the logical channel associated with the SR, and determines the SS from the at least two candidate SSs according to the number of SRs sent at one time. Alternatively, in specific implementations, the terminal device determines the at least two candidate SSs based on the logical channel associated with the SR, and determines the SS from the at least two candidate SSs according to the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time. It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, only the number of SRs sent by the terminal device at one time and the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time are taken as examples to illustrate that the terminal device determines the SS based on the SR. In practical applications, the terminal device can also determine the SS based on other information presented by the SR. In still other embodiments, when the control information is the BSR, the BSR is used for the terminal device to notify the network device of the amount of uplink data to be sent.FIG.3ais a schematic structural diagram showing a short BSR, andFIG.3bis a schematic structural diagram showing a long BSR. The terminal device needs to request the network device to schedule resources for sending the BSR through the SR before sending the BSR through the PUSCH. The content of the BSR includes a Logic Channel Group Identity (LCG ID) and a buffer size corresponding to the LCG ID. In specific implementations, a fourth mapping relationship between the LCG ID and the SS is pre-configured, as shown in Table 4 below. The terminal device determines the SS according to the LCG ID in the BSR. TABLE 4LCG IDassociatedCorrespondingwith BSRSS1SS 12SS 23SS 3 In Table 4, when the LCG ID associated with the BSR is 1, the terminal device switches the SS to SS1; when the LCG ID associated with the BSR is 2, the terminal device switches the SS to SS2; and when the LCG ID associated with the BSR is 3, the terminal device switches the SS to SS3. Alternatively, in specific implementations, a fifth mapping relationship between the buffer size included in the BSR and the SS is pre-configured, as shown in Table 5 below, and the terminal device determines the SS according to the buffer size in the BSR. TABLE 5Buffer SizeCorrespondingLevel (index)SS1SS 12SS 23SS 3 In Table 5, based on the buffer size, the buffer size is divided into different buffer size levels, and a corresponding index is configured for each buffer size level so as to establish a correspondence between the buffer size level index and the SS. When the buffer size level index corresponding to the buffer size is 1, the terminal device switches the SS to SS1; when the buffer size level index corresponding to the buffer size is 2, the terminal device switches the SS to SS2; and when the buffer size level index corresponding to the buffer size is 3, the terminal device switches the SS to SS3. Herein, the greater the buffer size or the buffer size level index is, the shorter the period of the corresponding SS is. Alternatively, in specific implementations, the terminal device determines the SS based on the logical channel group identity and the buffer size included in the BSR. For example, when the logical channel group identity included in the BSR corresponds to SS1 and the buffer size meets a third preset condition, it is determined to switch to SS1. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the buffer size level index can be configured based on Table 6. TABLE 6IndexBS value001≤102≤143≤204≤285≤386≤537≤748≤1029≤14210≤19811≤27612≤38413≤53514≤74515≤103816≤144617≤201418≤280619<390920≤544621≤758722≤1057023≤1472624≤2051625≤2858126≤3981827≤5547428≤7728429≤10766930≤15000031>150000 In still other embodiments, when the control information is the SR and BSR, the terminal device may first determine the candidate SSs according to the SR, and then determine the SS in the candidate SSs according to the BSR. For example, the SR is associated with two logical channels, and the two logical channels associated with the SR correspond to two SSs. In this case, the terminal device determines the SSs corresponding to the two logical channels as the candidate SSs. The terminal device then selects an SS from the two candidate SSs according to the BSR. If the buffer size in the BSR is relative large, the terminal device determines the SS corresponding to the logical channel with a higher delay requirement in the two candidate SSs as a final SS. Of course, the terminal device can also determine the candidate SSs according to the number of SRs sent at one time, the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time length, or the like, and can select an SS among the candidate SSs according to the buffer size or LCG ID in the BSR. In some other embodiments, the terminal device determines the SS based on at least one of: the at least one logical channel associated with the SR, the number of SRs sent at one time, and the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time, and based on the at least one of the logical channel group identity and the buffer size included in the BSR. For example, the SS can be determined only when the number of SRs sent at one time meets the first preset condition and the buffer size included in the BSR meets a fourth preset condition. As an example, the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time and the buffer size included in the BSR may also be used collectively as the reference basis for determining the SS. The number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time and the logical channel group identity included in the BSR may also be used collectively as the reference basis for determining the SS. There are various parameter combinations that can be used for determining the SS based on the BSR and SR, which are not listed herein. It should be noted that the first mapping relationship, the second mapping relationship, the third mapping relationship, the fourth mapping relationship, and the fifth mapping relationship in the embodiments of the present disclosure are all predefined or pre-configured by the network device, and are known to both the terminal device and the network device. The first mapping relationship, the second mapping relationship, the third mapping relationship, the fourth mapping relationship, and the fifth mapping relationship in the embodiments of the present disclosure may also be carried in the configuration information of the SS. For example, at least one of the buffer size level, the number of SRs sent by the terminal device at one time, the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time, LC ID, and LCG ID is added to the configuration information of the SS. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the control information is used not only for the terminal device to determine the SS, but also for the network device to determine the SS. Optionally, the terminal device and the network device negotiate or determine in advance based on which one or two of the first mapping relationship, the second mapping relationship, the third mapping relationship, the fourth mapping relationship, and the fifth mapping relationship the SS is to be determined. Optionally, after step S202is performed, the method further includes:step S203of detecting, by the terminal device, a PDCCH based on the SS. As shown inFIG.4, an optional processing flow of a physical downlink control channel detection method applied to a network device provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure includes the following steps. In step S301, the network device receives control information. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the explanation of the control information is the same as that in the foregoing step S201, which will not be repeated here. In step S302, the network device determines an SS based on the control information. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the specific implementation for the network device to determine the SS based on the control information is the same as the specific implementation for the terminal device to determine the SS based on the control information in step S202, which will not be repeated here. Optionally, after step S302is performed, the method further includes:step S303of sending, by the network device, a PDCCH based on the SS. An optional process of a physical downlink control channel detection method applied to a communication system including a terminal device and a network device provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure includes the following steps. In step a, the terminal device sends control information to the network device. In step b, the terminal device and the network device determine an SS based on the control information. Optionally, the terminal device and the network device can negotiate or determine in advance based on which one or two of the first mapping relationship, the second mapping relationship, the third mapping relationship, the fourth mapping relationship, and the fifth mapping relationship the SS is to be determined. In step c, the network device sends a PDCCH based on the SS. In step d, the terminal device detects the PDCCH based on the SS. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal device determines the SS used for detection of the PDCCH based on the SR and/or BSR without the reconfiguration of the SS of the terminal device through the RRC signaling, thereby realizing the detection of different PDCCHs. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the SS is required to be switched so as to detect different PDCCHs, no RRC signaling interaction between the network device and the terminal device is required, which not only reduces the signaling overhead, but also realizes flexible configuration of the SS. The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a terminal device. As shown inFIG.5, a composition structure of the terminal device400includes:a sending unit401configured to send control information to a network device; anda first processing unit402configured to determine an SS based on the control information, where the SS is used for the terminal device to detect a PDCCH. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the control information is an SR, the SR is associated with at least one logical channel, and the first processing unit402is configured to determine the SS based on the logical channel by the terminal device. Alternatively, the first processing unit402is configured to determine the SS based on the number of SRs sent at one time. Alternatively, the first processing unit402is configured to determine the SS based on the number of times of sending the SR within a preset period of time. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the control information is a BSR, the first processing unit402is configured to determine the SS based on a logical channel group identity included in the BSR. Alternatively, the first processing unit402is configured to determine the SS based on a buffer size included in the BSR. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the control information is the SR and the BSR, the first processing unit402is configured to determine the SS based on the SR and the BSR. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first processing unit402is configured to determine, as the SS, an SS indicated in the control information. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first processing unit402is configured to determine the SS based on at least two of: the at least one logical channel associated with the SR, the number of SRs sent at one time, and the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first processing unit402is configured to determine the SS based on the logical channel group identity and the buffer size included in the BSR. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first processing unit402is configured to determine the SS based on at least one of: the at least one logical channel associated with the SR, the number of SRs sent at one time, and the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time, and based on at least one of the logical channel group identity and the buffer size included in the BSR. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the control information is further used for the network device to determine the SS. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first processing unit402is further configured to perform PDCCH detection based on the determined SS. The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a network device. As shown inFIG.6, a composition structure of a network device500includes:a receiving unit501configured to receive control information; anda second processing unit502configured to determine an SS based on the control information, where the SS is used for the network device to send a PDCCH. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the control information is an SR, the SR is associated with at least one logical channel, and the second processing unit502is configured to determine the SS based on the logical channel. Alternatively, the second processing unit502is configured to determine the SS based on the number of SRs sent at one time. Alternatively, the second processing unit502is configured to determine the SS based on the number of times of sending the SR within a preset period of time. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the control information is a BSR, the second processing unit502is configured to determine the SS based on a logical channel group identity included in the BSR. Alternatively, the second processing unit502is configured to determine the SS based on a buffer size included in the BSR. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the control information is the SR and BSR, the second processing unit502is configured to determine the SS based on the SR and the BSR. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the second processing unit502is configured to determine the SS based on at least two of: the at least one logical channel associated with the SR, the number of SRs sent at one time, and the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the second processing unit502is configured to determine the SS based on the logical channel group identity and the buffer size included in the BSR. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the second processing unit502is configured to determine the SS based on at least one of: the at least one logical channel associated with the SR, the number of SRs sent at one time, and the number of times of sending the SR within the preset period of time, and based on at least one of the logical channel group identity and the buffer size included in the BSR. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the second processing unit502is configured to determine, as the SS, an SS indicated in the control information. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the control information is further used for the terminal device to determine the SS. The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a terminal device, including a processor and a memory for storing a computer program that can run on the processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer program to perform the steps of the above method for determining the slot format performed by the terminal device. The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a network device, including a processor and a memory for storing a computer program that can run on the processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer program to perform the steps of the above method for determining the slot format performed by the network device. FIG.7is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of an electronic device (a network device or a terminal device) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device700includes at least one processor701, a memory702, and at least one network interface704. The various components in the electronic device700are coupled together through a bus system705. It can be understood that the bus system705is used for connection and communication between these components. In addition to a data bus, the bus system705includes a power bus, a control bus, and a state signal bus. However, various buses are marked as the bus system705inFIG.7for the sake of clear description. It can be understood that the memory702may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both the volatile and non-volatile memories. The non-volatile memory can be a ROM, a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a Ferromagnetic Random Access Memory (FRAM), a flash memory, a magnetic surface memory, an optical disk, or a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM). The magnetic surface memory can be a disk storage or a tape storage. The volatile memory may be a Random Access Memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of exemplary but not restrictive description, various forms of RAMs are available, such as a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a Synchronous Static Random Access Memory (SSRAM), a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), a Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), a Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (DDRSDRAM), an Enhanced Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (ESDRAM), a SyncLink Dynamic Random Access Memory (SLDRAM), and a Direct Rambus Random Access Memory (DRRAM). The memory702described in the embodiments of the present disclosure is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories. The memory702in the embodiments of the present disclosure is used to store various types of data to support the operation of the electronic device700. Examples of the data include any computer program operating on the electronic device700, such as an application program7022. The program for implementing the methods of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be included in the application program7022. The methods disclosed in the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in the processor701or implemented by the processor701. The processor701may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementations, the steps of the foregoing methods can be carried out by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor701or instructions in the form of software. The aforementioned processor701may be a general-purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates, transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, and the like. The processor701may implement or perform various methods, steps, and logical blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be directly embodied as being performed and completed by a hardware decoding processor, or performed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules may be located in a storage medium, and the storage medium is located in the memory702. The processor701reads information in the memory702and carries out the steps of the foregoing methods in combination with its hardware. In an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device700may be implemented by one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), DSPs, programmable logic devices (PLDs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), FPGAs, general-purpose processors, controllers, MCUs, MPUs, or other electronic components to perform the aforementioned methods. The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program. Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program causes a computer to perform the corresponding processes which are implemented by the network device in the methods of the embodiments of the present application, which will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity. Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program causes the computer to perform the corresponding processes which are implemented by the terminal device in the methods of the embodiments of the present application, which will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity. The present disclosure is described with reference to the flowcharts and/or block diagrams of methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that each process and/or block in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams, and combinations of processes and/or blocks in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to the processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or processors of other programmable data processing devices to generate a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing devices generate a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowcharts and/or one or more blocks in the block diagrams. These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can guide a computer or other programmable data processing devices to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including an instruction device which implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowcharts and/or one or more blocks in the block diagrams. These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing devices to cause a series of operation steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable devices to generate computer-implemented processes, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable devices provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowcharts and/or one or more blocks in the block diagrams. Those described above are only preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Any modification, equivalent replacement and improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure shall be included within the protection scope of the present disclosure. | 37,131 |
11943781 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In adding reference numerals to elements in each drawing, the same elements will be designated by the same reference numerals, if possible, although they are shown in different drawings. Further, in the following description of the present disclosure, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it is determined that the description may make the subject matter of the present disclosure rather unclear. As used herein, a wireless communication system may be a system for providing various communication services such as a voice service and a packet data service. The wireless communication system may include a User Equipment (UE) and a Base Station (BS or an eNB). The user equipment may be a comprehensive concept that indicates a terminal for use in wireless communication, including a UE (User Equipment) in wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), LTE, high speed packet access (HSPA), international mobile telecommunication (IMT)-2020 (5G or New Radio), and the like, and a MS (Mobile station), a UT (User Terminal), an SS (Subscriber Station), a wireless device, and the like in global systems for mobile communication (GSM). A base station or a cell may generally refer to a station where communication with a User Equipment (UE) is performed. Such a base station or cell means, inclusively, all of various coverage areas such as a Node-B, an evolved Node-B (eNB), gNode-B (gNB), Low Power Node (LPN), a Sector, a Site, various types of antennas, a Base Transceiver System (BTS), an Access Point, a Point (e.g., transmitting point, receiving point, or transceiving point), a Relay Node, a Mega Cell, a Macro Cell, a Micro Cell, a Pico Cell, a Femto Cell, a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a Radio Unit (RU), and a Small Cell. Each of the cells has a base station that controls a corresponding cell. Thus, the base station may be construed in two ways. 1) the base station may be a device itself that provides a megacell, a macrocell, a microcell, a picocell, a femtocell, and a small cell in association with a wireless area, or 2) the base station may indicate a wireless area itself. In 1), all devices that interact with one another to enable the devices that provide a predetermined wireless area to be controlled by an identical entity or to cooperatively configure the wireless area, may be indicated as a base station. Based on a configuration type of a wireless area, a point, a transmission/reception point, a transmission point, a reception point, or the like may be an embodiment of a base station. In a wireless area itself that receives or transmits a signal from a perspective of a terminal or a neighbouring base station, may be indicated as a base station. In the present specification, a cell may refer to the coverage of a signal transmitted from a transmission/reception point, a component carrier having the coverage of the signal transmitted from the transmission/reception point (transmission point or transmission/reception point), or the transmission/reception point itself. In the specification, the user equipment and the base station are used as two (uplink or downlink) inclusive transceiving subjects to embody the technology and technical concepts described in the specifications. However, the UE and the base station may not be limited to a predetermined term or word. Here, Uplink (UL) refers to a scheme for a UE to transmit and receive data to/from a base station, and Downlink (DL) refers to a scheme for a base station to transmit and receive data to/from a UE. Uplink transmission and downlink transmission may be performed using a TDD (Time Division Duplex) scheme that performs transmission based on different times. Uplink transmission and downlink transmission may also be performed using an FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) scheme that performs transmission based on different frequencies or a mixed scheme of the TDD and FDD schemes. Further, in a wireless communication system, a standard may be developed by configuring an uplink and a downlink based on a single carrier or a pair of carriers. The uplink and the downlink may transmit control information through a control channel, such as a PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control CHannel), PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control CHannel), and the like, and may be configured as a data channel, such as PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared CHannel), PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared CHannel), and the like, so as to transmit data. A downlink may refer to communication or a communication path from a multi-transmission/reception point to a terminal, and an uplink may refer to communication or a communication path from a terminal to a multi-transmission/reception point. In a downlink, a transmitter may be a part of a multiple transmission/reception point and a receiver may be a part of a terminal. In an uplink, a transmitter may be a part of a terminal and a receiver may be a part of a multiple transmission/reception point. Hereinafter, a situation, in which signals are transmitted and received through a channel such as a PUCCH, a PUSCH, a PDCCH, or a PDSCH, will be expressed as the transmission and reception of a PUCCH, a PUSCH, a PDCCH, or a PDSCH. Meanwhile, higher layer signalling includes an RRC signalling that transmits RRC information including an RRC parameter. A base station performs downlink transmission to terminals. A base station may transmit a physical downlink control channel for transmitting downlink control information such as scheduling required to receive a downlink data channel that is a main physical channel for unicast transmission, and scheduling approval information for transmission on an uplink data channel. Hereinafter, transmission and reception of a signal through each channel will be described as transmission and reception of a corresponding channel. Varied multiple access schemes may be unrestrictedly applied to the wireless communication system. Various multiple access schemes, such as TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access), NOMA (Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access), OFDM-TDMA, OFDM-FDMA, OFDM-CDMA, and the like may be used. Here, NOMA includes SCMA (Sparse Code Multiple Access), LDS (Low Cost Spreading), and the like. An embodiment of the present disclosure may be applicable to resource allocation in an asynchronous wireless communication scheme that evolves into LTE/LTE-advanced and IMT-2020 through GSM, WCDMA, and HSPA, and may be applicable to resource allocation in a synchronous wireless communication scheme that evolves into CDMA, CDMA-2000, and UMB. In the present specifications, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal refers to a terminal that is low cost (or is not very complexity), a terminal that supports coverage enhancement, or the like. Alternatively, in the present specifications, the MTC terminal refers to a terminal that is defined as a predetermined category for maintaining low costs (or low complexity) and/or coverage enhancement. In other words, in the present specifications, the MTC terminal may refer to a newly defined 3GPP Release 13 low cost (or low complexity) UE category/type, which executes LTE-based MTC related operations. Alternatively, in the present specifications, the MTC terminal may refer to a UE category/type that is defined in or before 3GPP Release-12 that supports the enhanced coverage in comparison with the existing LTE coverage, or supports low power consumption, or may refer to a newly defined Release 13 low cost (or low complexity) UE category/type. Alternatively, the MTC terminal may refer to a further Enhanced MTC terminal defined in Relase-14. In the present specification, a NarrowBand-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) user equipment represents a user equipment supporting radio access for the cellular IoT. The objectives of NB-IoT technology include improved indoor coverage, support for large-scale and low-speed user equipments, low-latency sensitivity, low-cost user equipments, low power consumption, and optimized network architecture. Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), and Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC) have been proposed as typical usage scenarios in NR (New Radio) and are thus under discussion in 3GPP. In the present specification, a frequency, a frame, a subframe, a resource, a resource block, a region, a band, a subband, a control channel, a data channel, a synchronization signal, various reference signals, various signals, and various messages in relation to NR (New Radio) may be interpreted according to various meanings, which have been used in the past, are being used presently, or will be used in the future. NR (New Radio) Recently, 3GPP has approved the study item “Study on New Radio Access Technology” for research on next-generation/5G radio access technology and has started discussions on a frame structure, channel coding and modulation, waveform and multiple access schemes, and the like for NR (New Radio) based on the same. It is required to design the NR to satisfy various requirements for each segmented and specified usage scenario, as well as an improved data transmission rate in comparison with LTE/LTE-Advanced. In particular, Enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), massive Machine-Type Communication (mMTC), and Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC) have been proposed as typical usage scenarios of the NR, and flexible frame structure design is required, compared to LTE/LTE-Advanced, in order to meet the requirements of the respective scenarios. More specifically, eMBB, mMTC, and URLLC are under consideration as typical usage scenarios of the NR, which are under discussion in 3GPP. The respective usage scenarios have different requirements for data rates, latency, coverage, or the like. Thus, in order to efficiently satisfy the requirements for each usage scenario through a frequency band constituting an NR system, there is a need for a method of efficiently multiplexing radio resource units based on different numerologies (e.g., subcarrier spacing, subframes, TTIs, or the like). To this end, there have been discussions on a method of multiplexing and supporting numerologies having different subcarrier spacing (SCS) values, based on TDM, FDM, or TDM/FDM, through a single NR carrier and a method of supporting one or more time-units when a scheduling unit is configured in a time domain. In this regard, in the NR, a subframe has been defined as one of time-domain structures, and there was a decision to define, as a reference numerology for defining corresponding subframe duration, a single subframe duration including 14 OFDM symbols of normal CP overhead based on 15 kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS), which is the same as LTE. According to this, the subframe in the NR has a time duration of 1 ms. However, unlike the LTE, a slot and a mini-slot may be defined as a time unit, which is the basis of actual uplink/downlink data scheduling, for the absolute reference time duration in the subframe of the NR. In this case, the number of OFDM symbols (a y-value) constituting the corresponding slot has been determined to have a value of y=14 irrespective of the numerology. Accordingly, any slot may include 14 symbols. All of the symbols may be used for downlink (DL) transmission, all of the symbols may be used for uplink (UL) transmission, or the symbols may be used in the form of a DL portion+a gap+a UL portion depending on the transmission direction of the corresponding slot. In addition, a mini-slot including fewer symbols than a corresponding slot may be defined in a numerology (or SCS) and, based on this, a short time-domain scheduling interval may be configured for uplink/downlink data transmission/reception, or a long time-domain scheduling interval may be configured through slot aggregation for uplink/downlink data transmission/reception. In particular, in the case of transmission and reception of latency-critical data such as URLLC, when the scheduling is performed in a slot unit of 0.5 ms (7 symbols) or 1 ms (14 symbols), defined in a frame structure based on a numerology having a small SCS value, such as 15 kHz, it may be difficult to satisfy the latency requirements. Therefore, a mini-slot including fewer OFDM symbols than the corresponding slot may be defined, thereby enabling the scheduling for latency-critical data, such as the URLLC, based on the same. Alternatively, a method is also under consideration for supporting numerologies having different SCS values by multiplexing the same using a TDM scheme or an FDM scheme in a single NR carrier as described above, thereby scheduling data to conform to the latency requirements based on a slot (mini-slot) length defined for each numerology. For example, in the case where the SCS is 60 kHz as shown inFIG.1, the symbol length thereof is reduced to about ¼ of the symbol length for the SCS of 15 kHz. Therefore, when a single slot includes 7 OFDM symbols, the 15 kHz-based slot is 0.5 ms long, while the 60 kHz-based slot length is reduced to about 0.125 ms. That is, in the NR, there is discussion on a method for satisfying the respective requirements of URLLC and eMBB by defining different SCS or different TTIs. As described above, there is a discussion on a method for supporting scheduling units having different lengths in a time domain to satisfy various usage scenarios in the NR. In particular, to satisfy the URLLC requirements, it is necessary to subdivide the scheduling unit in the time domain. However, excessively subdivided time-domain scheduling units are not desirable in terms of cell throughput for the eMBB because they involve excessive control overhead. In addition, a longer time-section resource assignment structure may be more suitable for coverage enhancement in terms of the mMTC. In accordance with at least one embodiment, an effective downlink data channel resource assignment method may be provided for supporting efficient multiplexing between data traffic of each service in a network where services, which is efficiently used with long time-section resource assignment, such as eMBB and mMTC, and services requiring short time-section resource assignment, such as URLLC, are mixed. The embodiments described below may be applied to user equipments, base stations, and core network entities (MME) using any mobile communication technologies. For example, the embodiments may be applied to next-generation mobile communication (5G mobile communication or New-RAT) user equipments, base stations, and core network entities {Access and Mobility function (AMF)}, as well as mobile communication user equipments adopting LTE technology. Hereinafter, for the convenience of description, a base station may represent an eNB of an LTE/E-UTRAN or a base station {a CU (Central Unit), a DU (Distributed Unit), or a single logical entity implemented by a CU and a DU} or a gNB in a 5G wireless network in which the CU and the DU are separated. In the usage scenario of the NR, the URLLC refers to a service for supporting high reliability and low latency, which is used in the case where the delay of data transmission/reception causes a serious problem even though a small amount of data is transmitted/received. For example, the URLLC service may be used for an autonomous vehicle, wherein if the delay of data transmission/reception increases, human and material damages due to traffic accidents may occur. The eMBB is a service that is used when a large amount of data is required to be transmitted/received using a service supporting high-speed data transmission. For example, when a large amount of data needs to be transmitted per unit time, such as in the case of a 3D video or MD service, the eMBB service may be used. The mMTC is a service that is used when low power consumption is required while a small amount of data is transmitted/received and delay does not cause a problem. For example, the mMTC service may be used for sensor devices provided to build a smart city because a battery mounted in the sensor device must be operated for as long a time as possible. In general, one of the three services (i.e., the URLLC, the eMBB, and the mMTC) described above may be provided to a user equipment according to the characteristics thereof. Hereinafter, a user equipment using the URLLC service may be referred to as an URLLC user equipment, a user equipment using the eMBB service may be referred to as an eMBB user equipment, and a user equipment using the mMTC service may be referred to as an mMTC user equipment. In addition, the eMBB, the mMTC, and the URLLC may also be interpreted as an eMBB user equipment, an mMTC user equipment, and an URLLC user equipment, respectively. In the specification, the term “pre-emption” means re-assignment of some of the resources, which have been assigned to the eMBB or the mMTC, to the URLLC in order to satisfy the latency requirements for the URLLC when traffic occurs in the URLLC. Such a term “pre-emption” may also be expressed using the term “puncturing” or “superposition” as will be described in the embodiments below (however, the present disclosure is not limited to specific terms). When pre-emption occurs, downlink data transmission to the eMBB user equipment is discontinuously interrupted in the middle of transmission in order to perform downlink data transmission to the URLLC user equipment. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the occurrence of pre-emption may be interpreted to mean that discontinuous transmission occurs in the eMBB user equipment, and the occurrence of pre-emption may be expressed as the occurrence of discontinuous transmission. At this time, since the resources, which have already been assigned to the eMBB or the mMTC, are used for the URLLC, the eMBB user equipment or the mMTC user equipment having resources assigned thereto is required to receive information on the resources to be pre-empted. Downlink pre-emption refers to the pre-emption of downlink resources of the user equipment. The downlink pre-emption indication information is intended to indicate to the user equipment the data channel that is pre-empted in the downlink, and the downlink pre-emption may be referred to as downlink pre-emption notification information because it informs the user equipment of the downlink pre-emption. The downlink pre-emption indication information may be indicated in the form of a signal or a channel. Hereinafter, various embodiments of a method, in which a user equipment and a base station monitor and transmit/receive downlink pre-emption indication information, will be described in more detail. The embodiments described below may be applied individually or by means of a combination thereof. As described above, in order to support the URLLC service in the NR, it is necessary to support a short scheduling unit {or Transmission Time Interval (TTI)} capable of satisfying a latency boundary in the time domain. On the other hand, in the case of the eMBB or the mMTC, it may be efficient to apply a slightly longer time-section resource assignment unit than the usage scenario of the URLLC in terms of control overhead and coverage when defining a scheduling unit in the time domain. In order to satisfy various usage scenarios of the NR as described above, it is necessary to support a mixed numerology structure supporting a numerology of subcarrier spacing (e.g., larger subcarrier spacing, such as 60 kHz, 120 kHz, or the like), which makes it easy to define a short time-section resource assignment unit suitable for the URLLC, and a numerology of subcarrier spacing suitable for the eMBB and the mMTC (e.g., 15 kHz for the eMBB or 3.75 kHz for the mMTC) through a single NR carrier, or to support time-domain scheduling units having different lengths, such as subframes, slots, or mini-slots, in an NR carrier that operates with a single numerology. One example of a method for this may be defined such that time/frequency resources (or regions), which are assigned based on an optimal scheduling unit for each usage scenario, are assigned semi-statically, and resource assignment is performed using time/frequency resources of the region corresponding to the usage scenario for each user equipment according thereto. However, semi-static resource assignment is inefficient in terms of radio resource utilization in an environment in which traffic is randomly generated for each usage scenario. In order to solve this problem, when assigning downlink data transmission resources, it is required to support dynamic puncturing-based eMBB/URLLC multiplexing in which some of the downlink radio resources, which have been assigned for eMBB or mMTC data transmission, are punctured and used for urgent URLLC data transmission/reception or to support superposition-based eMBB/URLLC multiplexing in which URLLC data transmission signals are superposed onto some of the radio resources to then be transmitted. In other words, a method is under consideration, which supports dynamic resource sharing between the eMBB and the URLLC such that some resources are punctured (or superposed) from among the eMBB (or mMTC) downlink resources, which have already been assigned and through which transmission is ongoing, and used for urgent URLLC data transmission. That is, a method is under consideration, in which when downlink data, which is more latency-critical than ongoing PDSCH transmission, which has been assigned with resources in a unit of a slot or aggregated slots, is received from a base station/network, pre-emption of the latency-critical PDSCH transmission is performed and some resources are punctured from among the ongoing PDSCH transmission resources to then be assigned for the latency-critical PDSCH transmission. Additionally, a method is under consideration, in which when a dynamic resource sharing method on a basis of dynamic puncturing (or superposition) between the eMBB and the URLLC is applied to NR downlink, a corresponding eMBB user equipment receives an indication on the radio resources punctured for the URLLC data transmission through explicit signalling. As the explicit signalling-based indication method, i) a method of indicating puncturing information within a TTI (or slot, mini-slot, or aggregated slots) in which downlink data transmission is performed by the eMBB user equipment and a method of indicating puncturing information within a TTI following the corresponding TTI are under consideration. In accordance with at least one embodiment, a downlink radio resource assignment method may be provided for efficiently supporting dynamic resource sharing between the eMBB and the URLLC as described above. Although the embodiment will be described based on usage scenarios of the eMBB, the URLLC, or the like, from viewpoints of radio resource assignment and downlink data transmission/reception, the eMBB may correspond to a user equipment or a data session in which a long time-section resource assignment unit in a unit of a slot or aggregated slots is defined, and the URLLC may correspond to a user equipment or a data session in which a short time-section resource assignment unit, such as a mini-slot, symbol, or large SCS (e.g., 60 kHz or 120 kHz)-based slot unit, is defined. More specifically, the embodiment may correspond to a partial radio resource puncturing technique for ongoing downlink transmission, in which puncturing (or superposition) is performed in a unit of a mini-slot or a symbol from the downlink data transmission resources assigned in a unit of a slot or slots or in which only some frequency resources (some PRBs) are punctured (or superposed) even in the corresponding mini-slot or symbol. That is, the present disclosure may be interpreted from viewpoints of a mini-slot or symbol-based puncturing method or a puncturing method for some of the resources assigned for the corresponding downlink data transmission and explicit signalling therefor. Accordingly, an eMBB user equipment or eMBB data corresponds to downlink data transmission on a basis of a scheduling unit in a slot unit or having a long time-section, in which the puncturing can be performed from among given downlink data transmission resources, in the present embodiment. In addition, a URLLC user equipment or URLLC data corresponds to downlink data transmission in which some of the downlink resources, which have been assigned for the eMBB user equipment or eMBB data transmission, are punctured and used. In the present embodiment, for the convenience of description, in the case where puncturing of the ongoing PDSCH transmission resources for any (eMBB) user equipment is performed for latency-critical PDSCH transmission (i.e., for URLLC PDSCH transmission), the signal of a base station for indicating the same to the corresponding (eMBB) user equipment will be referred to as a dynamic puncturing indication signal, but the present disclosure is not limited to the term. According to the scope of the present embodiments, the corresponding signal may be referred to as a dynamic puncturing indication signal, a puncturing indication signal, a superposition indication signal, or a pre-emption indication signal, or may be further referred to as any other terms. Embodiment 1: Definition of User Equipment (UE) Capability When defining user equipment (UE) capability for any NR user equipment (particularly, when defining downlink data reception capability of the user equipment), it is possible to define whether to support puncturing-based (or superposition-based) dynamic resource sharing for downlink data transmission of another time-critical user equipment with respect to the NR PDSCH resources assigned for the corresponding user equipment. Alternatively, it is possible to consider the case where some radio resources are punctured from among the radio resources, through which PDSCH transmission for a certain user equipment is in progress, for time-critical PDSCH transmission in an NR cell/base station or the case where time-critical PDSCH transmission signals are additionally transmitted using superposition onto some of the radio resources. At this time, it is possible to define whether to support explicit puncturing indication signalling to notify the corresponding user equipment of the same, demodulation and decoding based on PDSCH reception excluding resources pre-empted for the time-critical data transmission based on explicit puncturing indication information, and fast recovery capability based on the same. Embodiment 2. Dynamic Puncturing Mode Configuration Method 1. Explicit Signalling-Based Configuration Method When assigning downlink data channel resources to a user equipment in a corresponding cell, an NR base station/cell/TRP may determine whether or not to support dynamic puncturing for some resources (in a unit of a mini-slot, a symbol, or some time/frequency resources) within a TTI defined (or configured) for the corresponding user equipment, and may transmit the same to the corresponding user equipment through UE-specific, cell-specific, or UE-group-specific higher-layer signalling. When determining whether to support the PDSCH transmission through the UE-specific, cell-specific, or UE-group-specific higher-layer signalling as described above, the corresponding user equipment may monitor control information indicating dynamic puncturing for the PDSCH transmission resources through downlink control channel in a TTI, in which the PDSCH reception is in progress, or in a TTI subsequent thereto according to the explicit signalling method for indicating dynamic puncturing. As an alternative method, when assigning downlink data channel resources to a user equipment in a cell, an NR base station/cell/transmitting and receiving point (TRP) may determine whether to support dynamic puncturing for some resources (in a unit of a mini-slot, a symbol, or some time/frequency resources) within a TTI defined (or configured) for the corresponding user equipment, and may transmit the same to the corresponding user equipment through L1/L2 control signalling. That is, when transmitting downlink data scheduling control information for a certain user equipment {that is, transmitting downlink (DL) assignment downlink control information (DCI)} through an NR PDCCH, which is an L1 control channel, it is possible to perform configuration such that the DCI includes resource assignment information on the PDSCH and configuration information on whether to support dynamic puncturing for URLLC user equipment data transmission during the ongoing transmission for the PDSCH. When it is determined whether to support dynamic puncturing for each PDSCH transmission through the DL assignment DCI as described above, the user equipment may perform monitoring to receive control information indicating the dynamic puncturing for the PDSCH transmission resources through downlink control channel in a TTI, in which the PDSCH reception is in progress, or in a TTI subsequent thereto according to the explicit signalling method for indicating dynamic puncturing. As another method, it may be determined whether to support the dynamic puncturing by means of a combination of the above-described higher-layer signalling and L1/L2 control signalling. That is, an NR base station/cell/transmitting and receiving point (TRP) may preferentially configure whether to support dynamic puncturing for a user equipment in the corresponding cell through UE-specific, cell-specific, or UE-group-specific higher-layer signalling. When the support of a dynamic puncturing mode is configured for any user equipment through the higher-layer signalling as described above, an NR base station/cell/transmitting and receiving point (TRP), when assigning PDSCH transmission resources for the corresponding user equipment, may additionally include configuration information on the dynamic puncturing in a PDSCH transmission/reception TTI assigned through the DL assignment DCI, and the TRP may transmit the same to the user equipment. In other words, a user equipment that is set to be in a dynamic puncturing mode through the higher-layer signalling may be configured to perform monitoring for a DL assignment DCI format including dynamic puncturing support configuration information in the PDSCH reception TTI and to determine whether dynamic puncturing for the PDSCH occurs according to the dynamic puncturing support configuration information in the DL assignment DCI format. As described above, when it is determined whether to support dynamic puncturing for the PDSCH transmission through the UE-specific, cell-specific, or UE-group-specific higher-layer signalling and the DL assignment DCI, the user equipment may monitor control information indicating dynamic puncturing for the PDSCH transmission resources through downlink control channel in a TTI, in which the PDSCH reception is in progress, or in a TTI subsequent thereto according to the explicit signalling method for indicating dynamic puncturing. With regard to the dynamic puncturing mode configuration method described above, the dynamic puncturing mode configuration by the method may be interpreted as configuring whether to monitor explicit signalling for indicating the dynamic puncturing in a TTI or a TTI subsequent thereto. That is, as described above, it is possible i) to configure whether to monitor the dynamic puncturing indication signal or pre-emption indication signal through UE-specific, cell-specific, or UE-group-specific higher-layer signalling, to configure whether to monitor the dynamic puncturing indication signal or pre-emption indication signal through L1 control signalling, or to configure whether to monitor the dynamic puncturing indication signal or pre-emption indication signal through a combination of the UE-specific, cell-specific, or UE-group-specific higher-layer signalling and the L1 control signalling. When the monitoring for the dynamic puncturing indication signal or pre-emption indication signal is configured for any user equipment according to the above-described method, a monitoring time for the pre-emption indication signal may be further configured. For example, a transmission time or a transmission period of the pre-emption indication signals for the PDSCH transmitted through the slot or aggregated slots may be configured implicitly or through UE-specific, cell-specific, or UE-group-specific higher-layer signalling, for each slot or each set of aggregated slots, by a base station. For example, a constant timing gap (e.g., K slots, where K is an integer) may be defined between a PDSCH transmission slot and a pre-emption indication signal through each slot or aggregated slots. As described above, consideration is given to the case where configuration information, which is related to a transmission timing of the pre-emption indication signal, such as a transmission time or period of the pre-emption indication signal, is configured by a base station or is defined implicitly. In this case, the user equipment configured to monitor the pre-emption indication signal may be defined to perform monitoring for the pre-emption indication signal only for the pre-emption indication signal transmission time corresponding to the slot or aggregated slots, in which PDSCH transmission is actually performed for the user equipment, or a control resource set (CORESET) or a search space for the pre-emption indication signal defined at the corresponding time, regardless of configuration of a transmission time of the pre-emption indication signal for each slot or each set of aggregated slots. That is, when a base station/network configures a user equipment to monitor signals of puncturing indication or pre-emption indication, the base station/network configures a CORESET for monitoring the puncturing indication or pre-emption indication and transmits the same to the user equipment through UE-specific, cell-specific, or UE-group-specific higher-layer signalling. For example, puncturing indication information or pre-emption indication information may be configured by means of group-common DCI to then be transmitted to the user equipment through the PDCCH. In this case, control information on a CORESET for monitoring group-common pre-emption indication DCI (that is, a group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication) (however, the present embodiment is not limited to the terms) may be transmitted to the respective user equipments by the base station/network through higher-layer signalling. The group-common CORESETs for pre-emption indication described above may be defined to have a one-to-one correspondence relationship with the pre-emption regions as shown inFIG.2. Referring toFIG.2, a group-common CORESET #1 for pre-emption indication may be transmitted to a user equipment at every 3 slots, and each CORESET may correspond to a pre-emption region including three slots just before the slot to which the CORESET belongs. On the other hand, a group-common CORESET #2 for pre-emption indication may be transmitted to a user equipment at every slot, and each CORESET may correspond to a pre-emption region including one slot just before the slot to which the CORESET belongs. In this case, a bandwidth part (BP) of the group-common CORESET #1 for pre-emption indication and a bandwidth part (BP) of the group-common CORESET #2 for pre-emption indication may be included in the bandwidth of an NR component carrier (CC) and may be different from each other. Accordingly, pre-emption indication DCI transmitted through a group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication configured in a slot may be defined to indicate time/frequency radio resource information on the occurrence of puncturing or pre-emption in the pre-emption region. To this end, configuration information for the group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication may be defined to include time/frequency-section configuration information for configuring the pre-emption region corresponding to the group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication, as well as time/frequency resource assignment information on the configuration of the CORESET in a slot (that is, symbol assignment information and PRB assignment information for the configuration of the CORESET). For example, the time-section configuration information for the configuration of the pre-emption region may be defined to be determined by period configuration information of the group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication. When a period of the group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication is set to K, the group-common CORESETs for pre-emption indication are configured at every K slots. Accordingly, the pre-emption region corresponding to the group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication, which is configured in a slot #n, may be defined to be configured by means of K slots #(n-K) to #(n−1) or K slots #(n-K+1) to #n on the time axis. The user equipment, which has received pre-emption indication information transmitted through the group-common CORESET configured in a slot #n, may perform configuration such that the pre-emption region for the pre-emption indication includes of a set of symbols constituting K slots preceding the same (i.e., a set of 14K symbols preceding the first symbol constituting the corresponding group-common CORESET). At this time, the value of K may be indicated to the user equipment through UE-specific, cell-specific, or UE-group-specific higher-layer signalling (e.g., RRC signalling). In addition, when configuring a group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication for frequency-section configuration for the configuration of a pre-emption region, bandwidth part configuration information of the pre-emption region corresponding to the group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication may be defined as being included. For example, bandwidth part configuration information for frequency-section configuration of a pre-emption region may be defined to be determined by an active bandwidth part of the user equipment in a manner similar to the above-described time-section configuration information. As described above, the configuration information on the group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication may include time/frequency resource configuration information on the configuration of the CORESET, and pre-emption indication DCI transmitted implicitly or explicitly through the group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication may be defined to include configuration information on the pre-emption region indicating the radio resources, which have been punctured or pre-empted. In addition, the configuration information on the group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication may include RNTI configuration information for monitoring the pre-emption indication DCI in the CORESET. Further, one or more group-common CORESETs for pre-emption indication may be configured for a user equipment monitoring the pre-emption indication. In this case, the user equipment may be configured to perform monitoring for pre-emption indication DCI in the CORESET only when PDSCH resource assignment is performed with respect to one or more CORESETs, which have been configured according to the configuration information on the group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication described above, to overlap all or a part of the pre-emption region corresponding to each CORESET. With regard to a method for a user equipment, which is configured to monitor the pre-emption indication information, to monitor a CORESET in order to receive pre-emption indication DCI according to configuration information on the group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication, even if the CORESET for pre-emption indication is configured in any slot, when PDSCH resources overlapping all or a part of the pre-emption region corresponding to the CORESET are not assigned or PDSCH reception is not performed according thereto, the user equipment may be configured not to perform monitoring for receiving the pre-emption indication DCI for the CORESET of the corresponding slot. Additionally, in the case where there are one or more TTIs configured for a user equipment set to be in a dynamic puncturing mode in the Embodiment 1 and the Embodiment 2 described above, whether to apply dynamic puncturing may be determined using a function of the TTI to which a PDSCH is assigned. For example, it is possible to make a configuration such that a threshold value is defined for a PDSCH transmission/reception TTI and the dynamic puncturing is supported, depending on whether a dynamic puncturing mode is configured, only for the user equipment or PDSCH transmission/reception to which a TTI exceeding the threshold value is set. On the other hand, the user equipment or PDSCH transmission/reception, for which a TTI less than the threshold value is set, may be configured such that the dynamic puncturing mode is not configured for the same or such that the dynamic puncturing is not supported for the same regardless of the configuration of the dynamic puncturing mode. The threshold value may be set by a base station, or the threshold value may be any constant value. In addition, the threshold value may be defined in an absolute time unit (e.g. X ms, where X is a positive number), or may be defined in a unit of a symbol constituting a TTI for each subcarrier spacing (SCS) (e.g., X OFDM symbols for 15 kHz SCS, Y OFDM symbols for 30 kHz SCS, or the like). FIG.3is a flowchart illustrating a method of a user equipment for receiving downlink pre-emption indication information in accordance with at least one embodiment. Referring toFIG.3, the user equipment may receive monitoring configuration information for downlink pre-emption indication information from a base station (S300). The monitoring configuration information may include information on whether to monitor the downlink pre-emption indication, and the monitoring configuration information may be transmitted to the user equipment through UE-specific, cell-specific, or UE-group-specific higher-layer signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) as described in the Embodiment 2 above. That is, the monitoring configuration information may include information on whether the user equipment must monitor downlink pre-emption indication information, which is used to indicate whether downlink pre-emption has occurred. For example, an eMBB user equipment is required to monitor the downlink pre-emption indication information because the resources that have already been assigned to the eMBB user equipment are likely to be pre-empted by an URLLC user equipment. However, an URLLC user equipment may not be required to monitor the downlink pre-emption indication information because the resources that have already been assigned to the URLLC user equipment are unlikely to be pre-empted by another user equipments. Next, the user equipment may receive configuration information on a CORESET for receiving downlink pre-emption indication information from the base station (S310). Subsequently, the user equipment may configure reference downlink resources based on the configuration information on the CORESET, which has been received in Step S310(S320). Here, the reference downlink resources denote target resources to be pre-empted and denote resources expressed as pre-emption regions in the above-described Embodiment 2. At this time, a time section of the reference downlink resources may be determined according to a period for monitoring a CORESET that may include information indicating the pre-emption as described above. For example, as described in the Embodiment 2, when the time section of the reference downlink resources has K slots, the value of K may match a monitoring period for a CORESET that may include information indicating the pre-emption. In addition, a frequency section of the reference downlink resources may be determined by an active bandwidth part of the user equipment. Then, the user equipment may monitor downlink pre-emption indication information for the reference downlink resources (S330). At this time, the downlink pre-emption indication information may be indicated through group-common DCI. The group-common DCI may be transmitted to the user equipment through a downlink control channel (PDCCH), which may be transmitted through a group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication described in the Embodiment 2. In the case where the user equipment monitors a CORESET that may include information indicating pre-emption in order to receive downlink pre-emption indication information, the user equipment may monitor the downlink pre-emption indication information only when the time section, in which the downlink data channel (PDSCH) is assigned to the user equipment, overlaps all or a part of the reference downlink resources as described in the Embodiment 2. That is, if there is no downlink data channel (PDSCH) assigned to the user equipment among the resources in the reference downlink resources, the user equipment does not need to check the downlink pre-emption because there is no target resource to be pre-empted. Thus, in this case, the user equipment may not perform monitoring for the downlink pre-emption indication information. FIG.4is a flowchart illustrating a method of a base station for transmitting downlink pre-emption indication information in accordance with at least one embodiment. Referring toFIG.4, the base station may configure monitoring configuration information for downlink pre-emption indication information (S400). At this time, the monitoring configuration information may include information on whether to monitor the downlink pre-emption indication as described with reference toFIG.3, and the monitoring configuring information may be transmitted to a user equipment through UE-specific, cell-specific, or UE-group-specific higher-layer signalling as described in the Embodiment 2. Next, the base station may transmit, to the user equipment, configuration information on a CORESET for transmitting downlink pre-emption indication information (S410). At this time, the downlink pre-emption indication information may be transmitted to the user equipment through group-common DCI. The group-common DCI may be transmitted to the user equipment through a downlink control channel (PDCCH), which may be transmitted through a group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication described in Embodiment 2. Therefore, the user equipment, which has received the configuration information for the CORESET from the base station, may monitor the CORESET to thus identify the downlink pre-emption indication information. In addition, the base station may transmit downlink pre-emption indication information for the reference downlink resources to the user equipment (S420). Here, the reference downlink resource refers to a target resource to be pre-empted and refers to a resource expressed as a pre-emption region in the above-described Embodiment 2. At this time, a time section of the reference downlink resources may be determined according to a period for monitoring a CORESET that may include information indicating the pre-emption as described above. For example, as described in the Embodiment 2, when the time section of the reference downlink resources has K slots, the value of K may match a monitoring period for a CORESET that may include information indicating pre-emption. In addition, a frequency section of the reference downlink resources may be determined by an active bandwidth part of the user equipment. FIG.5is a block diagram illustrating a base station according to at least one embodiment. Referring toFIG.5, the base station500includes a controller510, a transmitter520, and a receiver530. The controller510may configure monitoring configuration information for downlink pre-emption indication information. At this time, the monitoring configuration information may include information on whether to monitor the downlink pre-emption indication information as described above. In addition, the information may be transmitted to the user equipment through UE-specific, cell-specific, or UE-group-specific higher-layer signalling as described in Embodiment 2. The transmitter520and the receiver530are used to transmit and receive signals, messages, and data necessary for performing the present disclosure described above. More specifically, the transmitter520may transmit, to the user equipment, configuration information on a CORESET for transmitting downlink pre-emption indication information, and the transmitter520may transmit, to the user equipment, downlink pre-emption indication information for reference downlink resources. At this time, the downlink pre-emption indication information may be transmitted to the user equipment through group-common DCI. The group-common DCI may be transmitted to the user equipment through a downlink control channel (PDCCH), which may be transmitted through a group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication described in the Embodiment 2. Therefore, the user equipment, which has received the configuration information for a CORESET from the base station, may monitor the CORESET to thus identify the downlink pre-emption indication information. Here, the reference downlink resource refers to a target resource to be pre-empted, and the reference downlink resource also refers to a region expressed as a pre-emption region in Embodiment 2 described above. At this time, a time section of the reference downlink resources may be determined according to a period for monitoring a CORESET that may include information indicating the pre-emption as described above. For example, as described in the Embodiment 2, when a time section of the reference downlink resources has K slots, the value of K may match a monitoring period for a CORESET that may include information indicating pre-emption. In addition, a frequency section of the reference downlink resources may be determined by an active bandwidth part of the user equipment. FIG.6is a block diagram illustrating a user equipment according to at least one embodiment. Referring toFIG.6, the user equipment600includes a receiver610, a controller620, and a transmitter630. The receiver610receives, from the base station, downlink control information, data, and messages through a corresponding channel. More specifically, the receiver610may receive, from the base station, monitoring configuration information for the downlink pre-emption indication information, and the receiver610may receive configuration information on a CORESET for receiving the downlink pre-emption indication information from the base station. At this time, the monitoring configuration information may include information on whether or not to monitor the downlink pre-emption indication information as described above, and the monitoring configuration information may be transmitted to the user equipment through UE-specific, cell-specific, or UE-group-specific higher-layer signalling as described in Embodiment 2. The controller620may configure reference downlink resources based on the configuration information on the CORESET, and the controller620may monitor downlink pre-emption indication information for the reference downlink resources. Here, the reference downlink resource refers to a target resource to be pre-empted, and the reference downlink resource also refers to a resource expressed as a pre-emption region in the Embodiment 2 described above. As described above, a time section of the reference downlink resources may be determined according to a period for monitoring a CORESET that may include information indicating the pre-emption. For example, as described in the Embodiment 2, when the time section of the reference downlink resources has K slots, the value of K may match a monitoring period for a CORESET that may include information indicating pre-emption. In addition, a frequency section of the reference downlink resources may be determined by an active bandwidth part of the user equipment. In addition, the downlink pre-emption indication information may be indicated through group-common DCI. The group-common DCI may be transmitted to the user equipment through a downlink control channel (PDCCH), which may be transmitted through the group-common CORESET for pre-emption indication described in the Embodiment 2. In the case where the user equipment monitors a CORESET that may include information indicating pre-emption for receiving downlink pre-emption indication information, the user equipment may monitor the downlink pre-emption indication information only when the time section, in which the downlink data channel (PDSCH) is assigned to the user equipment, overlaps all or a part of the reference downlink resources as described in Embodiment 2. That is, if there is no downlink data channel (PDSCH) assigned to the user equipment among the resources in the reference downlink resources, the user equipment does not need to check the downlink pre-emption because there is no target resource to be pre-empted. Thus, in this case, the user equipment may not perform monitoring for the downlink pre-emption indication information. The standard details or standard documents mentioned in the above embodiments are omitted for the simplicity of the description of the specification, and constitute a part of the present specification. Therefore, when a part of the contents of the standard details and the standard documents is added to the present specifications or is disclosed in the claims, it should be construed as falling within the scope of the present disclosure. Although a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure as disclosed in the accompanying claims. Therefore, exemplary aspects of the present disclosure have not been described for limiting purposes. The scope of the present disclosure shall be construed on the basis of the accompanying claims in such a manner that all of the technical ideas included within the scope equivalent to the claims belong to the present disclosure. Moreover, the terms “system,” “processor,” “controller,” “component,” “module,” “interface,”, “model,” “unit” or the like are generally intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, a controller, a control processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a controller or processor and the controller or processor can be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. | 55,503 |
11943782 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS In the following, the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without paying creative labor belong to the protection scope of the present application. The embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as a global system of mobile communication (GSM), a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, a general packet radio service (GPRS), a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system or a 5G system. Illustratively, a communication system100applied in the embodiment of the present application is shown inFIG.1. The communication system100may include a network device110, which can communicate with a terminal device120(called a communication terminal or terminal), provides communication for a specific geographic area, and communicates with terminal devices located in this area. Optionally, the network device110can be a base transceiver station (BTS) in a GSM or CDMA system, a base station (NodeB, NB) in a WCDMA system, an Evolutional NodeB (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE system, or a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN). The network device110can be a mobile switching center, a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a hub, a switch, a bridge, a router, a network device in a 5G network, or a network device in a public land mobile network (PLMN) in the future evolution. The communication system100also includes at least one terminal device120located within the coverage range of the network device110. The terminal device used here include but is not limited to devices that are connected through wired connections such as public switches telephone networks (PSTN), digital subscriber line (DSL), digital cables, and direct cable connections; and/or another data connection/network; and/or via wireless interfaces, such as, cellular networks, wireless local area network (WLAN), digital television networks such as DVB-H networks, satellite networks, and AM-FM radio transmitters; and/or a device of another terminal device configured to receive/transmit communication signals: and/or Internet of Things (IoT) devices. A terminal device configured to communicate through a wireless interface may be referred to a “wireless communication terminal”, “wireless terminal”, or “mobile terminal”. Examples of mobile terminals include but not limited to, satellite or cellular phones; personal communications system (PCS) terminals that combine cellular radiotelephony with data processing, facsimile, and data communication capabilities; PDA of radiophones, pagers, Internet/Intranet access, Web browsers, notebooks, calendars, and/or global positioning system (GPS) receivers; and conventional lap and/or palmtop receivers or other electronic devices including radio-telephone transceivers. The terminal device may refer to an access terminal, a user equipment (UE), a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile equipment, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication equipment, a user agent or a user device. The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (Session Initiation Protocol, SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (Wireless Local Loop, WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld or compute device with wireless communication capabilities, other processing devices connected to wireless modems, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal in a 5G network or a terminal device in a PLMN in the future. Optionally, direct Device to Device (D2D) communication can be conducted between terminal devices120. Optionally, 5G systems or networks can also be referred to as new radio (NR) systems or NR networks. FIG.1illustrates an example of a network device and two terminal devices. Optionally, the communication system100can include multiple network devices and the coverage of each network device can include an additional number of terminal devices, which is not limited by this embodiment. Optionally, the communication system10tcan also include other network entities such as network controllers, mobile management entities, which are not limited by this embodiment. It should be understood that devices that have communication functions in the network/system in the embodiments of the present application are referred to as communication devices. Taking the communication system100shown inFIG.1as an example, the communication devices may include the network device110and the terminal device120. They both can be specific devices mentioned above, which will not be described here. The communication devices may also include other devices in the communication system100, such as network controllers, mobile management entities, and other network entities, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that terms “system” and “network” used here are interchangeable, and the term “and/or” indicates relationships between associated objects. For example, A and/or B can mean that only A is available, both A and B are available, and only B is available. In addition, the character “/” used here generally indicates that the objects before and after “/” is in an OR relationship. A few technical terms are explained in the following. I. Uplink and Downlink Non-Coherent Transmission Incoherent downlink and uplink transmission based on multiple TRPs is introduced in the NR system. The backhaul connection between TRPs can be ideal or non-ideal. If the backhaul is ideal, information is quickly and dynamically exchanged among multiple TRPs. If the backhaul is not ideal, due to the large time delay, information exchange between multiple TRPs can only be quasi-static. In downlink incoherent transmission, multiple TRPs can use different control channels to schedule physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission of the same terminal device independently, and the scheduled PDSCH can be transmitted in the same time slot or in different time slots. The terminal device needs to simultaneously receive physical downlink control channels (PDCCH) and PDSCHs from different TRPs. FIG.2is a schematic diagram of a terminal device feeding back acknowledgment/negative acknowledgment (ACKnowledgment/Negative ACKnowledgment, ACK/NACK) information. When feeding back ACK/NACK information, the terminal device can feed back the ACK/NACK information to different TRPs that transmit corresponding PDSCHs, respectively, as shown in the figure on the left side ofFIG.2, i.e.,FIG.2(a), or can also merge and report the ACK/NACK information to one TRP, as shown in the figure on the right side ofFIG.2, i.e.,FIG.2(b). The former can be used in both ideal backhaul and non-ideal backhaul scenarios, while the latter can only be used in ideal backhaul scenarios. PDSCHs sent by different TRPs can carry the same data, so the reliability of PDSCH transmission can be further improved through the diversity transmission among TRPs. At this point, the terminal device simply needs to report one piece of ACK/NACK information for multiple PDSCHs carrying the same data. In uplink incoherent transmission, different TRPs can also schedule physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission of the same terminal independently. Different PUSCH transmissions can be configured with independent transmission parameters, such as beams, precoding matrixes, number of layers and the like. Scheduled PUSCH transmissions can be transmitted at the same time slot or at different time slots. If the terminal is scheduled for two PUSCH transmissions at the same time slot, it needs to determine how to perform the transmission according to its own capacity. If the terminal is configured with multiple panels and supports simultaneous PUSCH transmissions on multiple panels, the two PUSCHs can be transmitted at the same time, and different PUSCHs transmitted on different panels are aligned with corresponding TRPs for analog forming. As a result, different PUSCHs are distinguished in the spatial domain and uplink spectrum efficiency is achieved, as shown in the figure on the left side ofFIG.3, i.e.,FIG.3(a). If the terminal has only one panel, or does not support simultaneous transmission on multiple panels, then PUSCH can only be transmitted on one panel, as shown in the figure on the right side ofFIG.3, i.e.,FIG.3(b). II. BWP Switching In NR systems, the system bandwidth and terminal bandwidth may reach hundreds of megahertz (MHz) or even several gigahertz (GHz) to support high-speed mobile data transmission. However, in actual data transmission, such a large bandwidth is not required all the time. For example, in scenarios where only low data rate transmission (such as chat on WeChat) is required, a small working bandwidth, such as 10 MHz, is enough. In order to flexibly support different bandwidth requirements in different scenarios, the concept of bandwidth part (BWP) is introduced in 5G. The bandwidth part can be a part of the system bandwidth. For example, if the system bandwidth is 100 MHz, the terminal can use a bandwidth less than 100 MHz, such as 20 MHz or 50 MHz, to transmit data within the system bandwidth. NR supports simultaneous configuration of up to four downlink BWPs and four uplink BWPs for the terminal. Different BWPs can have different bandwidth sizes, frequency locations, and sub-carrier intervals. For example, the four BWPs shown inFIG.4can be configured for a terminal device. The network can make the terminal switch between multiple BWPs according to the business requirements of the terminal, for example, the BWP with a larger bandwidth is used for higher rate service transmission, and the BWP with a smaller bandwidth is used for lower rate service transmission rate. Currently, NR supports carrying a BWP part indicator (Bandwidth pan indicator) field in DC for scheduling data of the terminal. The size of this field can be 0, 1, or 2 bits depending on the number of BWPs configured for the terminal by the system (nBWP,RRC). The length of bits is nBWP=nNWP,RRC+1, where, if nNWP,RRC≤3, then nBWP=nBWP,RRC+1. The BWP pan indicator is the same as the BWP Identifier (BWP-Id) configured through high-level parameters. For other cases, nBWP=nBWP,RRC, and see the table below for the BWP part indicator Value of BWPindicator field2 bitsBandwidth part00First BWP configured through the high-level signaling01Second BWP configured through the high-level signaling10Third BWP configured through the high-level signaling11Fourth BWP configured through the high-level signaling When it is necessary to switch the BWP of the terminal, and the BWP in the BWP part indicator field of DCI sent by the network to the terminal is different from the BWP where the terminal is currently located, the terminal executes the BWP switching after receiving the BWP part indicator field. In NR, the aforementioned BWP part indicator field can be carried in DCI format 0-1 and in DCI format 1-1. DCI format 0-1 is an uplink scheduling grant that can be used for indicating uplink BWP switching. DCI format 1-1 is the downlink scheduling grant that can be used for indicating the downlink BWP switching. In an NR system, a terminal is neither able to send nor to receive signals on multiple BWPs at the same time. If the terminal is scheduled for incoherent transmission, the received data channels scheduled separately by two pieces of DCI may be transmitted at the same time. Since different pieces of DCI come from different TRPs, it is difficult to guarantee that the BWP part indicator fields therein indicate the same BWP, especially in the case of non-ideal backhauls. If BWPs indicated by two pieces of DCI are different, as shown inFIG.5, DCI1 instructs the terminal device to use BWP1 to transmit PDSCH1, while DCI2 instructs the terminal device to use BWP2 to transmit PDSCH2. Among them, BWP1 and BWP2 are different, that is, the terminal needs to send or receive signals on multiple BWPs at the same time, which will significantly increase the complexity of the terminal. At this time, how the terminal determines which BWP to send or receive the data channel is a problem that needs to be solved. For example, in order to ensure that the BWP used by the terminal for transmission is unique, only one BWP can be configured through high-level signaling on the network side, thus avoiding different BWPs. However, the flexibility of this method is too poor since flexible scheduling cannot be implemented with multiple BWPs. Therefore, the embodiment of the present application provides a data channel transmission method, in which: when a terminal is scheduled to send or receive two data channels simultaneously, it determines to send or receive data channels on which BWP according to the BWP part indicator contained in at least one of the two DCI that schedule the two data channels. FIG.6is a schematic diagram of a data channel transmission method (Method200) provided by the embodiment of the present application. Method200can be performed by a terminal device. The terminal device could be the one shown inFIG.1. As shown inFIG.6, Method200includes: S210, the terminal device receives first DCI and second DCI. The first DCI is configured to schedule a first data channel, and the second DCI is configured to schedule a second data channel. The first DCI, the second DCI, the first data channel, and the second data channel satisfy one of the following conditions: the first data channel and the second data channel are scheduled on the same time domain resource, a time interval between the first data channel and the second data channel is less than a first preset value, the first DCI and the second are transmitted on the same time domain resource, and a time interval between the first DCI and the second DCI is less than a second preset value. S220, the terminal device transmits the first data channel and/or the second data channel on a BWP determined according to at least one DC of the two DCI. In the embodiment of the present application, the transmitting a data channel includes: receiving and/or sending the data channel, that is, the transmission of the data channel may be either sending or receiving the data channel. For example, the terminal device transmits the first data channel, which means that the terminal device sends the first data channel or receives the first data channel. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, transmitting a data channel refers to the transmission of data carried by the data channel. For example, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device transmits the first data channel, that is, the terminal device receives or transmits the data carried by the first data channel, which will not be repeated for the sake of conciseness. In S210, the terminal device receives the first DCI and the second DCI. The first DCI is configured to schedule the first data channel, and the second DCI is configured to schedule the second data channel. The first data channel and the second data channel can both be uplink channels, downlink channels, or one can be a downlink channel, while the other can be an uplink channel. For example, the first data channel is an uplink channel PUSCH, and the second data channel is a downlink channel PDSCH. The embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. Considering that if pieces of DCI are from the same TRP or associated with the same control-resource set (CORESET), generally, the terminal device will not be scheduled on two different BWPs at the same time. However, in the case of incoherent transmission, the terminal device may be scheduled on different BWPs by different TRPs. Therefore, the embodiment of the present application can not only be applied to the scenario where the first DCI and the second DCI are respectively associated with the same CORESET, but also to the scenario where the first DCI and the second DCI are respectively associated with different CORESETs. For the scenario where the first DCI and the second DCI are associated with different CORESETs, the terminal device detects the first DCI in a first CORESET and the second DCI in a second CORESET. The first CORESET and second CORESET are two CORESETs pre-configured for the terminal device on the network device side. By associating with different CORESETs, the first DCI and second DCI can come from different TRPs, that is, the terminal device receives the first DCI sent by a first network device and the second DCI sent by a second network device. The first network device and the second network device are different network devices, that is, the terminal device can obtain the first DCI and the second DCI from two independent PDCCHs. Correspondingly, a search space where the first DC is located can also be the same as or different from a search space where the second DCI is located. In the embodiment of the present application, Method200may also include: the terminal device determines a time domain resource of the first data channel according to time domain resource configuration information in the first DCI, and determines a time domain resource of the second data channel according to time domain resource configuration information in the second DCI. The first DCI, the second DCI, the first data channel, and the second data channel satisfy one of the following conditions: the time domain resources of the first data channel and the second data channel may be the same, the time interval between the first data channel and the second data channel is less than the first preset value, the first DCI and the second DC are transmitted on the same time domain resource, the transmission time interval between the first DCI and the second DCI is less than the second preset value. In particular, in the case where the time domain resources of the first data channel and the second data channel may be the same, or in other words, the first data channel and the second data channel are scheduled on the same time domain resource, or, time domain resources for transmitting the first DCI and the second DCI are the same, where the time domain resource can be a time slot or an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol. Specifically, the first data channel and the second data channel being scheduled on the same time domain resource means that: the time domain resource of the first data channel and the time domain resource of the second data channel may partially or completely overlap. Similarly, the time domain resource for transmitting the first DCI and the time domain resource for transmitting the second DC being the same means that: the time domain resource occupied by the PDCCH carrying the first DCI and the time domain resource occupied by the PDCCH carrying the second DCI can partially or completely overlap. For example, the first data channel and the second data channel occupy at least one OFDM symbol in common. For another example, the transmission resource for the first DCI and the transmission resource for the second DCI occupy at least one OFDM symbol in common. For another example, the first data channel and the second data channel can be scheduled in the same time slot, or the first DCI and the second DCI can be transmitted in the same time slot, but the OFDM symbols occupied by respective DCI in the same time slot can be different, partially overlapped, or completely overlapped. In addition, in the case where the time interval between the first data channel and the second data channel is less than the first preset value, or the transmission time interval between the first DCI and the second DCI is less than the second preset value, the first preset value or the second preset value can be a pre-configured value on the network device side, or a threshold reported by the terminal device through capability reporting, or a fixed value agreed by the terminal device and network device in advance. For example, if the first data channel and the 20 second data channel are PDSCHs or PUSCHs, different values may be used as the first preset value. Specifically, the first or second preset value can be set according to actual needs. For example, the first or second preset value can be the shortest length of time required for the terminal device to switch a BWP. The length of time could be a BWP switching threshold reported by the terminal device through UE capability reporting. In addition, the time interval between the first data channel and the second data channel or the first preset value can be in the unit of OFDM symbol or time slot. Similarly, the transmission time interval between the first DC and the second DCI or the second preset value may be in the unit of OFDM symbol or time slot, too. Where, if the time interval between the first data channel and the second data channel is 0, it means that the first data channel and the second data channel are scheduled on the same time domain resource; if the transmission time interval between the first DCI and the second DCI is 0, it means that the first DCI and the second DCI are transmitted on the same time domain resource. Optional, based on the above preset first or second value, the first DCI, the second DCI, the first data channel, and the second data channel may also satisfy the following conditions: the time interval between the first data channel and the second data channel is less than or equals to the first preset value, or, the time interval between the first DCI and the second DCI is less than or equals to the second preset value, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. In S220, the terminal device transmits the first data channel and/or the second data channel on a BWP determined by at least one DCI of the first DCI and the second DCI. This step is described in detail for different situations in combination with specific embodiments below. Optionally, as a first embodiment, in S220, the terminal device determines either the first DCI or the second DCI as a target DCI; and the terminal transmits the first data channel and the second data channel on a target BWP determined according to the target DCI. Where the first data channel and the second data channel are both uplink channels or downlink channels. For example, if the terminal device determines the first DCI as the target DCI, then the terminal device determines a corresponding first BWP according to the first DCI, and uses the first BWP to transmit the first data channel and the second data channel. Where the terminal device determines the first BWP according to the first DCI includes: the terminal device determines the first BWP according to a BWP indicator in the first DCI, or, if the first DCI does not include a BWP indicator, the terminal device determines a currently activated BWP as the first BWP. It should be understood that in the first embodiment, if another DCI in the first DCI and the second DCI other than the target DCI contains a BWP indicator, the terminal device may not apply this indicator, regardless of whether this indicator is the same as the indicator in the target DCI. FIG.7is a schematic diagram of PDSCH transmission in the first embodiment. Assume that the BWP indicator in DCI1 for scheduling PDSCH1 is BWP1, the BWP indicator in DCI2 for scheduling PDSCH2 is BWP2, and assume that the terminal device determines DCI2 as the target DCI, then the terminal device receives PDSCH1 and PDSCH2 in BWP2 instead of in BWP1. It should be understood that if the first data channel and the second data channel are both PDSCHs, the terminal device uses the BWP determined through the target DCI to transmit the first data channel and the second data channel. Meanwhile, the terminal device can also determine, according to the target DCI, a BWP for transmitting ACK/NACK information of the first data channel and the second data channel, that is, the terminal device can use the same BWP to send the ACK/NACK information of the first data channel and the second data channel. Specifically, Method200also includes: the terminal device determines a feedback BWP according to the target DCI; and the terminal device sends the ACK/NACK information of the first data channel and the ACK/NACK information of the second data channel on the feedback BWP. The ACK/NACK information of the first data channel and the ACK/NACK information of the second data channel can be sent on different PUCCH resources. For example, if the first DCI is the target DCI, the ACK/NACK information of the PDSCH scheduled by the first DCI is transmitted on BWP1, then the ACK/NACK information of the PDSCH scheduled by the second DCI should also be transmitted on BWP1, and it is unnecessary to make determination according to the second DCI. It should be understood that the terminal device may use one or more ways to determine the target DC in the first DCI and the second DCI. For example, the terminal device adopts one or more of the following manners. Manner 1: the terminal device determines, in the first DCI and the second DCI, DCI corresponding to a preset control-resource set (CORESET) as the target DCI. Specifically, the terminal device can adopt DCI detected in the agreed CORESET as the target DCI. For example, if the terminal device is configured with multiple CORESETs for scheduling data transmission, the DCI detected in the first CORESET configured can be used as the target DCI. This approach requires no additional signaling overhead and guarantees a high priority for the serving cell. For example, if the DCI detected in the first CORESET is the first DCI, the terminal device determines the first DCI as the target DCI. Manner 2: the terminal device determines the target DCI according to configuration information of a CORESET associated with the first DCI and configuration information of a CORESET associated with the second DCI. Specifically, each CORESET can include indication information indicating whether the CORESET is a main CORESET, or indicating a priority of the CORESET. Based on such indication information, the terminal device can determine whether the DCI detected in the CORESET is the target DCI. For example, the terminal device can take the DCI in the main CORESET or the DCI in the CORESET with a higher priority as the target DCI. For example, if the CORESET corresponding to the first DCI has a higher priority, or the CORESET corresponding to the first DCI is the main CORESET, the terminal device will determine the first DCI as the target DCI. The above indication information included in the CORESET can be indicated in the CORESET configuration via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. Optionally, whether the DCI in the CORESET is the target DCI can also be implicitly indicated through other information in the CORESET. By determining the target DCI in this way, the network side can indicate the terminal device which CORESET corresponds to the main serving cell through the CORESET configuration, so that the terminal device only adopts the BWP indicated by the main serving cell. Manner 3: the terminal device determines the target DCI according to an identifier (ID) or index of the CORESET associated with the first DCI and an identifier (ID) or index of the CORESET associated with the second DCI. Specifically, the terminal device can be preconfigured with multiple CORESETs, and each CORESET has its own ID or index. The terminal device conducts DCI detection in the search space associated with each CORESET, and the CORESET where the first DCI is detected to be located and the CORESET where the second DCI is detected to be located can be different. The terminal device determines a CORESET with a lower CORESET ID or CORESET index from the CORESET in which the first DCI is detected and the CORESET in which the second DCI is detected, and determines the DCI in this CORESET as the target DCI. For example, if the index of the CORESET in which the first DCI is detected is lower than the index of the CORESET in which the second DCI is detected, the terminal device will determine the first DCI as the target DCI. In another implementation, the target DC can also be DCI in a CORESET with a higher CORESET ID or CORESET index. Manner 4: the terminal device determines the target DCI according to the ID or index of the search space where the first DCI is located and the ID or index of the search space where the second DCI is located. Similar to Manner 3, the terminal device can be preconfigured with multiple search spaces, and each space has its own ID or index. The terminal device conducts DCI detection in each search space. The search space where the first DCI is located can differ from the search space where the second DCI is located. Therefore, the terminal device can determine a search space with a lower search space ID or search space index from the search space in which the first DCI is detected and the search space in which the second DCI is detected, and takes the DCI in this search space as the target DCI. For example, if the index of the search space in which the first DCI is detected is lower than the index of the search space in which the second DCI is detected, the terminal device determines the first DCI as the target DCI. In another implementation, it is also possible to take the DCI in a search space with a higher search space ID or search space index as the target DCI. Manner 5: the terminal device determines the target DCI according to a time sequence of receiving the first DCI and the second DCI. Specifically, the terminal device determines, in the first DCI and the second DCI, the first received DCI as the target DCI. For example, if the terminal device first receives the first DCI and then receives the second DCI, then the terminal device will determine the first DCI as the target DCI. In another implementation, the later received DCI can also be determined as the target DCI. The sequence in which the DCI is received can be determined according to the time slot or OFDM symbol in which the DCI is detected. Manner 6: the terminal device determines the target DCI according to a time sequence of transmitting the first data channel and transmitting the second data channel. Specifically, the terminal device can determine DCI of a data channel with an earlier scheduling time as the target DCI. For example, both the first data channel and the second data channel are uplink channels, if the sending time of the first data channel is earlier than that of the second data channel, the terminal device determines the first DCI that schedules the first data channel as the target DCI. In another implementation, the DC of the data channel with a later scheduling time can also be determined as the target DCI. The sequence of transmitting the first data channel and transmitting the second data channel can be determined according to time slots or OFDM symbols occupied by the data channels. Manner 7: the terminal device determines the target DCI according to the format of the first DCI and the format of the second DCI. Specifically, when the format of the first DCI is different from that of the second DCI, the terminal device can choose the DCI of format 1-0 or format 0_0 as the target DCI. Alternatively, the terminal device may take DCI of format 1-1 or format 0_1 as the target DCI, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to thereto. Since data scheduled by DCI of format 1-0 and format 0_0 has a higher probability of correct detection and is usually of higher importance, thus, using the DCI of format 1-0 and format 0_0 as the target DCI can avoid unnecessary retransmission and reduce the delay of important data. Manner 8: the terminal device determines the target DCI according to scrambling modes of cyclic redundancy check (CRC) codes of the first DCI and the second DCI. If the first DCI uses the modulation and coding scheme (MCS)—the cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) for scrambling, and the second DCI uses C-RNTI or configured grant radio network temporary identity (CS-RNTI) for scrambling, then the terminal device can determine the first DCI scrambled with the MCS-C-RNTI as the target DCI. For another example, if the first DCI uses the CS-RNTI for scrambling and the second DCI uses the C-RNTI for scrambling, the terminal device can identify the second DCI scrambled with the C-RNTI as the target DCI. Priorities of different scrambling modes (that is, different RNTIs) can be agreed in advance by the terminal device and the network side device. Since data carried in the PDSCH which is scheduled by DCI scrambled with the MCS-C-RNTI is generally ultra reliable & low latency communication (URLLC) service, which has higher latency requirements than the enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) service, thus, setting such DCI as the target DCI can guarantee the low latency of URLLC. The PDSCH which is scheduled by DCI scrambled with C-RNTI is data directly scheduled by the network device, and the PDSCH which is scheduled by DCI scrambled with CS-RNTI is generally data independently transmitted by the terminal device. The transmission reliability of the former one is higher, so setting the DCI of the former one as the target DCI can improve the overall transmission rate of the system. Manner 9: the terminal device determines the target DCI according to a first time interval between receiving the first DCI and transmitting the first data channel and a second time interval between receiving the second DCI and transmitting the second data channel. Specifically, the terminal device may determine, in the first time interval and the second time interval, a smaller or a larger time interval, and takes DCI corresponding to this time interval as the target DCI. For example, if the first time interval is smaller than the second time interval, the terminal device can select the first time interval which is a smaller time interval and determine the first DCI corresponding to the first time interval as the target DCI. Manner 10: the terminal device determines the target DCI according to whether a BWP indicator in the first DCI indicating BWP switching and whether a BWP indicator in the second DCI indicating BWP switching. Specifically, the terminal device determines whether BWP switching is needed according to the BWP indicator in the first DCI, determines whether BWP switching is needed according to the BWP indicator in the second DCI, and selects the DCI that does not require BWP switching as the target DCI. For example, if the first DCI indicates BWP switching (that is, the BWP indicated by the first DCI is different from the currently activated BWP), and the second DCI does not indicate BWP switching (that is, the BWP indicated by the second DCI is the currently activated BWP), the terminal device takes the second DCI which does not indicate BWP switching as the target DCI. This avoids unnecessary BWP switching and ensures data continuity. Manner 11: the terminal device determines the target DCI according to whether the first DCI including a BWP indicator and whether the second DCI including a BWP indicator. Specifically, if the first DCI does not contain any BWP indicator, and the second DCI contains the BWP indicator, the terminal device can determine the first DCI which does not contain any BWP indicator as the target DCI. Alternatively, the terminal device can determine the second DCI containing the BWP indicator as the target DCI. The first DC does not contain any BWP indicator, indicating that the first DCI adopts the currently activated BWP. The second DCI contains the BWP indicator, indicating that the second DCI adopts either the currently activated BWP or other BWPs. The embodiment of the present application is not limited to thereto. Manner 12: the terminal device determines the target DCI according to an index or subcarrier interval of a BWP where the first is located or an index or subcarrier interval of a BWP where the second data channel is located. For example, in the first BWP determined according to the first DCI and the second BWP determined according to the second DCI, the terminal device determines DCI corresponding to a BWP with a lower (or higher) index as the target DCI. For example, if the index of the first BWP is lower (or higher) than that of the second BWP, the terminal device determines the first DCI corresponding to the first BWP with a lower index as the target DCI. For another example, in the first BWP determined according to the first DCI and the second BWP determined according to the second DCI, the terminal device determines DCI corresponding to a BWP with a lower (or higher) subcarrier interval as the target DCI. For example, if the subcarrier interval of the first BWP is lower (or higher) than that of the second BWP, the terminal device determines the first DCI corresponding to the first BWP with a lower subcarrier interval as the target DCI. It should be understood that the above Manner 1 to Manner 12 can be used alone or in combination, for example using two or more manners, until the target DCI is determined. For example, the terminal device can first use the above Manner 7 to determine the target DC according to the formats of the DCI. If the formats of the DCI are the same, then use the above Manner 5 to determine the target DCI according to the sequence of the receiving times of the first DCI and the second DCI. For another example, the terminal device can first adopt the above Manner 8 to determine the target DCI according to the scrambling modes of CRC codes of the first DCI and the second DCI. If the scrambling modes of the CRC codes are the same, then use the above Manner 5 to determine the target DCI according to the formats of the DCI. If the formats of the DCI are the same, then adopt the above Manner 3 to determine the target DCI according to the CORESET ID. Optionally, the second embodiment can be as follows: if the first BWP determined according to the first DCI is the same as the second BWP determined according to the second DCI, in S220, the terminal device can transmit the first data channel and the second data channel on the first BWP. Where the first data channel and the second data channel are both uplink channels or downlink channels. For example,FIG.8is a schematic diagram of PDSCH transmission in the second embodiment. As shown inFIG.8, the BWP indicator in DCI1 that schedules PDSCH1 indicates BWP1, and the BWP indicator in DCI2 that schedules PDSCH2 also indicates the same BWP1, so the terminal device receives PDSCH1 and PDSCH2 simultaneously in BWP1. In the embodiment of the present application, Method200also includes: the terminal device determines that the first BWP is the same as the second BWP according to the first DCI and the second DCI. For example, if both the first DCI and the second DCI include BWP indicators, the terminal device determines the first BWP according to the BWP indicator in the first DCI, determines the second BWP according to the BWP indicator in the second DCI, and determines that the first BWP is the same as the second BWP. For another example, if neither the first DCI nor the second DCI contains the BWP indicator, that is, the first DCI does not contain any BWP indicator and the second DCI does not contain any BWP indicator, the terminal device determines that the first BWP is the same as the second BWP, and that both the first BWP and the second BWP refer to the currently activated BWP. For another example, if only one DCI in the first DCI and the second DCI contains the BWP indicator, that is, the first DCI does not contain any BWP indicator and the BWP indicator in the second DCI indicates the currently activated BWP, then the terminal device determines that the first BWP is the same as the second BWP, and that both the first BWP and the second BWP refer to the currently activated BWP. The terminal device in the embodiment does not expect that the first BWP determined according to the first DCI to be different from the second BWP determined according to the second DCI. That is, the terminal device will only handle the case where the first BWP and the second BWP are the same, rather than the case where the first BWP and the second BWP are different. Specifically, if both the first DCI and the second DCI contain BWP indicators, the terminal device does not expect that the BWP indicators included in the first BWP and the second BWP indicate different BWPs. Therefore, the network side device needs to carry the same BWP indicator in the first DCI and the second DCI. Otherwise, the terminal device can treat this as an error case and does not need to transmit the first data channel and the second data channel. Similarly, the terminal device does not expect that the first DCI contains no BWP indicator while the second DCI contains a BWP indicator indicating BWP switching, namely, the BWP indicator in the second DCI indicates a BWP that is different from the currently activated BWP. If this happens, the terminal device can treat this as an error case and does not need to transmit the first data channel and the second data channel. In the second embodiment, if the first data channel and the second data channel are both PDSCHs, the ACK/NACK information of the first data channel and the second data channel is also transmitted in the same uplink BWP. For example, the terminal device can determine, based on the first DCI, the uplink BWP for transmitting the ACK/NACK information of the first data channel and determine, based on the second DCI, the uplink BWP for transmitting the ACK/NACK information of the second data channel. The two uplink BWPs are also the same. The terminal device uses the same BWP to send the ACK/NACK information of the first data channel and the ACK/NACK information of the second data channel. Optionally, as the third embodiment, in a case where the first BWP determined according to the first DCI is different from the second BWP determined according to the second DCI, in S220, the terminal device determines the first DCI or the second DCI as the target DCI. And the terminal device only transmits the data channel scheduled by the target DCI on the target BWP determined according to the target DCI. The terminal device will transmit only one data channel at this time, that is, the data channel scheduled by the target DCI. For example, if the terminal device determines the first DCI as the target DCI, it transmits the first data channel scheduled by the first DCI only on the first BWP determined based on the first DCL. In other words, the terminal device does not transmit the second data channel scheduled by the second DCI, that is, the second DCI is invalid DCI. Correspondingly, if the second data channel is a PDSCH, the terminal device will not feed back ACK/NACK information of the PDSCH scheduled by the second DCI, or the terminal device will feed back NACK in ACK/NACK information corresponding to the PDSCH. In the embodiment of the present application. Method200also includes: the terminal device determines that the first BWP is different from the second BWP based on the first DCI and the second DCI. For example, if both the first DCI and the second DCI both include BWP indicators, the terminal device determines the first BWP based on the BWP indicator in the first DCI, determines the second BWP based on the BWP indicator in the second DCI, and then determines that the first BWP is different from the second BWP. Again, for example, if only one DCI in the first DCI and second DCI contains the BWP indicator, for example, the first DC does not contain any BWP indicator and the BWP indicator in the second DCI indicates BWP switching, the terminal device determines that the first BWP is different from the second BWP, where the first BWP represents the currently activated BWP and the second BWP represents other BWPs. The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may take one or more ways to determine the target DCI from the first DCI and the second DCI. For example, the terminal device may determine the target DCI by adopting any one or more of Manner 1 to Manner 12 in the first embodiment above, which will not be described here for brevity. In addition, the terminal device may determine the target DCI in other ways. For example, the terminal device may use one or more of the other ways, or it may use one or more of the above twelve manners in combination with one or more of the other manners. There are cases that the first BWP determined according to the first DCI is different from the second BWP determined according to the second DCI, including the case where the first BWP is an uplink BWP and the second BWP is a downlink BWP. For example, the first DCI is configured to schedule PUSCH transmissions and the second DCI is configured to schedule PDSCH transmissions. In this case, the terminal device can only select one BWP from the first BWP and the second BWP for data transmission. Therefore, the terminal device can also determine the first DCI or the second DCI as the target DCI according to the link direction of the first data channel and the link direction of the second data channel. Specifically, the link direction is either uplink or downlink. For example, if the first DC schedules a downlink channel, e.g., the first DCI schedules PDSCH transmissions, and the second DCI schedules an uplink channel, e.g., the second DCI schedules PUSCH transmissions, the terminal device may determine the first DCI which schedules PDSCHs as the target DCI, or determine the second DCI which schedules PUSCHs as the target DCI. It should be understood that the terminal device determines either the first DCI or the second DCI as the target DCI. Meanwhile, the terminal device can also determine the corresponding target BWP based on the target DCI so that it can send the data channel corresponding to the target DCI on the target BWP. Specifically, the terminal device can determine the target BWP according to the BWP indicator in the target DCI. Alternatively, if the target DCI does not contain any BWP indicator, the terminal device determines the currently activated BWP as the target BWP. Several cases of the third embodiment are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Example 1: as shown inFIG.9, both DCI1 and DCI2 contain BWP indicators, but their BWP indicators in DCI1 and DCI2 indicate different BWPs, that is, the BWP indicator in DCI1 indicates BWP1, and the BWP indicator in DCI2 indicates BWP2. Assuming that the terminal device determines DCI2 as the target DCI, the terminal device only receives PDSCH2 scheduled by DCI2 on BWP2 and does not receive PDSCH1 scheduled by DCI1. Example 2: as shown inFIG.10, only DCI1 contains the BWP indicator, and the BWP indicator in DCI1 indicates BWP switching. DCI2 does not contain any BWP indicator, that is, DCI2 corresponds to the currently activated BWP2. Assuming that DCI2 is the target DCI, the terminal device only receives PDSCH2 scheduled by DCI2 on BWP2 and does not receive PDSCH1 scheduled by DCI1. Example 3: as shown inFIG.11, only DCI1 contains the BWP indicator, and the BWP indicator in DCI1 indicates BWP switching, while DCI2 does not contain any BWP indicator, that is, DCI2 corresponds to the currently activated BWP2. Assuming that DCI1 is the target DCI, the terminal device only receives PDSCH1 scheduled by DCI1 on BWP1 and does not receive PDSCH2 scheduled by DCI2. It should be understood that in the third embodiment, for the case in which the first BWP is different from the second BWP, in addition to determining the target DC and using the target DCI to send only the corresponding data channel, the terminal device can also treat the case as an error case and does not need to transmit the first data channel and the second data channel. It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the candidate BWP sets corresponding to the BWP indicators in the first DCI and the second DCI are the same, that is, the first BWP determined according to the first DCI belongs to the same candidate BWP set as the second BWP determined according to the second DCI. Specifically, N BWPs are pre-configured through RRC signaling by the network side, and then each of the BWPs is indicated by the BWP indicators in the first DCI and the second DCI respectively, that is, the two BMP indicators respectively indicate BWPs from the same BWP set. At this point, the length of the BWP indicator in the first DCI and the length of the BWP indicator in the second DCI is the same, and the BWPs indicated by the same value are also the same. As a result, according to the data channel transmission method in the embodiment of the present application, in a scenario such as incoherent transmission, when the terminal device is scheduled to send and/or receive two data channels simultaneously, it determines on which BWP to send or receive the data channels according to at least one DCI of the two DCI that schedule the two data channels respectively. According to one of the DCI, the terminal device can simultaneously determine the BWPs used for transmission of the two data channels, or simply receive or send the data channel scheduled by the DCI with a higher priority when the BWPs determined by the two pieces of DCI are different. In this way, the terminal device only needs to send or receive one or more data channels on one BWP, and it is not necessary for the terminal device to send or receive signals on multiple BWPs at the same time, thus reducing the implementation complexity of the terminal device and ensuring that the data channel which is more important can be preferentially transmitted In the above embodiment, the first DCI and the second DCI can be configured not only to schedule data channels, but also to schedule reference signals or to schedule control channels respectively. When the first DCI and the second DCI are configured to schedule uplink or downlink reference signals or uplink control channels, the method in the embodiment of the present application may also be used for determining a target BWP for transmitting the scheduled reference signals or control channels. For example, use the same BWP to transmit two reference signals (control channels), or use the target BWP determined according to the target DCI to transmit one of the reference signals (control channels). That is, the method in the present application is not limited to data channels but can also be used for reference signals and control channels. It should be understood that the sequence number of the above procedures does not imply the execution order, the execution order shall be determined by their functions and internal logics and shall not constitute any limitation on the implementation procedures of the embodiments of the present application. In addition, the term “and/or” indicates relationships between associated objects, which describes three relations. For example, A and/or B can mean that only A is available, both A and B are available, and only B is available. In addition, the character “/” used here generally indicates that the objects before and after “I” is in an OR relationship. The above content combinesFIG.1throughFIG.11to illustrate the data channel transmission method according to the embodiments of the application. In the following, terminal devices of embodiments of the present application is described by combiningFIG.12throughFIG.15. As shown inFIG.12, a terminal device300of the embodiments of the present application includes: a processing unit310and a transceiving unit320. Specifically, the transceiving unit is configured to receive first DCI and second DCI. The first DCI is configured to schedule a first data channel, and the second DCI is configured to schedule a second data channel. The first DCI, the second DCI, the first data channel, and the second data channel satisfy one of the following conditions: the first data channel and the second data channel are scheduled on a same time domain resource, a time interval between the first data channel and the second data channel is less than a first preset value, the first DCI and the second DCI are transmitted on a same time domain resource, a transmission time interval between the first DCI and the second DCI is less than a second preset value: transmit the first data channel and/or the second data channel on a bandwidth part BWP determined according to at least one DCI of the first DCI and the second DCI. Optionally, as an embodiment, the first DCI and the second DCI are associated with different control-resource sets CORESET, and/or, a search space where the first DCI is located is different from a search space where the second DCI is located. Optionally, as an embodiment, the first data channel and the second data channel are both uplink channels or downlink channels. Optionally, as an embodiment, the processing unit310is configured to determine the first DCI or the second DCI as a target DCI. The transceiving unit320is configured to transmit the first data channel and the second data channel on a target BWP determined according to the target DCI. Optionally, as an embodiment, the processing unit310is configured to determine, in the first DCI and the second DCI, DCI corresponding to a preset CORESET as the target DCI. Or, the processing unit310is configured to determine the first DCI or the second DCI as the target DCI according to at least one of the following information: configuration information of a CORESET associated with the first DCI and configuration information of a CORESET associated with the second DCI, an identifier or index of the CORESET associated with the first DCI and an identifier or index of the CORESET associated with the second DCI, an identifier or index of a search space where the first DCI is located and an identifier or index of a search space where the second DCI is located, a time sequence of receiving the first DCI and the second DCI by the transceiving unit320, a time sequence of transmitting the first data channel and transmitting the second data channel, a format of the first DCI and a format of the second DCI, scrambling modes of CRC codes of the first DCI and the second DCI, a first time interval between receiving the first DCI and transmitting the first data channel and a second time interval between receiving the second DCI and transmitting the second data channel, whether a BWP indicator in the first DCI indicates BWP switching and whether a BWP indicator in the second DCI indicates BWP switching, whether the first DCI includes a BWP indicator and whether the second DCI includes a BWP indicator, an index or subcarrier interval of a BWP where the first data channel is located and an index or subcarrier interval of a BWP where the second data channel is located. Optionally, in an embodiment, the first data channel and the second data channel are both PDSCHs, the processing unit310is configured to determine a feedback BWP according to the target DCI, and the transceiving unit320is configured to send, on the feedback BWP, acknowledgment/negative acknowledgment ACK/NACK information of the first data channel and ACK/NACK information of the second data channel. Optionally, in an embodiment, a first BWP determined according to the first DCI is the same as a second BWP determined according to the second DCI, and the transceiving unit320is configured to transmit the first data channel and the second data channel on the first BWP. Optionally, in an embodiment, the first data channel and the second data channel are both PDSCHs, and the transceiving unit320is configured to send ACK/NACK information of the first data channel and ACK/NACK information of the second data channel on the same BWP. Optionally, in an embodiment, the processing unit310is configured to: determine the first BWP according to BWP information in the first DCI, determine the second BWP according to BWP information in the second DCI, and determine that the first BWP is the same as the second BWP: or, if the first DCI does not include a BWP indicator and the second DCI does not include a BWP indicator, determine that the first BWP is the same as the second BWP; or, if the first DCI does not include BWP information and BWP information in the second DCI indicates a currently activated BWP, determine that the first BWP is the same as the second BWP. Optionally, in an embodiment, the first BWP determined according to the first DCI is different from the second BWP determined according to the second DCI. The processing unit310is configured to determine the first DCI or the second DCI as a target DCI. The transceiving unit320is configured to transmit a data channel scheduled by the target DCI only on a target BWP determined according to the target DCI. Optionally, in an embodiment, the processing unit310is configured to determine, in the first DCI and the second DCI, DCI corresponding to a preset CORESET as the target DCI. Or, determine the first or second DCI as the target DCI according to at least one of the following information: configuration information of a CORESET associated with the first DCI and configuration information of a CORESET associated with the second DCI, an identifier or index of the CORESET associated with the first DCI and an identifier or index of the CORESET associated with the second DCI, an identifier or index of a search space where the first DCI is located and an identifier or index of a search space where the second DCI is located, a time sequence of receiving the first DCI and the second DCI by the transceiving unit320, a time sequence of transmitting the first data channel and transmitting the second data channel, a format of the first DCI and a format of the second DCI, scrambling modes of CRC codes of the first DCI and the second DCI, a first time interval between receiving the first DCI and transmitting the first data channel and a second time interval between receiving the second DCI and transmitting the second data channel, whether a BWP indicator in the first DCI indicates BWP switching and whether a BWP indicator in the second DCI indicates BWP switching, whether the first DCI includes a BWP indicator and whether the second DCI includes a BWP indicator, an index or subcarrier interval of a BWP where the first data channel is located and an index or subcarrier interval of a BWP where the second data channel is located, a link direction of the first data channel and a link direction of the second data channel. Optionally, in an embodiment, the processing unit310is configured to: if the target DCI is the first DCI, determine not to transmit the second data channel scheduled by the second DCI. Optionally, in an embodiment, the processing unit310is configured to: if the target DCI is the first DCI, determine not to feed back ACK/NACK information corresponding to the second data channel; or, determine to feed back NACK in ACK/NACK information corresponding to the second data channel. Optionally, in an embodiment, the processing unit310is configured to: determine the first BWP according to BWP information in the first DCI, determine the second BWP according to BWP information in the second DCI, and determine that the first BWP is different from the second BWP; or, if the first DCI does not include BWP information and BWP information in the second DCI indicates BWP switching, determine that the first BWP is different from the second BWP. Optionally, in an embodiment, the processing unit310is configured to: determine the target BWP according to BWP information in the target DCI; or, determine a currently activated BWP as the target BWP if the target DCI does not include BWP information. Optionally, in an embodiment, the time domain resource is a time slot or an OFDM symbol. Optionally, in an embodiment, the first preset or the second preset value is the shortest length of time required for the terminal device to switch a BWP. Optionally, in an embodiment, the first BWP determined according to the first DCI and the second BWP determined according to the second DCI belong to a same candidate BWP set. It should be understood that the terminal device300in the embodiments of the present application may correspondingly execute the method200in the embodiments of the present application, and the above and other operations and/or functions of each unit in the terminal device300accomplish corresponding flowcharts of the terminal device shown inFIG.1toFIG.11, which will not be repeated herein. Therefore, when the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application is scheduled to send and/or receive two data channels simultaneously in a scenario such as incoherent transmission, it determines on which BWP to send or receive the data channels according to at least one DCI of the two DCI that schedule the two data channels respectively. According to one of the DCI, the terminal device can simultaneously determine the BWPs used for transmission of the two data channels, or only receive or send the data channel scheduled by the DCI with a higher priority when the BWPs determined by the two pieces of DCI are different. In this way, the terminal device only needs to send or receive one or more data channels on one BWP, and it is not necessary for the terminal device to send or receive signals on multiple BWPs at the same time, thus reducing the implementation complexity of the terminal device and ensuring that the data channel which is more important can be preferentially transmitted. FIG.13is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device400provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device400shown inFIG.13includes a processor410, which can call and run a computer program from a memory to implement the method according to the embodiment of the present application. Optionally, as shown inFIG.13, the communication device400may further include a memory420. The processor410may call and run a computer program from the memory420to implement the method according to the embodiment of the present application. The memory420may be a separate device independent of the processor410, or may be integrated in the processor410. Optionally, as shown inFIG.13, the communication device400may further include a transceiver430, and the processor410may control the transceiver430to communicate with other devices. Specifically, it may send information or data to other devices, or receive information or data sent by the other devices. The transceiver430may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver430may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more. Optionally, the communication device400may specifically be a network device in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device400may implement the corresponding process implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be repeated for the sake of conciseness. Optionally, the communication device400may specifically be a mobile terminal/terminal device of an embodiment of the application, and the communication device400may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal/terminal device in each method of the embodiment of the application, which will not be repeated for the sake of conciseness. FIG.14is a schematic structural diagram of a chip provided by an embodiment of the present application. The chip500shown inFIG.14includes a processor510, and the processor510can call and run a computer program from a memory to implement the method according to the embodiment of the present application. Optionally, as shown inFIG.14, the chip500may further include a memory520. The processor510may call and run a computer program from the memory520to implement the method according to the embodiment of the present application. The memory520may be a separate device independent of the processor510, or may be integrated in the processor510. Optionally, the chip50) may further include an input interface530. The processor510can control the input interface530to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, can acquire information or data sent by other devices or chips. Optionally, the chip500may further include an output interface540. The processor510can control the output interface540to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, can output information or data to other devices or chips. Optionally, the chip can be applied to the network device in the embodiment of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding process implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be repeated for the sake of conciseness. Optionally, the chip can be applied to the mobile terminal/terminal device in the embodiment of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding process implemented by the mobile terminal/terminal device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be repeated for the sake of conciseness. It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as a system-level chip, a system-on-chip, a system-on-chip, or a system-on-chip, etc. FIG.15is a schematic block diagram of a communication system600according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown inFIG.15, the communication system600includes a terminal device610and a network device620. The terminal device610may be configured to implement the corresponding function implemented by the terminal device in the foregoing method, and the network device620may be configured to implement the corresponding function implemented by the network device in the foregoing method, which will not be repeated for the sake of conciseness. It should be understood that the processor of the embodiment of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip with a signal processing capability. In the implementation process, the steps of the foregoing method embodiments can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or by instructions in the form of software. The above-mentioned processor can be a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programming logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. The methods, steps, and logical block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed and completed by a hardware decoding processor, or executed and completed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a mature storage medium in the field such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware. It can be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both the volatile memory and the non-volatile memory. Where the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), and an electrically programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example rather than limiting illustration, many forms of RAM are available, such as a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), a synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM)) and a direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memories of the systems and methods described herein are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories. It should be understood that the above-mentioned memory is exemplary but not restrictive, for example, the memory in the embodiment of the present application may also be a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), a synchronous connection dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), a direct rambus random access memory (DR RAM), etc. That is, the memory in the embodiments of the present application is intended to include, but not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory. The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program. Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the network device in the embodiment of the present application, and the computer program causes the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be repeated herein for brevity. Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium may be applied to the mobile terminal/terminal device in the embodiment of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal/terminal device in each method in the embodiments of the present application, which will not be repeated herein for brevity. The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, including computer program instructions. Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the network device in the embodiment of the present application, and the computer program instructions cause the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be repeated herein for brevity. Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the mobile terminal/terminal device in the embodiment of the present application, and the computer program instructions cause the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal/terminal device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be repeated herein for brevity. The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program. Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the network device in the embodiment of the present application. When the computer program runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be repeated herein for brevity. Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the mobile terminal/terminal device in the embodiment of the present application. When the computer program runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal/terminal device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be repeated herein for brevity. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. The professional technicians can use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present application. Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for convenience and concise description, the specific working process of the above-described system, device, and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated herein. In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device, and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other divisions in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not implemented. In addition, coupling or direct coupling or communication connections shown or discussed herein may be indirect coupling or communication connections through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments. In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone, physically, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. If the functions are implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part contributing to the existing technology or the part of the technical solution can be embodied, in essence, in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for enabling a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage media includes various media that can store program code, such as a USB flash disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk. The above is only a specific implementation form of the present application, the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and changes or substitutions that can easily be thought of by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be covered by the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be subject to the scope of protection of the claims. | 76,709 |
11943783 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.1Ais a diagram illustrating an example communications system100in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system100may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, and the like, to multiple wireless users. The communications system100may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems100may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like. As shown inFIG.1A, the communications system100may include wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs)102a,102b,102c,102d, a radio access network (RAN)104/113, a core network (CN)106/115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN)108, the Internet110, and other networks112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and/or network elements. Each of the WTRUs102a,102b,102c,102dmay be any type of device configured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs102a,102b,102c,102d, any of which may be referred to as a “station” and/or a “STA”, may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (for example, remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (for example, a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs102a,102b,102cand102dmay be interchangeably referred to as a UE. The communications systems100may also include a base station114aand/or a base station114b. Each of the base stations114a,114bmay be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs102a,102b,102c,102dto facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN106/115, the Internet110, and/or the other networks112. By way of example, the base stations114a,114bmay be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode-B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a next generation (gNB), a new radio (NR) NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations114a,114bare each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations114a,114bmay include any number of interconnected base stations and/or network elements. The base station114amay be part of the RAN104/113, which may also include other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, and the like. The base station114aand/or the base station114bmay be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station114amay be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one example, the base station114amay include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an example, the base station114amay employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and/or receive signals in desired spatial directions. The base stations114a,114bmay communicate with one or more of the WTRUs102a,102b,102c,102dover an air interface116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (for example, radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, and the like). The air interface116may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT). More specifically, as noted above, the communications system100may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station114ain the RAN104/113and the WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface116using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed Uplink (UL) Packet Access (HSUPA). In an example, the base station114aand the WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface116using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and/or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro). In an example, the base station114aand the WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access, which may establish the air interface116using NR. In an example, the base station114aand the WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station114aand the WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and/or transmissions sent to/from multiple types of base stations (for example, an eNB and a gNB). In other embodiments, the base station114aand the WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay implement radio technologies such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi)), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1×, CDMA2000 Evolution Data Only/Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO), Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like. The base station114binFIG.1Amay be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (for example, for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In one example, the base station114band the WTRUs102c,102dmay implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an example, the base station114band the WTRUs102c,102dmay implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another example, the base station114band the WTRUs102c,102dmay utilize a cellular-based RAT (for example, WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR and the like) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown inFIG.1A, the base station114bmay have a direct connection to the Internet110. Thus, the base station114bmay not be required to access the Internet110via the CN106/115. The RAN104/113may be in communication with the CN106/115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs102a,102b,102c,102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN106/115may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, and the like, and/or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown inFIG.1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN104/113and/or the CN106/115may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN104/113or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN104/113, which may be utilizing a NR radio technology, the CN106/115may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology. The CN106/115may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs102a,102b,102c,102dto access the PSTN108, the Internet110, and/or the other networks112. The PSTN108may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet110may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and/or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite. The networks112may include wired and/or wireless communications networks owned and/or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks112may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN104/113or a different RAT. Some or all of the WTRUs102a,102b,102c,102din the communications system100may include multi-mode capabilities (for example, the WTRUs102a,102b,102c,102dmay include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU102cshown inFIG.1Amay be configured to communicate with the base station114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology. FIG.1Bis a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU102. As shown inFIG.1B, the WTRU102may include a processor118, a transceiver120, a transmit/receive element122, a speaker/microphone124, a keypad126, a display/touchpad128, non-removable memory130, removable memory132, a power source134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset136, and/or other peripherals138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU102may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The processor118may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor118may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality that enables the WTRU102to operate in a wireless environment. The processor118may be coupled to the transceiver120, which may be coupled to the transmit/receive element122. WhileFIG.1Bdepicts the processor118and the transceiver120as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor118and the transceiver120may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip. The transmit/receive element122may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (for example, the base station114a) over the air interface116. For example, the transmit/receive element122may be an antenna configured to transmit and/or receive RF signals. In an example, the transmit/receive element122may be an emitter/detector configured to transmit and/or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another example, the transmit/receive element122may be configured to transmit and/or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit/receive element122may be configured to transmit and/or receive any combination of wireless signals. Although the transmit/receive element122is depicted inFIG.1Bas a single element, the WTRU102may include any number of transmit/receive elements122. More specifically, the WTRU102may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one example, the WTRU102may include two or more transmit/receive elements122(for example, multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface116. The transceiver120may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit/receive element122and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit/receive element122. As noted above, the WTRU102may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver120may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU102to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11, for example. The processor118of the WTRU102may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker/microphone124, the keypad126, and/or the display/touchpad128(for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor118may also output user data to the speaker/microphone124, the keypad126, and/or the display/touchpad128. In addition, the processor118may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory130and/or the removable memory132. The non-removable memory130may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory132may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor118may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown). The processor118may receive power from the power source134, and may be configured to distribute and/or control the power to the other components in the WTRU102. The power source134may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU102. For example, the power source134may include one or more dry cell batteries (for example, nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), and the like), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like. The processor118may also be coupled to the GPS chipset136, which may be configured to provide location information (for example, longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset136, the WTRU102may receive location information over the air interface116from a base station (for example, base stations114a,114b) and/or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU102may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The processor118may further be coupled to other peripherals138, which may include one or more software and/or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and/or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals138may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and/or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a Virtual Reality and/or Augmented Reality (VR/AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The peripherals138may include one or more sensors. The sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor, a geolocation sensor, an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, a humidity sensor and the like. The WTRU102may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (for example, associated with particular subframes for both the UL (for example, for transmission) and DL (for example, for reception) may be concurrent and/or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (for example, a choke) or signal processing via a processor (for example, a separate processor (not shown) or via processor118). In an example, the WTRU102may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (for example, associated with particular subframes for either the UL (for example, for transmission) or the DL (for example, for reception)). FIG.1Cis a system diagram illustrating the RAN104and the CN106. As noted above, the RAN104may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs102a,102b,102cover the air interface116. The RAN104may also be in communication with the CN106. The RAN104may include eNode-Bs160a,160b,160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN104may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs160a,160b,160cmay each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs102a,102b,102cover the air interface116. In one example, the eNode-Bs160a,160b,160cmay implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU102a. Each of the eNode-Bs160a,160b,160cmay be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL, and the like. As shown inFIG.1C, the eNode-Bs160a,160b,160cmay communicate with one another over an X2 interface. The CN106shown inFIG.1Cmay include a mobility management entity (MME)162, a serving gateway (SGW)164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW)166. While each of the foregoing elements is depicted as part of the CN106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator. The MME162may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs162a,162b,162cin the RAN104via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME162may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs102a,102b,102c, bearer activation/deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs102a,102b,102c, and the like. The MME162may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN104and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and/or WCDMA. The SGW164may be connected to each of the eNode Bs160a,160b,160cin the RAN104via the S1 interface. The SGW164may generally route and forward user data packets to/from the WTRUs102a,102b,102c. The SGW164may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs102a,102b,102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs102a,102b,102c, and the like. The SGW164may be connected to the PGW166, which may provide the WTRUs102a,102b,102cwith access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs102a,102b,102cand IP-enabled devices. The CN106may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN106may provide the WTRUs102a,102b,102cwith access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs102a,102b,102cand traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN106may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (for example, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN106and the PSTN108. In addition, the CN106may provide the WTRUs102a,102b,102cwith access to the other networks112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers. Although the WTRU is described inFIGS.1A-1Das a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (for example, temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network. In representative embodiments, the other network112may be a WLAN. A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired/wireless network that carries traffic in to and/or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and/or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (for example, directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (for example, all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an ad-hoc mode of communication. When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (for example, 20 megahertz (MHz) wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width, set via signaling. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) may be implemented, for example in 802.11 systems. For CSMA/CA, the STAs (for example, every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed/detected and/or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (for example, only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS. High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel. Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and/or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and/or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control (MAC). Sub 1 gigahertz (GHz) modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11ah relative to those used in 802.11n, and 802.11ac. 802.11af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11ah may support Meter Type Control/Machine-Type Communications (MTC), such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (for example, only support for) certain and/or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (for example, to maintain a very long battery life). WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and/or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.11ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (for example, MTC type devices) that support (for example, only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and/or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and/or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode) transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remains idle and may be available. In the United States, the available frequency bands which may be used by 802.11ah are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code. FIG.1Dis a system diagram illustrating the RAN113and the CN115. As noted above, the RAN113may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs102a,102b,102cover the air interface116. The RAN113may also be in communication with the CN115. The RAN113may include gNBs180a,180b,180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN113may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs180a,180b,180cmay each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs102a,102b,102cover the air interface116. In one example, the gNBs180a,180b,180cmay implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs180a,108bmay utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and/or receive signals from the gNBs180a,180b,180c. Thus, the gNB180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU102a. In an example, the gNBs180a,180b,180cmay implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB180amay transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU102a(not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an example, the gNBs180a,180b,180cmay implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU102amay receive coordinated transmissions from gNB180aand gNB180b(and/or gNB180c). The WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay communicate with gNBs180a,180b,180cusing transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and/or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and/or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay communicate with gNBs180a,180b,180cusing subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths, for example, containing a varying number of OFDM symbols and/or lasting varying lengths of absolute time. The gNBs180a,180b,180cmay be configured to communicate with the WTRUs102a,102b,102cin a standalone configuration and/or a non-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay communicate with gNBs180a,180b,180cwithout also accessing other RANs (for example, such as eNode-Bs160a,160b,160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay utilize one or more of gNBs180a,180b,180cas a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay communicate with gNBs180a,180b,180cusing signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay communicate with/connect to gNBs180a,180b,180cwhile also communicating with/connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs160a,160b,160c. For example, WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs180a,180b,180cand one or more eNode-Bs160a,160b,160csubstantially simultaneously. In the non-standalone configuration, eNode-Bs160a,160b,160cmay serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs102a,102b,102cand gNBs180a,180b,180cmay provide additional coverage and/or throughput for servicing WTRUs102a,102b,102c. Each of the gNBs180a,180b,180cmay be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL, support of network slicing, DC, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User Plane Function (UPF)184a,184b, routing of control plane information towards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF)182a,182band the like. As shown inFIG.1D, the gNBs180a,180b,180cmay communicate with one another over an Xn interface. The CN115shown inFIG.1Dmay include at least one AMF182a,182b, at least one UPF184a,184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF)183a,183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN)185a,185b. While each of the foregoing elements is depicted as part of the CN115, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator. The AMF182a,182bmay be connected to one or more of the gNBs180a,180b,180cin the RAN113via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF182a,182bmay be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs102a,102b,102c, support for network slicing (for example, handling of different protocol data unit (PDU) sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF183a,183b, management of the registration area, termination of non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF182a,182bin order to customize CN support for WTRUs102a,102b,102cbased on the types of services being utilized WTRUs102a,102b,102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases, such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for MTC access, and/or the like. The AMF182a,182bmay provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN113and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and/or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi. The SMF183a,183bmay be connected to an AMF182a,182bin the CN115via an N11 interface. The SMF183a,183bmay also be connected to a UPF184a,184bin the CN115via an N4 interface. The SMF183a,183bmay select and control the UPF184a,184band configure the routing of traffic through the UPF184a,184b. The SMF183a,183bmay perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing DL data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like. The UPF184a,184bmay be connected to one or more of the gNBs180a,180b,180cin the RAN113via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs102a,102b,102cwith access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs102a,102b,102cand IP-enabled devices. The UPF184,184bmay perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering DL packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like. The CN115may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN115may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (for example, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN115and the PSTN108. In addition, the CN115may provide the WTRUs102a,102b,102cwith access to the other networks112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers. In one example, the WTRUs102a,102b,102cmay be connected to a local DN185a,185bthrough the UPF184a,184bvia the N3 interface to the UPF184a,184band an N6 interface between the UPF184a,184band the DN185a,185b. In view ofFIGS.1A-1D, and the corresponding description ofFIGS.1A-1D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to one or more of: WTRU102a-d, Base Station114a-b, eNode-B160a-c, MME162, SGW164, PGW166, gNB180a-c, AMF182a-ab, UPF184a-b, SMF183a-b, DN185a-b, and/or any other device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and/or to simulate network and/or WTRU functions. The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and/or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and/or deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and/or may perform testing using over-the-air wireless communications. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and/or a non-deployed (for example, testing) wired and/or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and/or wireless communications via RF circuitry (for example, which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and/or receive data. Multiple access (MA) is a scheme in which multiple users (for example, multiple WTRUs) gain access to resources monitored and controlled by an eNode-B and use the resources simultaneously. For example, OFDMA uses several carriers carrying data independently of each other and not interfering with each other. In LTE, uplink access is may be enabled by a contention-free procedure. WTRUs are configured to use a specific Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources to initiate the access process. In a case of absence of scheduled scheduling request (SR) resources, a WTRU may kick start the access process through a random access channel (RACH) procedure. FIG.2is a timing diagram of an example SR process in LTE. As shown in an example in timing diagram200, a procedure for contention-free uplink access in LTE may assume an SR interval of 10 milliseconds (ms). The SR process for a contention-free uplink access can be summarized in the following main operations. A WTRU may notice the arrival of uplink data at the uplink buffer of the WTRU230. The WTRU may then await for a subframe with an SR transmission opportunity (1-9 ms), and send the SR using dedicated resources on an uplink control channel (for example, PUCCH) during the SR transmission opportunity240. SR transmission opportunity240is earlier in time than SR transmission opportunity280and may be the first available SR transmission opportunity after the arrival of uplink data at the uplink buffer of the WTRU230. Upon reception of the SR, an eNode-B issues the WTRU an uplink grant for a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission250, which may be issued during a regular subframe. After receiving the grant, the WTRU may send the uplink data260on a PUSCH. If required, the WTRU may also send its buffer status report (BSR) in the same subframe260. According to the received BSR, the eNode-B may schedule resources for a further PUSCH transmission. In a later time, the transmitted uplink data by the WTRU may be received by and be available at eNode-B270. As outlined, the SR process requires coordination and control between the WTRU and eNode-B. Assuming success of the initial SR transmission on the PUCCH, the completion of the SR process may take about 20 ms before the actual PUSCH transmission. Hereafter, an uplink data transmission with an uplink grant (for example, downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling) may be referred to as a DCI message, a grant-based PUSCH transmission (GB-PUSCH) and an uplink data transmission without an uplink grant may be referred to as grant-less (GL) PUSCH (GL-PUSCH) transmission. A PUSCH transmission may be interchangeably used with an uplink transmission, an uplink data transmission, and an uplink control information transmission. Hereafter, the uplink resource which may be used for GL-PUSCH may be referred to as a GL-PUSCH resource and the uplink resource which may be used for GB-PUSCH may be referred to as a GB-PUSCH resource. One or more of following may apply. In examples used herein, an SR may be a contention-based SR (CB-SR) and an SR resource may be a CB-SR resource, and these terms may be used interchangeably. Also, as used herein, the terms control part, control channel, control channel information and control information may be used interchangeably. Because of the density of WTRUs in an massive machine-type communications (mMTC) application, it is not efficient to employ a contention-free access for every mMTC WTRU. Employing contention-free access for every mMTC WTRU requires several steps of uplink/downlink signaling; thus, significantly reducing the spectrum efficiency of the system. From the URLLC application perspective, a URLLC WTRU may have as a main objective transmitting its packet with the least amount of delay. Thus, the objective may prohibit the use of regular scheduling and grant process. Considering mMTC and URLLC use cases, there is motivation to develop a grant-less MA process to enable fast reliable access for URLLC WTRUs and serve a high number of mMTC WTRUs with the least amount of control overhead. The following example aspects are considered herein: CB-SR, independent transmission of SR and GL-PUSCH, grant-less uplink transmission and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) design, beam selection consideration, format of grant-less UL transmissions, and grant-less access resource provisioning. CB-SR procedures for MA are provided in examples herein. For example, an SR may be a request for one or more resources, such as, for example, UL resources, that may be used for UL data transmission. An SR may be a request for grant based resources such as a GB-PUSCH. An SR may comprise at least one bit. In an example, an SR may comprise a single bit. CB-SR resources may be provided and/or used during the CB-SR procedure. CB-SR resources may be used, for example, simultaneously, by one or more WTRUs in a group of WTRUs that may be assigned or configured with a set of CB-SR resources. The transmissions of WTRUs that transmit an SR on a CB-SR resource may coherently combine. When multiple WTRUs transmit an SR on the same CB-SR resource, an eNode-B that receives the CB-SR resource may receive the SRs with a higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) than when one WTRU send one SR on the resource. When an eNode-B receives an SR on a CB-SR resource, the eNode-B may understand that at least one WTRU in a group of WTRUs that may use a CB-SR resource may have sent the SR. A WTRU may be assigned and/or configured with a set of at least one resource that may be used for an SR, for example, a CB-SR. A set, such as, for example, a same set, of at least one resource that may be used for an SR, for example, a CB-SR, may be assigned to and/or configured for a group of one or more WTRUs. In another example, a WTRU may choose or determine a set or subset of CB-SR resources, for example, from a set of CB-SR resources that may be available in a cell. The configuration of CB-SR resources that may be available in a cell may be broadcast by an eNode-B. A WTRU, for example, a WTRU that may intend to make a grant-less transmission, may determine at least one resource to be used for an SR. For example, a WTRU may select a resource from a set of assigned, configured, or determined resources. A WTRU may transmit an SR on a determined or selected SR resource. An eNode-B that receives an SR on a CB-SR resource may respond with a grant for resources, for example, GB-PUSCH resources, that may be used for data transmission. The grant may be directed to a group of WTRUs that may use the CB-SR resource, for example a group of WTRUs that may be configured with and/or may use the CB-SR resource. The intended group may be indicated with a group identifier. A WTRU that transmits a CB-SR may expect a response with a grant that may be intended for a group. The response may be referred to as a CB-SR response. A CB-SR response may provide a grant for resources, for example, GB-PUSCH resources, to one or more WTRUs. A WTRU, for example, a WTRU that transmits a CB-SR, may monitor for a CB-SR response. A WTRU may monitor for a CB-SR response that corresponds to, for example, be directed to, the group, for example, via a group identifier, associated with the CB-SR that the WTRU transmitted. If a WTRU receives a CB-SR response that is intended for the WTRU, for a group it belongs to, or for a group associated with the CB-SR the WTRU had transmitted, the WTRU may transmit on the granted resource(s) (for example, using a GB-PUSCH). The WTRU may determine that a CB-SR response is intended for a group based on a group identifier. A WTRU that is in a group (for example, a group associated with a set of SR resources) may be configured with a group identifier. A set of CB-SR resources may be associated with a group identifier. A WTRU may be configured with a group identifier that is associated with a set of CB-SR resources it may use. A WTRU may use a configured group identifier for monitoring for a CB-SR response, receiving a CB-SR response or both. A WTRU may determine a group identifier to use for monitoring and/or receiving a CB-SR response, for example, based on the CB-SR resource or resource set the WTRU may use for transmission of a CB-SR. A WTRU may use the determined group identifier for monitoring a CB-SR response, receiving a CB-SR response or both. A group identifier may be a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI), such as, for example, a group-RNTI (G-RNTI). A cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of a control channel that may be intended for a group may be masked or scrambled with a G-RNTI. A collision may occur, for example, when more than one WTRU may transmit on a granted resource such as a GB-PUSCH. A collision may occur, for example, when more than one WTRU in a group may transmit an SR on a CB-SR resource and receive a granted resource (for example, with a corresponding group identifier). One or more of the following examples may apply to avoid a collision and/or enable WTRU separation when a same resource may be used by multiple WTRUs. In an example, different WTRUs may transmit different demodulation reference signals (DMRSs), for example when transmitting on the same resource. In a further example, different WTRUs may transmit on different resources that may be associated with a resource grant, for example, one resource grant. For example, a WTRU may be configured with a DMRS pattern that the WTRU may use when transmitting on a granted resource that may be used by multiple WTRUs. A DMRS pattern may be configured, for example, semi-statically such as by radio resource control (RRC) signaling. A DMRS pattern may be chosen from among a set of DMRS patterns. The set may be fixed or configured, for example, semi-statically such as by RRC signaling. The set may be identified in a grant, for example, the CB-SR response grant. A WTRU may determine a DMRS pattern based on a configured or known set of patterns. A DMRS pattern may be determined, defined, or configured based on at least one of time/frequency locations, cyclic shift index, scrambling sequence index, orthogonal cover code index, and transmission power level. For example, DCI that is for a CB-SR response, may include a DMRS indicator or an indication of a DMRS pattern set. A WTRU may determine a DMRS pattern based on the DMRS indicator or choose a DMRS pattern from among the set. A WTRU may determine and/or choose a DMRS pattern based on at least one of: a DMRS indicator, a DMRS pattern set, a WTRU identifier (ID) (for example, International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)), and/or a configured value or ID (for example, cell-RNTI (C-RNTI), resume ID and the like). In another example, a set of granted resources (for example, GB-PUSCH resources) may be used. The set may be configured (for example, semi-statically) and/or indicated in a DCI message that may be for a CB-SR response. A WTRU may determine or choose a granted resource (for example, GB-PUSCH) from among the configured and/or indicated set of resources bases on at least one of a WTRU ID (for example, IMSI), and/or a configured value or ID (for example, C-RNTI, resume ID). A WTRU may transmit on a determined or selected granted resource using a determined or selected DMRS pattern. In an example, a WTRU may transmit on a determined or selected GB-PUSCH using a determined or selected DMRS pattern. A WTRU may include in a transmission on a granted resources information that may identify or further identify the WTRU, the WTRU's capabilities, the WTRU's traffic type, and the like. FIG.3is a flowchart diagram of an example procedure using contention-based SR (CB-SR). As shown in flowchart diagram300, a WTRU using CB-SR may receive a configuration for a CB-SR resource set and an associated group ID (G-ID)310. The WTRU may then choose a CB-SR resource from the set of CB-SR resources320. In an example, the WTRU may make this choice randomly. Further, the WTRU may transmit an SR on the chosen CB-SR resource330. The WTRU may monitor for a CB-SR response that includes the G-ID340. Also, the WTRU may continue monitoring until the CB-SR response is received or until a time period has lapsed350. On a condition of receiving the CB-SR response, the WTRU may obtain a grant for UL resources and a DMRS set identification360. The WTRU may also determine a DMRS pattern from among the identified set370. In addition, the WTRU may transmit on the granted UL resource using the determined DMRS pattern380. Example procedures for independent transmission of both SR and GL-PUSCH transmissions are discussed herein. In an example, SR and GL-PUSCH transmissions may be transmitted concurrently in the process of independent transmission of both SR and GL-PUSCH transmissions. For example, in RRC_CONNECTED mode, a WTRU may attempt to make independent transmission of both SR and GL-PUSCH transmissions to increase the likelihood of a successful transmission and reduced the wait time for a high priority payload. The GL-PUSCH transmission may be based on a contention-based principle where multiple WTRUs attempt to use the same resources for transmission. The GL-PUSCH transmission may contain a BSR or another form of indication of a WTRU buffer status to indicate whether subsequent PUSCH transmissions may follow. The indication of the buffer status may be explicit or implicit. An implicit indication may be realized through, for example, a specific use of DMRS, use of certain cyclic shifts, and the like. Depending on the WTRU configuration of resources for transmission of Scheduling Request Indicators (SRI), the independent transmissions of an SR and a PUSCH may be simultaneous or offset in time. FIGS.4A and4Bare timing diagrams of example SR processes.FIGS.4A and4Bshow exemplary timelines for SR and PUSCH transmissions.FIG.4Ashows an example of time-offset independent transmissions of an SR and a PUSCH. As shown in timing diagram400, a WTRU may determine the arrival of uplink data at the physical layer430. The WTRU may then transmit a PUSCH440. Further, the WTRU may await for a subframe with an SR transmission opportunity, and send the SR during the SR transmission opportunity450. Upon reception of the SR, an eNode-B may issue the WTRU an uplink grant for a PUSCH transmission460, which may be issued during a regular subframe. After receiving the grant, the WTRU may send the uplink data on a follow-up PUSCH transmission470. In addition, the WTRU may be provided with a subframe with a further SR transmission opportunity480. FIG.4Bshows an example of simultaneous independent transmissions of an SR and a PUSCH transmissions. As shown inFIG.4B, a WTRU may determine the arrival of uplink data at the physical layer435. The WTRU may then send the SR transmission and a PUSCH transmission simultaneously during the SR transmission opportunity445. Upon reception of the SR, an eNode-B may issue the WTRU an uplink grant for a PUSCH transmission465, which may be issued during a regular subframe. After receiving the grant, the WTRU may send additional uplink data on a follow-up PUSCH transmission475. In addition, the WTRU may be provided with a subframe with a further SR transmission opportunity485. As shown in an example inFIG.4Athe PUSCH transmission440may occur prior to the SR transmission450. In comparison, in an example inFIG.4B, the WTRU may transmit both SR and PUSCH transmissions simultaneously445. In another example shown inFIG.4B, the WTRU may postpone the PUSCH transmission by at least one transmission period to avoid splitting its power. For example, the WTRU may transmit the SR without a PUSCH and then transmit a follow-up PUSCH transmission475at the later transmission period. In this way, the WTRU may avoid splitting its power between the SR transmission and the PUSCH transmission. Dynamic determination of GL-PUSCH resources may be performed in the process of independent transmission of both SR and GL-PUSCH transmissions. For example, the WTRU may determine the size and location of the PUSCH resources on a dynamic basis through a Layer-1 (L1) control signaling. The L1 control signaling may be WTRU specific, or, alternatively, may target a group of WTRUs. In the case of targeting a group of WTRUs, the size of the resources may be defined based on the number of WTRUs and mission importance or quality of service of the group. The defined resource set may be permanent or valid for a specific time period, for example, based on a validity timer. In a carrier-aggregated system, the defined resource set may or may not be on the same carrier component. Alternatively, to reduce the likelihood of collision, the WTRU may be configured to use two sets of resources defined on each component carrier. The resources set on each component carrier may be similar in size and location in the resource grid. The WTRU may determine the information about the resource set on the secondary component carriers explicitly or implicitly from the defined resource set for the primary component carrier. WTRU behavior in response to success or failure of independent transmission may be determined in the process of independent transmission of both SR and GL-PUSCH transmission. For example, depending on the success of each transmission, a WTRU may adopt different steps to proceed. If an eNode-B decodes both SR and GL-PUSCH transmissions correctly, the eNode-B may process the received payload on the GL-PUSCH, and in response to the received SR it may issue an uplink grant for the follow up PUSCH transmission for the WTRU. The uplink grant may be considered valid for a pre-defined number of transmission events. In an example, a WTRU may be configured to an expiry window length beyond which it shall not use the uplink grant for an uplink transmission. In a further example, upon reception of the uplink grant, a WTRU may use the uplink grant for either a new follow up first transmissions or a re-transmission. In an additional example, In follow up transmissions, a WTRU may indicate whether its uplink grant needs to be renewed or terminated early in case of an expiry window. In a further example, the eNode-B may decode GL-PUSCH transmission correctly and fail to decode the SR. In this case, if the GL-PUSCH transmission contains a BSR or another form of indication of a WTRU buffer status, the eNode-B may determine whether the WTRU requires a further uplink grant and send an uplink grant accordingly. Further, assuming WTRU transmissions of SR and GL-PUSCH transmissions in transmission intervals nSRand nGL-PUSCH, the WTRU may initiate a RACH process if it does not receive an UL grant or a HARQ feedback by transmission event n=max(nSR, nGL-PUSCH)+k. If the eNode-B decodes the SR correctly, and fails to decode the GL-PUSCH transmission, a UL grant may be issued for a GB-PUSCH transmission. Examples of GL uplink transmission and HARQ design are provided herein. In an example, a WTRU may transmit an uplink transmission without an uplink grant. In an example, the uplink grant may be signaled dynamically in each Transmission Time Interval (TTI). For example, a WTRU may transmit uplink data, for example, a PUSCH, in an uplink resource without scheduling. Examples of GL-PUSCH resource configuration for grant-less UL transmission are provided herein. In an example, a WTRU may transmit a GL-PUSCH in one or more of uplink resources which may be configured, determined, and/or used for a GL-PUSCH transmission. The uplink resource may include at least one of subframe, radio frame, physical resource block (PRB), PRB-pairs, DMRS cyclic shift index, resource element, symbol, subcarrier, tone and the like. GL-PUSCH and/or GB-PUSCH resources may be determined, defined, used, and/or configured as a set of uplink resources. In an example, GL-PUSCH and/or GB-PUSCH resources may be determined as PRB-pairs in one or more subframes. The one or more of uplink resources for GL-PUSCH transmission may be a subset of uplink resources which may be used for GB-PUSCH transmission. For example, the subset of GB-PUSCH resources may be configured or determined as GL-PUSCH resources which may be used for GL-PUSCH transmission or GB-PUSCH transmission. In a further example, a WTRU may transmit a GL-PUSCH transmission in a GL-PUSCH resource within configured or determined GL-PUSCH resources. In another example, the subset of GB-PUSCH resources which may be used for GL-PUSCH resources may be determined based on at least one of: a higher layer configuration; a dynamic indication in an associated DCI message; a function of one or more of system parameters including physical cell-ID, subframe number, and radio frame number; and a function of one or more of WTRU-specific parameters including WTRU-ID or UE-ID (for example, IMSI, System Architecture Evolution (SAE)-Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) (s-TMSI), C-RNTI, and the like). In an additional example, an associated DCI message for GB-PUSCH resource determination or configuration may be monitored or received by the WTRU in a known time location, for example, a subframe previous to sending the UL data. For example, an associated DCI message for a GB-PUSCH resource determination in a subframe n may be monitored by the WTRU in a subframe n−k, wherein n and k may each be a positive integer number. The associated DCI message for a GB-PUSCH resource determination or configuration may include at least one of following: a subset of PRB-pairs, one or more DMRS cyclic shift indices, one or more symbols and the like. In an example, one or more frequency resources may be used for a GL-PUSCH transmission, and the location of one or more frequency resources may be determined based on a time index. The time index may include, for example, a subframe number, a TTI number and the like. Accordingly, one or more of following examples may apply. In an example, one or more subbands may be used, determined, and/or configured for a GL-PUSCH transmission, such that a subband may be a consecutive one or more PRBs (or PRB-pairs) in a subframe. In a further example, the number of subbands may be determined based on a system bandwidth. In another example, the number of PRBs (or PRB-pairs) for a subband may be determined based on a system bandwidth. In an additional example, an index may be used for a subband and the subband index may be determined as an increasing order from the lowest PRB index. In another example, a subset of subband indices may be used to indicate one or more frequency resources for a GL-PUSCH transmission. The subset of subband indices may be determined based on a subframe number, System Frame Number (SFN) number, or both. Further, the subset of subband indices may be different from one subframe to another. In an additional example, among a set of subbands for GL-PUSCH transmission, one or more subbands may be used semi-statically and the rest of the subbands in the set may be configured, determined, and/or used with a dynamic indication. For example, if Na subbands are configured for GL-PUSCH transmission, a subset of Na (for example, Ns, where Ns≤Na) may be determined as a fallback set of GL-PUSCH resources, which may be considered as GL-PUSCH resources, and the remaining GL-PUSCH resources may be dynamically set on/off based on an indication, for example, a dynamic GL-PUSCH resource. The fallback set of GL-PUSCH resources may be used for a first type of uplink data traffic, for example, a URLLC, and the dynamic set of GL-PUSCH resource may be used for a second type of uplink data traffic, for example, mMTC. In another example, the presence of one or more GL-PUSCH resources in a certain time window may be indicated in a known time/frequency location. For example, a set of GL-PUSCH resources may be configured, for example, via higher layer signaling, and the presence of the configured set of GL-PUSCH resources may be dynamically indicated. For example, the presence indication of the GL-PUSCH resources may be received, and/or monitored by a WTRU in a known downlink control signal. For example, one or more downlink control resources, for example, a HARQ-acknowledgement (ACK) resource, may be reserved and may be used to indicate the presence of GL-PUSCH resources. A WTRU may transmit a GL-PUSCH transmission in the GL-PUSCH resources if the presence is indicated. The presence indication may be received, and/or monitored by WTRUs which may be configured, and/or determined to support GL-PUSCH transmission. The presence indication may be received, and/or monitored by WTRUs which may support a certain type of data traffic, for example, URLLC or mMTC. The presence of the GL-PUSCH resources may be implicitly indicated from a presence indication for other type of signals, for example, sounding reference signals (SRS). In another example, a common uplink grant may be used to schedule uplink resources which may be used for GL-PUSCH transmission. For example, a common uplink grant may be used to indicate which uplink resources may be used for GL-PUSCH transmission. In an example, the common uplink may be a common DCI message. The common uplink grant may be monitored or received by WTRUs, which may be configured or determined to use GL-PUSCH transmission. In an example, an eNode-B may transmit the DCI message during a fixed time window. FIG.5is a resource allocation diagram of an example of a dynamic indication of a UL resource grant for GL-PUSCH transmission. As shown in resource diagram500, a WTRU, which receives the common uplink grant for GL-PUSCH transmission, may determine one or more GL-PUSCH resources granted for GL-PUSCH transmission,520,530,540, if the WTRU has data traffic to send using a GL-PUSCH resource. The WTRU may receive the common uplink grant for GL-PUSCH transmission in a DL control region515in subframe510. The data traffic to send using the GL-PUSCH resource may be the second type of data traffic, for example, mMTC. The common uplink grant may be signaled, transmitted, and/or carried in a DCI message which may be monitored by the WTRU in a common search space. The DCI message may be located in DL control region515. The common search space may be monitored by WTRUs which may be configured or determined to use GL-PUSCH transmission. In an example, the DCI message may be a common DCI message. In a further example, the DCI message may include a subset of the set of GL-PUSCH resources. In an example, if the WTRU successfully receives the DCI message with an indication of a presence of at least a subset of the set of GL-PUSCH resources, the WTRU may then select one or more GL-PUSCH resources from the subset. For example, the WTRU may select GL-PUSCH frequency resources, GL-PUSCH time resources or both. Further, the WTRU may select a time period within the fixed time window. The WTRU may then transmit, and the eNode-B may receive, data on a GL-PUSCH using the selected GL-PUSCH resources during the selected time period. In an example, the WTRU may select the GL-PUSCH frequency resources based on a random determination. In a further example, the WTRU may determine the selection of the GL-PUSCH frequency resources based on a WTRU-ID. In an additional example, the WTRU may select the time period based on a random determination. In another example, the WTRU may determine the selection of the time period based on a WTRU-ID. Examples of resource sharing between a GL-PUSCH and a GB-PUSCH are provided herein. In an example, one or more GL-PUSCH resources may be used, for example, by the WTRU, for GB-PUSCH transmission. For example, one or more GL-PUSCH resources may be configured by an eNode-B and the configured one or more GL-PUSCH resources may be scheduled for GB-PUSCH transmission. In this case, a GL-PUSCH resource and a GB-PUSCH resource may collide in a same resource which may result in performance degradation. In another example which may reduce such degradation, resource element (RE) muting of GB-PUSCH for dynamically configurable GL-PUSCH resources may be used. For example, a WTRU may transmit a GB-PUSCH using the scheduled resources which may collide with GL-PUSCH resources if the GL-PUSCH resources are inactive. A WTRU may mute (for example, puncture or rate-match around) the GB-PUSCH resources which may collide with GL-PUSCH resources if the GL-PUSCH resources are active. A GL-PUSCH resource for which a WTRU received a presence indication may be referred to as an active GL-PUSCH resource and a GL-PUSCH resource for which a WTRU did not receive a presence indication may be referred to as an inactive GL-PUSCH resource for a time unit. The time unit may include at least one of several types of time units, such as, for example, a slot, a set of slots, a subframe, a set of subframes, a TTI, a radio frame, and the like. In an example case, the presence of GL-PUSCH resources may be indicated for a time unit, wherein the time unit may include at least one of a slot, a set of slots, a subframe, a set of subframes, a TTI, and a radio frame. The number of slots, subframes, and/or TTIs for a time unit may be configured in a cell-specific or a WTRU-specific manner. In an additional example, the presence of GL-PUSCH resources may indicate a subset of GL-PUSCH resources activated for the associated time unit. A WTRU may puncture or rate-match around the scheduled GB-PUSCH resources which may collide with an active GL-PUSCH resource only. A WTRU may transmit a GB-PUSCH transmission on the GB-PUSCH resources which may collide with an inactive GL-PUSCH resource. In a further example, a WTRU may monitor a common DCI message which may indicate a presence of GL-PUSCH resources even though the WTRU may not be configured for GL-PUSCH transmission. The common DCI message may be monitored in a common search space with an RNTI which may be used for a GL-PUSCH presence indication, for example, a GL-RNTI. In another example, a WTRU may receive a presence indication in the DCI message used for GB-PUSCH transmission. For example, a WTRU may receive a DCI message for GB-PUSCH transmission and the DCI message may include the presence indication of a GL-PUSCH resource. One or more sets of GL-PUSCH resources may be configured and at least one of the configured sets of GL-PUSCH resources may be indicated as an active GL-PUSCH resource in the DCI message. In a further example, the status (for example, active or inactive) of a GL-PUSCH resource may be indicated implicitly or explicitly. For example, the status (for example, active or inactive) of a GL-PUSCH resource may be determined implicitly based on one or more system parameters which may include at least one of cell-ID, subframe number, slot number, radio frame number, and numerology (for example, subcarrier spacing, cyclic prefix (CP) length, and the like). The status (for example, active or inactive) of a GL-PUSCH resource may be indicated explicitly in a DCI message. In another example, a GB-PUSCH resource, which may collide with an active GL-PUSCH resource, may be punctured or rate-matched around if the GB-PUSCH resource has a lower priority than the GL-PUSCH resource. For example, a data RE of a GB-PUSCH resource may have a higher priority than a data RE of a GL-PUSCH resource, and a data RE of a GB-PUSCH resource may have a lower priority than a reference signal of a GL-PUSCH resource. Therefore, the GB-PUSCH data RE may be punctured or rate-matched around the reference signal of the active GL-PUSCH resource. In addition, a GB-PUSCH data RE may be muted (for example, punctured or rate-matched around) if it collides with one or more higher priority GL-PUSCH REs which may include at least one of a DMRS and Uplink control information (UCI). With respect to DMRS, the DMRS pattern (for example, time/frequency locations) for GB-PUSCH may be different from that for GL-PUSCH. With respect to UCI, a GL-PUSCH may include a control information which may be a higher priority than GL-PUSCH data REs. In an example solution, a listen before talk (LBT) technique may be a monitoring technique used in radio communications whereby a radio transmitter first senses its radio environment before it starts a transmission. An LBT technique may be used for GL-PUSCH transmission in order to reduce a collision between a GL-PUSCH and a GB-PUSCH. For example, a WTRU may be required to check or sense a channel's use of GL-PUSCH resources before it may transmit a GL-PUSCH on a configured GL-PUSCH resource. A GL-PUSCH transmission with LBT may be referred to as a Type-1 GL-PUSCH and a GL-PUSCH transmission without LBT may be referred to as a Type-2 GL-PUSCH. A WTRU may be configured with a Type-1 GL-PUSCH or a Type-2 GL-PUSCH. Type-1 GL-PUSCH or Type-2 GL-PUSCH may be determined based on at least one of a WTRU-specific configuration (for example, using a WTRU-specific RRC), a cell-specific configuration (for example, using a broadcasting channel), and/or a resource-specific configuration (for example, PRB level). A first one or more symbols in a GL-PUSCH resource may be used for sensing the channel use (for example, channel sensing) and/or switching a time from sensing a channel to performing a GL-PUSCH transmission. For example, during sensing of the channel use, a WTRU may measure a signal strength in a GL-PUSCH resource and, if the signal strength is higher than a predefined threshold, the WTRU may drop GL-PUSCH transmission. Otherwise, the WTRU may transmit a GL-PUSCH transmission. Additionally or alternatively, a WTRU may perform channel sensing per PRB-level and any detected unused PRB within GL-PUSCH resources may be used for a GL-PUSCH transmission. Additionally or alternatively, a WTRU may perform channel sensing per subframe-level and, if a signal strength measured in a GL-PUSCH resource (or GL-PUSCH resources) is higher than a predefined threshold, the WTRU may drop GL-PUSCH transmission and wait until next GL-PUSCH resources are available. In another example solution, one or more orthogonal reference signals may be used between a GL-PUSCH and a GB-PUSCH. For example, a first set of orthogonal reference signals may be reserved, configured, or allocated for GL-PUSCH transmission and a second set of orthogonal reference signals may be used for GB-PUSCH transmission, where the first set of orthogonal reference signals and the second set of orthogonal reference signals may be mutually exclusive. In an example, a set of orthogonal reference signals may be used in a cell. Further, a subset of the set of orthogonal reference signals may be configured for GL-PUSCH transmission. In a further example, a WTRU may determine one or more orthogonal reference signals within a configured subset of the orthogonal reference signals for a GL-PUSCH transmission. The one or more orthogonal reference signals may, for example, be determined based on at least one of WTRU parameters (for example, a WTRU-ID), cell-specific parameters (for example, a cell-ID), and a GL-PUSCH resource index. In another example solution, a GB-PUSCH structure may be adapted according to the PUSCH resource type. The PUSCH resource type may include, for example, a GB-PUSCH resource type or a GL-PUSCH resource type. For example, one or more GB-PUSCH types may be used and each GB-PUSCH type may have a different resource structure, or a GB-PUSCH structure, based on the resource type where a GB-PUSCH may be transmitted. For example, a first GB-PUSCH type, for example, a first GB-PUSCH structure, may include a data resource only and a second GB-PUSCH type, for example, a second GB-PUSCH structure, may include muted RE resources, such that the first GB-PUSCH type may be used for a PRB which may not be configured as a GL-PUSCH resource and the second GB-PUSCH type may be used for a PRB which may be configured as a GL-PUSCH resource. The muted REs in a second GB-PUSCH type may be located on the REs used for a preamble and/or control resources for GL-PUSCH transmission. FIG.6a resource allocation diagram of an example of different GB-PUSCH types according to the PUSCH resource type. As shown in an example in resource diagram600, a first GB-PUSCH type610for transmitting on a GB-PUSCH resource may include a data resource only and a second GB-PUSCH type620for transmitting on a GL-PUSCH resource may include muted RE resources625. A data resource may include at least one of data REs and reference signal REs. A muted resource may be located on the REs used for preamble and control information. For example, muted RE resources625of the second GB-PUSCH type620may be located on the REs for preamble633and control information635on GL-PUSCH resource type630. Examples of HARQ operation for grant-less UL transmission are provided herein. In an example, for a GL-PUSCH transmission, an associated HARQ-ACK (for example, ACK, negative ACK (NACK), and/or discontinuous transmission (DTX)) may be monitored or received by a WTRU. The associated HARQ-ACK for a GL-PUSCH transmission may be transmitted via a DL HARQ-ACK channel, wherein the DL HARQ-ACK channel may be at least one of following: a HARQ-ACK physical channel which may be used for HARQ-ACK transmission only, a DCI message which may carry one or more HARQ-ACKs for one or more GL-PUSCH transmissions, and/or the type of HARQ-ACK channel (for example, a HARQ-ACK physical channel or a common DCI message) may be determined based on uplink data traffic type. In an example, a HARQ-ACK physical channel may be used for HARQ-ACK transmission only. The HARQ-ACK physical channel may be configured with a set of HARQ-ACK resources and a HARQ-ACK resource may be may be determined for a GL-PUSCH transmission based on at least one of time and/or frequency resource of the GL-PUSCH transmission, WTRU-ID, and/or subframe (and/or radio frame) number. In a further example, a DCI message may carry one or more HARQ-ACKs for one or more GL-PUSCH transmission. A certain RNTI may be used for the DCI message, wherein the RNTI may be determined based on at least one of time and/or frequency resource of the GL-PUSCH transmission, WTRU-ID, and/or subframe (and/or radio frame) number. The DCI message may be monitored or received in a downlink control channel region. In an additional example, the type of HARQ-ACK channel (for example, HARQ-ACK physical channel or a common DCI message) may be determined based on an uplink data traffic type. For example, a first HARQ-ACK channel (for example, a HARQ-ACK physical channel) may be used for a first uplink data traffic type (for example, URLLC) and a second HARQ-ACK channel (for example, a common DCI message) may be used for a second uplink data traffic type (for example, mMTC). FIG.7is a resource allocation diagram of an example of HARQ-ACK timing based on one or more associated GL-PUSCH frequency locations. In an example shown in resource diagram700, the time location of the HARQ-ACK transmission for a GL-PUSCH transmission may be determined based on a frequency location of a GL-PUSCH resource used. For example, a WTRU may transmit a GL-PUSCH transmission in a subframe n. Further, the WTRU may assume, receive, and/or monitor the associated HARQ-ACK transmission in the subframe n+k, wherein the k may be determined based on the frequency location of the GL-PUSCH transmission. As shown inFIG.7, the WTRU may transmit GL-PUSCH transmissions720,730,740during subframe710. A eNode-B may likewise receive the GL-PUSCH transmissions720,730,740. The timing locations for the HARK-ACKs associated with each GL-PUSCH transmission may be determined by the frequency locations of each GL-PUSCH transmission. For example, HARQ-ACK associated with GL-PUSCH transmission720may be transmitted by the eNode-B and received by the WTRU in control region755of subframe750based on the frequency location of GL-PUSCH transmission720. Further, HARQ-ACK associated with GL-PUSCH transmission730may be transmitted by the eNode-B and received by the WTRU in control region765of subframe760based on the frequency location of GL-PUSCH transmission730and HARQ-ACK associated with GL-PUSCH transmission740may be transmitted by the eNode-B and received by the WTRU in control region795of subframe790based on the frequency location of GL-PUSCH transmission740. As a further example, the WTRU may transmit GL-PUSCH transmissions720,730,740using GL-PUSCH frequency resources during subframe710. The WTRU may then determine a time location for reception of HARQ-ACK associated with the GL-PUSCH based on the GL-PUSCH frequency resources used to transmit GL-PUSCH transmissions720,730,740. The WTRU may then monitor for the reception of HARQ-ACK reception during the determined time location. In an example, the determination of the time location may be based on a GL-PUSCH resource index. In an example, if more than one GL-PUSCH resource is used to transmit GL-PUSCH transmissions, the first GL-PUSCH (for example, GL-PUSCH resource with a lowest PRB index) may be used to determine a HARQ-ACK time location. Alternatively or additionally, the first GL-PUSCH resource index may be used to determine the HARQ-ACK time location. In addition, k may be same for all frequency locations of the GL-PUSCH transmissions if GL-PUSCH resources are configured, or used in all subframes (or TTIs). Also, k may be different if a subset of subframes (or TTIs) contains GL-PUSCH resources. In another example, a time window may be used for monitoring, or reception of the HARQ-ACK transmission associated with a GL-PUSCH transmission. For example, a WTRU may transmit a GL-PUSCH transmission in a subframe n and the WTRU may monitor or receive the corresponding HARQ-ACK for a time window (for example, a HARQ-ACK time window) starting from subframe n+k1 and ending at subframe n+k2, where k1 and k2 are positive integers and satisfy k1<k2. In an example, k1 may be a fixed number (for example, k1=4) and k2 may be determined based on at least one of following. For example, k2 may be determined from a predefined number (for example, k2=8). In another example, k2 may be determined by higher layer signaling. In a further example, k2 may be determined by a type of uplink data traffic. For example, k2=k1 if a first uplink data traffic is used (for example, URLLC), and k2=8 if a second uplink data traffic is used (for example, mMTC). In an additional example, k2 may be determined by a dynamic indication from the common DCI message which may be used for the indication of GL-PUSCH resources. In another example, a common DCI message may be used for one or more HARQ-ACKs and the DCI message may be monitored within a time window. The RNTI may be determined based on a time/frequency location of the GL-PUSCH transmission and a WTRU may monitor the common DCI message with the determined RNTI within the time window. In a further example, if a WTRU fails to receive the common DCI message (which may be a DCI message used, for example, for an associated HARQ-ACK) in a time window, the WTRU may retransmit the GL-PUSCH transmission. The retransmission timing may be based on the last subframe index within the time window. The time location of the GL-PUSCH retransmission may be determined based on the UL data traffic type for the GL-PUSCH retransmission. For example, if the last subframe of the time window is the subframe n, a WTRU may retransmit a GL-PUSCH transmission in the earliest subframe which may contain GL-PUSCH resources after the subframe n+j, where j may be a positive integer number and may be determined based on the UL data traffic type. In an example, an uplink transmission power for a GL-PUSCH retransmission or retransmission may be determined based on a NACK or DTX. For example, the uplink transmission power may be increased by Δoffset if a WTRU fails to receive an HARQ-ACK, while the same uplink transmission power may be used if a WTRU received a NACK. In an uplink power control formula, an offset value to increase the transmission power may be present if a WTRU fails to receive HARQ-ACK in a time window (for example, HARQ-ACK time window). In another example, a redundancy version of a GL-PUSCH transmission or retransmission may be determined based on a NACK or DTX. For example, a WTRU may use a first redundancy version of a GL-PUSCH if the WTRU received DTX (for example, a WTRU fails to receive an associated HARQ-ACK) and the WTRU may use a second redundancy version of a GL-PUSCH if the WTRU received a NACK. The first redundancy version may be the same redundancy version from the previous transmission, for example, the first transmission or initial transmission. The second redundancy version may be a different redundancy version from the previous transmission. The second redundancy version, or redundancy version index, may be known to the receiver, which may be, for example, an eNode-B. FIG.8is resource allocation diagram of an example of dynamic GL-PUSCH resource allocation and its associated HARQ-ACK timing based on one or more GL-PUSCH frequency locations. As shown in an example in resource diagram800, a presence of one or more GL-PUSCH resources in a subframe (or slot, TTI or the like) may be indicated using a common DCI message and the associated HARQ-ACK timing may be determined based on the frequency location of the one or more GL-PUSCH resource. In an example, an eNode-B may transmit and the WTRU may receive a configuration of a set of GL-PUSCH resources. The configuration of a set of GL-PUSCH resources may include GL-PUSCH frequency resources, GL-PUSCH time resources or both. The WTRU may then monitor for a DCI message including an indication of a presence of at least a subset of the set of GL-PUSCH resources. In an example, the WTRU may monitor for the DCI message during a fixed time window. In an example, the fixed time window may be a first fixed time window. The eNode-B may transmit the DCI message during a fixed time window. For example, a WTRU, may receive a common uplink grant for GL-PUSCH transmission, and may determine one or more GL-PUSCH resources granted for GL-PUSCH transmissions820,830,840, if the WTRU has data traffic to send using a GL-PUSCH resource. The WTRU may receive the common uplink grant for GL-PUSCH transmission in a DL control region815in subframe810. The common uplink grant may be signaled, transmitted, and/or carried in a DCI message which may be monitored by the WTRU in a common search space. The DCI message may be located in DL control region815. The common search space may be monitored by WTRUs which may be configured or determined to use GL-PUSCH transmission. In an example, the DCI message may be a common DCI message. In a further example, the DCI message may include a subset of the set of GL-PUSCH resources. If the WTRU successfully receives the DCI message with an indication of a presence of at least a subset of the set of GL-PUSCH resources, the WTRU may then select one or more GL-PUSCH resources from the subset. For example, the WTRU may select GL-PUSCH frequency resources, GL-PUSCH time resources or both. Further, the WTRU may select a time period within the fixed time window. In an example, this fixed time window may be a second fixed time window. In a further example, the first fixed time window may be different from the second fixed time window. In another example, the first fixed time window may be the same as the second fixed time window. The WTRU may then transmit, and the eNode-B may receive, data on a GL-PUSCH using the selected GL-PUSCH resources during the selected time period. In an example, the WTRU may select the GL-PUSCH frequency resources based on a random determination. In a further example, the WTRU may determine the selection of the GL-PUSCH frequency resources based on a WTRU-ID. In an additional example, the WTRU may select the time period based on a random determination. In another example, the WTRU may determine the selection of the time period based on a WTRU-ID. As a further example, the WTRU may transmit GL-PUSCH transmissions820,830,840using selected GL-PUSCH frequency resources during subframe805, which may be the selected time period. The WTRU may then determine a time location for reception of HARQ-ACK associated with the GL-PUSCH based on the selected GL-PUSCH frequency resources. The WTRU may then monitor for the reception of HARQ-ACK reception during the determined time location. In an example, the determination of the time location may be based on a GL-PUSCH resource index. Accordingly, the timing locations for the HARK-ACKs associated with each GL-PUSCH may be determined by the frequency locations of each GL-PUSCH. For example, HARQ-ACK associated with GL-PUSCH820may be transmitted by the eNode-B and received by the WTRU in control region855of subframe850based on the frequency location of GL-PUSCH820. Further, HARQ-ACK associated with GL-PUSCH830may be transmitted by the eNode-B and received by the WTRU in control region865of subframe860based on the frequency location of GL-PUSCH830and HARQ-ACK associated with GL-PUSCH840may be transmitted by the eNode-B and received by the WTRU in control region895of subframe890based on the frequency location of GL-PUSCH840. The use of time multiplexed HARQ-ACK transmission based on a frequency location of the GL-PUSCH resource may be configured via a higher layer signaling. For example, a WTRU may be configured to use time multiplexed HARQ-ACK transmissions or the WTRU may be configured to use the same time location for HARQ-ACK transmissions irrespective of the one or more frequency location GL-PUSCH resources selected or determined by the WTRU. The use of time multiplexed HARQ-ACK transmission may be determined based on the number of GL-PUSCH resources configured via a higher layer signaling. For example, if the number of GL-PUSCH resources is lower than a predefined threshold, HARQ-ACK time location may be the same for all GL-PUSCH resources. Otherwise, the HARQ-ACK time location may be multiplexed and determined based on the one or more frequency location of GL-PUSCH resources. Examples of beam selection considerations are provided herein. In GL-PUSCH, a WTRU may start its transmission without an uplink grant. When the WTRU has multiple transmit antennas and/or multiple transmit/receive units, it may use a precoding matrix to precode the signal before it is transmitted. The precoding may be performed in the digital domain, in the analog domain, or a combination of both (hybrid digital/analog). In an example, the precoding matrix applied to the current signal may be chosen as the precoding matrix that was used for the last transmission before the current transmission. In another example, the WTRU may determine the precoding matrix to be applied to the current transmission by using the last receiver beamforming matrix that was used to receive a downlink signal. For example, the receiver analog beamforming matrix used for the reception of the last downlink transmission may be used to precode the current uplink transmission. In another example, the WTRU may make some measurements by using various signals transmitted in the downlink and, by using these measurements, compute a precoding matrix to use for the uplink transmission. For example, the WTRU may use the covariance matrix of the received downlink signals as a guide for uplink beamforming of the initial GL-PUSCH transmission. In another example, the WTRU may repeat the transmission, i.e., transmit the same signal multiple times, where each one of the multiple transmissions of the same signal may be precoded with a different precoding matrix. As an example, each transmission may be beamformed in a different direction such that at the end of the multiple transmissions, the signal may have been received at a wide range of angles, as shown in an example inFIG.9. FIG.9is a timing and transmission diagram showing an example of a repetition of a signal sent with different beams. In an example shown in timing and transmission diagram900, a transmission unit of the WTRU may be a waveform symbol (for example, an OFDM symbol, a DFT-s-OFDM symbol, a single carrier symbol, and the like), or a unit that may include several symbols (for example, a slot, a subframe, and the like). In an example, the signal in each transmission unit910,920,930,940may be transmitted with a corresponding active beam960,970,980,990in a specific direction. The signal transmitted within each transmission unit may have been generated from channel coded data where the whole code-block is transmitted within a transmission unit, such as one of transmission units910,920,930,940. Alternatively, a part of the code-block may be transmitted within one transmission unit and the whole code-block may be transmitted within two or more transmission units. In another solution, the WTRU may generate multiple simultaneous beams and the transmission with these beams may be repeated over multiple time intervals. The beams may be multiplied with orthogonal vectors where each coefficient of a vector is applied over one transmission unit. FIG.10is a timing and transmission diagram showing an example of a transmission of simultaneous beams. As an example shown in timing and transmission diagram1000, a WTRU may generate two beams where the complex coefficients used to multiply the data signal x are given by the vectors α and β, respectively. The signals transmitted in the two consecutive transmission units1010,1020may then be written as y1=1αx+1βx, and y2=1αx−1βx, where the orthogonal codes [1 1] and [1 −1] have been used to multiply each of the corresponding beams1060,1070over the two transmission units1010,1020. Other pairs of beams may be multiplied with orthogonal cover codes and transmitted in the following transmission units, such as transmission units1020,1040. The signal transmitted within each transmission unit1010,1020,1030,1040may have been generated from channel coded data where the whole code-block is transmitted within a transmission unit. Alternatively, a part of the code-block may be transmitted within one transmission unit and the whole code-block may be transmitted within two or more transmission units. The precoding/beamforming matrices and/or orthogonal cover codes used to multiply simultaneous beams may be configured by a central controller, such as an eNode-B or a controller within an eNode-B. Examples of formats of grant-less UL transmissions are provided herein. For example, the GL-PUSCH may use a stand-alone format, or the GL-PUSCH may only contain control and data. For usage scenarios where UL grant-less transmissions may be needed, such as mMTC and/or URLLC, an example mechanism is provided herein for the eNode-B to detect the grant-less transmissions. WTRUs may be enabled to use UL grant-less transmissions with a pre-assigned set of time-frequency resources for GL-PUSCH transmission. Given the potentially large number of connections and the limited number of resources, the eNode-B may pre-assign a same set of resources to multiple WTRUs, for example, based on the path loss measurements reported by the WTRUs. Some of the UL grant-less transmissions from the WTRUs pre-configured with the same set of resources may overlap, and non-orthogonal MA (NOMA) schemes may be used to separate the individual WTRU transmissions. In an example, the GL-PUSCH may use a stand-alone format for grant-less UL transmissions. The format may include a preamble field, control field and data field. FIG.11is a format diagram showing an example of a stand-alone format for GL-PUSCH. As shown in format diagram1100, the stand-alone transmission format, which may be referred to as Format 1, may include a preamble field1110, control channel information field1120, and data field1130. The preamble field1110may enable the eNode-B to detect the presence of UL grant-less transmission, and it may also enable the eNode-B to perform channel estimation. In other words, the preamble field1110may be used in lieu of or in addition to reference symbols. The preambles may use sequences with good correlation properties (for example, Golay sequences), for example, to orthogonalize the WTRU and to enable the channel estimation. For example, preamble field1110may use sequences with good correlation properties. The type of preamble may be configurable during the initial connection setup, for example, based on: a usage scenario (for example, mMTC or URLLC) and/or a NOMA scheme employed in the system. For example, for NOMA schemes that require synchronous access (for example code-domain NOMA), a shorter preamble may be used. Also, for NOMA schemes that may support asynchronous access (for example, where the timing offsets between the WTRUs are larger than the cyclic prefix or guard interval), a longer preamble may be used. Additionally, the preamble may also be dynamically configured by the WTRU, as a function of the total number of REs pre-assigned for the transmission and the packet size (for example, transport block size (TBS)) to be transmitted. For example, for a small TBS, where the target coding rate may be attained with fewer REs than the pre-assigned number of REs, it may be possible to use a longer preamble, for example, to improve the detection probability and the channel estimation. The eNode-B may search for a pre-defined set of preambles within the pool of resources pre-assigned for UL grant-less access. Thus, the WTRU may select from a set of possible preamble lengths, to reduce the complexity of the eNode-B searches. For the case where the WTRU may select the preamble, the preamble configuration may be used to convey the WTRU type, or other type information or indication. An example of such an indication is whether the current transmission includes a control channel. As shown inFIG.11, the control channel field1130for the UL grant-less transmission follows the preamble field1110, and it may carry information including one or more of the following. For example, the control channel field1130may carry information regarding a WTRU identification, such as, for example, a WTRU ID or RNTIs. Further, the control channel field1130may carry information regarding a TBS and/or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used for the transmission. Also, the control channel field1130may carry information regarding whether the current transmission is a single transmission or part of a multiple packet transmission. In addition, the control channel field1130may carry information regarding a new data indicator (NDI) configured to signal a new transmission or a re-transmission. Moreover, the control channel field1130may carry information regarding other UL feedback information. In an example, the WTRU identification may be achieved in two stages. In an example stage, a WTRU type may be, for example, carried within the preamble1110, wherein a determined or selected preamble may implicitly indicate a WTRU type or an explicit indicator may be signaled in the preamble field. In another example stage, a WTRU ID or an RNTI may be, for example, carried by the control channel field1120. In another example format of stand-alone transmission for grant-less UL transmissions, which may be referred to as Format 2, the GL-PUSCH may contain control and data fields for grant-less UL transmissions. For example, the GL-PUSCH may only contain control and data fields for grant-less UL transmissions. FIG.12is a format diagram showing an example of a control and data only format for GL-PUSCH transmission. In an example shown in format diagram1200, the control and data only format may include a control channel information field1220and a data field1230. In an example, when continuous transmissions are needed, for example, when more UL data needs to be transmitted or used, the stand-alone transmission format shown inFIG.11may be used such that a preamble field1110is included for the first transmission, and then the format inFIG.12may be used (i.e., without the preamble field1110) where subsequent transmissions in back-to-back UL grant-less transmissions may be transmitted or used. FIG.13is timing diagram showing an example of GL-PUSCH interference scenarios between different formats. In an example shown in timing diagram1300, each transmission1320,1330following the first transmission1310may include stand-alone WTRU identification information in the respective control channel field1322,1332, for example, to enable the eNode-B to separate overlapping transmissions from different WTRUs, where one WTRU may use a first format, and an overlapping WTRU may use a second format. An example scenario is illustrated inFIG.13, which shows GL-PUSCH interference scenarios between Format 1 and Format 2. WTRU1 may use Format 2 after the initial transmission, which may be sent using Format 1, and WTRU2 may use Format 1 for an initial transmission as well as further transmissions. In an example, WTRU1 may use a first format, which may be Format 1 and the format shown inFIG.11for the initial transmission. Further, WTRU1 may use a second format, which may be Format 2 and the format shown inFIG.12for transmissions sent after the initial transmission. Accordingly, WTRU1 may transmit each transmission1320,1330following the first transmission1310with a stand-alone WTRU identification information in the respective control channel field1322,1332. This stand-alone WTRU identification information may enable the eNode-B to separate overlapping transmissions from WTRU2. WTRU2 may use the first format, which may be format 1 and the format shown inFIG.11for an initial transmission as well as further transmissions. In this way, WTRU2 may transmit transmissions1360,1370,1380. Additionally, in an example, the preambles for Format 1 may use dedicated sub-carriers, for example, to reduce the interference between the preamble of the WTRUs using Format 1, and the control field of the WTRUs using Format 2. The dedicated sub-carriers may be within the pre-assigned resources. FIG.14is a timing diagram showing an example of using dedicated subcarriers for GL-PUSCH preambles. As shown in timing diagram1400, the preambles1411,1461,1471,1481may use dedicated sub-carriers. However, the overlapping control fields1412,1422,1432,1462,1472,1482and the data fields1413,1423,1433,1463,1473,1483may lack dedicated sub-carriers. Examples of grant-less access resource provisioning are provided herein. For example, different types of traffic may have different quality of service (QoS) requirements that may need to be considered. For example, URLLC traffic may need to be prioritized over mMTC traffic. Resource provisioning, such as, for example, by an eNode-B, may consider the QoS requirements of various traffic types. Resource provisioning may include allocating a set of resources, such as, for example, PUSCH resources, for one or more traffic types. As an example, a set of resources, such as, for example, dedicated resources, may be allocated and/or made available for a traffic or transmission type. In an example, the traffic or transmission type may include URLLC or mMTC traffic or transmissions. The set of resources may be allocated and/or made available exclusively for the traffic or transmission type transmissions. The size of the set of resources may be increased/decreased/reallocated, for example, based on factors such as traffic type, QoS, and/or load. For example, a smaller set of resources may be allocated for mMTC traffic than for URLLC traffic, for example, based on QoS requirements. Resources allocated for URLLC traffic may be reduced, for example, when the load may be decreased. Collisions on contention based resources may be reduced by random resource selection. For example, an eNode-B may consider a resource set of K resources that may be used by a set of devices or for a type of traffic or transmissions. In an example, the resources may be used for mMTC devices or devices with mMTC traffic or transmissions. The devices may choose a subset of resources within this set of K resources. In an example, the devices may need or use resources for a particular traffic or transmission type. In a further example, the devices may choose randomly. The devices may choose a subset of resources by utilizing a simple multiplicative hashing function that may randomize the starting resource, which may be part of a set of resources that may be contiguous, that a WTRU may utilize for its transmissions. A WTRUs may utilize its C-RNTI, or its WTRU ID such as its IMSI, to perform this hashing. In another example, an eNode-B may utilize multiple resource sets. An eNode-B may divide K resources into M sets. A subset of devices may be allowed to transmit on a set. The sets may or may not be overlapping. An eNode-B may use a form of load balancing to distribute the WTRUs across the different sets. An eNode-B may utilize downlink L1/Layer 2 (L2) control signals in order to inform a WTRU, or set of WTRUs, which set of resources the WTRU may utilize for transmissions. The L1/L2 control signals may be in a DCI message, in an example. Resource provisioning may be used in addition to NOMA schemes, for example, to providing an additional dimension of flexibility for the purpose of resource overloading. In an example, the resource provisioning may be dedicated resource provisioning. In a further example, a NOMA scheme may be a power domain NOMA scheme. Example procedures for UL grant-less transmissions using preambles are provided herein. For UL grant-less transmissions that use preambles, mechanisms may be required to handle potential collisions of MA signatures for the WTRUs that may transmit in the same time-frequency resources, for example, for WTRU power saving purposes. These mechanisms may be used, for example, for the WTRUs to continue the UL data transmission when no collision occurs, or to stop the UL data transmission when collisions may occur. FIG.15is a format and timing diagram illustrating an example of UL grant-less transmissions. In an example shown in format and timing diagram1500, the eNode-B may transmit a preamble ACK if it successfully decoded a valid preamble sequence1510received from the WTRU. The WTRU, upon receiving the preamble ACK within a valid acknowledgement window1520, may continue the UL grant-less transmission for control information1530,1550and/or data1540,1560. FIG.16is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure for performing UL grant-less transmissions using preambles. In an example shown in flow diagram1600, the WTRU may receive, determine, and/or decode the configuration of available preamble resource sets from DL system information messages, for example, a SIB1610. The WTRU may determine a preamble resource set from the available sets and/or a group ID associated with the resource set1615. In an example, the WTRU may determine a preamble resource set from the available sets based on the WTRU ID, the WTRU category, the traffic type or the like. In a further example, the group ID may be a G_ID. The WTRU may select a preamble sequence from the preamble resource set1620, and transmit the preamble using the selected preamble sequence1630. In an example, the WTRU may select the preamble sequence randomly. Further, the WTRU may monitor for a preamble ACK, for example, within a preamble ACK window1640. If no timeout is reached for the monitoring, the WTRU may continue monitoring. The WTRU may determine if a preamble ACK is received1650. In an example, the preamble ACK may correspond to the transmitted preamble and/or the preamble ACK may be received with the associated G_ID. If no preamble ACK is received in the ACK window, the WTRU may perform one or more of the following. The WTRU may discontinue the transmission (DTx). Further, the WTRU may increase the preamble Tx power1660. Also, the WTRU may select a new preamble sequence from the preamble resource set associated with the same G_ID1620. The WTRU may re-transmit the grant-less UL preamble using the new parameters1630. The WTRU may re-transmit the preamble during the next transmission opportunity and/or when the maximum number of re-tries for the preamble transmission is reached. In an example, the maximum number of re-tries may be based on exceeding a count threshold value on a transmission counter. In addition, the WTRU may switch to a low power, or sleep, mode, for example, to save power, and re-start the process after a certain amount of time. If the WTRU receives a preamble ACK, for example, with the matching G_ID, and/or with a preamble sequence index matching the selected or transmitted preamble sequence, within the valid ACK window, the WTRU may continue with the UL grant-less transmission of control information and/or data. The WTRU may select an MA signature from a pre-defined MA signature set1670. In an example, the WTRU may select the MA signature randomly. In a further example, the MA signature set may be associated with the preamble sequence. Further, the WTRU may use the selected MA signature to perform grant-less uplink transmission of the UL control information and/or data1680. The WTRU may also use MA physical layer (PHY) resources for the grant-less uplink transmission. An MA signature may consist of a at least one of a codebook, an interleaver, a spreading and/or scrambling sequence, and/or one or more reference signals or symbols. In the UL control signal, the WTRU may signal its ID (for example a WTRU_ID, or an RNTI), which may be used by the eNode-B, for example, to acknowledge subsequent data transmissions from that particular WTRU. For the grant-less transmission of the preamble, one or more WTRUs associated with the same G_ID may select the same preamble sequence and a preamble collision may occur. The eNode-B may still correctly detect the preamble, and may transmit a preamble ACK within the valid window, using the G_ID and the index of the preamble sequence. The WTRUs may select the MA signature from the MA signature set. In an example, the WTRUs may select the MA signatures randomly using different random seeds. In an example, by de-coupling the selection of the MA signature from the selection of the preamble sequence, the probability of collisions on the data part of the transmissions may be reduced, while maintaining a reasonably low complexity for the eNode-B preamble detection process. In an example, the low complexity may be maintained due to the limited size of the preamble resource set. In another example, the WTRU may select a preamble sequence from the preamble resource set, and select the MA signature from the MA signature set. In an example, the WTRU may select a preamble sequence from the preamble resource set randomly. The WTRU may transmit the preamble, which may be a grant-less preamble in an example, using the selected preamble sequence, and continue with the UL control channel transmission immediately following the preamble, using the selected MA signature. FIG.17is a format and timing diagram illustrating another example of a UL grant-less transmission. In an example shown in format and timing diagram1700, the control channel1720may carry information to identify the WTRU, for example, an WTRU_ID. After the transmission of the preamble1710and the control channel1720with control information, the WTRU may then start monitoring for the preamble ACK with the specific WTRU identifier, during the ACK window1730. If no preamble ACK with the specific WTRU identifier is received during the valid ACK window1730, the WTRU may retry the grant-less UL preamble1710transmission (with different parameters, as explained above), or may stop the subsequent data transmissions, for example, to save power. If the eNode-B correctly detects the preamble1710and successfully decodes the control channel1720, then the eNode-B may transmit in the downlink a preamble ACK with the specific WTRU identifier. In this case, the WTRU may proceed with the UL grant-less transmission of the data1750,1770, for example, using the MA sequence selected for the control channel1720,1740,1760transmissions. Alternatively, the control channel1720may carry information to signal the index of the MA sequence selected for the grant-less data transmission. Examples of grant-less transmission acknowledgement and power control are provided herein. A WTRU may make a transmission that may be a grant-less transmission. A transmission may consist of one or more parts. A part of a transmission may include at least one of a preamble, a control part that may include or provide control information, and/or a data part that may include or provide data, for example, a data payload. For example, a transmission may include the parts or part types shown inFIG.11or12. One or more of each of one or more part types (for example, preamble, data, and/or control) may be included in a transmission, for example, as shown inFIGS.13,14,15and17. The parts of a transmission may be in any order and still be consistent with this disclosure. For example, the order may be as shown inFIG.11or inFIG.18. FIG.18is a format and timing diagram illustrating an example of a UL grant-less transmission without gaps between parts of the transmission. In an example shown in format and timing diagram1800, a UL grant-less transmission may include a preamble part1810, followed by a data part1820, which may be in turn followed by a control part1830. The UL grant-less transmission may have no gaps between parts1810,1820,1830. As a result, the parts1810,1820,1830may be contiguous in time. In another example, multiple parts of a transmission that may be considered to be part of the same transmission or transmission set may or may not be contiguous in time. For example, there may be a time window or time gap between the transmission of parts such as those parts shown inFIGS.14,16and19. FIG.19is a format and timing diagram illustrating an example of a UL grant-less transmission without gaps between parts of the transmission. In an example shown in format and timing diagram1900, a UL grant-less transmission may include a preamble part1910, followed by a control part1920, which may be in turn followed by a gap1930and then a data part1940after the gap. The UL grant-less transmission may therefore have a gap between parts1920and1940. As a result, the parts1920and1940may not be contiguous in time. A WTRU may transmit a part of a transmission if the WTRU receives an ACK for another part of the transmission, for example, a preceding part of the transmission. In an example, A WTRU may transmit a part of a transmission only if it receives an ACK for another part of the transmission. Thus, successive parts may transmitted in response to receiving an ACK to a preceding transmitted part, and, more particularly, an immediately preceding transmitted part. A control part or control information of a transmission may include at least one parameter, for example, a transmission parameter related to another part of the transmission, or a part of another transmission. For example, control information may include one or more parameters related to a data part of a transmission, and, more particularly, to a subsequent data part of a transmission. For example, a transmission may include at least the control information and the data transmission and, optionally, a preamble. In an example, control information may be transmitted for a data transmission or a data part of a transmission. Control information may include at least one of the following: time and/or frequency resources, for example, location and/or number of resources, which may be represented by a set of resource blocks (RBs) PRBs, REs, among others; transport block size (TBS); modulation and/or coding scheme; and/or a number of layers used for the transmission. Any part of a transmission, for example, a control part or a data part may include or provide a WTRU identifier. The WTRU identifier may be a function of a WTRU ID, for example, an IMSI or temporary international mobile subscriber identity (TIMSI). The WTRU identifier may be the WTRU's connection identifier, for example, its C-RNTI. The WTRU identifier may be chosen or determined, for example, randomly, by the WTRU from a pool or set of identifiers that may be configured and/or that may be broadcast. The WTRU identifier may be included explicitly. For example, the WTRU identifier may be represented by an index or a number of bits. The WTRU identifier may be included implicitly. For example, at least part, for example, a CRC, of the transmission part may be masked or scrambled with the WTRU identifier. Thus, information representative of the WTRU, explicitly or implicitly, may be provided by the WTRU. A WTRU may determine or select a preamble for transmission, for example, from a pool or set of preambles that may be configured. There may be a separate pools or sets of preambles for WTRUs in connected mode, for example, WTRUs with an RRC connection, and WTRUs in idle mode or not in connected mode, for example, WTRUs without an RRC connection. A preamble may be selected at least according to the configuration of the transmission, where the configuration may include at least one of: the number of parts in the transmission, the types of parts in the transmission, the length of one or more parts in the transmission and the like. In an example, the length of one or more parts in the transmission may be measured in time. One or more transmission ACKs may be provided, used or both. In an example, the ACKs may be provided by an eNode-B and used by a WTRU. In another example, the ACKs may be provided by a WTRU and used by an eNode-B. One or more parts of a transmission may be received, for example, by a WTRU, and/or acknowledged, for example, by a network node such as an eNode-B. In an example, each part of a transmission may be acknowledged separately or in a bundle. A WTRU may receive an acknowledgement for one or more parts of a transmission that may be made by the WTRU. In an example, a WTRU may receive an acknowledgement for each of one or more parts of a transmission that may be made by the WTRU. For example, a WTRU may make a transmission of a preamble, control information, and/or data. The WTRU may receive an ACK for one or more of the preamble, the control information, and/or the data. An ACK and/or a NACK for different parts of a transmission may be provided together or separately. For example, following a transmission that may comprise one or more transmission parts, a WTRU may monitor for reception of an ACK/NACK. The WTRU may monitor a channel, for example, DL control channel, or resources that may be associated in time and/or frequency with at least one of the parts of the WTRU's transmission. The association may be with at least one of the time, frequency, and/or code of at least one of the parts of the transmission. The WTRU may monitor the channel or resources for the reception of the ACK/NACK, for example, in DL control information, for the WTRU's transmission. In an example, for a transmission of N parts, there may be N indications to indicate ACK or NACK for each of the N parts. In an example, the N indications may be N bits. The N indications may be provided in one transmission by the eNode-B, for example. In an example, the N indications may be provided in one DCI message. In another example, one indication may be used to indicate an ACK or NACK for multiple parts. For example, there may be one indication to indicate an ACK or NACK for a preamble transmission. There may be one indication to indicate an ACK or NACK for a data part and a control part. Thus, an ACK may indicate that both parts were received successfully. Similarly, an NACK may indicate that at least one of the parts was not received successfully. In another example, a WTRU may make a transmission comprising a preamble, a data part, and/or a control part, transmitted in iteration. If the preamble is received by the receiver, for example, an eNode-B, the receiver may send an ACK for the preamble. The preamble may enable the receiver to locate one or more other parts of the transmission such as the control part and/or data part. If the receiver successfully receives and/or decodes the control part, the receiver may send an ACK for the control part. If the receiver does not successfully receive and/or decode the control part, it may send a NACK or not send an ACK for the control part. If the receiver successfully receives the control part, the receiver may be able to locate and/or decode the data part. If the receiver successfully receives and/or decodes the data part, the receiver may send an ACK for the data part. If it does not successfully receive and/or decode the data part, it may send a NACK or not send an ACK for the data part. A transmission power for a part of a transmission that may be made by a WTRU may be determined by the WTRU. In an example, a transmission power for a part of a transmission may be determined separately and/or independently from the determination of the transmission power for another part of a transmission. For example, a preamble power for transmitting a preamble may be determined separately and/or independently from the transmission power for a data part or a control part of a transmission. The transmission power for a data part and a control part of a transmission may be determined together, separately and/or independently. For example, a WTRU may determine the power of a transmission part, for example, a preamble power, based on a measurement, for example, a pathloss measurement, of a signal such as a reference signal. The WTRU may determine the power for a transmission part, for example, a control part, based on at least one or more parameters of the transmission which may be configured or pre-determined. A WTRU may determine the power for a transmission part, for example, a data part, based on at least one or more parameters of the transmission that may be determined by the WTRU and/or provided, included, or transmitted in the control part. In another example, the transmission power for a first part of a transmission may be determined based on the power for another part of the transmission. For example, if the WTRU increases the power for one part, for example, a preamble part, it may also increase the power of another part, for example, control and/or data part, and, more particularly, for a subsequent transmission part. The increase in power for a second part may be a function of the increase in power of a first part. A transmission power, for example, for a grant-less transmission, may be dependent on the time elapsed since a previous transmission that may be granted or grant-less. For example, if the time since a previous transmission is less than a threshold amount of time that may be configured, the WTRU may set the power for a new transmission or part of a new transmission according to a first rule. If the time since a previous transmission is greater than a threshold amount of time that may be configured, the WTRU may set the power for a transmission or part of a transmission according to a second rule. The first rule may be to do at least one of the following. For example, the first rule may be to use the previous transmission power or a function of the previous transmission power for the power of the new transmission or new transmission part. In an example, the first rule may be to use the previous transmission power or a function of the previous transmission power for the determination of the power of the new transmission or new transmission part. In a further example, the first rule may be to include a closed loop portion of a previous transmission in the determination of the power of a new transmission or new transmission part. In an example, the closed loop portion may include accumulated transmit power control (TPC) commands. The second rule may be to not use previous power control information in the determination of the power for a new transmission or new transmission part. In an example, the second rule may be to not use any previous power control information in the determination of the power for a new transmission or new transmission part. A retransmission power for a part of a transmission that may be made by a WTRU may be determined by the WTRU. For example, a WTRU may use an ACK, lack of an ACK, or a NACK for a part of a transmission to determine the power setting for a subsequent transmission or retransmission of at least the part of the transmission. For example, a WTRU may make a multi-part transmission and receive an ACK for at least one part of the transmission and no ACK (or NACK) for at least another part of the transmission. The WTRU may retransmit the part for which the ACK was received with the same power as the original transmission. The WTRU may retransmit the part for which no ACK (or NACK) was received with an increased power. For example, a WTRU may transmit a 3-part transmission such as a preamble, a data part and a control part. The WTRU may receive no ACK, an ACK for one part, an ACK for two parts, or an ACK for all three parts. The WTRU may retransmit one or more of the parts of the transmission, for example, if at least one ACK is not received for a corresponding part. For example, the WTRU may retransmit all of the parts of the transmission if at least one ACK is not received. When retransmitting, a WTRU may increase the power of a part of the transmission for which an ACK was not received. A WTRU may not increase the power for a part of the transmission for which an ACK was received. It will further be appreciated that not receiving an ACK and receiving a NACK may be used interchangeably in examples discussed herein. In another example, a WTRU may transmit a preamble and a control part and wait for one or more ACKs before transmitting a data part. The WTRU may receive no ACK, an ACK for one part or an ACK for both parts. The WTRU may retransmit both parts of the transmission if at least one of the parts did not receive an ACK. The WTRU may increase the power for the retransmission of a part that did not receive an ACK. The WTRU may not increase the power for a part for which an ACK was received. If one ACK is used for multiple parts, for example, the preamble and the control part, and, if the WTRU does not receive an ACK, the WTRU may increase the power for one or both parts when retransmitting. For example the WTRU may or may only increase the power of the preamble part. In another example, the WTRU may increase the power of both the preamble and the control part. When transmitting a subsequent part after receiving an ACK of a previous part, the power of the subsequent part may be determined at least in part based on the power (for example, the latest or current power) of the ACKed previous part. For example, when transmitting a data part after receiving an ACK for a preamble and/or control part, the power of the data part may be determined at least in part based on the transmission power of the preamble and/or control part for which the ACK was received. When a part may be retransmitted, the part may be modified. For example, one or more transmission parameters or characteristics of the part may be modified. For example, when a preamble part is retransmitted, a different preamble or different time-frequency resources may be used for the transmission. A power increase for a retransmission may be based on a power step that may be configured. A power increase for a retransmission may be based on or according to a TPC command that may be received, for example, with an ACK/NACK indication from the network node. For example, a WTRU may transmit a preamble and a control part. The WTRU may receive an ACK for the preamble and no ACK (or a NACK) for the control part. A TPC command may also be received in the ACK for the preamble (or NACK for the control part) that may indicate how to increase or by how much to increase the power for the control part. When retransmitting the control part, the WTRU may increase the power based on the received TPC command. FIG.20is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a multi-part transmission process with acknowledgement and power control. In an example shown in flow diagram2000, a WTRU may determine a set of transmission (Tx) parts to transmit2010. In an example, the WTRU may determine to transmit a preamble part and a control part. In another example, the WTRU may determine to transmit a preamble part, a control part and a data part. The WTRU may determine a transmission power for each Tx part2015. Further, the WTRU may transmit a set of Tx parts using determined the determined power for each part2020. In an example, the set may be one Tx part. In another example, the set may be more than one Tx part. The WTRU may then determine whether an ACK is received for at least one Tx part in the set of Tx parts2030. If an ACK is not received for at least one Tx part in the set, the WTRU may determine whether an expected ACK time passed or whether an expected wait time is over or expired2050. Further, the WTRU may return to waiting for the ACK reception2030if the time has not expired. If a time has lapsed, the WTRU may increase the transmission power of at least one part of the transmission2080. For example, the WTRU may increase the transmission power of the preamble. In another example, the WTRU may increase the transmission power of the preamble only. In a further example, the WTRU may increase the transmission power of the all parts. Also, in an example, the power increase of at least one part of the transmission may be based on a power step that may be configured. In a further example, the WTRU may or may not then proceed to updating one or more Tx parts2090. In an example, the WTRU may update a Tx part by determining a new preamble. In a further example, the WTRU may retransmit the at least one part of the transmission. In an example, the WTRU may retransmit the set of Tx parts using the determined power for each part2020, including the increased power of at least one part. If the ACK is received for at least one Tx part in the set, the process may further include determining whether an ACK is received for all Tx parts in the set2040. If an ACK is not received for all Tx parts, the WTRU may increase the transmission power of at least one part of the transmission2070. In an example, the WTRU may increase the transmission power of at least one part of the transmission for which no ACK was received. In a further example, the WTRU may increase the transmission power of at least one part of the transmission for which a NACK was received. In an additional example, the power increase of at least one part of the transmission may be based on a power step that may be configured. Similarly to the example above, the WTRU may or may not then proceed to update one or more Tx parts2090. Further, the WTRU may retransmit the at least one part of the transmission, similarly to the example above. In a further example, the WTRU may retransmit the set of Tx parts using the determined power for each part2020, including the increased power of at least one part. If an ACK is received for all Tx parts, the WTRU may determine that the transmission is successfully complete2060. Further, the WTRU may transmit a next Tx part or a next set of Tx parts during which the process shown inFIG.20may be repeated. In an example, the next Tx part may be a data part. In a further example, the next set of Tx parts may be the control part and the data part. Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer-readable storage media, such as non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer. | 129,374 |
11943784 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts. Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combination of elements may be implemented as a “processing system” that includes one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on a chip (SoC), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionality described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system may execute software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of the types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to store computer executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer. While aspects and implementations are described in this application by illustration to some examples, those skilled in the art will understand that additional implementations and use cases may come about in many different arrangements and scenarios. Innovations described herein may be implemented across many differing platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packaging arrangements. For example, implementations and/or uses may come about via integrated chip implementations and other non-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail/purchasing devices, medical devices, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled devices, etc.). While some examples may or may not be specifically directed to use cases or applications, a wide assortment of applicability of described innovations may occur. Implementations may range a spectrum from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations and further to aggregate, distributed, or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) devices or systems incorporating one or more aspects of the described innovations. In some practical settings, devices incorporating described aspects and features may also include additional components and features for implementation and practice of claimed and described aspect. For example, transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily includes a number of components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antenna, RF-chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffer, processor(s), interleaver, adders/summers, etc.). It is intended that innovations described herein may be practiced in a wide variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, aggregated or disaggregated components, end-user devices, etc. of varying sizes, shapes, and constitution. FIG.1is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communications system and an access network100. The wireless communications system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes base stations102, UEs104, an Evolved Packet Core (EPC)160, and another core network190(e.g., a 5G Core (5GC)). The base stations102may include macrocells (high power cellular base station) and/or small cells (low power cellular base station). The macrocells include base stations. The small cells include femtocells, picocells, and microcells. The base stations102configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) may interface with the EPC160through first backhaul links132(e.g., S1 interface). The base stations102configured for 5G NR (collectively referred to as Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with core network190through second backhaul links184. In addition to other functions, the base stations102may perform one or more of the following functions: transfer of user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations102may communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC160or core network190) with each other over third backhaul links134(e.g., X2 interface). The first backhaul links132, the second backhaul links184, and the third backhaul links134may be wired or wireless. The base stations102may wirelessly communicate with the UEs104. Each of the base stations102may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas110. For example, the small cell102′ may have a coverage area110′ that overlaps the coverage area110of one or more macro base stations102. A network that includes both small cell and macrocells may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include Home Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) (HeNBs), which may provide service to a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG). The communication links120between the base stations102and the UEs104may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from a UE104to a base station102and/or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station102to a UE104. The communication links120may use multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. The communication links may be through one or more carriers. The base stations102/UEs104may use spectrum up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400, etc. MHz) bandwidth per carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to a total of Yx MHz (x component carriers) used for transmission in each direction. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL than for UL). The component carriers may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. A primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell) and a secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell). Certain UEs104may communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communication link158. The D2D communication link158may use the DL/UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link158may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2D communications systems, such as for example, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR. The wireless communications system may further include a Wi-Fi access point (AP)150in communication with Wi-Fi stations (STAs)152via communication links154, e.g., in a 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum or the like. When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the STAs152/AP150may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel is available. The small cell102′ may operate in a licensed and/or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell102′ may employ NR and use the same unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz, or the like) as used by the Wi-Fi AP150. The small cell102′, employing NR in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, may boost coverage to and/or increase capacity of the access network. The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided, based on frequency/wavelength, into various classes, bands, channels, etc. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with regard to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band. The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified an operating band for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz-24.25 GHz). Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and/or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend features of FR1 and/or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR2-2 (52.6 GHz-71 GHz), FR4 (71 GHz-114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz-300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band. With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR2-2, FR4, and/or FR5, or may be within the EHF band. A base station102, whether a small cell102′ or a large cell (e.g., macro base station), may include and/or be referred to as an eNB, gNodeB (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations, such as gNB180may operate in a traditional sub 6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter wave frequencies, and/or near millimeter wave frequencies in communication with the UE104. When the gNB180operates in millimeter wave or near millimeter wave frequencies, the gNB180may be referred to as a millimeter wave base station. The millimeter wave base station180may utilize beamforming182with the UE104to compensate for the path loss and short range. The base station180and the UE104may each include a plurality of antennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and/or antenna arrays to facilitate the beamforming. The base station180may transmit a beamformed signal to the UE104in one or more transmit directions182′. The UE104may receive the beamformed signal from the base station180in one or more receive directions182″. The UE104may also transmit a beamformed signal to the base station180in one or more transmit directions. The base station180may receive the beamformed signal from the UE104in one or more receive directions. The base station180/UE104may perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmit directions for each of the base station180/UE104. The transmit and receive directions for the base station180may or may not be the same. The transmit and receive directions for the UE104may or may not be the same. The EPC160may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME)162, other MMEs164, a Serving Gateway166, a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) Gateway168, a Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BM-SC)170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway172. The MME162may be in communication with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)174. The MME162is the control node that processes the signaling between the UEs104and the EPC160. Generally, the MME162provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet protocol (IP) packets are transferred through the Serving Gateway166, which itself is connected to the PDN Gateway172. The PDN Gateway172provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions. The PDN Gateway172and the BM-SC170are connected to the IP Services176. The IP Services176may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a PS Streaming Service, and/or other IP services. The BM-SC170may provide functions for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC170may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmission, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS Bearer Services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS Gateway168may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to the base stations102belonging to a Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area broadcasting a particular service, and may be responsible for session management (start/stop) and for collecting eMBMS related charging information. The core network190may include an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF)192, other AMFs193, a Session Management Function (SMF)194, and a User Plane Function (UPF)195. The AMF192may be in communication with a Unified Data Management (UDM)196. The AMF192is the control node that processes the signaling between the UEs104and the core network190. Generally, the AMF192provides QoS flow and session management. All user Internet protocol (IP) packets are transferred through the UPF195. The UPF195provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions. The UPF195is connected to the IP Services197. The IP Services197may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a Packet Switch (PS) Streaming (PSS) Service, and/or other IP services. The base station may include and/or be referred to as a gNB, Node B, eNB, an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a transmit reception point (TRP), or some other suitable terminology. The base station102provides an access point to the EPC160or core network190for a UE104. Examples of UEs104include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor/actuator, a display, or any other similar functioning device. Some of the UEs104may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meter, gas pump, toaster, vehicles, heart monitor, etc.). The UE104may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. In some scenarios, the term UE may also apply to one or more companion devices such as in a device constellation arrangement. One or more of these devices may collectively access the network and/or individually access the network. Referring again toFIG.1, in certain aspects, the UE104may include a skipped SPS PDSCH detecting component198configured to detect, from a base station, a first RS within a first PDSCH instance among a plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, and identify that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion from the base station based on the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion. In certain aspects, the base station180may include a skipped SPS PDSCH detecting component199configured to identify that no PDSCH signal is within a first PDSCH occasion among a plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions transmitted to a UE, and transmit, to the UE, a first RS within the first PDSCH, the first RS indicating that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion. Although the following description may be focused on 5G NR, the concepts described herein may be applicable to other similar areas, such as LTE, LTE-A, CDMA, GSM, and other wireless technologies. FIG.2Ais a diagram200illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G NR frame structure.FIG.2Bis a diagram230illustrating an example of DL channels within a 5G NR subframe.FIG.2Cis a diagram250illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G NR frame structure.FIG.2Dis a diagram280illustrating an example of UL channels within a 5G NR subframe. The 5G NR frame structure may be frequency division duplexed (FDD) in which for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated for either DL or UL, or may be time division duplexed (TDD) in which for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated for both DL and UL. In the examples provided byFIGS.2A,2C, the 5G NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, with subframe 4 being configured with slot format 28 (with mostly DL), where D is DL, U is UL, and F is flexible for use between DL/UL, and subframe 3 being configured with slot format 1 (with all UL). While subframes 3, 4 are shown with slot formats 1, 28, respectively, any particular subframe may be configured with any of the various available slot formats 0-61. Slot formats 0, 1 are all DL, UL, respectively. Other slot formats 2-61 include a mix of DL, UL, and flexible symbols. UEs are configured with the slot format (dynamically through DL control information (DCI), or semi-statically/statically through radio resource control (RRC) signaling) through a received slot format indicator (SFI). Note that the description infra applies also to a 5G NR frame structure that is TDD. FIGS.2A-2Dillustrate a frame structure, and the aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to other wireless communication technologies, which may have a different frame structure and/or different channels. A frame (10 ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes (1 ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots. Subframes may also include mini-slots, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each slot may include 14 or 12 symbols, depending on whether the cyclic prefix (CP) is normal or extended. For normal CP, each slot may include 14 symbols, and for extended CP, each slot may include 12 symbols. The symbols on DL may be CP orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols on UL may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) or discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also referred to as single carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power limited scenarios; limited to a single stream transmission). The number of slots within a subframe is based on the CP and the numerology. The numerology defines the subcarrier spacing (SCS) and, effectively, the symbol length/duration, which is equal to 1/SCS. μSCS Δf = 2μ· 15[kHz]Cyclic prefix015Normal130Normal260Normal, Extended3120Normal4240Normal For normal CP (14 symbols/slot), different numerologies μ 0 to 4 allow for 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 slots, respectively, per subframe. For extended CP, the numerology 2 allows for 4 slots per subframe. Accordingly, for normal CP and numerology μ, there are 14 symbols/slot and 2μslots/subframe. The subcarrier spacing may be equal to 2μ*15 kHz, where μ is the numerology 0 to 4. As such, the numerology μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz and the numerology μ=4 has a subcarrier spacing of 240 kHz. The symbol length/duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing.FIGS.2A-2Dprovide an example of normal CP with 14 symbols per slot and numerology μ=2 with 4 slots per subframe. The slot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and the symbol duration is approximately 16.67 μs. Within a set of frames, there may be one or more different bandwidth parts (BWPs) (seeFIG.2B) that are frequency division multiplexed. Each BWP may have a particular numerology and CP (normal or extended). A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each time slot includes a resource block (RB) (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) that extends 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into multiple resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme. As illustrated inFIG.2A, some of the REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RS) for the UE. The RS may include demodulation RS (DM-RS) (indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The RS may also include beam measurement RS (BRS), beam refinement RS (BRRS), and phase tracking RS (PT-RS). FIG.2Billustrates an example of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs) (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs), each CCE including six RE groups (REGs), each REG including 12 consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol of an RB. A PDCCH within one BWP may be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET). A UE is configured to monitor PDCCH candidates in a PDCCH search space (e.g., common search space, UE-specific search space) during PDCCH monitoring occasions on the CORESET, where the PDCCH candidates have different DCI formats and different aggregation levels. Additional BWPs may be located at greater and/or lower frequencies across the channel bandwidth. A primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol2of particular subframes of a frame. The PSS is used by a UE104to determine subframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol4of particular subframes of a frame. The SSS is used by a UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the locations of the DM-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH), which carries a master information block (MIB), may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS)/PBCH block (also referred to as SS block (SSB)). The MIB provides a number of RBs in the system bandwidth and a system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted through the PBCH such as system information blocks (SIBs), and paging messages. As illustrated inFIG.2C, some of the REs carry DM-RS (indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) for channel estimation at the base station. The UE may transmit DM-RS for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RS for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may be transmitted in the first one or two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS may be transmitted in different configurations depending on whether short or long PUCCHs are transmitted and depending on the particular PUCCH format used. The UE may transmit sounding reference signals (SRS). The SRS may be transmitted in the last symbol of a subframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and a UE may transmit SRS on one of the combs. The SRS may be used by a base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL. FIG.2Dillustrates an example of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame. The PUCCH may be located as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (ACK) (HARQ-ACK) feedback (i.e., one or more HARQ ACK bits indicating one or more ACK and/or negative ACK (NACK)). The PUSCH carries data, and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and/or UCI. FIG.3is a block diagram of a base station310in communication with a UE350in an access network. In the DL, IP packets from the EPC160may be provided to a controller/processor375. The controller/processor375implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The controller/processor375provides RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression/decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization. The transmit (TX) processor316and the receive (RX) processor370implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding/decoding of the transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation/demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor316handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and/or frequency domain, and then combined together using an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator374may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derived from a reference signal and/or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE350. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna320via a separate transmitter318TX. Each transmitter318TX may modulate a radio frequency (RF) carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission. At the UE350, each receiver354RX receives a signal through its respective antenna352. Each receiver354RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the receive (RX) processor356. The TX processor368and the RX processor356implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor356may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE350, they may be combined by the RX processor356into a single OFDM symbol stream. The RX processor356then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station310. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by the channel estimator358. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted by the base station310on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to the controller/processor359, which implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. The controller/processor359can be associated with a memory360that stores program codes and data. The memory360may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor359provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the EPC160. The controller/processor359is also responsible for error detection using an ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations. Similar to the functionality described in connection with the DL transmission by the base station310, the controller/processor359provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression/decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization. Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator358from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station310may be used by the TX processor368to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor368may be provided to different antenna352via separate transmitters354TX. Each transmitter354TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission. The UL transmission is processed at the base station310in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE350. Each receiver318RX receives a signal through its respective antenna320. Each receiver318RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to a RX processor370. The controller/processor375can be associated with a memory376that stores program codes and data. The memory376may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor375provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE350. IP packets from the controller/processor375may be provided to the EPC160. The controller/processor375is also responsible for error detection using an ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations. At least one of the TX processor368, the RX processor356, and the controller/processor359may be configured to perform aspects in connection with198ofFIG.1. At least one of the TX processor316, the RX processor370, and the controller/processor375may be configured to perform aspects in connection with199ofFIG.1. FIG.4illustrates diagram400including example SPS PDSCH occasions of a method of wireless communication. A base station may configure a UE with a semi-persistently scheduled (SPS) PDSCH occasion. That is, the base station may transmit to the UE a configuration of the SPS PDSCH occasions and semi-persistently transmit the PDSCH occasions to the UE based on the configuration of the SPS PDSCH occasions. The configuration of the SPS PDSCH occasions may include a periodicity of the SPS PDSCH and a parameter K1(or K1), where the parameter K1may refer to the time that the UE is configured to report the HARQ-ACK feedback of the PDSCH signal. For example, the UE may be configured with a first PDSCH410, a second PDSCH420, and a third PDSCH430, with a periodicity P and the parameter K1. Based on the parameter K1, the UE may be configured to transmit the HARQ-ACK feedback via the PUCCH at a time K1. For example, the UE may transmit the first PUCCH412to report the first HARQ-ACK feedback of the first PDSCH410, transmit the second PUCCH422to report the second HARQ-ACK feedback of the second PDSCH420, and transmit the third PUCCH432to report the third HARQ-ACK feedback of the third PDSCH430. For example, the UE may determine that the second PDSCH420was not successfully received, and the UE may transmit a HARQ-ACK feedback indicating the NACK in the second PUCCH422. The UL transmission granted based on the parameter K1may collide with a DL transmission grant or another SPS PDSCH occasion. The UE may defer the HARQ-ACK feedback to the next available UL grant (e.g., PUCCH). That is, if the UE determines that the PUCCH granted based on the parameter K1collides with a DL transmission, the UE may determine to transmit the HARQ-ACK feedback in the next available UL, such as subsequently scheduled PUCCH. Accordingly, the HARQ-ACK feedback may be delayed and result in increased network latency in wireless communication. In some cases, the SPS PDSCH may have an empty PDSCH signal. The base station may skip at least one of the SPS PDSCH occasions, and UE may not be able to determine if this occasion is skipped or not. That is, the base station may determine not to transmit the PDSCH signal in one of the SPS PDSCH occasions. However, the UE may not be able to determine if the base station did not transmit the PDSCH signal in the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion and may determine that the PDSCH signal was not successfully received in the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. According, the UE may attempt to transmit the HARQ-ACK indicating NACK to the base station in response to the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion, while the HARQ-ACK indicating NACK of the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion may be a dummy NACK that is not expected by the base station and may reduce the available network resources. Furthermore, the HARQ-ACK of the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion may collide with another DL transmission grant, and UE may determine to transmit the HARQ-ACK feedback in the next available UL, such as subsequently scheduled PUCCH. Accordingly, the HARQ-ACK feedback of the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion may increase the network latency in wireless communication and reduce the network resource. In some aspects, at least one RS (e.g., a DM-RS) may be provided to improve the detection of the skipped SPS PDSCH occasions, which may have a lower cost than sending DCI because the UE may be configured to search for DCI that has no other use. That is, the base station may configure at least one RS to indicate that the corresponding SPS PDSCH occasion is skipped, and the UE may detect at least one RS to detect that the corresponding SPS PDSCH occasion is skipped and no PDSCH signal is transmitted within the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. By detecting that no PDSCH signal is transmitted within the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion, the UE may reduce the payload size in case of deferred HARQ-ACK since the dummy NACKs may be removed from the deferred HARQ-ACK. That is, the UE may detect that the base station skipped an SPS PDSCH occasion based on the at least one RS, and did not transmit a PDSCH signal within the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion, and determine to not report the HARQ-ACK for the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. Accordingly, the UE may remove the dummy NACK, which may be sent when there is a skipped PDSCH because the UE understands that this SPS PDSCH occasion was skipped and no PDSCH signal was transmitted within the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. The UE may be configured to not decode a full PDSCH and save its computational power, as well as identify a timeline that can be easily met for other tasks. That is, the UE may detect that the base station skipped an SPS PDSCH occasion based on at least one RS, and the base station did not transmit a PDSCH signal within the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion, and further determine not to decode the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. Accordingly, the UE may reserve its power by avoiding decoding the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. The UE may reduce transmission power waste because the UE may avoid deferring or transmitting a dummy NACK for the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. That is, the UE may detect that the base station skipped an SPS PDSCH occasion based on at least one RS and did not transmit a PDSCH signal within the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion, and further determine not to report a HARQ-ACK for the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. Accordingly, the UE may reserve its power by avoiding to transmit the dummy NACK for the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. The UE may reduce interference in the network resource since some UEs may not use the same resources, especially at deferred HARQ-ACK. That is, the UE may detect that the base station skipped an SPS PDSCH occasion based on at least one RS, based on the at least one RS, and did not transmit a PDSCH signal within the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion, and the UE may determine not to transmit the dummy NACK. Accordingly, the UE may reduce the payload size of deferred HARQ-ACK by not including the dummy NACK in the subsequent PUCCH occasion associated with the deferred HARQ-ACK. The base station may improve the channel estimation at the UE, which will improve the decoding of the upcoming PDSCH signals. That is, at least one RS (e.g., DM-RS) may be used by the UE to estimate the channel and the UE may use the estimation of the DL channel to improve the decoding of the upcoming PDSCH signals. That is, the UE may use at least one RS indicating the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion to perform the channel estimation at the UE. For example, the UE may generate a channel state information (CSI) report or a channel quality indicator (CQI) report, and the UE may use the CSI report or the CQI report to improve the decoding of the subsequently received PDSCH occasions. In one aspect, UE may also report the CQI, the CSI, or a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measured from the at least one RS (e.g., DM-RS) signal so that it could be used at the base station to perform certain configuration changes (e.g., change a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) or power levels) at the next data transmission. In another aspect, the UE may report nothing when at least one RS indicating the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion is observed. A mode of operation may be agreed by the base station and UE through the RRC signal or the MAC-CE, where the PUCCH of an empty occasion may be skipped or used to report the CSI information. That is, the base station may configure how the UE may respond when the UE may detect that the base station skipped an SPS PDSCH occasion based on at least one RS. In one aspect, the UE may be configured to skip the corresponding PUCCH based on detecting that the base station skipped an SPS PDSCH occasion. In another aspect, the UE may be configured to transmit at least one channel report, e.g., the CQI report, the CSI report, or the SNR report, to the base station. FIG.5illustrates diagram500including example SPS PDSCH occasions of a method of wireless communication. A base station may configure a UE with a semi-persistently scheduled (SPS) PDSCH occasion. That is, the base station may transmit to the UE a configuration of the SPS PDSCH occasions and semi-persistently transmit the PDSCH occasions to the UE based on the configuration of the SPS PDSCH occasions. The configuration of the SPS PDSCH occasions may include a periodicity of the SPS PDSCH and a parameter K1, where the parameter K1may refer to the time that configured for the UE to report the HARQ-ACK feedback of the PDSCH signal. For example, the UE may be configured with a first PDSCH510, a second PDSCH520, and a third PDSCH530, with a periodicity P and the parameter K1. Based on the parameter K1, the UE may be configured to transmit the HARQ-ACK feedback via the PUCCH at a time K1. For example, the UE may transmit the first PUCCH512to report the first HARQ-ACK feedback of the first PDSCH510, transmit the second PUCCH522to report the second HARQ-ACK feedback of the second PDSCH520, and transmit the third PUCCH532to report the third HARQ-ACK feedback of the third PDSCH530. For example, the UE may determine that the second PDSCH520was not successfully received, and the UE may transmit a HARQ-ACK feedback indicating the NACK in the second PUCCH522. The first PDSCH510and the third PDSCH530may include a first DM-RS514and a third DM-RS534. The first DM-RS514and the third DM-RS534may be referred to as nominal DM-RSs, which are configured for the UE to estimate the first PDSCH510and the third PDSCH530. To enhance the detection of the skipped PDSCH occasion and also improve channel estimation at the UE, the base station may transmit a DMRS-only signal in the skipped PDSCH SPS occasion. That is, the base station may determine to skip the second PDSCH520and may transmit a second DM-RS524to indicate that the second PDSCH520is a skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. The second DM-RS524may be referred to as a new DM-RS that may be distinguished from the nominal DM-RS, e.g., the first DM-RS514or the third DM-RS534. In one aspect, the UE may check or measure the energy of the data signal and the DM-RS signal to detect the presence of the PDSCH grant. That is, since the second PDSCH520carries the second DM-RS524but does not carry the PDSCH signal, UE may determine that the energy of the second DM-RS524may be significantly greater than the energy of the noise measured in the PDSCH occasion and detect that the second PDSCH occasion is a skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. In another aspect, the DM-RS signal may help or support the UE in channel estimation and improve channel knowledge at the UE. Due to energy differences between the data symbols carrying noise and the DM-RS symbols, the UE may acquire a better estimation of the second PDSCH520carrying no PDSCH signal compared to the conventional way where the UE may collect noise-only samples and detect energy across all the empty data and DM-RS symbols. Accordingly, with the presence of the DM-RS sequence, the UE may check the energy difference between the DM-RS symbol and that of the data symbol to declare a discontinuous transmission (DTX). That is, in the second PDSCH520, the UE may check the energy difference between the empty data symbols of the second PDSCH520and the second DM-RS524to determine that the second PDSCH520is a skipped SPS PDSCH occasion that does not include the PDSCH signal and declare the DTX. The base station may use the same pattern of DM-RS (e.g., the nominal DM-RS) with a different power-boosting or a new pattern that is agreed with the UE. That is, to distinguish the second DM-RS524with the first DM-RS514and the third DM-RS534, the base station may configure the second DM-RS524to have at least one of a power level or a DM-RS pattern different from the nominal DM-RS. In one example, the base station may configure the second DM-RS524to have a different power-boosting to distinguish the second DM-RS524from the nominal DM-RS and help the UE to detect the energy difference between the second DM-RS524and the empty PDSCH symbols. In some aspects, the base station may configure the second DM-RS524to have the new pattern be different from the nominal DM-RS. The pattern change may include a time location change of the DM-RS symbols, a change of the number of the DM-RS symbols, scrambling sequence change, etc. In one aspect, the second DM-RS524may be configured at different symbols in the time domain compared to the nominal DM-RS, and the UE may detect the DTX based on the second DM-RS524received at a symbol time different from the nominal DM-RS. In another aspect, the second DM-RS524may have a different number of symbols compared to the nominal DM-RS, and the UE may detect the DTX based on detecting that the second DM-RS524has a different number of symbols compared to the nominal DM-RS. For example, the second DM-RS524may be configured to have a reduced number of DM-RS symbols in the time domain compared to the nominal DM-RS, and the UE may detect the DTX based on detecting that the second DM-RS524has the reduced number of symbols compared to the nominal DM-RS. In another aspect, the second DM-RS524may be scrambled with a new sequence that is different from the nominal DM-RS, and the UE may detect the DTX based on detecting that the second DM-RS524has the new scramble sequence that is different from the nominal DM-RS. In some aspects, the base station may configure the second DM-RS524to use a different comb pattern, e.g., comb offset or comb level, or use fewer DM-RS ports. In one aspect, the second DM-RS524may be configured to have a new comb pattern that is different from the nominal DM-RS, and the UE may detect the DTX based on detecting that the second DM-RS524has the new comb pattern. In one example, the second DM-RS524may have a higher comb offset in the frequency domain, and in another example, the second DM-RS524may have a higher comb level with a reduced number of DM-RS resources. In another aspect, the base station may configure the second DM-RS524with a lower number of DM-RS ports than the nominal DM-RS. That is, the second DM-RS524may be configured with a lower number of DM-RS ports, and the UE may detect the DTX based on detecting that the second DM-RS524was received through the lower number of DM-RS ports. In another aspect, the base station can use the same old pattern but with highly down-sampled or punctured DM-RS tones and a lower number of ports such that fewer RBs can have DM-RS tones. That is, the second DM-RS524may be generated by down-sampling or puncturing the DM-RS tones of the nominal DM-RS so that the second DM-RS524may have fewer RBs or fewer DM-RS tones. Accordingly, the base station may configure the second DM-RS524to have a reduced number of DM-RS symbols, DM-RS ports, or DM-RS RBs to carry DM-RS tones and conserve the transmission power consumption on the base station side. In another aspect, the base station may boost the power of the new DM-RS signal to further enhance the detectability of the no-PDSCH occasions (grants). That is, the base station may boost the power of the second DM-RS524to have an increased power level compared to the nominal DM-RS. For example, the base station may boost the transmission power of the second DM-RS524to the power level equal to the combined transmission power of the PDSCH signal and the nominal DM-RS signal used for the PDSCH occasions carrying the PDSCH signal, e.g., the first PDSCH510or the third PDSCH530. The boosted transmission power level may enhance the channel estimation at the UE side and help the UE to detect that the second PDSCH520occasion does not include a PDSCH signal. In another aspect, the base station may flip the sign of every other element in the nominal DM-RS sequence. That is, the base station may generate the second DM-RS524by flipping one or more elements of the nominal DM-RS sequence of the nominal DM-RS. For example, the base station may generate the second DM-RS524by flipping every other element of the nominal DM-RS sequence of the nominal DM-RS. Accordingly, the new DM-RS sequence of the second DM-RS524may provide an indication to the UE that the second PDSCH520is the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion and that the current transmission has an empty PDSCH signal. The base station may combine at least one of the above configurations for the second DM-RS524to indicate that the second PDSCH520is the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion that does not include a PDSCH signal. In one example, the base station may generate the second DM-RS524by picturing and flipping every other sequence of the DM-RS sequence of the nominal DM-RS and transmit using fewer ports to the UE. In another example, the base station may generate the second DM-RS524by flipping every other sequence of the DM-RS sequence of the nominal DM-RS and transmit using fewer ports to the UE by using a higher comb level. The configuration of the second DM-RS524for the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion, including the change in pattern in comparison with the nominal DM-RS (e.g., the first DM-RS514or the third DM-RS534), may be configured by the base station and signaled to UE through the RRC signal or the MAC-CE or activation/reactivation DCI in the SPS. In one aspect, the base station may send the configuration of the second DM-RS524to the UE through the RRC signal, the MAC-CE, or the DCI. In another aspect, the base station may transmit a set of configurations via the RRC signal, select one configuration or a subset of configurations among the set of configurations via the MAC-CE, or select one configuration among the set of configurations or the subset of configurations via the DCI. Furthermore, the RRC signal and the MAC-CE may configure a set of configurations for the UE, and the DCI configuring the SPS PDSCH grants may include activation or reactivation of the one configuration of the second DM-RS524among the set of configurations. For compatibility with the old modes of operation, the base station may transmit signaling in the RRC signal, the MAC-CE, or the DCI (e.g., activation DCI or regular DCI), indicating whether to activate and transmit the new DM-RS to indicate the DTX and the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion, or deactivate the new DM-RS and not transmit any DM-RS in the empty or skipped PDSCH occasions. The UE may receive the configuration of the second DM-RS524from the base station, and based on the pattern configuration change of the DM-RS symbols of the second DM-RS524, the UE may detect that the second PDSCH520does not include PDSCH (DTX). The configuration of the second DM-RS524may increase the detectability of the DTX significantly for the UE, and the UE may detect the DTX with improved accuracy. The UE may detect that the second PDSCH520is a skipped SPS PDSCH occasion by first measuring the energy of the PDSCH signal symbols to detect that the PDSCH signal symbols do not include a data signal. The UE may measure the DM-RS energy or detect the configuration of the DM-RS to determine that the second PDSCH does not include a PDSCH signal. Accordingly, the UE may determine not to transmit the HARQ-ACK feedback in the second PUCCH522. Furthermore, if the second PUCCH522collides with other DL transmissions and the UE may defer the second PUCCH522to the next available UL grant, the UE may reduce the size of the deferred PUCCH transmission because the UE may not include a HARQ-ACK for the second PDSCH520. FIG.6is a call-flow diagram600of a method of wireless communication. The call-flow diagram600may include a UE602and a base station604. The base station604may configure a new RS (e.g., new DM-RS) to indicate a skipped SPS PDSCH occasion to the UE602, and the UE602may detect DTX in the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion based on receiving the new DM-RS within the corresponding PDSCH occasion. The UE602may detect that the corresponding PDSCH occasion is a skipped SPS PDSCH occasion by first measuring the energy of the PDSCH signal symbols to detect that the PDSCH signal symbols do not include data signal. The UE602may measure the DM-RS energy or detect the configuration of the DM-RS to determine that the second PDSCH does not include a PDSCH signal. At606, the base station604may transmit an activation signal or a deactivation signal of the new RS, indicating that the corresponding PDSCH is the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. The UE602may receive the activation signal or a deactivation signal of the new RS, indicating that the corresponding PDSCH is the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. The activation/deactivation signal may be transmitted via at least one of an RRC signal, a MAC-CE, or DCI. Here, the new RS may include a DM-RS. At608, the base station604may transmit a configuration of the new RS to the UE602, and the UE602may receive the configuration of the new RS from the base station604. The base station604may generate the new RS based on the configuration of the new RS transmitted to the UE602, and the UE602may detect the new RS based on the configuration of the new RS received from the base station604. The configuration may be transmitted via at least one of the RRC signal, the MAC-CE, or the DCI. In one aspect, the base station604may send the configuration of the new RS to the UE602through the RRC signal, the MAC-CE, or the DCI. In another aspect, the base station604may transmit a set of configurations via the RRC signal, select one configuration or a subset of configurations among the set of configurations via the MAC-CE, or select one configuration among the set of configurations or the subset of configurations via the DCI. Furthermore, the RRC signal and the MAC-CE may configure a set of configurations for the UE602, and the DCI configuring the SPS PDSCH grants may include activation or reactivation of the one configuration of the new RS among the set of configurations. In one aspect, the configuration may include a first time location of the first RS, and at least one second configuration may include a second time location of the first RS, where the first time location of the first RS may be different from the second time location of the second RS. In some aspects, the configuration may include an RS pattern indicating a set of RS resources allocated in a time-frequency domain, where a first RS pattern of the first RS is configured with a first number of RS resources and a second RS pattern of the second RS may be configured with a second number of RS resources, the first number of RS resources being smaller than the second number of RS resources. In one aspect, the first RS pattern may include a first comb pattern with a first comb offset in a frequency domain, and the second RS pattern may include a second comb pattern with a second comb offset in the frequency domain, where the first comb offset is greater than the second comb offset. In another aspect, the first RS pattern may include a first comb pattern with a first comb level, and the second RS pattern may include a second comb pattern with a second comb level, where the first comb level is greater than the second comb level. In one aspect, the configuration may include a number of RS ports, where a first number of RS ports of the first RS may be configured to be different from a second number of RS ports of the second RS. In another aspect, the at least one first configuration may include a scrambling sequence of RS, where a first scrambling sequence of the first RS may be configured to be different from a second scrambling sequence of the second RS. The configuration may indicate that the first RS may be generated by down-sampling the second RS or puncturing a pattern of the second RS. In another aspect, the first RS may include a first transmission power boosted equal to a second transmission power of the second PDSCH occasion including the second RS and the PDSCH signal. In another aspect, a first sequence of the first RS may be generated by flipping one or more elements of a second sequence of the second RS. At610, the base station604may identify that no PDSCH signal is within a first PDSCH occasion among a plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions transmitted to the UE602. That is, the base station604may determine not to transmit the PDSCH signal in the first SPS PDSCH occasion. At612, the base station604may generate the first RS based on identifying that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion, where the first RS is generated based on the configuration of the new RS transmitted at608. Here, the first RS may be a new RS indicating the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. The first RS may include the DM-RS. At614, the base station604may transmit, to the UE602, the first RS within the first PDSCH, the first RS indicating that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion. The UE602may receive, from the base station604, the first PDSCH including the first RS, the first RS indicating that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion. At616, the UE602may detect the first RS within the first PDSCH instance among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions. In one aspect, the UE602may detect the first RS based on the configuration of the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion received at608. At618, the UE602may identify that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion from the base station604based on the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion. In one aspect, the UE602may identify that a PDSCH signal is not received within the first PDSCH occasion based on the configuration of the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion received at608. At620, the base station604may transmit, to the UE602, a second RS and a PDSCH signal within a second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, the second RS indicating that the PDSCH signal is within the second PDSCH occasion. The UE602may receive, from the base station604, the second RS and the PDSCH signal within the second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, the second RS indicating that the PDSCH signal is within the second PDSCH occasion. In one aspect, at least one first configuration of the first RS may be different from at least one second configuration of the second RS. FIG.7is a flowchart700of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE104/602; the apparatus1102). The UE may detect DTX in the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion based on receiving a new RS (e.g., new DM-RS) within the corresponding PDSCH occasion. The UE may detect that the corresponding PDSCH occasion is a skipped SPS PDSCH occasion by first measuring the energy of the PDSCH signal symbols to detect that the PDSCH signal symbols do not include data signal. The UE may measure the DM-RS energy or detect the configuration of the DM-RS to determine that the second PDSCH does not include a PDSCH signal. At702, the UE may receive the activation signal or a deactivation signal of the new RS indicating that the corresponding PDSCH is the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. The activation/deactivation signal may be transmitted via at least one of an RRC signal, a MAC-CE, or DCI. Here, the new RS may include a DM-RS. For example, at606, the UE602may receive the activation signal or a deactivation signal of the new RS indicating that the corresponding PDSCH is the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. Furthermore,702may be performed by an RS component1140. At704, the UE may receive the configuration of the new RS from the base station. The base station may generate the new RS based on the configuration of the new RS transmitted to the UE, and the UE may detect the new RS based on the configuration of the new RS received from the base station. The configuration may be transmitted via at least one of the RRC signal, the MAC-CE, or the DCI. In one aspect, the base station may send the configuration of the new RS to the UE through the RRC signal, the MAC-CE, or the DCI. In another aspect, the base station may transmit a set of configurations via the RRC signal, select one configuration or a subset of configurations among the set of configurations via the MAC-CE, or select one configuration among the set of configurations or the subset of configurations via the DCI. Furthermore, the RRC signal and the MAC-CE may configure a set of configurations for the UE, and the DCI configuring the SPS PDSCH grants may include activation or reactivation of the one configuration of the new RS among the set of configurations. For example, at608, the UE602may receive the configuration of the new RS from the base station604. Furthermore,704may be performed by the RS component1140. In one aspect, the configuration may include a first time location of the first RS and the at least one second configuration may include a second time location of the first RS, where the first time location of the first RS may be different from the second time location of the second RS. In some aspects, the configuration may include an RS pattern indicating a set of RS resources allocated in a time-frequency domain, where a first RS pattern of the first RS is configured with a first number of RS resources and a second RS pattern of the second RS may be configured with a second number of RS resources, the first number of RS resources being smaller than the second number of RS resources. In one aspect, the first RS pattern may include a first comb pattern with a first comb offset in a frequency domain, and the second RS pattern may include a second comb pattern with a second comb offset in the frequency domain, where the first comb offset is greater than the second comb offset. In another aspect, the first RS pattern may include a first comb pattern with a first comb level, and the second RS pattern may include a second comb pattern with a second comb level, where the first comb level is greater than the second comb level. In one aspect, the configuration may include a number of RS ports, where a first number of RS ports of the first RS may be configured to be different from a second number of RS ports of the second RS. In another aspect, the at least one first configuration may include a scrambling sequence of RS, where a first scrambling sequence of the first RS may be configured to be different from a second scrambling sequence of the second RS. The configuration may indicate that the first RS may be generated by down-sampling the second RS or puncturing a pattern of the second RS. In another aspect, the first RS may include a first transmission power boosted equal to a second transmission power of the second PDSCH occasion including the second RS and the PDSCH signal. In another aspect, a first sequence of the first RS may be generated by flipping one or more elements of a second sequence of the second RS. At710, the UE may receive, from the base station, the first PDSCH including the first RS, the first RS indicating that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion. For example, at614, the UE602may receive, from the base station604, the first PDSCH including the first RS, the first RS indicating that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion. Furthermore,710may be performed by the RS component1140and an SPS PDSCH component1142. At712, the UE may detect the first RS within the first PDSCH instance among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions. In one aspect, the UE may detect the first RS based on the configuration of the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion received at704. For example, at616, the UE602may detect the first RS within the first PDSCH instance among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions. Furthermore,712may be performed by the RS component1140. At714, the UE may identify that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion from the base station based on the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion. In one aspect, the UE may identify that a PDSCH signal is not received within the first PDSCH occasion based on the configuration of the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion received at704. For example, at618, the UE602may identify that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion from the base station604based on the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion. Furthermore,714may be performed by the SPS PDSCH component1142. At716, the UE may receive, from the base station, the second RS and the PDSCH signal within the second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, the second RS indicating that the PDSCH signal is within the second PDSCH occasion. In one aspect, at least one first configuration of the first RS may be different from at least one second configuration of the second RS. For example, at620, the UE602may receive, from the base station604, the second RS and the PDSCH signal within the second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, the second RS indicating that the PDSCH signal is within the second PDSCH occasion. Furthermore,716may be performed by the RS component1140and the SPS PDSCH component1142. FIG.8is a flowchart800of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE104/602; the apparatus1102). The UE may detect DTX in the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion based on receiving a new RS (e.g., new DM-RS) within the corresponding PDSCH occasion. The UE may detect that the corresponding PDSCH occasion is a skipped SPS PDSCH occasion by first measuring the energy of the PDSCH signal symbols to detect that the PDSCH signal symbols do not include data signal. The UE may measure the DM-RS energy or detect the configuration of the DM-RS to determine that the second PDSCH does not include a PDSCH signal. At812, the UE may detect the first RS within the first PDSCH instance among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions. In one aspect, the UE may detect the first RS based on the configuration of the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion received at804. For example, at616, the UE602may detect the first RS within the first PDSCH instance among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions. Furthermore,812may be performed by the RS component1140. At814, the UE may identify that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion from the base station based on the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion. In one aspect, the UE may identify that a PDSCH signal is not received within the first PDSCH occasion based on the configuration of the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion received at804. For example, at618, the UE602may identify that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion from the base station604based on the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion. Furthermore,814may be performed by the SPS PDSCH component1142. FIG.9is a flowchart900of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a base station (e.g., the base station102/180/604; the apparatus1202). The base station may configure a new RS (e.g., new DM-RS) to indicate a skipped SPS PDSCH occasion to the UE for the UE to detect DTX in the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion based on receiving the new DM-RS within the corresponding PDSCH occasion. At902, the base station may transmit an activation signal or a deactivation signal of the new RS indicating that the corresponding PDSCH is the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. The activation/deactivation signal may be transmitted via at least one of an RRC signal, a MAC-CE, or DCI. Here, the new RS may include a DM-RS. For example, at606, the base station604may transmit an activation signal or a deactivation signal of the new RS indicating that the corresponding PDSCH is the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. Furthermore,902may be performed by an RS component1240. At904, the base station may transmit a configuration of the new RS to the UE. The base station may generate the new RS based on the configuration of the new RS transmitted to the UE, and the UE may detect the new RS based on the configuration of the new RS received from the base station. The configuration may be transmitted via at least one of the RRC signal, the MAC-CE, or the DCI. In one aspect, the base station may send the configuration of the new RS to the UE through the RRC signal, the MAC-CE, or the DCI. In another aspect, the base station may transmit a set of configurations via the RRC signal, select one configuration or a subset of configurations among the set of configurations via the MAC-CE, or select one configuration among the set of configurations or the subset of configurations via the DCI. Furthermore, the RRC signal and the MAC-CE may configure a set of configurations for the UE, and the DCI configuring the SPS PDSCH grants may include activation or reactivation of the one configuration of the new RS among the set of configurations. For example, at608, the base station604may transmit a configuration of the new RS to the UE602. Furthermore,904may be performed by the RS component1240. In one aspect, the configuration may include a first time location of the first RS and the at least one second configuration may include a second time location of the first RS, where the first time location of the first RS may be different from the second time location of the second RS. In some aspects, the configuration may include an RS pattern indicating a set of RS resources allocated in a time-frequency domain, where a first RS pattern of the first RS is configured with a first number of RS resources and a second RS pattern of the second RS may be configured with a second number of RS resources, the first number of RS resources being smaller than the second number of RS resources. In one aspect, the first RS pattern may include a first comb pattern with a first comb offset in a frequency domain, and the second RS pattern may include a second comb pattern with a second comb offset in the frequency domain, where the first comb offset is greater than the second comb offset. In another aspect, the first RS pattern may include a first comb pattern with a first comb level, and the second RS pattern may include a second comb pattern with a second comb level, where the first comb level is greater than the second comb level. In one aspect, the configuration may include a number of RS ports, where a first number of RS ports of the first RS may be configured to be different from a second number of RS ports of the second RS. In another aspect, the at least one first configuration may include a scrambling sequence of RS, where a first scrambling sequence of the first RS may be configured to be different from a second scrambling sequence of the second RS. The configuration may indicate that the first RS may be generated by down-sampling the second RS or puncturing a pattern of the second RS. In another aspect, the first RS may include a first transmission power boosted equal to a second transmission power of the second PDSCH occasion including the second RS and the PDSCH signal. In another aspect, a first sequence of the first RS may be generated by flipping one or more elements of a second sequence of the second RS. At906, the base station may identify that no PDSCH signal is within a first PDSCH occasion among a plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions transmitted to the UE. That is, the base station may determine not to transmit the PDSCH signal in the first SPS PDSCH occasion. For example, at610, the base station604may identify that no PDSCH signal is within a first PDSCH occasion among a plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions transmitted to the UE602. Furthermore,906may be performed by an SPS PDSCH component1242. At908, the base station may generate the first RS based on identifying that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion, where the first RS is generated based on the configuration of the new RS transmitted at904. Here, the first RS may be a new RS indicating the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion. The first RS may include the DM-RS. For example, at612, the base station604may generate the first RS based on identifying that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion, where the first RS is generated based on the configuration of the new RS. Furthermore,908may be performed by the RS component1240. At910, the base station may transmit, to the UE, the first RS within the first PDSCH, the first RS indicating that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion. For example, at614, the base station604may transmit, to the UE602, the first RS within the first PDSCH, the first RS indicating that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion. Furthermore,910may be performed by the RS component1240and the SPS PDSCH component1242. At916, the base station may transmit, to the UE, a second RS and a PDSCH signal within a second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, the second RS indicating that the PDSCH signal is within the second PDSCH occasion. In one aspect, at least one first configuration of the first RS may be different from at least one second configuration of the second RS. For example, at620, the base station604may transmit, to the UE602, a second RS and a PDSCH signal within a second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, the second RS indicating that the PDSCH signal is within the second PDSCH occasion. Furthermore,916may be performed by the RS component1240and the SPS PDSCH component1242. FIG.10is a flowchart1000of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE104/602; the apparatus1102). The base station may configure a new RS (e.g., new DM-RS) to indicate a skipped SPS PDSCH occasion to the UE for the UE to detect DTX in the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion based on receiving the new DM-RS within the corresponding PDSCH occasion. At1006, the base station may identify that no PDSCH signal is within a first PDSCH occasion among a plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions transmitted to the UE. That is, the base station may determine not to transmit the PDSCH signal in the first SPS PDSCH occasion. For example, at610, the base station604may identify that no PDSCH signal is within a first PDSCH occasion among a plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions transmitted to the UE602. Furthermore,1006may be performed by an SPS PDSCH component1242. At1010, the base station may transmit, to the UE, the first RS within the first PDSCH, the first RS indicating that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion. For example, at614, the base station604may transmit, to the UE602, the first RS within the first PDSCH, the first RS indicating that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion. Furthermore,1010may be performed by the RS component1240and the SPS PDSCH component1242. FIG.11is a diagram1100illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus1102. The apparatus1102may be a UE, a component of a UE, or may implement UE functionality. In some aspects, the apparatus1102may include a cellular baseband processor1104(also referred to as a modem) coupled to a cellular RF transceiver1122. In some aspects, the apparatus1102may further include one or more subscriber identity modules (SIM) cards1120, an application processor1106coupled to a secure digital (SD) card1108and a screen1110, a Bluetooth module1112, a wireless local area network (WLAN) module1114, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module1116, or a power supply1118. The cellular baseband processor1104communicates through the cellular RF transceiver1122with the UE104and/or BS102/180. The cellular baseband processor1104may include a computer-readable medium/memory. The computer-readable medium/memory may be non-transitory. The cellular baseband processor1104is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium/memory. The software, when executed by the cellular baseband processor1104, causes the cellular baseband processor1104to perform the various functions described supra. The computer-readable medium/memory may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the cellular baseband processor1104when executing software. The cellular baseband processor1104further includes a reception component1130, a communication manager1132, and a transmission component1134. The communication manager1132includes the one or more illustrated components. The components within the communication manager1132may be stored in the computer-readable medium/memory and/or configured as hardware within the cellular baseband processor1104. The cellular baseband processor1104may be a component of the UE350and may include the memory360and/or at least one of the TX processor368, the RX processor356, and the controller/processor359. In one configuration, the apparatus1102may be a modem chip and include just the baseband processor1104, and in another configuration, the apparatus1102may be the entire UE (e.g., see350ofFIG.3) and include the additional modules of the apparatus1102. The communication manager1132includes an RS component1140that is configured to receive the activation signal or a deactivation signal of the new RS indicating that the corresponding PDSCH is the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion, receive the configuration of the new RS from the base station, receive the first PDSCH including the first RS, detect the first RS within the first PDSCH instance among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, and receive the second RS and the PDSCH signal within the second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, e.g., as described in connection with702,704,710,712,716, and812. The communication manager1132further includes an SPS PDSCH component1142that is configured to receive the first PDSCH including the first RS, identify that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion from the base station based on the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion, and receive the second RS and the PDSCH signal within the second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, e.g., as described in connection with710,714,716, and814. The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of the blocks of the algorithm in the flowcharts ofFIGS.6,7, and8. As such, each block in the flowcharts ofFIGS.6,7, and8may be performed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more of those components. The components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to carry out the stated processes/algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the stated processes/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof. As shown, the apparatus1102may include a variety of components configured for various functions. In one configuration, the apparatus1102, and in particular the cellular baseband processor1104, includes means for detecting, from a base station, a first RS within a first PDSCH occasion among a plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, and means for identifying that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion from the base station based on the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion. The apparatus1102includes the means for receiving, from the base station, a second RS and a PDSCH signal within a second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, the second RS indicating that the PDSCH signal is within the second PDSCH occasion, and means for receiving, from the base station, a first configuration of the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion, where the UE identifies that a PDSCH signal is not received within the first PDSCH occasion based on the first configuration of the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion. The means may be one or more of the components of the apparatus1102configured to perform the functions recited by the means. As described supra, the apparatus1102may include the TX Processor368, the RX Processor356, and the controller/processor359. As such, in one configuration, the means may be the TX Processor368, the RX Processor356, and the controller/processor359configured to perform the functions recited by the means. FIG.12is a diagram1200illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus1202. The apparatus1202may be a base station, a component of a base station, or may implement base station functionality. In some aspects, the apparatus1102may include a baseband unit1204. The baseband unit1204may communicate through a cellular RF transceiver1222with the UE104. The baseband unit1204may include a computer-readable medium/memory. The baseband unit1204is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium/memory. The software, when executed by the baseband unit1204, causes the baseband unit1204to perform the various functions described supra. The computer-readable medium/memory may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the baseband unit1204when executing software. The baseband unit1204further includes a reception component1230, a communication manager1232, and a transmission component1234. The communication manager1232includes the one or more illustrated components. The components within the communication manager1232may be stored in the computer-readable medium/memory and/or configured as hardware within the baseband unit1204. The baseband unit1204may be a component of the base station310and may include the memory376and/or at least one of the TX processor316, the RX processor370, and the controller/processor375. The communication manager1232includes an RS component1240that is configured to transmit an activation signal or a deactivation signal of the new RS indicating that the corresponding PDSCH is the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion, transmit a configuration of the new RS to the UE, generate the first RS based on identifying that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion, transmit the first RS within the first PDSCH, and transmit a second RS and a PDSCH signal within a second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, e.g., as described in connection with902,904,908,910, and916. The communication manager1232further includes an SPS PDSCH component1242that is configured to identify that no PDSCH signal is within a first PDSCH occasion among a plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions transmitted to the UE, transmit the first RS within the first PDSCH, and transmit a second RS and a PDSCH signal within a second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, e.g., as described in connection with906,910,916,1006, and1010. The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of the blocks of the algorithm in the flowcharts ofFIGS.6,9, and10. As such, each block in the flowcharts ofFIGS.6,9, and10may be performed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more of those components. The components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to carry out the stated processes/algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the stated processes/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof. As shown, the apparatus1202may include a variety of components configured for various functions. In one configuration, the apparatus1202, and in particular the baseband unit1204, includes means for identifying that no PDSCH signal is within a first PDSCH occasion among a plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions transmitted to a user equipment (UE), and means for transmitting, to the UE, a first RS within the first PDSCH, the first RS indicating that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion. The apparatus1202includes the means for transmitting, to the UE, a first configuration of the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion, means for generating the first RS based on identifying that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion, and means for transmitting, to the UE, a second RS and a PDSCH signal within a second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, the second RS indicating that the PDSCH signal is within the second PDSCH occasion. The means may be one or more of the components of the apparatus1202configured to perform the functions recited by the means. As described supra, the apparatus1202may include the TX Processor316, the RX Processor370, and the controller/processor375. As such, in one configuration, the means may be the TX Processor316, the RX Processor370, and the controller/processor375configured to perform the functions recited by the means. The apparatus may include a base station and a UE. The base station may configure a new DM-RS to indicate a skipped SPS PDSCH occasion to the UE, and the UE may detect a DTX in the skipped SPS PDSCH occasion based on receiving the new DM-RS within the corresponding PDSCH occasion. The UE may detect that the corresponding PDSCH occasion is a skipped SPS PDSCH occasion by measuring the energy of the PDSCH signal symbols to detect that the PDSCH signal symbols do not include data signal. The UE may measure the DM-RS energy or detect the configuration of the DM-RS to determine that the second PDSCH does not include a PDSCH signal. It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of example approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts may be rearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented. The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.” Terms such as “if,” “when,” and “while” should be interpreted to mean “under the condition that” rather than imply an immediate temporal relationship or reaction. That is, these phrases, e.g., “when,” do not imply an immediate action in response to or during the occurrence of an action, but simply imply that if a condition is met then an action will occur, but without requiring a specific or immediate time constraint for the action to occur. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and may include multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically, combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinations may contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. The words “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” and the like may not be a substitute for the word “means.” As such, no claim element is to be construed as a means plus function unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” The following aspects are illustrative only and may be combined with other aspects or teachings described herein, without limitation. Aspect 1 is an apparatus for wireless communication including at least one processor coupled to a memory and configured to detect, from a base station, a first RS within a first PDSCH occasion among a plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, and identify that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion from the base station based on the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion. Aspect 2 is the apparatus of aspect 1, further including a transceiver coupled to the at least one processor, where the first RS includes a DM-RS. Aspect 3 is the apparatus of any of aspects 1 and 2, where the at least one processor and the memory are further configured to receive, from the base station, a second RS and a PDSCH signal within a second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, the second RS indicating that the PDSCH signal is within the second PDSCH occasion, where at least one first configuration of the first RS is different from at least one second configuration of the second RS. Aspect 4 is the apparatus of aspect 3, where the at least one first configuration includes a first time location of the first RS and the at least one second configuration includes a second time location of the first RS, and where the first time location of the first RS is different from the second time location of the second RS. Aspect 5 is the apparatus of any of aspects 3 and 4, where the at least one first configuration includes an RS pattern indicating a set of RS resources allocated in a time-frequency domain, and where a first RS pattern of the first RS is configured with a first number of RS resources and a second RS pattern of the second RS is configured with a second number of RS resources, the first number of RS resources being smaller than the second number of RS resources. Aspect 6 is the apparatus of aspect 5, where the first RS pattern includes a first comb pattern with a first comb offset in a frequency domain and the second RS pattern includes a second comb pattern with a second comb offset in the frequency domain, and where the first comb offset is greater than the second comb offset. Aspect 7 is the apparatus of any of aspects 5 and 6, where the first RS pattern includes a first comb pattern with a first comb level and the second RS pattern includes a second comb pattern with a second comb level, and where the first comb level is greater than the second comb level. Aspect 8 is the apparatus of any of aspects 3 to 7, where the at least one first configuration includes a number of RS ports, and where a first number of RS ports of the first RS is configured to be different from a second number of RS ports of the second RS. Aspect 9 is the apparatus of any of aspects 3 to 8, where the at least one first configuration includes a scrambling sequence of RS, and where a first scrambling sequence of the first RS is configured to be different from a second scrambling sequence of the second RS. Aspect 10 is the apparatus of any of aspects 3 to 9, where the first RS is generated by down-sampling the second RS or puncturing a pattern of the second RS. Aspect 11 is the apparatus of any of aspects 3 to 10 where the first RS includes a first transmission power boosted equal to a second transmission power of the second PDSCH occasion including the second RS and the PDSCH signal. Aspect 12 is the apparatus of any of aspects 3 to 11, where a first sequence of the first RS is generated by flipping one or more elements of a second sequence of the second RS. Aspect 13 is the apparatus of any of aspects 1 to 12, where the at least one processor and the memory are further configured to receive, from the base station, a first configuration of the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion, where the UE identifies that a PDSCH signal is not received within the first PDSCH occasion based on the first configuration of the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion. Aspect 14 is the apparatus of aspect 13, where the first configuration is received via at least one of a RRC signal, a MAC-CE, or DCI, or where the first configuration is activated via the DCI. Aspect 15 is a method of wireless communication for implementing any of aspects 1 to 14. Aspect 16 is an apparatus for wireless communication including means for implementing any of aspects 1 to 14. Aspect 17 is a computer-readable medium storing computer executable code, where the code when executed by a processor causes the processor to implement any of aspects 1 to 14. Aspect 18 is an apparatus for wireless communication including at least one processor coupled to a memory and configured to identify that no PDSCH signal is within a first PDSCH occasion among a plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions transmitted to a UE, and transmit, to the UE, a first RS within the first PDSCH, the first RS indicating that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion. Aspect 19 is the apparatus of aspect 18, further including a transceiver coupled to the at least one processor, where the RS includes a DM-RS. Aspect 20 is the apparatus of any of aspects 18 and 19, where the at least one processor and the memory are further configured to generate the first RS based on identifying that no PDSCH signal is within the first PDSCH occasion, and transmit, to the UE, a second RS and a PDSCH signal within a second PDSCH occasion among the plurality of semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH occasions, the second RS indicating that the PDSCH signal is within the second PDSCH occasion, where at least one first configuration of the first RS is different from at least one second configuration of the second RS. Aspect 21 is the apparatus of aspect 19, where the at least one first configuration includes a first time location of the first RS and the at least one second configuration includes a second time location of the second RS, and where the first time location of the first RS is different from the second time location of the second RS. Aspect 22 is the apparatus of any of aspects 20 and 21, where the at least one first configuration includes an RS pattern indicating a set of RS resources allocated in a time-frequency domain, and where a first RS pattern of the first RS is configured with a first number of RS resources and a second RS pattern of the second RS is configured with a second number of RS resources, the first number of RS resources being smaller than the second number of RS resources. Aspect 23 is the apparatus of aspect 22, where the first RS pattern includes a first comb pattern with a first comb offset in a frequency domain and the second RS pattern includes a second comb pattern with a second comb offset in the frequency domain, and where the first comb offset is greater than the second comb offset. Aspect 24 is the apparatus of any of aspects 22 and 23, where the first RS pattern includes a first comb pattern with a first comb level and the second RS pattern includes a second comb pattern with a second comb level, and where the first comb level is greater than the second comb level. Aspect 25 is the apparatus of any of aspects 20 to 24, where the at least one first configuration includes a number of RS ports, and where a first number of RS ports of the first RS is configured to be different from a second number of RS ports of the second RS. Aspect 26 is the apparatus of any of aspects 20 to 25, where the at least one first configuration includes a scrambling sequence of RS, and where a first scrambling sequence of the first RS is configured to be different from a second scrambling sequence of the second RS. Aspect 27 is the apparatus of any of aspects 20 to 26, where the first RS is generated by down-sampling the second RS or puncturing a pattern of the second RS. Aspect 28 is the apparatus of any of aspects 20 to 27, where the first RS includes a first transmission power boosted equal to a second transmission power of the second PDSCH occasion including the second RS and the PDSCH signal. Aspect 29 is the apparatus of any of aspects 20 to 28, where a first sequence of the first RS is generated by flipping one or more elements of a second sequence of the second RS. Aspect 30 is the apparatus of any of aspects 18 to 29, where the at least one processor and the memory are further configured to transmit, to the UE, a first configuration of the first RS within the first PDSCH occasion. Aspect 31 is the apparatus of aspect 30, where the first configuration is transmitted via at least one of a RRC signal, a MAC-CE, or DCI, or where the first configuration is activated via the DCI. Aspect 32 is a method of wireless communication for implementing any of aspects 18 to 31. Aspect 33 is an apparatus for wireless communication including means for implementing any of aspects 18 to 31. Aspect 34 is a computer-readable medium storing computer executable code, where the code when executed by a processor causes the processor to implement any of aspects 18 to 31. | 101,042 |
11943785 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following description contains specific information pertaining to example implementations in the present disclosure. The drawings in the present disclosure and their accompanying detailed description are directed to merely example implementations. However, the present disclosure is not limited to merely these example implementations. Other variations and implementations of the present disclosure will occur to those skilled in the art. Unless noted otherwise, like or corresponding elements among the figures may be indicated by like or corresponding reference numerals. Moreover, the drawings and illustrations in the present disclosure are generally not to scale, and are not intended to correspond to actual relative dimensions. For the purpose of consistency and ease of understanding, like features may be identified (although, in some examples, not shown) by the same numerals in the example figures. However, the features in different implementations may be differed in other respects, and thus shall not be narrowly confined to what is shown in the figures. The description uses the phrases “in one implementation,” or “in some implementations,” which may each refer to one or more of the same or different implementations. The term “coupled” is defined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The term “comprising,” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in the so-described combination, group, series and the equivalent. The expression “at least one of A, B and C” or “at least one of the following: A, B and C” means “only A, or only B, or only C, or any combination of A, B and C.” Additionally, for the purposes of explanation and non-limitation, specific details, such as functional entities, techniques, protocols, standard, and the like are set forth for providing an understanding of the described technology. In other examples, detailed description of well-known methods, technologies, systems, architectures, and the like are omitted so as not to obscure the description with unnecessary details. Persons skilled in the art will immediately recognize that any network function(s) or algorithm(s) described in the present disclosure may be implemented by hardware, software or a combination of software and hardware. Described functions may correspond to modules which may be software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. The software implementation may comprise computer executable instructions stored on computer readable medium such as memory or other type of storage devices. For example, one or more microprocessors or general-purpose computers with communication processing capability may be programmed with corresponding executable instructions and carry out the described network function(s) or algorithm(s). The microprocessors or general-purpose computers may be formed of Applications Specific Integrated Circuitry (ASIC), programmable logic arrays, and/or using one or more Digital Signal Processor (DSPs). Although some of the example implementations described in this specification are oriented to software installed and executing on computer hardware, nevertheless, alternative example implementations implemented as firmware or as hardware or combination of hardware and software are well within the scope of the present disclosure. The computer readable medium includes but is not limited to Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory, Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, or any other equivalent medium capable of storing computer-readable instructions. A radio communication network architecture (e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, an LTE-Advanced Pro system, or a 5G NR Radio Access Network (RAN)) typically includes at least one base station, at least one UE, and one or more optional network elements that provide connection towards a network. The UE communicates with the network (e.g., a Core Network (CN), an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network, an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access network (E-UTRAN), a 5G Core (5GC), or an internet), through a RAN established by one or more base stations. It should be noted that, in the present application, a UE may include, but is not limited to, a mobile station, a mobile terminal or device, a user communication radio terminal. For example, a UE may be a portable radio equipment, which includes, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a tablet, a wearable device, a sensor, a vehicle, or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with wireless communication capability. The UE is configured to receive and transmit signals over an air interface to one or more cells in a radio access network. A base station may be configured to provide communication services according to at least one of the following Radio Access Technologies (RATs): Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM, often referred to as 2G), GSM Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GERAN), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS, often referred to as 3G) based on basic wideband-code division multiple access (W-CDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), LTE, LTE-A, eLTE (evolved LTE, e.g., LTE connected to 5GC), NR (often referred to as 5G), and/or LTE-A Pro. However, the scope of the present application should not be limited to the above-mentioned protocols. A base station may include, but is not limited to, a node B (NB) as in the UMTS, an evolved node B (eNB) as in the LTE or LTE-A, a radio network controller (RNC) as in the UMTS, a base station controller (BSC) as in the GSM/GERAN, a ng-eNB as in an E-UTRA base station in connection with the 5GC, a next generation Node B (gNB) as in the 5G-RAN, and any other apparatus capable of controlling radio communication and managing radio resources within a cell. The base station may serve one or more UEs through a radio interface. The base station is operable to provide radio coverage to a specific geographical area using a plurality of cells forming the radio access network. The base station supports the operations of the cells. Each cell is operable to provide services to at least one UE within its radio coverage. More specifically, each cell (often referred to as a serving cell) provides services to serve one or more UEs within its radio coverage (e.g., each cell schedules the downlink and optionally uplink resources to at least one UE within its radio coverage for downlink and optionally uplink packet transmissions). The base station can communicate with one or more UEs in the radio communication system through the plurality of cells. A cell may allocate sidelink (SL) resources for supporting Proximity Service (ProSe) or Vehicle to Everything (V2X) service. Each cell may have overlapped coverage areas with other cells. As discussed above, the frame structure for NR is to support flexible configurations for accommodating various next generation (e.g., 5G) communication requirements, such as Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication (URLLC), while fulfilling high reliability, high data rate and low latency requirements. The Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technology as agreed in 3GPP may serve as a baseline for NR waveform. The scalable OFDM numerology, such as the adaptive sub-carrier spacing, the channel bandwidth, and the Cyclic Prefix (CP) may also be used. Additionally, two coding schemes are considered for NR: (1) Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) code and (2) Polar Code. The coding scheme adaption may be configured based on the channel conditions and/or the service applications. Moreover, it is also considered that in a transmission time interval TX of a single NR frame, a downlink (DL) transmission data, a guard period, and an uplink (UL) transmission data should at least be included, where the respective portions of the DL transmission data, the guard period, the UL transmission data should also be configurable, for example, based on the network dynamics of NR. In addition, sidelink resources may also be provided in an NR frame to support ProSe services or V2X services. In addition, the terms “system” and “network” herein may be used interchangeably. The term “and/or” herein is only an association relationship for describing associated objects, and represents that three relationships may exist. For example, A and/or B may indicate that: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, or B exists alone. In addition, the character “/” herein generally represents that the former and latter associated objects are in an “or” relationship. A PDCCH search space may refer to an area in a downlink resource grid where PDCCH may be carried. A UE may perform blind decoding in the search space to find PDCCH data (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI)). In one implementation, for each numerology μ (e.g., for each subcarrier spacing configuration), there may be a limit on the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates (e.g., blind decodes (BDs)) and non-overlapped control channel elements (CCEs) per slot for a single serving cell. A radio frame (e.g., 10 ms) may include 10 subframes, and each subframe (e.g., 1 ms) may include 1/2/4/8 slots when μ is 0/1/2/3. Table 1 below lists an example limit on the maximum number of PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs per slot for a downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP) with different numerologies TABLE 1Maximum number ofMaximum number ofPDCCH candidates pernon-overlapped CCEs perμslot and per serving cellslot and per serving cell04456136562224832032 For a higher reliable service, such as URLLC, a UE may monitor PDCCH more frequently to achieve the requirement of low latency and ensure PDCCH reliability. For example, to fulfil a more stringent latency constraint and guarantee the reliability of PDCCH reception, a system that has a higher capacity of blind detection and channel estimation than what is shown in Table 1 above may be supported in some of the present implementations. In one implementation, the limit of non-overlapped CCEs per slot may be different for the URLLC service and the enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) service. In one implementation, the limit of monitored PDCCH candidates (e.g., BDs) per slot may be different for the URLLC service and the eMBB service. In one implementation, the maximum number of BDs and CCEs may be configured per half slot. For example, the numbers in Table 1 above may be unchanged, but the numbers may indicate the limits per half slot instead. In one implementation, the limit of BDs and CCEs may be configured based on sub-slot granularity or monitoring occasions within a slot. In one implementation, the limit of BDs and CCEs for the URLLC service may be configured based on sub-slot granularity or monitoring occasions within a slot (e.g., non-slot based), whereas the limit of BDs and CCEs for the eMBB service may be configured per slot (e.g., slot-based). Simultaneous scheduling slot-based PDCCH monitoring and non-slot based PDCCH monitoring (e.g., multiple PDCCH monitoring occasions within a slot) may be achievable by introducing different distribution of PDCCH candidates within a slot. For example, the number of BDs in each monitoring occasion for a shortened transmission time interval (sTTI) may be different. For the eMBB service, PDCCH candidates may be normally distributed on the first three symbols, and hence more PDCCH candidates may be allocated in the first PDCCH monitoring occasion when eMBB and URLLC are scheduled with different monitoring occasions. In one implementation, when simultaneous URLLC and eMBB scheduling is supported, different PDCCH monitoring occasions may be needed within a slot. However, it may not be necessary to monitor PDCCH candidates in such a frequent way when there is only the eMBB service. Thus, in one implementation, a slot may be divided into multiple sub-slots to avoid wasting power on monitoring PDCCH continually. A sub-slot may correspond to a PDCCH monitoring span. In one implementation, a slot may include multiple PDCCH monitoring spans. A UE may receive a PDCCH monitoring configuration, and each PDCCH monitoring occasion allocated by the PDCCH monitoring configuration may be fully contained in one of the PDCCH monitoring spans. In one implementation, a PDCCH monitoring capability of the UE may include a duplet (X, Y) or a triplet (X, Y, μ), where X is the minimum time separation between the start of two PDCCH monitoring spans, Y is the length of each PDCCH monitoring span, and μ is the numerology. X and Y may be in unit of symbols. In one implementation, the PDCCH monitoring capability may also include an indication whether a granularity of the limit of BDs and CCEs is slot-based or non-slot based (e.g., BD/CCE limit is configured per PDCCH monitoring span). FIG.1includes a diagram100illustrating an example representation of monitoring spans, according to an example implementation of the present application. In the example shown inFIG.1, one slot may include fourteen symbols110. For a PDCCH monitoring capability (2, 2), the period of monitoring span120(e.g., the time separation between the start of two spans) is 2 symbols, and each monitoring span120has a length of 2 symbols. For a PDCCH monitoring capability (2, 1), the period of monitoring span130is 2 symbols, and each monitoring span130has a length of 1 symbol. Similarly, monitoring span140has a period of 4 symbols, and each monitoring span has a length of 3 symbols; monitoring span150has a period of 7 symbols, and each monitoring span has a length of 3 symbols; monitoring span160has a period of 3 symbols, and each monitoring span has a length of 3 symbols. In one implementation, the PDCCH monitoring capability or the length of a sub-slot may be dynamically changeable according to different requirements. For example, for one requirement whether each sub-slot is activated or not may depend on the existence of URLLC traffic. When there is a need for scheduling URLLC data, a sub-slot may be activated; otherwise, the sub-slot may be deactivated to reduce power consumption. In one implementation, deactivation of a sub-slot may not be restricted in one slot. In one implementation, a set of sub-slots that are present in multiple slots may be deactivated (e.g., a specific sub-slot may remain deactivated for multiple slots). As a result, a slot may be configured with eMBB PDCCH monitoring capability when the PDCCH monitoring spans for URLLC are deactivated, and the slot may be configured with URLLC PDCCH monitoring capability when the PDCCH monitoring spans for URLLC are activated. FIG.2Ais a flowchart of an example method200A for PDCCH monitoring performed by a UE, according to an example implementation of the present application. In action210, the UE may receive, from a base station (e.g., a gNB), a first PDCCH monitoring configuration and a second PDCCH monitoring configuration, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring configuration may allocate multiple PDCCH monitoring occasions within a slot. In one implementation, a service corresponding to the second PDCCH monitoring configuration may have a higher priority than a service corresponding to the first PDCCH monitoring configuration. For example, the first PDCCH monitoring configuration may be used for the eMBB service, and the second PDCCH monitoring configuration may be used for the URLLC service. In one implementation, each PDCCH monitoring occasion allocated by the second PDCCH monitoring configuration may be fully contained in a PDCCH monitoring span. In action220, the UE may perform PDCCH monitoring based on the first PDCCH monitoring configuration and the second PDCCH monitoring configuration, wherein the slot CCE limit of the first PDCCH monitoring configuration may be different from the slot CCE limit of the second PDCCH monitoring configuration. The slot CCE limit may indicate the maximum number of non-overlapped CCEs in one slot. In one implementation, the first PDCCH monitoring configuration that has a slot-based CCE limit (or BD limit) and the second PDCCH monitoring configuration that has a non-slot based CCE limit (or BD limit) may be simultaneously scheduled. In one implementation, the UE may perform PDCCH monitoring based on the first PDCCH monitoring configuration in a time period (e.g., a set of slots), and perform PDCCH monitoring based on the second PDCCH monitoring in another time period (e.g., another set of slots). In one implementation, the slot CCE limit of the first PDCCH monitoring configuration (e.g., for eMBB service) may be set according to Table 1 (e.g., slot-based CCE limit). For example, the slot CCE limit of the first PDCCH monitoring configuration may be 56 when μ is 0. On the other hand, for the second PDCCH monitoring configuration (e.g., for URLLC service), the maximum number CCEs may be configured per half slot (e.g., non-slot based CCE limit) according to Table 1. For example, the slot CCE limit of the second PDCCH configuration may be 56×2=112 when μ is 0. It should be noted that the half-slot granularity used in the URLLC service is exemplary rather than limiting. Other sub-slot granularity may be used (e.g., one slot includes seven sub-slots) in different implementations. In one implementation, the maximum number of non-overlapped BDs in one slot may be bound by a slot BD limit. In one implementation, the slot BD limit of the first PDCCH monitoring configuration may be different from the slot BD limit of the second PDCCH monitoring configuration. For example, based on Table 1, the slot BD limit of the first PDCCH monitoring configuration may be 44 when μ is 0, while the slot BD limit of the second PDCCH monitoring configuration may be 44×2=88 when μ is 0. In one implementation, before action210, the UE may transmit the service type it supports (e.g., a PDCCH monitoring capability) through uplink transmission to the base station. In one implementation, the PDCCH monitoring capability may include a sequence of duplets (X, Y) indicating a combination of PDCCH monitoring spans that the UE supports. The base station may transmit, to the UE, a PDCCH monitoring configuration based on the PDCCH monitoring capability of the UE. The PDCCH monitoring configuration may allocate PDCCH monitoring occasions that are in the PDCCH monitoring spans indicated by the UE. For example, the PDCCH monitoring capability transmitted by the UE may include a sequence {(2, 2), (4, 3), (7, 3)}. For example, after the base station knows that the UE is capable of monitoring PDCCH every two symbols and knows the CCE/BD limits per PDCCH monitoring span, the base station may transmit a PDCCH monitoring configuration that allocates PDCCH monitoring occasions every two symbols. In one implementation, the first PDCCH monitoring configuration and the second PDCCH monitoring configuration, in action210, may be configured based on the PDCCH monitoring capability transmitted to the base station. In one implementation, one slot may include multiple PDCCH monitoring spans. Each PDCCH monitoring occasion allocated by the second PDCCH monitoring configuration may be fully contained in one of the PDCCH monitoring spans. In one implementation, the maximum number of non-overlapped CCEs in one PDCCH monitoring span may be bound by a span CCE limit corresponding to the second PDCCH monitoring configuration. Different PDCCH monitoring configurations may have different values of the span CCE limit. For example, for the (2, 2) monitoring span configuration, one slot may include seven PDCCH monitoring spans, and each PDCCH monitoring occasion allocated by the second PDCCH monitoring configuration may be fully contained in one of these seven PDCCH monitoring spans. The span CCE limit for the (2, 2) monitoring span configuration may be 16 when μ is 0, 1, 2, 3. For the (7, 3) monitoring span configuration, one slot may include two PDCCH monitoring spans, and the span CCE limit for the (7, 3) monitoring span configuration may be 56 when μ is 0 and may be 32 when μ is 3. It should be noted that the numbers for the span CCE limit listed here are merely exemplary rather than limiting. In one implementation, the maximum number of BDs in one PDCCH monitoring span may be bound by a span BD limit corresponding to the second PDCCH monitoring configuration. In one implementation, one slot may include multiple PDCCH monitoring spans, which may include a first PDCCH monitoring span and a second PDCCH monitoring span. In one implementation, the span CCE limit of the first PDCCH monitoring span may be different from the span CCE limit of the second PDCCH monitoring span. For example, for the (7, 3) monitoring span configuration, one slot may include the first PDCCH monitoring span and the second PDCCH monitoring span. The span CCE limit of the first PDCCH monitoring span may be 56, and the span CCE limit of the second PDCCH monitoring span may be 48. In one implementation, the span BD limit of the first PDCCH monitoring span may be different from the span BD limit of the second PDCCH monitoring span. FIG.2Bis a flowchart of another example method200B for PDCCH monitoring performed by a UE, according to an example implementation of the present application. It should be noted that although actions210,220,230,240,250and260are delineated as separate actions represented as independent blocks inFIG.2B, these separately delineated actions should not be construed as necessarily order dependent. The order in which the actions are performed inFIG.2Bis not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described blocks may be combined in any order to implement the method, or an alternate method. Moreover, one or more of the actions210,220,230,240,250and260may be omitted in some of the present implementations. InFIG.2B, actions210and220are substantially similar to respective actions210and220inFIG.2A, the details of which are omitted for brevity. In action230, the UE may receive, from the base station, an activation/deactivation indicator. In action240, the UE may activate/deactivate PDCCH monitoring in at least one of the PDCCH monitoring spans based on the activation/deactivation indicator. In action250, the UE may skip PDCCH monitoring in a PDCCH monitoring span that contains a PDCCH for scheduling high priority data based on the activation/deactivation indicator. In action260, the UE may receive, from the base station, a configuration indicator to switch between the first PDCCH monitoring configuration and the second PDCCH monitoring configuration. Detailed description with respect to the actions shown inFIG.2Bare provided below. In one implementation, the search space monitoring periodicity may be determined by a configuration. When the UE capability indicates that a URLLC feature is supported, a search space ID may be specifically used to schedule the URLLC data in a non-slot based period, and the UE may need to monitor the PDCCH candidates frequently. Although the URLLC data burst may not occur very often, the UE may still need to keep monitoring the PDCCH candidates according to the configured periodicity unless a new PDCCH monitoring occasion is reconfigured. In one implementation, in order to avoid wasting too much power on monitoring unnecessary PDCCH candidates, a slot may be divided into multiple sub-slots (or a slot may include multiple PDCCH monitoring spans) by considering the distribution of PDCCH monitoring occasions upon the URLLC transmission or reception. In one implementation, one or multiple sub-slots may constitute a sub-slot group. Different sub-slot groups may be used to schedule different PDCCH monitoring configurations. Moreover, a base station may configure the granularity of a sub-slot and schedule the corresponding configuration to the UE. In one implementation, a sub-slot configuration may be as described in Table 2 below, where the description of each field in the sub-slot configuration may be as described in Table 3 below. Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) may be used to describe the data structure of various implementations of an information element (IE) in the present application. TABLE 2Sub-Slot-Config ::= SEQUENCE {nrofSubSlotsWithinSlot ENUMERATED {},nrofSubSlotsWithinSubSlotGroup ENUMERATED {},SubSlotId INTEGER (),SubSlotGroupId INTEGER (),duration INTEGER (),K INTEGER (),subslotDeactivationTimer ENUMERATED {}...} TABLE 3ParameterDescriptionnrofSubSlotsWithinSlotThe number of sub-slots configuredwithin a slot.nrofSubSlotsWithinSubSlotGroupThe number of sub-slots configuredwithin a sub-slot group.SubSlotIdIdentity of a sub-slot. In oneimplementation, SubSlotId of theprimary sub-slot is 0.SubSlotGroupIdIdentity of a sub-slot group. In oneimplementation, SubSlotGroupIdof the primary sub-slot group is 0.DurationThe number of consecutiveslots/sub-slots that anactivation/deactivation indicatorlasts.KThe value indicates that theactivation/deactivation indicatormay apply to the (K + 1)thslot/sub-slot (the current slot/sub-slot countsas the first slot/sub-slot).subslotDeactivationTimerSub-slot deactivation timer. Thesub-slot is deactivated uponexpiration of the sub-slotdeactivation timer. The sub-slot configuration IE (e.g., Sub-Slot-Config) may indicate a UE specific sub-slot configuration for one DL BWP. In one implementation, the sub-slot configuration IE may be carried in a BWP Downlink Dedicated IE (e.g., BWP-DownlinkDedicated), which may carry a PDCCH configuration (e.g., pdcch-Config) as well. In one implementation, some of the parameters in Table 2 and Table 3 may be optionally configured. In one implementation, after a UE receives the sub-slot configuration, each sub-slot may be activated or deactivated by dynamic signalling or Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) when the UE receives an indication of URLLC from a base station. When the UE does not receive such an indication, the sub-slot may remain deactivated to reduce power consumption. In one implementation, activation of a sub-slot means that the UE may monitor the PDCCH candidates in the activated sub-slot. Conversely, deactivation of a sub-slot means that the UE may skip monitoring the PDCCH candidates in the deactivated sub-slot. In one implementation, the initial state for a sub-slot may be deactivated. In one implementation, there may be different limitations on BDs or CCEs for URLLC UEs and eMBB UEs. As such, there may be an indication for distinguishing different configurations. Different PDCCH monitoring configurations may indicate different limitations on BDs or CCEs per slot. For a UE with different service types associated with different PDCCH monitoring configurations, a base station (e.g., a gNB) may need to transmit different PDCCH monitoring configurations to the UE and distribute appropriate PDCCH monitoring occasions within a slot. Because the base station may not know the preferred data traffic transmission of the UE before receiving information from the UE, the base station may not indicate (to the UE) which PDCCH monitoring configuration may be suitable for the UE. In one implementation, the UE may transmit at least one of a buffer status report (BSR), a scheduling request (SR), and a PDCCH monitoring capability (e.g., {(2, 2), (4, 3), (7, 3)}) to the base station. According to at least one of the BSR, SR, and PDCCH monitoring capability received from the UE, the base station may allocate a proper data traffic transmission to a specific logical channel (LCH) group (which may be referred to as a special SR configuration). In one implementation, when the base station allocates data to a higher priority LCH, the base station may adjust the PDCCH monitoring configuration accordingly and inform the UE. For instance, there may be two different PDCCH monitoring configurations, each having different BDs/CCEs limits. One PDCCH monitoring configuration (e.g., for scheduling eMBB data) may have slot BD limits of 44/36/22/20 for subcarrier spacing 15 kHZ/30 kHZ/60 kHZ/120 kHZ, and slot CCEs limits of 56/56/48/32 for subcarrier spacing 15 kHZ/30 kHZ/60 kHZ/120 kHZ. Another PDCCH monitoring configuration (e.g., for scheduling URLLC data) may have different BDs/CCEs limits. In one implementation, the PDCCH monitoring configuration for scheduling URLLC data may have a larger value of BDs/CCEs limits to accommodate more frequent PDCCH monitoring within a slot. In one implementation, eMBB data may belong to a logical channel having a lower priority, and URLLC data may belong to a logical channel having a higher priority. In one implementation, when there are multiple PDCCH monitoring configurations, the base station may give each PDCCH monitoring configuration an index, and use the index to support fast switching between different configurations for each slot. In one implementation, the UE may receive, from the base station, a configuration indicator to switch between the first PDCCH monitoring configuration and the second PDCCH monitoring configuration (e.g., as described with reference to action260inFIG.2B). For instance, a PDCCH monitoring configuration ID may be appended to the dynamic signalling. The PDCCH monitoring configuration ID may be assigned to the UE to combine with the sub-slot mechanism. In one implementation, when services are scheduled in a slot, the UE may use the corresponding PDCCH monitoring configuration subject to the signalled ID, and the UE may determine whether to turn on the sub-slot configuration. For example, the PDCCH monitoring configuration subject to the signalled ID may refer to a search space ID or a CORESET ID that is associated with the PDCCH monitoring configuration. An efficient power saving may be achieved by combing an explicit configuration ID and the sub-slot mechanism. In one implementation, PDCCH monitoring may usually occur in the first three OFDM symbols in a slot for an eMBB UE, and hence most PDCCH candidates may be distributed in the first half of the slot. As such, deactivation of the second half of the slot may not affect the PDCCH monitoring for the eMBB UE.FIG.3includes a diagram illustrating PDCCH monitoring occasions in two sub-slots within a slot, according to an example implementation of the present application. Slot300is divided into sub-slot310and sub-slot320. Sub-slot310(e.g., the first half of slot300) may be referred to as sub-slot #0 or a primary sub-slot. Sub-slot320may be referred to as sub-slot #1 or a secondary sub-slot. PDCCH311may be used for scheduling eMBB data, and PDCCHs312,313,322,323may be used for scheduling URLLC data. In this example, slot300includes two PDCCH monitoring spans. PDCCHs311,312,313are contained in the first PDCCH monitoring span. PDCCHs322and323are contained in the second PDCCH monitoring span. In one implementation, the UE may receive, from the base station, an activation/deactivation indicator (e.g., as described with reference to action230inFIG.2B). The UE may activate/deactivate PDCCH monitoring in at least one of the PDCCH monitoring spans (or sub-slots) based on the activation/deactivation indicator (e.g., as described with reference to action240inFIG.2B). For example, the activation/deactivation indicator may indicate whether to activate/deactivate the first PDCCH monitoring span (or sub-slot310) and/or the second PDCCH monitoring span (or sub-slot320). In one implementation, sub-slot310(e.g., the primary sub-slot) may be activated and sub-slot320(e.g., the secondary sub-slot) may be deactivated. In this case, the UE may perform PDCCH monitoring in sub-slot310and skip PDCCH monitoring in sub-slot320. In another implementation, sub-slot310and sub-slot320may both be deactivated. In this case, the UE may skip monitoring any PDCCH candidates allocated in slot300. In still another implementation, all sub-slot containing URLLC-related PDCCHs may be deactivated. In this case, the UE may skip monitoring PDCCH for scheduling URLLC data in both sub-slot310and sub-slot320. In one implementation, sub-slot320(e.g., the secondary sub-slot) may be deactivated by default, and sub-slot320may be deactivated until receiving an activation/deactivation indicator that activates sub-slot320. In one implementation, the activation/deactivation indicator may be carried in a MAC CE or a Downlink Control Information (DCI) format. Case 1: Activation/Deactivation Indication Through a MAC CE Activating/deactivating a PDCCH monitoring span (or sub-slot) may be achieved using an activation/deactivation indicator that is carried by a MAC CE.FIG.4includes a diagram illustrating an example activation/deactivation MAC CE, according to an example implementation of the present application. MAC CE400may include two octets, each having 8 bits. The first octet may include a reserved bit R (which may be set to ‘0’ by default), 5 bits for a serving cell ID (e.g., the identity of the serving cell for which MAC CE400applies), and 2 bits for a BWP ID (e.g., the identity of a DL BWP for which MAC CE400applies). The second octet may include 8 bits S7-S0, each representing a PDCCH monitoring span (or a sub-slot) to be activated or deactivated. In one implementation, if there is a sub-slot ID (e.g., SubSlotId) or a sub-slot group ID (e.g., SubSlotGroupId) specified in a sub-slot configuration, the field Si(where i is an integer ranging from 0 to 7) may indicate an activation/deactivation status of a sub-slot with sub-slot ID i or a sub-slot group with sub-slot group ID i. A MAC entity of the UE may ignore the field Siif there is no sub-slot ID or sub-slot group ID. In one implementation, the field Simay be set to ‘1’ to indicate that the sub-slot/sub-slot group with SubSlotId/SubSlotGroupID i is activated. The field Simay be set to ‘0’ to indicate that the sub-slot/sub-slot group with SubSlotId/SubSlotGroupID i is deactivated. In one implementation, a deactivation timer (e.g., subslotDeactivationTimer) may be configured, and a PDCCH monitoring span (or a sub-slot) may be deactivated when the deactivation timer expires. Such an implicit way to deactivate a PDCCH monitoring span may be beneficial to save power when PDCCH for scheduling URLLC data does not need to be monitored or is configured during a specified time period. A configured sub-slot may be activated and deactivated by:receiving the sub-slot activation/deactivation MAC CE; and/orconfiguring subslotDeactivationTimer per configured BWP or per serving cell. In one implementation, a method performed by a MAC entity of a UE may be as described in the following Table 4: TABLE 4The MAC entity may:1> if a sub-slot activation/deactivation MAC CE for activating the sub-slot is received2> activate the sub-slot; apply normal sub-slot operation including:3> PDCCH monitoring in the sub-slot;2> start or restart the subslotDeactivationTimer associated with the BWP or the cell1> else if a sub-slot activation/deactivation MAC CE for deactivating the sub-slot is received;or1> if the subslotDeactivationTimer associated with the BWP or the cell expires:2> deactivate the sub-slot;2> stop the subslotDeactivationTimer associated with the BWP or the cell;1> if PDCCH is monitored in the secondary sub-slot:2> restart the subslotDeactivationTimer associated with the BWP or the cell;1> if the sub-slot is deactivated:2> skip monitoring the PDCCH in the sub-slot. Case 2: Activation/Deactivation Indication Through a DCI Format In one implementation, a UE may receive an explicit indicator in DCI on the primary sub-slot to dynamically activate/deactivate the secondary sub-slot.FIG.5includes a diagram500illustrating an example dynamic indication of activation/deactivation, according to an example implementation of the present application. As shown inFIG.5, slot #1 is divided into sub-slot510and sub-slot520, slot #2 is divided into sub-slot530and sub-slot540, and slot #3 is divided into sub-slot550and sub-slot560. Sub-slots510,530,550may be referred to as sub-slot #0 or the primary sub-slot, and sub-slots520,540,560may be referred to as sub-slot #1 or the secondary sub-slot. PDCCHs511,531,551may be used for scheduling eMBB data, and PDCCHs512,513,532,533,542,543,552,553may be used for scheduling URLLC data. In this example, each slot includes two PDCCH monitoring spans Taking slot #2 for example, PDCCHs531,532,533are contained in the first PDCCH monitoring span, and PDCCHs542and543are contained in the second PDCCH monitoring span. In one implementation, the secondary sub-slot may be deactivated by default. For example, sub-slot520(sub-slot #1 of slot #1) is deactivated. The UE may receive a DCI that triggers the activation of a sub-slot in slot #2. As such, sub-slot540(the secondary sub-slot in slot #2) may be activated accordingly. In one implementation, considering a DCI decoding time of a UE capability, the DCI signalling (for activation/deactivation indication) may be allocated in the front of the primary sub-slot, which may be no later than xthOFDM symbol, where 0≤x≤7 and the index of the starting symbol is 0. In sub-slot550(sub-slot #0 of slot #3), the UE may receive a DCI that triggers deactivation of the secondary sub-slot, and sub-slot560may be deactivated accordingly. In this case, the UE may skip PDCCH monitoring in a PDCCH monitoring span that contains a PDCCH for scheduling high priority data (e.g., URLLC data) (as described with reference to action250inFIG.2B). In one implementation, if multiple sub-slots are configured (e.g., one slot including a primary sub-slot and two or more secondary sub-slots), the DCI may be received in a primary sub-slot to trigger an activation/deactivation of all secondary sub-slots. In one implementation, a sub-slot ID may be appended to the DCI. In one implementation, the DCI may be received in any sub-slot (including the primary sub-slot or the secondary sub-slot) to trigger an activation/deactivation of other sub-slots when the UE is required to monitor this sub-slot (e.g., based on the configured PDCCH monitoring configuration or MAC CE). Several implementations of dynamic indication are provided below. Case 2-1: An Indicator for Activation/Deactivation May be Included in a DCI with Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) Scrambled by a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) or Configured Scheduling RNTI (CS-RNTI) or Modulation Coding Scheme C-RNTI (MCS-C-RNTI) or any UE-Specific RNTI. In one implementation, one bit may be used to schedule the activation/deactivation of a specific sub-slot ID. In one implementation, the bit may be set to ‘0’ to indicate deactivation and ‘1’ to indicate activation of a secondary sub-slot. In one implementation, x bits (where x is an integer greater than 1) may be used to indicate a sub-slot ID that is activated/deactivated. In one implementation, y bits (where y is an integer greater than 1) in the DCI or the parameter duration in the Sub-Slot-Config IE where the DCI is found may be used to explicitly indicate the number of consecutive slots/sub-slots that an activation or deactivation may last. For example, if duration=3, a specific sub-slot may remain activated for the next three consecutive slots (or sub-slots) and then may be deactivated accordingly. In one implementation, the parameter duration may imply the number of consecutive PDCCH monitoring occasions that the indicator lasts. For example, if duration=3, a specific sub-slot (wherein search space sets with the configured monitoring periodicity) may remain activated for the next three consecutive monitoring occasions and then may be deactivated accordingly. In one implementation, z bits (where z is an integer greater than 1) in the DCI may be used to indicate a bitmap for the activation/deactivation status for respective sub-slots. For instance, z=3 when three sub-slots are configured. When the z bits in the DCI is 010 (corresponding to a decimal value 2), sub-slot #2 and sub-slot #0 may be deactivated and sub-slot #1 may be activated. Case 2-2: A Compact DCI May Implicitly Indicate Activation/Deactivation Status of Sub-Slots within a Slot. In one implementation, a compact DCI having a smaller DCI payload size may be used to schedule URLLC data to achieve high reliability requirement. In this case, when the UE detects a compact DCI in a primary sub-slot due to the need of scheduling URLLC data, the UE may activate the secondary sub-slot. On the other hand, when the UE does not detect a compact DCI, the UE may deactivate the secondary sub-slot. In one implementation, such implicit activation/deactivation may be supported in not only the primary sub-slot but also all other sub-slots. For example, when the UE detects the compact DCI in the present sub-slot, the UE may assume the next sub-slot (regardless of primary sub-slot or secondary sub-slot) as being required to monitor PDCCH for scheduling URLLC data. On the other hand, when the UE does not detect the compact DCI, the UE may assume the next sub-slot to be deactivated. In one implementation, when the UE does not detect other types of DCI (e.g., other than the compact DCI), the UE may assume there is no PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data in the next sub-slot, and the UE may deactivate the sub-slot where the PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data is monitored. Case 2-3: PDCCH Repetition May Implicitly Indicate Activation/Deactivation Status of Sub-Slot within a Slot. In one implementation, PDCCH repetition may be used to provide extra robustness for DCI to achieve high reliability requirement for URLLC. In this case, when PDCCH repetition is provided, URLLC data may have to be scheduled. In other words, when PDCCH repetition is provided, the UE may activate the secondary sub-slot. In one implementation, such implicit activation/deactivation may be supported in not only the primary sub-slot but also all other sub-slots. For example, when the UE detects the PDCCH repetition in the present sub-slot, the UE may assume the next sub-slot (regardless of primary sub-slot or secondary sub-slot) as being required to monitor PDCCH for scheduling URLLC data. On the other hand, when the UE does not detect the PDCCH repetition, the UE may assume the next sub-slot to be deactivated. In one implementation, when the UE only detects PDCCH repetition in this slot, the UE may assume there is no PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data in the next sub-slot, and the UE may deactivate the sub-slot where the PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data is monitored. Several implementations regarding two sub-slots (e.g., a primary sub-slot and a secondary sub-slot) in a slot have been provided. In another implementation, a length of a sub-slot may depend on the PDCCH monitoring occasions. The PDCCH monitoring occasions may be configured according to the PDCCH monitoring spans, which may be provided by the UE as the UE's PDCCH monitoring capability. In one implementation, for subcarrier spacing 15 kHZ, PDCCH monitoring on any span of up to three consecutive OFDM symbols in a slot may be supported, and PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data may not be distributed in the first three symbols of the slot. In this case, the primary sub-slot may not be the first sub-slot if the PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data is included in the primary sub-slot. Therefore, rather than partitioning a slot into two parts, the granularity of a sub-slot within one slot may fit different monitoring occasions. In one implementation, eMBB data and URLLC data may be scheduled within the same slot. In one implementation, PDCCH in a Control Resource Set (CORESET) with three consecutive OFDM symbols for scheduling eMBB data may start in the middle of a slot, and PDCCH monitoring periodicity for scheduling URLLC data may be two symbols. Two implementations on the granularity of a sub-slot according to the PDCCH monitoring occasions are provided below with reference toFIGS.6and7. FIG.6includes a diagram600illustrating an example sub-slot granularity according to PDCCH monitoring occasions, according to an example implementation of the present application. In this example, one slot includes fourteen symbols. The period for scheduling URLLC data may be two symbols. For example, PDCCH601, PDCCH602, and other PDCCH monitoring occasions illustrated with similar shades inFIG.6may be used for scheduling URLLC data. PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data may occupy three consecutive symbols. For example, PDCCHs603,604, and605may be used for scheduling eMBB data, while PDCCHs603and605may be overlapped PDCCHs for also scheduling URLLC data. In one implementation, the granularity of a sub-slot may depend on the position of PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data in a slot (e.g., PDCCHs603-605). For example, one sub-slot (or PDCCH monitoring span) may include three symbols. As shown inFIG.6, a slot may be divided into five sub-slots621-625. In one implementation, one or multiple sub-slots may constitute a sub-slot group to reduce the number of sub-slot IDs. In one implementation, the PDCCHs that schedule the same service type may be put into the same sub-slot group. Each sub-slot group may be identified as an individual service type. For example, sub-slot623may belong to sub-slot group #0 (for eMBB), and sub-slots621,622,624,625may belong to sub-slot group #1 (for URLLC). The sub-slot group #0 may be referred to as the primary sub-slot group. In one implementation, each sub-slot group may be activated/deactivated through a MAC CE or a DCI format, which has been mentioned in the previous implementations. FIG.7includes a diagram700illustrating another example sub-slot granularity according to PDCCH monitoring occasions, according to an example implementation of the present application. In this example, one slot includes fourteen symbols. The period for scheduling URLLC data may be two symbols. For example, PDCCH701, PDCCH702, and other PDCCH monitoring occasions illustrated with similar shades inFIG.7may be used for scheduling URLLC data. PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data may occupy three consecutive symbols. For example, PDCCHs703,704, and705may be used for scheduling eMBB data, while PDCCHs703and705may be overlapped PDCCHs for also scheduling URLLC data. In one implementation, the granularity of a sub-slot may depend on the PDCCH monitoring occasions for scheduling URLLC data (e.g., PDCCH701and702). For example, one sub-slot (or PDCCH monitoring span) may include two symbols. As shown inFIG.7, a slot may be divided into seven sub-slots721,722,723,724,725,726, and727. In one implementation, each sub-slot may have its own ID to support the indication of activation/deactivation. In one implementation, sub-slot724and sub-slot725may stay activated during the same time to be completely accurate and avoid missing PDCCH monitoring for scheduling eMBB data. As shown inFIG.6andFIG.7, PDCCH for scheduling different traffic associated with different CORESETs may overlap on at least one OFDM symbol. These PDCCHs may have the same Quasi Co Location type-D (QCL-typeD). If they do not have the same QCL-typeD, the common search space (CSS) set with higher ID or the UE-specific search space (USS) set with higher ID may be dropped, which means a low priority ID may be dropped. In one implementation, if the PDCCH for scheduling different traffic associated with different CORESETs overlap on at least one OFDM symbol with various QCL-typeD in individual Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states, these search space sets may be decodable simultaneously with capability of multiple spatial filters received. In one implementation, the PDCCH for scheduling URLLC data may be associated with the lowest search space set ID, which means it may have a higher priority than the PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data. In one implementation, the PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data may be associated with the lowest search space set ID, which means it may have a higher priority than the PDCCH for scheduling URLLC data. In addition, if two or more different CORESETs are within the same sub-slot/sub-slot group, activation/deactivation may depend on the PDCCH with a higher priority. For example, when the PDCCH for scheduling URLLC data has a higher priority, the sub-slot/sub-slot group where the PDCCH for scheduling URLLC data is located may be activated/deactivated. In one implementation, different URLLC data traffic may be scheduled within a slot. For example, different URLLC data with different monitoring configurations may be scheduled by utilizing activation of different sub-slots or sub-slot groups.FIG.8includes a diagram800illustrating an example slot in which different URLLC data are scheduled, according to an example implementation of the present application. In this example, one slot may include fourteen symbols, and one sub-slot may include one symbol. In one implementation, sub-slots with the same traffic may compose a sub-slot group. As shown inFIG.8, sub-slots801,803,805,807,809,811,813may constitute sub-slot group #0, which may include PDCCH for scheduling the first URLLC data. Similarly, sub-slots802,804,806,808,810,812,814may constitute sub-slot group #1, which may include PDCCH for scheduling the second URLLC data. Case 3: Cross Slot (or Sub-Slot) Scheduling Indication of Activation/Deactivation In one implementation, a base station may determine the granularity of a sub-slot based on different PDCCH monitoring configurations. The base station may select few sub-slots as the primary sub-slot group, and the remaining sub-slots as the secondary sub-slot group. In one implementation, the base station may assign each sub-slot (or each sub-slot group) a specific index to make scheduling easier. Sometimes there is an urgent requirement of URLLC data that need to be scheduled immediately. However, a DCI with a dynamic indication in the activated sub-slot serving for URLLC data may not always span in the first three symbols of a slot, and hence the scheduling for URLLC data may be postponed to the next slot. In addition, a sub-slot with an indicator may need to be kept activated until a target activated sub-slot is achieved. Case 3-1: K Value is in Unit of Slot. K value may be preconfigured in a sub-slot configuration (e.g., Sub-Slot-Config IE shown in Table 2 and Table 3) or appended to a DCI field.FIG.9includes a diagram900illustrating an example cross slot scheduling indication, according to an example implementation of the present application. In slot #1, only the primary sub-slot (e.g., PDCCH910) is activated and the secondary sub-slots are deactivated. The UE receives an activation indication in slot #1. K=2 and K value is in unit of slot in this example, and thus the second upcoming slot (e.g., slot #3) may be activated (e.g., including PDCCH931and PDCCH932). In one implementation, there may be no activated sub-slot in slot #2. FIG.10includes a diagram1000illustrating another example cross slot scheduling indication, according to an example implementation of the present application. The sub-slot granularity inFIG.10is similar to that inFIG.6, and thus descriptions thereof are not repeated. In the example shown inFIG.10, in slot #1, only the primary sub-slot1013is activated. The UE receives an activation indication in sub-slot1013. K=1 and K value is in unit of slot in this example, and thus the first upcoming slot (e.g., including sub-slots1021-1025) may be activated. In one implementation, the PDCCHs that schedule the same service type may be put into the same sub-slot group. For example, sub-slot1023may belong to sub-slot group #0 (e.g., primary sub-slot group), and sub-slots1021,1022,1024,1025may belong to sub-slot group #1 (e.g., secondary sub-slot group). In slot #1, sub-slot group #0 is activated and sub-slot group #1 is deactivated. After receiving the activation indication, in slot #2, both of sub-slot group #0 and sub-slot group #1 are activated. Case 3-2: K Value is in Unit of Sub-Slot. FIG.11includes a diagram1100illustrating an example cross sub-slot scheduling indication, according to an example implementation of the present application. In this example, one slot includes fourteen symbols. The period for scheduling URLLC data may be two symbols. PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data may occupy three consecutive symbols. In the example shown inFIG.11, there may be two types of eMBB data scheduled in the same slot. For example, PDCCH1101may be used for scheduling the first type of eMBB data, and PDCCH1102may be used for scheduling the second type of eMBB data. The UE receives an activation indication in sub-slot1121. K=2 and K value is in unit of sub-slot in this example, and thus the second upcoming sub-slot (e.g., sub-slot1123) may be activated. In one implementation, the PDCCHs that schedule the same service type may be put into the same sub-slot group. For example, sub-slot1121may belong to sub-slot group #0, sub-slots1122,1124,1125may belong to sub-slot group #1, and sub-slot1123may belong to sub-slot group #2. Sub-slot group #1 may be deactivated in this example. As shown inFIG.11, the indicator in the sub-slot group #0 may dynamically activate or deactivate the sub-slot group #2 immediately. Case 4: BWP Switching Procedure when there is a Sub-Slot Configuration. In one implementation, search space configurations may be different in different BWPs and sub-slot configurations may be applied per BWP. In one implementation, when the UE switches its active BWP in an activated sub-slot, the activation duration in the original active BWP may be terminated even though the activation duration (which may be indicated by a DCI or the sub-slot configuration) may be larger than the BWP switching time. FIG.12includes a diagram1200illustrating an example BWP switching procedure, according to an example implementation of the present application. The current active BWP of the UE is BWP #1 in the illustrated example. One slot includes two sub-slots (or PDCCH monitoring spans). The current activation duration is 2 slots, which may include sub-slots1210,1220,1230and1240. The UE receives an indication for BWP switching at time T1in sub-slot1210. In this example, the UE may stop or terminate the current activation duration and then start switching to BWP #2. After certain delay time D1(e.g., time spent on BWP switching), the active BWP of the UE may become BWP #2 at time T2. In one implementation, PDCCH monitoring may switch to a default deactivated mode after the BWP switching. For example, after the UE switches to BWP #2, sub-slot1250may be activated and sub-slot1260may be deactivated by default. FIG.13includes a diagram1300illustrating another example BWP switching procedure, according to an example implementation of the present application. Similar to the example shown inFIG.12, the UE receives an indication for BWP switching at time T1to switch from BWP #1 to BWP #2. In this example, the current activation duration is also 2 slots, and the UE may postpone BWP switching until the activation duration is over. For example, the UE may perform BWP switching at time T3. In one implementation, after the UE switches to BWP #2, sub-slot1350may be activated and sub-slot1360may be deactivated by default. In one implementation, a DCI format may be used to indicate BWP switching and to give activation/deactivation command simultaneously. In one embodiment, if BWP switching is triggered by a DCI, the activation/deactivation command may be appended to the DCI. For example, referring to the example shown inFIG.13, the UE may follow the activation/deactivation indication for PDCCH monitoring given by the DCI (which is received at time T1) after switching to BWP #2. In one implementation, if BWP switching is triggered by the expiration of bwp-InactivityTimer, the UE may deactivate the PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data upon the primary sub-slot implicitly, then eMBB data may not be served accordingly. FIG.14includes a diagram1400illustrating an example BWP switching procedure when there is a dynamic indication within a slot, according to an example implementation of the present application. The current active BWP of the UE is BWP #1. In this example, one slot may include five sub-slots (or PDCCH monitoring spans), and each sub-slot may include three symbols. Sub-slot1411and sub-slot1413may belong to different sub-slot groups. The UE receives an indication for BWP switching at time T1. In addition, the UE receives an activation indication in sub-slot1411with K=2 sub-slots. For example, the activation indication may intend to activate sub-slot1413. In one implementation, instruction from the activation indication may be dropped or terminated by the UE. For example, the UE may not wait till the end of sub-slot1413to perform BWP switching. Instead, the UE may perform BWP switching right after receiving the BWP switching indication at time T1, ignoring the activation indication. After certain delay time D1(e.g., time spent on BWP switching), the active BWP of the UE may become BWP #2 at time T2. In one implementation, PDCCH monitoring may switch to a default deactivated mode after the BWP switching. For example, after the UE switches to BWP #2, sub-slot1421may be activated and sub-slot1423may be deactivated by default. FIG.15includes a diagram1500illustrating another example BWP switching procedure when there is a dynamic indication within a slot, according to an example implementation of the present application. Similar to the example shown inFIG.14, the UE receives an indication for BWP switching at time T1to switch from BWP #1 to BWP #2. The UE also receives an activation indication in sub-slot1511with K=2 sub-slots, preparing to activate sub-slot1513. In one implementation, the UE may postpone BWP switching until the end of sub-slot1513. For example, the active BWP of the UE may become BWP #2 at time T3, which happens after the end of sub-slot1513. In one implementation, PDCCH monitoring may switch to a default deactivated mode after the BWP switching. For example, after the UE switches to BWP #2, sub-slot1521may be activated and sub-slot1523may be deactivated by default. In one implementation, if a sub-slot indicator is to activate or deactivate a sub-slot in an upcoming slot with K value larger than the BWP switching delay time, the UE may drop this sub-slot indicator, as shown inFIG.14. In another implementation, the UE may postpone BWP switching until activation/deactivation of the (K+1)thsub-slot/sub-slot group is finished, as shown inFIG.15. Case 5: Cross-Carrier Scheduling when there is a Sub-Slot Configuration. In a cross-carrier scheduling scenario, there may be a scheduling cell and a scheduled cell. Since search space sets may be monitored in the scheduling cell upon cross-carrier scheduling, the activation/deactivation indication may take PDCCH monitoring occasions of the scheduled cell into account. In one implementation, not all PDCCHs for the scheduled cell are monitored on the scheduling cell. For carrier aggregation (CA), PDCCH for scheduling different traffic associated with different CORESETs may overlap on at least one OFDM symbol, and these PDCCHs may have the same QCL-typeD. If they do not have the same QCL-typeD, the UE may monitor PDCCHs only in a CORESET on the active BWP of a cell with the lowest serving cell ID that corresponds to the CSS set or USS set with the lowest ID, which means a low priority ID may be dropped. In one implementation, if the PDCCH for scheduling different traffic associated with different CORESETs overlap on at least one OFDM symbol with various QCL-typeD in individual TCI states, the UE may monitor these PDCCHs simultaneously with capability of multiple spatial filters received. In one implementation, PDCCHs for scheduling URLLC data may be associated with the lowest serving cell ID that corresponds to the CSS set or USS set with the lowest ID, which means the URLLC service may have a higher priority than that of the eMBB service. In one implementation, PDCCHs for scheduling eMBB data may be associated with the lowest serving cell ID that corresponds to the CSS set or USS set with the lowest ID, which means the eMBB service may have a higher priority than that of the URLLC service in this case. In the several implementations provided below, a sub-slot configuration may be configured to the scheduling cell. In addition, a slot may include two sub-slots (or PDCCH monitoring spans), where one sub-slot may be the primary sub-slot, and the other sub-slot may be the secondary sub-slot. Case 5-1: All PDCCHs for the scheduled cell may be monitored on the scheduling cell. In this case, there may be no PDCCH monitored on the scheduled cell, and hence there may be no need to schedule a sub-slot configuration for the scheduled cell. Case 5-1-1: If a PDCCH monitoring configuration for scheduling URLLC data is applied to one of the scheduling cells or the scheduled cells (e.g., one of the cells has higher BDs/CCEs limits than the other one), activation of the secondary sub-slot may be a default setting. Since the PDCCH for scheduling URLLC data may be monitored in the scheduling cell when one of the cells wants to transmit the URLLC data, sub-slots (where PDCCH for scheduling URLLC data is located) in the scheduling cell may be activated. In this case, the limit of CCEs/BDs may be counted based on PDCCH monitoring for different component carriers (CC) on a serving cell. For example, the scheduling cell may be configured to monitor PDCCH for scheduling eMBB data for the scheduling cell and PDCCH for scheduling URLLC data for the scheduled cell. In one implementation, PDCCHs for different CCs may correspond to different CCE/BD limits on the scheduling cell. In one implementation, a serving cell, which may refer to the scheduling cell, may be configured with a PDCCH monitoring configuration having a higher priority and another PDCCH monitoring configuration having a lower priority simultaneously. The former PDCCH monitoring configuration may be associated with the serving cell scheduling eMBB data, and the latter PDCCH monitoring configuration may be associated with the serving cell scheduling URLLC data. Case 5-1-2: If the same PDCCH monitoring configuration is applied to the scheduling cells and the scheduled cells, an activation/deactivation status may depend on the type of the PDCCH monitoring configuration. When the PDCCH monitoring configuration for the URLLC service is applied to both the scheduling cells and the scheduled cells, activation of the secondary sub-slot may be a default setting. When the PDCCH monitoring configuration for the eMBB service is applied to both the scheduling cells and the scheduled cells, deactivation of the secondary sub-slot may be a default setting. Case 5-2: All PDCCHs for scheduling URLLC data may be monitored on the scheduling cell. PDCCHs of the scheduled cell for scheduling eMBB data may be monitored on the scheduled cell. In one implementation, a sub-slot configuration may be configured to the scheduled cell in advance because URLLC data may be scheduled on the scheduled cell. Case 5-2-1: Activation of sub-slot may be a default setting for the scheduling cell, and deactivation of sub-slot may be a default setting for the scheduled cell. Case 5-2-2: Activation of sub-slot may be a default setting for the scheduling cell, and activation of sub-slot may be a default setting for the scheduled cell as well. Case 5-3: All PDCCHs for scheduling eMBB data may be monitored on the scheduling cell. PDCCHs of the scheduled cell for scheduling URLLC data may be monitored on the scheduled cell. In one implementation, a sub-slot configuration may be configured to the scheduled cell in advance because eMBB data may be scheduled on the scheduled cell. Case 5-3-1: Activation of sub-slot may be a default setting for the scheduling cell, and deactivation of sub-slot may be a default setting for the scheduled cell. Case 5-3-2: Activation of sub-slot may be a default setting for the scheduling cell, and activation of sub-slot may be a default setting for the scheduled cell as well. In one implementation, when deactivation of the scheduled cells occurs, the activation/deactivation indication may be rescheduled, and the sub-slot configuration may be reconfigured. In one implementation, the activation/deactivation indication may be carried in a MAC CE, as mentioned in Case 1 and an example MAC CE shown inFIG.4. For cross carrier scheduling, a configured sub-slot may be activated and deactivated by:receiving the sub-slot activation/deactivation MAC CE on the scheduling cell;configuring subslotDeactivationTimer per configured BWP or per serving cell. FIG.16includes a diagram1600illustrating an example activation/deactivation MAC CE for CA, according to an example implementation of the present application. One MAC CE1610may indicate the status of sub-slot function of each serving cell. Another MAC CE1621(which is similar to the one shown inFIG.4) may indicate the slot configuration for a BWP and a serving cell. There may be other MAC CEs similar to MAC CE1621to indicate the slot configuration for another BWP or another serving cell. In one implementation, if there is a secondary cell (SCell) configured with an SCellIndex i, the field Ci(where i is a positive integer) may indicate an activated status of the sub-slot function of the SCell with SCellIndex i. Otherwise, a MAC entity of the UE may ignore the field C. The field Cimay be set to ‘1’ to indicate that the SCell with SCellIndex i applies sub-slot configuration. The field Cimay be set to ‘0’ to indicate that the SCell with SCellIndex i does not apply sub-slot configuration. In one implementation, the serving cell i with Ciequal to 1 may further check another MAC CE (e.g., MAC CE1621) to determine which sub-slot/sub-slot group is activated. FIG.17includes a diagram1700illustrating another example activation/deactivation MAC CE for CA, according to an example implementation of the present application. One MAC CE1710may indicate the status of sub-slot function and the slot configuration for each serving cell. For each serving cell, the cell may check the status at the first few bits, then further check the slot configuration in the next few bits. FIG.18includes a diagram1800illustrating another example activation/deactivation MAC CE for CA, according to an example implementation of the present application. Similar to the example shown inFIG.17, one MAC CE1810may indicate the status of sub-slot function and the slot configuration for each serving cell. For each serving cell, the cell may check the status at the first few bits, then further check the slot configuration in the next few bits. In one implementation, a method performed by a MAC entity of a UE may be as described in the following Table 5: TABLE 5The MAC entity may:1>if a sub-slot activation/deactivation MAC CE for activating the sub-slot is received2>activate the sub-slot; apply normal sub-slot operation including:3>PDCCH monitoring in the sub-slot;2>start or restart the subslotDeactivationTimer associated with the BWP or the cell1>else if a sub-slot activation/deactivation MAC CE for deactivating the sub-slot is received;or1>if the subslotDeactivationTimer associated with the BWP or the cell expires:2>deactivate the sub-slot;2>stop the subslotDeactivationTimer associated with the BWP or the cell;1>if PDCCH is monitored in the secondary sub-slot on the scheduling cell:2>if any PDCCH for the scheduled cell is monitored on the scheduling cell:3>restart the subslotDeactivationTimer associated with the BWP or the cell of thescheduling cell and the scheduled cell;1>if the sub-slot is deactivated:2>skip monitoring the PDCCH in the sub-slot. In one implementation, the activation/deactivation indication may be carried in a DCI format, as mentioned in Case 2. In one implementation, a UE may receive an explicit indicator in the DCI on the primary sub-slot to dynamically activate/deactivate the secondary sub-slot. The indicator may be scheduled on the scheduling cell and/or the scheduled cell. In one implementation, an indicator in the DCI on the scheduling cell may indicate the activation/deactivation of sub-slots on both of the scheduling cell and the scheduled cell. In one implementation, an indicator in the DCI on the scheduling cell may only indicate the activation/deactivation of sub-slots on the scheduling cell. In one implementation, an indicator in the DCI on the scheduled cell may indicate the activation/deactivation of sub-slots on both of the scheduling cell and the scheduled cell. Sub-slots on the scheduling cell may be associated with the PDCCH monitoring for scheduling data on the scheduled cell. In one implementation, an indicator in the DCI on the scheduled cell may only indicate the activation/deactivation of sub-slots on the scheduled cell. In one implementation, cross slot (or sub-slot) scheduling indication of activation/deactivation and a K value may be used, as mentioned in Case 3. In one implementation, when the (K+1)thslot/sub-slot needs to schedule URLLC data for the scheduled cell, the indicator in the current sub-slot on the scheduling cell may be an activation indication. In one implementation, an indicator in the DCI on the scheduling cell may indicate the activation/deactivation of sub-slots on both of the scheduling cell and the scheduled cell. In one implementation, K value may be split to multiple values (e.g., there may be multiple K values) associated with different cells to indicate activation/deactivation of sub-slots. In one implementation, the same K value may be applied to different cells. In one implementation, K value in the DCI may only indicate the sub-slot referring to the same cell. For example, although the DCI for scheduling data on the scheduled cell is monitored on the scheduling cell, K value in this DCI may only indicate the activation/deactivation of sub-slots associated with the scheduled cell. In one implementation, an indicator in the DCI on the scheduling cell may only indicate the activation/deactivation of sub-slots on the scheduling cell. K value may be only applied to the sub-slots on the scheduling cell. In one implementation, an indicator in the DCI on the scheduled cell may indicate the activation/deactivation of sub-slots on both of the scheduling cell and the scheduled cell. Sub-slots on the scheduling cell may be associated with the PDCCH monitoring for scheduling data on the scheduled cell. In one implementation, K value may be split to multiple values (e.g., there may be multiple K values) associated with different cells to indicate activation/deactivation of sub-slots. In one implementation, the same K value may be applied to different cells. In one implementation, K value in the DCI may only indicate the sub-slot referring to the same cell. For example, although the DCI for scheduling data on the scheduled cell is monitored on the scheduling cell, K value in this DCI may only indicate the activation/deactivation of sub-slots associated with the scheduled cell. In one implementation, an indicator in the DCI on the scheduled cell may only indicate the activation/deactivation of sub-slots on the scheduled cell. K value may be only applied to the sub-slots on the scheduled cell. In one implementation, when deactivation of the scheduled cell happens within K slots (or sub-slots) after receiving an activation/deactivation indication, the activation/deactivation indication (e.g., for a sub-slot group) may be rescheduled, and the sub-slot configuration may be reconfigured. It should be noted the sub-slot configuration and relative activation/deactivation mechanisms described above may be applied to not only the URLLC/eMBB coexistence scenario but also some other use cases, such as multiple slicing (e.g., service types) with separate PDCCH monitoring. FIG.19is a block diagram illustrating a node for wireless communication, in accordance with various aspects of the present application. As shown inFIG.19, a node1900may include a transceiver1920, a processor1928, a memory1934, one or more presentation components1938, and at least one antenna1936. The node1900may also include an RF spectrum band module, a base station (BS) communications module, a network communications module, and a system communications management module, Input/Output (I/O) ports, I/O components, and power supply (not explicitly shown inFIG.19). Each of these components may be in communication with each other, directly or indirectly, over one or more buses1940. In one implementation, the node1900may be a UE or a base station that performs various functions described herein, for example, with reference toFIGS.1through18. The transceiver1920having a transmitter1922(e.g., transmitting/transmission circuitry) and a receiver1924(e.g., receiving/reception circuitry) may be configured to transmit and/or receive time and/or frequency resource partitioning information. In some implementations, the transceiver1920may be configured to transmit in different types of subframes and slots including, but not limited to, usable, non-usable and flexibly usable subframes and slot formats. The transceiver1920may be configured to receive data and control channels. The node1900may include a variety of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media may be any available media that may be accessed by the node1900and include both volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or data. Computer storage media includes RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, Digital Versatile Disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices. Computer storage media does not comprise a propagated data signal. Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. The memory1934may include computer-storage media in the form of volatile and/or non-volatile memory. The memory1934may be removable, non-removable, or a combination thereof. Example memory includes solid-state memory, hard drives, optical-disc drives, and etc. As illustrated inFIG.19, The memory1934may store computer-readable, computer-executable instructions1932(e.g., software codes) that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor1928to perform various functions described herein, for example, with reference toFIGS.1through18. Alternatively, the instructions1932may not be directly executable by the processor1928but be configured to cause the node1900(e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform various functions described herein. The processor1928(e.g., having processing circuitry) may include an intelligent hardware device, e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an ASIC, and etc. The processor1928may include memory. The processor1928may process the data1930and the instructions1932received from the memory1934, and information through the transceiver1920, the base band communications module, and/or the network communications module. The processor1928may also process information to be sent to the transceiver1920for transmission through the antenna1936, to the network communications module for transmission to a core network. One or more presentation components1938presents data indications to a person or other device. Examples of presentation components1938may include a display device, speaker, printing component, vibrating component, etc. From the above description, it is manifested that various techniques may be used for implementing the concepts described in the present application without departing from the scope of those concepts. Moreover, while the concepts have been described with specific reference to certain implementations, a person of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of those concepts. As such, the described implementations are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. It should also be understood that the present application is not limited to the particular implementations described above, but many rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. | 77,773 |
11943786 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION When referred to hereafter, the terminology “wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU)” includes but is not limited to a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a computer, or any other type of device capable of operating in a wireless environment. When referred to hereafter, the terminology “base station” includes but is not limited to a Node-B, evolved Node-B (eNB), a site controller, an access point (AP), or any other type of interfacing device capable of operating in a wireless environment. In long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A) with carrier aggregation, different physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) assignment, coding or allocation schemes represent distinct technical advantages. Both uplink (UL) grants and downlink (DL) assignments may be carried by the PDCCH. Due to asymmetric carrier aggregation, PDCCH methods that may be suitable for DL assignments may not be suitable for UL grants. Furthermore, PDCCH methods that are suitable for some configurations or assignments/grants of carrier aggregation may not be suitable for other configurations or assignments/grants of carrier aggregation. For example, in an asymmetric carrier aggregation in which there are more UL component carriers than DL component carriers, separate PDCCH may be directly used for DL assignment because there exists one-to-one mapping between a DL carrier and the DL carrier that transmits the DL assignment. In other words, a DL assignment that may be transmitted in DL component carrier x carries control information for DL component carrier x. However, in this case a separate PDCCH may not be directly used for UL grants because there are more UL component carriers than DL component carriers. This is also true for asymmetric carrier aggregation when more DL component carriers than UL component carriers are used. In addition, when different encoding and transmission schemes are used, how UL grants are mapped to UL component carriers and DL assignments to DL component carriers should be specified. In order to illustrate the methods, different PDCCH methods may be categorized according to how they are encoded and how they are transmitted. Suppose there are DL component carriers and downlink control information (DCI) #n is the DL control information for carrier n. Each DCI may be encoded separately from other DCIs and each may be carried in a PDCCH. They may also be encoded jointly. That is, all DCI n, n=1, 2 . . . N may be encoded together into a single joint DCI with a larger size and may be carried in a single joint PDCCH. After encoding, each PDCCH carrying a DCI may be transmitted in separate DL component carriers or all PDCCHs may be transmitted jointly in one component carrier. When DCIs are encoded separately, it may be referred to as “separate coding” and if they are encoded jointly, it may be referred to as “joint coding”. When a PDCCH carrying a DCI is transmitted separately in different component carriers, it may be referred to as “separate transmission”. If some or all PDCCHs corresponding to some or all component carriers, respectively, are transmitted all together in one component carrier, it may be referred to as “joint transmission”. Based on the combinations of how PDCCHs are encoded and transmitted, several schemes may be possible such as, but not limited to, separate coding/separate transmission, separate coding/joint transmission, or joint coding/joint transmission. The separate coding/separate transmission PDCCH method provides much flexibility in terms of possible resource assignments. However, this method may not exploit possible coding gain achievable from joint coding. It also may not exploit the power savings possible from having WTRUs monitor PDCCHs on fewer DL component carriers. The joint coding/joint transmission PDCCH method may result in restrictions regarding allocation flexibility due to the same considerations with respect to payload and mapping into the Control Region. However, this method may result in less overhead and lower WTRU blind detection complexity. Note that this is particularly important for power consumption considerations because joint coding/joint transmission PDCCH method may allow the WTRU to monitor only one DL carrier component at a time. Also, the joint PDCCH approach may suffer from excessive overhead when the number of component carriers used for a specific transmission is low. Methods to associate or map the DL assignment to DL component carrier and UL grant to UL component carrier are desired.FIG.1shows a Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) wireless communication system/access network100that includes an Evolved-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)105. The E-UTRAN105includes several evolved Node-Bs, (eNBs)120. The WTRU110is in communication with an eNB120. The WTRU110and eNB120may communicate using uplink component carriers150and downlink component carriers160. The eNBs120interface with each other using an X2 interface. Each of the eNBs120interfaces with a Mobility Management Entity (MME)/Serving GateWay (S-GW)130through an S1 interface. Although a single WTRU110and three eNBs120are shown inFIG.1, it should be apparent that any combination of wireless and wired devices may be included in the wireless communication system access network100. FIG.2is an example block diagram of an LTE or LTE-A wireless communication system200including the WTRU110, the eNB120, and the MME/S-GW130. As shown inFIG.1, the WTRU110is in communication with the eNB120and both are configured to perform a method wherein uplink transmissions from the WTRU110are transmitted to the eNB120using multiple component carriers250, and downlink transmissions from the eNB120are transmitted to the WTRU110using multiple downlink component carriers260. As shown inFIG.2, the WTRU110, the eNB120and the MME/S-GW130are configured to perform mapping, indicating, encoding and transmitting of UL grants and DL assignments and searching spaces for wireless communications for carrier aggregation. In addition to the components that may be found in a typical WTRU, the WTRU110includes a processor216with an optional linked memory222, at least one transceiver214, an optional battery220, and an antenna218. The processor216is configured to perform mapping, indicating, encoding and transmitting of UL grants and DL assignments and searching spaces for wireless communications for carrier aggregation. The transceiver214is in communication with the processor216and the antenna218to facilitate the transmission and reception of wireless communications. In case a battery220is used in the WTRU110, it powers the transceiver214and the processor216. In addition to the components that may be found in a typical eNB, the eNB120includes a processor217with an optional linked memory215, transceivers219, and antennas221. The processor217is configured to perform mapping, indicating, encoding and transmitting of UL grants and DL assignments and searching spaces for wireless communications for carrier aggregation. The transceivers219are in communication with the processor217and antennas221to facilitate the transmission and reception of wireless communications. The eNB120is connected to the MME/S-GW130which includes a processor233with an optional linked memory234. FIG.3shows an example of multiple component carriers being transmitted and received between eNB300and WTRU305. For example, the multiple component carriers may include downlink component carrier 1310, downlink component carrier 2320, uplink component carrier 1315and uplink component carrier 2325. Downlink component carrier 1310and downlink component carrier 2320may carry PDCCH(s) that carry downlink control information (DCI) as described herein. Mapping rules described herein may be generalized and other mapping and association between UL component carriers and DL component carriers that transmit UL grants and DL assignments may be used. Such mapping rules may be signalled, configured or predetermined. Described herein are example unified methods for UL grants and DL assignments. In a first unified method, separate coding and separate transmission may be used. For DL assignments, a one-to-one mapping may be defined between the DL component carrier and the DL component carrier that transmits the DL assignment. An example mapping rule may be that a DL assignment transmitted in DL component carrier x carries control information for DL component carrier z, where z=x. This method may work for DL assignments regardless of symmetric or asymmetric carrier aggregation. For UL grants, a one-to-one mapping may be defined between the UL component carriers and the DL component carriers that transmit UL grants. An example mapping rule may be that an UL grant transmitted in DL component carrier y carries control information for UL component carrier z, where z=f(y) and f(*) is a fixed mapping function that associates the UL and DL component carriers. This method may work for a symmetric number of component carriers in the UL and DL provided f(*) is known to both the WTRU and the base station. For UL grants with asymmetric carrier aggregation, where asymmetry refers to the number of UL and DL component carriers, additional mapping rules may be required to clearly identify the association between an UL grant and UL component carrier. In the asymmetric case where there are more DL component carriers than UL component carriers, there may be an onto function f(*) such that for each UL component carrier there is at least one DL component carrier that carries UL grants for it. An example mapping rule f(*) may be that an UL grant transmitted in DL component carrier y1, y2 and so on carries control information for UL component carrier z1, UL grant transmitted in DL component carrier y3, y4 and so on carries control information for UL component carrier z2 and so on. Alternatively, the following rule or method may be used where DL component carriers may be made symmetric to UL component carriers for UL grant purposes. In this method, a subset of DL component carriers may be selected and the number of DL component carriers in the selected component carrier subset may be set equal to the number of UL component carriers. Such a component carrier subset may be signalled, configured or predetermined. In the case where there are more UL component carriers than DL component carriers, there may be no such onto function but other rules may be used to make UL grants for all UL component carriers. An example mapping rule may be that an UL grant transmitted in DL component carrier y1 carries control information for UL component carriers z1, z2 . . . , UL grant transmitted in DL component carrier y2 carries control information for UL component carriers z3, z4 . . . , and so on. In this case, the same UL grant (thus same control information) may be shared by two or more UL component carriers. In other words, the resource allocation or other control information in the UL grant may be applied to more than one UL component carrier. For example, if the two such UL component carriers have the same bandwidth (BW), the resource allocation for both UL component carriers may be either identical or shifted with a fixed offset which may be configurable. If they do not have the same BW, the resource allocation may be scaled relative to the BW of a particular UL component carrier e.g., by adjusting the resource granularity for resource allocation. Alternatively, a rule that only component carriers having the same BW may share the same UL grant may be applied. Similarly, the above described approach may be applied to the DL assignment for DL component carriers when the DL assignment is shared by more than one DL component carrier. The control information payload size may be adjusted to reduce control channel blind decoding complexity. WTRU may be required to monitor only a single payload size control channel format or DCI format instead of two different payload size DCI formats for component carriers having different BWs. The resource allocation may be scaled relative to the BW of a particular DL component carrier. The resource granularity or resource block group (RBG) granularity for resource allocation may be adjusted such that the number of bits for resource allocation is the same if they do not have the same BW. This may be applicable to DL assignments or UL grants that may or may not be shared by multiple component carriers. In this asymmetric case, where there are more UL component carriers than DL component carriers,FIG.4illustrates an example flowchart400for WTRU procedures using this mapping method. First, the WTRU searches through common search space and WTRU-specific search space of DL component carrier y1 for a PDCCH candidate (405). Second, a PDCCH candidate is determined. A PDCCH candidate is one where the cyclic redundancy code (CRC) matches the WTRU cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), temporary C-RNTI, semi-persistent RNTI (SPS-RNTI) or other RNTIs that may be used to schedule uplink transmission and DCI format 0 or other UL DCI format (410). If CRC does not match, searching is continued (415). If CRC does match, then the DCI format 0 or other UL DCI format defines the uplink grant for uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) of both UL component carrier z1 and z2 (420). In this context, the grant for both UL component carriers may define the same physical resource blocks (PRBs), that is the same frequency allocation, if they have the same BW. A variant to this method may use a new DCI format 0 or other UL DCI format for LTE-A where a binary field may define whether the DCI format received applies to all mapped UL component carriers or a subset of component carriers. In this example, a 2 bit field may inform the WTRU that DCI format allocation applies to component carrier z1, component carrier z2 or both. The 2-bit field may also indicate the number of other component carriers taken from an ordinal set to use in the UL transmission, e.g., use a component carrier group taken from the set ((c1), (c1,c2), (c1,c2,c3), (c1,c2,c3,c4)), where c1,c2,c3,c4 are pointers to 4 component carriers provided by default or from the network. Such information may also be configured via higher layer signalling. Alternatively, different RNTIs may be used to indicate a different set(s) of UL component carriers to use. For example, a WTRU may check for which of a set of possible RNTIs it has been addressed with, which in turn indicates which component carriers to use or which set of component carriers to use. The mapping of DL component carrier with UL component carriers may be semi-static and defined by a radio resource controller (RRC) message during initial carrier configuration or at some later stage or event. The asymmetric case may take advantage of using a new RRC message that may configure one or more component carriers in only one direction, either UL or DL. For example, in the case described herein, an initial RRC message may map DL component carrier y1 with UL component carrier z1. But subsequently, an RRC message may configure an additional UL component carrier z2 and map it to an existing configured DL component carrier, such as y1. In a second unified method, separate coding and joint transmission may be used. Each DL assignment and UL grant may be separately encoded but jointly transmitted in an anchor component carrier, primary component carrier or other component carrier designated for the WTRU to monitor. An anchor or primary component carrier may be a component carrier which the WTRU monitors and in which the WTRU receives the DL assignment or UL grant. Because grants/assignments are transmitted jointly in one component carrier, there may be no one-to-one mapping between the component carrier and the component carrier that transmits the UL grant or DL assignment. RNTIs, carrier IDs or other similar designations or indicators may be used, either implicitly or explicitly, per DL assignment or UL grant to map DL assignment to DL component carrier or UL grant to UL component carrier. In one indication method, RNTIs may be used to indicate the component carriers. For each UL grant or DL assignment, the PDCCH may be masked with, for example, C-RNTI #n, n=1, 2, . . . , N, to indicate which UL or DL component carrier corresponds to which UL grant or DL assignment, respectively. In this case, N is the number of maximum component carriers in one direction. PDCCH masked with C-RNTI #n may carry control information for component carrier n in UL or DL. FIG.5shows an example flowchart500that a WTRU may use if N C-RNTIs are used to indicate N component carriers for either UL, DL or both. First, a WTRU may decode and de-mask all C-RNTIs (505). If C-RNTI #n passes the CRC test (510), then PDCCH masked with C-RNTI #n is for component carrier n (520). If C-RNTI #n does not pass the CRC test, then try another component carrier C-RNTI or CRC (515). This example procedure may be applicable to both UL grants and DL assignments. Although a C-RNTI is shown inFIG.5, the other RNTIs described herein may be used. In the C-RNTI example, each WTRU may be assigned C-RNTIs for each component carrier. C-RNTIs may be reused for WTRUs. To avoid overlap of searching space or collision of C-RNTIs, WTRUs that have same or overlapping assigned C-RNTIs may be assigned with different downlink anchor or primary component carriers. To balance the signalling load, WTRU-specific downlink anchor or primary component carrier may be used. To relax scheduling restrictions, each WTRU may have unique C-RNTIs. The availability analysis for C-RNTIs is described later herein. In addition to the C-RNTI, SPS-C-RNTI, temporary C-RNTI, or other appropriate RNTIs may be used. In an illustrative example, suppose the DL component carriers are Carrier 1D, Carrier2D, Carrier3D and the UL component carriers are Carrier 1U and Carrier2U. In this case, N is 3 for DL or N is 2 for UL. Three different C-RNTI, SPS-C-RNTI or other similar RNTI may be required to indicate which DL component carrier the DCI is applicable for and 2 different C-RNTI, SPS-C-RNTI or other similar RNTI may be required to indicate which uplink component carrier the DCI format is applicable to. For example, C-RNTI #1, C-RNTI #2, and C-RNTI #3 may be used to indicate which downlink component carrier #1, #2 or #3 the DCI format is applicable to. C-RNTI #1 and C-RNTI #2 may be used to indicate which uplink component carrier #1 or #2 the DCI format is applicable to. In another example, power-control messages may be directed to a group of WTRUs using an RNTI specific for that group. Each WTRU may be allocated two power-control RNTIs, one for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) power control and the other for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) power control. The transmit power control PUSCH RNTI (TPC-PUSCH-RNTI) is the identification used for the power control of PUSCH and the transmit power control PUCCH RNTI (TPC-PUCCH-RNTI) is the identification used for the power control of PUCCH. Although the power control RNTIs are common to a group of WTRUs, each WTRU may be informed through RRC signaling which TPC bit(s) in the DCI message it should follow. The TPC-PUSCH-RNTI, TPC-PUCCH-RNTI or both may be used to indicate the component carriers. Two different TPC-PUSCH-RNTIs and/or two different TPC-PUCCH-RNTIs may be required to indicate to which uplink component carrier the DCI format for power control is applicable to. A new TPC-PUSCH-RNTI or TPC-PUCCH-RNTI would be assigned for each additional uplink component carrier. As described herein, when adding an UL component carrier, an additional RNTI may be added. However, the RNTIs used for indication of DL component carriers may be reused for indication of UL component carriers. This is not the case for TPC-PUSCH-RNTI or TPC-PUCCH-RNTI which are for UL component carriers only. FIGS.6A and6Bshow an example flowchart600of cross component carrier power control using TPC-PUSCH-RNTIs, TPC-PUCCH-RNTIs or both. WTRU decodes PDCCH DCI format 3 or 3A with TPC-PUSCH-RNTIs, TPC-PUCCH-RNTIs or both (605). If it is a TPC-PUSCH-RNTI, the WTRU checks if the TPC-PUSCH-RNTI passes the CRC test (610). If the CRC test fails, searching is continued (612). If the CRC check passes for the TPC-PUSCH-RNTI, then the TPC-PUSCH-RNTI indicates that the decoded DCI format 3 or 3A information, e.g., transmit power control, is associated with UL component carrier n, where n=1, 2, 3 and so on (615). The WTRU extracts the transmit power control (TPC) commands from DCI format 3 or 3A (620). If DCI format 3 was sent, then the TPC command is a two bit power adjustment field and if DCI format 3A was sent, then the TPC command is an one bit power adjustment field. Since DCI format 3 or 3A carries multiple power control commands for a group of WTRUs, the WTRU needs to know which TPC command is applicable to the specific WTRU. This is generally configured by higher layer signalling, e.g., RRC signalling. In one example, the WTRU uses the parameter tpc-Index, which is sent by higher layers, to determine the index to the TPC command for the specific WTRU (625). The WTRU then adjusts the transmit power of the PUSCH in uplink component carrier n according to the TPC command received for this WTRU in the corresponding DCI format 3/3A (630). WTRU continues search for PDCCH DCI format 3/3As with TPC-PUSCH-RNTIs for other UL component carriers (633). If it is a TPC-PUCCH-RNTI, the WTRU checks if the TPC-PUCCH-RNTI passes the CRC test (635). If the CRC test fails, searching is continued (637). If the CRC check passes for the TPC-PUCCH-RNTI, then the TPC-PUCCH-RNTI indicates that the decoded DCI format 3 or 3A information, e.g., transmit power control, is associated with UL component carrier n, where n=1, 2, 3 and so on (640). The WTRU extracts the transmit power control (TPC) commands from DCI format 3 or 3A (645). As noted above, if DCI format 3 was sent, then the TPC command is a two bit power adjustment field and if DCI format 3A was sent, then the TPC command is an one bit power adjustment field. Again as noted above, the WTRU needs to know which TPC command is applicable to the specific WTRU. In one example, the WTRU uses the parameter tpc-Index, which is sent by higher layers, to determine the index to the TPC command for the specific WTRU (650). The WTRU then adjusts the transmit power of the PUCCH in uplink component carrier n according to the TPC command received for this WTRU in the corresponding DCI format 3/3A (655). WTRU continues search for PDCCH DCI format 3/3As with TPC-PUCCH-RNTIs for other UL component carriers (660). In another example, the WTRU may be assigned a C-RNTI_1 for Carrier 1D and Carrier 1U, C-RNTI_2 for Carrier 2D and Carrier 2U and C-RNTI_3 for Carrier 3D. Assuming that Carrier2D is an anchor or primary component carrier, the WTRU evaluates a PDCCH candidate on Carrier2D. The WTRU then checks for each PDCCH candidate for different DCI format length with address C-RNTI_1, C-RNTI_2 and C-RNTI_3. If PDCCH candidate's CRC matched with C-RNTI_2 and the PDCCH is DCI format 0, then the received uplink scheduling grant in DCI format 0 is applicable to Carrier2U. If PDCCH candidate's CRC matched with C-RNTI_1 and the PDCCH is DCI format 0, then the received uplink scheduling grant in DCI format 0 is applicable to Carried U. Anchor or primary component carriers may be used separately for DL assignments and UL grants. To further balance signalling load and reduce the use of C-RNTIs, DL assignments and UL grants may be transmitted in two different anchor or primary component carriers. That is, one anchor or primary component carrier for DL assignment (DL assignment specific anchor/primary component carrier) and one anchor or primary component carrier for UL grant (UL grant specific anchor/primary component carrier). They may also be WTRU-specific. Each WTRU may be assigned, for example, C-RNTIs for corresponding UL/DL component carriers. Alternatively, a RRC message to reassign WTRU to another anchor or primary component carrier may be useful not only for control region capacity load balancing but also in the context of sharing addresses. Also, dedicated signalling reassigning the anchor or primary component carrier may include for example C-RNTI re-assignment. In another indication method, detection orders may be used to indicate component carriers. In this method, DL assignment to DL component carrier or UL grant to UL component carrier may be mapped based on the detection order of DL assignment or UL grant. Detection orders are specified such that there may be no ambiguity regarding the detection order. The rules for the sequence of detection based on control channel element (CCE) aggregation level (e.g., from highest to lowest level or from lowest to highest level), CCE addresses (e.g., start from address 0), search space, or other similar procedures may be defined or specified. Such rules are known to the base station and WTRU by predetermination, RRC configuration or L1/2 and RRC signalling. The mapping between detection order and carrier may be that the first detected DL assignment is for the first assigned DL component carrier, the second detected DL assignment is for the second assigned DL component carrier and so on. Similarly for the UL grant and UL component carrier, the mapping between detection order and component carrier may be that the first detected UL grant is for the first assigned UL component carrier, the second detected UL grant is for the second assigned UL component carrier and so on. The information about which DL/UL component carriers are assigned may be signalled. In this case, no RNTI or carrier ID in DL assignment or UL grant to indicate component carriers may be required. The reliability of this successive method may be increased by using large CCE aggregation level for the first few PDCCHs. In another indication method, detection position such as search space partition or dedicated search space (or extended dedicated search space) corresponding to component carriers may be used to indicate component carriers. DL assignment to DL component carrier or UL grant to UL component carrier may be mapped based on the detection position, search space partition or dedicated search space (corresponding to component carriers) of the PDCCH carrying DL assignment or UL grant. Different potential search spaces, search space partitions or dedicated search spaces (either the same or extended search space as in LTE) are designated for different component carriers. The partitioning of the search space may be cell specific or WTRU specific. In this way, the WTRU learns the component carrier to be used from the position of the PDCCH (the dedicated search space or search space partitions where the PDCCH is detected). Furthermore, the WTRU may receive additional signalling to reduce the space that it must search to detect any possible PDCCH (e.g., a low data rate WTRU may be told to only search the PDCCH search space that could carry single component carrier grants). Search space may be partitioned with respect to the LTE search space or new search space such that the PDCCH blind decoding complexity may be reduced due to a smaller search space. Search space may be dedicated to component carriers and the dedicated search space may be extended or expanded such that the PDCCH block probability may be reduced due to a larger search space. LTE search space may also be used such that there are multiple LTE search spaces in each component carrier for a given WTRU, and each of the search spaces is dedicated for a component carrier. This is illustrated inFIGS.8and10, which are described in more detail below. The search space may be predefined or fixed by system definition. Alternatively, the search space may be configured or signalled by higher layers using, for example, RRC signalling or a broadcast channel system configuration message or element. In one example, a search space is defined as a set of candidate control channels (PDCCHs) formed by the set of control channel elements (CCEs) for a given aggregation level which the WTRU is supposed to monitor or decode. A specific PDCCH is identifiable by the numbers of the corresponding CCEs in the control region. This is then used to determine or map to the component carrier. FIG.7shows an example detection position flowchart700for using search space partitions or dedicated search spaces to indicate component carriers andFIG.8shows an example block diagram of the relationship between the component carriers and dedicated search spaces and cross carrier scheduling. Referring toFIG.7, the WTRU searches dedicated search spaces or search space partitions for a PDCCH candidate (705). The WTRU decodes PDCCH DCI formats with RNTIs (710) and then determines if the DCI format has been correctly decoded (715). If not, the WTRU tries another CRC or RNTI (720). If all the DCI formats have been correctly decoded, then for each correctly decoded DCI format, the WTRU uses the information with respect to where the PDCCH was detected to determine the relevant component carrier (725). The WTRU then uses the DCI information to receive the PDSCH or transmit the PUSCH (730). This is then repeated for the additional search space segments in the identified component carrier using the same RNTIs (735). Alternatively, the WTRU may search the search spaces in a parallel fashion. The DCI information may allow cross carrier scheduling such that the DCI (in the PDCCH) in a component carrier (say CC x) may schedule PDSCH (or PUSCH) in a different component carrier (say CC y), where CC x may not be equal to CC y. As shown inFIG.8, each component carrier may have dedicated search spaces (SS) in a control region (PDCCH) corresponding to multiple component carriers. For example, in the control region of component carrier 1 (CC1) there are dedicated SSs for CC1, CC2, CC3, . . . , i.e., CC1 SS is for PDSCH (or PUSCH) of CC1, CC2 SS is for PDSCH (or PUSCH) of CC2, CC3 SS is for PDSCH (or PUSCH) of CC3. The WTRU only searches CC n SS for CC n, where n=1, 2, 3, . . . and SS is not shared between component carriers. FIG.9shows an example detection position flowchart900for using search space partitions or dedicated search spaces to indicate component carriers andFIG.10shows an example block diagram of the relationship between the component carriers and dedicated search spaces and cross carrier scheduling with limited scheduling. The WTRU searches dedicated search spaces or search space partitions for a PDCCH candidate for component carriers (905). WTRU decodes PDCCH DCI formats with RNTIs (910) and determines if the DCI format has been correctly decoded (915). If not, the WTRU tries another CRC or RNTI (920). If all the DCI formats have been correctly decoded, then for each correctly decoded DCI format, the WTRU uses the information with respect to where the PDCCH was detected to determine the relevant component carrier (925). WTRU then uses the DCI information to receive the PDSCH or transmit the PUSCH (930). If additional search segments exist (932), the search (907) is then repeated for the additional search space segments in the identified component carrier using the same RNTIs (935). If all search segments are complete then additional dedicated search spaces or search space partitions for PDCCH candidates may be searched for other component carriers (940). Additional searches, for instance, are configurable. The WTRU may be configured to search only in the control region of CC1. In this instance, the WTRU only searches CC1 SS, CC2 SS, CC3 SS and so on. Alternatively, the WTRU may be configured to search in control region of other CCs such as CC2 or CC3. In this instance, the WTRU may continue to search CC1 SS, CC2 SS, CC3 SS in control regions of CC2, CC3 or both. The WTRU may receive configuration information from higher layer signalling e.g., RRC signalling and it may be WTRU specific. If the WTRU is configured to search only in the control region of CC1, then scheduling flexibility is limited but PDCCH blind decoding complexity may be reduced. If the WTRU is configured to search in control region of multiple CCs, then scheduling flexibility is increased at the cost of higher PDCCH blind decoding complexity. Alternatively, the WTRU may search the search spaces in a parallel fashion. The DCI information may allow cross carrier scheduling such that the DCI (in the PDCCH) in a component carrier (say CC x) may schedule PDSCH (or PUSCH) in a different component carrier (say CC y), where CC x may not be equal to CC y but in a limited fashion as shown inFIG.10. FIG.10shows the dedicated SS for CCs but with limited scheduling capability. Cross carrier scheduling is limited in such way that a DCI in a CC (say CC x) can only schedule PDSCH (or PUSCH) in a different CC (say CC y) within a limited CC subset. For example, CC1 has information with respect to receiving PDSCH (or PUSCH) with respect to CC1 and CC2 while CC3 has information with respect to receiving PDSCH (or PUSCH) with respect to CC3 and CC4. The WTRU is semi-statically configured via higher layer signalling to receive PDSCH data transmissions in a set of DL component carriers (say CC1, CC2 as one set, and CC3, CC4 as another set as shown inFIG.10) signalled via PDCCH transmitted in a specified or indicated DL component carrier (say CC1 inFIG.8or CC1, CC3 inFIG.10) belonging to the said set of DL component carriers or the said group of DL component carriers. The WTRU may not be required to receive PDSCH data transmissions in a set of DL component carriers signalled via PDCCH transmitted in a DL component carrier not belonging to the said set of DL component carriers or the said group of DL component carriers. The WTRU may monitor a set of PDCCH candidates for control information in a specified or indicated DL component carrier belonging to the set of component carriers (say CC1, CC2 as one set, and CC3, CC4 as another set as shown inFIG.10) or the group of component carriers (say CC1, CC2 as one group, and CC3, CC4 as another group inFIG.10) in every non-DRX subframe, where monitoring implies attempting to decode each of the PDCCHs in the PDCCH candidate set according to all the monitored DCI formats. The WTRU is not required to monitor a set of PDCCH candidates for control information in a DL component carrier that belongs to the different set or group of component carriers. The WTRU is not required to monitor a set of PDCCH candidates for control information in a DL component carrier that is not specified or indicated within the set or group of component carriers. For FDD and normal HARQ operation, the WTRU shall upon detection of a PDCCH with uplink grant such as DCI format 0 and/or a PHICH transmission in the set of DL component carriers in subframe n intended for the WTRU, adjust the corresponding PUSCH transmission in the set of UL component carriers that is linked with the set of DL component carriers in subframe n+4 according to the PDCCH and/or PHICH information that are received. In another indication method, detection time may be used to indicate component carriers. The time may be associated with the subframe or other specific time interval or period. The subframe in which a PDCCH may be detected (in part or in whole) may determine the component carrier to be used with the allocation grant. The pattern mapping subframe to component carrier may be cell specific or WTRU specific. For example, in subframes=0 mod 3, use component carrier c1, in subframes=1 mod 3, use component carrier c2, and in subframes=2 mod 3, use component carrier c3. In an alternative method, suppose there are up to K Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) symbols used in the DL for PDCCH (note that K=3 in LTE). The network may map UL grant/DL assignment for up to K component carriers in K different OFDM symbols. Upon successful decoding of a PDCCH, the WTRU may determine the carrier index of the UL grant/DL assignment according to the time location (i.e., which OFDM symbol) within the downlink control region. In another indication method, an explicit component carrier ID may be used to indicate component carriers. Bits may be inserted for carrier ID in a DCI format to indicate DL/UL component carriers. For example, 3 bits may be used to represent 8 UL or DL component carriers. In another indication method, scrambling sequence of the PDCCH may be used to indicate component carrier index. In LTE, PDCCH may be scrambled with a sequence that is a function of cell ID and sub-frame index. In this embodiment, a scrambling sequence may used that is a function of cell ID, sub-frame index and component carrier index to scramble PDCCH carrying UL grant/DL assignment. Upon descrambling of the PDCCH, the WTRU may determine the component carrier index of the decoded UL grant/DL assignment. In another indication method, combinations of the methods described herein may be used to indicate component carrier. As an example of a combination of the detection time and detection position method, K=3 OFDM symbols may be used in the DL for PDCCH. Since there are no more than 5 aggregated component carriers in each direction, the network may configure 2 WTRU-specific search spaces for a particular WTRU. If a PDCCH (containing an assignment) is decoded by the WTRU in search space i (i=1 or 2) and at OFDM symbol k (k=1, 2 or 3), then the WTRU determines the component carrier index according to a predetermined mapping f(i,k). Other combinations or variations using the described methods herein are also possible. In another unified method for DL assignment and UL grant, joint coding and joint transmission methods may be used. A single joint DL assignment or UL grant is transmitted in the anchor or primary component carrier. In one approach, an explicit bitmap and/or special PDCCH may be used for the assignment. In a first option, bits may be inserted in a DCI format (PDCCH) as a bitmap for each joint DL assignment or UL grant. In this option, ON or “1” means the component carrier has control information and OFF or “0” means no control information. For example, a bitmap of “10101” may indicate that component carriers 1, 3 and 5 have control information for DCI #1, 2 and 3, respectively. That is, the WTRU knows that three sets of DCI are available. This may be used in combination with a dynamic DCI format. To reduce blind format detection, the number of component carriers may be signalled to the WTRU via PDCCH, RRC or higher layer signalling. For example, if the number of DL component carriers and UL component carriers is known, the size of the DCI format for DL assignment and UL grant is known. If the number of DL and UL component carriers is signalled via L1/2 control signalling, a special PDCCH may be transmitted. The special PDCCH may carry the number of DL or UL component carriers and may be transmitted in certain subframes. For example, the special PDCCH may be transmitted in every M subframes, where M is configurable. Alternatively, some subframes may be configured for special PDCCH transmission. The special PDCCH may also carry bitmaps for DL or UL component carriers and may be transmitted in certain subframes as described previously. In a second option using explicit bitmaps, RRC signalling or other higher layer signalling may carry bits as a bitmap for joint DL assignments or UL grants. In a second method for joint coding and/or joint transmission, a static DCI format may be used for the assignments. If the number of DL and UL component carriers is not known or signalled, a static format may be used at the expense of higher overhead. In this case, the DCI format is fixed in length and no bitmap may be needed. Static DCI format and overhead may be designed for a maximum number of component carriers, for example, five component carriers. Alternatively, static DCI format and overhead may be designed for some fixed number of component carriers, such as three component carriers, which is less than the maximum number of component carriers. A non-unified method for UL grant and DL assignment is described herein. Different methods may be used for UL grants and DL assignments. That is, one method may be used for DL assignment and another method may be used for UL grant. For example, separate coding/separate transmission may be used for DL assignment, and separate coding/joint transmission or joint coding/joint transmission may be used for UL grant. For DL assignment, separate coding/separate transmission with one-to-one mapping between DL component carrier and DL component carrier that transmits the DL assignment may be used. For UL grant, separate coding/joint transmission with RNTIs, such as those described herein, may be used to indicate UL component carriers. Alternatively, joint coding/joint transmission with a bitmap indicating UL component carriers may be used. Other combinations of methods described in the unified method may also be used. Alternative UL and DL associations may also be used. The UL PDCCH component carrier to UL-SCH component carrier pairing methods described where z=x, z=f(y) or other described UL/DL alignment methods may also be applied to other required UL/DL associations. For example, when a DL-SCH transmission occurs, and UL hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback indicating successful or unsuccessful transmission may need to be transmitted, it may be necessary to know which UL component carrier may report the HARQ feedback for the DL-SCH transmission. Similarly when a UL-SCH transmission occurs, it may be necessary to know which component carrier DL HARQ feedback may be assigned to. In another example, when the WTRU reports channel conditions or uplink control information such as channel quality indicator, precoding matrix indication, or rank indication (CQI/PMI/RI) on a PUCCH, it may be necessary to associate the DL component carrier with an UL component carrier carrying PUCCH. The UL/DL carrier associations used for pairing DL PDCCH allocations with UL-SCH transmissions may also be used to associate the UL/DL pairing of channel quality indicator (CPI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indicator (RI) or acknowledge/negative acknowledge (ACK/NACK) reporting. DL component carrier #x may be paired with UL component carrier #y such that WTRU receives PDCCH in DL component carrier #x and transmits PUSCH in UL component carrier #y accordingly. UL component carrier #y may be used to report CQI, PMI, RI or ACK/NACK corresponding to DL component carrier #x. As described herein, the using of different RNTI addresses, such as C-RNTI or SPS-C-RNTI, to indicate to which uplink component carrier the DCI format may lead to, decreases the number of available RNTI that may be shared among the WTRUs. Different approaches are described herein to show how the network may share the different RNTI address across the different frequencies among the different users. The following describes how to reuse C-RNTI for PDCCH techniques in carrier aggregation such as separate PDCCH coding on a anchor/primary component carrier; separate PDCCH coding on separate component carriers; and joint PDCCH coding on a anchor/primary component carrier. In an example of separate PDCCH coding on a anchor/primary component carrier, it may be assumed that user one has an anchor component carrier 1D with 1D, 2D, . . . X1D and 1U, 2U, . . . , Y1U component carriers with assigned RNTIs: C-RNTI-1One, C-RNTI-2One, . . . , C-RNTI-Y1One, if Y1is larger than X1and user two has an anchor/primary component carrier 2D with 1D, 2D, . . . X2D and 1U, 2U, . . . , Y2U component carriers with assigned RNTIs: C-RNTI-1Two, C-RNTI-2Two, . . . , CRNT-Y2Two, if Y2is larger than X2. Since the 2 users do not share the same search space as they are on different anchor/primary component carriers, it shows that users on the same anchor/primary component carrier must not share a RNTI. Therefore, a technique by which users are reassigned to other anchor component carriers may be useful not only for control region capacity load balancing but also in the context of sharing addresses. Also, dedicated signalling reassigning the anchor component carrier may include RNTI reassignment such as C-RNTI reassignment. Described herein is a capacity analysis for this example. Assume a cell has 5 component carriers in the uplink and 4 component carriers in the downlink. C-RNTI being a 16 bit address, the network may therefore theoretically assign 65536 C-RNTIs minus 2 addresses reserved for paging RNTI (P-RNTI) and system information RNTI (SI-RNTI), or 65534. In this context, the cell may assign equally up to 65564/5 users on each downlink component carrier or downlink anchor component carrier. Therefore, for the asymmetrical case where the number of anchor component carriers (downlink) or downlink component carriers is larger than the number of uplink component carriers, the cell may support up to 65534 users. For the asymmetrical case, where the number of uplink component carriers is larger than the number of downlink component carriers, than the limit may be somewhat lower by a factor equal to Number of DL component carriers/Number of UL component carriers. In our case, 80% of 65534 users. Therefore, the usage of supplemental C-RNTI addresses to indicate to which component carrier the DCI format applies to may not impact the number of theoretical users in a cell if an anchor component carrier approach with separate coding is used. This theoretical analysis assumes all users are LTE-A capable and are pre-configured with the maximum number of aggregate component carriers in the uplink and the downlink in the cell. In an example of separate PDCCH coding on separate component carriers, a first case assumes a full flexibility case, where the PDCCH received on any DL may map to any uplink component carrier. In this case, assuming that user one has 1D, 2D, . . . X1D and 1U, 2U, . . . , Y1U component carriers with assigned RNTI: C-RNTI-1One, C-RNTI-2One, . . . , CRNT-Y2One, if Y1is larger than X1and user two has 1D, 2D, . . . X2D and 1U, 2U, . . . , Y2U component carriers with assigned RNTI: C-RNTI-1Two, C-RNTI-2Two, . . . , CRNT-Y2Two, if Y2is larger than X2. In this context, since the WTRU-dedicated search space of user one and user two may overlap on any downlink component carrier, addresses may not be reused. Described herein is a capacity analysis for this example. Assume a cell has 5 component carriers in the uplink and 4 component carriers in the downlink. C-RNTI being a 16 bit address, the network may therefore theoretically assign 65536 C-RNTIs minus 2 addresses reserved for P-RNTI and SI-RNTI, or 65534. In this context, the cell may only assign up to 65534/5 users in total in the cell. A second case assumes a limited flexibility case, where the PDCCH receives a component carrier that may map to one component carrier in the uplink. In the case where more uplink component carriers are configured than in the downlink, a given downlink component carrier may be assigned 2 or more addresses to differentiate DCI formats allocated in the uplink. This theoretical analysis assumes all users are LTE-A compatible and are pre-configured with the maximum number of aggregate component carriers in the uplink and the downlink in the cell. Described herein is a capacity analysis for this example. Assume a cell with 4 downlink component carriers and 5 uplink component carriers. One downlink component carrier may be assigned an additional address. In this context, since each user needs 2 addresses to support this asymmetrical case, the theoretical limit would be 65534/2 or 65534/(number of uplink component carriers−number of downlink component carriers). This theoretical analysis assumes all users are LTE-A compatible and are pre-configured with the maximum number of aggregate component carriers in the uplink and the downlink in the cell. In an example of joint PDCCH coding on a anchor/primary component carrier, joint PDCCH coding may support multiple assignments/grants to different component carriers with a common CRC, thus it cannot rely on this method of using different C-RNTI or SPS-C-RNTI addresses to indicate to which uplink component carrier the DCI format is applicable. Table 1 is a summary of the theoretical capacity analysis described herein. TABLE 1PDCCHcoding and assignmentTheoretical user limit per cellA. Separate PDCCH coding on a anchor component65534 * DL component carriers/ULcarriercomponent carriers if UL > DL or65534B. Separate PDCCH coding on separate component65534/UL component carrierscarriers - Full flexible case (case 1)B. Separate PDCCH coding on separate component65534/(UL component carriers-DLcarriers - Not flexible case (case 2)component carriers) if UL > DL or65534C. Joint CodingNot applicable, cannot rely on thistechnique This theoretical analysis assumes all users are LTE-A compatible and are pre-configured with the maximum number of aggregate component carriers in the uplink and the downlink in the cell. Also, no SPS-C-RNTI may be allocated. While the present invention has been described in terms of the preferred embodiment, other variations which are within the scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, each feature or element can be used alone without the other features and elements or in various combinations with or without other features and elements. The methods or flow charts provided herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable storage medium for execution by a general purpose computer or a processor. Examples of computer-readable storage mediums include a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). Suitable processors include, by way of example, a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), and/or a state machine. A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU), user equipment (UE), terminal, base station, radio network controller (RNC), or any host computer. The WTRU may be used in conjunction with modules, implemented in hardware and/or software, such as a camera, a video camera module, a videophone, a speakerphone, a vibration device, a speaker, a microphone, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a keyboard, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, and/or any wireless local area network (WLAN) or Ultra Wide Band (UWB) module. | 51,686 |
11943787 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Example embodiments of the present invention enable operation of carrier aggregation. Embodiments of the technology disclosed herein may be employed in the technical field of multicarrier communication systems. More particularly, the embodiments of the technology disclosed herein may relate to signal timing in multicarrier communication systems. The following Acronyms are used throughout the present disclosure:ASIC application-specific integrated circuitBPSK binary phase shift keyingCA carrier aggregationCSI channel state informationCDMA code division multiple accessCSS common search spaceCPLD complex programmable logic devicesCC component carrierDL downlinkDCI downlink control informationDC dual connectivityEPC evolved packet coreE-UTRAN evolved-universal terrestrial radio access networkFPGA field programmable gate arraysFDD frequency division multiplexingHDL hardware description languagesHARQ hybrid automatic repeat requestIE information elementLTE long term evolutionMCG master cell groupMeNB master evolved node BMIB master information blockMAC media access controlMME mobility management entityNAS non-access stratumOFDM orthogonal frequency division multiplexingPDCP packet data convergence protocolPDU packet data unitPHY physicalPDCCH physical downlink control channelPHICH physical HARQ indicator channelPUCCH physical uplink control channelPUSCH physical uplink shared channelPCell primary cellPCC primary component carrierPSCell primary secondary cellpTAG primary timing advance groupQAM quadrature amplitude modulationQPSK quadrature phase shift keyingRBG Resource Block GroupsRLC radio link controlRRC radio resource controlRA random accessRB resource blocksSCC secondary component carrierSCell secondary cellScell secondary cellsSCG secondary cell groupSeNB secondary evolved node BsTAGs secondary timing advance groupSDU service data unitS-GW serving gatewaySRB signaling radio bearerSC-OFDM single carrier-OFDMSFN system frame numberSIB system information blockTAI tracking area identifierTAT time alignment timerTDD time division duplexingTDMA time division multiple accessTA timing advanceTAG timing advance groupTB transport blockUL uplinkUE user equipmentVHDL VHSIC hardware description language Example embodiments of the invention may be implemented using various physical layer modulation and transmission mechanisms. Example transmission mechanisms may include, but are not limited to: CDMA, OFDM, TDMA, Wavelet technologies, and/or the like. Hybrid transmission mechanisms such as TDMA/CDMA, and OFDM/CDMA may also be employed. Various modulation schemes may be applied for signal transmission in the physical layer. Examples of modulation schemes include, but are not limited to: phase, amplitude, code, a combination of these, and/or the like. An example radio transmission method may implement QAM using BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, and/or the like. Physical radio transmission may be enhanced by dynamically or semi-dynamically changing the modulation and coding scheme depending on transmission requirements and radio conditions. FIG.1is a diagram depicting example sets of OFDM subcarriers as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in this example, arrow(s) in the diagram may depict a subcarrier in a multicarrier OFDM system. The OFDM system may use technology such as OFDM technology, DFTS-OFDM, SC-OFDM technology, or the like. For example, arrow101shows a subcarrier transmitting information symbols.FIG.1is for illustration purposes, and a typical multicarrier OFDM system may include more subcarriers in a carrier. For example, the number of subcarriers in a carrier may be in the range of 10 to 10,000 subcarriers.FIG.1shows two guard bands106and107in a transmission band. As illustrated inFIG.1, guard band106is between subcarriers103and subcarriers104. The example set of subcarriers A102includes subcarriers103and subcarriers104.FIG.1also illustrates an example set of subcarriers B105. As illustrated, there is no guard band between any two subcarriers in the example set of subcarriers B105. Carriers in a multicarrier OFDM communication system may be contiguous carriers, non-contiguous carriers, or a combination of both contiguous and non-contiguous carriers. FIG.2is a diagram depicting an example transmission time and reception time for two carriers as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. A multicarrier OFDM communication system may include one or more carriers, for example, ranging from 1 to 10 carriers. Carrier A204and carrier B205may have the same or different timing structures. AlthoughFIG.2shows two synchronized carriers, carrier A204and carrier B205may or may not be synchronized with each other. Different radio frame structures may be supported for FDD and TDD duplex mechanisms.FIG.2shows an example FDD frame timing. Downlink and uplink transmissions may be organized into radio frames201. In this example, radio frame duration is 10 msec. Other frame durations, for example, in the range of 1 to 100 msec may also be supported. In this example, each 10 ms radio frame201may be divided into ten equally sized subframes202. Other subframe durations such as including 0.5 msec, 1 msec, 2 msec, and 5 msec may also be supported. Subframe(s) may consist of two or more slots (e.g. slots206and207). For the example of FDD, 10 subframes may be available for downlink transmission and 10 subframes may be available for uplink transmissions in each 10 ms interval. Uplink and downlink transmissions may be separated in the frequency domain. Slot(s) may include a plurality of OFDM symbols203. The number of OFDM symbols203in a slot206may depend on the cyclic prefix length and subcarrier spacing. FIG.3is a diagram depicting OFDM radio resources as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. The resource grid structure in time304and frequency305is illustrated inFIG.3. The quantity of downlink subcarriers or RB s (in this example 6 to 100 RBs) may depend, at least in part, on the downlink transmission bandwidth306configured in the cell. The smallest radio resource unit may be called a resource element (e.g.301). Resource elements may be grouped into resource blocks (e.g.302). Resource blocks may be grouped into larger radio resources called Resource Block Groups (RBG) (e.g.303). The transmitted signal in slot206may be described by one or several resource grids of a plurality of subcarriers and a plurality of OFDM symbols. Resource blocks may be used to describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Other pre-defined groupings of physical resource elements may be implemented in the system depending on the radio technology. For example, 24 subcarriers may be grouped as a radio block for a duration of 5 msec. In an illustrative example, a resource block may correspond to one slot in the time domain and 180 kHz in the frequency domain (for 15 KHz subcarrier bandwidth and 12 subcarriers). FIG.5A,FIG.5B,FIG.5CandFIG.5Dare example diagrams for uplink and downlink signal transmission as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.FIG.5Ashows an example uplink physical channel. The baseband signal representing the physical uplink shared channel may perform the following processes. These functions are illustrated as examples and it is anticipated that other mechanisms may be implemented in various embodiments. The functions may comprise scrambling, modulation of scrambled bits to generate complex-valued symbols, mapping of the complex-valued modulation symbols onto one or several transmission layers, transform precoding to generate complex-valued symbols, precoding of the complex-valued symbols, mapping of precoded complex-valued symbols to resource elements, generation of complex-valued time-domain DFTS-OFDM/SC-FDMA signal for each antenna port, and/or the like. Example modulation and up-conversion to the carrier frequency of the complex-valued DFTS-OFDM/SC-FDMA baseband signal for each antenna port and/or the complex-valued PRACH baseband signal is shown inFIG.5B. Filtering may be employed prior to transmission. An example structure for Downlink Transmissions is shown inFIG.5C. The baseband signal representing a downlink physical channel may perform the following processes. These functions are illustrated as examples and it is anticipated that other mechanisms may be implemented in various embodiments. The functions include scrambling of coded bits in each of the codewords to be transmitted on a physical channel; modulation of scrambled bits to generate complex-valued modulation symbols; mapping of the complex-valued modulation symbols onto one or several transmission layers; precoding of the complex-valued modulation symbols on each layer for transmission on the antenna ports; mapping of complex-valued modulation symbols for each antenna port to resource elements; generation of complex-valued time-domain OFDM signal for each antenna port, and/or the like. Example modulation and up-conversion to the carrier frequency of the complex-valued OFDM baseband signal for each antenna port is shown inFIG.5D. Filtering may be employed prior to transmission. FIG.4is an example block diagram of a base station401and a wireless device406, as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. A communication network400may include at least one base station401and at least one wireless device406. The base station401may include at least one communication interface402, at least one processor403, and at least one set of program code instructions405stored in non-transitory memory404and executable by the at least one processor403. The wireless device406may include at least one communication interface407, at least one processor408, and at least one set of program code instructions410stored in non-transitory memory409and executable by the at least one processor408. Communication interface402in base station401may be configured to engage in communication with communication interface407in wireless device406via a communication path that includes at least one wireless link411. Wireless link411may be a bi-directional link. Communication interface407in wireless device406may also be configured to engage in a communication with communication interface402in base station401. Base station401and wireless device406may be configured to send and receive data over wireless link411using multiple frequency carriers. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, transceiver(s) may be employed. A transceiver is a device that includes both a transmitter and receiver. Transceivers may be employed in devices such as wireless devices, base stations, relay nodes, and/or the like. Example embodiments for radio technology implemented in communication interface402,407and wireless link411are illustrated areFIG.1,FIG.2,FIG.3,FIG.5, and associated text. An interface may be a hardware interface, a firmware interface, a software interface, and/or a combination thereof. The hardware interface may include connectors, wires, electronic devices such as drivers, amplifiers, and/or the like. A software interface may include code stored in a memory device to implement protocol(s), protocol layers, communication drivers, device drivers, combinations thereof, and/or the like. A firmware interface may include a combination of embedded hardware and code stored in and/or in communication with a memory device to implement connections, electronic device operations, protocol(s), protocol layers, communication drivers, device drivers, hardware operations, combinations thereof, and/or the like. The term configured may relate to the capacity of a device whether the device is in an operational or non-operational state. Configured may also refer to specific settings in a device that effect the operational characteristics of the device whether the device is in an operational or non-operational state. In other words, the hardware, software, firmware, registers, memory values, and/or the like may be “configured” within a device, whether the device is in an operational or nonoperational state, to provide the device with specific characteristics. Terms such as “a control message to cause in a device” may mean that a control message has parameters that may be used to configure specific characteristics in the device, whether the device is in an operational or non-operational state. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, an LTE network may include a multitude of base stations, providing a user plane PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY and control plane (RRC) protocol terminations towards the wireless device. The base station(s) may be interconnected with other base station(s) (e.g. employing an X2 interface). The base stations may also be connected employing, for example, an S1 interface to an EPC. For example, the base stations may be interconnected to the MME employing the S1-MME interface and to the S-G) employing the S1-U interface. The S1 interface may support a many-to-many relation between MMEs/Serving Gateways and base stations. A base station may include many sectors for example: 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6 sectors. A base station may include many cells, for example, ranging from 1 to 50 cells or more. A cell may be categorized, for example, as a primary cell or secondary cell. At RRC connection establishment/re-establishment/handover, one serving cell may provide the NAS (non-access stratum) mobility information (e.g. TAI), and at RRC connection re-establishment/handover, one serving cell may provide the security input. This cell may be referred to as the Primary Cell (PCell). In the downlink, the carrier corresponding to the PCell may be the Downlink Primary Component Carrier (DL PCC), while in the uplink, it may be the Uplink Primary Component Carrier (UL PCC). Depending on wireless device capabilities, Secondary Cells (SCells) may be configured to form together with the PCell a set of serving cells. In the downlink, the carrier corresponding to an SCell may be a Downlink Secondary Component Carrier (DL SCC), while in the uplink, it may be an Uplink Secondary Component Carrier (UL SCC). An SCell may or may not have an uplink carrier. A cell, comprising a downlink carrier and optionally an uplink carrier, may be assigned a physical cell ID and a cell index. A carrier (downlink or uplink) may belong to only one cell. The cell ID or Cell index may also identify the downlink carrier or uplink carrier of the cell (depending on the context it is used). In the specification, cell ID may be equally referred to a carrier ID, and cell index may be referred to carrier index. In implementation, the physical cell ID or cell index may be assigned to a cell. A cell ID may be determined using a synchronization signal transmitted on a downlink carrier. A cell index may be determined using RRC messages. For example, when the specification refers to a first physical cell ID for a first downlink carrier, the specification may mean the first physical cell ID is for a cell comprising the first downlink carrier. The same concept may apply to, for example, carrier activation. When the specification indicates that a first carrier is activated, the specification may equally mean that the cell comprising the first carrier is activated. Embodiments may be configured to operate as needed. The disclosed mechanism may be performed when certain criteria are met, for example, in a wireless device, a base station, a radio environment, a network, a combination of the above, and/or the like. Example criteria may be based, at least in part, on for example, traffic load, initial system set up, packet sizes, traffic characteristics, a combination of the above, and/or the like. When the one or more criteria are met, various example embodiments may be applied. Therefore, it may be possible to implement example embodiments that selectively implement disclosed protocols. A base station may communicate with a mix of wireless devices. Wireless devices may support multiple technologies, and/or multiple releases of the same technology. Wireless devices may have some specific capability(ies) depending on its wireless device category and/or capability(ies). A base station may comprise multiple sectors. When this disclosure refers to a base station communicating with a plurality of wireless devices, this disclosure may refer to a subset of the total wireless devices in a coverage area. This disclosure may refer to, for example, a plurality of wireless devices of a given LTE release with a given capability and in a given sector of the base station. The plurality of wireless devices in this disclosure may refer to a selected plurality of wireless devices, and/or a subset of total wireless devices in a coverage area which perform according to disclosed methods, and/or the like. There may be a plurality of wireless devices in a coverage area that may not comply with the disclosed methods, for example, because those wireless devices perform based on older releases of LTE technology. FIG.6andFIG.7are example diagrams for protocol structure with CA and DC as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. E-UTRAN may support Dual Connectivity (DC) operation whereby a multiple RX/TX UE in RRC_CONNECTED may be configured to utilize radio resources provided by two schedulers located in two eNBs connected via a non-ideal backhaul over the X2 interface. eNBs involved in DC for a certain UE may assume two different roles: an eNB may either act as an MeNB or as an SeNB. In DC a UE may be connected to one MeNB and one SeNB. Mechanisms implemented in DC may be extended to cover more than two eNBs.FIG.7illustrates one example structure for the UE side MAC entities when a Master Cell Group (MCG) and a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) are configured, and it may not restrict implementation. Media Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) reception is not shown in this figure for simplicity. In DC, the radio protocol architecture that a particular bearer uses may depend on how the bearer is setup. Three alternatives may exist, an MCG bearer, an SCG bearer and a split bearer as shown inFIG.6. RRC may be located in MeNB and SRBs may be configured as a MCG bearer type and may use the radio resources of the MeNB. DC may also be described as having at least one bearer configured to use radio resources provided by the SeNB. DC may or may not be configured/implemented in example embodiments of the invention. In the case of DC, the UE may be configured with two MAC entities: one MAC entity for MeNB, and one MAC entity for SeNB. In DC, the configured set of serving cells for a UE may comprise of two subsets: the Master Cell Group (MCG) containing the serving cells of the MeNB, and the Secondary Cell Group (SCG) containing the serving cells of the SeNB. For a SCG, one or more of the following may be applied: at least one cell in the SCG has a configured UL CC and one of them, named PSCell (or PCell of SCG, or sometimes called PCell), is configured with PUCCH resources; when the SCG is configured, there may be at least one SCG bearer or one Split bearer; upon detection of a physical layer problem or a random access problem on a PSCell, or the maximum number of RLC retransmissions has been reached associated with the SCG, or upon detection of an access problem on a PSCell during a SCG addition or a SCG change: a RRC connection re-establishment procedure may not be triggered, UL transmissions towards cells of the SCG are stopped, a MeNB may be informed by the UE of a SCG failure type, for split bearer, the DL data transfer over the MeNB is maintained; the RLC AM bearer may be configured for the split bearer; like PCell, PSCell may not be de-activated; PSCell may be changed with a SCG change (e.g. with security key change and a RACH procedure); and/or neither a direct bearer type change between a Split bearer and a SCG bearer nor simultaneous configuration of a SCG and a Split bearer are supported. With respect to the interaction between a MeNB and a SeNB, one or more of the following principles may be applied: the MeNB may maintain the RRM measurement configuration of the UE and may, (e.g., based on received measurement reports or traffic conditions or bearer types), decide to ask a SeNB to provide additional resources (serving cells) for a UE; upon receiving a request from the MeNB, a SeNB may create a container that may result in the configuration of additional serving cells for the UE (or decide that it has no resource available to do so); for UE capability coordination, the MeNB may provide (part of) the AS configuration and the UE capabilities to the SeNB; the MeNB and the SeNB may exchange information about a UE configuration by employing of RRC containers (inter-node messages) carried in X2 messages; the SeNB may initiate a reconfiguration of its existing serving cells (e.g., PUCCH towards the SeNB); the SeNB may decide which cell is the PSCell within the SCG; the MeNB may not change the content of the RRC configuration provided by the SeNB; in the case of a SCG addition and a SCG SCell addition, the MeNB may provide the latest measurement results for the SCG cell(s); both a MeNB and a SeNB may know the SFN and subframe offset of each other by OAM, (e.g., for the purpose of DRX alignment and identification of a measurement gap). In an example, when adding a new SCG SCell, dedicated RRC signaling may be used for sending required system information of the cell as for CA, except for the SFN acquired from a MIB of the PSCell of a SCG. In an example, serving cells may be grouped in a TA group (TAG). Serving cells in one TAG may use the same timing reference. For a given TAG, user equipment (UE) may use at least one downlink carrier as a timing reference. For a given TAG, a UE may synchronize uplink subframe and frame transmission timing of uplink carriers belonging to the same TAG. In an example, serving cells having an uplink to which the same TA applies may correspond to serving cells hosted by the same receiver. A UE supporting multiple TAs may support two or more TA groups. One TA group may contain the PCell and may be called a primary TAG (pTAG). In a multiple TAG configuration, at least one TA group may not contain the PCell and may be called a secondary TAG (sTAG). In an example, carriers within the same TA group may use the same TA value and/or the same timing reference. When DC is configured, cells belonging to a cell group (MCG or SCG) may be grouped into multiple TAGs including a pTAG and one or more sTAGs. FIG.8shows example TAG configurations as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. In Example 1, pTAG comprises PCell, and an sTAG comprises SCell1. In Example 2, a pTAG comprises a PCell and SCell1, and an sTAG comprises SCell2 and SCell3. In Example 3, pTAG comprises PCell and SCell1, and an sTAG1 includes SCell2 and SCell3, and sTAG2 comprises SCell4. Up to four TAGs may be supported in a cell group (MCG or SCG) and other example TAG configurations may also be provided. In various examples in this disclosure, example mechanisms are described for a pTAG and an sTAG. Some of the example mechanisms may be applied to configurations with multiple sTAGs. In an example, an eNB may initiate an RA procedure via a PDCCH order for an activated SCell. This PDCCH order may be sent on a scheduling cell of this SCell. When cross carrier scheduling is configured for a cell, the scheduling cell may be different than the cell that is employed for preamble transmission, and the PDCCH order may include an SCell index. At least a non-contention based RA procedure may be supported for SCell(s) assigned to sTAG(s). FIG.9is an example message flow in a random access process in a secondary TAG as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. An eNB transmits an activation command600to activate an SCell. A preamble602(Msg1) may be sent by a UE in response to a PDCCH order601on an SCell belonging to an sTAG. In an example embodiment, preamble transmission for SCells may be controlled by the network using PDCCH format 1A. Msg2 message603(RAR: random access response) in response to the preamble transmission on the SCell may be addressed to RA-RNTI in a PCell common search space (CSS). Uplink packets604may be transmitted on the SCell in which the preamble was transmitted. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, initial timing alignment may be achieved through a random access procedure. This may involve a UE transmitting a random access preamble and an eNB responding with an initial TA command NTA (amount of timing advance) within a random access response window. The start of the random access preamble may be aligned with the start of a corresponding uplink subframe at the UE assuming NTA=0. The eNB may estimate the uplink timing from the random access preamble transmitted by the UE. The TA command may be derived by the eNB based on the estimation of the difference between the desired UL timing and the actual UL timing. The UE may determine the initial uplink transmission timing relative to the corresponding downlink of the sTAG on which the preamble is transmitted. The mapping of a serving cell to a TAG may be configured by a serving eNB with RRC signaling. The mechanism for TAG configuration and reconfiguration may be based on RRC signaling. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, when an eNB performs an SCell addition configuration, the related TAG configuration may be configured for the SCell. In an example embodiment, an eNB may modify the TAG configuration of an SCell by removing (releasing) the SCell and adding (configuring) a new SCell (with the same physical cell ID and frequency) with an updated TAG ID. The new SCell with the updated TAG ID may initially be inactive subsequent to being assigned the updated TAG ID. The eNB may activate the updated new SCell and start scheduling packets on the activated SCell. In an example implementation, it may not be possible to change the TAG associated with an SCell, but rather, the SCell may need to be removed and a new SCell may need to be added with another TAG. For example, if there is a need to move an SCell from an sTAG to a pTAG, at least one RRC message, for example, at least one RRC reconfiguration message, may be send to the UE to reconfigure TAG configurations by releasing the SCell and then configuring the SCell as a part of the pTAG (when an SCell is added/configured without a TAG index, the SCell may be explicitly assigned to the pTAG). The PCell may not change its TA group and may be a member of the pTAG. The purpose of an RRC connection reconfiguration procedure may be to modify an RRC connection, (e.g. to establish, modify and/or release RBs, to perform handover, to setup, modify, and/or release measurements, to add, modify, and/or release SCells). If the received RRC Connection Reconfiguration message includes the sCellToReleaseList, the UE may perform an SCell release. If the received RRC Connection Reconfiguration message includes the sCellToAddModList, the UE may perform SCell additions or modification. In LTE Release-10 and Release-11 CA, a PUCCH is only transmitted on the PCell (PSCell) to an eNB. In LTE-Release 12 and earlier, a UE may transmit PUCCH information on one cell (PCell or PSCell) to a given eNB. As the number of CA capable UEs and also the number of aggregated carriers increase, the number of PUCCHs and also the PUCCH payload size may increase. Accommodating the PUCCH transmissions on the PCell may lead to a high PUCCH load on the PCell. A PUCCH on an SCell may be introduced to offload the PUCCH resource from the PCell. More than one PUCCH may be configured for example, a PUCCH on a PCell and another PUCCH on an SCell. In the example embodiments, one, two or more cells may be configured with PUCCH resources for transmitting CSI/ACK/NACK to a base station. Cells may be grouped into multiple PUCCH groups, and one or more cell within a group may be configured with a PUCCH. In an example configuration, one SCell may belong to one PUCCH group. SCells with a configured PUCCH transmitted to a base station may be called a PUCCH SCell, and a cell group with a common PUCCH resource transmitted to the same base station may be called a PUCCH group. In an example embodiment, a MAC entity may have a configurable timer timeAlignmentTimer per TAG. The timeAlignmentTimer may be used to control how long the MAC entity considers the Serving Cells belonging to the associated TAG to be uplink time aligned. The MAC entity may, when a Timing Advance Command MAC control element is received, apply the Timing Advance Command for the indicated TAG; start or restart the timeAlignmentTimer associated with the indicated TAG. The MAC entity may, when a Timing Advance Command is received in a Random Access Response message for a serving cell belonging to a TAG and/or if the Random Access Preamble was not selected by the MAC entity, apply the Timing Advance Command for this TAG and start or restart the timeAlignmentTimer associated with this TAG. Otherwise, if the timeAlignmentTimer associated with this TAG is not running, the Timing Advance Command for this TAG may be applied and the timeAlignmentTimer associated with this TAG started. When the contention resolution is considered not successful, a timeAlignmentTimer associated with this TAG may be stopped. Otherwise, the MAC entity may ignore the received Timing Advance Command. In example embodiments, a timer is running once it is started, until it is stopped or until it expires; otherwise it may not be running. A timer can be started if it is not running or restarted if it is running. For example, a timer may be started or restarted from its initial value. Example embodiments of the invention may enable operation of multi-carrier communications. Other example embodiments may comprise a non-transitory tangible computer readable media comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to cause operation of multi-carrier communications. Yet other example embodiments may comprise an article of manufacture that comprises a non-transitory tangible computer readable machine-accessible medium having instructions encoded thereon for enabling programmable hardware to cause a device (e.g. wireless communicator, UE, base station, etc.) to enable operation of multi-carrier communications. The device may include processors, memory, interfaces, and/or the like. Other example embodiments may comprise communication networks comprising devices such as base stations, wireless devices (or user equipment: UE), servers, switches, antennas, and/or the like. The amount of data traffic carried over cellular networks is expected to increase for many years to come. The number of users/devices is increasing and each user/device accesses an increasing number and variety of services, e.g. video delivery, large files, images. This requires not only high capacity in the network, but also provisioning very high data rates to meet customers' expectations on interactivity and responsiveness. More spectrum is therefore needed for cellular operators to meet the increasing demand. Considering user expectations of high data rates along with seamless mobility, it is beneficial that more spectrum be made available for deploying macro cells as well as small cells for cellular systems. Striving to meet the market demands, there has been increasing interest from operators in deploying some complementary access utilizing unlicensed spectrum to meet the traffic growth. This is exemplified by the large number of operator-deployed Wi-Fi networks and the 3GPP standardization of LTE/WLAN interworking solutions. This interest indicates that unlicensed spectrum, when present, can be an effective complement to licensed spectrum for cellular operators to help addressing the traffic explosion in some scenarios, such as hotspot areas. LAA offers an alternative for operators to make use of unlicensed spectrum while managing one radio network, thus offering new possibilities for optimizing the network's efficiency. In an example embodiment, Listen-before-talk (clear channel assessment) may be implemented for transmission in an LAA cell. In a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure, equipment may apply a clear channel assessment (CCA) check before using the channel. For example, the CCA utilizes at least energy detection to determine the presence or absence of other signals on a channel in order to determine if a channel is occupied or clear, respectively. For example, European and Japanese regulations mandate the usage of LBT in the unlicensed bands. Apart from regulatory requirements, carrier sensing via LBT may be one way for fair sharing of the unlicensed spectrum. In an example embodiment, discontinuous transmission on an unlicensed carrier with limited maximum transmission duration may be enabled. Some of these functions may be supported by one or more signals to be transmitted from the beginning of a discontinuous LAA downlink transmission. Channel reservation may be enabled by the transmission of signals, by an LAA node, after gaining channel access via a successful LBT operation, so that other nodes that receive the transmitted signal with energy above a certain threshold sense the channel to be occupied. Functions that may need to be supported by one or more signals for LAA operation with discontinuous downlink transmission may include one or more of the following: detection of the LAA downlink transmission (including cell identification) by UEs; time & frequency synchronization of UEs. In an example embodiment, DL LAA design may employ subframe boundary alignment according to LTE-A carrier aggregation timing relationships across serving cells aggregated by CA. This may not imply that the eNB transmissions can start only at the subframe boundary. LAA may support transmitting PDSCH when not all OFDM symbols are available for transmission in a subframe according to LBT. Delivery of necessary control information for the PDSCH may also be supported. LBT procedure may be employed for fair and friendly coexistence of LAA with other operators and technologies operating in unlicensed spectrum. LBT procedures on a node attempting to transmit on a carrier in unlicensed spectrum require the node to perform a clear channel assessment to determine if the channel is free for use. An LBT procedure may involve at least energy detection to determine if the channel is being used. For example, regulatory requirements in some regions, e.g., in Europe, specify an energy detection threshold such that if a node receives energy greater than this threshold, the node assumes that the channel is not free. While nodes may follow such regulatory requirements, a node may optionally use a lower threshold for energy detection than that specified by regulatory requirements. In an example, LAA may employ a mechanism to adaptively change the energy detection threshold, e.g., LAA may employ a mechanism to adaptively lower the energy detection threshold from an upper bound. Adaptation mechanism may not preclude static or semi-static setting of the threshold. In an example Category 4 LBT mechanism or other type of LBT mechanisms may be implemented. Various example LBT mechanisms may be implemented. In an example, for some signals, in some implementation scenarios, in some situations, and/or in some frequencies no LBT procedure may performed by the transmitting entity. In an example, Category 2 (e.g. LBT without random back-off) may be implemented. The duration of time that the channel is sensed to be idle before the transmitting entity transmits may be deterministic. In an example, Category 3 (e.g. LBT with random back-off with a contention window of fixed size) may be implemented. The LBT procedure may have the following procedure as one of its components. The transmitting entity may draw a random number N within a contention window. The size of the contention window may be specified by the minimum and maximum value of N. The size of the contention window may be fixed or configurable. The random number N may be employed in the LBT procedure to determine the duration of time that the channel is sensed to be idle before the transmitting entity transmits on the channel. In an example, Category 4 (e.g. LBT with random back-off with a contention window of variable size) may be implemented. The transmitting entity may draw a random number N within a contention window. The size of contention window may be specified by the minimum and maximum value of N. The transmitting entity may vary the size of the contention window when drawing the random number N. The random number N is used in the LBT procedure to determine the duration of time that the channel is sensed to be idle before the transmitting entity transmits on the channel. In an example, an eNB may transmit one or more LBT configuration parameters in one or more RRC messages and/or one or more PDCCH DCIs. In an example, some of the LBT parameters may be configured via RRC message(s) and some other LBT parameters may be signaled to a UE via PDCCH DCI (e.g. a DCI including the UL grant). LAA may employ uplink LBT at the UE. The UL LBT scheme may be different from the DL LBT scheme (e.g. by using different LBT mechanisms or parameters) for example, since the LAA UL is based on scheduled access which affects a UE's channel contention opportunities. Other considerations motivating a different UL LBT scheme include, but are not limited to, multiplexing of multiple UEs in a single subframe. In an example, a DL transmission burst may be a continuous transmission from a DL transmitting node with no transmission immediately before or after from the same node on the same CC. An UL transmission burst from a UE perspective may be a continuous transmission from a UE with no transmission immediately before or after from the same UE on the same CC. In an example, UL transmission burst is defined from a UE perspective. In an example, an UL transmission burst may be defined from an eNB perspective. In an example, in case of an eNB operating DL+UL LAA over the same unlicensed carrier, DL transmission burst(s) and UL transmission burst(s) on LAA may be scheduled in a TDM manner over the same unlicensed carrier. For example, an instant in time may be part of a DL transmission burst or an UL transmission burst. The following signals or combination of the following signals may provide functionality for the UE's time/frequency synchronization for the reception of a DL transmission burst in LAA SCell(s): a) serving cell's DRS for RRM measurement (DRS for RRM measurement may be used at least for coarse time/frequency synchronization), b) reference signals embedded within DL transmission bursts (e.g. CRS and/or DMRS), and/or c) primary/secondary synchronization signals. If there is an additional reference signal, this signal may be used. Reference signals may be used at least for fine time/frequency synchronization. Other candidates (e.g., initial signal, DRS) may be employed for synchronization. DRS for RRM may also support functionality for demodulation of potential broadcast data multiplexed with DRS transmission. Other mechanism or signals (e.g., initial signal, DRS) for time/frequency synchronization may be needed to support reception of DL transmission burst. In an example embodiment, DRS may be used at least for coarse time/frequency synchronization. Reference signals (e.g., CRS and/or DMRS) within DL transmission bursts may be used at least for fine time/frequency synchronization. Once the UE detects DRS and achieves coarse time/frequency synchronization based on that, UE may keep tracking on the synchronization using reference signals embedded in other DL TX bursts and may also use DRS. In an example, a UE may utilize DRS and/or reference signals embedded within DL transmission burst targeting the UE. In another example, a UE may utilize DRS and/or reference signals embedded within many available DL transmission bursts from the serving cell (to the UE and other UEs). The discovery signal used for cell discovery/RRM measurement (e.g. opportunistic transmission within configured DMTC) may be used for maintaining at least coarse synchronization with the LAA cell (e.g. <±3 μs timing synchronization error and <±0.1 ppm frequency synchronization error). DRS may be subject to LBT. Inter-DRS latency generally gets worse as Wi-Fi traffic load increases. It is noted that the inter-DRS latency can be rather significant. In example scenario, there may be 55% probability that the inter-DRS latency is 40 ms and there is 5% probability that inter-DRS latency is ≥440 ms. The inter-DRS latency as seen by the UE may be worse considering the possibility of misdetection by the UE. Discovery signal misdetection may be due to actual misdetection or due to UE unavailable for detection because of DRX inter-frequency measurement during DMTC occasion. Depending on LAA DRS design, OFDM symbol boundary may be obtained by DRS. PCell and SCell timing difference may be kept, ±30 usec order. The aggregated cells may be synchronized to some extent, e.g. aligned frame timing and SFN. Thus, similar requirement may be applied to the PCell and LAA cells on the unlicensed band. In an example, a UE may not utilize timing and frequency of the PCell for coarse synchronization of LAA cells since the timing offset may be up to ˜30 us (e.g. non-located) and frequency reference may not be reliable due to the band distance between PCell and LAA cell (2 GHz Pcell and 5 GHz LAA cell). PCell timing information also may be used for time synchronization at subframe or frame level. SCell(s) may employ the same frame number and subframe number as the PCell. PCell timing information may provide some information for symbol synchronization. By synchronizing PCell, frequency difference observed by UE between PCell and LAA Scell may be up to 0.6 ppm. For example, after 300 ms, the amount of the time drift may be 0.18 usec at most. For LAA, path delay may be relatively small as the target coverage is small. With timing drift, the multi-path delay may be within cyclic prefix length. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a UE may utilize a licensed band carrier as a reference for time/frequency synchronization for CA of licensed carrier and unlicensed carrier, for example when they are in the same group (e.g. co-located). When non-collocated eNBs support licensed band PCell and unlicensed band SCell separately in a CA scenario, there may exist maximum ˜30 us timing difference between PCell and unlicensed band SCell. In an example embodiment, the frequency difference between the UE synchronized with PCell and unlicensed band SCell may observe at most 0.6 ppm. An LAA may provide functionality for time/frequency synchronization on unlicensed band at least for non-collocated CA scenario. Example reasons of frequency difference may be 1) oscillator difference among PCell, SCell and UE, 2) Doppler shift and 3) fast fading aspect. The oscillator difference of 0.6 ppm offset in 5 GHz corresponds to 3 kHz offset. Subcarrier spacing of LTE numerology is 15 kHz. This offset may need to be taken into account before FFT operation. One of the reasons of oscillator frequency variation is the temperature. If the frequency difference is not obtained at the point of DRS reception, UE may need to buffer subsequent data transmission until UE obtains this frequency difference before FFT. The frequency offset caused by this may be obtained at the reception of DRS. Doppler shift may be small value for a low mobility UE. Fast fading and residual mismatch caused by 1) and 2) may be compensated during demodulation process similar to a licensed band. This may not require introducing additional reference signals for unlicensed band. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a UE may be configured to perform inter-frequency measurements on the carrier frequency layer using measurement gaps for SCells that are not configured yet. SCell receiver may not be turned on and measurements may be performed using the Pcell receiver. When a cell is added as Scell but not activated (“deactivated state”), the UE may receive relevant system information for the SCell from the Pcell. UE may be configured to perform measurements on the Scell without measurement gaps. SCell receiver may need to be occasionally turned on (e.g. for 5 ms every 160 ms) for RRM measurements using either CRS or Discovery signals. Cells may be added as Scell and activated (“activated state”), then the UE may be ready to receive PDSCH on the Scell in all subframes. The SCell receiver may perform (E)PDCCH monitoring in every subframe (for self scheduling case). SCell receiver may buffer every subframe for potential PDSCH processing (for both self and cross-carrier scheduling cases). The eNodeB may configure the UE to measure and report RRM measurements (e.g. including RSSI) on a set of carrier frequencies. Once a suitable carrier or a set of suitable carriers is determined, carrier selected may be added as an SCell by RRC (e.g. with ˜15 ms configuration delay), followed by SCell activation (with ˜24 ms delay). If an SCell is deactivated, the UE may assume that no signal is transmitted by the LAA cell, except discovery signal may be transmitted when configured. If an SCell is activated, the UE is required to monitor PDCCH/EPDCCH and perform CSI measurement/reporting for the activated SCell. In a U-cell, a UE may not assume that every subframe of activated LAA SCell contains transmission. For LAA carriers, channel access may depend on the LBT procedure outcome. The network may configure and activate many carriers for the UE. The scheduler may then dynamically select carrier(s) for DL assignment or UL grant transmission. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the first stage of cell level carrier selection may be during initial set up of a cell by an eNB. The eNB may scan and sense channels for interference or radar detection. eNB may configure the SCells accordingly based on the outcome of its carrier selection algorithm for efficient load balancing and interference management. The carrier selection process may be on a different time scale from the LBT/CCA procedure prior to transmissions on the carriers in unlicensed spectrum. The RSSI measurement report from UE may be used to assist the selection at eNB. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the second stage of cell level carrier selection is after initial set up. The motivation is that eNB may need to do carrier (re)selection due to static load and interference change on some carriers, e.g., a new Wi-Fi AP is set up and continuously accesses the carrier causing relatively static interference. Therefore, semi-static carrier selection may be based on the eNB sensing of the averaged interference level, potential presence of radar signals if required, and traffic load on the carriers over a relatively longer time scale, as well as RRM measurement from UEs in the cell. Due to the characteristics in unlicensed spectrum, RRM measurements on LAA SCells may be enhanced to support better carrier selection. For example, the RSSI measurement may be enhanced using occupancy metric indicating the percentage of the time when RSSI is above a certain threshold. It may be noted that cell level carrier selection may be a long-term (re)selection since the process may be rather costly due to the signaling overhead and communication interruptions for UEs in a cell and it may also affect the neighbouring cells. Once a suitable set of carriers is identified, they may be configured and activated as SCells for UEs. This process may be continuous in order to keep reassessing the interference environment. Cell-level carrier selection in unlicensed spectrum may be a relatively long-term (re)selection based on eNB sensing and RRM measurement report from UE. RRM measurement on LAA SCells may be enhanced to support better carrier selection. Carrier selection from UE perspective may be to support carrier selection for a UE among the set of carriers that the eNB has selected at the cell level. Carrier selection for the UE in unlicensed spectrum may be achieved by configuring a set of the carriers on which the UE supports simultaneous reception and transmission. The UE may perform RRM measurements on the configured carriers and report them to the eNB. The eNB may then choose which of the carriers to activate and use for transmission when it has pending data for the UE. The number of carriers to activate may then also be chosen based on the data rate needed and the RRM measurements for the different carriers. The activation delay for a carrier before scheduling data on it may be up to ˜24 ms, assuming that the UE has performed RRM measurement on this carrier prior to receiving the activation command within DRX cycle. By operating the carrier selection based on activation and deactivation, the selection may also be done in the order of tens of ms. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, CRS may not be transmitted in an activated subframe when a burst is not scheduled in that subframe. If there are no transmissions from the eNB for an extended duration (Toff), UE demodulation performance may be impacted due to lack of reference symbols for fine time/frequency tracking. The extent of performance impact depends on the amount of time for which there are no eNB transmissions. The impact may be mitigated by more frequent transmission of discovery signals. Discovery signals may be transmitted by the eNB even when UEs are not being scheduled. Setting discovery signal periodicity based on UE RRM measurement requirements (e.g. 160 ms) may be more efficient than setting the periodicity based on UE fine time/frequency tracking requirement. In an example embodiment, Scell deactivation timer for the unlicensed Scell may be set to a value closer to (Toff) based on UE fine time/frequency tracking requirements. This may result in more frequent transmission of activation commands. Activation commands may be needed when the eNB has data to schedule to a UE. From the UE perspective, after receiving an activation command in a particular subframe, the UE may receive CRS in a number (e.g. one or two) of following subframes. The UEs may receive CRS transmissions for a few symbols or subframes, which they may use for settling AGC loop and time-frequency tracking filters before PDSCH reception on the SCell. UEs may receive CRS transmission (e.g. in a few OFDM symbols) between reception of activation command and reception PDSCH on the Scell. Activating a large number of carriers on dynamic bases may increase the UE power consumption, false alarm probability, and processing power requirements. Improved mechanisms are needed to improve efficiency in the UE and enable fast and dynamic carrier selection/activation in a UE. Novel mechanisms may reduce UE power consumption, reduce false alarm probability and reduce processing power requirements. Carrier selection and activation may be enhanced to achieve fast dynamic carrier selection (or switching). A fast activation procedure for the carrier (e.g. shorter than the currently defined 24 ms) may be defined to improve efficiency. Current SCell activation latency may include the MAC CE decoding latency (˜3-6 ms) and SCell activation preparation time (RF preparation, up to ˜18 ms). Implementation of faster processes and hardware may reduce these delays. SCell MAC activation/deactivation signaling is UE-specific. Signaling overhead may be a concern especially if the cell used for transmitting the signal is a macro cell. In an example embodiment, a L1 procedure/indicator may be introduced and/or SCell activation signaling may be enhanced. Layer one signaling (e.g. PDCCH/EPDCCH from the PCell or another serving cell) may be implemented to signal the set of carriers that the UE may monitor for PDCCH/EPDCCH and/or measuring/reporting CSI. Control signaling latency may be ˜2 ms (e.g. one 1 ms EPDCCH transmission plus 0.5 ms decoding). The DCI format may be of small size for transmission reliability and overhead reduction. To reduce control signaling overhead, the signaling may be a UE-common signaling. The indication may be sent on a carrier that the UE is currently monitoring. In an example embodiment, a mechanism based on a L1 indication for starting/stopping monitoring of up to k activated carriers may be provided. The UE may be configured with n>=k CCs. k CCs may be activated via MAC signaling of SCell activation/deactivation. Then based on LBT progress over the CCs, a L1 indication is sent to inform which of the k CCs may be monitored by the UE and which may not. The UE may then receive data burst(s) on the monitored CCs. Another L1 indication may be sent after the bursts to alter which CCs may be monitored since then, and so on. The L1 indication may be explicit (e.g., based on a signaling) or implicit (e.g., based on self scheduling and UE detection of scheduling information on the SCell). For this example, fast carrier switching is done among at most k CCs. In an example embodiment, a mechanism based on a L1 signaling for starting/stopping monitoring of up to m activated carriers (the number of p configured carriers may be m or higher). The activated carriers may be more than n (e.g., there may be more CCs activated for the UE than its PDSCH aggregation capability-n). The UE is configured with p CCs, and there may be up to m CCs that are activated via MAC signaling of SCell activation/deactivation. The UE may not monitor all the activated CCs. The UE may monitor at most n CCs according a L1 indication. The L1 indication needs to be explicit rather than implicit, since an implicit indication may require a UE to monitor all the up to m activated carriers at the same time, exceeding the UE's capability. For this example, fast carrier switching is done among possibly more than n CCs. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, SCell activation/deactivation enhancements may be considered for fast carrier switching. SCell activation/deactivation signaling is a MAC signaling. MAC signaling decoding/detection (with or without enhancements) may be slower than L1 signaling decoding/detection. It may involve decoding/detection of a L1 signaling and furthermore, a PDSCH. If SCell activation/deactivation is carried by a L1 signaling, it may still be considered for fast carrier switching. In an example embodiment, a mechanism based on a L1 signaling for activation/deactivation of the p configured carriers. The UE is configured with p CCs, but each time there are at most n CCs are activated via a L1 signaling of SCell activation/deactivation. For instance, based on LBT progress over the CCs, a L1 signaling is sent to inform which of the p CCs are activated. The UE may receive data burst(s) on the activated CCs. Another L1 signaling may be sent after the bursts to alter the activated CCs. For this example, fast carrier switching is done among possibly more than n CCs. The control signaling may be transmitted before the eNB has gained access to the carrier via LBT process. An eNB may inform the UE to start (or stop) monitoring a carrier (whether the UE would receive a burst or not depends on the presence of PDCCH scheduling information for the carrier). An indication for starting monitoring may be used for more than one burst, until an indication for stopping monitoring is sent. The indication may be sent when the eNB expects the (E) CCA is to complete soon. A purpose of the indication may be to inform a UE to start or stop monitoring a carrier. Transmitting the control signaling after the eNB has gained access to the carrier may incur overhead of the reservation signal (proportional to the control signaling latency). In an example, the maximum transmission burst may be 4 ms. An eNB may inform the UE to receive a burst on a carrier. The eNB may send one indication for a burst. There may be many short bursts (e.g., one burst may last up to 4 milliseconds in certain regions). The indication may be sent after (E)CCA is completed, consuming some portion of the maximum allowed transmission duration for a burst. It may still be up to the network to transmit the control signaling before or after the channel is occupied. A UE may detect that the burst is from the serving cell (e.g. by confirming PCID). The function of the control signaling is to indicate that the UE may perform DL transmission burst detection of the serving cell. If a DL burst of the serving cell is detected, UE may monitor for possible PDCCH/EPDCCH and/or measuring the CSI on the indicated SCell. In an example embodiment, a UE may be configured with a number of carriers potentially exceeding the maximum number of carriers over which the UE may aggregate PDSCH. RRM measurements over the configured carriers may be supported, e.g. RSSI-like measurement, extension of quasi co-location concept to across collocated intra-band carriers, and/or carrier grouping. L1 indication to the UE to start monitoring a carrier, which is selected from the configured carriers by the eNB may be supported. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, an eNB may configure UE with more component carriers which may potentially exceed the maximum number of carriers over which the UE may aggregate PDSCH. Then eNB may activate one or more carriers among the configured carriers to UE by the existing signaling, e.g. MAC signaling. UE may be scheduled on the one or more activated carriers dynamically based on the LBT mechanism. A UE may switch to receive on any carrier within a set of carriers selected by the serving eNB as fast as subframe/symbol-level, while the number of carriers within the set may potentially exceed the maximum number of carriers over which the UE may aggregate PDSCH. Which carrier(s) the UE may switch to is per eNB indication. When the UE is indicated with the carrier(s) it may switch to, the UE may start to monitor the indicated carrier(s), e.g. within a few subframes, and may stop monitoring other carriers. By monitoring a carrier it meant to buffer and attempt to detect the control channels and other associated channels. The eNB indication may instruct the UE to switch to the indicated carrier(s) and monitor the carrier(s). The eNB may not instruct the UE to switch to monitor on more carriers than its PDSCH aggregation capability in a given subframe. The eNB may not schedule the UE on more carriers than its PDSCH aggregation capability. SCell configuration enhancements may allow both semi-static and fast carrier switching with reduced transition time. The delay associated with the SCell configuration signaling as well as the delay associated with the measurement process may be decreased. In an example embodiment, fast carrier switching may support UE to switch to any carrier within a set of carriers selected by the serving eNB as fast as a few subframes/symbols. The eNB may send an indication instructing the UE to switch to the indicated carriers and monitor the carriers. Then the UE may perform the switching and start monitoring the indicated carriers. The UE stops monitoring other carriers. The eNB indication may be done in L1. A L1 procedure/indicator, or an enhancements of the SCell activation signaling may be introduced. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, DRS design may allow DRS transmission on an LAA SCell to be subject to LBT. The transmission of DRS within a DMTC window if LBT is applied to DRS may consider many factors. Subjected to LBT, DRS may be transmitted in fixed time position within the configured DMTC. Subject to LBT, DRS may be transmitted in at least one of different time positions within the configured DMTC. The number of different time positions may be restricted. One possibility is one time position in the subframe. DRS transmissions outside of the configured DMTC may be supported. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, an sensing interval may allow the start of a DL transmission burst (which may not start with the DRS) containing DRS without PDSCH within the DMTC. Total sensing period may be greater than one sensing interval. Whether the above may be used for the case where transmission burst may not contain PDSCH but contains DRS, and any other reference signals or channels. The ECCA counter used for LBT category 4 for the PDSCH may be frozen during DL transmission burst containing DRS without PDSCH The RS bandwidth and density/pattern of the DRS design for LAA may support for RRM measurement based on a single DRS occasion. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, Discovery signal may be transmitted via a successful LBT operation. When the eNB does not have access to the channel, the discovery signal burst may not be transmitted. In an example, the discovery signal periodicity is configured to be 40 ms, and it may be possible to receive the discovery signal at least once in every 160 to 200 ms with a high probability. For example, the probability of receiving a discovery signal burst at least once in every 160 ms may greater than 97%. The UE may adjust its receiver processing to account for the potential absence of discovery signals due to lack of access to the channel. For instance, the UE may detect the presence or absence of a particular discovery signal burst using the PSS, SSS and CRS signals. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the use of discovery signals that may be subject to LBT. A discovery signal burst may not be transmitted when LBT fails. Data may be transmitted in the intervening subframes. The reference signals along with control information may be used to reserve the channel prior to a discovery signal or data transmission. For reception of data on the serving cell, AGC and fine time and frequency estimation may employ the discovery signals from the serving cell. In an example, time and frequency estimation may be performed using the PSS, SSS and/or CRS inside the discovery signal subframes. The use of two or more CRS ports may enhance synchronization performance. These signals may provide synchronization estimates that are adequate for the purpose of RRM measurements on the serving and neighboring cells. When data is to be received by the UE in a subframe that occurs a significant number of subframes after the last reception of a discovery signal on the serving cell. Fine tuning of the time and frequency estimates may be performed using the DM-RS and, if present, the CRS within the subframe in which data is received, and/or the initial signal. The signal used to reserve the channel before the actual start of data transmissions (e.g. reservation signal, initial signal, and/or burst indicator) may be used to fine tune time and frequency estimates before the reception of data. When transmitting data after a long absence of any discovery signal or other transmissions, the eNB may transmit a signal of longer duration to reserve the channel in order to facilitate the use of such a signal for timing and frequency adjustments. In an example embodiment, in an unlicensed cell, a downlink burst may be started in a subframe. When an eNB accesses the channel it may transmit for a duration of one or more subframes. The duration may depend on a maximum configured burst duration in an eNB, the data available for transmission, and/or eNB scheduling algorithm.FIG.10shows an example downlink burst in an unlicensed (e.g. licensed assisted access) cell. The maximum configured burst duration in the example embodiment may be configured in the eNB. An eNB may transmit the maximum configured burst duration to a UE employing an RRC configuration message. The wireless device may receive from a base station at least one message (e.g. RRC) comprising configuration parameters of a plurality of cells. The plurality of cells may comprise at least one license cell and at least one unlicensed (e.g. LAA cell). The configuration parameters of a cell for example may comprise configuration parameters for physical channels, e.g. ePDCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, PUCCH and/or the like. In an example embodiment, IE epdcch-Config may indicate the EPDCCH-Configuration for a cell. The information element (IE) EPDCCH-Config in the RRC message may comprise configuration parameters of an ePDCCH and may configure ePDCCH for a cell. The IE EPDCCH-Config may specify the subframes and resource blocks for EPDCCH monitoring that E-UTRAN may configure for a serving cell. In an example, ePDCCH-Config may comprise subframePatternConfig, startSymbol, setConfigToReleaseList, and setConfigToAddModList, and other ePDCCH parameters. In an example, EPDCCH-SetConfigToAddModList may comprise SEQUENCE (SIZE(1 . . . maxEPDCCH-Set-r11)) OF EPDCCH-SetConfig. In an example, EPDCCH-SetConfigToReleaseList may comprise SEQUENCE (SIZE(1 . . . maxEPDCCH-Set-r11)) OF EPDCCH-SetConfigId. In an example, EPDCCH-SetConfig may comprise setConfigId (an identifier for an ePDCCH set), transmissionType: ENUMERATED {localised, distributed}, resourceBlockAssignment: SEQUENCE{numberPRB-Pairs: ENUMERATED {n2, n4, n8}, resourceBlockAssignment: BIT STRING (SIZE(4 . . . 38))}, dmrs-ScramblingSequenceInt: INTEGER (0 . . . 503), and pucch-ResourceStartOffset: INTEGER (0 . . . 2047), and/or other configuration parameters. In an example, the start symbol may indicate the OFDM starting symbol for any EPDCCH and PDSCH scheduled by EPDCCH on the same cell in a subframe of a licensed cell or a full subframe of an unlicensed (e.g. LAA cell). If not present, the UE may derive the starting OFDM symbol of EPDCCH and PDSCH scheduled by EPDCCH from PCFICH. In an example, values 1, 2, and 3 may be applicable for dl-Bandwidth greater than 10 resource blocks. Values 2, 3, and 4 may be applicable otherwise. In an example, E-UTRAN may not configure the field for UEs configured with transmission mode 10. In an example, the IE subframePatternConfig may configure the subframes which the UE may monitor the UE-specific search space on EPDCCH, except for pre-defined rules in the LTE technology standard. The ePDCCH may be transmitted in one or more subframes identified by subframePatternConfig and pre-defined rules, and may not be transmitted in other subframes. If the field is not configured when EPDCCH is configured, the UE may monitor the UE-specific search space on EPDCCH in subframes except for pre-defined rules in the LTE technology standard. In an example, IE numberPRB-Pairs may indicate the number of physical resource-block pairs used for the EPDCCH set. For example, value n2 may correspond to 2 physical resource-block pairs; n4 corresponds to 4 physical resource-block pairs and so on. Value n8 may not be supported if dl-Bandwidth is set to 6 resource blocks. In an example, IE resourceBlockAssignment may indicate the index to a specific combination of physical resource-block pair for EPDCCH set that is pre-defined in the technology standard. The size of resourceBlockAssignment may be specified in technology standard and based on numberPRB-Pairs and the signalled value of dl-Bandwidth. The IE dmrs-ScramblingSequenceInt may indicate the DMRS scrambling sequence initialization parameter. The IE pucch-ResourceStartOffset may indicate PUCCH format 1a and 1b resource starting offset for the EPDCCH set. The IE transmissionType may indicates whether distributed or localized EPDCCH transmission mode is used. In an example embodiment, the wireless device may receive, from a base station, downlink control information (DCI) in the ePDCCH resources of a subframe. The DCI may be scrambled, by the base station, with the C-RNTI assigned to the wireless device. The DCI may comprise an uplink grant or a downlink grant comprising radio resources (e.g. RBs) for the wireless device. When the DCI of a subframe comprises a downlink grant, the UE may receive from the base station one or more transport blocks, in the subframe, in radio resources indicated in the downlink grant. The wireless receive may receive the one or more transport blocks. The wireless device may transmit to the base station one or more positive or negative acknowledgement in response to receiving the one or more transport blocks. The downlink DCI may further comprise MCS, MIMO information, HARQ information (HARQ process ID, RV, and/or NDI), and/or the like for the one or more transport blocks. When the DCI of a subframe comprises an uplink grant, the UE may transmit to the base station one or more transport blocks in a corresponding subframe, in radio resources indicated in the uplink grant. The wireless device may transmit to the base station the one or more transport blocks. The wireless device may receive from the base station one or more positive or negative acknowledgement in response to transmitting the one or more transport blocks. The uplink DCI may further comprise MCS, MIMO information, HARQ information (harq process ID, RV, NDI), power control command and/or the like for the one or more transport blocks. In LTE-A release 11 and 12, the information element startSymbol in epdcch-Config IE indicates the OFDM starting symbol for any EPDCCH and PDSCH scheduled by EPDCCH on the same cell. If startSymbol is not present, the UE may derive the starting OFDM symbol of EPDCCH and PDSCH scheduled by EPDCCH from PCFICH. Values 1, 2, and 3 are applicable for dl-Bandwidth greater than 10 resource blocks. Values 2, 3, and 4 are applicable otherwise. E-UTRAN may not configure the field for UEs configured with transmission mode 10. In LTE-A release 11 and 12, EPDCCH starting position may be determined according to a mechanism described here. For a given serving cell, if the UE is configured via higher layer signaling to receive PDSCH data transmissions according to transmission modes 1-9, if the UE is configured with a higher layer parameter epdcch-StartSymbol-r11, the starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH given by index lEPDCCHStartin the first slot in a subframe is determined from the higher layer parameter, otherwise: the starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH given by index lEPDCCHStartin the first slot in a subframe is given by the CFI value in the subframe of the given serving cell when NRBDL>10, and lEPDCCHStartis given by the CFI value+1 in the subframe of the given serving cell when NRBDL≤10. For a given serving cell, if the UE is configured via higher layer signaling to receive PDSCH data transmissions according to transmission mode 10, for each EPDCCH-PRB-set, the starting OFDM symbol for monitoring EPDCCH in subframe k is determined from the higher layer (RRC) parameter pdsch-Start-r11 as follows. If the value of the parameter pdsch-Start-r11 belongs to {1, 2, 3, 4}, l′EPDCCHStartis given by the higher layer parameter pdsch-Start-r11. Otherwise when the value of pdsch-Start-r11 is not provided by RRC: l′EPDCCHStartis given by the CFI value in subframe k of the given serving cell when NRBDL>10, and l′EPDCCHStartis given by the CFI value+1 in subframe k of the given serving cell when NRBDL≤10. If subframe k is indicated by the higher layer parameter mbsfn-SubframeConfigList-r11, lEPDCCHStart=min(2, l′EPDCCHStart), otherwise lEPDCCHStart=l′EPDCCHStart. In LTE-A release 11 and 12, ePDCCH starting symbol may be determined according to epdcch-StartSymbol-r11, pdsch-Start-r11, CFI value, and/or other parameters shown above. For example, when mbsfn-SubframeConfigList-r11 is configured, the starting symbol may be determined according to the configuration parameters described above and some pre-defined rules. In an example embodiment, one or two sets of ePDCCH resources may be configured on an LAA cell. In an example embodiment, the mechanisms for determining the starting symbol for ePDCCH configured on LAA cell may be determined employing an enhanced mechanism to improve radio resource utilization efficiency and reduce signaling overhead. Example embodiments provide a mechanism for determining the starting symbol of ePDCCH on downlink transmission on partial and full subframes. Example embodiments improve radio resource utilization on an LAA cell. Transmission of an additional field indicating the ePDCCH starting symbol of a subframe via a physical layer channel signaling may increase physical layer overhead. Additional physical layer signaling for indicating ePDCCH starting symbol may increase downlink signaling overhead. In contrast, transmission of a start symbol field for ePDCCH in an RRC message may provide a semi-static method for configuration of ePDCCH starting symbol and may reduce downlink signaling overhead and provide the required flexibility in configuring the starting symbol of the ePDCCH. In an example embodiment, an eNB may transmit an RRC message comprising a start symbol field (IE) employed for determining a starting symbol of ePDCCH. In an example embodiment this field may be employed to determine the starting symbol in partial and full subframe according to a pre-define rule. When the start symbol field is not included in the RRC message, the eNB may employ other signals or fields (e.g. CFI, PDSCH-start and/or other parameters) in determining a starting symbol for the ePDCCH in a subframe and there may be no need to specify a specific field dedicated for ePDCCH starting symbol calculation. In an example embodiment, a UE may detect the starting symbol of a partial subframe (Offset_Symbol). The starting symbol may be determined employing detection of a pre-defined signal, e.g. an initial signal, burst indicator signal/PCFICH, CRS, and/or the like. A UE may decode (e.g. blind decode) a known signal pattern (e.g. among many possibilities) and determine the starting symbol of a partial subframe. The starting symbol of a subframe may be named Offset_symbol. The Offset_symbol is zero for a full subframe. Example of beginning partial subframe (partial subframe), a full subframe, and ending partial subframe is shown inFIG.10. In an example embodiment, Offset_symbol may be one of one or more possible values. The one or more possible values may be predefined, or may be configured by one or more RRC message for an LAA cell. In an example embodiment, an eNB may transmit an RRC message comprising configuration parameters of a cell. The configuration parameters may comprise one or more parameters indicating possible starting symbol values for a subframe. For example, the configuration parameters may indicate the possible starting symbol may be symbol 0 or 7 (at slot boundaries). For example, the configuration parameters may indicate the possible starting symbol may be symbol 0. In an example, the Offset_symbol may be 7 for a partial subframe and 0 for a full subframe. The embodiments provide the needed flexibility in implementing partial subframes, wherein the starting symbol of a subframe transmission may not be zero. In an example embodiment, symbols in a subframe may be numbered from 0 to 13 (See exampleFIG.2). For example, the first symbol is symbol 0, the second symbol is symbol 1, etc. In an example, symbols in a slot may be numbered from 0 to 6. A subframe may comprise a first slot and a second slot (See exampleFIG.2). Example embodiments provide mechanisms for determining the starting symbol for a partial subframe and a full subframe. Example control channel mapping is provided below. Other equivalent mechanisms using different formulas may be implemented, which result in the same resource element mapping. In an example embodiment, one StartSymbol IE may be configured for ePDCCH of a cell. In a full subframe, ePDCCH starting symbol may be the value of StartSymbol IE. In a partial subframe, the ePDCCH starting symbol may be the value of StartSymbol IE+Offset_symbol. A UE may detect Offset_symbol employing decoding the received signal (e.g. blind decoding) and employing RRC signaling (using a field in an RRC message). In an example embodiment, up to two sets of ePDCCH may be configured. The same StartSymbol IE may be applicable to one or two sets of ePDCCH and the one or two sets may have the same starting symbol. The starting symbol applicable to the one or two sets may be determined depending on whether ePDCCH is transmitted in a full subframe or a partial subframe. An example ePDCCH configuration in a full and partial subframe is shown inFIG.11. Transmission of one StartSymbol IE for determining ePDCCH starting symbol for both partial and full subframes and for one or two sets of ePDCCH reduces the size of RRC message (compared with transmitting two or more StartSymbol IEs). An example embodiment reduces downlink signaling overhead. In an example, a parameter in the at least one RRC message may indicate possible starting positions of transmission in a subframe of a downlink transmission burst in an LAA cell. The starting positions may be applicable to downlink data/control signal transmission and not to the reservation signals. For example, a first value of the parameter may indicate the starting position is subframe boundary, and a second value of the parameter may indicate the starting position is either subframe boundary or slot boundary (beginning of the first or second slot of a subframe). Reservation signal may start at any point in time depending on the base station implementation. In an example embodiment, for a given serving cell, if the UE is configured via higher layer signaling to receive PDSCH data transmissions according to transmission modes 1-9, if the UE is configured with a higher layer parameter epdcch-StartSymbol (in an RRC message), the starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH given by index lEPDCCHStartis determined from the higher layer parameter, otherwise the starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH given by index lEPDCCHStartis given by the CFI (control format indicator) value in the subframe of the given serving cell when NRBDL≥10, and/EPDCCHStart is given by the CFI value+1 in the subframe of the given serving cell when NRBDL≤10. In an example, in an initial partial subframe, the/EPDCCHStart for the ePDCCH may be offset by Offset_symbol OFDM symbols, e.g. by 7 symbols (Or equally the lEPDCCHStartmay be applicable to the second slot). In a full subframe, the/EPDCCHStart for the ePDCCH may be applicable to the first slot. For a given serving cell, if the UE is configured via higher layer signaling to receive PDSCH data transmissions according to transmission mode 10, for each EPDCCH-PRB-set, the starting OFDM symbol for monitoring EPDCCH in subframe k is determined from the higher layer parameter pdsch-Start as follows: if the value of the parameter pdsch-Start belongs to {1, 2, 3, 4}, l′EPDCCHStartis given by the higher layer parameter pdsch-Start, otherwise l′EPDCCHStartis given by the CFI value in subframe k of the given serving cell when NRBDL≥10, and l′EPDCCHStartis given by the CFI value+1 in subframe k of the given serving cell when NRBDL≤10. In an example, in an initial partial subframe, the lEPDCCHStartfor the ePDCCH may be offset by Offset_symbol OFDM symbols, e.g. by 7 symbols. If subframe k is indicated by the higher layer parameter mbsfn-SubframeConfigList, or if subframe k is subframe 1 or 6 for frame structure type 2, lEPDCCHStart=min(2, l′EPDCCHStart), otherwise lEPDCCHStart=l′EPDCCHStart. In an example, in an initial partial subframe, the lEPDCCHStartfor the ePDCCH may be offset by Offset_symbol OFDM symbols, e.g. by 7 symbols (Or equally the/EPDCCHStart may be applicable to the second slot). In a full subframe, the lEPDCCHStartfor the ePDCCH may be applicable to the first slot. The IE pdsch-Start may indicate the starting OFDM symbol of PDSCH for a cell. In an example, values 1, 2, 3 may be applicable when dl-Bandwidth for the concerned SCell is greater than 10 resource blocks, values 2, 3, 4 may be applicable when dl-Bandwidth for the concerned SCell is less than or equal to 10 resource blocks. In an example embodiment a wireless device may receive control format indicator in a subframe. The wireless device may receive an enhanced physical downlink control channel (ePDCCH) signal in the subframe. The ePDCCH may start from an ePDCCH starting symbol determined based on the control format indicator, when the subframe is a full subframe. The ePDCCH starting symbol is calculated using CFI value and channel bandwidth. The ePDCCH starts from the starting symbol plus an offset value when the subframe is a partial subframe. For example, the ePDCCH starting symbol may be given by CFI value when NRBDL>10 in a full subframe. The ePDCCH starting symbol may be given by CFI value+offset_value when NRBDL>10 in a partial subframe. When the subframe is an MBSFN subframe, the minimum ePDCCH starting symbol may be 2 for a full subframe and 2+offset_value for a partial subframe. In an example embodiment, a wireless device (e.g. operating in transmission mode 10) may receive at least one radio resource control (RRC) message comprising a field indicating a starting symbol for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The wireless device may receive an enhanced physical downlink control channel (ePDCCH) signal in a subframe. The ePDCCH may start from an ePDCCH starting symbol determined based on the starting symbol for the PDSCH, when the subframe is a full subframe. The ePDCCH may start from the ePDCCH starting symbol plus an offset value when the subframe is a partial subframe. For example, if the value of the parameter pdsch-Start-r11 belongs to {1, 2, 3, 4}, ePDCCH starting symbol is given by the higher layer parameter pdsch-Start-r11 for a full subframe. If the value of the parameter pdsch-Start-r11 belongs to {1, 2, 3, 4}, ePDCCH starting symbol is given by the higher layer parameter pdsch-Start-r11+Offset_value for a partial subframe. When the subframe is an MBSFN subframe, the minimum ePDCCH starting symbol may be 2 for a full subframe and 2+offset_value for a partial subframe. If a serving cell is a LAA Scell, and if the parameter in RRC indicates subframe Start Position for a partial subframe may be 7 (Offset_symbol), for monitoring EPDCCH candidates starting in the first slot of the subframe, the starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH is given by index lEPDCCHStartin the first slot in a subframe, and for monitoring EPDCCH candidates starting in the second slot of the subframe, the starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH is given by index lEPDCCHStart+Offset_symbol in a subframe (or equally lEPDCCHStartin the second slot in a subframe). The starting symbol is offset by Offset_symbol=7 in a partial subframe. In an example, ePDCCH resource mapping (in ePDCCH RBs) may start from the ePDCCH starting symbol of the first slot for a full (regular) subframe of an LAA cell. In an example, in an initial partial subframe, the ePDCCH start symbol for the ePDCCH if configured, may be offset additionally by Offset_symbol OFDM symbols, e.g. by 7 symbols. In an example, ePDCCH resource mapping (in ePDCCH RBs) may start from the ePDCCH starting symbol of the second slot for a partial subframe of an LAA cell. In an initial partial subframe, the ePDCCH start symbol for the ePDCCH if configured, may be start at symbol Offset_symbol+the starting symbol of a subframe. In an example, the number of available resource elements for the EPDCCH may be an actual number of available REs for the EPDCCH transmission in the initial partial subframe. The CFI takes values CFI=1, 2 or 3. For system bandwidths NRBDL>10, the span of the DCI carried by PDCCH in units of OFDM symbols, 1, 2 or 3, is given by the CFI (e.g. span 3 symbols include symbol numbers 0, 1, 2). For system bandwidths NRBDL≤10, the span of the DCI carried by PDCCH in units of OFDM symbols, 2, 3 or 4, is given by CFI+1. For a given serving cell, if the UE is configured via higher layer signaling to receive PDSCH data transmissions according to transmission modes 1-9, and when StartSymbol IE is not configured, the starting symbol of ePDCCH may depend on CFI or other parameters. In an example embodiment, in a full subframe, when CFI value is greater than zero, the starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH given by index lEPDCCHStartin the first slot in a subframe is given by the CFI value in the subframe of the given serving cell when NRBDL>10, and lEPDCCHStartis given by the CFI value+1 in the subframe of the given serving cell when NRBDL≤10. This is for the case when ePDCCH is transmitted in the full subframe. In an example embodiment, in a partial subframe, when CFI value is greater than zero, the starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH given by index lEPDCCHStartin a subframe is given by the CFI+Offset_symbol value in the subframe of the given serving cell when NRBDL>10, and lEPDCCHStartis given by the CFI value+1+Offset_symbol in the subframe of the given serving cell when NRBDL≤10. This is for the case when ePDCCH is configured in the partial subframe. In a serving cell, if subframe k is indicated as an MBSFN subframe (by PHY or RRC layer signaling), or if subframe k is subframe 1 or 6 for frame structure type 2, lEPDCCHStart=min(2, l′EPDCCHStart). ePDCCH starting position may not be smaller than 2. In an example embodiment, in an LAA serving cell, if subframe k is indicated as an MBSFN subframe (by PHY or RRC layer signaling e.g. by the higher layer parameter mbsfn-SubframeConfigList-r11) lEPDCCHStart=min(Offset_symbol+k, l′EPDCCHStart), wherein k=1, or k=2. ePDCCH starting position may be Offset_symbol+1 or Offset_symbol+2. In an example, the first one or more symbols may be employed for transmission of physical signals, such as burst indicator, initial signal, or other physical layer signals carrying information about the subframe/burst configuration. When the starting symbol is Offset_symbol+1, the symbol Offset_symbol may be used for transmission physical at least one signal/channel. In an example embodiment, in an LAA serving cell, if subframe k is subframe 1 or 6, lEPDCCHStart=min(Offset_symbol+k, l′EPDCCHStart), wherein k=1, or k=2. In an example UE implementation k may be 1. In another example UE implementation k may be 2. ePDCCH starting position may be Offset_symbol+1 or Offset_symbol+2 according to a UE implementation. The first one or more symbols may be employed for transmission of physical signals, such as burst indicator, initial signal, or other physical layer signals carrying information about the subframe/burst configuration. In an example embodiment, a wireless device may receive at least one radio resource control (RRC) message comprising a field indicating a starting symbol for an enhanced physical downlink control channel (ePDCCH). The wireless device may receive ePDCCH signal in a subframe. The ePDCCH may start from the starting symbol when the subframe is a full subframe. The ePDCCH may start from the starting symbol plus an offset value when the subframe is a partial subframe. A base station may transmit at least one radio resource control (RRC) message comprising a field indicating a starting symbol for an enhanced physical downlink control channel (ePDCCH). The base station may transmit ePDCCH signal in a subframe. The ePDCCH may start from the starting symbol when the subframe is a full subframe. The ePDCCH may start from the starting symbol plus an offset value when the subframe is a partial subframe. The at least one RRC message may further comprise configuration parameters of a cell. The cell may be a licensed assisted access (LAA) cell. The at least one RRC message may further comprises configuration parameters comprising one or more parameters indicating resource blocks (RBs) for the ePDCCH. The at least one or more parameters indicate one or two sets of RB pairs. The field indicating the starting symbol may be applicable to the one or two sets of RB pairs. The at least one or more parameters may comprise a first parameter indicating a number of RB pairs; and a second parameter indicating an index identifying RB assignment. The at least one RRC message may further comprise at least one second parameter indicating a subframe pattern comprising one or more subframes, the one or more subframes comprising the subframe. The wireless device may receive from the base station one or more downlink transport blocks in a PDSCH employing a downlink grant received in the ePDCCH. The at least one RRC message may further comprise a parameter indicating one or more possible starting positions of transmission in the subframe, the parameter being employed by the wireless device to determine the offset value. In an example, the offset value is seven. The partial subframe may start from a symbol indicated by the offset value. A subframe may comprise two slots in time. A slot comprises a plurality of symbols. The wireless device may detect whether the subframe is the full subframe or the partial subframe. The wireless device may receive a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the subframe. The starting symbol may be further employed for determining a PDSCH starting symbol in the subframe. The PDSCH may start from the starting symbol when the subframe is the full subframe. The PDSCH may start from the starting symbol plus the offset value when the subframe is the partial subframe. In an example embodiment, MBSFN may be configured employing one or more RRC messages. IE mbsfn-SubframeConfigList-r11 may comprise subframeConfigList:MBSFN-SubframeConfigList. In an example, MBSFN-SubframeConfigList may be SEQUENCE (SIZE (1 . . . maxMBSFN-Allocations)) OF MBSFN-SubframeConfig. The IE MBSFN-SubframeConfig may define subframes that are reserved for MBSFN in downlink. For example, IE MBSFN-SubframeConfig may be SEQUENCE {radioframeAllocationPeriod: ENUMERATED {n1, n2, n4, n8, n16, n32}, radioframeAllocationOffset: INTEGER (0 . . . 7), subframeAllocation: CHOICE {oneFrame: BIT STRING (SIZE(6)), fourFrames: BIT STRING(SIZE(24))}. In an example, IE fourFrames may be a bit-map indicating MBSFN subframe allocation in four consecutive radio frames, “1” may denote that the corresponding subframe is allocated for MBSFN. The bitmap may be interpreted as follows: FDD: Starting from the first radioframe and from the first/leftmost bit in the bitmap, the allocation may apply to subframes #1, #2, #3, #6, #7, and #8 in the sequence of the four radio-frames. TDD: Starting from the first radioframe and from the first/leftmost bit in the bitmap, the allocation may apply to subframes #3, #4, #7, #8, and #9 in the sequence of the four radio-frames. The last four bits may not be used. Uplink subframes may not allocated unless the field eimta-MainConfig-r12 is configured. In an example, IE oneFrame may be a bit-map indicating MBSFN subframe allocation in one radio frame. “1” may denote that the corresponding subframe is allocated for MBSFN. The following mapping may apply: FDD: The first/leftmost bit defines the MBSFN allocation for subframe #1, the second bit for #2, third bit for #3, fourth bit for #6, fifth bit for #7, sixth bit for #8. TDD: The first/leftmost bit may define the allocation for subframe #3, the second bit for #4, third bit for #7, fourth bit for #8, fifth bit for #9. Uplink subframes may not be allocated unless the field eimta-MainConfig-r12 is configured. The last bit may not be used. In an example, IE radioFrameAllocationPeriod, radioFrameAllocationOffset may be configured. Radio-frames that contain MBSFN subframes may occur when equation SFN mod radioFrameAllocationPeriod=radioFrameAllocationOffset is satisfied. Value n1 for radioframeAllocationPeriod may denote value 1, n2 may denote value 2, and so on. When fourFrames is used for subframeAllocation, the equation may define the first radio frame referred to in the description below. Values n1 and n2 may not be applicable when fourFrames is used. In an example, IE subframeAllocation may define the subframes that are allocated for MBSFN within the radio frame allocation period defined by the radioFrameAllocationPeriod and the radioFrameAllocationOffset. In this specification, “a” and “an” and similar phrases are to be interpreted as “at least one” and “one or more.” In this specification, the term “may” is to be interpreted as “may, for example.” In other words, the term “may” is indicative that the phrase following the term “may” is an example of one of a multitude of suitable possibilities that may, or may not, be employed to one or more of the various embodiments. If A and B are sets and every element of A is also an element of B, A is called a subset of B. In this specification, only non-empty sets and subsets are considered. For example, possible subsets of B={cell1, cell2} are: {cell1}, {cell2}, and {cell1, cell2}. In this specification, parameters (Information elements: IEs) may comprise one or more objects, and each of those objects may comprise one or more other objects. For example, if parameter (IE) N comprises parameter (IE) M, and parameter (IE) M comprises parameter (IE) K, and parameter (IE) K comprises parameter (information element) J, then, for example, N comprises K, and N comprises J. In an example embodiment, when one or more messages comprise a plurality of parameters, it implies that a parameter in the plurality of parameters is in at least one of the one or more messages, but does not have to be in each of the one or more messages. Many of the elements described in the disclosed embodiments may be implemented as modules. A module is defined here as an isolatable element that performs a defined function and has a defined interface to other elements. The modules described in this disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software in combination with hardware, firmware, wetware (i.e. hardware with a biological element) or a combination thereof, all of which are behaviorally equivalent. For example, modules may be implemented as a software routine written in a computer language configured to be executed by a hardware machine (such as C, C++, Fortran, Java, Basic, Matlab or the like) or a modeling/simulation program such as Simulink, Stateflow, GNU Octave, or LabVIEWMathScript. Additionally, it may be possible to implement modules using physical hardware that incorporates discrete or programmable analog, digital and/or quantum hardware. Examples of programmable hardware comprise: computers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs); field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs); and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs). Computers, microcontrollers and microprocessors are programmed using languages such as assembly, C, C++ or the like. FPGAs, ASICs and CPLDs are often programmed using hardware description languages (HDL) such as VHSIC hardware description language (VHDL) or Verilog that configure connections between internal hardware modules with lesser functionality on a programmable device. Finally, it needs to be emphasized that the above mentioned technologies are often used in combination to achieve the result of a functional module. The disclosure of this patent document incorporates material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, for the limited purposes required by law, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope. In fact, after reading the above description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement alternative embodiments. Thus, the present embodiments should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments. In particular, it should be noted that, for example purposes, the above explanation has focused on the example(s) using FDD communication systems. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments of the invention may also be implemented in a system comprising one or more TDD cells (e.g. frame structure 2 and/or frame structure 3-licensed assisted access). The disclosed methods and systems may be implemented in wireless or wireline systems. The features of various embodiments presented in this invention may be combined. One or many features (method or system) of one embodiment may be implemented in other embodiments. Only a limited number of example combinations are shown to indicate to one skilled in the art the possibility of features that may be combined in various embodiments to create enhanced transmission and reception systems and methods. In addition, it should be understood that any figures which highlight the functionality and advantages, are presented for example purposes only. The disclosed architecture is sufficiently flexible and configurable, such that it may be utilized in ways other than that shown. For example, the actions listed in any flowchart may be re-ordered or only optionally used in some embodiments. Further, the purpose of the Abstract of the Disclosure is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract of the Disclosure is not intended to be limiting as to the scope in any way. Finally, it is the applicant's intent that only claims that include the express language “means for” or “step for” be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112, paragraph 6. Claims that do not expressly include the phrase “means for” or “step for” are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112. | 98,278 |
11943788 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Background of the Present Disclosure First, the background of the present disclosure will be described below. FIG.1illustrates an exemplary self-contained operation in a TDD system. As illustrated inFIG.1, a terminal performs, in a time unit (hereinafter referred to as “self-contained time unit”) at a constant time interval, reception of a downlink control signal necessary for reception of downlink data, reception of downlink data assigned by the downlink control signal, and feedback of a response signal for the downlink data to a base station. In other words, as illustrated inFIG.1, the self-contained time unit includes a downlink time resource for a downlink control signal (DL control), a downlink time resource for downlink data (DL data) assigned by the downlink control signal, and an uplink time resource for the response signal for the downlink data (ACK/NACK for DL data). In the TDD system, a guard period (GP) for switching from downlink communication to uplink communication is provided. In the self-contained operation, communication with lower latency can be achieved by shortening the self-contained time unit. However, the shortened self-contained time unit leads to reduction of the amount of data that can be transmitted all at once in the self-contained time unit. A time interval in which a relatively large amount of data can be transmitted all at once is needed in usage (such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)) in which large-volume communication is requested. In addition, when the self-contained time unit is shortened in the TDD system, switching from downlink communication to uplink communication frequently occurs, and the GP needs to be inserted at each switching, which potentially increases the overhead of the GP. For these reasons, it is desirable for the system to perform control to flexibly change the length of the self-contained time unit. When the length of the self-contained time unit is variable, a HARQ operation in the self-contained time unit can be performed by a plurality of methods as illustrated inFIGS.2to4. FIG.2illustrates a method of flexibly changing a time interval (time resource) assigned to downlink data. As illustrated inFIG.2, the self-contained time unit includes single assignment of downlink data through a downlink control channel (DL control), and single transmission of the response signal for the downlink data (ACK/NACK for DL data). InFIG.2, the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through an uplink control channel does not change with the length of the self-contained time unit. However, the number of bits of the response signal can be increased due to introduction of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transmission or carrier aggregation (CA). In the HARQ operation illustrated inFIG.2, overhead reduction can be expected through assignment of large-volume data all at once, and improvement of an encoding gain can be expected through increase of an encoding block size. However, the increase of the encoding block size potentially leads to increase of decoding processing delay and decrease of HARQ efficiency. FIG.3illustrates a method of restricting the time interval assigned to downlink data to a predetermined length. As illustrated inFIG.3, the self-contained time unit includes a plurality of intervals of downlink data (DL data) assigned through the downlink control channel. The self-contained time unit also includes single transmission of the response signal for the plurality of pieces of downlink data. In this case, the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel differs with the length of the self-contained time unit. In the HARQ operation illustrated inFIG.3, decrease of decoding processing delay and improvement of HARQ efficiency can be expected through division of the encoding block size. However, the overhead of data assignment (DL assignment) is potentially increased. Similarly toFIG.3,FIG.4illustrates a method of restricting a time interval assigned to downlink data to a predetermined length. However,FIG.4illustrates a case in which the self-contained time unit includes assignment of a plurality of pieces of downlink data through one downlink control channel. The self-contained time unit also includes single transmission of the response signal for the plurality of pieces of downlink data. In the case ofFIG.4, similarly toFIG.3, the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel differs with the length of the self-contained time unit. In the HARQ operation illustrated inFIG.4, similarly toFIG.3, decrease of decoding processing delay and improvement of HARQ efficiency can be expected through division of the encoding block size. However, since the plurality of pieces of downlink data need to be assigned in one downlink control signal, the number of bits of the downlink control signal potentially increases. As described above, the HARQ operation is performed by various methods when the length of the self-contained time unit is flexibly changed, and a suitable method of the HARQ operation differs in accordance with the capacities of transmission and reception devices or a service request condition. Thus, it is desirable to design a system that allows flexible change of the length of the self-contained time unit as well as flexible change of the method of the HARQ operation. However, in such a case, the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel changes, depending on the length of the self-contained time unit or the method of the HARQ operation. In LTE, a plurality of combinations (PUCCH formats) of encoding and modulation methods are available, depending on the number of bits of the response signal (or uplink control information other than the response signal) transmitted through the PUCCH. In the LTE, bundling or multiplexing is performed in, for example, a TDD system when the response signal for each of a plurality of pieces of downlink data is collectively fed back. However, the bundling or multiplexing assumes transmission of the response signal through fixed PUCCH resources (one resource block and one subframe). However, in 5G, service that satisfies low latency or various request conditions on a communication area and the like needs to be supported to achieve service diversification. For example, when the length of the self-contained time unit is shortened, communication with lower latency can be achieved, but a sufficient communication area (communication area of uplink communication, in particular) cannot be obtained due to reduction of time resources for communication. Expansion of the communication area as compared to an LTE-Advanced case is considered in a 5G request condition, and thus it is necessary to not only change the length of the self-contained time unit but also flexibly change the uplink time resource for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit. As described above, when the length of the self-contained time unit is flexibly changed, the method of the HARQ operation is flexibly changed, and the uplink time resource for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit is flexibly changed, the uplink time resource for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit potentially cannot be controlled appropriately by the existing plurality of combinations of LTE encoding and modulation methods on the assumption of transmission of the response signal through fixed PUCCH resources (one resource block and one subframe), and by the existing bundling or multiplexing. Thus, an aspect of the present disclosure is intended to appropriately control the uplink time resource for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit when the length of the self-contained time unit in the self-contained operation is flexibly changed. Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiment 1 [Outline of Communication System] A communication system according to each embodiment of the present disclosure includes a base station100and a terminal200. FIG.5is a block diagram illustrating a main part configuration of the base station100according to each embodiment of the present disclosure. In the base station100illustrated inFIG.5, when the terminal200performs communication in a time unit (self-contained time unit) including a downlink time resource for a downlink control signal, a downlink time resource for downlink data assigned by the downlink control signal, and an uplink time resource for the response signal for the downlink data, a control unit101determines the amount of the uplink time resource used for transmission of the response signal in accordance with a requested communication area or the number of bits necessary for transmission of the response signal, and a transmission unit110transmits time unit information related to the determined amount of the uplink time resource to the terminal200. FIG.6is a block diagram illustrating a main part configuration of the terminal200according to each embodiment of the present disclosure. The terminal200illustrated inFIG.6performs communication in a time unit including a downlink time resource for a downlink control signal, a downlink time resource for downlink data assigned by the downlink control signal, and an uplink time resource for the response signal for the downlink data. In the terminal200, a reception unit202receives, from the base station100, time unit information related to the amount of the uplink time resource used for transmission of the response signal, and a signal assignment unit210assigns the response signal to the uplink time resource based on the time unit information. The amount of the uplink time resource is determined in accordance with the requested communication area or the number of bits necessary for transmission of the response signal. [Configuration of Base Station] FIG.7is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the base station100according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. InFIG.7, the base station100includes the control unit101, a control signal generation unit102, a control signal encoding unit103, a control signal modulation unit104, a data encoding unit105, a retransmission control unit106, a data modulation unit107, a signal assignment unit108, a transmission waveform generation unit109, the transmission unit110, an antenna111, a reception unit112, an extraction unit113, a demodulation and decoding unit114, and a determination unit115. The control unit101determines the length of a self-contained time unit for the terminal200, the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit, and the time resource amounts of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit. The control unit101outputs information (corresponding to time unit information) related to the self-contained time unit including the determined parameters to the control signal generation unit102. The control unit101also outputs, to the extraction unit113, information indicating the time resource amounts of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit. A method performed by the control unit101to determine information related to the self-contained time unit will be described later in detail. The control unit101determines assignment of downlink data to the terminal200. In this case, the control unit101determines, for example, a frequency assignment resource and a modulation and encoding method to be instructed to the terminal200, and outputs information (downlink assignment information) related to the determined parameters to the control signal generation unit102. The control unit101determines resources (time, frequency, code sequence, and the like) with which the terminal200transmits the response signal, and outputs information related to the determined parameters to the control signal generation unit102. The control unit101outputs, to the extraction unit113, information indicating resources with which the terminal200transmits the response signal. All or part of the information related to resources with which the terminal200transmits the response signal may be implicitly notified to the terminal200by the base station100, or may be notified to the terminal200(control unit207to be described later) by a UE-specific higher layer signaling. The control unit101determines a coding level of a control signal, and outputs the determined coding level to the control signal encoding unit103. The control unit101determines a radio resource (downlink resource) to which the control signal is mapped, and outputs information related to the determined radio resource to the signal assignment unit108. The control unit101determines a coding level of transmission data (downlink data), and outputs the determined coding level to the data encoding unit105. The control signal generation unit102generates a control signal to the terminal200. The control signal includes a cell-specific higher layer signaling, a group-specific or RAT-specific higher layer signaling, a UE-specific higher layer signaling, and downlink assignment information instructing downlink data assignment. The downlink assignment information is made of a plurality of bits, and includes information instructing a frequency assignment resource, a modulation and coding scheme, and the like. Additionally, the downlink assignment information may include the above-described information related to the length of the self-contained time unit, the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit, the time resource amounts of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit, and resources (time, frequency, code sequence, and the like) with which the terminal200transmits the response signal. The control signal generation unit102generates a bit string of control information by using control information input from the control unit101, and outputs the generated control information bit string (control signal) to the control signal encoding unit103. The control information is transmitted to a plurality of terminals200in some cases, and thus the control signal generation unit102may generate, for each terminal200, a bit string of control information including information, such as the terminal ID of the terminal200, with which the terminal can be identified. The control signal encoding unit103encodes the control signal (control information bit string) received from the control signal generation unit102in accordance with the coding level instructed by the control unit101, and outputs the encoded control signal to the control signal modulation unit104. The control signal modulation unit104modulates the control signal received from the control signal encoding unit103, and outputs the modulated control signal (symbol string) to the signal assignment unit108. The data encoding unit105performs error correction coding on transmission data (downlink data) in accordance with the coding level received from the control unit101, and outputs a data signal obtained by the encoding to the retransmission control unit106. At transmission for the first time, the retransmission control unit106holds the coded data signal received from the data encoding unit105, and outputs the coded data signal to the data modulation unit107. When having received a NACK for a transmitted data signal from the determination unit115to be described later, the retransmission control unit106outputs corresponding held data to the data modulation unit107. When having received an ACK to transmitted data, the retransmission control unit106deletes corresponding held data. The data modulation unit107modulates the data signal received from the retransmission control unit106, and outputs the modulated data signal to the signal assignment unit108. The signal assignment unit108maps, to the radio resource instructed by the control unit101, the control signal (symbol string) received from the control signal modulation unit104and the modulated data signal received from the data modulation unit107. The signal assignment unit108outputs a downlink signal to which the signals are mapped to the transmission waveform generation unit109. The transmission waveform generation unit109performs transmission waveform generation processing such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation on the signal received from the signal assignment unit108. The transmission unit110performs radio frequency (RF) processing such as digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion and up-conversion on a signal received from the transmission waveform generation unit109, and transmits a radio signal to the terminal200through the antenna111. The reception unit112performs RF processing such as down-conversion or analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion on the waveform of the response signal for an uplink signal received from the terminal200through the antenna111, and outputs a received signal thus obtained to the extraction unit113. The extraction unit113extracts a radio resource part with which an uplink the response signal is transmitted, from the received signal based on the resources (time, frequency, code sequence, and the like) with which the terminal200transmits the response signal and the information indicating the time resource amounts of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit, which are received from the control unit101, and outputs a reception the response signal to the demodulation and decoding unit114. The demodulation and decoding unit114performs equalization, demodulation, and decoding on the reception the response signal received from the extraction unit113, and outputs a bit sequence obtained through the decoding to the determination unit115. The determination unit115determines whether the response signal transmitted from the terminal200indicates any of ACK and NACK to transmitted downlink data based on the bit sequence input from the demodulation and decoding unit114. The determination unit115outputs a result of the determination to the retransmission control unit106. [Configuration of Terminal] FIG.8is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the terminal200according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. InFIG.8, the terminal200includes an antenna201, the reception unit202, an extraction unit203, a data demodulation unit204, a data decoding unit205, an error detection unit206, a control unit207, an ACK/NACK generation unit208, an encoding and modulation unit209, the signal assignment unit210, a transmission waveform generation unit211, and a transmission unit212. The reception unit202receives, through the antenna201, a control signal and a data signal transmitted from the base station100, and obtains a baseband signal by performing RF processing such as down-conversion or AD conversion on a wireless received signal. The reception unit202outputs the signal to the extraction unit203. The extraction unit203extracts a control signal from the signal received from the reception unit202. Then, the extraction unit203tries decoding of a control signal targeted to the terminal200by performing blind decoding on the control signal. When having determined through the blind decoding that the control signal is targeted to the terminal200, the extraction unit203outputs the control signal to the control unit207. The extraction unit203also extracts downlink data from the signal received from the reception unit202, and outputs the extracted downlink data to the data demodulation unit204. The data demodulation unit204demodulates the downlink data received from the extraction unit203, and outputs the demodulated downlink data to the data decoding unit205. The data decoding unit205decodes the downlink data received from the data demodulation unit204, and outputs the decoded downlink data to the error detection unit206. The error detection unit206performs error detection on the downlink data received from the data decoding unit205, and outputs a result of the error detection to the ACK/NACK generation unit208. The error detection unit206outputs, as reception data, downlink data determined to have no error through the error detection. The control unit207controls transmission of an uplink control signal (in this example, the response signal) based on the control signal input from the extraction unit203. Specifically, the control unit207specifies resources (time, frequency, code sequence, and the like) with which the response signal is transmitted based on the time resource amounts of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit and information related to the resources (time, frequency, code sequence, and the like) with which the response signal is transmitted, and outputs information related to the specified resources to the signal assignment unit210. The control unit207outputs, to the ACK/NACK generation unit208, information related to the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit. The ACK/NACK generation unit208generates the response signal (bit sequence) for received downlink data by using the error detection result received from error detection unit207based on the information related to the number of bits of the response signal, which is received from the control unit207, and outputs the response signal to the encoding and modulation unit209. The encoding and modulation unit209performs error correction coding on the response signal (bit sequence) received from the ACK/NACK generation unit208, modulates a bit sequence obtained through the encoding, and outputs a symbol sequence obtained through the modulation to the signal assignment unit210. The signal assignment unit210maps a signal received from the encoding and modulation unit209to an uplink time resource assigned in the self-contained time unit in accordance with instruction from the control unit207. The transmission waveform generation unit211performs transmission waveform generation processing such as OFDM modulation on the signal input from the signal assignment unit210. The transmission unit212performs RF processing such as D/A conversion and up-conversion on a signal received from the transmission waveform generation unit211, and transmits a radio signal to the base station100through the antenna201. [Operations of the Base Station100and the Terminal200] The following describes operations of the base station100and the terminal200having the above-described configurations in detail. The present embodiment describes a TDD system in which the timings of downlink communication and uplink communication coincide with each other in a unit band (also referred to as component carrier(s)) as illustrated inFIG.9. The base station100notifies information related to the length of the self-contained time unit to the terminal200through a downlink channel for cell-specific notification (or common to terminals). For example, cell-specific notification (or common to terminals) and related to the length of the self-contained time unit is periodically transmitted in a fixed DL subframe disclosed in NPL 4. Accordingly, the notification in each fixed DL subframe determines the length of the self-contained time unit for a radio resource until the next fixed DL subframe. The base station100also notifies, to the terminal200through the downlink channel for cell-specific notification (or common to terminals), information related to the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit. For example, cell-specific notification (or common to terminals) and related to the number of bits of the response signal is periodically transmitted in a fixed DL subframe disclosed in NPL 4. Accordingly, the notification in each fixed DL subframe determines the number of bits of the response signal in the self-contained time unit for a radio resource until the next fixed DL subframe. The base station100notifies, to the terminal200through the downlink channel for cell-specific notification (or common to terminals), information related to the time resource of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit. For example, cell-specific notification (or common to terminals) and related to the time resource of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal is periodically transmitted in a fixed DL subframe disclosed in NPL 4. Accordingly, the indication in each fixed DL subframe determines the time resource amount of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal in the self-contained time unit for a radio resource until the next fixed DL subframe. The base station100determines the time resource amounts of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit based on the number of bits of the response signal, a condition requested for a communication area (requested coverage) to be supported by a cell, or both information. For example, the base station100sets, for a larger requested communication area, a larger time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit, and sets a smaller time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit for a smaller requested communication area (in other words, when a large communication area is not requested). Alternatively, the base station100sets, for a larger number of bits of the response signal, a larger time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit, and sets, for a smaller number of bits of the response signal, a smaller time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit. The terminal200receives information related to the length of the self-contained time unit, information related to the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit, and the time resource amounts of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in information related to the self-contained time unit, which are notified through the downlink channel for cell-specific notification (or common to terminals), from the base station100, and specifies resources of the self-contained time unit based on received control information. Then, the terminal200receives downlink data (DL data) based on downlink assignment information notified through the downlink channel in the self-contained time unit, assigns the response signal for the downlink data (ACK/NACK for DL data) to the time resource of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal, and transmits the response signal to the base station100. FIGS.10A to10Ceach illustrate exemplary self-contained operation according to the present embodiment. First, the base station100notifies, to the terminal200through the downlink channel for cell-specific notification (or common to terminals), the length of the self-contained time unit, the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit, and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit. For example, the length of the self-contained time unit is 1 ms inFIG.10A, 1 ms inFIG.10B, and 2 ms inFIG.10C. The number of bits of the response signal is 1 bit inFIGS.10A to10C. The time resource amount of the uplink control channel is 2 OFDM symbol inFIG.10A, 4 OFDM symbol inFIG.10B, and 14 OFDM symbol inFIG.10C. InFIG.10B, as compared toFIG.10A, the length of the self-contained time unit is equal, and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel is larger. InFIG.10C, as compared toFIGS.10A and10B, the length of the self-contained time unit is larger, and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel is larger. The length of the self-contained time unit and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel may have granularity in units of OFDM symbols or in units of subframes each made of a plurality of OFDM symbols. The granularity of the length of the self-contained time unit may differ from the granularity of the time resource amount of the uplink control channel. In the present embodiment, the length of the self-contained time unit and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel are individually notified in the downlink channel for cell-specific notification (or common to terminals). For example, when lower latency is requested and a small communication area (coverage) is requested (no large communication area is needed) for a cell of the base station100, the base station100sets, to the terminal200, a short length of the self-contained time unit and the time resource of the uplink control channel made of a small number of OFDM symbols as illustrated inFIG.10A. Accordingly, the terminal200can transmit the response signal with low latency while maintaining the needed communication area. When low latency is requested and a larger communication area (coverage) is requested (a relatively large communication area needs to be supported) for the cell of the base station100, the base station100sets, to the terminal200, a short length of the self-contained time unit and an increased fraction of the time resource of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit as illustrated inFIG.10B. Accordingly, the terminal200transmits, with low latency equivalent to that inFIG.10A, the response signal through the time resource of the uplink control channel made of OFDM symbols in a number larger than that inFIG.10A(in other words, with sufficient transmission electric power), thereby achieving a large communication area. When increase of the communication area is prioritized over low latency for the cell of the base station100, the base station100sets, to the terminal200, a longer length of the self-contained time unit and an increased time resource amount of the uplink control channel as illustrated inFIG.10C. Accordingly, as compared toFIG.10A or10B, the terminal200transmits, with large latency, the response signal through the time resource of the uplink control channel made of a further large number of OFDM symbols (with sufficient transmission electric power), thereby achieving a large communication area. In this manner, in the present embodiment, the base station100determines the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit in accordance with a communication area (coverage requirement) requested for a cell. In this case, the base station100determines the time resource amount of the uplink control channel independently from a set length of the self-contained time unit. In other words, the base station100can independently control, through cell-specific notification (or common to terminals), the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit in addition to the length of the self-contained time unit. Accordingly, the base station100can appropriately control the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in accordance with a HARQ operation or a condition requested for a communication area to be supported by a cell. With the configuration described above, in the present embodiment, HARQ can be efficiently performed in a self-contained operation. In the present embodiment, the number of bits of the response signal does not necessarily need to be explicitly notified to the terminal200through cell-specific notification (or common to users). In such a case, the terminal200may determine the number of bits of the response signal based on a result of decoding a downlink control signal to which downlink data is assigned or a result of decoding the downlink data. Embodiment 2 Embodiment 1 describes the case in which the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit is determined independently from the length of the self-contained time unit. However, the present embodiment describes a case in which the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit is determined in accordance with the length of the self-contained time unit. A base station and a terminal according to the present embodiment have basic configurations same as those of the base station100and the terminal200according to Embodiment 1, and thus will be described below with reference toFIGS.7and8. Similarly to Embodiment 1, the present embodiment describes a TDD system in which the timings of downlink communication and uplink communication coincide with each other in a unit band as illustrated inFIG.9. Similarly to Embodiment 1, the base station100notifies to the terminal200through the downlink channel for cell-specific notification (or common to terminals), information related to the length of the self-contained time unit and information related to the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit. For example, cell-specific notification (or common to terminals) and related to the length of the self-contained time unit and the number of bits of the response signal is periodically transmitted in a fixed DL subframe disclosed in NPL 4. Accordingly, the notification in each fixed DL subframe determines the length of the self-contained time unit and the number of bits of the response signal for a radio resource until the next fixed DL subframe. In the present embodiment, the base station100implicitly notifies, to the terminal200, information related to the time resource of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit in association with the length of the self-contained time unit. In this case, the base station100determines the time resource amount of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit based on the number of bits of the response signal, a condition requested for a communication area to be supported by a cell, or both information. The base station100also determines the length of the self-contained time unit based on the number of bits of the response signal, a condition requested for a communication area to be supported by a cell, or both information. For example, the base station100sets, for a longer self-contained time unit, a larger time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit. In the present embodiment, the length of the self-contained time unit is associated with the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit, and this association is shared between the base station100and the terminal200. Then, the base station100notifies control information related only to the length of the self-contained time unit (or the length of the self-contained time unit and the number of bits of the response signal) to the terminal200through the downlink channel for cell-specific notification (or common to terminals). In other words, information indicating the length of the self-contained time unit is notified as information (time unit information) related to the self-contained time unit, but control information related to the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit is not notified. The terminal200receives, from the base station100, information related to the length of the self-contained time unit (or the length of the self-contained time unit and the number of bits of the response signal) notified through the downlink channel for cell-specific notification (or common to terminals), and specifies the time resource amount of the uplink control channel, which is associated with the received length of the self-contained time unit. Then, the terminal200specifies the resource of the self-contained time unit based on the length of the self-contained time unit, the number of bits of the response signal, and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel. FIGS.11A and11Beach illustrate exemplary self-contained operation according to the present embodiment. First, the base station100notifies, to the terminal200through the downlink channel for notification unique to a cell (or common to terminals), the length of the self-contained time unit, and the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit. For example, the length of the self-contained time unit is 1 ms inFIG.11A, and 2 ms inFIG.11B. The number of bits of the response signal is 1 bit inFIGS.11A and11B. The time resource amount of the uplink control channel is implicitly notified in association with the length of the self-contained time unit. For example, the time resource amount of the uplink control channel is 2 OFDM symbols inFIG.11A(the length of the self-contained time unit: 1 ms), and 4 OFDM symbols inFIG.11B(the length of the self-contained time unit: 2 ms). Accordingly, inFIGS.11A and11B, the time resource amount of the uplink control channel is associated in proportional to the length of the self-contained time unit. The association between the length of the self-contained time unit and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel may have a proportional relation as illustrated inFIGS.11A and11B, or may be association determined in a table or the like in advance. The length of the self-contained time unit and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel may have granularity in units of OFDM symbols or may have granularity in units of subframes each made of a plurality of OFDM symbols. The granularity of the length of the self-contained time unit may differ from the granularity of the time resource amount of the uplink control channel. InFIG.11B, as compared toFIG.11A, the length of the self-contained time unit is long, and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel is large. For example, when low latency is requested and a small communication area (coverage) is requested (no large communication area is needed) for the cell of the base station100, the base station100sets, to the terminal200, a short length of a the length of the self-contained time unit and the time resource of the uplink control channel made of a small number of OFDM symbols as illustrated inFIG.11A. Accordingly, the terminal200can transmit the response signal with low latency while maintaining the needed communication area. When increase of the communication area is prioritized over low latency for the cell of the base station100, the base station100sets, to the terminal200, a longer length of the self-contained time unit and an increased time resource amount of the uplink control channel as illustrated inFIG.11B. Accordingly, as compared toFIG.10A or10B, the terminal200transmits, with large latency, the response signal through the time resource of the uplink control channel made of a further large number of OFDM symbols (with sufficient transmission electric power), thereby achieving a large communication area. In this manner, in the present embodiment, the base station100determines the length of the self-contained time unit and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in accordance with a condition requested for a communication area (coverage) in a cell or the number of bits of the response signal. Then, the base station100notifies, to the terminal200, the set length of the self-contained time unit but not the time resource amount of the uplink control channel. The terminal200specifies the time resource amount of the uplink control channel, which is associated with the notified length of the self-contained time unit. In other words, the base station100can control the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit by notifying only the length of the self-contained time unit through notification unique to a cell (or common to terminals). Accordingly, the time resource amount of the uplink control channel does not need to be notified, and the overhead of notification unique to a cell (or common to cells) can be reduced accordingly. In the present embodiment, similarly to Embodiment 1, the base station100can appropriately control the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in accordance with a HARQ operation or a condition requested for a communication area to be supported by a cell. In the present embodiment, the number of bits of the response signal does not need to be explicitly notified to the terminal200through notification unique to a cell (or common to users). In this case, the terminal200may determine the number of bits of the response signal based on a result of decoding a downlink control signal to which downlink data is assigned or a result of decoding the downlink data. Embodiment 3 In Embodiments 1 and 2, in a cell for which increase of the communication area is prioritized over low latency, the length of the self-contained time unit and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel are increased to achieve a large communication area (refer toFIGS.10C and11B, for example). However, the cell potentially includes both of a terminal that is positioned near the base station and does not need increase of the time resource amount of the uplink control channel, and a terminal that is positioned far from the base station and needs increase of the time resource amount of the uplink control channel. In other words, the cell potentially includes terminals having different conditions requested for the communication area (coverage). It is desirable to have a shorter self-contained time unit for the terminal that does not need increase of the time resource amount of the uplink control channel. Thus, the present embodiment describes below a method of efficiently performing HARQ in a self-contained operation for each of terminals having different conditions requested for the communication area. A base station and a terminal according to the present embodiment have basic configurations same as those of the base station100and the terminal200according to Embodiment 1, and thus will be described below with reference toFIGS.7and8. Similarly to Embodiment 1, the present embodiment describes a TDD system in which the timings of downlink communication and uplink communication coincide with each other in a unit band as illustrated inFIG.9. In the method according to Embodiment 1 or 2, the base station100notifies, to the terminal200, information related to the length of the self-contained time unit, information related to the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit, and information related to the time resource of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit. The terminal200specifies the resource of the self-contained time unit in accordance with the notification from the base station100. In the present embodiment, the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in each self-contained time unit is fixed. In the present embodiment, to increase the communication area, the terminal200repetitively transmits the response signal through uplink control channels of a plurality of self-contained time units. The base station100determines the number of self-contained time units used for the repetitive transmission of the response signal at the terminal200(in other words, the number of uplink control channels or the number of times of repetition) based on the number of bits of the response signal, a condition requested for a communication area to be supported by a cell, or both information. Accordingly, the time resource amount of the uplink control channel used for transmission of the response signal is determined. The number of times of repetition (information indicating the number of self-contained time units, the time resources of uplink control channels of which are to be used) in the repetitive transmission may be dynamically notified through the downlink control channel, or may be periodically notified through user-specific or group-specific notification (for example, different RATs) in a fixed DL subframe disclosed in NPL 4. FIGS.12A and12Beach illustrate exemplary self-contained operation according to the present embodiment. As for a condition requested for the communication area, the terminal200satisfying a requested condition in a self-contained operation, which is set by a cell operates HARQ in the self-contained time unit, similarly to Embodiment 1 or 2 (refer toFIG.12A, for example). The terminal200satisfying a request condition in a self-contained operation, which is set by a cell is, for example, a terminal that is positioned near the base station and does not need increase of the time resource amount of the uplink control channel. In other words, the terminal is capable of transmitting the response signal by using the time resource (2 OFDM symbols) of the uplink control channel in one self-contained time unit as illustrated inFIG.12A. The terminal200that needs a communication area larger than the communication area of a self-contained operation in a request condition set by a cell feeds the response signal back to the base station100through repetitive transmission using the time resources of uplink control channels of a plurality of self-contained time units as illustrated inFIG.12B. As illustrated inFIG.12B, the terminal200that needs a large communication area repetitively transmits the response signal through the time resources of uplink control channels of a plurality of self-contained time units, thereby achieving a large communication area. However, as illustrated inFIG.12A, the terminal200that does not need a large communication area transmits the response signal with low latency by using a short self-contained time unit. Accordingly, according to the present embodiment, the communication area of the terminal200that prioritizes increase of the communication area over low latency can be increased through repetitive transmission while the length of the self-contained time unit is maintained short. Thus, in the present embodiment, terminals having different conditions requested for latency or the communication area can be efficiently operated. Embodiment 4 Embodiments 1 to 3 describe a TDD system in which the timings of downlink communication and uplink communication coincide with each other in a unit band as illustrated inFIG.9. However, a flexible duplex system that performs frequency division multiplexing (FDM) of downlink communication and uplink communication in a single band has been discussed as a method of achieving efficient operation of service and terminals having different conditions requested for latency or the communication area in an identical unit band. For example, in the flexible duplex system, a unit band includes a plurality of RATs (sub RAT #1and sub RAT #2) having different request conditions as illustrated inFIG.13. In the flexible duplex system, the timings of downlink communication and uplink communication are identical in each RAT, and the timings of downlink communication and uplink communication are different between different RATs. The present embodiment describes below a self-contained operation in the flexible duplex system as illustrated inFIG.13. A base station and a terminal according to the present embodiment have basic configurations same as those of the base station100and the terminal200according to Embodiment 1, and thus will be described below with reference toFIGS.7and8. The base station100notifies, to the terminal200, information related to the length of the self-contained time unit through a downlink channel for group-specific or RAT-specific notification. For example, group-specific or RAT-specific notification and related to the length of the self-contained time unit is periodically transmitted in a fixed DL subframe disclosed in NPL 4. Accordingly, the notification in each fixed DL subframe determines the length of the self-contained time unit for a radio resource until the next fixed DL subframe. The base station100also notifies, to the terminal200through the downlink channel for group-specific or RAT-specific notification, information related to the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit. For example, group-specific or RAT-specific notification and related to the number of bits of the response signal is periodically transmitted in a fixed DL subframe disclosed in NPL 4. Accordingly, the notification in each fixed DL subframe determines the number of bits of the response signal in the self-contained time unit for a radio resource until the next fixed DL subframe. The base station100also notifies, to the terminal200through group-notification or RAT-specific notification, information related to the time resource of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit. For example, group-specific or RAT-specific notification and related to the time resource of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal is periodically transmitted in a fixed DL subframe disclosed in NPL 4. Accordingly, the notification in each fixed DL subframe determines the time resource amount of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal in the self-contained time unit for a radio resource until the next fixed DL subframe. Similarly to Embodiments 1 to 3, the base station100determines the time resource amount of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit based on the number of bits of the response signal, a condition requested for a communication area to be supported by a RAT, or both information. The length of the self-contained time unit and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel may be individually notified through the downlink channel for group-specific or RAT-specific notification, and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel may be implicitly notified in association with the length of the self-contained time unit as in Embodiment 2. The terminal200receives, from the base station100, information related to the length of the self-contained time unit, information related to the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit, and information related to the time resource of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit, which are notified through the downlink channel for group-specific or RAT-specific notification, and specifies the resource of the self-contained time unit based on received control information. Then, the terminal200receives downlink data (DL data) based on downlink assignment information notified through the downlink channel in the self-contained time unit, assigns the response signal for the downlink data (ACK/NACK for DL data) to the time resource of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal, and transmits the response signal to the base station100. FIGS.14A and14Beach illustrate exemplary self-contained operation according to the present embodiment.FIG.14Aillustrates a self-contained operation for RAT #1, andFIG.14Billustrates a self-contained operation for RAT #2. First, the base station100notifies, to the terminal200through the downlink channel for group-specific or RAT-specific notification, the length of the self-contained time unit, the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit, and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit. As illustrated inFIG.14A, the length of the self-contained time unit for RAT #1is 1 ms, and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel for RAT #1is 2 OFDM symbols. As illustrated inFIG.14B, the length of the self-contained time unit for RAT #2is 2 ms, and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel for RAT #2is 14 OFDM symbols. The length of the self-contained time unit and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel may have granularity in units of OFDM symbols, or may have granularity in units of subframes each made of a plurality of OFDM symbols. The granularity of the length of the self-contained time unit may differ from the granularity of the time resource amount of the uplink control channel. In this manner, in the present embodiment, the base station100can control the time resource amount of the uplink control channel, which is appropriate for service (request condition) supported by each RAT, by performing notification unique to a group (or unique to a RAT) for control information related to the self-contained time unit. For example, when low latency is requested and a small communication area (coverage) is requested (no large communication area is needed) for RAT #1, the base station100sets, to a group of RAT #1, a short length of the self-contained time unit and the time resource of the uplink control channel made of a small number of OFDM symbols as illustrated inFIG.14A. Accordingly, the terminal200that belongs to RAT #1can transmit the response signal with low latency while maintaining the needed communication area. When increase of the communication area is prioritized over low latency for RAT #2, the base station100sets, to a group of RAT #2, a long length of the self-contained time unit and an increased time resource amount of the uplink control channel as illustrated inFIG.14B. Accordingly, as compared to RAT #1, the terminal200that belongs to RAT #2transmits, with large latency, the response signal through the time resource of the uplink control channel made of a further large number of OFDM symbols (with sufficient transmission electric power), thereby achieving a large communication area. In this manner, in the present embodiment, the base station100can set the resource of the self-contained time unit for each of a plurality of RATs in accordance with a condition (on the communication area, for example) requested at the each RAT in a unit band in the flexible duplex system. Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the base station100can improve the efficiency of resource use by appropriately performing uplink resource control for each RAT. In the present embodiment, the number of bits of the response signal does not need to be explicitly notified to the terminal200through group- or RAT-specific notification. In this case, the terminal200may determine the number of bits of the response signal based on a result of decoding a downlink control signal to which downlink data is assigned or a result of decoding the downlink data. In the present embodiment, the length of the self-contained time unit, the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit, and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit may be partially cell-specific notification (or common to groups, common to RATs). Embodiment 5 The present embodiment describes below a self-contained operation in a flexible duplex system in which a unit band includes one or a plurality of RATs and the timings of uplink communication and downlink communication are different between terminals (UEs) in each RAT as illustrated inFIG.15. A base station and a terminal according to the present embodiment have basic configurations same as those of the base station100and the terminal200according to Embodiment 1, and thus will be described below with reference toFIGS.7and8. The base station100notifies information related to the length of the self-contained time unit to the terminal200through a downlink channel for UE-specific notification. For example, UE-specific notification and related to the length of the self-contained time unit is periodically transmitted in a fixed DL subframe disclosed in NPL 4. Accordingly, the notification in each fixed DL subframe determines the length of the self-contained time unit for a radio resource until the next fixed DL subframe. The base station100also notifies, to the terminal200through the downlink channel for UE-specific notification, information related to the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit. For example, UE-specific notification and related to the number of bits of the response signal is periodically transmitted in a fixed DL subframe disclosed in NPL 4. Accordingly, the notification in each fixed DL subframe determines the number of bits of the response signal in the self-contained time unit for a radio resource until the next fixed DL subframe. The base station100also notifies, to the terminal200through notification, information related to the time resource of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit. For example, UE-specific notification and related to the time resource of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal is periodically transmitted in a fixed DL subframe disclosed in NPL 4. Accordingly, the notification in each fixed DL subframe determines the time resource amount of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal in the self-contained time unit for a radio resource until the next fixed DL sub frame. Similarly to Embodiments 1 to 3, the base station100determines the time resource amount of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit based on the number of bits of the response signal, a request condition for a communication area to be supported by the terminal200, or both information. The length of the self-contained time unit and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel may be individually notified through the downlink channel for UE-specific notification, and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel may be implicitly notified in association with the length of the self-contained time unit as in Embodiment 2. The length of the self-contained time unit and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel may have granularity in units of OFDM symbols, or may have granularity in units of subframes each made of a plurality of OFDM symbols. The granularity of the length of the self-contained time unit may differ from the granularity of the time resource amount of the uplink control channel. The terminal200receives, from the base station100, information related to the length of the self-contained time unit, information related to the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit, and information related to the time resource of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal for downlink data in the self-contained time unit, which are notified through the downlink channel for UE-specific notification, and specifies the resource of the self-contained time unit based on received control information. Then, the terminal200receives downlink data (DL data) based on downlink assignment information notified through a downlink channel in the self-contained time unit, assigns the response signal for the downlink data (ACK/NACK for DL data) to the time resource of the uplink control channel for transmission of the response signal, and transmits the response signal to the base station100. In this manner, in the present embodiment, the base station100can control the time resource amount of the uplink control channel, which is appropriate for service (request condition) supported by each terminal, by performing UE-specific notification for control information related to the self-contained time unit. In other words, in the present embodiment, the base station100can set the resource of the self-contained time unit for each of a plurality of terminals200in accordance with a condition (on the communication area, for example) requested at the terminal200in the flexible duplex system. Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the base station100can improve the efficiency of resource use by appropriately performing uplink resource control for each terminal200. In the present embodiment, the number of bits of the response signal does not need to be explicitly notified to the terminal200through UE-specific notification. In this case, the terminal200may determine the number of bits of the response signal based on a result of decoding a downlink control signal to which downlink data is assigned or a result of decoding the downlink data. In the present embodiment, the length of the self-contained time unit, the number of bits of the response signal transmitted through the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit, and the time resource amount of the uplink control channel in the self-contained time unit may be partially cell-specific notification (or common to groups, common to RATs) or group-specific/RAT-specific notification. The embodiments of the present disclosure are described above. Although each embodiment describes above an example in which an aspect of the present disclosure is configured by hardware, the present disclosure may be achieved by software in cooperation with hardware. Each functional block used in the above description of the embodiments is typically achieved by an LSI as an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit may control each functional block used in the above description of the embodiments, and include an input and an output. The integrated circuits may be each individually provided as one chip, or may be partially or entirely provided as one chip. LSI is also called an IC, a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI, depending on the density of integration. Each integration circuit is not limited to an LSI, but may be achieved by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. Alternatively, the integration circuit may be achieved by a field programmable gate array (FPGA), which is programmable after manufacturing of an LSI, or a reconfigurable processor, which is connection and setting of circuit cells inside an LSI are reconfigurable. Moreover, when an integration technology becomes available in place of LSI through the progress of the semiconductor technology or derivation of another technology, the functional block integration may be achieved by using this technology. For example, biotechnologies may be applied. A base station of the present disclosure includes: a control unit configured to determine, when a terminal performs communication in a time unit including a downlink time resource for a downlink control signal, a downlink time resource assigned for downlink data by the downlink control signal, and an uplink time resource for a response signal for the downlink data, the amount of the uplink time resource used by the terminal for transmission of the response signal in accordance with a requested communication area or the number of bits necessary for transmission of the response signal; and a transmission unit configured to transmit time unit information including the determined amount of the uplink time resource to the terminal. In the base station of the present disclosure, the control unit sets a larger amount of the uplink time resource as the requested communication area is larger. In the base station of the present disclosure, the control unit sets a larger amount of the uplink time resource as the number of bits necessary for transmission of the response signal is larger. In the base station of the present disclosure, the control unit determines the amount of the uplink time resource independently from the length of the time unit. In the base station of the present disclosure, the control unit sets a larger amount of the uplink time resource as the time unit is longer. In the base station of the present disclosure, the transmission unit transmits, as the time unit information, information indicating the length of the time unit. In the base station of the present disclosure, the amount of the uplink time resource in each time unit is a fixed value, and the control unit determines the number of the time units used for repetitive transmission of the response signal in accordance with the requested communication area or the number of bits necessary for transmission of the response signal. In the base station of the present disclosure, the transmission unit transmits the time unit information through a downlink channel for cell-specific notification. In the base station of the present disclosure, the transmission unit transmits the time unit information through a downlink channel for radio access technology (RAT)-specific indication. In the base station of the present disclosure, the transmission unit transmits the time unit information through a downlink channel for UE-specific notification. A terminal of the present disclosure is configured to perform communication in a time unit including a downlink time resource for a downlink control signal, a downlink time resource assigned for downlink data by the downlink control signal, and an uplink time resource for a response signal for the downlink data. The terminal of the present disclosure includes a reception unit configured to receive, from a base station, time unit information related to the amount of the uplink time resource used for transmission of the response signal, and a signal assignment unit configured to assign the response signal for the uplink time resource indicated by the time unit information. Here, the amount of the uplink time resource is determined in accordance with the requested communication area or the number of bits necessary for transmission of the response signal. A communication method of the present disclosure includes: determining, when a terminal performs communication in a time unit including a downlink time resource for a downlink control signal, a downlink time resource assigned for downlink data by the downlink control signal, and an uplink time resource for a response signal for the downlink data, the amount of the uplink time resource used by the terminal for transmission of the response signal in accordance with the requested communication area or the number of bits necessary for transmission of the response signal; and transmitting time unit information related to the determined amount of the uplink time resource to the terminal. A communication method of the present disclosure is performed by a terminal configured to perform communication in a time unit including a downlink time resource for a downlink control signal, a downlink time resource assigned for downlink data by the downlink control signal, and an uplink time resource for a response signal for the downlink data. The communication method of the present disclosure includes: receiving, from a base station, time unit information related to the amount of the uplink time resource used for transmission of the response signal; and assigning the response signal for the uplink time resource indicated by the time unit information. Here, the amount of the uplink time resource is determined in accordance with the requested communication area or the number of bits necessary for transmission of the response signal. An aspect of the present disclosure is useful for a mobile communication system. REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100base station101,207control unit102control signal generation unit103control signal encoding unit104control signal modulation unit105data encoding unit106retransmission control unit107data modulation unit108,210signal assignment unit109,211transmission waveform generation unit110,212transmission unit111,201antenna112,202reception unit113,203extraction unit114demodulation and decoding unit115determination unit200terminal204data demodulation unit205data decoding unit206error detection unit208ACK/NACK generation unit209encoding and modulation unit | 69,348 |
11943789 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Overview FIGS.1and2each schematically illustrates a mobile (cellular) communication system1for providing MBMS services. The communication system1comprises user equipment3, including a plurality of mobile communication devices3-1,3-2(also referred to herein as UEs) served by a base station5. In this embodiment, the base station5is an LTE base station (also referred to herein as an ‘evolved NodeB’ or ‘eNB’) forming part an Evolved Universal Technology Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN). The telecommunication system1also comprises core network8comprising and Evolved Packet Core (EPC) which includes a plurality of functional/logical entities. Although, for simplicity, a single base station5and two mobile communication devices3are shown, the E-UTRAN will generally comprise a plurality of base stations5and each base station5may serve one or any number of mobile communication devices3or other such communication devices. MBMS Delivery System Architecture As seen inFIG.1the communication system1comprises a system architecture1-1for the delivery of multimedia broadcast/multicast services (MBMS). The system architecture1-1for the delivery of multimedia broadcast/multicast services (MBMS) comprises a Multi-cell/Multicast Coordination Entity (MCE)7, which forms part of the E-UTRAN. The MBMS delivery system architecture1-1also comprises a Mobility Management Entity (MME)9, an MBMS Gateway (MBMS-GW)10, a Broadcast-Multicast Service Centre (BM-SC)12all of which form part of the core network8. In operation, therefore, a content provider13is able to provide content, such as multimedia content, as an MBMS service using the system architecture1-1. In the context of the MBMS delivery system architecture1-1, the base station5of the E-UTRAN is responsible for delivering MBMS data to a designated MBMS service area efficiently. The MCE7schedules the time/frequency resources on the radio interface and is responsible for coordinating multi-cell transmission where the coverage area for a particular MBMS service includes multiple base stations5. The MCE7is a logical entity which, in this embodiment, is physically separate from the base station5. The MCE7communicates with the base station5via a control plane interface ‘M2’ and with the MME9via a further control plane interface ‘M3’. The MME9is a control node for the LTE access network and, in the context of MBMS delivery system architecture1-1, provides a number of MBMS support functions including session control of MBMS bearers and transmission of session control messages (such as Session Start and Session Stop messages) towards the base station5of the E-UTRAN via the M3 interface. The MME9communicates with the MBMS-GW10using a further interface ‘Sm’ via which the MME9receives MBMS service control messages and IP Multicast addresses for MBMS data reception. The MBMS-GW10acts as an entry point for incoming broadcast/multicast data. The MBMS-GW10is responsible for distributing data packets for a particular MBMS service to base stations within the coverage area for that MBMS service (e.g. an area covered by an MBMS Single Frequency Network (MBSFN)), for example by IP multicast distribution of MBMS data packets to the base station5through user plane interface ‘M1’. The MBMS-GW also implements MBMS session management (for example, by using Session Start and Session Stop messages). The MBMS-GW10communicates with the BM-SC via a user plane interface ‘SGi-mb’ and a control plane interface ‘SGmb’. The BM-SC12is the source of the MBMS traffic and provides functions for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. In this embodiment, the BM-SC12serves as an entry point for MBMS transmissions from the content provider13, can be used to authorise and initiate MBMS Bearer Services within the mobile network, and can be used to schedule and deliver the MBMS transmissions, using the SGi-mb interface for MBMS data delivery and the SGmb interface for control functions. Unicast Delivery System Architecture As seen inFIG.2the communication system1also comprises a system architecture1-2for unicast delivery (also referred to herein a Packet-Switched Streaming Services (PSS) architecture). In the system architecture1-2for unicast delivery, the core network8comprises the MME9, a combined Serving Gateway and Packet Data Network-Gateway (SGW/PDN-GW)15, a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF)19, and a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)21. In operation, an operator23is able to provide IP services, such as IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services and Packet-switched Streaming (PSS) services, via the unicast delivery system architecture1-2. In the context of the unicast delivery system architecture1-2, the base station5of the E-UTRAN is responsible for establishing point-to-point radio bearer resources towards each mobile communication device3and for delivering data to it. The E-UTRAN communicates with the core network via a logical interface ‘S1’ having a control plane part ‘S1-MME’ and a user plane part ‘S1-U’. In the context of the unicast delivery system architecture1-2, the MME9handles bearer management functions including dedicated bearer establishment control towards each mobile communication device3via a the base station5of the E-UTRAN. The MME9communicates with the base station5via the control plane part of the S1 interface (S1-MME) and with the SGW part of the SGW/PDN-GW15via a further interface S11. The MME9also communicates subscription and authentication data for authenticating user access with the Home Subscriber Server (HSS)21via a so called ‘S6a’ interface. The SGW part of the SGW/PDN-GW15routes packet data to the base station5of the E-UTRAN via the user plane part of the S1 interface S1-U. The PDN-GW part of the SGW/PDN-GW15provides connectivity to the mobile communication device3for the connection to a PSS server (not shown) provided by the operator23. The PDN-GW part of the SGW/PDN-GW15communicates with the operator's network via another interface ‘SGi’. The PCRF19is the policy and charging control element which communicates with the PDN-GW part of SGW/PDN-GW15and the operator's network via respective ‘Gx’ (or ‘S7’ in some versions of the architecture) and ‘Rx’ interfaces. The HSS21is a network element that acts as a central repository of subscriber-specific authorizations and service profiles and preferences for an IMS network. Adaptation of System Architectures The various components of the communication system1ofFIGS.1and2are adapted to allow a dedicated radio access bearer (RAB) resource to be setup towards an individual mobile communication device3for the provision of a multimedia (MBMS) service to that mobile communication device3using unicast communication. Specifically, the unicast communication is achieved, using the Packet-Switched Streaming Services (PSS) protocol, as an upper layer application function of the system architecture1-2shown inFIG.2. When E-UTRAN is used for the radio access, the RAB is called an E-RAB (EPS RAB). The communication system1provides an MBMS service, to each mobile communication device3that indicates an interest in receiving that MBMS service (referred to herein as an ‘interested’ mobile communication device), using the unicast communication functionality when the number of interested mobile communication devices3is below a predetermined threshold (referred to herein as a ‘broadcast’ threshold). When the number of interested mobile communication devices3is above the broadcast threshold then the MBMS service is provided using broadcast/multicast communications in a conventional manner. To facilitate accurate decision making relating to when unicast should be used and when broadcast/multicast communication is more appropriate, the communication system1uses an improved mechanism for determining the number of interested mobile communication devices3, within the coverage area for a particular MBMS service. The counting mechanism not only takes account of mobile communication devices3having an active radio connection, but also takes account of mobile communication devices3that are inactive (in idle mode). This is achieved by providing a procedure via which idle mode mobile communication devices3can indicate their interest in receiving an MBMS service, can be counted for the purposes of determining whether broadcast/multicast communication is appropriate, and can be identified for the purposes of setting up unicast radio bearers for the provision of the MBMS service of interest. Accordingly, the communication system1described provides a number of benefits including greater accuracy when determining the number of interested users in the coverage area for a particular service. This in turn ensures that the decision-making process for determining when to use the networks broadcast/multicast functionality for providing an MBMS service, and when not to, is greatly improved. Moreover, the communication system1also provides a mechanism via which mobile communication devices3can receive an MBMS service regardless of the number of mobile communication devices in the associated coverage that have indicated an interest in receiving that MBMS service. Taking account of the number of idle mode mobile communication devices3is also particularly beneficial because a user of an idle mode communication device3may be more likely to want to receive a particular MBMS service than a user of a mobile communication device3that is active, for example, because the user of the active device is busy making a voice call. Mobile Communication Device FIG.3schematically illustrates the main components of a mobile communication device3ofFIGS.1and2. As shown, the mobile communication device comprises a mobile telephone3including transceiver circuitry323which is operable to transmit signals to and to receive signals from the base station5via one or more antennae325. As shown, the mobile telephone3also includes a controller327which controls the operation of the mobile telephone3and which is connected to the transceiver circuit323and to a loudspeaker329, a microphone331, a display333, and a keypad335. The controller327operates in accordance with software instructions stored within memory337. As shown, these software instructions include, among other things, an operating system339, an RRC module341, and an application layer module343. The RRC module341manages the reception, transmission, and interpretation of radio resource control signalling communicated with the base station5. The RRC module341also controls RRC layer functionality in the mobile telephone3and manages signalling to and from an application layer. The application layer module343controls application layer functionality of the mobile telephone3including signalling to and from the RRC layer. Base Station FIG.4is a block diagram illustrating the main components of the base stations5shown inFIGS.1and2. As shown, the base station5includes transceiver circuitry451, which is operable to transmit signals to, and to receive signals from, the mobile telephone3via one or more antennae453. Transceiver circuitry451is also coupled to an MCE interface405, an SGW interface407, an MBMS-GW interface408and an MME interface410. The various interfaces405,407,408and410have corresponding logical interfaces (sometimes referred to as reference points) M2, S1-U, M1, and S1-MME as indicated inFIG.4in parenthesis. The operation of the transceiver circuitry451is controlled by a controller457, in accordance with software stored in memory459. The software includes, among other things, an operating system461, a communications module419, an RRC module463, an MBMS module465, and a RAB management module467. The communications module419is operable to communicate: with the MCE7via the MCE interface405; with the SGW/PDN-GW15via the SGW interface407; with the MBMS-GW10via the MBNMS-GW interface408; and with the MME via the MME interface410. The RRC module463manages the reception, transmission, and interpretation of radio resource control signalling communicated with the mobile telephone3. The MBMS module465manages the reception, transmission, and interpretation MBMS related messages communicated with the MCE7and with the MBMS-GW10. The RAB management module469manages the reception, transmission, interpretation, and handling of E-RAB setup related messages communicated with the SGW/PDN-GW15and with the MME9. Multi-Cell/Multicast Coordination Entity (MCE) FIG.5shows an MCE7having a transceiver circuit501coupled to an eNB interface502and an MME interface503. The interfaces502and503have corresponding logical interfaces (sometimes referred to as reference points) M2 and M3 as indicated inFIG.5in parenthesis. A controller507is provided to control the transceiver circuit501, and is coupled to a memory509comprising software including, among other things an operating system511, a communications module519and an MBMS management module520. The communications module519is operable to communicate with the base station5via the eNB interface502and with the MME via the MME interface503. The MBMS management module520manages the receipt and transmission of MBMS related signalling from and to the MME9, and from and to the base station5, in cooperation with the communications module519. The MBMS related signalling comprises, for example, session control signalling and other session management signaling and radio configuration for the multi-cell transmission mode data. Mobility Management Entity (MME) FIG.6shows an MME9having a transceiver circuit601coupled to an eNB interface602, an MME interface603, an MCE interface604, an SGW interface605, an MBMS-GW interface608, and an HSS interface610. The various interfaces602,603,604,605,608,610have corresponding logical interfaces (sometimes referred to as reference points) S1-MME, S10, M3, S11, Sm and S6a as indicated inFIG.6in parenthesis. A controller607is provided to control the transceiver circuit601, and is coupled to a memory609comprising software including, among other things an operating system611, a communications module619, an MBMS management module620, and a unicast management3module621. The communications module619is operable to communicate: with the base station5via the eNB interface602; with other MMEs (not shown) via the MME interface603; with the MCE via the MCE interface604; with the SGW part of the SGW/PDN-GW15via the SGW interface605; with the MBMS-GW10via the MBMS-GW interface608; and with the HSS21via the HSS interface610. The MBMS management module620manages the receipt and transmission of MBMS related signalling from and to the MCE7, and from and to the MBMS-GW10, in cooperation with the communications module619. The MBMS related signalling comprises, for example: Session Start and Session Stop messages and related signalling; other MBMS service control messages; and the IP Multicast address for MBMS data reception; sent from the MBMS-GW via the MBMS-GW (Sm) interface608. The unicast management module621manages the provision of unicast delivery of MBMS services to the mobile communication devices3including the setup and release of associated radio access bearers to the mobile communication devices3for each MBMS service. MBMS Gateway (MBMS-GW) FIG.7shows an MBMS-GW10having a transceiver circuit701coupled to an eNB interface702, an MME interface705and a BM-SC interface710. The various interfaces702,705,710have corresponding logical interfaces (sometimes referred to as reference points) M1, SGmb/SGi-mb, and Sm as indicated inFIG.7in parenthesis. A controller707is provided to control the transceiver circuit701, and is coupled to a memory709comprising software including, among other things, an operating system711, a communications module719and an MBMS management module720. The communications module719is operable to communicate: with the base station5via the eNB interface702; with the MME via the MME interface705; and with the BM-SC via the BM-SC interface710. The MBMS management module720manages the distribution of MBMS data packets to base stations3within the MBSFN, for example by IP multicast of the MBMS data packets to the eNB5through the eNB (M1) interface702. The MBMS management module720is also responsible for MBMS session management, for example, by transmitting the Session Start and Session Stop messages to the MME9. Broadcast-Multicast Service Centre (BM-SC) FIG.8shows a BM-SC12having a transceiver circuit801coupled to an MBMS-GW interlace803and a content provider interface810. The MBMS-GW interface803has corresponding logical user plane interface SGi-mb and control plane interface SGmb (sometimes referred to as reference points). A controller807is provided to control the transceiver circuit801, and is coupled to a memory809comprising software including, among other things, an operating system811, a communications module819and an MBMS management module820. The communications module819is operable to communicate MBMS data to the MBMS gateway via the user plane interface (SGi-mb) part of interface803and control signalling via the control plane interface (SGmb) part of interface803. The communications module819is also operable to receive content from the content provider13via the content provider interface810. The MBMS management module820manages the MBMS functions of the BM-SC12including the initiation of MBMS traffic from the content provider13, user service provisioning, and delivery of MBMS data via the user plane interface (SGi-mb). The MBMS management module820also handles authorisation and initiation of MBMS bearer services and scheduling of the MBMS transmissions. Serving Gateway/Packet Data Network Gateway (SGW/PDN-GW) FIG.9shows a combined SGW/PDN-GW15having a transceiver circuit901coupled to an eNB interface902, an MME interface903, an operator network interface905, and a PCRF interface910. The various interfaces902,903,905,910have corresponding logical interfaces (sometimes referred to as reference points) S1-U, S11, SGi, and S7/Gx as indicated inFIG.9in parenthesis. A controller907is provided to control the transceiver circuit901, and is coupled to a memory909comprising software including, among other things, an operating system911, a communications module919, an SGW module920, and a PDN-GW module921, and a PSS management module922. The communications module919is operable to handle SGW related communications with the base station5via the eNB interface902and with the MME9via the MME interface903. The communications module919is also operable to handle PDN-GW related communications with the operator network via the operator network interface905and with the PCRF19via the PCRF interface910. The SGW module920provides the functions of the serving gateway part of the SGW/PDN-GW15and the PDN-GW module921provides the functions of the PDN gateway part of the SGW/PDN-GW15. The PSS management module manages the Packet-Switched Streaming Services functions of the SGW/PDN-GW15in cooperation with the SGW module920and the PDN-GW module921. MBMS Service Provision Via Unicast and/or Broadcast/Multicast—Overview FIG.10is a high-level flow chart illustrating a procedure implemented by the communication system1to provide selectively an MBMS service by unicast and/or by broadcast/multicast in dependence on the number of mobile communication devices3interested in receiving that MBMS service. As seen inFIG.10the procedure begins with the initiation of a new MBMS service (S1) by the BM-SC12requesting the start of an associated MBMS session via the MBMS-GW10for a particular coverage area. Before the requested MBMS session is initiated, a counting procedure is undertaken to determine the number of mobile communication devices3indicating an interest (‘interested mobile communication devices’) in receiving the requested MBMS service (S2). The counting procedure includes counting mobile communication devices3that are normally in idle mode (S2a) and mobile communication devices3that are in an active (or ‘connected’) mode (S2b). Once the total number of interested mobile communication devices3in the coverage area has been counted, the total is compared to a predetermined threshold (‘tBM’) above which provision of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast is considered to be viable (S3). If the total number of interested mobile communication devices3is found to be below the threshold ‘tBM’ then a procedure to provide the MBMS service, via unicast, to each interested mobile communication device3is activated (S4). Otherwise, if the total number of interested mobile communication devices3is found to be above the threshold ‘tBM’, then a procedure to provide the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast is initiated (S6). The procedure to activate the MBMS service via unicast comprises an initial procedure (S4a) followed by a RAB setup procedure (S4b). The initial procedure (S4a) involves the MCE7informing the BM-SC12, via the MME9and the MBMS-GW10that there are insufficient interested mobile communication devices3to warrant broadcast/multicast delivery. The RAB setup procedure (S4b) involves setup of a respective radio access bearer for delivering the MBMS service to each interested mobile communication device3via unicast. After delivery via unicast or broadcast/multicast is setup, the counting and comparison procedure is periodically repeated (S5-1/S5-2) to determine if the number of interested mobile communication devices3in the coverage area for the MBMS service has changed significantly. When the MBMS service is being delivered via unicast and the number of interested users is determined to have increased above the threshold tBM, delivery via broadcast/multicast is initiated (S6). Otherwise, if the number of interested users remains below the threshold tBM, delivery of the MBMS service via unicast is maintained for each mobile communication device3already receiving it, and is activated for any interested mobile communication devices3that are not already receiving it (S4). When the MBMS service is being delivered via broadcast/multicast and the number of interested users is determined to have decreased below the threshold tBM, delivery via broadcast/multicast is deactivated (S7) and delivery of the MBMS service via unicast is activated (S6) for each interested mobile communication devices3remaining in the coverage area. Otherwise, if the number of interested users remains above the threshold tBM, delivery of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast is maintained. There are a number of different ways in which the various stages of the procedure ofFIG.10may be implemented including: a network centric approach in which the network initiates the setup of each radio access bearer for the provision of the MBMS service to a respective mobile communication device using unicast communication; and a so called ‘UE’ centric approach in which each mobile communication device wishing to receive the MBMS service initiates the setup the radio access bearer required for the provision of the MBMS service to it via unicast communication. The present embodiment makes use of a network centric approach which will now be described in more detail. Network Centric Approach FIGS.11to18illustrate, in more detail, the steps (S1to S7) of the procedure ofFIG.10for counting mobile communication devices, and for providing the MBMS service via unicast and/or broadcast/multicast accordingly according to the present embodiment. The procedure illustrated inFIGS.11to18is a network centric approach in which the network is responsible for initiating setup of unicast communication. For simplicity, inFIGS.11to18, the actions of the MBMS-GW and the BM-SC are combined. (S1) MBMS Session Service Start FIG.11is a simplified timing diagram illustrating the MBMS session service start phase (S1) of the procedure ofFIG.10in more detail. As seen inFIG.11the BM-SC12initiates an MBMS session via the MBMS-GW10. To request initiation of the MBMS service, the MBMS-GW10sends an MBMS Session Start Request to the MME9effectively requesting initiation of a broadcast/multicast session for delivery of the MBMS service. The MBMS Session Start Request comprises information including (among other information):an MBMS Service ID for identifying the MBMS service to which the request relates;an MBMS session ID for identifying the MBMS session to be used to provide the MBMS service;an Evolved Packet System (EPS) Radio Access Bearer (RAB) Quality of Service information element identifying, for example, QoS parameters such as end to end delay, bit error rates etc;an MBMS Service Area identifier identifying the area (e.g. a cell or group of cells) in which the MBMS session is made available;an IP Multicast address identifying the IP address from which the MBMS data is distributed; and an IP source address. The MBMS Session Start Request is forwarded by the MME9to the MCE7. In this embodiment the forwarded MBMS Session Start Request includes information for notifying the MCE7that counting of the interested mobile communication devices3is required before delivery of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast can be allowed. In response to the MBMS Session Start Request, therefore, the MCE7determines that the procedure for counting the interested mobile communication devices3should be initiated for the MBMS service to which the MBMS Service ID relates. To initiate the counting procedure, the MCE7sends an MBMS Service Counting Request to each base station5in the coverage area (e.g. the MBSFN area) to inform the base station5that counting should commence for the identified MBMS Service. The MBMS Service Counting Request includes the identity of the MBMS Service (MBMS Service ID) and the MBMS service area (MBMS Service Area). On receipt of the MBMS Service Counting Request each base station5in the coverage area indicates to the mobile communication devices3it serves that counting is required to receive the MBMS service. In this embodiment, the base station5provides this indication in System Information, which is periodically broadcast to the mobile communication devices. Thus, the mobile communication device3is able to determine that it is required to expressly indicate to the base station5that it is interested in receiving the MBMS service. (S2) Count Mobile Communication Devices ‘Interested’ in Receiving the MBMS Service FIGS.12and13are simplified timing diagrams illustrating, in more detail, the phase of the procedure (S2) shown inFIG.10, for counting the mobile communication devices3that are interested in receiving a particular MBMS Service. Specifically,FIG.12illustrates the part of the procedure (S2a) for counting the mobile communication devices3that are in idle mode, andFIG.13illustrates the part of the procedure (S2b) for counting the mobile communication devices3that are active. (S2a) Idle Mobile Communication Device Count As seen inFIG.12, in this embodiment, after the counting procedure has been initiated, when a mobile communication device3in idle mode is interested in receiving one or more MBMS services, the mobile communication device3initiates a temporary RRC connection by generating and sending an RRC Connection Request. The base station5responds by sending an RRC Connection Setup message to allow the mobile communication device3to setup the RRC connection. On setup of the connection, the mobile communication device3generates an RRC Connection Setup Complete message, including a Network ID and a registered core network ID, to indicate successful setup of the RRC connection and sends it to the base station5. However, in addition to the Network ID and a registered core network ID, the mobile communication device3also incorporates a NULL Non Access Stratum (NAS) message (a message in which a NAS Information Element has a length set to zero) into the RRC Connection Setup Complete message, when requesting the RRC connection establishment In parallel, after the counting procedure has been initiated by the base station5(in response to receipt of the MBMS Service Counting Request in phase (1)), the base station5begins to monitor RRC signalling, from the mobile communication devices3it serves, for the presence of NULL NAS messages. On receipt of a message incorporating a NULL NAS message the base station5determines that the mobile communication device3from which it has received the message has initiated the RRC connection for the purposes of the MBMS counting procedure and accordingly, in this embodiment, does not progress the connection further into the network (e.g. by generating further connection setup messages and sending them to the MME9). In this manner this embodiment has the benefit of reducing signalling. At this stage, the base station5does not yet know the identity of the MBMS Service that the mobile communication device3is interested in because there may be several MBMS Services for which counting is required. Accordingly, the base station5waits for further signalling from the mobile communication device3. In order to inform the base station5of the MBMS service for which the temporary RRC connection was initiated, the mobile communication device3generates a RRC MBMS Counting Report incorporating an MBMS Service ID for identifying the MBMS service which the mobile communication device3is interested in receiving, and sends it to the base station5. It will be appreciated that, if the mobile communication device3is interested in receiving more than one MBMS service from among those for which a counting procedure is being undertaken, then the mobile communication device3includes all the interested MBMS services On receipt of the RRC MBMS Counting Report, the base station5stores information identifying the mobile communication device3from which it received the message, in association with the identity of MBMS service for which the mobile communication device3has indicated an interest. In this manner, the base station5compiles a ‘count’ list of the mobile communication devices3that were in the idle mode when the MBMS service was initiated, without requiring setup of a full RRC connection. The base station5can then release the temporary (and partial) RRC connection by sending an RRC Connection Release message to the mobile communication device3. (S2b) Active Mobile Communication Device Count As seen inFIG.13, after the counting procedure has been initiated, when a mobile communication device3in active mode is interested in receiving one or more MBMS services, the mobile communication device3indicates its interest in receiving a particular MBMS service by sending an RRC MBMS Counting Report incorporating the identity of that MBMS service as part of the already established RRC connection. On receipt of the RRC MBMS Counting Report, the base station5stores information identifying the mobile communication device3from which it received the message, in association with the identity of MBMS service for which the mobile communication device3has indicated an interest. In this manner, the base station5includes mobile communication devices3with an active connection in the count list for that MBMS service along with any interested idle mode mobile communication devices3. The base station5does not need to release the RRC connection in this case because it is in use for other purposes by the active mobile communication device3. (S3) Comparison with Threshold FIG.14is a simplified timing diagram illustrating the threshold comparison phase (S3) of the procedure ofFIG.10in more detail. As seen inFIG.14, after the mobile communication devices3served by a base station5have indicate their interest in receiving an MBMS service and the base station3has collated the results in the count list, the base station5generates the resulting ‘counting result’ which, in this embodiment, comprises a list of identifiers for the interested mobile communication devices3, and incorporates this into an MBMS Service Counting Response message, in association with the identity of the MBMS service (MBMS Service ID) to which the list relates, and sends the MBMS Service Counting Response message to the MCE7. On receipt of MBMS Service Counting Response messages from all the base stations5in the coverage area (e.g. MBSFN area) for the MBMS service to which the messages relate, the MCE7determines the total number of interested mobile communication devices3, including both idle mode and active mobile communication devices3, and compares the result with the predetermined broadcast threshold tBM. (S4) MBMS Service Via Unicast—Activation FIGS.15and16are simplified timing diagrams illustrating the MBMS service via unicast activation phase (S4) of the procedure ofFIG.10in more detail. Specifically, Figure illustrates an initial part of the unicast activation phase (S4) in which the unicast delivery is initiated, andFIG.16illustrates a further part of the unicast activation phase (S4) in which the radio access bearers for unicast communication are setup. (S4a) Initial Procedure As seen inFIG.15, when the comparison performed by the MCE7determines that the total number of interested mobile communication devices3, including both idle mode and active mobile communication devices3, is less than the predetermined broadcast threshold tBM, the MCE7generates a diagnostic response message and sends it to the MME9. The diagnostic response message comprises an MBMS Session Start Response message incorporating the identity of the MBMS service to which it relates and information indicating a so called ‘failure cause’ to be that the ‘number of interested UEs is under a threshold for broadcast delivery’. The MME9forwards the MBMS Session Start Response message to MBMS-GW10which, in turn informs the BM-SC12. Accordingly, the BM-SC12is able to establish that resources will be setup for delivering the MBMS services via unicast directly to each interested mobile communication device3. Further to sending the MBMS Session Start Response message indicating a failure to setup delivery using broadcast/multicast, the MCE7sends the list of interested mobile communication devices3for the MBMS service to the MME9, so that the MME9can request each base station5to setup a radio bearer towards each interested mobile communication device3that the base station5serves. Specifically, the MCE7generates an MBMS Session Information Indication incorporating the identity of the MBMS service and a list of Evolved Packet System UE temporary identities (EPS UE temporary IDs) including an ED for each interested mobile communication device3. (S4b) Network Initiated RAB Setup Procedure As seen inFIG.16, after sending the MBMS Session Information Indication, the MME9triggers the setup of radio bearers for providing the unicast delivery of the MBMS service. In this embodiment, this process is initiated by sending a message requesting the setup of an E-UTRAN radio access bearer (E-RAB Setup Request) to base station5over the MME-S1 interface602. The E-RAB Setup Request includes, among other things; an identifier for the E-RAB being setup (E-RAB TD); EPS Radio Access Bearer Quality of Service information; an NAS message incorporating an EPS bearer context activation request; the identity of the MBMS service (MBMS service ID); and the IP multicast address for the MBMS service. Thanks to the presence of the IP multicast address received in the Radio Access Bearer Setup Request from the MME9, the base station5is able to perform a joining operation, if appropriate (e.g. if not previously carried out for the MBMS service), for each interested mobile communication device3. The joining operation is the process by which a particular user ‘joins’ (or becomes a member of) a particular multicast group, for example by the user indicating to the network that he/she wants to receive multicast mode data for a specific MBMS bearer service. The base station5generates an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message incorporating an identity of the radio bearer (Radio Bearer ID), the identity of the MBMS service (MBMS service ID), and an NAS message, and sends it to the mobile communication device to initiate configuration of the radio bearer at the mobile communication device3. Once configuration of the radio bearer is complete, the mobile communication device3generates an RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete message and sends it to the base station5to indicate completion. To complete the radio access bearer setup part (S4b) of the unicast activation procedure (S4) the base station5generates an E-RAB Setup Response message and sends it to the MME9. The E-RAB Setup Response message incorporates respective identifiers for uniquely identifying the mobile communication device3over the S1 interface within the base station5and over the S1 interface within the MME9(MME UE S1AP ID and eNB UE S1AP ID) and the identity of the E-UTRAN radio access bearer (E-RAB ID). (S5-1/S6) MBMS Service Via Broadcast/Multicast Activation (During Unicast Provision) FIG.17is a simplified timing diagram illustrating the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast activation phase (S6) of the procedure ofFIG.10in more detail following the periodic recount of the number of interested mobile communication devices3(both idle and active) and associated threshold comparison (S5-1). Specifically,FIG.17illustrates a situation in which the broadcast/multicast activation phase follows delivery of the MBMS service via unicast (e.g. the periodic recount/comparison (S5-1) has indicated that the number of interested mobile communication devices3(both idle and active) has risen above the broadcast threshold tBM). While the service is being delivered via unicast transmission, the MME9provides an indication to the MCE7, so that the MCE7knows to perform a periodic recount of interested mobile communication devices for a given MBMS service. Specifically, an MBMS Session Start Request with a dedicated information so called “unicast delivery ongoing” can be used. As seen inFIG.17, when the periodic recount/comparison (S5-1) indicates that the number of interested mobile communication devices3has risen above the broadcast threshold tBM, the MCE7initiates provision of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast. The delivery of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast is setup using conventional procedures (e.g. the procedures defined in the current version of the relevant 3GPP standard) which a skilled person would readily understand, and which are therefore not described in detail here. In this embodiment, after delivery of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast has been setup (which can be indicated to the MME9using a MBMS Session Start Indication including the MBMS service), the MME9initiates deactivation of the direct unicast delivery of the MBMS services by unicast to individual mobile communication devices3. This is possible because, in this network centric approach, the MME9advantageously knows which mobile communication devices3have a unicast bearer for the MBMS service. In this embodiment, the MME9triggers the deactivation of the direct unicast delivery of the MBMS services by generating a radio bearer release request (e.g. an E-RAB Release Command incorporating a list identifying each radio access bearer to be released) and sending it to the base station5. In response to the radio bearer release request, the base station5and each affected mobile communication device3cooperate to release the associated MBMS delivery radio bearer, after which the base station5acknowledges completion by sending a completion message (E-RAB Release Complete) to the MME9. (S5-2/S7) MBMS Service Via Broadcast/Multicast Deactivation FIG.18is a simplified timing diagram illustrating the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast deactivation phase (S7) of the procedure ofFIG.10in more detail following the periodic recount of the number of interested mobile communication devices3(both idle and active) and associated threshold comparison (S5-2). Specifically,FIG.18illustrates a situation in which the broadcast/multicast deactivation phase (S7) follows a periodic recount/comparison (S5-2) indicating that the number of interested mobile communication devices3(both idle and active) has fallen from above, to below the broadcast threshold tBM. As seen inFIG.18, when the periodic recount/comparison (S5-2) indicates that the number of interested mobile communication devices3has fallen below the broadcast threshold tBM, the MCE7initiates deactivation of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast. The delivery of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast is deactivated using conventional procedures (e.g. the procedures defined in the current version of the relevant 3GPP standard) which a skilled person would readily understand, and which are therefore not described in detail here. Deactivation of delivery of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast is indicated by the MCE7to MME8using a MBMS Session Stop Request. The MBMS Session Stop Request includes: a dedicated information element indicating the cause of the stop request to be “number of interested UEs under a threshold for broadcast delivery” and a MBMS Session Information Indication including the MBMS service ID and the list of EPS UE temporary IDs. After delivery of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast has been deactivated, the MME9initiates (re)activation of the direct unicast delivery of the MBMS services by unicast to individual mobile communication devices3(e.g. as described above for the MBMS service via unicast activation phase (S4)). Summary—Network Centric Approach In summary, therefore, using the network centric approach, the MME9triggers the delivery of the MBMS service via unicast further to indication of relevant interested mobile communication devices3for each MBMS service from the MCE7. The MCE7effectively informs the MME9when broadcast/multicast transmission of an MBMS service cannot be set up because of the low number of interested mobile communication devices3in some MBSFN areas of the MBMS service area. The IP multicast address and the MBMS service ID are included in the radio bearer setup request from the MME9to the LTE radio access network. The MBMS service ID is included in the radio bearer setup request from the LTE radio access network to the mobile communication device3. Thus, by knowing the radio bearer that is associated with the MBMS service delivered via unicast, the MME9is able to trigger a release of that bearer when it is notified by the MCE7that the broadcast/multicast delivery of the MBMS service has been activated. Network Centric Approach—Possible Variations As those skilled in the art will appreciate, there are a number of possible variations that could be made to the network centric approach described above whilst still benefiting from the inventions embodied therein. A number of these will now be described, by way of example only, to illustrate the flexibility of the network approach to be adapted, depending on requirements, whilst still providing the same or similar benefits. (S2a) Idle Mode Mobile Communication Device Counting—Variation 1 FIG.19is a simplified timing diagram illustrating a first possible variation of the idle mode part (S2a) of the counting phase (S2) ofFIG.12that might be used in a further embodiment. As seen inFIG.19, as described for the previous embodiment, after the counting procedure has been initiated, when a mobile communication device3in idle mode is interested in receiving one or more MBMS services, the mobile communication device3initiates a temporary RRC connection by generating and sending an RRC Connection Request. The base station5responds by sending an RRC Connection Setup message to allow the mobile communication device3to setup the RRC connection. On setup of the connection the mobile communication device3generates an RRC Connection Setup Complete message, including a Network ID and a registered core network ID, to indicate successful setup of the RRC connection, and sends the generated message to the base station5. As described for the previous embodiment, in addition to the Network ID and a registered core network ID, the mobile communication device3also incorporates a NULL Non Access Stratum (NAS) message (a message in which a NAS Information Element has a length set to zero) into the RRC Connection Setup Complete message, when requesting the RRC connection establishment. Unlike the previous embodiment, however, the base station5does not monitor RRC signalling for the presence of NULL NAS messages. Instead, the base station treats the RRC connection as normal (according to the current 3GPP standards) by generating an Initial UE Message and sending it to the MME9. The Initial UE Message incorporates an identifier (e.g. an application identifier) for uniquely identifying the mobile communication device3over S1 interface within the base station5(eNB UE S1 AP ID), a further ‘temporary identifier’ (UE temporary ID), and the NAS message. However, it will be appreciated, that unlike a conventional Initial UE Message, the NAS Message carried by the Initial UE Message in this case is a NULL NAS Message having an NAS PDU set to zero. In response to the Initial UE Message, and more specifically the NULL NAS message carried by it, the MME9responds by generating, in this embodiment, a context release message (UE S1 Context Release Command) or another appropriate S1 message and sending it to the base station5, because the MME9is unable to handle the NULL NAS message. The UE S1 Context Release Command incorporates an indication (a ‘cause IE’) that the reason for the release is the presence of the NULL NAS Message in the Initial UE Message (cause IE=NULL NAS message). On the receipt of the context release message, the base station5infers that the original RRC connection request was sent for the purposes of the MBMS counting procedure. At this stage, the base station does not yet know the identity of the MBMS Service that the mobile communication device3is interested in because there may be several MBMS Services for which counting is required. Accordingly, the base station5waits for further signalling from the mobile communication device3. In order to inform the base station5of the MBMS service for which the temporary RRC connection was initiated, the mobile communication device3generates a RRC MBMS Counting Report incorporating an MBMS Service ID for identifying the MBMS service which the mobile communication device3is interested in receiving, and sends it to the base station5. On receipt of the RRC MBMS Counting Report, the base station5stores information identifying the mobile communication device3from which it received the message, in association with the identity of MBMS service for which the mobile communication device3has indicated an interest. In this manner, the base station5compiles a ‘count’ list of the mobile communication devices3that were in the idle mode when the MBMS service was initiated, without requiring setup of a full RRC connection. The base station5can then release the temporary (and partial) RRC connection by sending an RRC Connection Release message to the mobile communication device3. Accordingly, this embodiment has the benefit that it avoids the need for the base station to be adapted to screen RRC Connection Requests for NULL NAS messages, albeit at the expense of an increased signalling overhead. (S2a) Idle Mode Mobile Communication Device Counting—Variation 2 FIG.20is a simplified timing diagram illustrating another possible variation of the idle mode part (S2a) of the counting phase (S2) ofFIG.12that might be used in a further embodiment. As seen inFIG.20, as described for the previous embodiments, after the counting procedure has been initiated, when a mobile communication device3in idle mode is interested in receiving one or more MBMS services, the mobile communication device3initiates a temporary RRC connection by generating and sending an RRC Connection Request. The base station5responds by sending an RRC Connection Setup message to allow the mobile communication device3to setup the RRC connection. On setup of the connection, the mobile communication device3generates an RRC Connection Setup Complete message, including a Network ID and a registered core network ID, to indicate successful setup of the RRC connection, and sends the generated message to the base station5. Like the previous embodiments, the mobile communication device3includes a Network ID, a registered core network ID, and a NULL Non Access Stratum (NAS) message in the RRC Connection Setup Complete message. Unlike the previous embodiments, however, the mobile communication device3also includes an MBMS Counting Report that incorporates an MBMS Service ID (or a list of such IDs), for identifying the MBMS service(s) that the mobile communication device3is interested in receiving. On receipt of the RRC Connection Setup Complete message, the base station5identifies the MBMS service(s) listed in the MBMS Counting Report incorporated within the RRC Connection Setup Complete and determines that the RRC connection request was sent for the purposes of the MBMS counting procedure. Moreover, since the base station5knows the identity of the MBMS Service(s) that the mobile communication device3is interested in, the base station5does not have to wait for further signalling from the mobile communication device3. Thus, the base station5can store information identifying the mobile communication device3from which it received the message, in association with the identity of MBMS service(s) for which the mobile communication device3has indicated an interest. In this manner, the base station5compiles a ‘count’ list of the mobile communication devices3that were in the idle mode when the MBMS service was initiated, without requiring setup of a full RRC connection. The base station5can then release the temporary (and partial) RRC connection by sending an RRC Connection Release message to the mobile communication device3. Accordingly, this variation advantageously avoids the need for significant further signalling, for example, by avoiding the need to send any NAS message to the EPS core network8. (S4b) Network Initiated RAB Setup Procedure—Variation FIG.21is a simplified timing diagram illustrating a possible variation of the network initialed RAB setup part (S4b) of the MBMS service via unicast activation phase (S4) ofFIG.16, which might be used in a further embodiment. As seen inFIG.21, like the first embodiment after sending the MBMS Session Information Indication, the MME9triggers the setup of radio bearers for providing the unicast delivery of the MBMS service. However, unlike the first embodiment in this variation, the process begins by generating a message for triggering bearer setup via the SGW/PDN-GW15(e.g. a Bearer Resource Command or Create Session Request) and sending the generated message to the SGW/PDN-GW15. The message for triggering bearer setup incorporates appropriate information such as, for example, an identifier of the mobile communication device3(UE permanent ID), an identifier for the radio access bearer (Linked EPS Bearer ID), and access point identifier (APN—e.g. the IP multicast address), and/or (MBMS) Quality of Service Information. In response to receiving the message for triggering bearer setup, the SGW/PDN-GW15responds by generating an associated response message for setting up the bearers for unicast procedure in accordance with a conventional PSS procedures (e.g. as defined in the relevant 3GPP standards) as would readily be understood be a skilled person. This message is then sent to the MME9to allow the MME9to co-ordinate the rest of the procedure. The MME9generates and sends a message requesting the setup of an E-UTRAN radio access bearer (E-RAB Setup Request) to base station5. The base station5generates an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message incorporating an identity of the radio bearer (Radio Bearer ID) and an NAS message, and sends it to the mobile communication device to initiate configuration of the radio bearer at the mobile communication device3. Once configuration of the radio bearer is complete, the mobile communication device3generates an RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete message and sends it to the base station5to indicate completion. To complete the radio access bearer setup part (S4b) of the unicast activation procedure (S4) the base station5generates an E-RAB Setup Response message and sends it to the MME9. The E-RAB Setup Response message incorporates respective identifiers for uniquely identifying the mobile communication device3over the S1 interface within the base station5and over the S1 interface within the MME9(MME UE S1AP ID and eNB UE S1AP ID) and the identity of the E-UTRAN radio access bearer (E-RAB ID). Accordingly, in this variation, the MME9triggers the new Bearer Resource allocation by signalling towards the Serving/PDN Gateways15rather than the base station5. This variation advantageously makes use of key features of a legacy EPS architecture to provide unicast using PSS thereby providing for improved backwards compatibility. UE Centric Approach FIGS.22and23illustrate, in more detail, key steps of the procedure ofFIG.10for counting mobile communication devices, and for providing the MBMS service via unicast and/or broadcast/multicast according to another embodiment. The procedure illustrated inFIGS.22and23is a UE centric approach in which the mobile communication device3is responsible for initiating setup of unicast communication. In this embodiment, the UE centric approach, the MBMS session service start phase (S1), the counting phase (S2, S2a, S2b), and the threshold comparison phase (S3) proceed essentially as described for the first embodiment forFIGS.11to14, although it will be appreciated that the variations to the counting phase may be employed in other embodiments. In this embodiment, however, a variation on the unicast activation phase (S4) is employed. (S4) MBMS Service Via Unicast—Activation (UE Centric Approach) FIG.22is a simplified timing diagram illustrating the variation of the unicast activation phase (S4) for the UE centric approach to the implementation of the procedure inFIG.10, in more detail. (S4a) Initial Procedure (UE Centric Approach) As seen inFIG.22, when the comparison performed by the MCE7determines that the total number of interested mobile communication devices3, including both idle mode and active mobile communication devices3, is less than the predetermined broadcast threshold tBM, the MCE7generates a ‘failure indicating’ response message and sends it to the MME9. The diagnostic response message effectively indicates, to the MME9, that the attempt to setup delivery of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast has failed. The response message comprises an MBMS Session Start Response message incorporating the identity of the MBMS service to which it relates and information indicating the reason for the failure to be that the ‘number of interested UEs is under a threshold for broadcast delivery’. The MME9forwards the MBMS Session Start Response message to MBMS-GW10, which in turn informs the BM-SC12. In this embodiment, the BM-SC establishes that the resources for establishing unicast delivery of the MBMS service will be setup using the PSS architecture1-2. At this stage, unlike the previous embodiments, delivery of the MBMS service is not initiated by the network, instead it is initiated by each mobile communication device3wishing to receive the MBMS service. (S4b) UE Initiated RAB Setup Procedure (UE Centric Approach) Each mobile communication device3interested in receiving a particular MBMS service, in this embodiment, monitors for setup of MBMS service delivery via broadcast/multicast by monitoring the MBMS control channel for the corresponding MBMS service ID. When the MBMS service is not made available, the RRC layers of the mobile communication device3detect the absence of the expected MBMS Service ID on the control channel, when the counting procedure has stopped, and signals the absence to the application layers. Upon receipt of an indication from the radio layers that the MBMS Service ID is not present, the application layers in the mobile communication device3initiate setup of the radio bearers for unicast delivery of the service via the PSS architecture1-2using conventional legacy mechanisms (e.g. as described in the relevant 3GPP standards). (S5-1/S6) MBMS Service Via Broadcast/Multicast Activation (During Unicast Provision—UE Centric Approach) FIG.23is a simplified timing diagram illustrating the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast activation phase (S6) for the UE centric approach to the implementation of the procedure inFIG.10, in more detail. The activation phase (S6) is illustrated following the periodic recount of the number of interested mobile communication devices3(both idle and active) and associated threshold comparison (S5-1). Specifically,FIG.23illustrates a situation in which the broadcast/multicast activation phase follows delivery of the MBMS service via unicast (e.g. the periodic recount/comparison (S5-1) has indicated that the number of interested mobile communication devices3(both idle and active) has risen above the broadcast threshold tBM). As seen inFIG.23, when the periodic recount/comparison (S5-1) indicates that the number of interested mobile communication devices3has risen above the broadcast threshold tBM, the MCE7initiates provision of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast. The delivery of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast is setup using conventional procedures (e.g. the procedures defined in the current version of the relevant 3GPP standard) which a skilled person would readily understand, and which are therefore not described in detail here. Unlike the network centric approach, however, after delivery of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast has been setup, the MME9does not initiate deactivation of the direct unicast delivery of the MBMS services by unicast to individual mobile communication devices3because the MME9does not know which mobile communication devices3have a unicast bearer set up. Accordingly, mobile communication devices3already receiving the MBMS service via unicast continue to do so simultaneously with delivery of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast. (S5-2/S7) MBMS Service Via Broadcast/Multicast Deactivation (UE Centric Approach) When the periodic recount/comparison (S5-2) indicates that the number of interested mobile communication devices3has fallen below the broadcast threshold tBM, the MCE7initiates deactivation of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast. The delivery of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast is deactivated using conventional procedures (e.g. the procedures defined in the current version of the relevant 3GPP standard) which a skilled person would readily understand. After delivery of the MBMS service via broadcast/multicast has been deactivated, the RRC layers of the mobile communication device3detect the absence of the MBMS Service ID on the MBMS control channel and initiate (re)activation of unicast delivery as described above for the MBMS service via unicast activation phase (S4) according to the UE centric approach. Summary—UE Centric Approach In summary, therefore, in the UE centric approach, if the radio layers of the mobile communication device3detect that either: the counting procedure is over and delivery of the service via broadcast/multicast has not started; or a service that was previously delivered via broadcast/multicast is no longer delivered via broadcast/multicast; then an indication is provided from the radio layers to the application layers to indicate that the mobile communication device3should make use of legacy mechanisms to receive the service via unicast. The application layer in the mobile communication device3that receives the MBMS service via unicast can indicate receipt to the radio layers of the mobile communication device3so that the mobile communication device3can be counted for the MBMS services of interest. Then, when broadcast is available, the radio layers of the mobile communication device3indicate accordingly to the application layer, which can then deactivate delivery of the MBMS service via unicast using a NAS EPS bearer context deactivation procedure requested by the UE. The UE centric approach provides benefits in terms of reduced impact of the implementation on the network, and provides improved backwards compatibility with legacy systems. Other Modifications and Alternatives A number of detailed embodiments and variations have been described above. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, a number of modifications and alternatives can be made to the above embodiments and variations whilst still benefiting from the inventions embodied therein. It will be appreciated that although many of the logical/functional entities of the communication system architectures1-1and1-2are described as physically separate entities, two or more of the entities may be combined into a single entity. For example, if the MCE7is controlling one base station, the MCE7may be provided as part of the base station5in which case the M2 interface will be an internal logical interface within the base station5. However, generally, as the MCE7controls more than one base station, the M2 Interface will still be visible (to the other base stations). Similarly, some or all of the functionality of a single entity may be provided as physically separate entities. For example, the SGW and PDN-GWs need not be combined and may be provided separately. It will be appreciated that althoughFIG.20shows a NULL Non Access Stratum (NAS) message being incorporated into the RRC Connection Setup Complete message the NAS message need not be a NULL message but may be modified to any suitable value because the presence of the MBMS services list is sufficient to indicate that the initiation of the active connection is for the purposes of counting. It will be appreciated that although in the above embodiments the information identifying the number of interested mobile communication devices is advantageously provided as a list of information identifying each interested device. The information may be provided as a value (e.g. a cumulative total) representing the number of interested mobile communication devices counted in the counting procedure. In the above embodiments, a mobile telephone based telecommunications system was described. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the signalling techniques described in the present application can be employed in other communications system. Other communications nodes or devices may include user devices such as, for example, personal digital assistants, laptop computers, web browsers, etc. It will be appreciated that whilst, in the above embodiments information is provided in the MBMS Session Start Request for letting the MCE7know that counting of interested mobile communication devices3is required before deciding to deliver an MBMS service using broadcast/multicast transmission, the information could be provided by other means. For example, the information could be provided in advance, by the network operator, using OAM (Operation, Administration and Maintenance) signalling to pre-configure the MCE7to perform counting for all or specific MBMS services. Moreover, it will be appreciated that the indication, to the mobile communication devices3, that counting for a particular MBMS service is required may be provided to each mobile communication device3via dedicated Radio Resource Control (RRC) signalling from the base station5that serves it. In the embodiments described above, the various entities illustrated inFIGS.3to9are described as having each including transceiver circuitry. Typically, this circuitry will be formed by dedicated hardware circuits. However, in some embodiments, part of the transceiver circuitry may be implemented as software ran by the corresponding controller. In the above embodiments, a number of software modules were described. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the software modules may be provided in compiled or un-compiled form and may be supplied to any of the various entities illustrated inFIGS.3to9, as a signal over a computer network, or on a recording medium. Further, the functionality performed by part or all of this software may be performed using one or more dedicated hardware circuits. However, the use of software modules is preferred as it facilitates the updating of the various entities in order to update their functionalities. Various other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and will not be described in further detail here. This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from United Kingdom patent application No. 1018855.5, filed on Nov. 8, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference | 65,169 |
11943790 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The configuration, operation, and other features of the present disclosure will readily be understood with embodiments of the present disclosure described with reference to the attached drawings. Embodiments of the present disclosure as set forth herein are examples in which the technical features of the present disclosure are applied to a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) system. While embodiments of the present disclosure are described in the context of long term evolution (LTE) and LTE-advanced (LTE-A) systems, they are purely exemplary. Therefore, the embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable to any other communication system as long as the above definitions are valid for the communication system. The term, Base Station (BS) may be used to cover the meanings of terms including remote radio head (RRH), evolved Node B (eNB or eNode B), transmission point (TP), reception point (RP), relay, and so on. The 3GPP communication standards define downlink (DL) physical channels corresponding to resource elements (REs) carrying information originated from a higher layer, and DL physical signals which are used in the physical layer and correspond to REs which do not carry information originated from a higher layer. For example, physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical broadcast channel (PBCH), physical multicast channel (PMCH), physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH) are defined as DL physical channels, and reference signals (RSs) and synchronization signals (SSs) are defined as DL physical signals. An RS, also called a pilot signal, is a signal with a predefined special waveform known to both a gNode B (gNB) and a UE. For example, cell specific RS, UE-specific RS (UE-RS), positioning RS (PRS), and channel state information RS (CSI-RS) are defined as DL RSs. The 3GPP LTE/LTE-A standards define uplink (UL) physical channels corresponding to REs carrying information originated from a higher layer, and UL physical signals which are used in the physical layer and correspond to REs which do not carry information originated from a higher layer. For example, physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and physical random access channel (PRACH) are defined as UL physical channels, and a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) for a UL control/data signal, and a sounding reference signal (SRS) used for UL channel measurement are defined as UL physical signals. In the present disclosure, the PDCCH/PCFICH/PHICH/PDSCH refers to a set of time-frequency resources or a set of REs, which carry downlink control information (DCI)/a control format indicator (CFI)/a DL acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK)/DL data. Further, the PUCCH/PUSCH/PRACH refers to a set of time-frequency resources or a set of REs, which carry UL control information (UCI)/UL data/a random access signal. In the present disclosure, particularly a time-frequency resource or an RE which is allocated to or belongs to the PDCCH/PCFICH/PHICH/PDSCH/PUCCH/PUSCH/PRACH is referred to as a PDCCH RE/PCFICH RE/PHICH RE/PDSCH RE/PUCCH RE/PUSCH RE/PRACH RE or a PDCCH resource/PCFICH resource/PHICH resource/PDSCH resource/PUCCH resource/PUSCH resource/PRACH resource. Hereinbelow, if it is said that a UE transmits a PUCCH/PUSCH/PRACH, this means that UCI/UL data/a random access signal is transmitted on or through the PUCCH/PUSCH/PRACH. Further, if it is said that a gNB transmits a PDCCH/PCFICH/PHICH/PDSCH, this means that DCI/control information is transmitted on or through the PDCCH/PCFICH/PHICH/PDSCH. Hereinbelow, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol/carrier/subcarrier/RE to which a CRS/DMRS/CSI-RS/SRS/UE-RS is allocated to or for which the CRS/DMRS/CSI-RS/SRS/UE-RS is configured is referred to as a CRS/DMRS/CSI-RS/SRS/UE-RS symbol/carrier/subcarrier/RE. For example, an OFDM symbol to which a tracking RS (TRS) is allocated or for which the TRS is configured is referred to as a TRS symbol, a subcarrier to which a TRS is allocated or for which the TRS is configured is referred to as a TRS subcarrier, and an RE to which a TRS is allocated or for which the TRS is configured is referred to as a TRS RE. Further, a subframe configured to transmit a TRS is referred to as a TRS subframe. Further, a subframe carrying a broadcast signal is referred to as a broadcast subframe or a PBCH subframe, and a subframe carrying a synchronization signal (SS) (e.g., a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and/or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS)) is referred to as an SS subframe or a PSS/SSS subframe. An OFDM symbol/subcarrier/RE to which a PSS/SSS is allocated or for which the PSS/SSS is configured is referred to as a PSS/SSS symbol/subcarrier/RE. In the present disclosure, a CRS port, a UE-RS port, a CSI-RS port, and a TRS port refer to an antenna port configured to transmit a CRS, an antenna port configured to transmit a UE-RS, an antenna port configured to transmit a CSI-RS, and an antenna port configured to transmit a TRS, respectively. Antenna port configured to transmit CRSs may be distinguished from each other by the positions of REs occupied by the CRSs according to CRS ports, antenna ports configured to transmit UE-RSs may be distinguished from each other by the positions of REs occupied by the UE-RSs according to UE-RS ports, and antenna ports configured to transmit CSI-RSs may be distinguished from each other by the positions of REs occupied by the CSI-RSs according to CSI-RS ports. Therefore, the term CRS/UE-RS/CSI-RS/TRS port is also used to refer to a pattern of REs occupied by a CRS/UE-RS/CSI-RS/TRS in a predetermined resource area. FIG.1illustrates control-plane and user-plane protocol stacks in a radio interface protocol architecture conforming to a 3GPP wireless access network standard between a user equipment (UE) and an evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN). The control plane is a path in which the UE and the E-UTRAN transmit control messages to manage calls, and the user plane is a path in which data generated from an application layer, for example, voice data or Internet packet data is transmitted. A physical (PHY) layer at layer 1 (L1) provides information transfer service to its higher layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer. The PHY layer is connected to the MAC layer via transport channels. The transport channels deliver data between the MAC layer and the PHY layer. Data is transmitted on physical channels between the PHY layers of a transmitter and a receiver. The physical channels use time and frequency as radio resources. Specifically, the physical channels are modulated in orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) for downlink (DL) and in single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) for uplink (UL). The MAC layer at layer 2 (L2) provides service to its higher layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer via logical channels. The RLC layer at L2 supports reliable data transmission. RLC functionality may be implemented in a function block of the MAC layer. A packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer at L2 performs header compression to reduce the amount of unnecessary control information and thus efficiently transmit Internet protocol (IP) packets such as IP version 4 (IPv4) or IP version 6 (IPv6) packets via an air interface having a narrow bandwidth. A radio resource control (RRC) layer at the lowest part of layer 3 (or L3) is defined only on the control plane. The RRC layer controls logical channels, transport channels, and physical channels in relation to configuration, reconfiguration, and release of radio bearers. A radio bearer refers to a service provided at L2, for data transmission between the UE and the E-UTRAN. For this purpose, the RRC layers of the UE and the E-UTRAN exchange RRC messages with each other. If an RRC connection is established between the UE and the E-UTRAN, the UE is in RRC Connected mode and otherwise, the UE is in RRC Idle mode. A Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer above the RRC layer performs functions including session management and mobility management. DL transport channels used to deliver data from the E-UTRAN to UEs include a broadcast channel (BCH) carrying system information, a paging channel (PCH) carrying a paging message, and a shared channel (SCH) carrying user traffic or a control message. DL multicast traffic or control messages or DL broadcast traffic or control messages may be transmitted on a DL SCH or a separately defined DL multicast channel (MCH). UL transport channels used to deliver data from a UE to the E-UTRAN include a random access channel (RACH) carrying an initial control message and a UL SCH carrying user traffic or a control message. Logical channels that are defined above transport channels and mapped to the transport channels include a broadcast control channel (BCCH), a paging control channel (PCCH), a Common Control Channel (CCCH), a multicast control channel (MCCH), a multicast traffic channel (MTCH), etc. FIG.2illustrates physical channels and a general method for transmitting signals on the physical channels in the 3GPP system. Referring toFIG.2, when a UE is powered on or enters a new cell, the UE performs initial cell search (S201). The initial cell search involves acquisition of synchronization to an eNB. Specifically, the UE synchronizes its timing to the eNB and acquires a cell identifier (ID) and other information by receiving a primary synchronization channel (P-SCH) and a secondary synchronization channel (S-SCH) from the eNB. Then the UE may acquire information broadcast in the cell by receiving a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) from the eNB. During the initial cell search, the UE may monitor a DL channel state by receiving a DownLink reference signal (DL RS). After the initial cell search, the UE may acquire detailed system information by receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) based on information included in the PDCCH (S202). If the UE initially accesses the eNB or has no radio resources for signal transmission to the eNB, the UE may perform a random access procedure with the eNB (S203to S206). In the random access procedure, the UE may transmit a predetermined sequence as a preamble on a physical random access channel (PRACH) (S203and S205) and may receive a response message to the preamble on a PDCCH and a PDSCH associated with the PDCCH (S204and S206). In the case of a contention-based RACH, the UE may additionally perform a contention resolution procedure. After the above procedure, the UE may receive a PDCCH and/or a PDSCH from the eNB (S207) and transmit a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and/or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) to the eNB (S208), which is a general DL and UL signal transmission procedure. Particularly, the UE receives downlink control information (DCI) on a PDCCH. Herein, the DCI includes control information such as resource allocation information for the UE. Different DCI formats are defined according to different usages of DCI. Control information that the UE transmits to the eNB on the UL or receives from the eNB on the DL includes a DL/UL acknowledgment/negative acknowledgment (ACK/NACK) signal, a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix index (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), etc. In the 3GPP LTE system, the UE may transmit control information such as a CQI, a PMI, an RI, etc. on a PUSCH and/or a PUCCH. FIG.3is a diagram illustrating a radio frame structure for transmitting a synchronization signal (SS) in LTE system. In particular,FIG.3illustrates a radio frame structure for transmitting a synchronization signal and PBCH in frequency division duplex (FDD).FIG.3(a)shows positions at which the SS and the PBCH are transmitted in a radio frame configured by a normal cyclic prefix (CP) andFIG.3(b)shows positions at which the SS and the PBCH are transmitted in a radio frame configured by an extended CP. An SS will be described in more detail with reference toFIG.3. An SS is categorized into a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS). The PSS is used to acquire time-domain synchronization such as OFDM symbol synchronization, slot synchronization, etc. and/or frequency-domain synchronization. And, the SSS is used to acquire frame synchronization, a cell group ID, and/or a CP configuration of a cell (i.e. information indicating whether to a normal CP or an extended is used). Referring toFIG.4, a PSS and an SSS are transmitted through two OFDM symbols in each radio frame. Particularly, the SS is transmitted in first slot in each of subframe 0 and subframe 5 in consideration of a GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) frame length of 4.6 ms for facilitation of inter-radio access technology (inter-RAT) measurement. Especially, the PSS is transmitted in a last OFDM symbol in each of the first slot of subframe 0 and the first slot of subframe 5. And, the SSS is transmitted in a second to last OFDM symbol in each of the first slot of subframe 0 and the first slot of subframe 5. Boundaries of a corresponding radio frame may be detected through the SSS. The PSS is transmitted in the last OFDM symbol of the corresponding slot and the SSS is transmitted in the OFDM symbol immediately before the OFDM symbol in which the PSS is transmitted. According to a transmission diversity scheme for the SS, only a single antenna port is used. However, the transmission diversity scheme for the SS standards is not separately defined in the current standard. Referring toFIG.3, by detecting the PSS, a UE may know that a corresponding subframe is one of subframe 0 and subframe 5 since the PSS is transmitted every 5 ms but the UE cannot know whether the subframe is subframe 0 or subframe 5. That is, frame synchronization cannot be obtained only from the PSS. The UE detects the boundaries of the radio frame in a manner of detecting an SSS which is transmitted twice in one radio frame with different sequences. Having demodulated a DL signal by performing a cell search procedure using the PSS/SSS and determined time and frequency parameters necessary to perform UL signal transmission at an accurate time, a UE can communicate with an eNB only after obtaining system information necessary for a system configuration of the UE from the eNB. The system information is configured with a master information block (MIB) and system information blocks (SIBs). Each SIB includes a set of functionally related parameters and is categorized into an MIB, SIB Type 1 (SIB1), SIB Type 2 (SIB2), and SIB3 to SIB8 according to the included parameters. The MIB includes most frequently transmitted parameters which are essential for a UE to initially access a network served by an eNB. The UE may receive the MIB through a broadcast channel (e.g. a PBCH). The MIB includes a downlink system bandwidth (DL BW), a PHICH configuration, and a system frame number (SFN). Thus, the UE can explicitly know information on the DL BW, SFN, and PHICH configuration by receiving the PBCH. On the other hand, the UE may implicitly know information on the number of transmission antenna ports of the eNB. The information on the number of the transmission antennas of the eNB is implicitly signaled by masking (e.g. XOR operation) a sequence corresponding to the number of the transmission antennas to 16-bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC) used in detecting an error of the PBCH. The SIB1 includes not only information on time-domain scheduling for other SIBs but also parameters necessary to determine whether a specific cell is suitable in cell selection. The UE receives the SIB1 via broadcast signaling or dedicated signaling. A DL carrier frequency and a corresponding system bandwidth can be obtained by MIB carried by PBCH. A UL carrier frequency and a corresponding system bandwidth can be obtained through system information corresponding to a DL signal. Having received the MIB, if there is no valid system information stored in a corresponding cell, a UE applies a value of a DL BW included in the MIB to a UL bandwidth until system information block type 2 (SystemInformationBlockType2, SIB2) is received. For example, if the UE obtains the SIB2, the UE is able to identify the entire UL system bandwidth capable of being used for UL transmission through UL-carrier frequency and UL-bandwidth information included in the SIB2. In the frequency domain, PSS/SSS and PBCH are transmitted irrespective of an actual system bandwidth in total 6 RBs, i.e., 3 RBs in the left side and 3 RBs in the right side with reference to a DC subcarrier within a corresponding OFDM symbol. In other words, the PSS/SSS and the PBCH are transmitted only in 72 subcarriers. Therefore, a UE is configured to detect or decode the SS and the PBCH irrespective of a downlink transmission bandwidth configured for the UE. Having completed the initial cell search, the UE can perform a random access procedure to complete the accessing the eNB. To this end, the UE transmits a preamble via PRACH (physical random access channel) and can receive a response message via PDCCH and PDSCH in response to the preamble. In case of contention based random access, it may transmit additional PRACH and perform a contention resolution procedure such as PDCCH and PDSCH corresponding to the PDCCH. Having performed the abovementioned procedure, the UE can perform PDCCH/PDSCH reception and PUSCH/PUCCH transmission as a general UL/DL signal transmission procedure. The random access procedure is also referred to as a random access channel (RACH) procedure. The random access procedure is used for various usages including initial access, UL synchronization adjustment, resource allocation, handover, and the like. The random access procedure is categorized into a contention-based procedure and a dedicated (i.e., non-contention-based) procedure. In general, the contention-based random access procedure is used for performing initial access. On the other hand, the dedicated random access procedure is restrictively used for performing handover, and the like. When the contention-based random access procedure is performed, a UE randomly selects a RACH preamble sequence. Hence, a plurality of UEs can transmit the same RACH preamble sequence at the same time. As a result, a contention resolution procedure is required thereafter. On the contrary, when the dedicated random access procedure is performed, the UE uses an RACH preamble sequence dedicatedly allocated to the UE by an eNB. Hence, the UE can perform the random access procedure without a collision with a different UE. The contention-based random access procedure includes 4 steps described in the following. Messages transmitted via the 4 steps can be respectively referred to as message (Msg) 1 to 4 in the present invention.Step 1: RACH preamble (via PRACH) (UE to eNB)Step 2: Random access response (RAR) (via PDCCH and PDSCH (eNB to)Step 3: Layer 2/Layer 3 message (via PUSCH) (UE to eNB)Step 4: Contention resolution message (eNB to UE) On the other hand, the dedicated random access procedure includes 3 steps described in the following. Messages transmitted via the 3 steps can be respectively referred to as message (Msg) 0 to 2 in the present invention. It may also perform uplink transmission (i.e., step 3) corresponding to PAR as a part of the ransom access procedure. The dedicated random access procedure can be triggered using PDCCH (hereinafter, PDCCH order) which is used for an eNB to indicate transmission of an RACH preamble.Step 0: RACH preamble assignment via dedicated signaling (eNB to UE)Step 1: RACH preamble (via PRACH) (UE to eNB)Step 2: Random access response (RAR) (via PDCCH and PDSCH) (eNB to UE) After the RACH preamble is transmitted, the UE attempts to receive a random access response (RAR) in a preconfigured time window. Specifically, the UE attempts to detect PDCCH (hereinafter, RA-RNTI PDCCH) (e.g., a CRC masked with RA-RNTI in PDCCH) having RA-RNTI (random access RNTI) in a time window. If the RA-RNTI PDCCH is detected, the UE checks whether or not there is a RAR for the UE in PDSCH corresponding to the RA-RNTI PDCCH. The RAR includes timing advance (TA) information indicating timing offset information for UL synchronization, UL resource allocation information (UL grant information), a temporary UE identifier (e.g., temporary cell-RNTI, TC-RNTI), and the like. The UE can perform UL transmission (e.g., message3) according to the resource allocation information and the TA value included in the RAR. HARQ is applied to UL transmission corresponding to the RAR. In particular, the UE can receive reception response information (e.g., PHICH) corresponding to the message3after the message3is transmitted. A random access preamble (i.e. RACH preamble) consists of a cyclic prefix of a length of TCP and a sequence part of a length of TSEQ. The TCP and the TSEQ depend on a frame structure and a random access configuration. A preamble format is controlled by higher layer. The RACH preamble is transmitted in a UL subframe. Transmission of the random access preamble is restricted to a specific time resource and a frequency resource. The resources are referred to as PRACH resources. In order to match an index 0 with a PRB and a subframe of a lower number in a radio frame, the PRACH resources are numbered in an ascending order of PRBs in subframe numbers in the radio frame and frequency domain. Random access resources are defined according to a PRACH configuration index (refer to 3GPP TS 36.211 standard document). The RACH configuration index is provided by a higher layer signal (transmitted by an eNB). In the LTE/LTE-A system, a subcarrier spacing for a random access preamble (i.e., RACH preamble) is regulated by 1.25 kHz and 7.5 kHz for preamble formats 0 to 3 and a preamble format 4, respectively (refer to 3GPP TS 36.211). <OFDM Numerology> A New RAT system adopts an OFDM transmission scheme or a transmission scheme similar to the OFDM transmission scheme. The New RAT system may use different OFDM parameters from LTE OFDM parameters. Or the New RAT system may follow the numerology of legacy LTE/LTE-A but have a larger system bandwidth (e.g., 100 MHz). Or one cell may support a plurality of numerologies. That is, UEs operating with different numerologies may co-exist within one cell. <Subframe Structure> In the 3GPP LTE/LTE-A system, a radio frame is 10 ms (307200Ts) long, including 10 equal-size subframes (SFs). The 10 SFs of one radio frame may be assigned numbers. Tsrepresents a sampling time and is expressed as Ts=1/(2048*15 kHz). Each SF is 1 ms, including two slots. The 20 slots of one radio frame may be sequentially numbered from 0 to 19. Each slot has a length of 0.5 ms. A time taken to transmit one SF is defined as a transmission time interval (TTI). A time resource may be distinguished by a radio frame number (or radio frame index), an SF number (or SF index), a slot number (or slot index), and so on. A TTI refers to an interval in which data may be scheduled. In the current LTE/LTE-A system, for example, there is a UL grant or DL grant transmission opportunity every 1 ms, without a plurality of UL/DL grant opportunities for a shorter time than 1 ms. Accordingly, a TTI is 1 ms in the legacy LTE/LTE-A system. FIG.4illustrates an exemplary slot structure available in the new radio access technology (NR). To minimize a data transmission delay, a slot structure in which a control channel and a data channel are multiplexed in time division multiplexing (TDM) is considered in 5thgeneration (5G) NR. InFIG.4, an area marked with slanted lines represents a transmission region of a DL control channel (e.g., PDCCH) carrying DCI, and a black part represents a transmission region of a UL control channel (e.g., PUCCH) carrying UCI. DCI is control information that a gNB transmits to a UE and may include information about a cell configuration that a UE should know, DL-specific information such as DL scheduling, and UL-specific information such as a UL grant. Further, UCI is control information that a UE transmits to a gNB. The UCI may include an HARQ ACK/NACK report for DL data, a CSI report for a DL channel state, a scheduling request (SR), and so on. InFIG.4, symbols with symbol index 1 to symbol index 12 may be used for transmission of a physical channel (e.g., PDSCH) carrying DL data, and also for transmission of a physical channel (e.g., PUSCH) carrying UL data. According to the slot structure illustrated inFIG.2, as DL transmission and UL transmission take place sequentially in one slot, transmission/reception of DL data and reception/transmission of a UL ACK/NACK for the DL data may be performed in the one slot. As a consequence, when an error is generated during data transmission, a time taken for a data retransmission may be reduced, thereby minimizing the delay of a final data transmission. In this slot structure, a time gap is required to allow a gNB and a UE to switch from a transmission mode to a reception mode or from the reception mode to the transmission mode. For the switching between the transmission mode and the reception mode, some OFDM symbol corresponding to a DL-to-UL switching time is configured as a guard period (GP) in the slot structure. In the legacy LTE/LTE-A system, a DL control channel is multiplexed with a data channel in TDM, and a control channel, PDCCH is transmitted distributed across a total system band. In NR, however, it is expected that the bandwidth of one system will be at least about 100 MHz, which makes it inviable to transmit a control channel across a total band. If a UE monitors the total band to receive a DL control channel, for data transmission/reception, this may increase the battery consumption of the UE and decrease efficiency. Therefore, a DL control channel may be transmitted localized or distributed in some frequency band within a system band, that is, a channel band in the present disclosure. In the NR system, a basic transmission unit is a slot. A slot duration includes 14 symbols each having a normal cyclic prefix (CP), or 12 symbols each having an extended CP. Further, a slot is scaled in time by a function of a used subcarrier spacing. That is, as the subcarrier spacing increases, the length of a slot decreases. For example, given 14 symbols per slot, if the number of slots in a 10-ms frame is 10 for a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, the number of slots is 20 for a subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz, and 40 for a subcarrier spacing of 60 kHz. As the subcarrier spacing increases, the length of an OFDM symbol decreases. The number of OFDM symbols per slot is different depending on the normal CP or the extended CP and does not change according to a subcarrier spacing. The basic time unit for LTE, Tsis defined as 1/(15000*2048) seconds, in consideration of the basic 15-kHz subcarrier spacing and a maximum FFT size of 2048. Tsis also a sampling time for the 15-kHz subcarrier spacing. In the NR system, many other subcarrier spacings than 15 kHz are available, and since a subcarrier spacing is inversely proportional to a corresponding time length, an actual sampling time Tscorresponding to subcarrier spacings larger than 15 kHz becomes shorter than 1/(15000*2048) seconds. For example, the actual sampling time for the subcarrier spacings of 30 kHz, 60 kHz, and 120 kHz may be 1/(2*15000*2048) seconds, 1/(4*15000*2048) seconds, and 1/(8*15000*2048) seconds, respectively. <Analog Beamforming> For a 5G mobile communication system under discussion, a technique of using an ultra-high frequency band, that is, a millimeter frequency band at or above 6 GHz is considered in order to transmit data to a plurality of users at a high transmission rate in a wide frequency band. The 3GPP calls this technique NR, and thus a 5G mobile communication system will be referred to as an NR system in the present disclosure. However, the millimeter frequency band has the frequency property that a signal is attenuated too rapidly according to a distance due to the use of too high a frequency band. Accordingly, the NR system using a frequency band at or above at least 6 GHz employs a narrow beam transmission scheme in which a signal is transmitted with concentrated energy in a specific direction, not omni-directionally, to thereby compensate for the rapid propagation attenuation and thus overcome the decrease of coverage caused by the rapid propagation attenuation. However, if a service is provided by using only one narrow beam, the service coverage of one gNB becomes narrow, and thus the gNB provides a service in a wideband by collecting a plurality of narrow beams. As a wavelength becomes short in the millimeter frequency band, that is, millimeter wave (mmW) band, it is possible to install a plurality of antenna elements in the same area. For example, a total of 100 antenna elements may be installed at (wavelength) intervals of 0.5 lambda in a 30-GHz band with a wavelength of about 1 cm in a two-dimensional (2D) array on a 5 by 5 cm panel. Therefore, it is considered to increase coverage or throughput by increasing a beamforming gain through use of a plurality of antenna elements in mmW. To form a narrow beam in the millimeter frequency band, a beamforming scheme is mainly considered, in which a gNB or a UE transmits the same signals with appropriate phase differences through multiple antennas, to thereby increase energy only in a specific direction. Such beamforming schemes include digital beamforming for generating a phase difference between digital baseband signals, analog beamforming for generating a phase difference between modulated analog signals by using a time delay (i.e., a cyclic shift), and hybrid beamforming using both digital beamforming and analog beamforming. If a TXRU is provided per antenna element to enable control of transmission power and a phase per antenna, independent beamforming per frequency resource is possible. However, installation of TXRUs for all of about 100 antenna elements is not effective in terms of cost. That is, to compensate for rapid propagation attenuation in the millimeter frequency band, multiple antennas should be used, and digital beamforming requires as many RF components (e.g., digital to analog converters (DACs), mixers, power amplifiers, and linear amplifiers) as the number of antennas. Accordingly, implementation of digital beamforming in the millimeter frequency band faces the problem of increased cost of communication devices. Therefore, in the case where a large number of antennas are required as in the millimeter frequency band, analog beamforming or hybrid beamforming is considered. In analog beamforming, a plurality of antenna elements are mapped to one TXRU, and the direction of a beam is controlled by an analog phase shifter. A shortcoming with this analog beamforming scheme is that frequency selective beamforming (BF) cannot be provided because only one beam direction can be produced in a total band. Hybrid BF stands between digital BF and analog BF, in which B TXRUs fewer than Q antenna elements are used. In hybrid BF, the directions of beams transmittable at the same time is limited to or below B although the number of beam directions is different according to connections between B TXRUs and Q antenna elements. FIG.5is a view illustrating exemplary connection schemes between TXRUs and antenna elements. (a) ofFIG.5illustrates connection between a TXRU and a sub-array. In this case, an antenna element is connected only to one TXRU. In contrast, (b) ofFIG.5illustrates connection between a TXRU and all antenna elements. In this case, an antenna element is connected to all TXRUs. InFIG.5, W represents a phase vector subjected to multiplication in an analog phase shifter. That is, a direction of analog beamforming is determined by W. Herein, CSI-RS antenna ports may be mapped to TXRUs in a one-to-one or one-to-many correspondence. As mentioned before, since a digital baseband signal to be transmitted or a received digital baseband signal is subjected to a signal process in digital beamforming, a signal may be transmitted or received in or from a plurality of directions on multiple beams. In contrast, in analog beamforming, an analog signal to be transmitted or a received analog signal is subjected to beamforming in a modulated state. Thus, signals cannot be transmitted or received simultaneously in or from a plurality of directions beyond the coverage of one beam. A gNB generally communicates with multiple users at the same time, relying on the wideband transmission or multiple antenna property. If the gNB uses analog BF or hybrid BF and forms an analog beam in one beam direction, the gNB has no way other than to communicate only with users covered in the same analog beam direction in view of the nature of analog BF. A later-described RACH resource allocation and gNB resource utilization scheme according to the present invention is proposed by reflecting limitations caused by the nature of analog BF or hybrid BF. <Hybrid Analog Beamforming> FIG.6abstractly illustrates a hybrid beamforming structure in terms of TXRUs and physical antennas. For the case where multiple antennas are used, hybrid BF with digital BF and analog BF in combination has emerged. Analog BF (or RF BF) is an operation of performing precoding (or combining) in an RF unit. Due to precoding (combining) in each of a baseband unit and an RF unit, hybrid BF offers the benefit of performance close to the performance of digital BF, while reducing the number of RF chains and the number of DACs (or analog to digital converters (ADCs). For the convenience' sake, a hybrid BF structure may be represented by N TXRUs and M physical antennas. Digital BF for L data layers to be transmitted by a transmission end may be represented as an N-by-N matrix, and then N converted digital signals are converted to analog signals through TXRUs and subjected to analog BF represented as an M-by-N matrix. InFIG.6, the number of digital beams is L, and the number of analog beams is N. Further, it is considered in the NR system that a gNB is configured to change analog BF on a symbol basis so as to more efficiently support BF for a UE located in a specific area. Further, when one antenna panel is defined by N TXRUs and M RF antennas, introduction of a plurality of antenna panels to which independent hybrid BF is applicable is also considered. As such, in the case where a gNB uses a plurality of analog beams, a different analog beam may be preferred for signal reception at each UE. Therefore, a beam sweeping operation is under consideration, in which for at least an SS, system information, and paging, a gNB changes a plurality of analog beams on a symbol basis in a specific slot or SF to allow all UEs to have reception opportunities. FIG.7is a view illustrating beam sweeping for an SS and system information during DL transmission. InFIG.7, physical resources or a physical channel which broadcasts system information of the New RAT system is referred to as an xPBCH. Analog beams from different antenna panels may be transmitted simultaneously in one symbol, and introduction of a beam reference signal (BRS) transmitted for a single analog beam corresponding to a specific antenna panel as illustrated inFIG.7is under discussion in order to measure a channel per analog beam. BRSs may be defined for a plurality of antenna ports, and each antenna port of the BRSs may correspond to a single analog beam. Unlike the BRSs, the SS or the xPBCH may be transmitted for all analog beams included in an analog beam group so that any UE may receive the SS or the xPBCH successfully. FIG.8is a view illustrating an exemplary cell in the NR system. Referring toFIG.8, compared to a wireless communication system such as legacy LTE in which one eNB forms one cell, configuration of one cell by a plurality of TRPs is under discussion in the NR system. If a plurality of TRPs form one cell, even though a TRP serving a UE is changed, seamless communication is advantageously possible, thereby facilitating mobility management for UEs. Compared to the LTE/LTE-A system in which a PSS/SSS is transmitted omni-directionally, a method for transmitting a signal such as a PSS/SSS/PBCH through BF performed by sequentially switching a beam direction to all directions at a gNB applying mmWave is considered. The signal transmission/reception performed by switching a beam direction is referred to as beam sweeping or beam scanning. In the present disclosure, “beam sweeping” is a behavior of a transmission side, and “beam scanning” is a behavior of a reception side. For example, if up to N beam directions are available to the gNB, the gNB transmits a signal such as a PSS/SSS/PBCH in the N beam directions. That is, the gNB transmits an SS such as the PSS/SSS/PBCH in each direction by sweeping a beam in directions available to or supported by the gNB. Or if the gNB is capable of forming N beams, the beams may be grouped, and the PSS/SSS/PBCH may be transmitted/received on a group basis. One beam group includes one or more beams. Signals such as the PSS/SSS/PBCH transmitted in the same direction may be defined as one SS block (SSB), and a plurality of SSBs may exist in one cell. If a plurality of SSBs exist, an SSB index may be used to identify each SSB. For example, if the PSS/SSS/PBCH is transmitted in 10 beam directions in one system, the PSS/SSS/PBCH transmitted in the same direction may form an SSB, and it may be understood that 10 SSBs exist in the system. In the present disclosure, a beam index may be interpreted as an SSB index. Hereinafter, a description will be given of a method of generating a synchronization signal and a method of scrambling a PBCH included in a synchronization signal according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Before describing the present disclosure in detail, it should be noted that each of the ‘upper bit’ and ‘uppermost bit’ mentioned in the present specification may mean a left bit of an information bit string where the highest order number is located at the far right end. That is, it could be interpreted as the Least Significant Bit (LBS) corresponding to a unit value for determining whether a value indicated by each information bit is either an even or odd integer number in an information bit string where the highest order number is located at the far left end. Similarly, each of the ‘lower bit’ and ‘lowermost bit’ may mean a right bit of an information bit string where the highest order number is located at the far right end. In other words, it could be interpreted as the Most Significant Bit (MSB) of an information bit string where the highest order number is located at the far left end. For example, the following statement is included in the present specification: “total 10 bits of SFN information can be configured by obtaining upper N bits of an SFN (e.g., S0, S1, and S2) and obtaining the rest of the SFN information, i.e., the remaining (10-N) bits from PBCH contents.” More specifically, in the case of an information bit string of which bits are arranged such that the highest order number is located at the far right end, for example, in the case of the following information bit string: (S0 S1 S2 S3 . . . S9), the ‘upper N bits’ mean left N bits (e.g., S0, S1, and S2), and the ‘remaining (10-N) bits’ mean right (10-N) bits (e.g., S3 to S9). This can be represented using the LSB and MSB. For example, assuming that an information bit string is configured as follows: (S9 S8 S7 . . . S1 S0), when the ‘upper N bits’ are expressed by LSB N bits, the information bit string could be represented as (S2 S1 S0). And, when the ‘remaining (10-N) bits’ are expressed by MSB (10-N) bits, the bit string could be represented as (S9 S8 S7 . . . S3). 1. System Frame Number, Half Frame Boundary Lower N bits of SFN information are transmitted via a PBCH payload, and upper M bits are transmitted as a scrambling sequence. Meanwhile, the most significant 1 bit among the upper M bits of the SFN information may be transmitted by changing the time/frequency location of a PBCH DMRS, NR-SSS, or SS block. In addition, information on the boundary of a half radio frame (5 ms) may also be transmitted by changing the time/frequency location of the PBCH DMRS, NR-SSS, or SS block Herein, each of the ‘upper bit’ and ‘uppermost bit’ means a left bit of an information bit string where the highest order number is located at the far right end. That is, it could be interpreted as the Least Significant Bit (LBS) corresponding to a unit value for determining whether an integer is either even or odd in an information bit string where the highest order number is located at the far left end. In addition, each of the ‘lower bit’ and ‘lowermost bit’ may mean a right bit of an information bit string where the highest order number is located at the far right end. It could be interpreted as the Most Significant Bit (MSB) of an information bit string where the highest order number is located at the far left end. Embodiment 1-1 If contents transmitted on an NR-PBCH included in a specific SS block vary every 80 ms, the NR-PBCH contents includes information that does not change within 80 ms. For example, during a PBCH TTI (80 ms), the same SFN information is included in the PBCH contents. To this end, lower 7-bit information of 10-bit SFN information may be included in the PBCH contents, and upper 3-bit information for identifying a frame boundary (10 ms) may be included in a PBCH scrambling sequence or the like. Embodiment 1-2 If contents transmitted on an NR-PBCH included in a specific SS block vary every 80 ms, the NR-PBCH contents includes information that does not change within 80 ms. For example, during a PBCH TTI (80 ms), the same SFN information is included in the PBCH contents. To this end, lower 7-bit information of 10-bit SFN information may be included in the PBCH contents, and lower 2-bit information of upper 3-bit information for identifying a frame boundary (10 ms) may be included in a PBCH scrambling sequence, and the most significant 1-bit information is transmitted using a signal or channel different from that used for PBCH channel coding including PBCH contents, a CRC, a scrambling sequence, etc. For example, a PBCH DMRS may be used as the signal different from that used for the PBCH channel coding. And, a DMRS sequence, DMRS RE location, change in DMRS sequence to RE mapping, change in symbol locations in an SS block, change in the frequency location of an SS block, etc. may be used as information. Specifically, when the DMRS sequence is used, a method of using a phase difference between two OFDM symbols in which the DMRS is transmitted, for example, orthogonal code cover may be considered. In addition, when the DMRS sequence is used, a method of changing an initial value may also be considered. In detail, if the initial value of one m-sequence of two m-sequences used as a Gold sequence is fixed and the initial value of the other m-sequence is changed using a cell-ID and other information, a method of changing an initial value by adding information to be transmitted to the m-sequence having the fixed initial value may be introduced. More specifically, a method of changing two initial values on a 10 ms basis during a period of 20 ms may be considered by introducing an additional initial value (e.g., [0 1 0 . . . 0]) different from a previously fixed initial value (e.g., [1 0 0 . . . 0]) based on 1-bit information indicating a boundary of 10 ms. As another method, a method of using the initial value of one m-sequence as it is and adding information to be transmitted to the initial value of the other m-sequence may be considered. In addition, when the DMRS RE location is used, the V-shift method where the location of a frequency axis varies depending on information may be applied. Specifically, when transmission is performed at 0 ms and 10 ms during a period of 20 ms, the RE location is differently configured. Assuming that a DMRS is allocated every four REs, a method of performing shifting on a 2-RE basis may be considered. Moreover, a method of changing PBCH DMRS sequence to RE mapping may be applied. Specifically, a sequence is mapped from the first RE at 0 ms, but at 10 ms, a different mapping method may be applied. For example, the sequence may be mapped to the first RE in the opposite direction, the sequence may be mapped from the center RE of the first OFDM symbol, or the sequence may be mapped from the first RE of the second OFDM symbol. Further, a method of changing the order of arrangement in an SS block, i.e., PSS-PBCH-SSS-PBCH arrangement may be considered. For example, although signals are basically arranged in the following order: PBCH-PSS-SSS-PBCH, different arrangement methods may be applied at 0 and 10 ms, respectively. Additionally, a method of changing the location of an RE to which PBCH data is mapped in an SS block may be applied as well. Embodiment 1-3 1-bit information indicating a half fame boundary can be transmitted using a signal or channel different from that used for PBCH channel coding including PBCH contents, a CRC, a scrambling sequence, etc. For example, a PBCH DMRS may be used as the signal different from that used for the PBCH channel coding as described in Embodiment 1-2. In addition, a DMRS sequence, DMRS RE location, change in DMRS sequence to RE mapping, change in symbol locations in an SS block, change in the frequency location of an SS block, etc. may be used as information. In particular, this configuration may be applied when the 10 ms range is switched into the boundaries of 0 and 5 ms. In addition, similar to the method described in Embodiment 1-2, a DMRS sequence, DMRS RE location, change in DMRS sequence to RE mapping, change in symbol locations in an SS block, change in the frequency location of an SS block, etc. may be used for time change information indicating that the range of 20 ms including the half frame boundary information and the SFN most significant 1-bit information is divided into 5 ms units. This configuration may be applied when the time information is changed such that the 20 ms range is switched into the boundaries of 0, 5, 10, and 15 ms. Embodiment 1-4 In Embodiment 1-4, each of the ‘upper bit’ and ‘uppermost bit’ means a left bit of an information bit string where the highest order number is located at the far right end. It could be interpreted as the Least Significant Bit (LBS) corresponding to a unit value for determining whether an integer is either even or odd in an information bit string where the highest order number is located at the far left end. In addition, each of the ‘lower bit’ and ‘lowermost bit’ may mean a right bit of an information bit string where the highest order number is located at the far right end. It could be interpreted as the Most Significant Bit (MSB) of an information bit string where the highest order number is located at the far left end. When one PBCH is composed of a total of N REs, M REs (where M<N) are allocated for PBCH data transmission. In this case, if QPSK modulation is applied, the length of a scrambling sequence becomes 2*M. In addition, a total of L different scrambling sequences each having a length of 2*M may be created as follows. First, a long sequence with a length of L*2*M is generated, and the long sequence is divided into 2*M units. By doing so, the L sequences may be generated. As a scrambling sequence, not only a PN sequence but also a Gold sequence and an M sequence may be used. In particular, the Gold sequence with 31-length may be used. A cell ID is at least used as a value for initializing the PN sequence. In addition to the cell ID, an SS block index obtained from a PBCH DMRS may also be used. When a slot number and OFDM symbols are derived from the SS block index, the slot number/OFDM symbol numbers may be used. Moreover, half radio frame boundary information may be used as an initialization value. Further, if some bits of SFN information can be obtained from a signal or channel different from that used for channel coding including contents, scrambling sequences, etc., the corresponding SFN information may be used as the initialization value of a scrambling sequence. The length of the scrambling sequence is determined according to the number of bits transmitted through the scrambling sequence in the SFN information. For example, if 3-bit information is transmitted through the scrambling sequence, it can represent 8 states. To this end, a sequence with a total length of 8*2*M is required. Similarly, if 2-bit information is transmitted, a sequence with a total length of 2*2*M is required. A bit string including PBCH contents and a CRC is encoded using a polar code so that encoded bits with 512-length are created. The length of the encoded bits is shorter than that of the scrambling sequence. The length of the bit string may be equal to that of the scrambling sequence by repeating the 512-length encoded bits several times. Thereafter, the repeated encoded bits are multiplied with the scrambling sequence, and then QPSK modulation is performed thereon. The modulated symbol is divided into units, each of which having a length of M and then mapped to PBCH REs. For example, referring toFIG.9, when 3-bit information of SFN information is transmitted through a scrambling sequence, a modulated symbol sequence with a length of M is transmitted every 10 ms in order to change the scrambling sequence every 10 ms. In this case, a different modulated symbol is transmitted every 10 ms. If an SS burst set has a periodicity of 5 ms, the same modulated symbol sequence is transmitted during two 5 ms transmission periods included in the range of 10 ms. If a UE is able to obtain boundary information of a half radio frame (5 ms), the UE can combine information of PBCHs transmitted two times during 10 ms. In addition, the UE performs blind decoding 8 times to obtain 8 scrambling sequences, which are transmitted every 10 ms during 80 ms. In this case, the UE obtains 1-bit half frame boundary information (e.g., C0) by decoding another channel rather than the PBCH. And, the UE obtains upper N-bit information (e.g., S0, S1, and S2) of the SFN information by performing PBCH blind decoding and then obtains the rest of the SFN information corresponding to the remaining (10-N) bits (e.g., S3 to S9) from PBCH contents, thereby configuring the total 10 bits of the SFN information. As another example, when 3-bit information of SFN information is transmitted through a scrambling sequence and half frame boundary information is included in PBCH contents, the same contents are included during a transmission period of 10 ms. However, in the case of the PBCH contents with an offset of 5 ms, since the 1-bit half frame boundary information varies, different contents may be transmitted every 5 ms. In other words, two types of contents are configured due to the 1-bit half frame boundary information, and a gNB encodes each of the two types of contents and then performs bit repetition, scrambling, modulation, etc. on each of them. If a UE fails to obtain the 5 ms boundary information, it is difficult for the UE to combine signals transmitted every 5 ms. Instead, the UE equally performs the blind decoding, which is performed 8 times every 10 ms, even for the 5 ms offset. That is, the UE obtains the upper N-bit information (e.g., S0, S1, and S2) of the SFN information by performing the blind decoding at least 8 times and then obtains not only the rest of the SFN information corresponding to the remaining (10-N) bits (e.g., S3 to S9) from the PBCH contents but also the 1-bit half radio frame boundary information (e.g., C0). In other words, the UE may obtain time information per 5 ms by arranging the obtained bit information. Similarly, when 2-bit information of SFN information is transmitted through a scrambling sequence, the scrambling sequence varies every 20 ms, and the same modulated symbol sequence is transmitted during four 5 ms transmission periods included in the range of 20 ms. If a UE is able to obtain half frame boundary information and the most significant 1-bit information of an SFN, the UE can combine 4 PBCHs received during 20 ms and thus perform blind decoding four times every 20 ms. In this case, although the reception complexity of the UE may increase due to the acquisition of the half frame boundary information and the MSB information of the SFN, the complexity of PBCH blind decoding may decrease and the PBCH combination can be performed at most 16 times so that it is expected that the detection performance can be improved. In this case, the UE obtains the 1-bit half frame boundary information (e.g., C0) and the most significant 1-bit information of the SFN (e.g., S0) by decoding another channel rather than the PBCH. By performing the PBCH blind decoding, the UE obtains upper (N−1)-bit information (e.g., S1 and S2) behind the most significant 1 bit of the SFN and then obtains the rest of the SFN information corresponding to the remaining (10-N) bits (e.g., S3 to S9) from PBCH contents. By doing so, the half radio frame boundary information (e.g., C0) and the total 10 bits of the SFN information (e.g., S0 to S9) are configured, and the obtained time information is provided on a 5 ms basis. In this case, multiple SS blocks may be transmitted during 5 ms, the locations of the SS blocks may be obtained from a PBCH DMRS and the PBCH contents during 5 ms. Meanwhile, when 2-bit information (e.g., S1 and S2) of SFN information is transmitted through a scrambling sequence and the most significant 1-bit information (e.g., S0) of the SFN information and 1-bit half frame boundary information (e.g., C0) is provided by PBCH contents, if the PBCH contents vary every 5 ms during a period of 20 ms, four information bit sets (e.g., S0 and C0) are generated, and channel coding is performed for each of the information bit sets. As a further example, 10-bit SFN information and 1-bit half frame boundary information may be included in PBCH contents. In this case, the rest of the PBCH contents except upper 3-bit information (e.g., S0, S1, and S2) of the SFN information and the 1-bit half frame boundary information does not vary during a PBCH TTI (e.g., 80 ms). However, the upper 3-bit information (e.g., S0, S1, and S2) of the SFN information and the 1-bit half frame boundary information varies per 5 ms. Therefore, 16 PBCH information bit sets may be generated during the PBCH TTI (e.g., 80 ms). In addition, a scrambling sequence is applied to a CRC and information bits except some bits (e.g., S1 and S2) of SFN information among information bits included in a PBCH payload. In this case, a PN sequence such as a Gold sequence may be used as the scrambling sequence. In addition, the scrambling sequence may be initialized by a cell ID. Meanwhile, assuming that the number of scrambled bits is M, a sequence with a length of M*N may be generated and divided into N sequences each having a length of M such that each sequence has no overlapping elements. An M-length sequence may be used as a scrambling sequence for each of the N sequences according to the order in which some bits (e.g., S1 and S2) of SNF information are changed as shown in the following example. Example When (S2, S1)=(0, 0), a sequence string from 0 to M−1 is used as the scrambling sequence.When (S2, S1)=(0, 1), a sequence string from M to 2M−1 is used as the scrambling sequence.When (S2, S1)=(1, 0), a sequence string from 2M to 3M−1 is used as the scrambling sequence.When (S2, S1)=(1, 1), a sequence string from 3M to 4M−1 is used as the scrambling sequence. As described above, one same scrambling sequence is used for four PBCH information bit sets transmitted during a period of 20 ms among the 16 PBCH information bit sets generated during the PBCH TTI (e.g., 80 ms). In addition, a scrambling sequence different from that used for the transmitted four PBCH information bit sets is used for four PBCH information bit sets which will be transmitted during a next period of 20 ms. Thereafter, channel coding is performed for each of the 16 PBCH information bit sets where scrambling is performed using scrambling sequences as described above, and second scrambling sequences are applied to bits encoded by the channel coding. In other words, the scrambling is performed by applying the first scrambling sequences to the 16 PBCH information bit sets, the channel coding is performed, and then the scrambling sequences are applied to the encoded bits obtained by the channel coding. In this case, a PN sequence such as a Gold sequence is used as the second scrambling sequence, and the second scrambling sequence may be initialized by a cell ID and a 3-bit SS block index transmitted via a PBCH DMRS. Depending on the transmission time, one same scrambling sequence may be applied to encoded bits of PBCH contents transmitted in association with a specific SS block index. Meanwhile, a scrambling sequence may be segmented into 5 ms units, and a segmented scrambling sequence may be applied depending on the half frame boundary information. For example, assuming that the number of scrambled encoded bits is K, a sequence with a length of 2*K may be generated and divided into 2 sequences each having a length of K such that each sequence has no overlapping elements. Thereafter, each sequence may be applied to the half frame boundary information. According to this method, when soft combining is applied to a PBCH transmitted during a period of 10 ms, interference can be randomly distributed, thereby improving performance. In addition, if there is no information on a candidate sequence for the second scrambling sequence, a UE may perform decoding several times on the assumption that an available scrambling sequence is transmitted as the candidate sequence. Moreover, 1-bit half frame boundary information may be transmitted using a signal and/or channel different from that used of PBCH channel coding including PBCH contents, a CRC, a scrambling sequence, etc. For example, the 1-bit half frame boundary information may be transmitted using a PBCH DMRS. In addition to the PBCH DMRS, the 1-bit half frame boundary information may be transmitted using a DMRS sequence, DMRS RE position, change in DMRS sequence to RE mapping, change in DMRS sequence to RE mapping order, change in the locations of symbols for a PSS/SSS/PBCH in an SS block, change in the frequency location of an SS block, polarity conversion of an SS or PBCH OFDM symbol, etc. Details will be described later. If a UE obtains the half frame boundary information before performing PBCH decoding, the UE may perform de-scrambling using a scrambling sequence corresponding to the obtained half frame boundary information. 2. SS Block Time Index In this section, a method of indicating an SS block time index will be described. Some SS block time indices are transmitted through a PBCH DMRS sequence, and the remaining indices are transmitted through a PBCH payload. In this case, the SS block time indices transmitted through the PBCH DMRS sequence correspond to N-bit information, and the SS block time indices transmitted through the PBCH payload correspond to M-bit information. Assuming that the maximum number of SS blocks in a certain frequency range is L, L bits are the sum of M bits and N bits. In addition, assuming that total H (where H=2{circumflex over ( )}L) states that can be transmitted during a period of 5 ms are defined as group A, J (where J=2{circumflex over ( )}N) states that can be represented by the N bits transmitted through the PBCH DMRS sequence are defined as group B, and I (where I=2{circumflex over ( )}M) states that can be represented by the M bits transmitted through the PBCH payload are defined as group C, the number H of states of group A may be represented as the product of the number J of states of group B and the number C of states of group C. In this case, as the states belonging to either group B or C, a maximum of P states (where P is either 1 or 2) can be represented during a period of 0.5 ms. The above-described groups are merely for convenience of description, and the present disclosure may include various types of groups. Meanwhile, the number of states transmitted through the PBCH DMRS sequence is 4 in a frequency range below 3 GHz, 8 in a frequency range from 3 GHz to 6 GHz, and 8 in a frequency range above 6 GHz. In frequency bands below 6 GHz, subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz and 30 kHz is used. In this case, if the subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz is used, a maximum of one state is included within the period of 0.5 ms. If the subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz is used, a maximum of two states are included within the period of 0.5 ms. In frequency bands above 6 GHz, subcarrier spacing of 120 kHz and 240 kHz is used. In this case, if the subcarrier spacing of 120 kHz is used, a maximum of one state is included within the period of 0.5 ms. If the subcarrier spacing of 240 kHz is used, a maximum of two states are included within the period of 0.5 ms. FIG.10(a)shows SS blocks included during a period of 0.5 ms when subcarrier spacing of 15/30 kHz is used, andFIG.10(b)shows SS blocks included during a period of 0.5 ms when subcarrier spacing of 120/240 kHz is used. As shown inFIG.10, when the subcarrier spacing is 15, 30, 120, and 240 kHz, 1, 2, 8, 16 SS blocks are included during the period of 0.5 ms, respectively. When the subcarrier spacing is 15 or 30 kHz, the indices of the SS blocks included during the period of 0.5 ms are one-to-one mapped to indices transmitted through a PBCH DMRS sequence. Indication bits for indicating SS block indices may be included in a PBCH payload. In frequency bands below 6 GHz, these bits may be used for other purposes rather than as the bits for the SS block indices. For example, the bits may be used to extend coverage or inform the number of repetitions of a signal or resource associated with an SS block. When the PBCH DMRS sequence is initialized using a cell ID and an SS block index, if the subcarrier spacing is 15 or 30 kHz, an SS block index transmitted during a period of 5 ms may be used as the initial value of the sequence. Herein, an SS block index may mean an SSBID. Embodiment 2-1 When the subcarrier spacing is 120 kHz, 8 SS block indices are included during a period of 0.5 ms. During the period of 0.5 ms, the same PBCH DMRS sequence is used, but the PBCH payload may vary depending on the SS block index. However, a PBCH DMRS sequence used during a period of 0.5 ms where a first SS block group is transmitted is different from that used during a previous 0.5 ms period for a second SS block group, which was transmitted before the first SS block group. In addition, to distinguish between SS blocks transmitted during different 0.5 ms periods, the SS block index for an SS block group is transmitted via the PBCH payload. When the subcarrier spacing is 240 kHz, 16 SS block indices are included during a period of 0.5 ms, and two PBCH DMRS sequences exist during the period of 0.5 ms. In other words, a PBCH DMRS sequence used for 8 SS blocks among SS blocks during the first half of 0.5 ms may be different from that used for the other 8 SS blocks during the second half of 0.5 ms. The SS block indices are transmitted through the PBCH payload included in the SS blocks during the first and second half of the period. When such a method of maintaining a PBCH DMRS sequence during a predetermined time period is applied, a UE can apply a time information transmission method based on a PBCH DMRS sequence with low detection complexity and high detection performance when attempting to detect a signal from a neighbor cell to secure time information of the neighbor cell. Thus, the method is advantageous in that time information can be obtained with an accuracy of about 0.5 or 0.25 ms. In addition, it is also advantageous in that a time accuracy of about 0.5 or 0.25 ms can be provided. Embodiment 2-2 When the subcarrier spacing is 120 kHz, 8 SS block indices are included during a period of 0.5 ms. During the period of 0.5 ms, the same SS block index is included in the PBCH payload, but the PBCH DMRS sequence may vary according to the SS block index. However, an SS block index transmitted through the PBCH payload during a 0.5 ms period where a first SS block group is transmitted is different from that used during a 0.5 ms period for a second SS block group, which was transmitted before the first SS block group. When the subcarrier spacing is 240 kHz, 16 SS block indices are included during a period of 0.5 ms. During the period of 0.5 ms, two SS block indices may be transmitted through the PBCH payload. That is, during the first half of 0.5 ms, the same SS block index is included in the PBCH payload transmitted in 8 SS blocks among 16 SS blocks, and during the second half of 0.5 ms, 8 SS block indices are different from each other, unlike the SS block index during the first half period. In this case, the PBCH DMRS included in each of the first and second half periods uses a different sequence depending on the SS block index. When the subcarrier spacing is 120 or 240 kHz, the SS block index is expressed by combining indices obtained from two paths. In Embodiment 2-1, the SS block index can be calculated as shown in Equation 1, and in Embodiment 2-2, the SS block index can be calculated as shown in Equation 2. SS-PBCH block index=SSBID*P+SSBGID SSBID=Floor(SS-PBCH block index/P) SSBGID=Mod(SS-PBCH block index,P) [Equation 1] SS-PBCH block index=SSBID*P+SSBGID SSBID=Mod(SS-PBCH block index,P) SSBGID=Floor(SS-PBCH block index/P) [Equation 2] In Equations 1 and 2, P may be expressed as 2{circumflex over ( )}(the number of bits transmitted through a PBCH DMRS). Although a specific value (e.g., 4 or 8) is taken as an example for convenience of description, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific value. For example, the above value may be determined according to the number of information bits transmitted through a PBCH DMRS. Specifically, if 2-bit information is transmitted by the PBCH DMRS, an SS block group may be composed of 4 SS blocks. The SS block time index transmission method used when the subcarrier spacing is 120/240 kHz can also be applied when the subcarrier spacing is 15/30 kHz. The bit configuration of the time information and the transmission path of the corresponding information described in “1. System Frame Number, Half frame boundary” and “2. SS Block Time Index” will be summarized as follows with reference toFIG.9again.Among 10 bits of the SFN, 7 bits and 3 bits for an SS block group index are transmitted by PBCH contents.2 bits for 20 ms boundary information (S2 and S1) are transmitted through PBCH scrambling.1 bit for 5 ms boundary information (C0) and 1 bit for 10 ms boundary information (S0) are transmitted by a DMRS RE position shift, a phase difference between DMRSs in OFDM symbols including PBCHs, a change in DMRS sequence to RE mapping, a change in a PBCH DMRS sequence initial value, etc.3 bits for SS block index indication information (B2, B1, B0) are transmitted through a DMRS sequence 3. PBCH Coding Chain Configuration and PBCH DMRS Transmission Method Hereinafter, embodiments for PBCH coding chain configurations and PBCH DMRS transmission methods will be described with reference toFIG.11. First, an MIB configuration per SS block may vary according to CORESET information and SS block group indices. Thus, MIB encoding is performed per SS block, and in this case, 3456 bits are encoded. Since polar code output bits are 512 bits, the polar code output bits are repeated 6.75 times (512*6+384). A 3456-length scrambling sequence is multiplied with the repeated bits, and in this case, the scrambling sequence is initialized by a cell ID and an SS block index transmitted through a DMRS. In addition, the 3456-length scrambling sequence are divided into 4 parts, each of which is composed of 864 bits. By applying QPSK modulation to each of them, a set of 4 modulated symbols each having 432-length is configured. A new modulated symbol set is transmitted every 20 ms. During 20 ms, the same modulated symbol set can be transmitted at most 4 times. In this case, during the period in which the same modulated symbol set is repeatedly transmitted, the location of a DMRS in the frequency domain varies according to a cell ID. That is, the DMRS location is shifted at each of 0/5/10/15 ms according to Equation 3. vshift=(vshift_cell+vshift_frame)mod 4,vshift_cell=Cell-ID mod 3,vshift_frame=0,1,2,3 [Equation 3] A length-31 Gold sequence is used as a PBCH DMRS sequence. The initial value of the first m-sequence is fixed to one constant value, and the initial value of the second m-sequence is determined according to an SS block index and a cell ID as shown in Equation 4. cinit=210*(SSBID+1)*(2*CellID+1)+CellID [Equation 4] If SS blocks have the same contents, the channel coding and beat repetition is performed only for one SS block. In addition, assuming that a different scrambling sequence is applied per SS block, the processes for generating a scrambling sequence, multiplying the generated scrambling sequence, segmenting the multiplied sequence, and modulating the segmented sequence are performed per SS block. Hereinafter, how a gNB and a UE operate will be described according to methods of transmitting half radio frame information and the most significant 1 bit of an SFN. In the following description, C0 and S0 correspond to the half frame boundary and the frame boundary indication bit ofFIG.9, respectively. (1) Transmission of C0 and S0 Through CRC This information varies at each of 0, 5, 10, and 15 ms. In addition, a total of 4 CRCs are created, and encoding is performed 4 times. Each encoded bit is repeatedly arranged and multiplied with a scrambling sequence on the assumption that each encoded bit is transmitted a total of 4 times every 20 ms. In addition, when a UE performs reception, the UE should additionally perform blind decoding to combine a plurality of pieces of information received at each of 0, 5, 10, and 15 ms. If the blind decoding is performed only for PBCHs received every 20 ms, there is no additional complexity. However, since signals transmitted every 5 ms cannot be combined, it has a disadvantage in that the maximum performance is not guaranteed. (2) Transmission of C0 and S0 Through PBCH Scrambling Encoding is performed using one information bit+CRC. The encoded bit is repeatedly arranged and multiplied with a scrambling sequence on the assumption that the encoded bit is transmitted every 5 ms, that is, a total of 16 times. The above method has a problem that the number of blind decoding rounds increase to 16. (3) Transmission of C0 and S0 Through DMRS Sequence According to this method, 5-bit information is transmitted using a 144-length sequence. In this case, encoding is performed using one piece of information+CRC. Two scrambling methods may be used. 1) The encoded bit is repeatedly arranged and multiplied with a scrambling sequence on the assumption that the encoded bit is transmitted every 5 ms, that is, a total of 16 times. In this case, since the scrambling sequence varies every 5 ms, ICI randomization may occur in a PBCH. In addition, since a UE obtains information on C0 and S0 from a DMRS sequence, the UE can also obtain information on the scrambling sequence varying at each of 0, 5, 10, and 15 ms. In addition, when PBCH decoding is performed, the number of blind decoding rounds does not increase. Moreover, according to the above method, since signals transmitted every 5 ms are combined with each other, the maximum performance can be expected. 2) The encoded bit is repeatedly arranged and multiplied with a scrambling sequence on the assumption that the encoded bit is transmitted every 20 ms, that is, a total of 4 times. By doing so, ICI randomization can be reduced. In addition, performance improvement can be expected without any increase in the number of blind decoding rounds performed by a UE, and acquisition time can be enhanced. However, when C0 and S0 are transmitted through the DMRS sequence, the DMRS sequence should include multiple bits. Thus, the following problems may occur: the detection performance is degraded; and the number of blind detection rounds increases. To overcome the problems, the combination should be performed several times. (4) Transmission of C0 and S0 Through DMRS Position The basic principles are the same as those when C0 and S0 are transmitted through the DMRS sequence. However, to transmit C0 and S0 through a DMRS position, the position needs to be determined based on a cell ID, and the frequency location moves at each of 0, 5, 10, 15 ms. In this case, a neighbor cell can perform the same shift operation. In particular, if DMRS power boosting is performed, the performance can be further improved. 4. Design of NR-PBCH DM-RS A DMRS sequence should be able to represent a cell ID, an SS block index in an SS burst set, and a half frame boundary (indication) and can be initialized by the cell ID, SS block index in the SS burst set, and half frame boundary (indication). In this case, the initialization can be performed according to Equation 5 below. cinit=(NIDSS/PBCH block+1+8·HF)·(2·NIDcell+1)·210+NIDcell[Equation 5] In Equation 5, NIDSS/PBCH blockindicates the index of an SS block in an SS block group, NIDCellindicates a cell ID, and HF indicates the index of a half frame indication with the value of {0, 1}. The DMRS sequence modulated using QPSK, rNIDSS/PBCHblock(m) can be darned as shown in Equation 6 below. rNIDSS/PBCHblock(m)=12(1-2·c(2m))+j12(1-2·c(2m+1)),m=0,1,…,143[Equation6] In addition to the QPSK, BPSK can be considered as the modulation format for DMRS sequence generation. The BPSK and QPSK have similar detection performance, but the QPSK is more suitable for the DMRS sequence generation because its correlation performance is higher than that of the BPSK. Hereinafter, a method of configuring a PBCH DMRS sequence will be described in detail. For a PBCH DMRS sequence, a Gold sequence is used, and two m-sequences consist of polynomials with the same length. If one m-sequence has a shorter length, it may be replaced with a short polynomial. Embodiment 3-1 Two m-sequences constituting a Gold sequence are configured to have the same length. The initial value of one of the two m-sequences is fixed, and the initial value of the other m-sequence can be initialized by a cell ID and a time indicator. For example, the length-31 Gold sequence used in the LTE can be applied as the above-described gold sequence. The legacy LTE system has used the length-31 Gold sequence for a CRS and created different sequences by initializing it using 140 time indicators based on 504 cell IDs, 7 OFDM symbols, and 20 slots. In a frequency band below 6 GHz, since the subcarrier spacing of 15 or 30 kHz is used, a maximum of 8 SS blocks are included during a period of 5 ms. During a period of 20 ms, a maximum of 32 SS blocks may be included. In other words, if information on a boundary of 5 ms is obtained from the PBCH DMRS sequence during the period of 20 ms, an operation for detecting the 32 SS blocks is performed. Since although the number of cell IDs in the NR system is 1008, which are two times greater compared to the LTE system, the number of SS blocks that should be identified decreases to 70 (=140/2), the above-described sequence can be used. Meanwhile, in a frequency band above 6 GHz, the maximum number of SS block indices transmitted through the PBCH DMRS is 8, which is equal to the maximum number of SS block indices in a frequency band below 6 GHz, even though the maximum number of SS blocks during a period of 5 ms is 64. Thus, it is possible to generate sequences using the length-31 Gold sequence according to a cell ID and a time indicator even in the frequency band above 6 GHz, As another method, Gold sequences with different lengths may be applied according to frequency ranges. In a frequency band above 6 GHz, the subcarrier spacing of 120 and 240 kHz can be used. When the subcarrier spacing is 120 kHz, the number of slots included during 10 ms is 8 times (80 slots) greater than when the subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz. In addition, when the subcarrier spacing is 240 kHz, the number of slots included during 10 ms is 16 times (160 slots) greater than when the subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz. In particular, if the sequence of a data DMRS is initialized using a 16-bit C-RNTI and a slot index, a polynomial longer than 31 may be required. If a length-N (where N>31) Gold sequence is introduced according to the requirement, Gold sequences with different lengths can be applied according to frequency ranges. Specifically, in a frequency band below 6 GHz, the length-31 Gold sequence may be used, and in a frequency band above 6 GHz, the length-N (>31) Gold sequence may be used. In this case, the initial values may be set in a similar manner as described above. Embodiment 3-2 Two m-sequences constituting a Gold sequence are configured to have the same length. The initial value of one of the two m-sequences is initialized using a time indicator, and the initial value of the other m-sequence can be initialized by a cell ID and another time indicator. For example, the length-31 Gold sequence used in the LTE can be applied as the above-described gold sequence. One m-sequence to which a fixed initial value is applied is initialized using a time indicator, and the other m-sequence is initialized using a cell ID. As another method, if among time indicators, not only an SS block index but a half radio frame boundary (5 ms), the most significant 1 bit (10 ms boundary) of an SFN, etc. are transmitted through a PBCH DMRS, the half radio frame boundary (5 ms) and the most significant 1 bit (10 ms boundary) of the SFN may be indicated by the first m-sequence, and the SS block index may be indicated by the second m-sequence. When Gold sequences with different lengths are introduced as described in Embodiment 3-1, the above-described sequence initialization method can be applied. Embodiment 3-3 A Gold sequence is composed of M-sequences having polynomials with different lengths. The m-sequence with a long polynomial is used for information containing many indications, and the m-sequence with a short polynomial is used for information containing few indications. The PBCH DMRS sequence is generated based on time information such as a cell ID, an SS block index, etc. Two polynomials with different lengths may be used to represent 1008 cell IDs and P pieces of time information (e.g., a 3-bit SS block indicator). For example, a length-31 polynomial may be used to identify the cell IDs, and a length-7 polynomial may be used to identify the time information. In this case, the two m-sequences may be initialized by a cell ID and time information, respectively. Meanwhile, in the above example, the length-31 polynomial may be a part of the m-sequence in the Gold sequence used in the LTE system, and the length-7 polynomial may be one of two m-sequences defined for configuring an NR-PSS or an NR-SSS. Embodiment 3-4 A sequence is generated from an m-sequence with a short length, and a sequence is generated from a Gold sequence consisting of M sequences with long polynomials. Thereafter, two sequences are multiplied in an element wise manner. Hereinafter, a method of configuring an initial value of a sequence which is used as a PBCH DMRS sequence will be described. The PBCH DMRS sequence is initialized by a cell ID and a time indicator. In addition, assuming that a bit string used for the initialization is c(i)*2{circumflex over ( )}i, where i=0, . . . , 30, c(0) to c(9) are determined by the cell ID, and c(10) to c(30) are determined by the cell ID and time indicator. In particular, bits corresponding to c(10) to c(30) may carry some of the information in the time indicator, and the initialization method may vary according to the characteristics of the information Embodiment 4-1 When initialization is performed using a cell ID and an SS block index, c(0) to c(9) are determined by the cell ID, and c(10) to c(30) are determined by the cell ID and SS block index. In Equation 7 below, NID denotes the cell ID, and SSBID denotes the SS block index. 2{circumflex over ( )}10*(SSBID*(2*NID+1))+NID+1 2{circumflex over ( )}10*((SSBID+1)*(2*NID+1))+NID+1 2{circumflex over ( )}10*((SSBID+1)*(2*NID+1))+NID [Equation 7] Embodiment 4-2 When a time indicator is added to the initialization method mentioned in Embodiment 4-1, an initialization value is configured such that SS blocks increase. Assuming that the number of SS block indices transmitted through a PBCH DMRS sequence is P, if a half radio frame boundary is configured to be detected from the DMRS sequence, it can be expressed as the effect that the number of SS block indices is doubled can be expected. In addition, if not only the half frame boundary but also a boundary of 10 ms are configured to be detected, it can be expressed as the effect that the number of SS block indices increases 4 times. Embodiment 4-2 can be summarized as shown in Equation 8 below. 2{circumflex over ( )}10*((SSBID+P*(i))*(2*NID+1))+NID+1 2{circumflex over ( )}10*((SSBID+1+P*(i))*(2*NID+1))+NID+1 2{circumflex over ( )}10*((SSBID+1+P*(i))*(2*NID+1))+NID [Equation 8] In Equation 8, when boundaries of 0, 5, 10, and 15 ms are indicated, i=0, 1, 2, or 3. When only the half frame boundary is indicated, i=0 or 1. Embodiment 4-3 When a time indication is added to the initialization method described in Embodiment 4-1, it can be represented separately from an SS block index. For example, c(0) to c(9) may be determined by a cell ID, c(10) to c(13) may be determined by the SS block index, and c(14) to c(30) may be determined by an additional time indicator such as a half frame boundary, SNF information, etc. Embodiment 4-3 can be summarized as shown in Equation 9 below. 2{circumflex over ( )}13*(i)+2{circumflex over ( )}10*((SSBID+1))+NID 2{circumflex over ( )}13*(i+1)+2{circumflex over ( )}10*((SSBID+1))+NID 2{circumflex over ( )}13*(i)+2{circumflex over ( )}10*((SSBID+1))+NID+1 2{circumflex over ( )}13*(i+1)+2{circumflex over ( )}10*((SSBID+1))+NID+1 [Equation 9] Embodiment 4-4 The maximum number of SS blocks, L is determined depending on frequency ranges. Assuming that the number of SS block indices transmitted through a PBCH DMRS sequence is P, if L is equal to or less than P, all SS block indices are transmitted through the DMRS sequence, and an SS block index is identical to an index obtained from the DMRS sequence. On the contrary, if L is more than P, an SS block index is obtained by combining an index transmitted through the DMRS sequence and an index transmitted through PBCH contents. Assuming that the index in the DMRS sequence is SSBID and the index in the PBCH contents is SSBGID, the following three cases can be considered. (1) Case 0: L<=P SS-PBCH block index=SSBID (2) Case 1: L>P SS-PBCH block index=SSBID*P+SSBGID SSBID=Floor(SS-PBCH block index/P) SSBGID=Mod(SS-PBCH block index,P) (3) Case 2: L>P SS-PBCH block index=SSBID*P+SSBGID SSBID=Mod(SS-PBCH block index,P) SSBGID=Floor(SS-PBCH block index/P) Meanwhile, the pseudo-random sequence for generating the NR-PBCH DMRS sequence is defined as the length-31 Gold sequence, and a sequence c(n) with a length of MPNis defined according to Equation 10 below. c(n)=(x1(n+NC)+x2(n+NC))mod 2 x1(n+31)=(x1(n+3)+x1(n))mod 2 x2(n+31)=(x2(n+3)+x2(n+2)+x2(n+1)+x2(n))mod 2 [Equation 10] In Equation 10, n=0, 1, . . . , MPN−1, Nc=1600, the first m-sequence has the following initial values: x1(0)=1, x1(n)=0, n=1, 2, . . . , 30, and the initial values of the second m-sequence is defined as cinit=Σi=030x2(i)·2i, where x2(i)=⌊cinit2i⌋mod2, i=0, 1, . . . , 30. 5. Design of NR-PBCH DMRS Pattern Regarding the frequency location of a DMRS, two DMRS RE mapping methods can be considered. According to a fixed RE mapping method, an RS mapping region is fixed in the frequency domain, and according to a variable RE mapping method, an RS location is shifted according to a cell ID based on the V-shift method. The variable RE mapping method has an advantage in that additional performance gain can be achieved through interference randomization, and thus the variable RE mapping method is considered to be more desirable. The variable RE mapping method is described in detail. First, a complex modulated symbol αk,lincluded in a half frame can be determined according to Equation 11. ak,l=rNIDSS/PBCHblock(72·l′+m′)k=4m′+vshiftifl∈{1,3}l={1l′=03l′=1m′=0,1,…,71vshift=NIDcellmod3[Equation11] In Equation 11, k and l indicates the indices of a subcarrier and an OFDM symbol located in an SS block, and rNIDSS/PBCH block(m) indicates a DMRS sequence. Meanwhile, it can be determined by the equation of vshift=NIDcellmod 4. In addition, RS power boosting may be considered for performance improvement. If the RS boosting is applied together with Vshift, the amount of interference from interference Total Radiated Power (TRP) may be reduced. In addition, considering the detection performance gain of the RS power boosting, it is desirable that a ratio of PDSCH EPRE to RS EPRE is set to −1.25 dB. Hereinafter, a method for mapping a PBCH DMRS sequence to REs will be described according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Embodiment 5-1 The length of a DMRS sequence is determined based on the number of REs used for a PBCH DMRS and a modulation order. When M REs are used for a PBCH DMRS and BPSK modulation is applied to sequences, a length-M sequence is generated. The BPSK modulation is performed in sequence order, and then a modulated symbol is mapped to the DMRS REs. For example, if there are a total of 144 PBCH DMRS REs in two OFDM symbols, a length-144 sequence is generated using one initial value, and then RE mapping is performed after the BPSK modulation. Meanwhile, when M REs are used for a PBCH DMRS and QPSK modulation is applied, a length-2*M sequence is generated. Assuming that a sequence string is s(0), . . . , s(2*M−1), the QPSK modulation is performed by combining sequences with even indices and sequences with odd indices. For example, if there are a total of 144 PBCH DMRS REs in two OFDM symbols, a length-288 sequence is generated using one initial value, and then a length-144 modulated sequence, which is created after the QPSK modulation, is mapped to the DMRS REs. In addition, when N REs are used for a PBCH DMRS within one OFDM symbol and BPSK modulation is applied to sequences, a length-N sequence is generated. The BPSK modulation is performed in sequence order, and a modulated symbol is mapped to the DMRS REs. For example, if there are a total of 72 PBCH DMRS REs in one OFDM symbol, a length-72 sequence is generated using one initial value, and then RE mapping is performed after the BPSK modulation. If at least one OFDM symbol is used for PBCH transmission, different sequences may be generated by performing initialization per OFDM symbol. Alternatively, a sequence generated for a previous symbol may be mapped in the same manner. Moreover, when N REs are used for a PBCH DMRS within one OFDM symbol and QPSK modulation is applied to sequences, a length-2*N sequence is generated. Assuming that a sequence string is s(0), . . . , s(2*N−1), the QPSK modulation is performed by combining sequences with even indices and sequences with odd indices. A modulation symbol is mapped to the DMRS RE. For example, if there are a total of 72 PBCH DMRS REs in one OFDM symbol, a length-144 sequence is generated using one initial value, and the RE mapping is performed after the QPAK modulation. If at least one OFDM symbol is used for PBCH transmission, different sequences may be generated by performing initialization per OFDM symbol. Alternatively, a sequence generated for a previous symbol may be mapped in the same manner. Embodiment 5-2 When one same sequence is mapped to different symbols, a cyclic shift(s) can be applied. For example, when two OFDM symbols are used, if a modulated sequence string is sequentially mapped to REs of the first OFDM symbol, the modulated sequence string may be mapped to REs of the second OFDM symbol after the modulated sequence string is cyclic shifted by an offset corresponding to ½ of the modulated sequence string N. When 24 RBs are used for an NR-PBCH and 12 RBs are used for an NR-SSS, if the center frequency RE of the NR-SSS is equivalent to that of the NR-PBCH, the NR-SSS is located from the seventh RB to the eighteenth RB. A channel can be estimated from the NR-SSS, and when an SS block index is detected from an NR-PBCH DMRS, coherent detection may be attempted using the estimated channel. If the above cyclic shift method is applied to facilitate the detection, it is possible to obtain the effect that a PBCH DMRS sequence string is transmitted across two OFDM symbols in the center 12-RB region where the NR-SSS is transmitted. Embodiment 5-3 If a different time indicator is transmitted rather than an SS block indication, a cyclic shift value can be determined according to the time indicator. If one same sequence is applied to OFDM symbols, one same cyclic shift may be applied to each of the OFDM symbol, or different cyclic shifts may be applied to the OFDM symbols. If a generated sequence is equivalent to the total number of DMRS REs included an OFDM symbol used for a PBCH, the entire sequence may be mapped to the DMRS REs after applying a cyclic shift thereto. As another example of the cyclic shift, reverse mapping may be considered. For instance, assuming that a modulated sequence string is s(0), . . . , s(M−1), reverse mapping may correspond to s(M−1), . . . , s(0). Hereinafter, a frequency location of a PBCH DMRS RE will be described. The frequency locations of REs used for a PBCH DMRS may vary depending on a specific parameter. Embodiment 6-1 When a DMRS is located at every N NEs (for example, N=4), the maximum range where the RE location can be shifted in the frequency domain may be set to N. For example, it can be expressed as N*m+v_shift (where m=0, . . . , 12×NRB_PBCH-1 and v_shift=0, . . . , N−1). Embodiment 6-2 A shift offset on the frequency axis can be at least determined by a cell ID. Specifically, the shift offset may be determined using the cell ID, which is obtained from a PSS and an SSS. In the NR system, the cell ID can be configured by combining Cell_ID(1) obtained from the PSS and Cell_ID(2) obtained from the SSS and expressed as Cell_ID(2)*3+Cell_ID(1). In addition, the shift offset may be determined using the obtained cell ID information or some thereof. Equation 12 below shows an example of calculating the offset. v_shift=Cell-ID modN(whereNindicates DMRS frequency spacing, and for example,Nmay be set to 4) v_shift=Cell-ID mod 3 (the effect of interference randomization between three neighbor cells can be expected, DMRS frequency spacing may be greater than 3, and for example,Nmay be set to 4) v_shift=Cell_ID(1)(Cell_ID(1) obtained from the PSS is used as the shift offset value) [Equation 12] Embodiment 6-3 A shift offset on the frequency axis can be determined by a certain value in time information. For example, the shift offset value may be determined by half radio frame boundary (5 ms) or the most significant 1-bit information of an SF (10 ms boundary), etc. Equation 13 below shows an example of calculating the offset. v_shift=0,1,2,3 (the DMRS location is shifted at each of 0/5/10/15 ms, and there are four shift opportunities when DMRS frequency spacing is 4) v_shift=0,1 (the DMRS location is shifted at the boundary of 0/5 ms or at the boundary of 0/10 ms) v_shift=0,2 (the DMRS location is shifted at the boundary of 0/5 ms or at the boundary of 0/10 ms, and when DMRS frequency spacing is 4, the DMRS location is shifted by the maximum value,2) [Equation 13] Embodiment 6-4 A shift offset on the frequency axis can be determined by a cell ID and a certain value in time information. For example, the shift offset can be configured by combining Embodiment 6-2 and Embodiment 6-3. Specifically, the shift offset can be configured by combining vshift_cell, which is a shift according to the cell ID, and vshift_frame, which is a shift according to the time information, and the gap may be represented by modulor operation with DMRS RE spacing, N. Equation 14 below shows an example of calculating the above offset. vshift=(vshift_cell+vshift_frame)modN[Equation 14] FIG.12is a view illustrating an example in which a DMRS is mapped within an SS block. Hereinafter, a power ratio between a PBCH DMRS RE and a data RE will be described. Specifically, an RE for PBCH DMRS transmission can be transmitted with higher power than an RE for data transmission in an OFDM symbol in which a PBCH DMRS is included. Embodiment 7-1 The ratio of energy per data RE to energy per DMRS RE is fixed per frequency band. In this case, all frequency bands may use fixed values, or a specific power ratio may be applied to a specific frequency band. In other words, a different power ratio may be applied per frequency band. For example, in a frequency band below 6 GHz where ICI is dominant, high power may be used, and in a frequency band above 6 GHz where noise is limited, the same power may be used. Although in this present disclosure, the power ratio is expressed as the ‘ratio to the energy per data RE to energy per DMRS RE’ for convenience of description, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, that is, the power ratio can be expressed in various ways. For example, the following expressions can be used.A ratio of power per DMRS RE to power per data REA ratio of energy per DMRS RE to energy per data REA ratio of power per data RE to power per DMRS REA ratio of energy per data RE to energy per DMRS RE Embodiment 7-2 The power of a DMRS RE may be set lower than the power of a data RE by 3 dB. For example, it is assumed that the following two cases show similar PBCH decoding performance: when among 12 REs, 3 REs are used for a DMRS and 9 REs are used for data; and when among 12 REs, 4 REs are used for a DMRS and 8 REs are used for data. When the 3 DMRS REs are used, it is possible to increase the DMRS power while maintaining the total power of an OFDM symbol by increasing the power of the 3 DMRS REs about 1.3334 times per RE and decreasing the power of adjacent data REs about 0.8999 times in order to obtain a similar effect when the 4 DMRS REs are used. In this case, a power boosting level becomes about 1.76 dB (=10*log (1.3334/0.8889)). As another example, when 3 DMRS REs and 9 data REs are used, a power boosting level is about 3 dB to provide similar detection performance when 4.8 DMRS REs are used (the power boosting level is about 2 dB to provide similar detection performance when 4.15 DMRS REs are used). Embodiment 7-3 When the NR system operate in non-standalone (NSA) mode through association with the LTE system, a gNB can inform a UE of a ratio of energy per data RE to energy per DMRS RE. Embodiment 7-4 A gNB can inform a UE of a ratio of energy per PBCH data RE to energy per DMRS RE used in the NR system. For example, during an initial access procedure, the UE may demodulate PBCH data on the assumption that the ratio of the energy per PBCH data RE to the energy per DMRS RE is constant. Thereafter, the gNB may inform the UE of energy ratios used for actual transmission. In particular, the gNB may indicate an energy ratio for a target cell among configurations for handover. As another example, energy ratios may be indicated with system information indicating transmission power of a PBCH DMRS for a serving cell. In this case, at least one energy ratio value is 0 dB, and if the transmission power of the DMRS varies, a corresponding value may also be included. 6. Measurement Result Evaluation Hereinafter, it is assumed that while measurement results of various SS block are evaluated, two OFDM symbols having 24 RBs are used for NR-PBCH transmission. In addition, it is assumed that an SS burst set (i.e., 10, 20, 40, and 80 ms) may have a plurality of periodicities and an encoded bit is transmitted within 80 ms. (1) Modulation Type Referring toFIG.13, it can be seen that BPSK and QPSK has similar performance. Thus, there is no significant difference in term of performance measurement even though any modulation type is used for a DMRS sequence. (2) DMRS RE Mapping It is assumed that transmission power of a DMRS RE is higher than transmission power of a PBCH data RE by about 1.76 dB (=10*log (1.334/0.889)). If variable RE mapping and DMRS power boosting is used together, interference from another cell can be reduced. Meanwhile, when RS power boosting is applied, a gain of about 2 to 3 dB can be obtained compared to when no RS power boosting is applied. Meanwhile, the results of an experiment where Vshift is applied to the RS power boosting will be described with reference toFIGS.14and15. By introducing Vshift for changing the frequency-domain location of a DMRS RE according to a cell ID, the following effect can be obtained. That is, PBCH DMRSs transmitted in a multi-cell environment are received during two periods, and if two PBCHs are combined, detection performance can be improved by ICI randomization. Particularly, when Vshift is applied, the detection performance can be significantly improved. 7. Half Frame Index Indication and Signal Design Meanwhile, in addition to the above-described time index indication method, other time index indication methods can be considered. In particular, various embodiments for indicating a half frame index will be explained in the following. SS blocks included in 5 ms duration may be transmitted with a periodicity of 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, or 160 ms. In addition, during an initial access procedure, a UE performs signal detection on the assumption that SS blocks are transmitted with a periodicity longer than 5 ms (e.g., 10 ms, 20 ms, etc.). Particularly, in the NR system, a UE performs signal detection during the initial access procedure on the assumption that SS blocks are transmitted with a periodicity of 20 ms. If a gNB is configured to transmit an SS block with a periodicity of 5 ms and a UE is configured to detect the SS block with a periodicity of 20 ms, the UE should consider that the SS block can be transmitted in a first half radio frame and it can also be transmitted in a second half radio frame. In other words, the UE cannot exactly know whether the SS block will be received in the first half radio frame or the second half radio frame. Thus, the following methods can be considered in order for the gNB to inform whether the SS block is transmitted in the first half radio frame or the second half radio frame. (1) Explicit Indication:PBCH contents vary with a periodicity of 5 ms. In this case, the UE can obtain half frame time information by decoding the received SS block. (2) Implicit Indication:A PBCH DMRS sequence varies with a periodicity of 5 ms.A PBCH DMRS sequence mapping method varies with a periodicity of 5 ms.Phases of OFDM symbols reserved for PBCH transmission vary with a periodicity of 5 ms.A different scrambling sequence is applied to encoded bits in PBCH contents with a periodicity of 5 ms. The above-described methods can not only be combined with each other but also be modified. In addition, for transmission of half frame time information, various methods may be considered according to UE states, for example, whether a UE is in an initial access state or IDLE mode or depending on how a UE should receive time information, for example, whether the UE performs inter-cell handover or inter-RAT handover. Hereinafter, methods for reducing complexity when half frame time information is obtained will be described. Embodiment 8-1 During an initial access procedure, a UE attempts to detect a signal in an SS block by assuming that the SS block is transmitted at one fixed position of either a first or second half frame. That is, the UE obtains time information such as an SFN, an SS block index, etc. by performing sequence detection or data decoding on the signal or channel included in the SS block and obtains half frame information from the locations of a slot and OFDM symbols in a radio frame, which are defined for SS block transmission. As a particular example of the above method and more particularly the time information acquisition method, a method of allowing a UE performing initial access to detect an SS block transmitted in a specific half frame and precluding the UE from detecting any SS blocks transmitted in another half fame when the SS block transmission is performed at a periodicity of 5 ms will be explained together with UE operations. To this end, two different types of SS blocks can be configured. In the present disclosure, the two different types of SS blocks are referred to as a first type of SS block and a second type of SS block for convenience of description. A network configures the first type of SS block and then configures the second type of SS blocks by changing the phase, symbol location, sequence type, symbol mapping rule, and transmission power of a PSS/SSS/PBCH included in the first type of SS block. Thereafter, a gNB transmits the first type of SS blocks in a first half frame and then transmits the second type of SS blocks in a second half frame. While performing initial access, a UE attempts synchronization signal detection and PBCH decoding by assuming that the first type of SS blocks are transmitted from the gNB. If the UE succeeds in the synchronization signal detection and PBCH decoding, the UE assumes the corresponding point as a slot and an OFDM symbol included in the first half frame. Embodiment 8-2 As a particular method of Embodiment 8-1, a method of obtaining half frame boundary information by changing phases of some symbols among symbols to which a PSS/SSS/PBCH in an SS block is mapped will be described. That is, it is possible to transmit time information such as an SFN, a half frame, an SS block index, etc., by changing the phase of a PSS/SSS/PBCH in an SS block. In particular, it can be used to transmit time information on the half frame. In this case, it is assumed that the PSS/SSS/PBCH included in the SS block use one same antenna port. Specifically, the phase of an OFDM symbol including a PSS/SSS and the phase of an OFDM symbol including a PBCH may be inverted every transmission period. In this case, one transmission period in which the phase inversion occurs may be 5 ms. Referring toFIG.16, a phase of (+1, +1, +1, +1) or (+1, −1, +1, −1) may be applied to an OFDM symbol including a PSS-PBCH-SSS-PBCH with a periodicity of 5 ms. As another method, the polarity of an OFDM symbol including a PSS/SSS can be inverted. That is, assuming that the polarity of an OFDM symbol including a PSS-PBCH-SSS-PBCH is (a, b, c, d), the polarity of a PBCH may be inverted to (+1, +1, +1, +1) and (−1, +1, −1, +1). In addition, the polarity of a certain OFDM symbol among OFDM symbols including PSSs or SSSs may be inverted to (+1, +1, +1, +1) and (+1, +1, −1, +1) or (+1, +1, +1, +1) and (−1, +1, +1, +1). Meanwhile, a method of changing a phase with a periodicity of 20 ms can be also considered. That is, referring toFIG.16, phases of (+1, +1, +1, +1), (+1, −1, +1, −1), (+1, −1, −1, −1), and (−1, −1, −1, −1) may be transmitted during the first, second, third, and fourth 5 ms periods, respectively. According to the above-described method, half frame boundary information, i.e., a 5 ms period can be obtained, and since the phase inversion occurs every 20 ms, SFN information can be obtained. Specifically, for the purpose of obtaining the SFN information, the phase of (+1, +1, +1, +1) may be transmitted during the first 10 ms period and the phase of (+1, −1, +1, −1) may be transmitted during the second 10 ms period within a period of 20 ms. Meanwhile, only the phases of a PSS and an SSS included in an SS block may be inverted to distinguish between 20 ms periods. For example, the phase of (+1, +1, +1, +1) may be transmitted during the first 5 ms period, and the phase of (−1, +1, −1, +1) may be transmitted during the second to fourth 5 ms periods. In other words, it is possible to distinguish between the 20 ms periods by changing and transmitting the phase of a PSS/SSS during the first 5 ms period and the phases of PSSs/SSSs during the remaining 5 ms periods. In this case, since the phases of the PSSs/SSSs of the SS blocks, which are transmitted during the second to fourth 5 ms periods, are inverted, a UE may fail to detect the SS blocks. Meanwhile, in addition to the polarity inversion of a transmitted phase, a phase change thereof can also be considered. For example, SS blocks may be transmitted using phases of (+1, +1, +1, +1) and (+1, +j, +1, +j) with a periodicity of 5 ms. Alternatively, SS blocks may be transmitted using phases of (+1, +1, +1, +1) and (+1, −j, +1, −j) with a periodicity of 5 ms. Half frame time information can be obtained from a phase change in a PBCH symbol and can be used to determine a PBCH scrambling sequence. That is, a gNB may configure an SS block by changing the phases of SSS and PBCH symbols every 5 ms and perform transmission. In other words, the gNB may change the phases of the symbols in which the PBCH and SSS in the SS block are transmitted based on the transmission location of the SS block within a specific period. In this case, the symbols of which the phases are changed may be limited to SSS and PBCH symbols corresponding to SS blocks that are actually transmitted by the gNB rather than SSS and PBCH symbols corresponding to all candidate SS blocks where SS block transmission is possible. In other words, if the SS block transmission is not actually performed in a candidate SS block even though it is included in a 5 ms half frame, the phases of SSS and PBCH symbols of the candidate SS block may not be changed. To this end, the following methods are proposed. (Method 1) 1 bit of a PBCH DMRS can be used as an indicator indicating a half frame. In addition, a PBCH scrambling sequence may be initialized by an indicator for half frame timing. In this case, MSB [7 to 10] bits of an SFN may be explicitly indicated through PBCH contents, and LSB [3] bits of the SFN may be used for the PBCH scrambling sequence. (Method 2) 1 bit for half frame timing may be indicated by a PBCH. In addition, a PBCH scrambling sequence may be initialized by the indicator for the half frame timing. In this case, there may be a phase difference between PBCH and SSS symbols. MSB [7 to 10] bits of an SFN may be explicitly indicated through PBCH contents, and LSB [3] bits of the SFN may be used for the PBCH scrambling sequence. (Method 3) 1 bit for half frame timing may be indicated by a PBCH. In this case, there may be a phase difference between PBCH and SSS symbols. MSB [7 to 10] bits of an SFN may be explicitly indicated through PBCH contents, and LSB [3] bits of the SFN may be used for a PBCH scrambling sequence. Embodiment 8-3 A gNB transmits the transmission periodicity of actually transmitted SS blocks to a UE performing measurement and handover. Additionally, the transmission periodicity may be transmitted together with measurement periodicity information included in measurement-related time information. In addition, the UE may perform the measurement and handover by considering the measurement periodicity information as the transmission periodicity information. Moreover, a handover command may include cell information and system information related to a target cell such as SIB 0, SIB 1, SIB 2, etc. Meanwhile, in the NR system, new system information including the information defined in the LTE system such as SIB 0, SIB 1, SIB 2, etc. is referred to as Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI) for convenient discussion about the system design. The above-described RMSI may include information on the locations of the actually transmitted SS blocks and the transmission periodicity thereof. In addition, for the handover, information on SS block transmission periodicities of handover candidate cells as well as the target cell should be transmitted to the UE. Thus, the information on the SS block transmission periodicities of the candidate cells can be defined as system information different from the handover command and then transmitted to the UE. In this case, the UE operates as follows. When an SS block transmission periodicity longer than 5 ms is indicated, the UE detects synchronization signals of neighbor cells and obtains time information, i.e., SS block indices using a first type of SS block. If a transmission periodicity of 5 ms is indicated, the UE detects synchronization signals of neighbor cells and obtains time information using first and second types of SS blocks. Meanwhile, as a method of reducing UE's reception complexity, it may be considered that a UE searches for SS blocks with a periodicity of 10 ms using a first type of SS block and then attempts synchronization signal detection and time information acquisition using a second type of SS block at the time location away from the first type of SS block detected during a period of 10 ms by an offset of about 0.5 ms after detecting the first type of SS block. In addition, according the above-described method, a UE performing handover may obtain time information used in a target cell/candidate cells/target RAT. Embodiment 8-3 can be summarized as follows. When the measurement periodicity is transmitted to a UE, the transmission periodicity of actually transmitted SS blocks is also transmitted to the UE. In this case, the measurement configuration may be considered as the measurement periodicity from the perspective of the UE, and it may be configured to be longer than the transmission periodicity of the SS blocks actually transmitted by the gNB. In addition, when the UE intends to decode PBCHs of neighbor cells before handover, the UE may perform the decoding with reference to the transmission periodicity of the actually transmitted SS blocks. Moreover, since the number of decoding rounds decreases, UE's batter consumption may also be reduced. Embodiment 8-4 A channel/signal configuration, a resource configuration method, a sequence mapping method, etc. may vary according to gNB's time information assumptions or UE's states. Time information may include an SFN, a slot number, an OFDM symbol number, etc. During a time period of M, the subframe number and slot number are indexed, and during a time period of N less than M, the subframe number and slot number may be indexed. In this case, M and N may be 10 ms and 5 ms, respectively. In addition, time indices defined in different time ranges may be applied according to the following conditions: gNB's time information assumptions, UE's access states, etc. To this end, the following methods are proposed. (Method 1) The time information, channel/signal configuration, and resource configuration method may vary depending on a synchronization indicator indicating whether the network is either a synchronous network or an asynchronous network or according to UE's access states such as initial access, handover, IDLE/CONNECTED mode, etc. In this case, the synchronization indicator may be transmitted from a gNB to a UE. (Method 2) The sequence mapped to a reference signal such as a DMRS, a CSI-RS, an SRS, etc. or the scrambling sequence of a data bit such as PDSCH/PUSCH may vary according to the time information within a period of 10 ms such as a slot number or an OFDM symbol number or with a periodicity of 5 ms. That is, CSI-RS resources, PRACH resources, and the like may be configured based on radio frame duration, first half frame duration, or second half frame duration within a period of 10 ms. Alternatively, they may be configured based on half frames with a periodicity of 5 ms. (Method 3) The channel/signal configuration, resource configuration method, and sequence mapping method may vary according to bandwidth parts. In a bandwidth part used for the initial access, broadcasting SI, a data channel for carrying RACH Msg2/3/4and paging such as PDSCH/PUSCH, and a reference signal such as DMRS/CRS-RS/SRS/PTRS may be configured within the time period of N and repeatedly transmitted every N time period. Meanwhile, in a bandwidth part configured in the RRC_CONNECTED state, the data channel, control channel, and reference signal may be configured within the time period of M and repeatedly transmitted every M time period. (Method 4) The resources used for handover such as a PRACH preamble, Msg2, etc. may be configured within the time period of M or N. For convenience of description, it is assumed that M=10 ms and N=5 ms. When the synchronous network is indicated to the UE, the UE may assume that signals transmitted from cells in the same frequency band are received within a predetermined error range (for example, 1 ms). Thereafter, the UE may assume that 5 ms time information obtained from a serving cell can be equally applied not only to the serving cell but also neighbor cells. Under this assumption, the resource configured within the time period of M can be utilized. In other words, even though the UE does not receive any special indicators from the gNB, the UE may use the resources configured within the time period of M in an environment where the UE can assume the synchronous network. On the contrary, when the asynchronous network is indicated to the UE or in an environment where the UE can assume the asynchronous network, the UE may use the resources configured within the time period of N. (Method 5) When the synchronous network is indicated to the UE, the UE may assume that signals transmitted from cells in the same frequency band are received within a predetermined error range (for example, 1 ms). Thereafter, the UE may assume that 5 ms time information obtained from a serving cell can be equally applied not only to the serving cell but also neighbor cells. FIG.17is a block diagram illustrating components of a transmitting device10and a receiving device20which implement the present disclosure. The transmitting device10and the receiving device20, respectively include radio frequency (RF) units13and23which transmit or receive radio signals carrying information/and or data, signals, and messages, memories12and22which store various types of information related to communication in a wireless communication system, and processors11and21which are operatively coupled with components such as the RF units13and23and the memories12and22, and control the memories12and22and/or the RF units13and23to perform at least one of the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure. The memories12and22may store programs for processing and control of the processors11and21, and temporarily store input/output information. The memories12and22may be used as buffers. The processors11and21generally provide overall control to the operations of various modules in the transmitting device or the receiving device. Particularly, the processors11and21may execute various control functions to implement the present disclosure. The processors11and21may be called controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, microcomputers, and so on. The processors11and21may be achieved by various means, for example, hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. In a hardware configuration, the processors11and21may be provided with application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc. In a firmware or software configuration, firmware or software may be configured to include a module, a procedure, a function, or the like. The firmware or software configured to implement the present disclosure may be provided in the processors11and21or may be stored in the memories12and22and executed by the processors11and21. The processor11of the transmitting device10performs a predetermined coding and modulation on a signal and/or data which is scheduled by the processor11or a scheduler connected to the processor11and will be transmitted to the outside, and then transmits the encoded and modulated signal and/or data to the RF unit13. For example, the processor11converts a transmission data stream to K layers after demultiplexing, channel encoding, scrambling, modulation, and so on. The encoded data stream is referred to as a codeword, equivalent to a data block provided by the MAC layer, that is, a transport block (TB). One TB is encoded to one codeword, and each codeword is transmitted in the form of one or more layers to the receiving device. For frequency upconversion, the RF unit13may include an oscillator. The RF unit13may include Nttransmission antennas (Ntis a positive integer equal to or greater than 1). The signal process of the receiving device20is configured to be reverse to the signal process of the transmitting device10. The RF unit23of the receiving device20receives a radio signal from the transmitting device10under the control of the processor21. The RF unit23may include Nrreception antennas, and recovers a signal received through each of the reception antennas to a baseband signal by frequency downconversion. For the frequency downconversion, the RF unit23may include an oscillator. The processor21may recover the original data that the transmitting device10intends to transmit by decoding and demodulating radio signals received through the reception antennas. Each of the RF units13and23may include one or more antennas. The antennas transmit signals processed by the RF units13and23to the outside or receive radio signals from the outside and provide the received radio signals to the RF units13and23under the control of the processors11and21according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. An antenna may also be called an antenna port. Each antenna may correspond to one physical antenna or may be configured to be a combination of two or more physical antenna elements. A signal transmitted from each antenna may not be further decomposed by the receiving device20. An RS transmitted in correspondence with a corresponding antenna defines an antenna viewed from the side of the receiving device20and enables the receiving device20to perform channel estimation for the antenna, irrespective of whether a channel is a single radio channel from one physical antenna or a composite channel from a plurality of physical antenna elements including the antenna. That is, the antenna is defined such that a channel carrying a symbol on the antenna may be derived from the channel carrying another symbol on the same antenna. In the case of an RF unit supporting MIMO in which data is transmitted and received through a plurality of antennas, the RF unit may be connected to two or more antennas. In the present disclosure, the RF units13and23may support reception BF and transmission BF. For example, the RF units13and23may be configured to perform the exemplary functions described before with reference toFIGS.5to8in the present disclosure. In addition, the RF units13and23may be referred to as transceivers. In embodiments of the disclosure, a UE operates as the transmitting device10on UL, and as the receiving device20on DL. In the embodiments of the disclosure, the gNB operates as the receiving device20on UL, and as the transmitting device10on DL. Hereinafter, a processor, an RF unit, and a memory in a UE are referred to as a UE processor, a UE RF unit, and a UE memory, respectively, and a processor, an RF unit, and a memory in a gNB are referred to as a gNB processor, a gNB RF unit, and a gNB memory, respectively. The gNB processor according to the present disclosure is configured to generate a PBCH payload including bits indicating a frame and a half frame where a PBCH is transmitted, generate scrambling sequences using second and third least significant bits among the bits indicating the frame, and scramble the bits included in the PBCH payload based on the scrambling sequences. In this case, a first scrambling sequence is generated using a cell identifier and the second and third least significant bits among the bits indicating the frame, and the bits included in the PBCH payload are scrambled based on the first scrambling sequence. In this case, the second and third least significant bits are not scrambled. Therefore, the first scrambling sequence may be equally applied during a period of 20 ms. Thereafter, the scrambled bits of the PBCH payload and the second and third least significant bits are encoded, and then the encoded bits are scrambled again using a second scrambling sequence. In this case, the second scrambling sequence is generated using the cell identifier and an index of an SSB, which is used for generating a sequence of a PBCH DMRS. In particular, in a frequency band below 3 GHz, the second scrambling sequence is generated using least significant 2 bits of the SSB index, and in a frequency band above 3 GHz, the second scrambling sequence is generated using least significant 3 bits of the SSB index. Thereafter, the gNB processor is configured to transmit the scrambled bits, which are scrambled using the second scrambling sequence, to a UE. The UE processor according to the present disclosure is configured to receive a PBCH in a specific half frame through an SSB, obtain least significant 2 or 3 bits for an index of the SSB from a PBCH DMRS, descramble a scrambled sequence, which is received on the PBCH, using a cell identifier and the least significant 2 or 3 bits obtained from the PBCH DMRS, and obtain a scrambled sequence using second and third least significant bits of a frame number indicator and a first scrambling sequence. In addition, the UE processor is configured to obtain information on the specific half frame and information on a frame including the specific half frame by descrambling the scrambled sequence using the cell identifier, the second and third least significant bits, and the first scrambling sequence. The gNB processor or the UE processor of the present disclosure may be configured to implement the present disclosure in a cell operating in a high frequency band at or above 6 GHz in which analog BF or hybrid BF is used. As described before, a detailed description has been given of preferred embodiments of the present disclosure so that those skilled in the art may implement and perform the present disclosure. While reference has been made above to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and alterations may be made to the present disclosure within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, those skilled in the art may use the components described in the foregoing embodiments in combination. The above embodiments are therefore to be construed in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the disclosure should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, not by the above description, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein. The methods of transmitting and receiving a broadcasting channel and devices therefor are described based on the 5G New RAT system, but the methods and devices can be applied to various wireless communication systems as well as the 5G New RAT system. | 124,307 |
11943791 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In certain instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of the present document, the phrase “A or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B). The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure. The term “circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes hardware components such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) or memory (shared, dedicated, or group), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high-capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable system-on-a-chip (SoC)), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc., that are configured to provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term “circuitry” may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system) with the program code used to carry out the functionality of that program code. In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuitry. The term “processor circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry capable of sequentially and automatically carrying out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations, or recording, storing, or transferring digital data. The term “processor circuitry” may refer an application processor, baseband processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit, a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, or functional processes. The term “interface circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term “interface circuitry” may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, for example, buses, I/O interfaces, peripheral component interfaces, network interface cards, or the like. The term “user equipment” or “UE” as used herein refers to a device with radio communication capabilities and may describe a remote user of network resources in a communications network. The term “user equipment” or “UE” may be considered synonymous to, and may be referred to as, client, mobile, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, the term “user equipment” or “UE” may include any type of wireless/wired device or any computing device including a wireless communications interface. The term “computer system” as used herein refers to any type interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the term “computer system” or “system” may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled with one another. Furthermore, the term “computer system” or “system” may refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled with one another and configured to share computing or networking resources. The term “resource” as used herein refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, or a physical or virtual component within a particular device, such as computer devices, mechanical devices, memory space, processor/CPU time, processor/CPU usage, processor and accelerator loads, hardware time or usage, electrical power, input/output operations, ports or network sockets, channel/link allocation, throughput, memory usage, storage, network, database and applications, workload units, or the like. A “hardware resource” may refer to compute, storage, or network resources provided by physical hardware element(s). A “virtualized resource” may refer to compute, storage, or network resources provided by virtualization infrastructure to an application, device, system, etc. The term “network resource” or “communication resource” may refer to resources that are accessible by computer devices/systems via a communications network. The term “system resources” may refer to any kind of shared entities to provide services, and may include computing or network resources. System resources may be considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects or services, accessible through a server where such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable. The term “channel” as used herein refers to any transmission medium, either tangible or intangible, which is used to communicate data or a data stream. The term “channel” may be synonymous with or equivalent to “communications channel,” “data communications channel,” “transmission channel,” “data transmission channel,” “access channel,” “data access channel,” “link,” “data link,” “carrier,” “radio-frequency carrier,” or any other like term denoting a pathway or medium through which data is communicated. Additionally, the term “link” as used herein refers to a connection between two devices for the purpose of transmitting and receiving information. The terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the like as used herein refers to the creation of an instance. An “instance” also refers to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code. The term “connected” may mean that two or more elements, at a common communication protocol layer, have an established signaling relationship with one another over a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point. The term “network element” as used herein refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term “network element” may be considered synonymous to or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, virtualized network function, or the like. The term “information element” refers to a structural element containing one or more fields. The term “field” refers to individual contents of an information element, or a data element that contains content. An information element may include one or more additional information elements. FIG.1illustrates a network environment100in accordance with some embodiments. The network environment100may include a UE104communicatively coupled with one or more base stations such as, for example, base station108and base station112. The UE104and the base stations108/112may communicate over air interfaces compatible with 3GPP TSs such as those that define Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Fifth Generation (5G) new radio (NR) system standards. The base stations108/112may provide one or more LTE evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) cells to provide E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations toward the UE104, or one or more 5G NR cells to provide NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations toward the UE104. In general, a base station that provides a 5G NR air interface may be referred to as a gNB and the base station that provides an LTE air interface may be referred to as an eNB. While the radio access network as shown with two base stations, in other embodiments additional numbers of base stations and other access nodes may be present. For example, in some embodiments one or more of the base stations108/112may include distributed antennas within various transmission-reception points (TRPs). The base station108may be coupled with the 5G core network (5GC)116by a backhaul connection. The base station112may be coupled with the 5GC either directly or through the base station108. The 5GC116may provide the UE104with various communication services. The 5GC116may include network elements that offer various data and telecommunications services to customers/subscribers (for example, a user of UE104) who are connected to the 5GC116via the base stations108/112. The components of the 5GC116may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes. The base station108may be coupled with an access and mobility function (AMF)120. The AMF120may be responsible for registration management (e.g., for registering UE104, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF120may be coupled with a location management function (LMF)120via an NLs interface. The AMF120may send a location services request to the LMF124with respect to the UE104. The location services request may be initiated by the AMF120or another entity. In response to the request, the LMF124may transfer assistance data to the UE104to assist with positioning operations. The assistance data may be tailored to the type of positioning operation that is to be performed. In general, the assistance data may include information about access nodes in the vicinity of the UE104and reference signal parameters corresponding to reference signals transmitted by the access nodes, which form a basis for the positioning measurements. The reference signal parameters may include, for example, bandwidth, frequency, periodicity, etc. For observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) positioning, the LMF124may configure the UE104with assistance data of downlink positioning reference signals (DL-PRSs) of access nodes in the vicinity of the UE104. The access nodes in the vicinity of the UE104may include base stations108/112and potentially other access nodes including, but not limited to, other base stations or transmission-reception points (TRPs)/transmission points (TPs), such as remote radio heads (RRHs) or DL-PRS-only TPs. One access node, for example, base station108, may control one or more TRPs/TPs to support PRS-based positioning operations. The UE104may perform PRS measurements based on assistance data of the PRSs received from the LMF124. In some embodiments, the PRS measurements may be the basis for reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements. An RSTD measurement may include a measured time offset between DL-PRSs from different access nodes. The UE104may then report the RSTD measurement results to the LMF124. The LMF124may use a multilateration technique to determine the position of the UE104based on the RSTD measurements and knowledge of the locations of the access nodes transmitting the PRSs. In some embodiments, the assistance data may be provided to the UE104in one or more information elements (IEs) that provide assistance data with respect to a reference cell (for example, the cell provided by serving base station such as base station108) and one or more neighbor cells (for example, cells provided by base station112) to support the RSTD measurements. 3GPP study items have been issued to identify and evaluate positioning techniques, downlink/uplink PRSs, signaling and procedures to improve accuracy and network/device efficiency and to reduce latency. RP-200928, Revised SID: Study on NR Positioning Enhancements, CATT, Intel Corporation (Jun. 22, 2020). Embodiments described herein provide lower-layer triggering of DL-PRS resources that may advance one or more of the objectives identified in 3GPP study items such as, for example, RP-200928. “Lower layers,” as used herein may refer to layers of the 3GPP communication protocol stack at or below the media access control (MAC) layer. Thus, lower layers include the MAC and physical (PHY) layers. Conversely, “higher layers,” as used herein may refer to layers of the 3GPP communication protocol stack at or above the radio resource control (RRC) layer. In legacy networks, PRS resources are periodic and configured by the higher layers. All UEs in a legacy network may be configured to measure DL-PRS signals regardless of service type are required positioning accuracy. This may result in an increase to the network overhead and reduction of the UE efficiency. The lower-layer control signaling described by embodiments of this disclosure may provide the ability to dynamically indicate DL-PRS resources for specific UEs as needed. In this manner, the base station108may determine when it would be beneficial for the UE104to receive more PRS receptions and may respond accordingly. This may increase UE efficiency, reduce latency, increase accuracy, and in some scenarios, increase network efficiency. Consider, for example, a case in which the UEs of a network are configured with DL-PRS resources with a large periodicity. If a legacy network determines that increased accuracy or reduce latency is required, the network may update the configuration of the broadcast DL-PRS resources to increase the frequency by, for example, providing the configuration with a shorter periodicity. While this may increase accuracy and reduce latency, it may also come at the cost of network and UE efficiency. Embodiments of this disclosure, on the other hand, enable the base station108to determine that the UE104(or a set of UEs that includes UE104) would benefit from higher positioning accuracy or lower latency. The base station108may then provide lower-layer control signaling to dynamically activate DL-PRS resources for a period of time only for those specific UEs. In this manner, the base station108may target the additional resources to the UEs that would benefit from them and may do so only for the time period needed. Signaling and procedures to enable this operation are described in more details to follow. FIG.2illustrates a signaling diagram200in accordance with some embodiments. Signaling diagram200may illustrate various signals and operations performed by the UE104and the base station108with respect to dynamic DL-PRS operation. Transmissions in the uplink direction (for example, from the UE104to the base station108) are shown inFIG.2by arrows pointing upward, and transmissions in the downlink direction (for example, from the base station108to the UE104) are shown inFIG.2by arrows pointing downward. At t0, the signaling diagram200includes the UE104transmitting a capability message (Cap)204. In various embodiments, the capability message204may include indications that the UE104is capable of or information related to performing positioning measurement operations based on dynamic DL-PRS activated or released by lower-layer control signaling. For example, in some embodiments, the capability message204may include a minimum timing (K_min) between an end of the lower-layer control signaling and a start of receiving a DL-PRS activated by the lower-layer control signaling. In various embodiments, the minimum timing may be based on UE capability with respect to a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a component carrier (CC) carrying downlink control information (DCI) and SCS of CC carrying the dynamic DL-PRS. The minimum timing may be indicated in a number of symbols, slots, or other time-domain parameter. In some embodiments, the capability message204may include an indication of a maximum number of DL PRS resources supported by the UE104for positioning measurements/report when the UE104supports lower-layer DL-PRS triggering. The measurements may include, for example, reference signal received power (RSRP) or RSTD measurements. At least two options for this capability report may be provided. In a first option, the UE104may report a plurality of different numbers in the capability message204. For example, the UE104may include a first number, N1, that indicates a number of DL-PRS resources that are supported when no dynamic DL-PRS resources are triggered; a second number, N2, of dynamic DL-PRS resources supported in an inactive state; and a third number, N3, of dynamic DL-PRS resources supported in an active state. The active/inactive states of the dynamic DL-PRS resources will be described in further detail below. In a second option, the UE104may report a single number that includes all DL-PRS resources that are supported. This may include, for example, broadcast and dynamic DL-PRS resources. The signaling diagram200includes the UE104receiving a configuration message (Config)208. In some embodiments, the configuration message208may be a higher-layer signaling message such as, for example, RRC signaling. The configuration message208may configure the UE with one or more DL-PRS resources or DL-PRS resource sets. For example, in some embodiments, the configuration message208may configure the UE104with configuration parameters corresponding to a plurality of DL-PRS resources, with each DL-PRS resource configuration having independent periodicity or time/frequency occurrences for the corresponding DL-PRS resources. For example, the configuration message208may configure the UE104with configuration212. In one example, as generally illustrated inFIG.2, configuration212may configure two DL-PRS resources. First DL-PRS resources, associated with DL-PRS resource index0, may include first configuration parameters and second DL-PRS resources, associated with DL-PRS resource index1, may include second configuration parameters. The first configuration parameters may include, for example, a three-slot periodicity, with DL-PRS occurrences within the first two consecutive slots of the three-slot period. Furthermore, each DL-PRS occurrence may be defined by, for example, 10 physical resource blocks and symbols0-6. The first configuration parameters may further include an active time window of four slots. The second configuration parameters may include, for example, eight two-slot periodicity, with DL-PRS occurrences within a first slot of the two-slot period. The DL-PRS occurrence may be defined by, for example, six physical resource blocks and symbols0-8. The second configuration parameters may further include an active time window of three slots. It will be understood that the number of configured DL-PRS resources, the specific configuration parameters, etc. are given only as examples and do not limit embodiments described herein. In some embodiments, the configuration message208, and resulting configuration212, may be specific to one UE (for example, UE104) or a set of UEs having a common characteristic (for example, a common mobility status). Upon configuration, the DL-PRS resources may be in an inactive state. The DL-PRS resources may remain in the inactive state until later activation or triggering by a lower-layer control signal as described herein. As used herein, “activating” or “triggering” DL-PRS resources be synonymous. Both may refer to transitioning inactive DL-PRS resources to active DL-PRS resources. At some point, for example t1, the base station108may detect an event that indicates the UE104or network would benefit from increased accuracy or reduced latency with respect to the position of the UE104. In some embodiments, the event may be based on signaling from the 5GC116, services requested or provided to the UE104, or conditions/context of the radio access network managed by the base station108. Based on the event, the base station108may transmit a lower-layer control signal (Act signal)216to activate DL-PRS resources in a dynamic manner. The lower-layer control signal216may be transmitted through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). In some embodiments, the lower-layer control signal216may be a UE-specific downlink control information (DCI), a group-common DCI, or a MAC (CE). The lower-layer control signal216may indicate which DL-PRS resources are activated by including one or more indices of DL-PRS resources or DL-PRS resource sets. For example, if the lower-layer control signal216includes a DL-PRS resource index, the UE104may determine that the DL-PRS resources associated with that index are to be transitioned from the inactive state to an active state. Similarly, if the lower-layer control signal216includes a DL-PRS resource set index, the UE104may determine that the DL-PRS resources within a set associated with the set index are to be transitioned from the inactive state to the active state. With reference toFIG.2, the lower-layer control signal216may include an indication of DL-PRS resource index0. In some embodiments, the lower-layer control signal216may include additional information to supplement, or override, configuration information. For example, in some embodiments, the lower-layer control signal216may include an indication of length of an active time window, for example, a period of time in which the indicated DL-PRS resources are to be activated, after which they are to be transitioned to the inactive state. In some embodiments, new DCI fields may be introduced (for example, in UE-specific or GC-DCI) or existing DCI fields may be implicitly used or reinterpreted (for example, in UE-specific DCI) to indicate the DL-PRS resources or resource sets that are activated. For example, in some embodiments a specific DCI type may be used to activate or release DL-PRS resources. The base station108may scramble cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits of the DCI with a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) that is to indicate that the DCI of a DL-PRS type. Thus, when the UE104uses the RNTI to descramble the CRC bits, the UE104may know that the DCI is of the DL-PRS type. In this situation, the DCI may also know that certain fields of the DCI may be interpreted consistent with a DL-PRS context. For example, because DCI of the DL-PRS type does not schedule data, the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) number field may not be utilized. Therefore, in some embodiments the HARQ number field may be reinterpreted in DCI of the DL-PRS type to provide an indication of the DL-PRS resource (or resource set) index. In some embodiments, the lower-layer control signal216may include a timing indication, K_m, which indicates a symbol/slot after an end of the PDCCH carrying the lower-layer control signal216until the symbol/slot where the UE104is to receive the first occasion of an activated DL-PRS resource. K_m may not be less than K_min indicated in the capability message204. In some embodiments, the UE104may transmit an acknowledgment message (ACK)220to acknowledge receipt of the lower-layer control signal216. The acknowledgment message220may be transmitted through a MAC CE or physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). After K_m symbols/slots, DL-PRS resources associated with DL-PRS resource index0may be activated, with DL-PRS signals being transmitted in activated occurrences. In some embodiments, the DL-PRS signals may be transmitted by one or more access nodes, including, for example, access nodes other than the base station108. The UE104may determine the DL-PRS resources are deactivated after the active time window indicated by the lower-layer control signal216or associated with the indicated DL-PRS resource in configuration212. In some embodiments, instead of relying on an active time window being signaled or configured, the base station108may transmit another lower-layer control signal (Release)224to release the DL-PRS resources. Similar to the lower-layer control signal216, the lower-layer control signal224may be UE specific DCI, GC-DCI, or a MAC CE that includes one or more indices that correspond to the DL-PRS resources that are to be released, for example, the resources that are to be transitioned from the active state to the inactive state. In some embodiments, the lower-layer control signal224may be associated with the lower-layer control signal216. In these situations, the lower-layer control signal224may be considered to indicate that all DL-PRS resources activated by lower-layer control signal216should be released. In other embodiments, only the indices indicated by the lower-layer control signal224may be released. The signaling diagram200may further include a measurement report (Report)228. The measurement report228may be based on measurements performed on the dynamic DL-PRS received during the duration window. In various embodiments, the measurements may be RSRP/RSTD measurements. The measurement report228may include the RSRP/RSTD measurements directly or one or more metrics/indications derived from those measurements. A DL-PRS dynamically triggered by a lower-layer control signal, such as that discussed above with respect toFIG.2, may result in a potential collision with another downlink transmission. For example, the dynamic DL-PRS may be scheduled to be transmitted on one or more symbols that overlap with symbols upon which the other downlink transmission is also scheduled. Various embodiments describe techniques that the base station108and UE104may employ to address these situations. In a first embodiment, a dynamic DL-PRS, triggered by a lower-layer control signal, may potentially collide with a broadcast DL-PRS (for example, a regular or legacy DL-PRS). The base station108may determine that the dynamic DL-PRS is associated with a relatively higher priority than the broadcast DL-PRS. This may be due, in part, to the triggering of the dynamic DL-PRS representing a more recent decision by the network based on, for example, a condition detected by the network that prompts the activation of the dynamic DL-PRS. The broadcast DL-PRS, on the other hand, is activated by higher-layer signaling that may not represent the current state of the network. In these embodiments, the base station108may cancel at least part of the broadcast DL-PRS transmissions. For example, in some embodiments, transmission of the broadcast DL-PRS may be canceled in all symbols within an active time window of the DL-PRS. The active time window may be determined based on a lower-layer activation signal, configuration, or a lower-layer release signal. In other embodiments, the broadcast DL-PRS may be canceled only in symbols that overlap with the activated dynamic DL-PRS resources. In another embodiment, a dynamic DL-PRS, triggered by a lower-layer control signal, may potentially collide with a semi-persistent (SP) DL-PRS, which may be configured by RRC and activated by a MAC CE. The base station108may determine that the dynamic DL-PRS is associated with a relatively higher priority than the SP DL-PRS. Similar to above, this may be due, in part, to the triggering of the dynamic DL-PRS representing a more recent decision by the network based on, for example, the condition detected by the network that prompts the activation of the dynamic DL-PRS. This may especially be the case when the lower-layer control signal that activates the dynamic DL-PRS is a DCI. In these embodiments, the base station108may cancel at least part of the SP DL-PRS transmissions. For example, in some embodiments, transmission of the SP DL-PRS may be canceled in all symbols within an active time window of the DL-PRS. The active time window may be determined based on a lower-layer activation signal, configuration, or a lower-layer release signal. In other embodiments, the SP DL-PRS may be canceled only in symbols that overlap with the activated dynamic DL-PRS resources. In another embodiment, a dynamic DL-PRS, triggered by a lower-layer control signal, may potentially collide with a configured DL transmission. For example, the dynamic DL-PRS may potentially collide with a CSI-RS or an semi-persistent scheduled (SPS) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). In these embodiments, one or more options may be used. In a first option, the base station108may drop, and the UE104may not expect to receive, the configured DL transmission (for example, the configured SPS-PDSCH or CSI-RS). Similar to above, a decision to transmit the dynamic DL-PRS may have been made more recently than the decision to transmit the configured SPS-PDSCH or CSI-RS. Thus, the later network decision may be given priority over the earlier network decision. In some embodiments, the network may still proceed with configurations that collide in certain occasions (for example, may transmit the configured SPS-PDSCH or CSI-RS), but the UE104may not expect to receive the transmissions other than the DL-PRS. In a second option, treatment of the potential collision between a dynamic DL-PRS and configured CSI-RS may be treated differently than a potential collision between a dynamic DL-PRS and a configured SPS-PDSCH. If there is a potential collision between a dynamic DL-PRS and a configured CSI-RS, the UE104may not expect to receive the CSI-RS. Similarly, if there is a potential collision between a dynamic DL-PRS and a configured SPS-PDSCH, the UE104may not expect to receive the SPS-PDSCH. However, if the UE104does receive the unexpected transmissions, it may consider the receipt of the SPS-PDSCH as an error case, but would not consider the receipt of the CSI-RS as an error case. Thus, in this embodiment, the flexibility of the network to use configurations that cause collision between the dynamic DL-PRS and the SPS-PDSCH may be limited. In a third option, the base station108and UE104may treat potential collisions between a dynamic DL-PRS and both configured CSI-RS and configured SPS PDSCH as described in option2with respect to the SPS-PDSCH. For example, the UE104may not expect a dynamic DL-PRS to collide with either a configured CSI-RS or a configured SPS PDSCH and may treat such a situation as an error case. Thus, in this embodiment, the flexibility of the network to use configurations that cause collision between the dynamic DL-PRS and the CSI-RS or the SPS-PDSCH may be limited. In another embodiment, a dynamic DL-PRS, triggered by a lower-layer control signal, may potentially collide with a dynamic physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). In these embodiments, one or more options may be used. In a first option, the UE104may not expect collisions between such dynamic allocations. For example, the UE104would consider a collision between a dynamic DL-PRS and a dynamic PDSCH as an error case. Thus, the network may not have flexibility to configure these dynamic allocations in an overlapping manner. In a second option, the dynamic PDSCH may be prioritized over the dynamic DL-PRS. In this situation, the base station108may drop the DL-PRS. In some embodiments, the base station108may only drop dynamic DL-PRS occasions on symbols that overlap with the dynamic PDSCH. In other embodiments, the base station108may drop the DL-PRS occasions on all the symbols. In a third option, the dynamic DL-PRS may be prioritized over the dynamic PDSCH. In this situation, the base station108may drop the dynamic PDSCH. In some embodiments, the base station108may only drop dynamic PDSCH on symbols that overlap with the dynamic DL-PRS. In other embodiments, the base station108may drop the DL-PRS occasions on all the symbols. In some embodiments, in order to handle interference or potential collisions base station108may mute some DL-PRS resources. The base station108may mute these resources using one or more muting patterns. For example, a first muting pattern may include muting all PRS resources within a muting window; and a second muting pattern may include muting only specific repetitions of a single PRS resource. In some embodiments, the base station108may indicate a muting pattern by transmitting lower-layer control signals as described herein. The lower-layer control signals may include lower-layer activation/release signals as discussed herein. In other embodiments, separate lower-layer control signals may be dedicated to providing an indication of a muting pattern. The muting pattern may be one of the two muting patterns discussed above, or may include additional muting patterns. In some embodiments, the muting patterns may be part of a configuration, for example configuration212, that is referenced by a muting pattern index included in the lower-layer control signal. In some embodiments, the muting pattern may be associated with a configured muting duration. The muting duration may be part of the initial configuration or may be signaled in the lower-layer control signal. In other embodiments, the muting pattern may be activated and released in a manner similar to that described above with respect to activating and releasing the DL-PRS resources. FIG.3illustrates an operation flow/algorithmic structure300in accordance with some embodiments. The operation flow/algorithmic structure300may be performed or implemented by a UE such as, for example, UE104or UE600; or components thereof, for example, baseband processor604A. The operation flow/algorithmic structure300may include, at304, receiving configuration information to configure DL-PRS resources. The configuration information may configure a plurality of dynamic DL-PRS resources, with different DL-PRS resources having independent configuration parameters including, for example, time/frequency resources, periodicity, active durations, etc. The configuration information may be specifically configured to one UE or a set of UEs. In some embodiments, the DL-PRS resources may be organized into one or more resource sets. In some embodiments, DL-PRS resources may belong to more than one DL-PRS resource set. The DL-PRS resources/resource sets as configured by the configuration information may be indexed by a DL-PRS resource index or a DL-PRS resource set index. The operation flow/algorithmic structure300may further include, at308, receiving a control signal that includes an indication of the DL-PRS resources. In some embodiments, the indication may be an indication of the DL-PRS resource index or DL-PRS resource set index. The control signal may be a lower-layer control signal such as, for example, UE-specific DCI, GC DCI, or MAC CE signal, that is used to dynamically activate or release DL-PRS resources. In some embodiments, the control signal may further include information to supplement or override portions of the configuration. For example, in some embodiments the control signal may include duration information (either original or updated) that may indicate how long DL-PRS resources are to be activated. For another example, the control signal may include location information such as, for example, an indication of a component carrier, bandwidth part, etc. in which the DL-PRS resources are located. In some embodiments, the control signal may be DCI that may be identified as a DL-PRS type DCI based on an RNTI used to scramble CRC bits attached to a payload of the DCI. Upon determining the DCI is a DL-PRS type DCI, the UE may interpret fields of the DCI based on a DL-PRS context. The operation flow/algorithmic structure300may further include, at312, performing a positioning operation with respect to the DL-PRS resources based on the control signal. In some embodiments, the control signal may be an activation signal. In these embodiments, the positioning operation may include detecting the activation of the DL-PRS resources (for example, transitioning the DL-PRS resources from an inactive state to an active state), measuring the DL-PRS resources, and transmitting a report to a base station based on the measuring of the DL-PRS resources. In some embodiments, the control signal may be a release signal. In these embodiments, the positioning operation may include detecting the release of the DL-PRS resources (for example, transitioning the DL-PRS resources from an active state to an inactive state). FIG.4illustrates an operation flow/algorithmic structure400in accordance with some embodiments. The operation flow/algorithmic structure400may be performed or implemented by a base station such as, for example, base station108or base station700; or components thereof, for example, baseband processor704A. The operation flow/algorithmic structure400may include, at404, detecting a potential collision between dynamic DL-PRS and another downlink transmission. In various embodiments, the other downlink transmission may be a broadcast DL-PRS, an SP-DL-PRS, a CSI-RS, an SPS-PDSCH, or a dynamic PDSCH. The operation flow/algorithmic structure400may further include, at408, determining a first transmission that includes a relatively higher priority. For example, the base station may determine whether the dynamic DL-PRS or the other downlink transmission is to be considered the first transmission with the relatively higher priority. In some embodiments, the transmission that is associated with the most recent network decision may be considered the higher priority. The operation flow/algorithmic structure400may further include, at412, determining a second transmission that includes a relatively higher priority. For example, the base station may determine whether the dynamic DL-PRS or the other downlink transmission is to be considered the second transmission with the relatively lower priority. The operation flow/algorithmic structure400may further include, at416, transmitting the first transmission to a UE. The operation flow/algorithmic structure400may further include, at420, canceling at least a portion of the second transmission. In some embodiments, only portions of the second transmission that are on symbols that overlap with the first transmission may be canceled. In other embodiments, all symbols of the second transmission may be canceled within a duration of the first transmission. FIG.5illustrates an operation flow/algorithmic structure500in accordance with some embodiments. The operation flow/algorithmic structure500may be performed or implemented by a base station such as, for example, base station108or base station700; or components thereof, for example, baseband processor704A. The operation flow/algorithmic structure500may include, at504, activating DL-PRS resources. In these embodiments, the DL-PRS resources may be broadcast, SP, or dynamic DL-PRS resources. The operation flow/algorithmic structure500may further include, at508, detecting interference or collision with respect to at least some of the DL-PRS resources. For example, in some embodiments the base station may detect the DL-PRS resources are to collide with another downlink transmission as described with respect toFIG.4, for example. The operation flow/algorithmic structure500may further include, at512, transmitting a control signal to indicate at least some of the DL-PRS resources are to be muted. In some embodiments, the control signal may be a lower-layer signaling such as, for example, UE-specific DCI, GC DCI, or MAC CE signal. The control signal may identify one or more muting patterns, which may have been previously configured to the UE. In some embodiments, the control signal may further identify a duration of muting of the DL-PRS resources. FIG.6illustrates a UE600in accordance with some embodiments. The UE600may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with UE64ofFIG.1. The UE600may be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as, for example, mobile phones, computers, tablets, industrial wireless sensors (for example, microphones, carbon dioxide sensors, pressure sensors, humidity sensors, thermometers, motion sensors, accelerometers, laser scanners, fluid level sensors, inventory sensors, electric voltage/current meters, actuators, etc.), video surveillance/monitoring devices (for example, cameras, video cameras, etc.), wearable devices (for example, a smart watch), relaxed-IoT devices. The UE600may include processors604, RF interface circuitry608, memory/storage612, user interface616, sensors620, driver circuitry622, power management integrated circuit (PMIC)624, antenna structure626, and battery628. The components of the UE600may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions thereof, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. The block diagram ofFIG.6is intended to show a high-level view of some of the components of the UE600. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangement of the components shown may occur in other implementations. The components of the UE600may be coupled with various other components over one or more interconnects632, which may represent any type of interface, input/output, bus (local, system, or expansion), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc. that allows various circuit components (on common or different chips or chipsets) to interact with one another. The processors604may include processor circuitry such as, for example, baseband processor circuitry (BB)604A, central processor unit circuitry (CPU)604B, and graphics processor unit circuitry (GPU)604C. The processors604may include any type of circuitry or processor circuitry that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from memory/storage612to cause the UE600to perform operations as described herein. In some embodiments, the baseband processor circuitry604A may access a communication protocol stack636in the memory/storage612to communicate over a 3GPP compatible network. In general, the baseband processor circuitry604A may access the communication protocol stack to: perform user plane functions at a PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and PDU layer; and perform control plane functions at a PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and a non-access stratum layer. In some embodiments, the PHY layer operations may additionally/alternatively be performed by the components of the RF interface circuitry608. The baseband processor circuitry604A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in 3GPP-compatible networks. In some embodiments, the waveforms for NR may be based cyclic prefix OFDM “CP-OFDM” in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM “DFT-S-OFDM” in the uplink. The memory/storage612may include one or more non-transitory, computer-readable media that includes instructions (for example, communication protocol stack636) that may be executed by one or more of the processors604to cause the UE600to perform various operations described herein. The memory/storage612include any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE600. In some embodiments, some of the memory/storage612may be located on the processors604themselves (for example, L1 and L2 cache), while other memory/storage612is external to the processors604but accessible thereto via a memory interface. The memory/storage612may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), eraseable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically eraseable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), Flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology. The RF interface circuitry608may include transceiver circuitry and radio frequency front module (RFEM) that allows the UE600to communicate with other devices over a radio access network. The RF interface circuitry608may include various elements arranged in transmit or receive paths. These elements may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuitry, control circuitry, etc. In the receive path, the RFEM may receive a radiated signal from an air interface via antenna structure626and proceed to filter and amplify (with a low-noise amplifier) the signal. The signal may be provided to a receiver of the transceiver that down-converts the RF signal into a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of the processors604. In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides the RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier prior to the signal being radiated across the air interface via the antenna626. In various embodiments, the RF interface circuitry608may be configured to transmit/receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technologies. The antenna626may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and to convert received radio waves into electrical signals. The antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. The antenna626may have antenna panels that are omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to enable beamforming and multiple input, multiple output communications. The antenna626may include microstrip antennas, printed antennas fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, patch antennas, phased array antennas, etc. The antenna626may have one or more panels designed for specific frequency bands including bands in FR1 or FR2. The user interface circuitry616includes various input/output (I/O) devices designed to enable user interaction with the UE600. The user interface616includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting an input including, inter alia, one or more physical or virtual buttons (for example, a reset button), a physical keyboard, keypad, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, microphones, scanner, headset, or the like. The output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for showing information or otherwise conveying information, such as sensor readings, actuator position(s), or other like information. Output device circuitry may include any number or combinations of audio or visual display, including, inter alia, one or more simple visual outputs/indicators (for example, binary status indicators such as light emitting diodes “LEDs” and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs such as display devices or touchscreens (for example, liquid crystal displays “LCDs,” LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), with the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, and the like being generated or produced from the operation of the UE 1100. The sensors620may include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and send the information (sensor data) about the detected events to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, inter alia, inertia measurement units comprising accelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems or nanoelectromechanical systems comprising 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes, or magnetometers; level sensors; flow sensors; temperature sensors (for example, thermistors); pressure sensors; barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capture devices (for example, cameras or lensless apertures); light detection and ranging sensors; proximity sensors (for example, infrared radiation detector and the like); depth sensors; ambient light sensors; ultrasonic transceivers; microphones or other like audio capture devices; etc. The driver circuitry622may include software and hardware elements that operate to control particular devices that are embedded in the UE600, attached to the UE1100, or otherwise communicatively coupled with the UE600. The driver circuitry622may include individual drivers allowing other components to interact with or control various input/output (I/O) devices that may be present within, or connected to, the UE600. For example, driver circuitry622may include a display driver to control and allow access to a display device, a touchscreen driver to control and allow access to a touchscreen interface, sensor drivers to obtain sensor readings of sensor circuitry620and control and allow access to sensor circuitry620, drivers to obtain actuator positions of electro-mechanic components or control and allow access to the electro-mechanic components, a camera driver to control and allow access to an embedded image capture device, audio drivers to control and allow access to one or more audio devices. The PMIC624may manage power provided to various components of the UE600. In particular, with respect to the processors604, the PMIC624may control power-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion. In some embodiments, the PMIC624may control, or otherwise be part of, various power saving mechanisms of the UE600including DRX as discussed herein. A battery628may power the UE600, although in some examples the UE600may be mounted deployed in a fixed location, and may have a power supply coupled to an electrical grid. The battery628may be a lithium ion battery, a metal-air battery, such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, and the like. In some implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery628may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery. FIG.7illustrates a gNB700in accordance with some embodiments. The gNB node700may similar to and substantially interchangeable with base station108ofFIG.1. The gNB700may include processors704, RF interface circuitry708, core network “CN” interface circuitry712, memory/storage circuitry716, and antenna structure726. The components of the gNB700may be coupled with various other components over one or more interconnects728. The processors704, RF interface circuitry708, memory/storage circuitry716(including communication protocol stack710), antenna structure726, and interconnects728may be similar to like-named elements shown and described with respect toFIG.6. The CN interface circuitry712may provide connectivity to a core network, for example, a 5th Generation Core network “5GC” using a 5GC-compatible network interface protocol such as carrier Ethernet protocols, or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may be provided to/from the gNB700via a fiber optic or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuitry712may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs to communicate using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuitry712may include multiple controllers to provide connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols. In some embodiments, the gNB700may be coupled with TRPs using the antenna structure726, CN interface circuitry, or other interface circuitry. It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users. For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods as set forth in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below. For another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below in the example section. EXAMPLES In the following sections, further exemplary embodiments are provided. Example 1 may include a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving configuration information to configure downlink-positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources; receiving a control signal that includes an indication of the DL-PRS resources, wherein the control signal is at a media access control (MAC) layer or lower layer; and performing a positioning operation with respect to the DL-PRS resources based on the control signal. Example 2 may include the method of claim1or some other example herein, wherein performing the positioning operation comprises: detecting an activation of the DL-PRS resources; measuring the DL-PRS resources; and transmitting a report to a base station based on the measuring of the DL-PRS resources. Example 3 may include the method of example 2 or some other example herein, further comprising: determining a length of a window in which the DL-PRS resources are activated based on the control signal or the configuration information. Example 4 may include the method of example 2 or some other example herein, wherein the indication of the DL-PRS resources comprises an indication of a DL-PRS resource index or a DL-PRS resource set index. Example 5 may include the method of example 2 or some other example herein, further comprising: configuring, based on the configuration information, the DL-PRS resources in an inactive state; and transitioning the DL-PRS resources from the inactive state to an active state based on detecting the activation of the DL-PRS resources. Example 6 may include the method of example 2 or some other example herein, further comprising: determining a reference signal received power (RSRP) or reference signal time difference (RSTD) based on said measuring the DL-PRS resources; and transmitting the report based on the RSRP or RSTD. Example 7 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein the configuration information is a UE-specific configuration information to configure one or more UEs, including the UE, with the DL-PRS resources. Example 8 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein the control signal comprises downlink control information (DCI) and the method further comprises: descrambling cyclic-redundancy check (CRC) bits attached to a payload of the DCI to detect a radio-network temporary identifier (RNTI); determining the DCI is of a DL-PRS type to activate or release DL-PRS resources based on the RNTI; and processing one or more fields of the DCI based on determining the DCI is of the DL-PRS type. Example 9 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, further comprising: transmitting, to a base station, an indication of a minimum period after receipt of a DL-PRS activation signal that the UE is capable of receiving a corresponding DL-PRS; and receiving, in the control signal, an indication of a period after receipt of the control signal that the UE is to receive first occasion of activated DL-PRS resources, wherein the period is equal to or greater than the minimum period. Example 10 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein performing the positioning operation comprises: detecting a release of the DL-PRS resources; and transitioning the DL-PRS resources from an active state to an inactive state. Example 11 may include the method of example 10 or some other example herein, wherein the indication of the DL-PRS resources comprises an indication of a DL-PRS resource index or a DL-PRS resource set index. Example 12 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, further comprising: transmitting, to a base station, an acknowledgment of the receiving of the control signal, wherein the acknowledgement comprises a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) or physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission. Example 13 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, further comprising: transmitting, to a base station, a capability message to indicate a maximum number of DL PRS resources supported by the UE for reference signal received power (RSRP) or reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements. Example 14 may include the method of example 13 or some other example herein, wherein to indicate the maximum number the capability message is to indicate: a first number of DL-PRS resources supported when no dynamic DL-PRS resources are in an active state; a second number of dynamic DL-PRS resources supported in an inactive state; and a third number of dynamic DL-PRS resources supported in an active state. Example 15 may include the method of example 13 or some other example herein, wherein to indicate the maximum number the capability message is to indicate one number of DL-PRS resources that are supported for broadcast DL-PRS resources and dynamic DL-PRS resources. Example 16 may include the method of any one of examples 1-15 or some other example herein, wherein the control signal comprises UE-specific downlink control information, group-common DCI, or media access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling. Example 17 may include a method of operating a base station (BS), the method comprising: determining a potential collision between a dynamic downlink-positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and another downlink transmission; determining a first transmission of the dynamic DL-PRS and the other downlink transmission includes a relatively higher priority; determining a second transmission of the dynamic DL-PRS and the other downlink transmission includes a relatively lower priority; transmitting the first transmission to a user equipment (UE); and canceling at least a portion of the second transmission. Example 18 may include the method of example 17 or some other example herein, wherein the other downlink transmission includes broadcast or semi-persistent DL-PRS, the first transmission is the dynamic DL-PRS, and the method further comprises: cancelling transmission of all symbols of the second transmission or only a set of symbols of the second transmission that overlap with the first transmission. Example 19 may include the method of example 17 or some other example herein, wherein the other downlink transmission includes a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) or a semi-persistent scheduled (SPS) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission, the first transmission is the dynamic DL-PRS, and the method further comprises: dropping transmission of the CSI-RS or the SPS PDSCH transmission. Example 20 may include the method of example 17 or some other example herein, wherein the other downlink transmission includes a dynamic physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission, the first transmission is the dynamic DL-PRS, and the method further comprises: dropping transmission of the dynamic PDSCH transmission. Example 21 may include the method of example 17 or some other example herein, wherein the other downlink transmission includes a dynamic physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission, the first transmission is the dynamic PDSCH transmission, and the method further comprises: dropping transmission of the dynamic DL-PRS. Example 22 may include a method of operating a base station, the method comprising: activating downlink-positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources; detecting interference with respect to at least some of the DL-PRS resources; and transmitting, based on said detecting interference, a control signal to indicate the at least some of the DL-PRS resources are to be muted, wherein the control signal is at a media access control (MAC) layer or lower layer. Example 23 may include the method of example 22 or some other example herein, wherein the at least some of the DL-PRS resources comprises all of the DL-PRS resources within a muting window. Example 24 may include the method of example 22 or some other example herein, wherein the at least some of the DL-PRS resources comprises a specific subset of all of the DL-PRS resources. Example 25 may include the method of example 22 some other example herein, wherein the DL-PRS resources are broadcast DL-PRS resources or dynamic DL-PRS resources. Example 26 may include the method of example 22 or some other example herein, wherein the control signal includes an indication of a muting duration for the at least some of the DL-PRS resources. Example 27 may include an apparatus comprising means to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-26, or any other method or process described herein. Example 28 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-26, or any other method or process described herein. Example 29 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-26, or any other method or process described herein. Example 30 may include a method, technique, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-26, or portions or parts thereof. Example 31 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-26, or portions thereof. Example 32 may include a signal as described in or related to any of examples 1-26, or portions or parts thereof. Example 33 may include a datagram, information element, packet, frame, segment, PDU, or message as described in or related to any of examples 1-26, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure. Example 34 may include a signal encoded with data as described in or related to any of examples 1-26, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure. Example 35 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, IE, packet, frame, segment, PDU, or message as described in or related to any of examples 1-26, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure. Example 36 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors is to cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-26, or portions thereof. Example 37 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element is to cause the processing element to carry out the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-26, or portions thereof. Example 38 may include a signal in a wireless network as shown and described herein. Example 39 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein. Example 40 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. Example 41 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. Any of the above-described examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples), unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments. Although the embodiments above have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications. | 65,074 |
11943792 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION In some wireless communications systems, a user equipment (UE) may be configured, by a base station, to transmit or receive periodic data bursts, where the periodic data bursts may be scheduled to occur in accordance with a periodicity. To reduce power consumption of the UE, the UE may switch between at least two different bandwidth parts (BWPs) such as a first BWP (e.g., a high power BWP, high throughput BWP), and a second BWP (e.g., a default BWP, a low power BWP, a low throughput BWP), where the UE may use the first BWP to transmit or receive the periodic data bursts. Prior to an instance of a periodic data burst, the UE may receive a downlink control channel message (e.g., downlink control information (DCI) that may indicate the instance of the periodic data (e.g., scheduling information). Upon receiving the downlink control channel message, the UE may start an inactivity timer and switch to the first BWP to receive the instance of the periodic data burst. After expiry of the inactivity timer, the UE may switch to the second BWP. To perform the switch from the first BWP to the second BWP, the UE may operate according to a switch delay in which the UE may not transmit or receive messages for a duration in between the first BWP and the second BWP. The UE may operate using the second BWP until the UE receives a second downlink control message indicating a second instance of the periodic data burst. Similarly to switching from the first BWP to the second BWP to the first BWP, the UE may operate according to a switch delay in which the UE may not transmit or receive messages for a duration in between the second BWP and the first BWP. In some cases, if the first instance of the data burst takes longer than expected (due to, for example, multiple retransmissions), the transition, by the UE, to the second BWP may be delayed. Due to the switch delay that occurs between each BWP switch, the UE's transition back to the first throughput BWP to receive the second instance of the periodic data burst may also be delayed. Accordingly, the UE may be delayed in receiving the second instance of the periodic data burst. To reduce latency and power consumption, a UE may be configured with one or more additional timers to the inactivity timer for the UE to use in determining whether the UE has enough time to switch to the second BWP and back to the first BWP before a next instance of a periodic data burst. In one example, a base station may configure a BWP switching timer (e.g., a bandwidth switching timer, a BWP default switch timer). The UE may be configured to start the BWP switching timer upon the first data transmissions of the data burst. Accordingly, the UE may start an inactivity timer upon receiving a downlink control channel message indicating a periodic data burst instance, and the UE may start a BWP switching timer upon the first data transmission of the periodic data burst instance. Upon expiry of the inactivity timer, the UE may determine whether the BWP switching timer has expired. If the BWP switching timer has not expired, then the UE may conclude that there is enough time to switch to the second BWP, and back again prior to the next periodic data burst. Accordingly, the UE may switch to the second BWP before the next periodic data burst. If the BWP switching timer has expired, the UE may conclude that there is not enough time to switch to the second BWP before the next periodic data burst. Accordingly, the UE may remain in the first BWP until the next periodic data burst. Particular aspects of the subject matter described herein may be implemented to realize one or more advantages. The described techniques may support improvements in transmitting or receiving periodic data bursts by allowing a device, such as a UE, to dynamically determine whether the device has enough time to switch to a low power BWP before a next instance of the periodic data burst. The described techniques may improve device coordination, improve reliability, and decrease latency among other advantages. As such, supported techniques may include improved network operations and, in some examples, may promote network efficiencies, among other benefits. Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of wireless communications systems. Aspects are then described with reference to Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to techniques for performing BWP switching. FIG.1illustrates an example of a wireless communications system100that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system100may include one or more base stations105, one or more UEs115, and a core network130. In some examples, the wireless communications system100may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wireless communications system100may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, communications with low-cost and low-complexity devices, or any combination thereof. The base stations105may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communications system100and may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. The base stations105and the UEs115may wirelessly communicate via one or more communication links125. Each base station105may provide a coverage area110over which the UEs115and the base station105may establish one or more communication links125. The coverage area110may be an example of a geographic area over which a base station105and a UE115may support the communication of signals according to one or more radio access technologies. The UEs115may be dispersed throughout a coverage area110of the wireless communications system100, and each UE115may be stationary, or mobile, or both at different times. The UEs115may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some example UEs115are illustrated inFIG.1. The UEs115described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs115, the base stations105, or network equipment (e.g., core network nodes, relay devices, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network equipment), as shown inFIG.1. The base stations105may communicate with the core network130, or with one another, or both. For example, the base stations105may interface with the core network130through one or more backhaul links120(e.g., via an S1, N2, N3, or other interface). The base stations105may communicate with one another over the backhaul links120(e.g., via an X2, Xn, or other interface) either directly (e.g., directly between base stations105), or indirectly (e.g., via core network130), or both. In some examples, the backhaul links120may be or include one or more wireless links. One or more of the base stations105described herein may include or may be referred to by a person having ordinary skill in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB or a giga-NodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB), a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology. A UE115may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. A UE115may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE115may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communications (MTC) device, among other examples, which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances, or vehicles, meters, among other examples. The UEs115described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs115that may sometimes act as relays as well as the base stations105and the network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, among other examples, as shown inFIG.1. The UEs115and the base stations105may wirelessly communicate with one another via one or more communication links125over one or more carriers. The term “carrier” may refer to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting the communication links125. For example, a carrier used for a communication link125may include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band (e.g., a BWP (BWP)) that is operated according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communications system100may support communication with a UE115using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE115may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) component carriers. Signal waveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may consist of one symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both). Thus, the more resource elements that a UE115receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate may be for the UE115. A wireless communications resource may refer to a combination of a radio frequency spectrum resource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate or data integrity for communications with a UE115. One or more numerologies for a carrier may be supported, where a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing (Δf) and a cyclic prefix. A carrier may be divided into one or more BWPs having the same or different numerologies. In some examples, a UE115may be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP for a carrier may be active at a given time and communications for the UE115may be restricted to one or more active BWPs. The time intervals for the base stations105or the UEs115may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of Ts=1/(Δfmax·Nf) seconds, where Δfmaxmay represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing, and Nfmay represent the maximum supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size. Time intervals of a communications resource may be organized according to radio frames each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023). Each frame may include multiple consecutively numbered subframes or slots, and each subframe or slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a number of slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of slots, and the number of slots may depend on subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a number of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period). In some wireless communications systems100, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots containing one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., Nf) sampling periods. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation. A subframe, a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communications system100and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system100may be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs)). Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) for a physical control channel may be defined by a number of symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of the carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of the UEs115. For example, one or more of the UEs115may monitor or search control regions for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or multiple control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. An aggregation level for a control channel candidate may refer to a number of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with encoded information for a control information format having a given payload size. Search space sets may include common search space sets configured for sending control information to multiple UEs115and UE-specific search space sets for sending control information to a specific UE115. In some examples, a base station105may be movable and therefore provide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas110associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas110may be supported by the same base station105. In other examples, the overlapping geographic coverage areas110associated with different technologies may be supported by different base stations105. The wireless communications system100may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of the base stations105provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas110using the same or different radio access technologies. The wireless communications system100may be configured to support ultra-reliable communications or low-latency communications, or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communications system100may be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) or mission critical communications. The UEs115may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions). Ultra-reliable communications may include private communication or group communication and may be supported by one or more mission critical services such as mission critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission critical video (MCVideo), or mission critical data (MCData). Support for mission critical functions may include prioritization of services, and mission critical services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission critical, and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein. In some examples, a UE115may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs115over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link135(e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D protocol). One or more UEs115utilizing D2D communications may be within the geographic coverage area110of a base station105. Other UEs115in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area110of a base station105or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station105. In some examples, groups of the UEs115communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE115transmits to every other UE115in the group. In some examples, a base station105facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications are carried out between the UEs115without the involvement of a base station105. The core network130may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network130may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC), which may include at least one control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) and at least one user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)). The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for the UEs115served by the base stations105associated with the core network130. User IP packets may be transferred through the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to IP services150for one or more network operators. The IP services150may include access to the Internet, Intranet(s), an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or a Packet-Switched Streaming Service. Some of the network devices, such as a base station105, may include subcomponents such as an access network entity140, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entity140may communicate with the UEs115through one or more other access network transmission entities145, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission/reception points (TRPs). Each access network transmission entity145may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, various functions of each access network entity140or base station105may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., a base station105). The wireless communications system100may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. The UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, but the waves may penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to the UEs115located indoors. The transmission of UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) compared to transmission using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz. The wireless communications system100may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communications system100may employ License Assisted Access (LAA), LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. When operating in unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, devices such as the base stations105and the UEs115may employ carrier sensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among other examples. A base station105or a UE115may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of a base station105or a UE115may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a base station105may be located in diverse geographic locations. A base station105may have an antenna array with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station105may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE115. Likewise, a UE115may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, an antenna panel may support radio frequency beamforming for a signal transmitted via an antenna port. Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station105, a UE115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagating at particular orientations with respect to an antenna array experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antenna elements may include a transmitting device or a receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation). In some wireless communications systems, such as wireless communications system100, a UE115may be configured to transmit or receive a periodic data burst with a base station105. To reduce power consumption of the UE115, the UE115may use a high power BWP (e.g., a first BWP) to transmit or receive the periodic data burst and the UE115may switch to a low power BWP (e.g., a second BWP, a default BWP) when the UE115is not transmitting or receiving the periodic data burst. To ensure that the UE115has enough time in between the end of a first instance of a periodic data burst and a beginning of a second instance of the periodic data burst to switch between the BWPs, the UE115may be configured with one or more timers. For example, an inactivity timer may be triggered by receipt of the UE115of one or more downlink control channel messages, such as a downlink control channel message associated with a first instance of a periodic data burst. Based on the downlink control message, the UE115may communicate with a base station105via the first instance of the periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst may include one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. The UE115may start a bandwidth switching timer at the beginning of the first instance of the periodic data burst. The UE115may identify an expiration of an inactivity timer and determine whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired upon expiration of the inactivity timer. The UE115may operate, based on the determination, on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a beginning of a second instance of the periodic data burst. For example, if the BWP switching timer has not expired, then the UE115may conclude that there is enough time to switch to the second BWP, and back again prior to the next periodic data burst. Accordingly, the UE115may switch to the second BWP before the next periodic data burst. If the BWP switching timer has expired, the UE115may conclude that there is not enough time to switch to the second BWP before the next periodic data burst. Accordingly, the UE115may remain in the first BWP until the next periodic data burst. FIG.2illustrates an example of a wireless communications system200that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system200may include base station105-aand UE115-a, which may be examples of a base station105and a UE115as described with reference toFIG.1. Base station105-amay serve a geographic coverage area110-a. In some cases, UE115-amay implement a BWP switching determination procedure based on one or more timers. Additionally or alternatively, other wireless devices, such as base station105-a, may implement a same or similar procedure as described herein. In some wireless communications systems, a UE115may transmit or receive communications with a base station105, and in some cases, the communications may occur periodically. For example, UE115-amay be configured (e.g., scheduled) to communicate (e.g., transmit, receive) a periodic data burst210with base station205-ain accordance with a periodicity (e.g., 100 bytes every 2 ms, or 100 Kbytes at 45, 60, 75, or 90 frames per second, for example). To reduce power consumptions at the UE115, the UE115may be configured with at least two different BWPs, such as a high power BWP (e.g., high throughput BWP) and a default BWP (e.g., a lower power BWP, a low throughout BWP), where the device may use the high power BWP to transmit or receive data bursts. Accordingly, the UE115may switch to the default BWP in between instances of the periodic data burst210. As described in more detail with reference toFIG.3, switching to the low power BWP in between each instance of the periodic data burst210may result in increased latency of one or more instances of the periodic data burst210. In some cases, the periodic data burst210may be associated with a low latency traffic. For example, UE115may be a controller or headset used for communication purposes (e.g., extended reality (XR) gaming, Cloud gaming), and as such, to maintain the quality of experience of the user, latency should be reduced. To maintain quality of the periodic data burst210, the UE115may be configured with a set of timers for use in determining whether to switch to the default BWP in between instances of the periodic data burst210. Accordingly, UE115-amay be configured to receive (or transmit) a periodic data burst from base station105-avia a communication link205(e.g., a downlink communication link, a beam, a channel), where UE115-amay receive instances of the periodic data burst210in accordance with a periodicity. Before switching to the default BWP in between instances, UE115-amay perform a BWP switching determination procedure215using one or more timers included in the set of timers to determine whether UE115-ahas enough time in between instances to switch to the default BWP and back to the high power BWP before the next instance. By performing such a procedure, UE115-amay experience increased quality and reduced latency associated with the periodic data burst210. FIG.3illustrates an example of a BWP switching procedure300that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The BWP switching procedure300may be performed by base station105-band UE115-b, which may be examples of a base station105and a UE115as described with reference toFIGS.1and2. In some cases, UE115-bmay implement a BWP switching determination procedure based on one or more timers. Additionally or alternatively, other wireless devices, such as base station105-b, may implement a same or similar procedure as described herein. As described with reference toFIG.2, to reduce power consumption at a UE115, the UE115may be configured to use at least two different BWPs, such as a first BWP305(e.g., a high power BWP, a high throughput BWP, active BWP) and a second BWP315(e.g., a default BWP, a lower power BWP, a low throughout BWP). The UE115may use the first BWP305to transmit or receive data bursts and may switch to the second BWP315in between instances of the periodic data burst. The UE115may not receive the periodic data burst while using the second BWP315. In some cases, a UE115may be prompted to switch BWPs by a downlink control message330(e.g., DCI), that may request the switch, or the UE115may be prompted to switch BWPs based on an expiration of a timer (e.g., an inactivity timer320). In some cases, a delay may be added in between the BWPs to allow the UE115time to switch to the other BWP. For example, upon being prompted to switch BWPs, UE115-bmay operate in accordance with a BWP switch delay310in between switching from the first BWP305to the second BWP315, and vice versa. While operating in accordance with the BWP switch delay310, the UE115may not transmit or receive communications, including the periodic data burst, via the base station105, or any other device and accordingly, a base station105may not schedule the UE115to transmit or receive during the BWP switch delay310. For example, UE115-bmay determine an instance of the data burst325based on a configured periodicity (e.g., traffic period335) associated with the data burst325or based on signaling received from base station105-b. For example, UE115-bmay receive a message (e.g., a downlink control message330, such as a DCI message) from base station105-bindicating an instance of a data burst325. UE115-bmay start an inactivity timer320(e.g., BWP inactivity timer), when UE115-bactivates a BWP other than the default BWP, such as when UE115-bactivates the first BWP305-a. In some cases, UE115-bmay restart the inactivity timer320when UE115-bdecodes a downlink control message330(e.g., DCI) that includes a downlink assignment, such as a downlink assignment of an instance of the data burst325, for the active BWP (e.g., the first BWP305). Accordingly, upon use or assignment of the first BWP305-a, UE115-bmay start inactivity timer320. A data burst325(e.g., a periodic data burst) may arrive in a transmission buffer of base station105-b. As UE115-bis operating in the first BWP305-a, base station105-bmay transmit the data burst325as the data burst325arrives in the transmission buffer. The inactivity timer may be configured to expire sometime after a last transmission of a data burst325. Upon expiry of the inactivity timer320, UE115-bmay be prompted to switch to the second BWP315. Accordingly, UE115-bmay operate in accordance with a BWP switch delay310-afor a duration (e.g., a preconfigured duration) in which UE115-amay not transmit or receives messages. Following the BWP switch delay310-a, UE115-bmay use the second BWP315. To switch back to the first BWP305to receive another instance of the data burst325, base station105-bmay transmit a downlink control message330(e.g., DCI) prompting UE115-bto switch back to the first BWP305. The downlink control message330may include an indication to switch BWPs, an indication of which BWP to switch to, scheduling information associated with the data burst325, etc. Accordingly, upon receiving a downlink control message330in the second BWP315, UE115-bmay enter the BWP switch delay310-bbefore using the first BWP305-b. When UE115-bis operating in accordance with the first BWP305-b, base station105-bmay transmit the data burst325to UE115-b. In some implementations, an instance of a data burst325may get delayed and take longer than expected to complete. For example, UE115-amay experience low channel quality (e.g., low SNR) during transmission of a first instance of the data burst325. In some cases, base station105-bmay transmit one or more retransmissions associated with the data burst325. Accordingly, a duration of the data burst325may be longer than if the data burst325had been transmitted in normal to high channel quality conditions. Accordingly, the inactivity timer320may expire later than it otherwise would have, UE115-bmay enter the BWP switch delay310-alater, and subsequently enter the second BWP315later (as compared to normal to high channel quality conditions). Due to the periodic nature of the data burst325, base station105-bmay identify an arrival of a next instance of the data burst325(e.g., such as due to the traffic period335being defined and know to base station105-b) and may determine to transmit a downlink control message330to UE115-bto prompt UE115-bto switch from the second BWP315to the first BWP305-b. However, at the time of the determination, UE115-amay still be operating according to the BWP switch delay310-adue to the delayed reception of the previous instance of the data burst325and the delayed expiration of the inactivity timer320. As such, base station105-bmay wait until the UE115-benters the second BWP315before transmitting the downlink control message330. Upon entering the second BWP315, UE115-bmay receive the downlink control message330prompting UE115-bto switch to the first BWP305-b. Accordingly, UE115-bmay operate in accordance with BWP switch delay310-bbefore entering the first BWP305-b. However, due to the delay in waiting for UE115-bto enter the second BWP315to transmit the downlink control message330, the base station105-bmay receive the data burst325in the transmission buffer before UE115-bswitches back to the first BWP305-b. Therefore, base station105-bmust wait to transmit the data burst325until UE115-benters the first BWP305-b. Accordingly, due to the initial delay in receiving a previous instance of a data burst325, UE115-bmay experience latency in receiving one or more subsequent instances of the data burst325. In such cases, it may be beneficial for UE115-bto remain in the first BWP305to receive one or more subsequent instances of the data burst325(e.g., rather than switching between the first BWP305and the second BWP315). To reduce latency and improve performance, UE115-bmay be configured with a set of timers for use in determining whether UE115-bhas enough time in between instances of the periodic data burst to switch to the second BWP315. In one example, UE115-bmay be configured with a BWP switching timer (e.g., a bandwidth switching timer, a BWP default switch timer). UE115-bmay be configured to start the BWP switching timer upon the first data instance of the data burst. Accordingly, UE115-bmay start an inactivity timer320upon receiving a downlink control channel message indicating a periodic data burst instance or upon entering the first BWP305, and the UE115may start a BWP switching timer upon the first data transmission of the periodic data burst instance. Upon expiry of the inactivity timer320, UE115-bmay determine whether the BWP switching timer has expired. If the BWP switching timer has not expired, then UE115-bmay conclude that there is enough time to switch to the second BWP315, and back again, prior to the next periodic data burst instance. Accordingly, UE115-bmay switch to the second BWP315before the next instance periodic data burst without introducing delay. If the BWP switching timer has expired, UE115-bmay conclude that there is not enough time to switch to the second BWP315before the next periodic data burst. Accordingly, UE115-bmay remain in the first BWP305until the next periodic data burst. FIG.4illustrates an example of a BWP switching procedure400that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The BWP switching procedure400may be performed by base station105-cand UE115-c, which may be examples of a base station105and a UE115as described with reference toFIGS.1through3. In some cases, UE115-cmay implement a BWP switching determination procedure based on one or more timers. Additionally or alternatively, other wireless devices, such as base station105-c, may implement a same or similar procedure as described herein. UE115-cmay be configured with a set of timers for use in determining whether UE115-chas enough time in between instances of a periodic data burst to switch to a second BWP415without introducing delay in receiving the periodic data burst. The set of timers may include a switching timer440(e.g., a BWP switching timer, a BWP default switch timer, BWP_DefaultSwitchTimer). UE115-cmay be configured to start the switching timer440upon the first data reception of the data burst425and the switching timer440may be set to expire after a defined duration. In some cases, the duration of the switching timer440may be set to a duration approximately equal to the data burst period (e.g., traffic period435) minus twice the BWP switch delay (e.g., traffic period−(2*BWP switch delay)). Accordingly, UE115-cmay start the inactivity timer420upon receiving a downlink control message430scheduling an instance of the data burst425, and/or upon entering the first BWP405-a(e.g., the non-default BWP). Then, upon receiving a first transmission of the data burst425, UE115-c(and base station105-c) may start the switching timer440. UE115-cmay receive the remaining transmissions of the data burst and when the inactivity timer420expires, UE115-c(and base station105-c) may determine whether the switching timer440has expired. If the switching timer440has not expired, then UE115-cmay determine that there is enough time before the next instance of the periodic data burst to switch to the second BWP415. If the switching timer440has expired, UE115-cmay determine that there is not enough time to switch to the second BWP415. Accordingly, UE115-cmay remain in the first BWP305-auntil the next periodic data burst, as described in more detail with reference toFIG.5. For example, upon expiry of the inactivity timer420, UE115-cmay determine that the switching timer440is still running. Therefore, UE115-cmay determine to switch to the second BWP415. Accordingly, UE115-cmay operate according to the BWP switch delay410-aupon expiry of the inactivity timer420, and then enter the second BWP415after the completion of the BWP switch delay410-a. In preparation for the arrival of the periodic data burst, base station105-cmay transmit a downlink control message430to UE115-cwhile UE115-cis in the second BWP415. Upon receiving the downlink control message430, UE115-cmay operate according to the BWP switch delay410-b, and then enter the first BWP405-bupon completion of the BWP switch delay410-bto receive the data burst425. As UE115-cconfirmed, based on the switching timer440, that there was enough time for UE115-cto switch BWPs, base station105-cmay transmit the data burst425as the data burst becomes available in the transmission buffer of base station105-c(e.g., without or with reduced latency). Accordingly, the switch to the second BWP415may be based on an amount of elapsed time since the start of the last data burst. Based on the comparison of the expiration of the inactivity timer420to the expiration of the switching timer440, base station105-bmay determine whether UE115-cwill switch BWPs in between data burst instances, or whether UE115-cwill remain on the first BWP405-a. Accordingly, base station105-amay determine whether to transmit a downlink control message430to prompt UE115-cto switch back to the first BWP305. In some implementations, UE115-cmay be configured with the switching timer440(e.g., a configuration of the switching timer440, such as when to start the switching timer440, a duration of the switching timer440, what to do with the switching timer440) aperiodically, semi-statically, or dynamically (e.g., via radio resource control (RRC), medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE), or DCI signaling, respectively). For example, base station105-cmay identify (e.g., via quality of service (QoS) class identifier (QCI), or learning, such as machine learning) that the data burst425is periodic, and in some cases, base station105-cmay determine that the traffic associated with the425is latency sensitive. Base station105-cmay determine an amount of time (e.g., a duration of the switching timer440), above which a switch to the default BWP (e.g., the second BWP415) should not be done by UE115-cbased on the traffic being periodic and/or latency sensitive. Base station105-cmay determine the duration of the switching timer440to be equal to or approximately equal to the data burst period minus twice the BWP switch delay and may indicate the switching timer configuration to UE115-c(e.g., via RRC signaling, MAC-CE signaling DCI signaling). FIG.5illustrates an example of a BWP switching procedure500that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The BWP switching procedure500may be performed by base station105-dand UE115-d, which may be examples of a base station105and a UE115as described with reference toFIGS.1through4. In some cases, UE115-dmay implement a BWP switching determination procedure based on one or more timers. Additionally or alternatively, other wireless devices, such as base station105-d, may implement a same or similar procedure as described herein. As described with reference toFIG.4, a UE115may be configured to refrain from switching BWPs in between instances of a periodic data burst if a switching timer520has expired prior to or at the same time as an expiration of an inactivity timer510. For example, UE115-dmay start a switching timer520-aupon a first reception of a data burst525(e.g., when the data burst starts). UE115-dmay receive the remaining signals of the data burst525and the inactivity timer510-amay expire sometime later. Upon expiration of the inactivity timer510-a, UE115-dmay determine that switching timer520-ahas already expired (e.g., is not currently running). Accordingly, UE115-dmay determine that UE115-ddoes not have enough time to switch to the second BWP and back to the first BWP505to receive the next instance of the periodic data burst without introducing latency. As such, UE115-dmay remain on the first BWP505until the next instance of the periodic data. In some cases, because UE115-dis already on the first BWP505, base station105-dmay not transmit a downlink control message (e.g., DCI) indicating the next instance of the data burst525. Rather, UE115-dmay identify the next instance of the data burst525based on the preconfigured traffic period530. In some cases, base station105-dmay indicate (e.g., via DCI) the next instance of the data burst525to UE115-d. As UE115-dis operating on the first BWP505, base station105-dmay transmit the data burst525to UE115-cas the data burst525arrives in the transmission buffer of UE115-d, without latency. The UE115may be configured to identify the start of the data burst (and thus when to start the switching timer520) based on a semi-static configuration, a dynamic indication from base station105-d, or autonomously. For example, in the case of a semi-static indication to start the switching timer520, base station105-dmay identify (e.g., by QCI or learning) that the traffic associated with the data burst525is periodic, and base station105-dmay determine the period and the offset inside the period where an instance of data burst will arrive. Base station105-dmay signal the determined period and offset to UE115-d(e.g., via RRC signaling). Then, when the current time matches the offset inside the period, base station105-aand UE115-dmay start the switching timer520-a. Base station105-dmay determine the period and offset for each periodic data burst and may signal the period and offset at the start of each periodic data burst, as the period and offset of the periodic data burst may not change. Accordingly, UE115-dmay be semi-statically configured with the period and offset and may use the semi-statically configured period and offset to identify the start of each instance of the periodic data burst. In another example, in the case of a dynamic indication of the start of a periodic data burst instance, base station105-dmay transmit dynamic signaling (e.g., dynamic out-of-band signaling) to indicate UE115-dto start the switching timer520. For example, when transmitting a first message (e.g., a MAC protocol data unit (PDU)) of a new instance of a periodic data burst, base station105-dmay start the switching timer520and indicate (e.g., via a DCI, or MAC-CE, or both) that the message (e.g., the PDU) associated with the indication (e.g., the DCI, or MAC-CE) is the start of a new instance of a periodic data burst. Upon reception of the indication, UE115-dmay start the switching timer520. In another example, in the case of a dynamic indication of the start of a periodic data burst instance, base station105-dmay transmit dynamic signaling (e.g., dynamic in-band signaling) to indicate UE115-dto start the switching timer520. In such cases, base station105-dmay reserve one or more bits for a field in a message, such as a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) header, to indicate the start of a data burst instance (e.g., a ‘newFrame’ field). The field included in the PDCP header may indicate a start of a new instance of a periodic data burst (e.g., a new frame, a first transmission of a set of transmissions of a data burst). Accordingly, base station105-dmay transmit a first message (e.g., a PDCP PDU) of a new instance of a periodic data burst, and upon transmitting the first message, base station105-dmay start the switching timer520and increment the one or more bits of the new frame field. Upon reception of the message (e.g., the PDCP PDU), UE115-dmay check the value of the new frame field and determine whether the value matches the value of the new frame field received in a previous message (e.g., a previous PDCP PDU). If the value is different from the one received previously, UE115-dmay determine that this message is the first message of a data burst instance and UE115-dmay start the switching timer520. In another example, in the case of autonomous determination, the UE115may be configured to determine the start of a data burst instance based on whether the switching timer520is already running. For example, upon successful transmission of a first message (e.g., a MAC PDU) of a new instance of a data burst, base station105-dmay start the switching timer520. Upon successful reception of the message (e.g., the MAC PDU) that carries the periodic traffic, UE115-dmay determine whether the switching timer520is already running. If the switching timer520is not already running (e.g., is not already started), then UE115-dmay conclude that the MAC PDU is the first MAC PDU of a data burst instance and may start the switching timer520. In some cases, upon expiry of the inactivity timer510, UE115-dand base station105-dmay determine whether the switching timer520has expired (e.g., and determine whether to switch BWPs). If the switching timer520has not yet expired, UE115-dmay stop the switching timer520. In some implementations, such as when UE115-dis configured to autonomously determine a start of a new data burst instance, UE115-dmay be configured with burst start timer515(e.g., BWP_StartOfBurstTimer). Burst start timer515may ensure that UE115-ddoes not restart the switching timer520in the middle of a data burst instance. For example, if a data burst takes longer than expected to complete (e.g., due to low SNR, a number of retransmissions), then the switching timer520may expire before the completion of the data burst525. Accordingly, UE115-dmay receive a delayed transmission (e.g., a delayed MACPDU) of the same data burst525, determine that switching timer520is not currently running and inaccurately determine that the delayed transmission is a first transmission of a new data burst instance based on the determination that the switching timer520was not already running upon reception of the delayed transmission. Accordingly, UE115-dmay be configured with burst start timer515for UE115-dto use in determining whether UE115-dis receiving transmissions as part of a new data burst instance. Accordingly, base station105-dmay determine a duration of the burst start timer515, where the duration may be a value less than (e.g., slightly less than) the traffic period530(e.g., period of the downlink XR traffic). Base station105-dmay transmit, to UE115-d, a configuration of the burst start timer515, where the configuration may include an indication to use the burst start timer515, a duration of the burst start timer515, when to start the burst start timer515, how to use the burst start timer515, etc. Base station105-dmay indicate the configuration via RRC signaling, MAC-CE signaling, DCI signaling, or a combination thereof. According, upon successful transmission of a first MAC PDU of a new data burst instance, base station105-dmay start the burst start timer515. Upon reception of a MAC PDU that carries traffic associated with a periodic data burst, UE115-dmay determine whether the burst start timer515is running. If the burst start timer515is not running, UE115-dmay start the burst start timer515and the switching timer520. If however, the burst start timer515is running, UE115-dmay determine that the MAC PDU is not a first MAC PDU of a new data burst instance and accordingly, UE115-dmay not restart the burst start timer515or the switching timer520. For example, UE115-dmay receive a MAC PDU and determine that burst start timer515-ais not currently running. Accordingly, UE115-dmay determine that the received MAC PDU is a first transmission of a new data burst instance, and UE15-dmay start the burst start timer515-aand the switching timer520-a. In this way, if UE115-dreceives a MAC PDU after expiry of switching timer520-a, UE115-dmay appropriately determine that the MAC PDU is not a first MAC PDU of a new data burst instance because the burst start timer515-ais still running. Upon expiry of the inactivity timer510-a, UE115-dmay determine that switching timer520-ahas already expired and UE115-amay determine to remain on the first BWP505. Burst start timer515-amay be slightly less than the traffic period530, and may expire just before the reception of the next data burst instance. UE115-amay start inactivity timer510-b, and UE115-amay receive a MAC PDU of the next data burst instance. UE115-dmay determine that the burst start timer515-ais not currently running, and start the burst start timer515-band the switching timer520-b. In some cases, UE115-dmay be configured to use the burst start timer515whenever UE115-dis configured to autonomously determine a start of a data burst. In some cases, UE115-dmay be configured to use the burst start timer515when the channel quality between UE115-dand base station105-dis below a threshold. FIG.6illustrates an example of a process flow600that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The process flow600may illustrate an example BWP switching determination procedure. For example, UE115-emay be configured with one or more timers for UE115-eto use in determining whether to switch BWPs between communicating periodic data bursts with base station105-e. Base station105-eand UE115-e, may be examples of the corresponding wireless devices described with reference toFIGS.2through5. In some cases, instead of UE115-eimplementing the BWP switching determination procedure, a different type of wireless device (e.g., a base station105) may perform a same or similar procedure. Alternative examples of the following may be implemented, where some steps are performed in a different order than described or are not performed at all. In some cases, steps may include additional features not mentioned below, or further steps may be added. At605, UE115-emay communicate with base station105-evia a first instance of a periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst includes one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. In some cases, UE115-emay receive an indication of a duration of the bandwidth switching timer, where the indication may be included in a radio resource control message. UE115-emay receive an indication of a duration associated with each burst of the periodic data burst and an offset from a beginning of the duration to the beginning of the first instance, where the indication may be included in a radio resource control message. UE115-emay identify that the beginning of the first instance has started based on the duration and the offset, where starting the bandwidth switching timer may be based on identifying the beginning. In some implementations, UE115-emay receive a message indicating the beginning of the first instance, where starting the bandwidth switching timer may be based on receiving the message. Receiving the message may include receiving a MAC message at the beginning of the first instance, where the MAC message may include an indication the beginning of the first instance. The indication may be included in a MAC-CE or DCI of the MAC message. At610, UE115-emay start a bandwidth switching timer at the beginning of the first instance of the periodic data burst. In some cases, UE115-emay receive a message including an instance identifier, where the message is a packet data convergence protocol message, and determine whether the instance identifier is different from a previously received instance identifier. UE115-emay determine whether to start the bandwidth switching timer based on whether the instance identifier is different from the previously received instance identifier. Determining whether the instance identifier is different may include determining that the instance identifier is different from the previously received instance identifier, where starting the bandwidth switching timer is based on the instance identifier being different from the previously received instance identifier. In some cases, UE115-emay receive a MAC message associated with the periodic data burst, and identify whether the bandwidth switching timer is running based on receiving the MAC message. Starting the bandwidth switching timer may be based on identifying that the bandwidth switching timer was not already running. In some cases, UE115-emay receive an indication of a burst start timer to start at the beginning of the first instance of the periodic data burst. UE115-emay receive a MAC message associated with the periodic data burst, identify whether the burst start timer is running based on receiving the MAC message, and determine whether to start the burst start timer and the bandwidth switching timer based on whether the burst start timer is running. UE115-emay start the burst start timer and the bandwidth switching timer at a same time based on identifying that the burst start timer is not running. UE115-emay receive a message indicating a duration of the burst start timer, the duration may be included in a radio resource control message. A duration of the burst start timer may be longer than a duration of the bandwidth switching timer and less than a duration of the periodic data burst. At615, base station105-emay start a bandwidth switching timer at the beginning of the first instance of the periodic data burst. At620, UE115-emay determine whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired upon expiration of an inactivity timer that was triggered by receipt of one or more downlink control channel messages. Determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired may include determining that the bandwidth switching timer has expired upon the expiration of the inactivity timer, and remaining on the first BWP from at least the expiration of the inactivity timer to an expiration of the second instance of the periodic data burst. Determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired may include determining that the bandwidth switching timer is running upon the expiration of the inactivity timer, and operating on the second BWP during at least the portion of the time period, where at least the portion of the time period includes at least two BWP switch delays based on operating on the second BWP. In some cases, UE115-emay operate in accordance with a first switch delay portion upon the expiration of the inactivity timer, operate on the second BWP upon completion of the first switch delay portion, operate in accordance with a second switch delay portion based on receiving a downlink control message while operating in the second BWP, and operate on the first BWP upon completion of the second switch delay portion. The beginning of the second instance of the periodic data burst may start based on operating on the first BWP. In some cases, UE115-emay identify the expiration of the inactivity timer, and stop the bandwidth switching timer based on identifying the expiration of the inactivity timer. The bandwidth switching timer may be equal to a duration of the periodic data burst minus two times a BWP switch delay. The first BWP may be a high power BWP (e.g., high throughput BWP) and the second BWP may be a low power BWP (e.g., low throughput BWP, default BWP). The first BWP and the second BWP may support the same throughput or different throughputs. At625, base station105-emay determine whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired upon expiration of an inactivity timer that was triggered by transmission of one or more downlink control channel messages. At630, base station105-emay identify, based on whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, whether UE115-eis operating on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a beginning of a second instance of the periodic data burst. At635, UE115-emay operate, based on the determination, on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a beginning of a second instance of the periodic data burst. FIG.7shows a block diagram700of a device705that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device705may be an example of aspects of a UE115as described herein. The device705may include a receiver710, a transmitter715, and a communications manager720. The device705may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver710may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to techniques for performing BWP switching). Information may be passed on to other components of the device705. The receiver710may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas. The transmitter715may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device705. For example, the transmitter715may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to techniques for performing BWP switching). In some examples, the transmitter715may be co-located with a receiver710in a transceiver module. The transmitter715may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas. The communications manager720, the receiver710, the transmitter715, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of techniques for performing BWP switching as described herein. For example, the communications manager720, the receiver710, the transmitter715, or various combinations or components thereof may support a method for performing one or more of the functions described herein. In some examples, the communications manager720, the receiver710, the transmitter715, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, a processor and memory coupled with the processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by executing, by the processor, instructions stored in the memory). Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the communications manager720, the receiver710, the transmitter715, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code (e.g., as communications management software or firmware) executed by a processor. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communications manager720, the receiver710, the transmitter715, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a central processing unit (CPU), an ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure). In some examples, the communications manager720may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver710, the transmitter715, or both. For example, the communications manager720may receive information from the receiver710, send information to the transmitter715, or be integrated in combination with the receiver710, the transmitter715, or both to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations as described herein. The communications manager720may support wireless communications at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager720may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating with a base station via a first instance of a periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst includes one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. The communications manager720may be configured as or otherwise support a means for starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection (e.g., at the beginning of) the first instance of the periodic data burst. The communications manager720may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer (e.g., expiration of an inactivity timer) triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages. The communications manager720may be configured as or otherwise support a means for operating, based at least in part on the determination, on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a second instance of the periodic data burst. By including or configuring the communications manager720in accordance with examples as described herein, the device705(e.g., a processor controlling or otherwise coupled to the receiver710, the transmitter715, the communications manager720, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for reduced power consumption. FIG.8shows a block diagram800of a device805that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device805may be an example of aspects of a device705or a UE115as described herein. The device805may include a receiver810, a transmitter815, and a communications manager820. The device805may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver810may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to techniques for performing BWP switching). Information may be passed on to other components of the device805. The receiver810may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas. The transmitter815may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device805. For example, the transmitter815may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to techniques for performing BWP switching). In some examples, the transmitter815may be co-located with a receiver810in a transceiver module. The transmitter815may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas. The device805, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of techniques for performing BWP switching as described herein. For example, the communications manager820may include a data burst communications manager825, a timer starting manager830, a timer expiration manager835, a BWP operations manager840, or any combination thereof. The communications manager820may be an example of aspects of a communications manager720as described herein. In some examples, the communications manager820, or various components thereof, may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver810, the transmitter815, or both. For example, the communications manager820may receive information from the receiver810, send information to the transmitter815, or be integrated in combination with the receiver810, the transmitter815, or both to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations as described herein. The communications manager820may support wireless communications at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The data burst communications manager825may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating with a base station via a first instance of a periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst includes one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. The timer starting manager830may be configured as or otherwise support a means for starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection with the first instance of the periodic data burst. The timer expiration manager835may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages. The BWP operations manager840may be configured as or otherwise support a means for operating, based on the determination, on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a second instance of the periodic data burst. FIG.9shows a block diagram900of a communications manager920that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager920may be an example of aspects of a communications manager720, a communications manager820, or both, as described herein. The communications manager920, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of techniques for performing BWP switching as described herein. For example, the communications manager920may include a data burst communications manager925, a timer starting manager930, a timer expiration manager935, a BWP operations manager940, a timer configuration reception manager945, a data burst configuration manager950, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The communications manager920may support wireless communications at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The data burst communications manager925may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating with a base station via a first instance of a periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst includes one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. The timer starting manager930may be configured as or otherwise support a means for starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection with the first instance of the periodic data burst. The timer expiration manager935may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages. The BWP operations manager940may be configured as or otherwise support a means for operating, based on the determination, on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer a second instance of the periodic data burst. In some examples, to support determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, the timer expiration manager935may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that the bandwidth switching timer has expired upon the expiration of the inactivity timer. In some examples, to support determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, the BWP operations manager940may be configured as or otherwise support a means for remaining on the first BWP from at least the expiration of the inactivity timer to an expiration of the second instance of the periodic data burst. In some examples, to support determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, the timer expiration manager935may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that the bandwidth switching timer is running upon the expiration of the inactivity timer. In some examples, to support determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, the BWP operations manager940may be configured as or otherwise support a means for operating on the second BWP during at least the portion of the time period, where at least the portion of the time period includes at least two BWP switch delays based on operating on the second BWP. In some examples, the BWP operations manager940may be configured as or otherwise support a means for operating in accordance with a first switch delay portion upon the expiration of the inactivity timer. In some examples, the BWP operations manager940may be configured as or otherwise support a means for operating on the second BWP upon completion of the first switch delay portion. In some examples, the BWP operations manager940may be configured as or otherwise support a means for operating in accordance with a second switch delay portion based on receiving a downlink control message while operating in the second BWP. In some examples, the BWP operations manager940may be configured as or otherwise support a means for operating on the first BWP upon completion of the second switch delay portion, where the beginning of the second instance of the periodic data burst starts based on operating on the first BWP. In some examples, the timer configuration reception manager945may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving an indication of a duration of the bandwidth switching timer, the indication included in a radio resource control message. In some examples, the data burst configuration manager950may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving an indication of a duration associated with each burst of the periodic data burst and an offset from a beginning of the duration to the beginning of the first instance, the indication included in a radio resource control message. In some examples, the data burst configuration manager950may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying that the beginning of the first instance has started based on the duration and the offset, where starting the bandwidth switching timer is based on identifying the beginning. In some examples, the data burst configuration manager950may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a message indicating the beginning of the first instance, where starting the bandwidth switching timer is based on the message. In some examples, to support receiving the message, the data burst configuration manager950may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a MAC message including an indication of the beginning of the first instance, where the indication is included in a MAC-CE or DCI of the MAC message. In some examples, the data burst configuration manager950may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a message including an instance identifier, where the message is a packet data convergence protocol message. In some examples, the data burst configuration manager950may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining whether the instance identifier is different from a previously received instance identifier. In some examples, the data burst configuration manager950may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining whether to start the bandwidth switching timer based on whether the instance identifier is different from the previously received instance identifier. In some examples, to support determining whether the instance identifier is different, the data burst configuration manager950may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that the instance identifier is different from the previously received instance identifier, where starting the bandwidth switching timer is based on the instance identifier being different from the previously received instance identifier. In some examples, the data burst configuration manager950may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a MAC message associated with the periodic data burst. In some examples, the timer expiration manager935may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying whether the bandwidth switching timer is running based on receiving the MAC message, where starting the bandwidth switching timer is based on identifying that the bandwidth switching timer was not already running. In some examples, the timer configuration reception manager945may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving an indication of a burst start timer to start at the beginning of the first instance of the periodic data burst. In some examples, the data burst communications manager925may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a MAC message associated with the periodic data burst. In some examples, the timer expiration manager935may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying whether the burst start timer is running based on receiving the MAC message. In some examples, the timer starting manager930may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining whether to start the burst start timer and the bandwidth switching timer based on whether the burst start timer is running. In some examples, the timer starting manager930may be configured as or otherwise support a means for starting the burst start timer and the bandwidth switching timer (e.g., at a same time) based on identifying that the burst start timer is not running. In some examples, the timer configuration reception manager945may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a message indicating a duration of the burst start timer, the duration included in a radio resource control message. In some examples, a duration of the burst start timer is longer than a duration of the bandwidth switching timer and less than a duration of the periodic data burst. In some examples, the timer expiration manager935may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying the expiration of the inactivity timer. In some examples, the timer expiration manager935may be configured as or otherwise support a means for stopping the bandwidth switching timer based on identifying the expiration of the inactivity timer. In some examples, the bandwidth switching timer is equal to a duration of the periodic data burst minus two times a BWP switch delay. In some examples, the first BWP is a high power BWP and the second BWP is a low power BWP. FIG.10shows a diagram of a system1000including a device1005that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device1005may be an example of or include the components of a device705, a device805, or a UE115as described herein. The device1005may communicate wirelessly with one or more base stations105, UEs115, or any combination thereof. The device1005may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a communications manager1020, an input/output (I/O) controller1010, a transceiver1015, an antenna1025, a memory1030, code1035, and a processor1040. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., a bus1045). The I/O controller1010may manage input and output signals for the device1005. The I/O controller1010may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device1005. In some cases, the I/O controller1010may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some cases, the I/O controller1010may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS/2®, UNIX®, LINUX®, or another known operating system. Additionally or alternatively, the I/O controller1010may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I/O controller1010may be implemented as part of a processor, such as the processor1040. In some cases, a user may interact with the device1005via the I/O controller1010or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller1010. In some cases, the device1005may include a single antenna1025. However, in some other cases, the device1005may have more than one antenna1025, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver1015may communicate bi-directionally, via the one or more antennas1025, wired, or wireless links as described herein. For example, the transceiver1015may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver1015may also include a modem to modulate the packets, to provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas1025for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas1025. The transceiver1015, or the transceiver1015and one or more antennas1025, may be an example of a transmitter715, a transmitter815, a receiver710, a receiver810, or any combination thereof or component thereof, as described herein. The memory1030may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory1030may store computer-readable, computer-executable code1035including instructions that, when executed by the processor1040, cause the device1005to perform various functions described herein. The code1035may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code1035may not be directly executable by the processor1040but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some cases, the memory1030may contain, among other things, a basic I/O system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices. The processor1040may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor1040may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor1040. The processor1040may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory1030) to cause the device1005to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting techniques for performing BWP switching). For example, the device1005or a component of the device1005may include a processor1040and memory1030coupled to the processor1040, the processor1040and memory1030configured to perform various functions described herein. The communications manager1020may support wireless communications at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager1020may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating with a base station via a first instance of a periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst includes one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. The communications manager1020may be configured as or otherwise support a means for starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection with the first instance of the periodic data burst. The communications manager1020may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages. The communications manager1020may be configured as or otherwise support a means for operating, based at least in part on the determination, on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a second instance of the periodic data burst. By including or configuring the communications manager1020in accordance with examples as described herein, the device1005may support techniques for improved communication reliability, reduced latency, reduced power consumption, improved coordination between devices, and longer battery life. In some examples, the communications manager1020may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the transceiver1015, the one or more antennas1025, or any combination thereof. Although the communications manager1020is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communications manager1020may be supported by or performed by the processor1040, the memory1030, the code1035, or any combination thereof. For example, the code1035may include instructions executable by the processor1040to cause the device1005to perform various aspects of techniques for performing BWP switching as described herein, or the processor1040and the memory1030may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations. FIG.11shows a block diagram1100of a device1105that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device1105may be an example of aspects of a base station105as described herein. The device1105may include a receiver1110, a transmitter1115, and a communications manager1120. The device1105may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver1110may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to techniques for performing BWP switching). Information may be passed on to other components of the device1105. The receiver1110may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas. The transmitter1115may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device1105. For example, the transmitter1115may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to techniques for performing BWP switching). In some examples, the transmitter1115may be co-located with a receiver1110in a transceiver module. The transmitter1115may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas. The communications manager1120, the receiver1110, the transmitter1115, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of techniques for performing BWP switching as described herein. For example, the communications manager1120, the receiver1110, the transmitter1115, or various combinations or components thereof may support a method for performing one or more of the functions described herein. In some examples, the communications manager1120, the receiver1110, the transmitter1115, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, a processor and memory coupled with the processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by executing, by the processor, instructions stored in the memory). Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the communications manager1120, the receiver1110, the transmitter1115, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code (e.g., as communications management software or firmware) executed by a processor. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communications manager1120, the receiver1110, the transmitter1115, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure). In some examples, the communications manager1120may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver1110, the transmitter1115, or both. For example, the communications manager1120may receive information from the receiver1110, send information to the transmitter1115, or be integrated in combination with the receiver1110, the transmitter1115, or both to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations as described herein. The communications manager1120may support wireless communications at a base station in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager1120may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating with a UE via a first instance of a periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst includes one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. The communications manager1120may be configured as or otherwise support a means for starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection with the first instance of the periodic data burst. The communications manager1120may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages. The communications manager1120may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying, based on whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, whether the UE is operating on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a second instance of the periodic data burst. By including or configuring the communications manager1120in accordance with examples as described herein, the device1105(e.g., a processor controlling or otherwise coupled to the receiver1110, the transmitter1115, the communications manager1120, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for reduced power consumption. FIG.12shows a block diagram1200of a device1205that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device1205may be an example of aspects of a device1105or a base station105as described herein. The device1205may include a receiver1210, a transmitter1215, and a communications manager1220. The device1205may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver1210may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to techniques for performing BWP switching). Information may be passed on to other components of the device1205. The receiver1210may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas. The transmitter1215may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device1205. For example, the transmitter1215may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to techniques for performing BWP switching). In some examples, the transmitter1215may be co-located with a receiver1210in a transceiver module. The transmitter1215may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas. The device1205, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of techniques for performing BWP switching as described herein. For example, the communications manager1220may include a data burst communications component1225, a timer starting component1230, a timer expiration component1235, a BWP identification component1240, or any combination thereof. The communications manager1220may be an example of aspects of a communications manager1120as described herein. In some examples, the communications manager1220, or various components thereof, may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver1210, the transmitter1215, or both. For example, the communications manager1220may receive information from the receiver1210, send information to the transmitter1215, or be integrated in combination with the receiver1210, the transmitter1215, or both to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations as described herein. The communications manager1220may support wireless communications at a base station in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The data burst communications component1225may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating with a UE via a first instance of a periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst includes one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. The timer starting component1230may be configured as or otherwise support a means for starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection with the first instance of the periodic data burst. The timer expiration component1235may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages. The BWP identification component1240may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying, based on whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, whether the UE is operating on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a second instance of the periodic data burst. FIG.13shows a block diagram1300of a communications manager1320that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager1320may be an example of aspects of a communications manager1120, a communications manager1220, or both, as described herein. The communications manager1320, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of techniques for performing BWP switching as described herein. For example, the communications manager1320may include a data burst communications component1325, a timer starting component1330, a timer expiration component1335, a BWP identification component1340, a timer configuration component1345, a timer configuration transmission component1350, a data burst configuration component1355, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The communications manager1320may support wireless communications at a base station in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The data burst communications component1325may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating with a UE via a first instance of a periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst includes one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. The timer starting component1330may be configured as or otherwise support a means for starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection with the first instance of the periodic data burst. The timer expiration component1335may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages. The BWP identification component1340may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying, based on whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, whether the UE is operating on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a second instance of the periodic data burst. In some examples, to support determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, the timer expiration component1335may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that the bandwidth switching timer has expired upon the expiration of the inactivity timer. In some examples, to support determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, the BWP identification component1340may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying that the UE is operating on the first BWP from at least the expiration of the inactivity timer to an expiration of the second instance of the periodic data burst. In some examples, to support determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, the timer expiration component1335may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that the bandwidth switching timer is running upon the expiration of the inactivity timer. In some examples, to support determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, the BWP identification component1340may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying that the UE is operating on the second BWP during at least the portion of the time period, where at least the portion of the time period includes at least two BWP switch delays based on operating on the second BWP. In some examples, the timer configuration component1345may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying a duration of the bandwidth switching timer for the UE. In some examples, the timer configuration transmission component1350may be configured as or otherwise support a means for transmitting, to the UE, an indication of the duration of the bandwidth switching timer, the indication included in a radio resource control message. In some examples, identifying the duration of the bandwidth switching timer is based on the periodic data burst being periodic, latency sensitive, or both. In some examples, the data burst configuration component1355may be configured as or otherwise support a means for transmitting an indication of a duration associated with each burst of the periodic data burst and an offset from a beginning of the duration to the beginning of the first instance, the indication included in a radio resource control message. In some examples, the data burst configuration component1355may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying that the beginning of the first instance has started based on the duration and the offset, where starting the bandwidth switching timer is based on identifying the beginning. In some examples, the data burst configuration component1355may be configured as or otherwise support a means for transmitting a MAC message, where starting the bandwidth switching timer is based on a successful transmission of the MAC message. In some examples, the MAC message includes an indication of the beginning of the first instance, the indication included in a MAC-CE or DCI of the MAC message. In some examples, the data burst configuration component1355may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying a beginning of the first instance. In some examples, the data burst configuration component1355may be configured as or otherwise support a means for transmitting a message including an instance identifier, where the message is a packet data convergence protocol message, the instance identifier being different from a previously transmitted instance identifier, where starting the bandwidth switching timer is based on the instance identifier being different from the previously transmitted instance identifier. In some examples, the timer configuration transmission component1350may be configured as or otherwise support a means for transmitting an indication of a burst start timer to start at the beginning of the first instance of the periodic data burst, the indication included in a radio resource control message. In some examples, a duration of the burst start timer is longer than a duration of the bandwidth switching timer and less than a duration of the periodic data burst. In some examples, the bandwidth switching timer is equal to a duration of the periodic data burst minus two times a BWP switch delay. In some examples, the first BWP is a high power BWP and the second BWP is a low power BWP. FIG.14shows a diagram of a system1400including a device1405that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device1405may be an example of or include the components of a device1105, a device1205, or a base station105as described herein. The device1405may communicate wirelessly with one or more base stations105, UEs115, or any combination thereof. The device1405may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a communications manager1420, a network communications manager1410, a transceiver1415, an antenna1425, a memory1430, code1435, a processor1440, and an inter-station communications manager1445. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., a bus1450). The network communications manager1410may manage communications with a core network130(e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communications manager1410may manage the transfer of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs115. In some cases, the device1405may include a single antenna1425. However, in some other cases the device1405may have more than one antenna1425, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver1415may communicate bi-directionally, via the one or more antennas1425, wired, or wireless links as described herein. For example, the transceiver1415may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver1415may also include a modem to modulate the packets, to provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas1425for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas1425. The transceiver1415, or the transceiver1415and one or more antennas1425, may be an example of a transmitter1115, a transmitter1215, a receiver1110, a receiver1210, or any combination thereof or component thereof, as described herein. The memory1430may include RAM and ROM. The memory1430may store computer-readable, computer-executable code1435including instructions that, when executed by the processor1440, cause the device1405to perform various functions described herein. The code1435may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code1435may not be directly executable by the processor1440but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some cases, the memory1430may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices. The processor1440may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor1440may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor1440. The processor1440may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory1430) to cause the device1405to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting techniques for performing BWP switching). For example, the device1405or a component of the device1405may include a processor1440and memory1430coupled to the processor1440, the processor1440and memory1430configured to perform various functions described herein. The inter-station communications manager1445may manage communications with other base stations105, and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UEs115in cooperation with other base stations105. For example, the inter-station communications manager1445may coordinate scheduling for transmissions to UEs115for various interference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-station communications manager1445may provide an X2 interface within an LTE/LTE-A wireless communications network technology to provide communication between base stations105. The communications manager1420may support wireless communications at a base station in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager1420may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating with a UE via a first instance of a periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst includes one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. The communications manager1420may be configured as or otherwise support a means for starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection with the first instance of the periodic data burst. The communications manager1420may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages. The communications manager1420may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying, based on whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, whether the UE is operating on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a second instance of the periodic data burst. By including or configuring the communications manager1420in accordance with examples as described herein, the device1405may support techniques for improved communication reliability, reduced latency, reduced power consumption, improved coordination between devices, and longer battery life. In some examples, the communications manager1420may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the transceiver1415, the one or more antennas1425, or any combination thereof. Although the communications manager1420is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communications manager1420may be supported by or performed by the processor1440, the memory1430, the code1435, or any combination thereof. For example, the code1435may include instructions executable by the processor1440to cause the device1405to perform various aspects of techniques for performing BWP switching as described herein, or the processor1440and the memory1430may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations. FIG.15shows a flowchart illustrating a method1500that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method1500may be implemented by a UE or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method1500may be performed by a UE115as described with reference toFIGS.1through10. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware. At1505, the method may include communicating with a base station via a first instance of a periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst includes one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. The operations of1505may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1505may be performed by a data burst communications manager925as described with reference toFIG.9. At1510, the method may include starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection with the first instance of the periodic data burst. The operations of1510may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1510may be performed by a timer starting manager930as described with reference toFIG.9. At1515, the method may include determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages. The operations of1515may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1515may be performed by a timer expiration manager935as described with reference toFIG.9. At1520, the method may include operating, based on the determination, on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a second instance of the periodic data burst. The operations of1520may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1520may be performed by a BWP operations manager940as described with reference toFIG.9. FIG.16shows a flowchart illustrating a method1600that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method1600may be implemented by a UE or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method1600may be performed by a UE115as described with reference toFIGS.1through10. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware. At1605, the method may include receiving an indication of a duration associated with each burst of the periodic data burst and an offset from a beginning of the duration to the beginning of the first instance, the indication included in a radio resource control message. The operations of1605may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1605may be performed by a data burst configuration manager950as described with reference toFIG.9. At1610, the method may include communicating with a base station via a first instance of a periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst includes one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. The operations of1610may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1610may be performed by a data burst communications manager925as described with reference toFIG.9. At1615, the method may include starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection with the first instance of the periodic data burst. The operations of1615may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1615may be performed by a timer starting manager930as described with reference toFIG.9. At1620, the method may include determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages. The operations of1620may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1620may be performed by a timer expiration manager935as described with reference toFIG.9. At1625, the method may include operating, based on the determination, on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a second instance of the periodic data burst. The operations of1625may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1625may be performed by a BWP operations manager940as described with reference toFIG.9. FIG.17shows a flowchart illustrating a method1700that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method1700may be implemented by a base station or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method1700may be performed by a base station105as described with reference toFIGS.1through6and11through14. In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware. At1705, the method may include communicating with a UE via a first instance of a periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst includes one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. The operations of1705may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1705may be performed by a data burst communications component1325as described with reference toFIG.13. At1710, the method may include starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection with the first instance of the periodic data burst. The operations of1710may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1710may be performed by a timer starting component1330as described with reference toFIG.13. At1715, the method may include determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages. The operations of1715may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1715may be performed by a timer expiration component1335as described with reference toFIG.13. At1720, the method may include identifying, based on whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, whether the UE is operating on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a second instance of the periodic data burst. The operations of1720may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1720may be performed by a BWP identification component1340as described with reference toFIG.13. FIG.18shows a flowchart illustrating a method1800that supports techniques for performing BWP switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method1800may be implemented by a base station or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method1800may be performed by a base station105as described with reference toFIGS.1through6and11through14. In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware. At1805, the method may include identifying a duration of the bandwidth switching timer for the UE. The operations of1805may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1805may be performed by a timer configuration component1345as described with reference toFIG.13. At1810, the method may include transmitting, to the UE, an indication of the duration of the bandwidth switching timer, the indication included in a radio resource control message. The operations of1810may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1810may be performed by a timer configuration transmission component1350as described with reference toFIG.13. At1815, the method may include communicating with a UE via a first instance of a periodic data burst, where the periodic data burst includes one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first BWP. The operations of1815may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1815may be performed by a data burst communications component1325as described with reference toFIG.13. At1820, the method may include starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection with the first instance of the periodic data burst. The operations of1820may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1820may be performed by a timer starting component1330as described with reference toFIG.13. At1825, the method may include determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages. The operations of1825may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1825may be performed by a timer expiration component1335as described with reference toFIG.13. At1830, the method may include identifying, based on whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, whether the UE is operating on one of the first BWP or a second BWP during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a second instance of the periodic data burst. The operations of1830may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1830may be performed by a BWP identification component1340as described with reference toFIG.13. The following provides an overview of aspects of the present disclosure:Aspect 1: A method for wireless communications at a UE, comprising: communicating with a base station via a first instance of a periodic data burst, wherein the periodic data burst comprises one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first bandwidth part; starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection with the first instance of the periodic data burst; determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages s; and operating, based at least in part on the determination, on one of the first bandwidth part or a second bandwidth part during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a second instance of the periodic data burst.Aspect 2: The method of aspect 1, wherein determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired further comprises: determining that the bandwidth switching timer has expired upon the expiration of the inactivity timer; and remaining on the first bandwidth part from at least the expiration of the inactivity timer to an expiration of the second instance of the periodic data burst.Aspect 3: The method of any of aspects 1 through 2, wherein determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired further comprises: determining that the bandwidth switching timer is running upon the expiration of the inactivity timer; and operating on the second bandwidth part during at least the portion of the time period, wherein at least the portion of the time period comprises at least two bandwidth part switch delays based at least in part on operating on the second bandwidth part.Aspect 4: The method of aspect 3, further comprising: operating in accordance with a first switch delay portion upon the expiration of the inactivity timer; operating on the second bandwidth part upon completion of the first switch delay portion; operating in accordance with a second switch delay portion based at least in part on receiving a downlink control message while operating in the second bandwidth part; and operating on the first bandwidth part upon completion of the second switch delay portion, wherein the beginning of the second instance of the periodic data burst starts based at least in part on operating on the first bandwidth part.Aspect 5: The method of any of aspects 1 through 4, further comprising: receiving an indication of a duration of the bandwidth switching timer, the indication included in a radio resource control message.Aspect 6: The method of any of aspects 1 through 5, further comprising: receiving an indication of a duration associated with each burst of the periodic data burst and an offset from a beginning of the duration to the beginning of the first instance, the indication included in a radio resource control message.Aspect 7: The method of aspect 6, further comprising: identifying that the beginning of the first instance has started based at least in part on the duration and the offset, wherein starting the bandwidth switching timer is based at least in part on identifying the beginning.Aspect 8: The method of any of aspects 1 through 7, further comprising: receiving a message indicating the beginning of the first instance, wherein starting the bandwidth switching timer is based at least in part on the message.Aspect 9: The method of aspect 8, wherein receiving the message further comprises: receiving a medium access control (MAC) message comprising an indication of the beginning of the first instance, wherein the indication is included in a MAC control element or downlink control information of the MAC message.Aspect 10: The method of any of aspects 1 through 9, further comprising: receiving a message comprising an instance identifier, wherein the message is a packet data convergence protocol message; and determining whether the instance identifier is different from a previously received instance identifier; and determining whether to start the bandwidth switching timer based at least in part on whether the instance identifier is different from the previously received instance identifier.Aspect 11: The method of aspect 10, wherein determining whether the instance identifier is different further comprises: determining that the instance identifier is different from the previously received instance identifier, wherein starting the bandwidth switching timer is based at least in part on the instance identifier being different from the previously received instance identifier.Aspect 12: The method of any of aspects 1 through 11, further comprising: receiving a medium access control (MAC) message associated with the periodic data burst; and identifying whether the bandwidth switching timer is running based at least in part on receiving the MAC message, wherein starting the bandwidth switching timer is based on identifying that the bandwidth switching timer was not already running.Aspect 13: The method of any of aspects 1 through 12, further comprising: receiving an indication of a burst start timer to start at the beginning of the first instance of the periodic data burst.Aspect 14: The method of aspect 13, further comprising: receiving a medium access control (MAC) message associated with the periodic data burst; identifying whether the burst start timer is running based at least in part on receiving the MAC message; and determining whether to start the burst start timer and the bandwidth switching timer based at least in part on whether the burst start timer is running.Aspect 15: The method of aspect 14, further comprising: starting the burst start timer and the bandwidth switching timer based at least in part on identifying that the burst start timer is not running.Aspect 16: The method of any of aspects 13 through 15, further comprising: receiving a message indicating a duration of the burst start timer, the duration included in a radio resource control message.Aspect 17: The method of any of aspects 13 through 16, wherein a duration of the burst start timer is longer than a duration of the bandwidth switching timer and less than a duration of the periodic data burst.Aspect 18: The method of any of aspects 1 through 17, further comprising: identifying the expiration of the inactivity timer; and stopping the bandwidth switching timer based at least in part on identifying the expiration of the inactivity timer.Aspect 19: The method of any of aspects 1 through 18, wherein the bandwidth switching timer is equal to a duration of the periodic data burst minus two times a bandwidth part switch delay.Aspect 20: The method of any of aspects 1 through 19, wherein the first bandwidth part is a high power bandwidth part and the second bandwidth part is a low power bandwidth part.Aspect 21: A method for wireless communications at a base station, comprising: communicating with a UE via a first instance of a periodic data burst, wherein the periodic data burst comprises one or more uplink or downlink transmissions scheduled on a first bandwidth part; starting a bandwidth switching timer in connection with the first instance of the periodic data burst; determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired based upon an inactivity timer triggered by one or more downlink control channel messages; and identifying, based at least in part on whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired, whether the UE is operating on one of the first bandwidth part or a second bandwidth part during at least a portion of a time period that extends from the expiration of the inactivity timer and a second instance of the periodic data burst.Aspect 22: The method of aspect 21, wherein determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired further comprises: determining that the bandwidth switching timer has expired upon the expiration of the inactivity timer; and identifying that the UE is operating on the first bandwidth part from at least the expiration of the inactivity timer to an expiration of the second instance of the periodic data burst.Aspect 23: The method of any of aspects 21 through 22, wherein determining whether the bandwidth switching timer has expired further comprises: determining that the bandwidth switching timer is running upon the expiration of the inactivity timer; and identifying that the UE is operating on the second bandwidth part during at least the portion of the time period, wherein at least the portion of the time period comprises at least two bandwidth part switch delays based at least in part on operating on the second bandwidth part.Aspect 24: The method of any of aspects 21 through 23, further comprising: identifying a duration of the bandwidth switching timer for the UE; and transmitting, to the UE, an indication of the duration of the bandwidth switching timer, the indication included in a radio resource control message.Aspect 25: The method of aspect 24, wherein identifying the duration of the bandwidth switching timer is based at least in part on the periodic data burst being periodic, latency sensitive, or both.Aspect 26: The method of any of aspects 21 through 25, further comprising: transmitting an indication of a duration associated with each burst of the periodic data burst and an offset from a beginning of the duration to the beginning of the first instance, the indication included in a radio resource control message.Aspect 27: The method of aspect 26, further comprising: identifying that the beginning of the first instance has started based at least in part on the duration and the offset, wherein starting the bandwidth switching timer is based at least in part on identifying the beginning.Aspect 28: The method of any of aspects 21 through 27, further comprising: transmitting a medium access control (MAC) message, wherein starting the bandwidth switching timer is based at least in part on a successful transmission of the MAC message.Aspect 29: The method of aspect 28, wherein the MAC message comprises an indication of the beginning of the first instance, the indication included in a MAC control element or downlink control information of the MAC message.Aspect 30: The method of any of aspects 21 through 29, further comprising: identifying a beginning of the first instance; transmitting a message comprising an instance identifier, wherein the message is a packet data convergence protocol message, the instance identifier being different from a previously transmitted instance identifier, wherein starting the bandwidth switching timer is based at least in part on the instance identifier being different from the previously transmitted instance identifier.Aspect 31: The method of any of aspects 21 through 30, further comprising: transmitting an indication of a burst start timer to start at the beginning of the first instance of the periodic data burst, the indication included in a radio resource control message.Aspect 32: The method of aspect 31, wherein a duration of the burst start timer is longer than a duration of the bandwidth switching timer and less than a duration of the periodic data burst.Aspect 33: The method of any of aspects 21 through 32, wherein the bandwidth switching timer is equal to a duration of the periodic data burst minus two times a bandwidth part switch delay.Aspect 34: The method of any of aspects 21 through 33, wherein the first bandwidth part is a high power bandwidth part and the second bandwidth part is a low power bandwidth part.Aspect 35: An apparatus for wireless communications, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 20.Aspect 36: An apparatus for wireless communications, comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 1 through 20.Aspect 37: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 20.Aspect 38: An apparatus for wireless communications, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method of any of aspects 21 through 34.Aspect 39: An apparatus for wireless communications, comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 21 through 34.Aspect 40: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform a method of any of aspects 21 through 34. It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined. Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the described techniques may be applicable to various other wireless communications systems such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, as well as other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein. Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof. The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration). The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations. Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media. As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on.” The term “determine” or “determining” encompasses a wide variety of actions and, therefore, “determining” can include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (such as via looking up in a table, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like. Also, “determining” can include receiving (such as receiving information), accessing (such as accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also, “determining” can include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing and other such similar actions. In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label, or other subsequent reference label. The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “example” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples. The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. | 138,769 |
11943793 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS In order to make the objective, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, implementations of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First Embodiment Aimed at the problem on how to schedule and allocate downlink radio resources, the present embodiment provides an AI engine-supporting downlink radio resource scheduling method applied in an open-source OpenAirInterface (OAI) system. That is, configuration is implemented under an OAI engine, and a DDQN algorithm is designed for training to obtain a packaged AI model applicable to the engine, which can be configured with a plurality of UEs at most for resource allocation. As shown inFIG.1, the flow of executing the method includes the following steps: (S1) constructing an AI engine, establishing a Socket connection between an AI engine and an OAI system, and configuring the AI engine into an OAI running environment, so as to utilize the AI engine to replace a Round-Robin scheduling algorithm and a fair Round-Robin scheduling algorithm adopted by LTE at the MAC layer in the OAI system for resource scheduling to take over a downlink radio resource scheduling process; It should be noted that in order to implement the allocation of downlink resources by the AI engine, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the running flow of OAI codes. The OAI system achieves a task message queue by means of middleware of subframes (ITTI), and then enables codes of the whole radio access network (RAN) side to run. In order to implement allocation in the original system by the AI engine, it is required to replace the original allocation mode in the system. At a physical layer (Media Access Control, MAC) of the OAI, a scheduler of the media access control MAC layer will schedule downlink shared channels (DL-SCHs) and uplink shared channels (UL-SCHs) at each subframe. There are two types of scheduling algorithms, one is a default Round-Robin scheduling algorithm, and the other is a fair Round-Robin scheduling algorithm (fair-RR). The OAI allocates downlink resources by means of these two algorithms. The present embodiment will use the AI engine to replace the two algorithms to take over a scheduling process. (S2) sending scheduling information to the AI engine through Socket during the process of the OAI scheduling resources; (S3) utilizing the AI engine to carry out resource allocation according to the scheduling information, and returning an allocation result to the OAI. It should be noted that during the running process of the OAI, the scheduling information needed is stored in a context, and context information is sent to an AI scheduling algorithm through an AI engine interface for intelligent resource management and control. After resource allocation is completed by the AI algorithm, an allocation result is returned to an OAI-RAN operating environment through the AI engine interface. During the process of scheduling by the OAI, the useful scheduling information is sent to a receiving end of Python through Socket. After receiving the related information, the related algorithm of the AI engine will generate a corresponding scheduling result and return it to the OAI, thus completing a scheduling process. During the process of running the OAI codes, a Socket connection (as already described above) similar to a hook function is added. Parameters in the process of real-time running are sent into an AI algorithm of a Python end through the Socket connection, and a new allocation result obtained by the AI algorithm is then returned to the OAI, so as to modify a native scheduling result of the OAI. Once the Socket connection is established, the OAI can be linked to the AI engine for a long time. Based on the above, the process of implementing the downlink radio resource scheduling method of the present embodiment is as follows: Step 1: capturing the AI engine interface, and finding out eNB_dlsch_ulsch_scheduler and other functions in key technical codes for location and modification. Step 2: capturing data input and output of AI engine data, including module_idP, frameP and subframeP identifying functions, creating a context, saving an eNB and storing UE status information. Step 3: establishing an interface C2PY capable of meeting the connection between the AI engine and a real-time OAI-RAN operating environment based on Socket, so that the AI engine and the real-time OAI-RAN operating environment can communicate with each other. By introducing a Socket communication protocol and adding an external interface for the OAI into AI engine-supporting radio resource scheduling in the present embodiment, data are sent out. Step 4: respectively configuring the C2PY interface in the OAI running environment and the AI engine. Step 5: finding out an openair2 /LAYER2/MAC/preprocessor.c file for the deployment of the C2PY interface, and carrying out the allocation of downlink resource blocks allocated by the resource-scheduling OAI. In the present embodiment, a downlink allocation flow in preprocessor in the OAI codes is modified, and the scheduling interface of the OAI is sent to the Python end through the written Python interface (C2PY). Step 6: creating a long Socket connection with the Python end of the AI engine by utilizing a Socket library in C language, ensuring that the interface operates for the first time, and storing connection information into sockfd in a context RC. Step 7: in order to ensure the establishment of the long Socket connection, carrying out the establishment of the long Socket connection in a function before running preprocessor.c. Step 8: achieving the long Socket connection through a static variable, so that the C2PY interface has been deployed in the OAI. Step 9: repeating Step 5 to Step 8, and utilizing the Python language of the AI engine to carry out corresponding deployment. Step 10: compiling a C program newly added in the OAI into a dynamic library file .so for use in OAI compilation. Step 11: C2PY successfully connecting the OAI with the Python end of the AI engine. Step 12: creating a plurality of UEs capable of mutually inputting and outputting data by utilizing an OAI running platform, so that a basic communication network can be established. Step 13: establishing DDQN-based rate-limited PRB allocation to achieve the purpose of utilizing the AI engine to allocate downlink resources. In the present embodiment, a DDQN algorithm is designed and utilized for a virtual wireless network, including a method of carrying out radio resource scheduling under an action state. Scheduled frame numbers, downlink bandwidth, maximum downlink information quantity and the like are monitored in real time at a terminal. Step 14: carry out DDQN-based intelligent resource allocation, configuring an interface, and utilizing the UE for viewing; acquiring the ability to access a local area network after accessing the eNB; and viewing a result of intelligent resource allocation by utilizing the form of a GRB grid. After the connection between the AI engine and the OAI interface is achieved, the problem of resource management and control in the algorithm construction inside the AI engine in the focus of the present embodiment is described as follows: how can 25 PRBs be allocated in each subframe (TTI) to the n UEs in LTE-5 MHz-25 PRB downlink resource transmission scheduling while the n UEs must all meet their rate requirements? Specific parameters (including a current rate and parameters data) are transmitted to the AI engine through the OAI engine, data of each subframe is transmitted back into the OAI after being allocated by the AI engine, and thus the Round-Robin scheduling algorithm and the fair-RR scheduling algorithm are replaced by the AI engine. For the AI engine, the present embodiment adopts the DDQN algorithm for design. Specifications: An action space is Action_Space; a reward function is Reward (A); a state space is S; a current network input is Q; the number of iterations is N; state characteristic dimensionality is n; and a target network is Q′. Output: A network parameter is Q, and the algorithm is as follows: DDQN Algorithm-Based Intelligent Downlink Resource Allocation: 1. Problem modeling: How can 25 PRBs be allocated in each subframe (TTI) to a plurality of UEs in LTE-5 MHz-25 PRB downlink resource transmission scheduling? 2. Used algorithm: DDQN 3. Goal of algorithm: making the n UEs meet their rate requirements: From 1 to n: UE1_RATE=r1 UE2_RATE=r2 UE3_RATE=r3 . . . UEn_RATE=rn 5. Action space: Action_Space=[100…0010…0001…0⋮⋮⋮⋱⋮000…1] It represents respectively adding i resource blocks to the UE 1 to UE N 6. State space: S=[R1, R2, R3, . . . , Rn], S.T. ΣR≤100 7. Reward function: The reward function Reward is related to a rate reached by each UE:Reward=0if((Rates[action]>=RATES[action])):reward=−1else if((rates[action]<RATES[action])):reward=1 8. Goal of optimization: Q′=min∑ni=1❘"\[LeftBracketingBar]"rates[action]-RATES[action]❘"\[RightBracketingBar]" Even if the absolute sum of differences between all the UEs and their required rates is smallest The principle of implementing the downlink radio resource scheduling method of the present embodiment will be illustrated in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to implement the AI engine-supporting downlink radio resource scheduling method, a specific implementation is as follows: an interface for implementing the AI engine and an OAI platform is configured, a variety of deep reinforcement learning algorithms are embedded, and intelligent resource allocation is carried out. Fine-grained traffic measurement is carried out in the eNodeB, basic characteristic data of traffic are statistically analyzed, the type of traffic is identified according to statistic characteristic data, and accurate input information is provided for intelligent service resource allocation. The flow of an AI engine interface design is shown asFIG.2, including AI engine interface location, data transmission format definition and input/output at data ends of UEs. In order to construct an OAI-based AI engine interface, the OAI achieves a task message queue through middleware of ITTI, thus enabling the whole RAN side (i.e. the eNodeB and the UE) to operate successfully. During the real-time operating process of the RAN environment of the OAI, in each subframe, the OAI program will call a scheduling function eNB_dlsch_ulsch_scheduler in eNB_scheduler.c. The scheduler of the MAC layer of the OAI will schedule the DLSCHs and the ULSCHs at each subframe. Therefore, an AI interface location function (eNB_dlsch_ulsch_scheduler) is sought in openair2/LAYER2/MAC. During the process of scheduling run by the RAN of the OAI in real time, the C2PY interface is utilized to configure the AI engine into the OAI running environment. As shown inFIG.3, during the process of scheduling by the OAI, the useful scheduling information is sent to a receiving end (AI engine) of Python through Socket. After receiving the related information, the related algorithm of the AI engine will generate a corresponding scheduling result and return it to the OAI, thus completing a scheduling process. During the process of running the OAI codes, a Socket connection (as already described above) is added. Parameters in the process of real-time running are sent into an AI algorithm of the Python end through the Socket connection, and a new allocation result obtained by the AI algorithm is then returned to the OAI, so as to modify a native scheduling result of the OAI. Once the Socket connection is established, the OAI can be linked to the AI engine for a long time. The C2PY interface is deployed into openair2/LAYER2/MAC/preprocessor.c. SOCKET is deployed into the entry eNB_scheduler.c of the top layer of a scheduling flow of the MAC layer. Corresponding library dependencies are added into a CMakeList file compiled by the OAI, and C2PY is compiled and run, so that three dynamic libraries of C2PY are connected into the dependencies of the OAI. The Python end of C2PY is turned on, the eNB is started, and the OAI is connected to the Python end of the AI engine. In AI algorithm integration, by regarding the ever-changing demand on service as a state of the environment and the allocated resources as the environment, deep reinforcement learning (DRL) is utilized to solve this problem. In order to reduce the influence of annoying randomness and noise embedded in received service level agreement (SLA) service satisfaction rate (SSR) and spectrum efficiency (SE), it is mainly proposed that based on a double deep Q-network (DDQN), a value distribution of action is learned by minimizing the difference between an estimated value distribution of action and a target value distribution of action and a value distribution of action is learned through an estimated state value distribution and an action advantage function. Finally, through the algorithm, intelligent resource allocation is performed for the plurality of UEs in the OAI running environment, the outbound traffic of each UE is statistically analyzed, and a data access interface is provided for an intelligent service resource allocation module. A block diagram of an overall architecture for the AI engine and the OAI running environment is shown asFIG.4. The AI engine is first utilized to enable a communication network and start a core network EPC, and after accessing the eNB of the OAI running environment, the ability to access a local area network is acquired through the C2PY interface. A terminal page is created, front-end 25 PRB downlink resource allocation and DDQN allocation results are compared, and the comparison between an allocation result of the intelligent resource block allocation algorithm and a native allocation result of the OAI is checked. In a native downlink resource scheduling flow of the OAI, an allocated scheduling result and some other necessary information (acquired in the context) are sent to the AI engine through the AI engine interface, and after resource allocation is completed by the AI algorithm, an allocation result is returned to the OAI-RAN operating environment through the AI engine interface. A data transmission channel is established between the eNodeB and the AI engine, and the real-time calling of a variety of intelligent management and control algorithms in the AI engine is supported. The whole AI engine interface is developed based on an open-source OAI project, and by modifying source codes of the OAI, an interface function required by an AI native dynamic resource management and control system. Intelligent resource management and control oriented to requirements for multiple types of functions (e.g., uplink and downlink resource scheduling and power allocation) is achieved. To sum up, the method of the present embodiment adopts the AI intelligent engine to replace the Round-Robin scheduling algorithm and the fair-RR scheduling algorithm adopted in LTE scheduling at the MAC layer in OAI system, thus reducing information redundancy and delays. In the present embodiment, during the design of the AI engine, context information and parameter information in the OAI are transmitted into the AI engine, resources are allocated by the AI engine and then transmitted back to the OAI, and thus, resource allocation is completed. The AI engine designed by the present embodiment adopts the DDQN algorithm, with the corresponding state space and action space and the like being designed for the OAI system, and can simultaneously support the scheduling and allocation of resources to N users (UEs). Through the model in AI engine, downlink radio resources are scheduled and allocated rapidly, thus reducing the redundancy of OAI information transmission and increasing the operating efficiency of the OAI system. Second Embodiment The present embodiment provides an AI engine-supporting downlink radio resource scheduling apparatus, which includes: an AI engine construction module, configured for constructing an AI engine, establishing a Socket connection between the AI engine and an OAI system and configuring the AI engine into an OAI running environment, so as to utilize the AI engine to replace the Round-Robin scheduling algorithm and the fair Round-Robin scheduling algorithm adopted by LTE at an MAC layer in the OAI system for resource scheduling to take over a downlink radio resource scheduling process; a scheduling information sending module, configured for sending scheduling information to the AI engine through Socket during the resource scheduling process of an OAI system; and a resource allocation and allocation result sending module, configured for utilizing the AI engine to carry out resource allocation according to the scheduling information and returning a resource allocation result to the OAI. The AI engine-supporting downlink radio resource scheduling apparatus of the present embodiment corresponds to the AI engine-supporting downlink radio resource scheduling method of the aforementioned first embodiment, wherein the function implemented by each functional module in the AI engine-supporting downlink radio resource scheduling apparatus of the present embodiment is in one-to-one correspondence to each flow step in the AI engine-supporting downlink radio resource scheduling method of the aforementioned first embodiment. Third Embodiment The present embodiment provides an electronic device, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein at least one instruction is stored in the memory, and the instruction is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the method of the aforementioned first embodiment. The electronic device may be greatly varied due to different configurations or performances, and may include one or more central processing units (CPU) and one or more memories, wherein at least one instruction is stored in the memory, and the instruction is loaded by the processor and executes the aforementioned method. Fourth Embodiment The present embodiment provides a computer-readable storage medium in which at least one instruction is stored, and the instruction is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the method of the aforementioned first embodiment. The computer-readable storage medium may be a ROM, a random access memory, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk or an optical data storage device. The instruction stored in the computer-readable storage medium may be loaded by a processor in a terminal and execute the aforementioned method. In addition, it should be noted that the present invention may be provided as a method, an apparatus or a computer program product. Thus, the embodiments of the present invention may adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment or an embodiment combined with aspects of software and hardware. Furthermore, the embodiments of the present invention may adopt the form of a computer program product which is implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media containing computer-usable program codes. The embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the method and terminal device (system) of the embodiments of the present invention and the flow chart and/or block diagram of the computer program product. It should be understood that each flow and/or block in the flow chart and/or the block diagram and/or the combination of the flows and/or blocks in the flow chart and/or the block diagram can be implemented by the computer program instructions. The computer program instructions may be applied to the processor of a general-purpose computer, an embedded processor or other programmable data processing terminal equipment to bring forth a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or the programmable data processing terminal device can bring forth a device for implementing functions specified by one or more flows in the flow chart and/or one or more blocks in the block diagram. The computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory capable of guiding the computer or the programmable data processing terminal equipment to operate in a specific mode, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory can bring forth a manufacture including an instruction apparatus, and the instruction apparatus implements the functions specified by one or more flows in the flow chart and/or one or more blocks in the block diagram. The computer program instructions also can be loaded into the computer or the programmable data processing terminal equipment, so that a series of operation steps are executed on the computer or the programmable data processing terminal equipment to generate processing implemented by the computer, and thereby the instructions executed on the computer or the programmable data processing terminal equipment provide steps for implementing the functions specified by one or more flows in the flow chart and/or one or more blocks in the block diagram. It should also be noted that the term “comprise”, “include” or any other variant thereof herein is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or terminal equipment including a series of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not explicitly listed or elements inherent to such process, method, article or terminal equipment. Without more restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence “include a . . . ” do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or terminal equipment including the elements. Finally, it should be noted that the above is the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be pointed out that although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, once those skilled in the art know the basic creative concept of the present invention, they can make some improvements and embellishments without departing from the principle described in the present invention, and these improvements and embellishments shall also be regarded as being within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications falling within the scope of embodiments of the present invention. | 22,624 |
11943794 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION A user equipment (UE) may receive a downlink communication on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The UE may successfully decode the downlink communication or not successfully decode the downlink communication. In some examples, the UE may provide PDSCH decoding statistics so that a base station can adjust a modulation and coding scheme, a resource allocation, and/or a transmit power for a retransmission of the downlink communication or for a new downlink communication. The PDSCH decoding statistics may be transmitted as channel state information (CSI) feedback (e.g., in CSI feedback). However, the CSI feedback based on PDSCH decoding statistics may not be transmitted in a timely or efficient manner. The statistics for an unsuccessful decoding may be received too late to help a future retransmission or other communication to succeed, and unsuccessful communications cause the UE to waste power, processing resources, and signaling resources. By contrast, while PDSCH decoding statistics for successful downlink communications may help the base station to make transmission adjustments, statistics for successful communications do not have the same urgency that is associated with unsuccessful communications. According to various aspects described herein, a UE may provide PDSCH decoding information (e.g., statistics) in CSI feedback in a different manner for an unsuccessful decoding of a downlink communication than for a successful decoding. For example, the UE may provide PDSCH decoding statistics for an unsuccessful decoding in a physical uplink resource that occurs sooner than a physical uplink resource for a successful decoding, due to the urgency of a failed communication. In some aspects, the UE may aggregate PDSCH decoding statistics for multiple successfully decoded communications. In this way, the UE may quickly and efficiently provide PDSCH decoding statistics for transmission adjustments. As a result, the UE conserves power, processing resources, and signaling resources that would otherwise be consumed by other failed decoding attempts. Various aspects of the disclosure are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein one skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or combined with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or other than the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim. Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatuses and techniques. These apparatuses and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, and/or the like (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. It should be noted that while aspects may be described herein using terminology commonly associated with a 5G or NR radio access technology (RAT), aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to other RATs, such as a 3G RAT, a 4G RAT, and/or a RAT subsequent to 5G (e.g., 6G). FIG.1is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network100in accordance with the present disclosure. The wireless network100may be or may include elements of a 5G (NR) network and/or an LTE network, among other examples. The wireless network100may include a number of base stations110(shown as BS110a, BS110b, BS110c, and BS110d) and other network entities. A base station (BS) is an entity that communicates with user equipment (UEs) and may also be referred to as an NR BS, a Node B, a gNB, a 5G node B (NB), an access point, or a transmit receive point (TRP). Each BS may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a BS and/or a BS subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. A BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs having association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). ABS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. ABS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In the example shown inFIG.1, a BS110amay be a macro BS for a macro cell102a, a BS110bmay be a pico BS for a pico cell102b, and a BS110cmay be a femto BS for a femto cell102c. A BS may support one or multiple (e.g., three) cells. The terms “eNB”, “base station”, “NR BS”, “gNB”, “TRP”, “AP”, “node B”, “5G NB”, and “cell” may be used interchangeably herein. In some aspects, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of the cell may move according to the location of a mobile BS. In some aspects, the BSs may be interconnected to one another and/or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless network100through various types of backhaul interfaces such as a direct physical connection, or a virtual network using any suitable transport network. Wireless network100may also include relay stations. A relay station is an entity that can receive a transmission of data from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a UE) and send a transmission of the data to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station may also be a UE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown inFIG.1, a relay BS110dmay communicate with macro BS110aand a UE120din order to facilitate communication between BS110aand UE120d. A relay BS may also be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, or a relay. Wireless network100may be a heterogeneous network that includes BSs of different types, such as macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, and/or relay BSs. These different types of BSs may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different impacts on interference in wireless network100. For example, macro BSs may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 to 40 watts) whereas pico BSs, femto BSs, and relay BSs may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts). A network controller130may couple to a set of BSs and may provide coordination and control for these BSs. Network controller130may communicate with the BSs via a backhaul. The BSs may also communicate with one another, directly or indirectly, via a wireless or wireline backhaul. UEs120(e.g.,120a,120b,120c) may be dispersed throughout wireless network100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE may also be referred to as an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, and/or the like. A UE may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device or equipment, biometric sensors/devices, wearable devices (smart watches, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wrist bands, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a vehicular component or sensor, smart meters/sensors, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium. Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, and/or location tags that may communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node may provide, for example, connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and/or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband internet of things) devices. Some UEs may be considered a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). UE120may be included inside a housing that houses components of UE120, such as processor components and/or memory components. In some aspects, the processor components and the memory components may be coupled together. For example, the processor components (e.g., one or more processors) and the memory components (e.g., a memory) may be operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and/or electrically coupled. In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, and/or an air interface. A frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, and/or a frequency channel. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed. In some aspects, two or more UEs120(e.g., shown as UE120aand UE120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., without using a base station110as an intermediary to communicate with one another). For example, the UEs120may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communications, device-to-device (D2D) communications, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocol (e.g., which may include a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocol, or a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocol), and/or a mesh network. In this case, the UE120may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and/or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by the base station110. Devices of wireless network100may communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided based on frequency or wavelength into various classes, bands, channels, or the like. For example, devices of wireless network100may communicate using an operating band having a first frequency range (FR1), which may span from 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz, and/or may communicate using an operating band having a second frequency range (FR2), which may span from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are sometimes referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to as a “sub-6 GHz” band. Similarly, FR2 is often referred to as a “millimeter wave” band despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band. Thus, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies less than 6 GHz, frequencies within FR1, and/or mid-band frequencies (e.g., greater than 7.125 GHz). Similarly, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies within the EHF band, frequencies within FR2, and/or mid-band frequencies (e.g., less than 24.25 GHz). It is contemplated that the frequencies included in FR1 and FR2 may be modified, and techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges. As indicated above,FIG.1is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.1. FIG.2is a diagram illustrating an example200of a base station110in communication with a UE120in a wireless network100, in accordance with the present disclosure. Base station110may be equipped with T antennas234athrough234t, and UE120may be equipped with R antennas252athrough252r, where in general T≥1 and R≥1. At base station110, a transmit processor220may receive data from a data source212for one or more UEs, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCS(s) selected for the UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. Transmit processor220may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Transmit processor220may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., the primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor230may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs)232athrough232t. Each modulator232may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator232may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. T downlink signals from modulators232athrough232tmay be transmitted via T antennas234athrough234t, respectively. At UE120, antennas252athrough252rmay receive the downlink signals from base station110and/or other base stations and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs)254athrough254r, respectively. Each demodulator254may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator254may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector256may obtain received symbols from all R demodulators254athrough254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor258may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE120to a data sink260, and provide decoded control information and system information to a controller/processor280. The term “controller/processor” may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. A channel processor may determine reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and/or CQI, among other examples. In some aspects, one or more components of UE120may be included in a housing284. Network controller130may include communication unit294, controller/processor290, and memory292. Network controller130may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. Network controller130may communicate with base station110via communication unit294. Antennas (e.g., antennas234athrough234tand/or antennas252athrough252r) may include, or may be included within, one or more antenna panels, antenna groups, sets of antenna elements, and/or antenna arrays, among other examples. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include one or more antenna elements. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include a set of coplanar antenna elements and/or a set of non-coplanar antenna elements. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include antenna elements within a single housing and/or antenna elements within multiple housings. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include one or more antenna elements coupled to one or more transmission and/or reception components, such as one or more components ofFIG.2. On the uplink, at UE120, a transmit processor264may receive and process data from a data source262and control information (e.g., for reports that include RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and/or CQI) from controller/processor280. Transmit processor264may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from transmit processor264may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor266if applicable, further processed by modulators254athrough254r(e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM), and transmitted to base station110. In some aspects, a modulator and a demodulator (e.g., MOD/DEMOD254) of the UE120may be included in a modem of the UE120. In some aspects, the UE120includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna(s)252, modulators and/or demodulators254, MIMO detector256, receive processor258, transmit processor264, and/or TX MIMO processor266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor280) and memory282to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (for example, as described with reference toFIGS.6-15). At base station110, the uplink signals from UE120and other UEs may be received by antennas234, processed by demodulators232, detected by a MIMO detector236if applicable, and further processed by a receive processor238to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE120. Receive processor238may provide the decoded data to a data sink239and the decoded control information to controller/processor240. Base station110may include communication unit244and communicate to network controller130via communication unit244. Base station110may include a scheduler246to schedule UEs120for downlink and/or uplink communications. In some aspects, a modulator and a demodulator (e.g., MOD/DEMOD232) of the base station110may be included in a modem of the base station110. In some aspects, the base station110includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna(s)234, modulators and/or demodulators232, MIMO detector236, receive processor238, transmit processor220, and/or TX MIMO processor230. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor240) and memory242to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (for example, as described with reference toFIGS.6-15). Controller/processor240of base station110, controller/processor280of UE120, and/or any other component(s) ofFIG.2may perform one or more techniques associated with differentiated CSI feedback based on decoding statistics, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, controller/processor240of base station110, controller/processor280of UE120, and/or any other component(s) ofFIG.2may perform or direct operations of, for example, process1200ofFIG.12, process1300ofFIG.13, and/or other processes as described herein. Memories242and282may store data and program codes for base station110and UE120, respectively. In some aspects, memory242and/or memory282may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and/or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, or after compiling, converting, and/or interpreting) by one or more processors of base station110and/or UE120, may cause the one or more processors, UE120, and/or base station110to perform or direct operations of, for example, process1200ofFIG.12, process1300ofFIG.13, and/or other processes as described herein. In some aspects, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and/or interpreting the instructions, among other examples. In some aspects, UE120includes means for determining that a communication on a PDSCH was successfully decoded or was not successfully decoded, and/or means for transmitting CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information via a first operation based at least in part on the determination that the communication was successfully decoded, or via a second operation based at least in part on the determination that the communication was not successfully decoded. The means for UE120to perform operations described herein may include, for example, antenna252, demodulator254, MIMO detector256, receive processor258, transmit processor264, TX MIMO processor266, modulator254, controller/processor280, and/or memory282. In some aspects, base station110includes means for receiving, from a UE, CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information for a first communication on the PDSCH via a first operation or a second operation, the first operation corresponding to successful decoding of the first communication on the PDSCH, and the second operation corresponding to unsuccessful decoding of the first communication on the PDSCH, and/or means for scheduling a second communication on the PDSCH for the UE based at least in part on the PDSCH decoding information. The means for base station110to perform operations described herein may include, for example, transmit processor220, TX MIMO processor230, modulator232, antenna234, demodulator232, MIMO detector236, receive processor238, controller/processor240, memory242, and/or scheduler246. In some aspects, base station110includes means for transmitting an uplink grant in a physical downlink resource that schedules a PUSCH resource for receiving CSI feedback that includes decoding information for a plurality of successfully decoded communications on the PDSCH, where receiving the CSI feedback for the plurality of communications via the first operation includes receiving the CSI feedback in the scheduled PUSCH resource. While blocks inFIG.2are illustrated as distinct components, the functions described above with respect to the blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combination component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functions described with respect to the transmit processor264, the receive processor258, and/or the TX MIMO processor266may be performed by or under the control of controller/processor280. As indicated above,FIG.2is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.2. FIG.3is a diagram illustrating an example300of physical channels and reference signals in a wireless network, in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.3, downlink channels and downlink reference signals may carry information from a base station110to a UE120, and uplink channels and uplink reference signals may carry information from a UE120to a base station110. As shown, a downlink channel may include a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) that carries downlink control information (DCI), a PDSCH that carries downlink data, or a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) that carries system information, among other examples. In some aspects, PDSCH communications may be scheduled by PDCCH communications. As further shown, an uplink channel may include a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) that carries uplink control information (UCI), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) that carries uplink data, or a physical random access channel (PRACH) used for initial network access, among other examples. In some aspects, UE120may transmit acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK) feedback (e.g., ACK/NACK feedback or ACK/NACK information) in UCI on the PUCCH and/or the PUSCH. As further shown, a downlink reference signal may include a synchronization signal block (SSB), a CSI reference signal (CSI-RS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), or a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), among other examples. As also shown, an uplink reference signal may include a sounding reference signal (SRS), a DMRS, or a PTRS, among other examples. An SSB may carry information used for initial network acquisition and synchronization, such as a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a PBCH, and a PBCH DMRS. An SSB is sometimes referred to as a synchronization signal/PBCH (SS/PBCH) block. In some aspects, base station110may transmit multiple SSBs on multiple corresponding beams, and the SSBs may be used for beam selection. A CSI-RS may carry information used for downlink channel estimation (e.g., downlink CSI acquisition), which may be used for scheduling, link adaptation, or beam management, among other examples. Base station110may configure a set of CSI-RSs for UE120, and UE120may measure the configured set of CSI-RSs. Based at least in part on the measurements, UE120may perform channel estimation and may report channel estimation parameters to base station110(e.g., in a CSI report), such as a CQI, a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), a layer indicator (LI), a rank indicator (RI), or a reference signal received power (RSRP), among other examples. Base station110may use the CSI report to select transmission parameters for downlink communications to UE120, such as a number of transmission layers (e.g., a rank), a precoding matrix (e.g., a precoder), a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), or a refined downlink beam (e.g., using a beam refinement procedure or a beam management procedure), among other examples. A DMRS may carry information used to estimate a radio channel for demodulation of an associated physical channel (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH, PBCH, PUCCH, or PUSCH). The design and mapping of a DMRS may be specific to a physical channel for which the DMRS is used for estimation. DMRSs are UE-specific, can be beamformed, can be confined in a scheduled resource (e.g., rather than transmitted on a wideband), and can be transmitted only when necessary. As shown, DMRSs are used for both downlink communications and uplink communications. A PTRS may carry information used to compensate for oscillator phase noise. Typically, the phase noise increases as the oscillator carrier frequency increases. Thus, PTRS can be utilized at high carrier frequencies, such as millimeter wave frequencies, to mitigate phase noise. The PTRS may be used to track the phase of the local oscillator and to enable suppression of phase noise and common phase error (CPE). As shown, PTRSs are used for both downlink communications (e.g., on the PDSCH) and uplink communications (e.g., on the PUSCH). A PRS may carry information used to enable timing or ranging measurements of UE120based on signals transmitted by base station110to improve observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) positioning performance. For example, a PRS may be a pseudo-random Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) sequence mapped in diagonal patterns with shifts in frequency and time to avoid collision with cell-specific reference signals and control channels (e.g., a PDCCH). In general, a PRS may be designed to improve detectability by UE120, which may need to detect downlink signals from multiple neighboring base stations in order to perform OTDOA-based positioning. Accordingly, UE120may receive a PRS from multiple cells (e.g., a reference cell and one or more neighbor cells), and may report a reference signal time difference (RSTD) based on OTDOA measurements associated with the PRSs received from the multiple cells. In some aspects, base station110may then calculate a position of UE120based on the RSTD measurements reported by UE120. An SRS may carry information used for uplink channel estimation, which may be used for scheduling, link adaptation, precoder selection, or beam management, among other examples. Base station110may configure one or more SRS resource sets for UE120, and UE120may transmit SRSs on the configured SRS resource sets. An SRS resource set may have a configured usage, such as uplink CSI acquisition, downlink CSI acquisition for reciprocity-based operations, uplink beam management, among other examples. Base station110may measure the SRSs, may perform channel estimation based at least in part on the measurements, and may use the SRS measurements to configure communications with UE120. As indicated above,FIG.3is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.3. FIG.4is a diagram illustrating an example400of providing PDSCH decoding in CSI feedback, in accordance with the present disclosure. A UE may receive a downlink communication on a PDSCH. As shown by example400, the downlink communication on the PDSCH may be scheduled by a downlink grant. The downlink grant may be received in DCI. The UE may successfully decode the downlink communication and may provide an ACK in a PUCCH resource that is for HARQ feedback. If the UE does not successfully decode the downlink communication, the UE may provide a NACK in the HARQ feedback PUCCH resource. In some examples, the UE may provide PDSCH decoding statistics, as shown by example400, so that a base station can adjust an MCS, a resource allocation, and/or a transmit power for a retransmission of the downlink communication or for a new downlink communication. The PDSCH decoding statistics may be transmitted in CSI feedback. As indicated above,FIG.4is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.4. FIG.5is a diagram illustrating an example500of an effective SNR and an outer loop SNR, in accordance with the present disclosure. While a UE may transmit PDSCH decoding statistics in CSI feedback, the UE may not transmit the statistics in a timely or efficient manner. The statistics for unsuccessful decoding may be received too late to help a future retransmission to succeed, and unsuccessful communications cause the UE to waste power, processing resources, and signaling resources. By contrast, while PDSCH decoding statistics for successful downlink communications may help a base station to make transmission adjustments, statistics for successful communications do not have the same urgency that is associated with unsuccessful communications. Example500shows an example of a difference in urgency between a successful decoding (e.g., ACK) and an unsuccessful decoding (e.g., NACK). An outer loop SNR520may be part of a feedback loop that is associated with an effective SNR510. The outer loop may be adapted for MCS selection. With a NACK, a CQI may be fed back immediately to adjust SNR, because an outer-loop SNR based on only HARQ-ACK may not provide the information necessary for quick and effective transmission adjustment. With an ACK, a CQI may be delayed because an outer-loop SNR based on only on HARQ-ACK feedback may be enough for adjustment. Example500shows a graph that is based on the following equation: SNR(i)=SNRCQI+Δoffset(i) with Δoffset(i)=min{Δoffset(i−1)+δ·1ACK−9δ·1NACK,offsetmax}. The Δoffsetis accumulative, and the δ is a step size. Note that with each NACK, there is a larger drop530in outer loop SNR520. According to various aspects described herein, a UE may provide PDSCH decoding information (e.g., statistics) in CSI feedback in a different manner for unsuccessful decoding than for successful decoding. For example, the UE may provide PDSCH decoding statistics for an unsuccessful decoding in a physical uplink resource that occurs sooner than a physical uplink resource for a successful decoding, due to the urgency of a failed communication. In some aspects, the UE may also aggregate PDSCH decoding statistics for multiple successfully decoded communications. In this way, the UE may quickly and efficiently provide PDSCH decoding statistics for transmission adjustments. As a result, the UE conserves power, processing resources, and signaling resources that would otherwise be consumed by other failed decoding attempts. As indicated above,FIG.5is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.5. FIG.6is a diagram illustrating an example600of differentiated CSI feedback for PDSCH decoding statistics, in accordance with the present disclosure.FIG.6shows a BS610(e.g., a BS110depicted inFIGS.1and2) and a UE620(e.g., a UE120depicted inFIGS.1and2) that may communicate with each other on a downlink or an uplink. As shown by reference number630, UE620may determine that a downlink communication on a PDSCH was successfully decoded or was not successfully decoded. UE620may determine to transmit an ACK for a successful decoding and a NACK for an unsuccessful decoding. UE620may determine PDSCH decoding information associated with decoding the downlink communication. PDSCH decoding information may include PDSCH decoding statistics, such as bit error rate, a decoding signal to noise ratio (SNR), a log-likelihood ratio (LLR), and/or an RSRP. In some aspects, the UE may reuse a CQI or PMI for PDSCH decoding statistics. The PDSCH decoding information may include a CQI that represents one or more parameters of PDSCH decoding. The PDSCH decoding information may also include a PMI that represents one or more measurements of DMRSs in the communication. UE620may transmit the PDSCH decoding information in one or more fields regularly used for CSI feedback. As shown by reference number635, UE620may transmit CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information via a first operation based at least in part on the determination that the communication was successfully decoded, or via a second operation based at least in part on the determination that communication was not successfully decoded. A time duration between reception of the communication and transmission of the CSI feedback may be shorter for the second operation than for the first operation For example, UE620may transmit CSI feedback at a different time and/or in a different resource for successful decoding than for an unsuccessful decoding. As another example, if the CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information is transmitted based at least in part on the determination that the communication was successfully decoded, then a first time duration may exist between reception of the communication and transmission of the CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information; and if the CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information is transmitted based at least in part on the determination that the communication was unsuccessfully decoded, then a second time duration may exist between reception of the communication and transmission of the CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information, where the second time duration may be less than (e.g., shorter) than the first time duration. The first operation may involve transmitting CSI feedback in a first physical uplink resource, and the second operation may involve transmitting CSI feedback in a second physical uplink resource, where the second physical uplink resource occurs earlier than the first physical uplink resource. Examples of different operations for differentiated transmission of the CSI feedback are described below in connection withFIGS.7-11. As shown by reference number640, BS610may receive the CSI feedback and make an adjustment for transmission based at least in part on PDSCH decoding statistics indicated by the CSI feedback. For example, BS610may schedule a communication on the PDSCH for UE620based at least in part on the PDSCH decoding information. The communication may be a retransmission or a new communication. As shown by reference number650, BS610may transmit the communication. As indicated above,FIG.6is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.6. FIG.7is a diagram illustrating an example700of differentiated CSI feedback for PDSCH decoding statistics, in accordance with the present disclosure. In some aspects, a UE may transmit CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding statistics for a successful decoding on a different timeline than CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding statistics for an unsuccessful decoding. Example700shows a faster timeline (shorter delay) for CSI feedback if the PDSCH decoding fails (e.g., NACK). Example700shows a slower timeline (longer delay) for CSI feedback if the PDSCH decoding passes (e.g., ACK). As indicated above,FIG.7is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.7. FIG.8is a diagram illustrating an example800of differentiated CSI feedback for PDSCH decoding statistics, in accordance with the present disclosure. In some aspects, a UE may transmit CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding statistics for a successful decoding of a communication on a different resource than CSI feedback for an unsuccessful decoding. Example800shows that if PDSCH decoding of the communication fails, the UE may transmit the CSI feedback on a PUCCH resource that is the same PUCCH resource carrying the HARQ-ACK feedback (e.g., NACK). A delay from the communication to the PUCCH resource with the NACK and CSI feedback may include a delay (e.g., legacy K1 delay) indicated by a field in DCI that schedules the communication. If the PDSCH decoding passes (e.g., ACK), the UE may transmit the CSI feedback for the PDSCH decoding statistics in a different PUCCH resource than used for the HARQ-ACK feedback. In some aspects, the UE may transmit the CSI feedback in a PUSCH resource. As indicated above,FIG.8is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.8. FIG.9is a diagram illustrating an example900of differentiated CSI feedback for PDSCH decoding statistics, in accordance with the present disclosure. In some aspects, a UE may transmit CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding statistics for a successful decoding of a communication with a different granularity than CSI feedback for an unsuccessful decoding. Example900shows that if the PDSCH decoding fails, the UE may transmit CSI feedback for a single communication in a PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource may be a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource. If the PDSCH decoding passes, the UE may transmit CSI feedback for PDSCH decoding for multiple communications that were successfully decoded. In some aspects, the UE may aggregate multiple CSI reports for multiple successfully decoded communications (e.g., a respective CSI report for a respective communication) in a single PUCCH resource or a single PUSCH resource. In some aspects, the UE may concatenate the multiple CSI reports. In some aspects, the UE may aggregate CSI feedback for multiple communications into a single CSI report. As indicated above,FIG.9is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.9. FIG.10is a diagram illustrating an example1000of differentiated CSI feedback for PDSCH decoding statistics, in accordance with the present disclosure. In some aspects, a UE may be configured with periodic resource allocations for transmission. Example1000shows periodic PUCCH resources. The UE may aggregate one or more CSI reports of PDSCH decoding statistics for successfully decoded communications into one1002of these periodic PUCCH resources. By contrast, the UE may include CSI feedback for unsuccessfully decoded communications in a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource1004. As indicated above,FIG.10is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.10. FIG.11is a diagram illustrating an example1100of differentiated CSI feedback for PDSCH decoding statistics, in accordance with the present disclosure. A base station may transmit a configured grant (CG) configuration to a UE. For example, the base station may transmit configuration information in a radio resource configuration (RRC) message or in DCI that identifies the CG. In some aspects, the configuration information identifying the CG may indicate a resource allocation (e.g., in a time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain, code domain) dedicated for the UE to use for transmitting uplink communications. The CG may identify a resource or set of resources available to the UE for transmission of an uplink communication (e.g., data, control information). For example, the CG configuration may identify a resource location for a PUSCH. In some aspects, as shown in example1100, a base station may use an uplink grant to trigger a UE to report an aggregated report of PDSCH decoding statistics in CSI feedback for a certain quantity N (e.g., 3) of successfully decoded communications. The report may be an aggregated report that includes a concatenation of multiple reports based on multiple successfully decoded communications. Alternatively, the report may include a single CSI report for the multiple communications. As shown in example1100, the UE may transmit the report in a PUSCH resource1102scheduled by an uplink grant on a PDCCH. By contrast, the UE may transmit a report of PDSCH decoding statistics in CSI feedback for unsuccessfully decoded communications in a HARQ PUCCH resource1104, which may occur earlier than a scheduled PUSCH resource for the CSI feedback for successful communications. In this way, the base station may get PDSCH decoding statistics in a timely and efficient manner, depending on whether the PDSCH decoding is successful. As indicated above,FIG.11is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.11. FIG.12is a diagram illustrating an example process1200performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process1200is an example where the UE (e.g., a UE120depicted inFIGS.1-3, UE620depicted inFIG.6) performs operations associated with differentiated CSI feedback based on decoding statistics. As shown inFIG.12, in some aspects, process1200may include determining whether a communication on a PDSCH is successfully decoded (block1210). For example, the UE (e.g., using determination component1408depicted inFIG.14) may determine whether a communication on a PDSCH is successfully decoded, as described above. This may include determining that a communication on a PDSCH was successfully decoded or was not successfully decoded. As further shown inFIG.12, in some aspects, process1200may include transmitting CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information via a first operation based at least in part on the determination that the communication was successfully decoded, or via a second operation based at least in part on the determination that the communication was not successfully decoded (block1220). For example, the UE (e.g., using transmission component1404depicted inFIG.14) may transmit CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information via a first operation based at least in part on the determination that the communication was successfully decoded, or via a second operation based at least in part on the determination that the communication was not successfully decoded, as described above. Process1200may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein. In a first aspect, a time duration between reception of the communication and transmission of the CSI feedback for the second operation is shorter than a time duration between reception of the communication and transmission of the CSI feedback for the first operation. In some aspects, a time duration between reception of the communication and transmission of the CSI feedback is shorter for the second operation than for the first operation. In some aspects, if the CSI feedback that includes the PDSCH decoding information is transmitted via the first operation, then a first time duration exists between reception of the communication and transmission of the CSI feedback. If the CSI feedback that includes the PDSCH decoding information is transmitted via the second operation, then a second time duration exists between reception of the communication and transmission of the CSI feedback. The second time duration is shorter than the first time duration. In some aspects, a physical uplink resource for the CSI feedback for the first operation is different than a physical uplink resource for the CSI feedback for the second operation. In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, a physical uplink resource for the CSI feedback for the first operation occurs after a physical uplink resource for the CSI feedback for the second operation. In some aspects, a first physical uplink resource is used if the CSI feedback is transmitted via the first operation and a second physical uplink resource is used if the CSI feedback is transmitted via the second operation. The first physical uplink resource occurs after the second physical uplink resource. In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the physical uplink resource for the first operation is a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource that occurs after a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource for the second operation, or a PUSCH resource that occurs after the HARQ feedback PUCCH resource for the second operation. That is, a first physical uplink resource is used if the CSI feedback is transmitted via the first operation and a second physical uplink resource is used if the CSI feedback is transmitted via the second operation, and the first physical uplink resource occurs after the second physical uplink resource. In some aspects, the first physical uplink resource is a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource or a PUSCH resource, and the second physical uplink resource is a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource. In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, a delay between the communication and the HARQ feedback PUCCH resource for the second operation is indicated by a field in DCI scheduling the communication or based at least in part on a K1 duration. In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, the physical uplink resource for the second operation is a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource, and the physical uplink resource for the first operation is a physical uplink resource, that occurs after the physical uplink resource for the second operation, that includes PDSCH decoding information for a plurality of communications on the PDSCH that have been successfully decoded. That is, in some aspects, the first physical uplink resource includes PDSCH decoding information for a plurality of communications on the PDSCH that have been successfully decoded, and the second physical uplink resource is a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource. The first physical uplink resource occurs after the second physical uplink resource. In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the CSI feedback for the first operation includes PDSCH decoding information for a plurality of communications on the PDSCH that have been successfully decoded, wherein the plurality of communications includes the communication. In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the CSI feedback for the first operation includes a respective PDSCH decoding information report for each respective communication of the plurality of communications. In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the CSI feedback for the first operation includes a single PDSCH decoding information report for the plurality of communications. In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, transmitting the CSI feedback for the plurality of communications via the first operation includes transmitting the CSI feedback in a periodic PUCCH resource. In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, transmitting the CSI feedback for the plurality of communications via the first operation includes transmitting the CSI feedback in a PUSCH resource that is scheduled by an uplink grant in a physical downlink resource. In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, the uplink grant is dedicated for PDSCH decoding information transmitted in the CSI feedback. In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, the uplink grant indicates a quantity of PDSCH decoding reports for successfully decoded communications on the PDSCH that are to be aggregated in the PUSCH resource that is scheduled by the uplink grant. In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, the PDSCH decoding information includes one or more of a bit error rate, a decoding LLR, an SNR, a CQI that represents PDSCH decoding statistics, a PMI that represents PDSCH decoding statistics, or an RSRP. AlthoughFIG.12shows example blocks of process1200, in some aspects, process1200may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted inFIG.12. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process1200may be performed in parallel. FIG.13is a diagram illustrating an example process1300performed, for example, by a base station, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process1300is an example where the base station (e.g., base station110depicted inFIGS.1-3, BS610depicted inFIG.6) performs operations associated with differentiated CSI feedback based on decoding statistics. As shown inFIG.13, in some aspects, process1300may include receiving, from a UE, CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information for a first communication on the PDSCH via a first operation or a second operation, the first operation corresponding to successful decoding of the first communication on the PDSCH, and the second operation corresponding to unsuccessful decoding of the first communication on the PDSCH (block1310). For example, the base station (e.g., using reception component1502depicted inFIG.15) may receive, from a UE, CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information for a first communication on the PDSCH via a first operation or a second operation, the first operation corresponding to successful decoding of the first communication on the PDSCH, and the second operation corresponding to unsuccessful decoding of the first communication on the PDSCH, as described above. As further shown inFIG.13, in some aspects, process1300may include scheduling a second communication on the PDSCH for the UE based at least in part on the PDSCH decoding information (block1320). For example, the base station (e.g., using scheduling component1508depicted inFIG.15) may schedule a second communication on the PDSCH for the UE based at least in part on the PDSCH decoding information, as described above. Process1300may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein. In a first aspect, a time duration between transmission of the second communication and reception of the CSI feedback for the second operation is shorter than a time duration between transmission of the second communication and reception of the CSI feedback for the first operation. In some aspects, a time duration between transmission of the communication and reception of the CSI feedback is shorter for the second operation than for the first operation. In some aspects, if the CSI feedback that includes the PDSCH decoding information is received via the first operation, then a first time duration exists between transmission of the communication and reception of the CSI feedback. If the CSI feedback that includes the PDSCH decoding information is received via the second operation, then a second time duration exists between transmission of the communication and reception of the CSI feedback. The second time duration may be shorter than the first time duration. In some aspects, a physical uplink resource for the CSI feedback for the first operation is different than a physical uplink resource for the CSI feedback for the second operation. In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, a physical uplink resource for the CSI feedback for the first operation occurs after a physical uplink resource for the CSI feedback for the second operation. In some aspects, a first physical uplink resource is used if the CSI feedback is received via the first operation and a second physical uplink resource is used if the CSI feedback is received via the second operation. The first physical uplink resource occurs after the second physical uplink resource. In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the physical uplink resource for the first operation is a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource that occurs after a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource for the second operation, or a PUSCH resource that occurs after the HARQ feedback PUCCH resource for the second operation. That is, a first physical uplink resource is used if the CSI feedback is received via the first operation and a second physical uplink resource is used if the CSI feedback is received via the second operation, and the first physical uplink resource occurs after the second physical uplink resource. In some aspects, the first physical uplink resource is a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource or a PUSCH resource, and the second physical uplink resource is a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource. In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, a delay between the second communication and the HARQ feedback PUCCH resource for the second operation is indicated by a field in DCI scheduling the second communication or based at least in part on a K1 duration. In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, the physical uplink resource for the second operation is a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource, and the physical uplink resource for the first operation is a physical uplink resource, occurs after the physical uplink resource for the second operation, that includes PDSCH decoding information in the CSI feedback for a plurality of communications on the PDSCH that have been successfully decoded. That is, in some aspects, the first physical uplink resource includes PDSCH decoding information for a plurality of communications on the PDSCH that have been successfully decoded, and the second physical uplink resource is a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource. The first physical uplink resource occurs after the second physical uplink resource. In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the CSI feedback for the first operation includes PDSCH decoding information for a plurality of communications on the PDSCH that have been successfully decoded, wherein the plurality of communications includes the communication. In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the CSI feedback for the first operation includes a respective PDSCH decoding information report for each respective communication of the plurality of communications. In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the CSI feedback for the first operation includes a single PDSCH decoding information report for the plurality of communications. In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, receiving the CSI feedback for the plurality of communications via the first operation includes receiving the CSI feedback in a periodic PUCCH resource. In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, process1300includes transmitting an uplink grant in a physical downlink resource that schedules a PUSCH resource for receiving decoding information in the CSI feedback for a plurality of successfully decoded communications on the PDSCH, where receiving the CSI feedback for the plurality of communications via the first operation includes receiving the CSI feedback in the scheduled PUSCH resource. In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, the uplink grant is dedicated for PDSCH decoding information included in the CSI feedback. In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, the uplink grant indicates a quantity of PDSCH decoding reports for successfully decoded communications on the PDSCH that are able to be aggregated in the PUSCH resource that is scheduled by the uplink grant. In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, the PDSCH decoding information in the CSI feedback includes one or more of a bit error rate, a decoding LLR, an SNR, a CQI that represents PDSCH decoding statistics, a PMI that represents PDSCH decoding statistics, or an RSRP. AlthoughFIG.13shows example blocks of process1300, in some aspects, process1300may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted inFIG.13. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process1300may be performed in parallel. FIG.14is a block diagram of an example apparatus1400for wireless communication. The apparatus1400may be a UE, or a UE may include the apparatus1400. In some aspects, the apparatus1400includes a reception component1402and a transmission component1404, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components). As shown, the apparatus1400may communicate with another apparatus1406(such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the reception component1402and the transmission component1404. As further shown, the apparatus1400may include a determination component1408, among other examples. In some aspects, the apparatus1400may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection withFIGS.1-11. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus1400may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process12ofFIG.12. In some aspects, the apparatus1400and/or one or more components shown inFIG.14may include one or more components of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown inFIG.14may be implemented within one or more components described above in connection withFIG.2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processor to perform the functions or operations of the component. The reception component1402may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus1406. The reception component1402may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus1400. In some aspects, the reception component1402may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples), and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus1406. In some aspects, the reception component1402may include one or more antennas, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2. The transmission component1404may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus1406. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus1406may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component1404for transmission to the apparatus1406. In some aspects, the transmission component1404may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples), and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus1406. In some aspects, the transmission component1404may include one or more antennas, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2. In some aspects, the transmission component1404may be co-located with the reception component1402in a transceiver. The determination component1408may determine that a communication on a PDSCH was successfully decoded or was not successfully decoded. In some aspects, the determination component1408may include a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2. The transmission component1404may transmit CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information via a first operation based at least in part on the determination that the communication was successfully decoded, or via a second operation based at least in part on the determination that the communication was not successfully decoded. The number and arrangement of components shown inFIG.14are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown inFIG.14. Furthermore, two or more components shown inFIG.14may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown inFIG.14may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown inFIG.14may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown inFIG.14. FIG.15is a block diagram of an example apparatus1500for wireless communication. The apparatus1500may be a base station, or a base station may include the apparatus1500. In some aspects, the apparatus1500includes a reception component1502and a transmission component1504, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components). As shown, the apparatus1500may communicate with another apparatus1506(such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the reception component1502and the transmission component1504. As further shown, the apparatus1500may include a scheduling component1508, among other examples. In some aspects, the apparatus1500may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection withFIGS.1-11. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus1500may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process1300ofFIG.13. In some aspects, the apparatus1500and/or one or more components shown inFIG.15may include one or more components of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown inFIG.15may be implemented within one or more components described above in connection withFIG.2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processor to perform the functions or operations of the component. The reception component1502may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus1506. The reception component1502may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus1500. In some aspects, the reception component1502may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples), and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus1506. In some aspects, the reception component1502may include one or more antennas, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2. The transmission component1504may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus1506. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus1506may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component1504for transmission to the apparatus1506. In some aspects, the transmission component1504may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples), and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus1506. In some aspects, the transmission component1504may include one or more antennas, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2. In some aspects, the transmission component1504may be co-located with the reception component1502in a transceiver. The reception component1502may receive, from a UE, CSI feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information for a first communication on the PDSCH via a first operation or a second operation, the first operation corresponding to successful decoding of the first communication on the PDSCH, and the second operation corresponding to unsuccessful decoding of the first communication on the PDSCH. The scheduling component1508may schedule a second communication on the PDSCH for the UE based at least in part on the PDSCH decoding information. In some aspects, the scheduling component1508may include a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2. The transmission component1504may transmit an uplink grant in a physical downlink resource that schedules a PUSCH resource for receiving decoding information in the CSI feedback for a plurality of successfully decoded communications on the PDSCH, where receiving the CSI feedback for the plurality of communications via the first operation includes receiving the CSI feedback in the scheduled PUSCH resource. The number and arrangement of components shown inFIG.15are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown inFIG.15. Furthermore, two or more components shown inFIG.15may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown inFIG.15may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown inFIG.15may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown inFIG.15. The following provides an overview of some Aspects of the present disclosure: Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining that a communication on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) was successfully decoded or was not successfully decoded; and transmitting channel state information (CSI) feedback that includes PDSCH decoding information via a first operation based at least in part on the determination that the communication was successfully decoded, or via a second operation based at least in part on the determination that the communication was not successfully decoded. Aspect 2: The method of Aspect 1, wherein a time duration between reception of the communication and transmission of the CSI feedback is shorter for the second operation than for the first operation. Aspect 3: The method of Aspect 1 or 2, wherein a first physical uplink resource for the CSI feedback for the first operation is different than a second physical uplink resource for the CSI feedback for the second operation. Aspect 4: The method of any of Aspects 1-3, wherein a first physical uplink resource is used if the CSI feedback is transmitted via the first operation and a second physical uplink resource is used if the CSI feedback is transmitted via the second operation, and wherein the first physical uplink resource occurs after the second physical uplink resource. Aspect 5: The method of Aspect 4, wherein the first physical uplink resource is a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource, and wherein the second physical uplink resource is a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource. Aspect 6: The method of Aspect 5, wherein a delay between the communication and the HARQ feedback PUCCH resource for the second operation is indicated by a field in downlink control information scheduling the communication. Aspect 7: The method of Aspect 4, wherein the first physical uplink resource includes PDSCH decoding information for a plurality of communications on the PDSCH that have been successfully decoded, wherein the second physical uplink resource includes a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARD) feedback physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource. Aspect 8: The method of any of Aspects 1-7, wherein the CSI feedback for the first operation includes PDSCH decoding information for a plurality of communications on the PDSCH that have been successfully decoded, and wherein the plurality of communications includes the communication. Aspect 9: The method of Aspect 8, wherein the CSI feedback for the first operation includes a respective PDSCH decoding information report for each respective communication of the plurality of communications. Aspect 10: The method of Aspect 8, wherein the CSI feedback for the first operation includes a single PDSCH decoding information report for the plurality of communications. Aspect 11: The method of Aspect 8, wherein transmitting the CSI feedback for the plurality of communications via the first operation includes transmitting the CSI feedback in a periodic physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource. Aspect 12: The method of Aspect 8, wherein transmitting the CSI feedback for the plurality of communications via the first operation includes transmitting the CSI feedback in a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource that is scheduled by an uplink grant in a physical downlink resource. Aspect 13: The method of Aspect 12, wherein the uplink grant is dedicated for PDSCH decoding information included in the CSI feedback. Aspect 14: The method of Aspect 12, wherein the uplink grant indicates a quantity of PDSCH decoding reports for successfully decoded communications on the PDSCH that are to be aggregated in the PUSCH resource that is scheduled by the uplink grant. Aspect 15: The method of any of Aspects 1-14, wherein the PDSCH decoding information includes one or more of a bit error rate, a decoding logarithm of likelihood ratio, a signal to noise ratio, a channel quality indicator that represents PDSCH decoding statistics, a precoding matrix indicator that represents PDSCH decoding statistics, or a reference signal received power. Aspect 16: A method of wireless communication performed by a base station, comprising: receiving, from a user equipment (UE), channel state information (CSI) feedback that includes physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) decoding information for a first communication on the PDSCH via a first operation or a second operation, the first operation corresponding to successful decoding of the first communication on the PDSCH, and the second operation corresponding to unsuccessful decoding of the first communication on the PDSCH; and scheduling a second communication on the PDSCH for the UE based at least in part on the PDSCH decoding information. Aspect 17: The method of Aspect 16, wherein a time duration between transmission of the communication and reception of the CSI feedback is shorter for the second operation than for the first operation. Aspect 18: The method of Aspect 16 or 17, wherein a first physical uplink resource for the CSI feedback for the first operation is different than a second physical uplink resource for the CSI feedback for the second operation. Aspect 19: The method of any of Aspects 16-18, wherein a first physical uplink resource is used if the CSI feedback is received via the first operation and a second physical uplink resource is used if the CSI feedback is received via the second operation, and wherein the first physical uplink resource occurs after the second physical uplink resource. Aspect 20: The method of Aspect 19, wherein the first physical uplink resource is a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource, and wherein the second physical uplink resource is a HARQ feedback PUCCH resource. Aspect 21: The method of Aspect 20, wherein a delay between the second communication and the HARQ feedback PUCCH resource for the second operation is indicated by a field in downlink control information scheduling the second communication. Aspect 22: The method of Aspect 19, wherein the first physical uplink resource includes PDSCH decoding information for a plurality of communications on the PDSCH that have been successfully decoded, wherein the second physical uplink resource includes a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource, and wherein the first physical uplink resource occurs after the second physical uplink resource. Aspect 23: The method of any of Aspects 16-22, wherein the CSI feedback for the first operation includes PDSCH decoding information for a plurality of communications on the PDSCH that have been successfully decoded, wherein the plurality of communications includes the communication. Aspect 24: The method of Aspect 23, wherein the CSI feedback for the first operation includes a respective PDSCH decoding information report for each respective communication of the plurality of communications. Aspect 25: The method of Aspect 23, wherein the CSI feedback for the first operation includes a single PDSCH decoding information report for the plurality of communications. Aspect 26: The method of any of Aspects 23-25, wherein receiving the CSI feedback for the plurality of communications via the first operation includes receiving the CSI feedback in a periodic physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource. Aspect 27: The method of any of Aspects 23-26, further comprising transmitting an uplink grant in a physical downlink resource that schedules a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource for receiving decoding information in the CSI feedback for a plurality of successfully decoded communications on the PDSCH, wherein receiving the CSI feedback for the plurality of communications via the first operation includes receiving the CSI feedback in the scheduled PUSCH resource. Aspect 28: The method of Aspect 27, wherein the uplink grant is dedicated for PDSCH decoding information included in the CSI feedback. Aspect 29: The method of Aspect 27 or 28, wherein the uplink grant indicates a quantity of PDSCH decoding reports for successfully decoded communications on the PDSCH that are able to be aggregated in the PUSCH resource that is scheduled by the uplink grant. Aspect 30: The method of any of Aspects 16-29, wherein the PDSCH decoding information includes one or more of a bit error rate, a decoding logarithm of likelihood ratio, a signal to noise ratio, a channel quality indicator that represents PDSCH decoding statistics, a precoding matrix indicator that represents PDSCH decoding statistics, or a reference signal received power. Aspect 31: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-30. Aspect 32: A device for wireless communication, comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-30. Aspect 33: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising at least one means for performing the method of one or more of Aspects 1-30. Aspect 34: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-30. Aspect 35: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-30. The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects. As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. “Software” shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, and/or functions, among other examples, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. As used herein, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. It will be apparent that systems and/or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods were described herein without reference to specific software code—it being understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based, at least in part, on the description herein. As used herein, satisfying a threshold may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, or the like. Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. A used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b, b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering of a, b, and c). No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Further, as used herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more items referenced in connection with the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “the one or more.” Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “set” and “group” are intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, a combination of related and unrelated items), and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” and/or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and/or,” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in combination with “either” or “only one of”). | 83,785 |
11943795 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various communication systems may use different frequency bands depending on the particular needs of the system. For example, a millimeter wave frequency band (which may be between 30 to 300 GHz) may be used where a large concentration of user equipment (UEs) are relatively close to one another and/or where a relatively large amount of data is to be transferred from a base station to one or more UEs, or vice versa. Millimeter wavelength signals, however, may experience high path loss, and as a result, directional beam forming techniques may be used for uplink and/or downlink transmissions between a base station and a UE using millimeter wavelength frequencies. Directional beamforming techniques may enable a transmitter to transmit a signal onto a particular propagation path, and may enable a receiver to receive a signal from a particular propagation path (e.g., as more than one signal propagation path may exist between a UE and a base station). For example, a base station and a UE may each use multiple antennas when communicating with each other. Multiple antennas at the base station and UE may be used to take advantage of antenna diversity schemes that may improve communication rates and/or throughput reliability. Different types of techniques may be used to implement an antenna diversity scheme. For example, transmit diversity may be applied to increase the signal to noise ratio (SNR) at the receiver for a single data stream. Spatial diversity may be applied to increase the data rate by transmitting multiple independent streams using multiple antennas. Receive diversity may be used to combine signals received at multiple receive antennas to improve received signal quality and increased resistance to fading. Further, some wireless communications systems may support communication with UEs on multiple cells or carriers, a feature which may be referred to as carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers (CCs) and one or more uplink CCs according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) CCs. In some cases, a UE may receive a physical downlink control channel (PDSCH) transmission that includes control information for decoding a subsequent physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission. The UE may decode control information before receiving the PDSCH transmission and use the control information to configure one or more parameters for receiving and/or decoding the PDSCH transmission. In some cases, the base station may send the PDSCH transmission close in time to or overlapping with the PDCCH transmission. If the offset between the PDCCH transmission and the PDSCH transmission is below a time threshold, the UE may not be able to decode to control information in the PDCCH with enough time to configure its receive parameters to receive and decode the PDSCH transmission. Accordingly, the UE and base station may configure a default beam for buffering the PDSCH transmission while the UE receives and decodes the PDCCH control information. However, in some cases, a default beam may be determined individually for each CC, and in the case that the default beams are not compatible (e.g., in cases where default beams are different across CCs at a given time, in cases where default beams are unable to be concurrently received at the UE, etc.), the UE115may prioritize one default beam based on its own implementation (which may result in other CCs using, or being transmitted by a base station assuming, a different beam than the default beam prioritized/used by the UE115). For example, a UE may use an antenna panel that may be able to transmit/receive one beam at a time, and thus if CCs at a given time have default beams that use a same antenna panel at the UE, the UE may be unable to concurrently communicate using both CCs (or the UE may communicate using a default beam of a first CC for a second CC, and the second CC may not be associated with the default beam of the first CC). As such, according to the techniques described herein, wireless communications systems may support identification or determination of a common default beam for a CC group such that all CCs of a CC group may be associated with a same default beam. For example, a CC group may be configured or established to include one or more CCs (e.g., for carrier aggregation). In some cases, each CC group may share a same analog beamformer. As such, a beam (e.g., a default uplink/downlink beam) may be established as default or common across CCs of a CC group versus default beams being configured or established for individual CCs. Such an established default beam of a CC group may include or refer to a default downlink shared channel beam (e.g., a default PDSCH beam), a default sounding reference signal (SRS) beam, a default PDCCH beam, etc. Further, a default beam for a CC group may include or refer to a default downlink beam, a default uplink beam, and/or a default beam used for uplink and downlink. Such techniques may support efficient communications between a UE and a base station to improve throughput or improve the reliability of communications. For instance, when operating with CCs of a CC group, a UE may use a same default beam across CCs of the CC group at a given time, resulting in improved throughput, improved reliability (e.g., a higher chance that data is received by the UE), etc. Techniques as discussed herein may further enhance such reliability, throughput, or both. Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of a wireless communications system. An example control resource set (CORESET) configuration and an example process flow illustrating aspects of the techniques discussed herein are then described. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to common default beam per CC group. FIG.1illustrates an example of a wireless communications system100that supports common default beam per CC group in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system100includes base stations105, UEs115, and a core network130. In some examples, the wireless communications system100may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some cases, wireless communications system100may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, or communications with low-cost and low-complexity devices. Base stations105may wirelessly communicate with UEs115via one or more base station antennas. Base stations105described herein may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB or giga-NodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB), a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or some other suitable terminology. Wireless communications system100may include base stations105of different types (e.g., macro or small cell base stations). The UEs115described herein may be able to communicate with various types of base stations105and network equipment including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, gNBs, relay base stations, and the like. Each base station105may be associated with a particular geographic coverage area110in which communications with various UEs115is supported. Each base station105may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area110via communication links125, and communication links125between a base station105and a UE115may utilize one or more carriers. Communication links125shown in wireless communications system100may include uplink transmissions from a UE115to a base station105, or downlink transmissions from a base station105to a UE115. Downlink transmissions may also be called forward link transmissions while uplink transmissions may also be called reverse link transmissions. The geographic coverage area110for a base station105may be divided into sectors making up a portion of the geographic coverage area110, and each sector may be associated with a cell. For example, each base station105may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, a hot spot, or other types of cells, or various combinations thereof. In some examples, a base station105may be movable and therefore provide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas110associated with different technologies may overlap, and overlapping geographic coverage areas110associated with different technologies may be supported by the same base station105or by different base stations105. The wireless communications system100may include, for example, a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-A/LTE-A Pro or NR network in which different types of base stations105provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas110. The term “cell” refers to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station105(e.g., over a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier for distinguishing neighboring cells (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) operating via the same or a different carrier. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access for different types of devices. In some cases, the term “cell” may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area110(e.g., a sector) over which the logical entity operates. UEs115may be dispersed throughout the wireless communications system100, and each UE115may be stationary or mobile. A UE115may also be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client. A UE115may also be a personal electronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE115may also refer to a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or an MTC device, or the like, which may be implemented in various articles such as appliances, vehicles, meters, or the like. Some UEs115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or low complexity devices, and may provide for automated communication between machines (e.g., via Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with one another or a base station105without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay that information to a central server or application program that can make use of the information or present the information to humans interacting with the program or application. Some UEs115may be designed to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging. Some UEs115may be configured to employ operating modes that reduce power consumption, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., a mode that supports one-way communication via transmission or reception, but not transmission and reception simultaneously). In some examples half-duplex communications may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power conservation techniques for UEs115include entering a power saving “deep sleep” mode when not engaging in active communications, or operating over a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications). In some cases, UEs115may be designed to support critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions), and a wireless communications system100may be configured to provide ultra-reliable communications for these functions. In some cases, a UE115may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs115(e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or device-to-device (D2D) protocol). One or more of a group of UEs115utilizing D2D communications may be within the geographic coverage area110of a base station105. Other UEs115in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area110of a base station105, or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station105. In some cases, groups of UEs115communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE115transmits to every other UE115in the group. In some cases, a base station105facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications are carried out between UEs115without the involvement of a base station105. Base stations105may communicate with the core network130and with one another. For example, base stations105may interface with the core network130through backhaul links132(e.g., via an S1, N2, N3, or other interface). Base stations105may communicate with one another over backhaul links134(e.g., via an X2, Xn, or other interface) either directly (e.g., directly between base stations105) or indirectly (e.g., via core network130). The core network130may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network130may be an evolved packet core (EPC), which may include at least one mobility management entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and at least one Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may manage non-access stratum (e.g., control plane) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs115served by base stations105associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be transferred through the S-GW, which itself may be connected to the P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The P-GW may be connected to the network operators IP services. The operators IP services may include access to the Internet, Intranet(s), an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or a Packet-Switched (PS) Streaming Service. At least some of the network devices, such as a base station105, may include subcomponents such as an access network entity, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entity may communicate with UEs115through a number of other access network transmission entities, which may be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, or a TRP. In some configurations, various functions of each access network entity or base station105may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., a base station105). Wireless communications system100may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band, since the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features. However, the waves may penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to UEs115located indoors. Transmission of UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter range (e.g., less than 100 km) compared to transmission using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz. Wireless communications system100may also operate in a super high frequency (SHF) region using frequency bands from 3 GHz to 30 GHz, also known as the centimeter band. The SHF region includes bands such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands, which may be used opportunistically by devices that may be capable of tolerating interference from other users. Wireless communications system100may also operate in an extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz), also known as the millimeter band. In some examples, wireless communications system100may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between UEs115and base stations105, and EHF antennas of the respective devices may be even smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some cases, this may facilitate use of antenna arrays within a UE115. However, the propagation of EHF transmissions may be subject to even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. Techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions that use one or more different frequency regions, and designated use of bands across these frequency regions may differ by country or regulating body. In some cases, wireless communications system100may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, wireless communications system100may employ License Assisted Access (LAA), LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz ISM band. When operating in unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, wireless devices such as base stations105and UEs115may employ listen-before-talk (LBT) procedures to ensure a frequency channel is clear before transmitting data. In some cases, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, peer-to-peer transmissions, or a combination of these. Duplexing in unlicensed spectrum may be based on frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination of both. In some examples, base station105or UE115may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. For example, wireless communications system100may use a transmission scheme between a transmitting device (e.g., a base station105) and a receiving device (e.g., a UE115), where the transmitting device is equipped with multiple antennas and the receiving device is equipped with one or more antennas. MIMO communications may employ multipath signal propagation to increase the spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers, which may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. The multiple signals may, for example, be transmitted by the transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, the multiple signals may be received by the receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream, and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams. Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports used for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices. Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station105or a UE115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that signals propagating at particular orientations with respect to an antenna array experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antenna elements may include a transmitting device or a receiving device applying certain amplitude and phase offsets to signals carried via each of the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation). In one example, a base station105may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays to conduct beamforming operations for directional communications with a UE115. For instance, some signals (e.g. synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted by a base station105multiple times in different directions, which may include a signal being transmitted according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different directions of transmission. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by the base station105or a receiving device, such as a UE115) a beam direction for subsequent transmission and/or reception by the base station105. Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by a base station105in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device, such as a UE115). In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based at least in in part on a signal that was transmitted in different beam directions. For example, a UE115may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by the base station105in different directions, and the UE115may report to the base station105an indication of the signal it received with a highest signal quality, or an otherwise acceptable signal quality. Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted in one or more directions by a base station105, a UE115may employ similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by the UE115), or transmitting a signal in a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device). A receiving device (e.g., a UE115, which may be an example of a mmW receiving device) may try multiple receive beams when receiving various signals from the base station105, such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals. For example, a receiving device may try multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at a plurality of antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing received signals according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at a plurality of antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as “listening” according to different receive beams or receive directions. In some examples a receiving device may use a single receive beam to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal). The single receive beam may be aligned in a beam direction determined based at least in part on listening according to different receive beam directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have a highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio, or otherwise acceptable signal quality based at least in part on listening according to multiple beam directions). In some cases, the antennas of a base station105or UE115may be located within one or more antenna arrays, which may support MIMO operations, or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some cases, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a base station105may be located in diverse geographic locations. A base station105may have an antenna array with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station105may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE115. Likewise, a UE115may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. In some cases, wireless communications system100may be a packet-based network that operate according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. A Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also use hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) to provide retransmission at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a UE115and a base station105or core network130supporting radio bearers for user plane data. At the Physical layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels. Time intervals in LTE or NR may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit, which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of Ts=1/30,720,000 seconds. Time intervals of a communications resource may be organized according to radio frames each having a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms), where the frame period may be expressed as Tf=307,200 Ts. The radio frames may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023. Each frame may include 10 subframes numbered from 0 to 9, and each subframe may have a duration of 1 ms. A subframe may be further divided into 2 slots each having a duration of 0.5 ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period). Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain2048sampling periods. In some cases, a subframe may be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system100, and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In other cases, a smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system100may be shorter than a subframe or may be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs) or in selected component carriers using sTTIs). In some wireless communications systems, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots containing one or more symbols. In some instances, a symbol of a mini-slot or a mini-slot may be the smallest unit of scheduling. Each symbol may vary in duration depending on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation, for example. Further, some wireless communications systems may implement slot aggregation in which multiple slots or mini-slots are aggregated together and used for communication between a UE115and a base station105. The term “carrier” refers to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communications over a communication link125. For example, a carrier of a communication link125may include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band that is operated according to physical layer channels for a given radio access technology. Each physical layer channel may carry user data, control information, or other signaling. A carrier may be associated with a pre-defined frequency channel (e.g., an evolved universal mobile telecommunication system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN)), and may be positioned according to a channel raster for discovery by UEs115. Carriers may be downlink or uplink (e.g., in an FDD mode), or be configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode). In some examples, signal waveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up of multiple sub-carriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). The organizational structure of the carriers may be different for different radio access technologies (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). For example, communications over a carrier may be organized according to TTIs or slots, each of which may include user data as well as control information or signaling to support decoding the user data. A carrier may also include dedicated acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals or system information, etc.) and control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier. In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates operations for other carriers. Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. In some examples, control information transmitted in a physical control channel may be distributed between different control regions in a cascaded manner (e.g., between a common control region or common search space and one or more UE-specific control regions or UE-specific search spaces). A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a “system bandwidth” of the carrier or the wireless communications system100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of a number of predetermined bandwidths for carriers of a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 MHz). In some examples, each served UE115may be configured for operating over portions or all of the carrier bandwidth. In other examples, some UEs115may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a predefined portion or range (e.g., set of subcarriers or RBs) within a carrier (e.g., “in-band” deployment of a narrowband protocol type). In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may consist of one symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme). Thus, the more resource elements that a UE115receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate may be for the UE115. In MIMO systems, a wireless communications resource may refer to a combination of a radio frequency spectrum resource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., spatial layers), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate for communications with a UE115. Devices of the wireless communications system100(e.g., base stations105or UEs115) may have a hardware configuration that supports communications over a particular carrier bandwidth, or may be configurable to support communications over one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communications system100may include base stations105and/or UEs115that support simultaneous communications via carriers associated with more than one different carrier bandwidth. Wireless communications system100may support communication with a UE115on multiple cells or carriers, a feature which may be referred to as carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE115may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers (CCs) and one or more uplink CCs according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both FDD and TDD CCs. In some cases, a default beam may be determined individually for each CC, and in the case that the default beams are not compatible (e.g., in cases where default beams are different across CCs at a given time, in cases where default beams are unable to be concurrently received at the UE115, etc.), the UE115may prioritize one default beam based on its own implementation (which may result in other CCs using, or being transmitted by a base station105assuming, a different beam than the default beam prioritized/used by the UE115). In some deployments, base stations105may support communications using one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) to improve reliability, coverage, capacity performance, or combinations thereof. In some cases, UEs115may establish beamformed communications links with multiple TRPs to simultaneously receive and transmit communications with the multiple TRPs. For example, a UE115may receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), decode control information from the PDCCH and decode a subsequent physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission using the decoded control information. When a set of TCI-state IDs for PDSCH are activated by a MAC CE for a set of CCs/BWPs at least for the same band, and where the applicable list of CCs is indicated by RRC signaling, the same set of TCI-state IDs may be applied for BWPs in the indicated CCs. In some cases, combinations of CCs may be configured by RRC and relevant UE capability (e.g., combinations of CCs may be configured by RRC based on UE capabilities pertaining to CC usage, UE capabilities pertaining to carrier aggregation, etc.). In some cases, for the purpose of simultaneous TCI state activation across multiple CCs/BWPs, up to two lists of CCs may be configured by RRC per UE115, and the applied list may be determined by the indicated CC in the MAC CE. In some cases, a UE115may not be configured with overlapped CC in multiple RRC-configured lists of CCs. When a spatial relation information is activated for a semi-periodic/aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS) resource by a MAC CE for a set of CCs/BWPs at least for the same band, and where the applicable list of CCs is indicated by RRC signaling, the spatial relation information may be applied for the SP/AP SRS resource(s) with the same SRS resource ID for all the BWPs in the indicated CCs. In some cases, wireless communications system100may support inter-band carrier aggregation for such features. In some cases, UE115may indicate an applicable list of bands for the feature of single MAC-CE to activate the same SRS resource IDs for multiple CCs/BWPs (e.g., in a capability report). For the purpose of simultaneous spatial relation update across multiple CCs/BWPs, up to two lists of CCs may be configured by RRC per UE115, and the applied list may be determined by the indicated CC in the MAC CE. In some cases, a UE115may not be configured with overlapped CC in multiple RRC-configured lists of CCs. In some cases, the lists may independent from those for simultaneous TCI state activation. In some wireless communications systems, a default PDSCH beam may be used to receive PDSCH when the scheduling offset between DCI and scheduled PDSCH is less than the beam switch latency (where the beam switch latency may be reported as a UE115capability). When the CC has CORESET configured, default PDSCH beam may be determined by the Quasi Co-Location (QCL) assumption for receiving CORESET with lowest CORESET ID in latest monitored slot on the same CC. When the CC has no CORESET configured, the default PDSCH beam may be determined by the QCL-TypeD reference signal (RS) in the activated PDSCH TCI state with lowest TCI state ID on the same CC. In some wireless communications systems, determination of a default SRS/PUCCH beam follows the operations or techniques for determination of a default PDSCH beam (e.g., if spatial relation information is not configured for SRS/PUCCH). The default spatial relation for dedicated-PUCCH/SRS for a CC (at least when no pathloss reference signals are configured by RRC) may be determined by a default TCI state or QCL assumption of PDSCH. For example, the default spatial relation for dedicated-PUCCH/SRS for a CC, in cases when CORESET(s) are configured on the CC, may be determined by the CORESET with the lowest ID in the most recent monitored downlink slot. The default spatial relation for dedicated-PUCCH/SRS for a CC, in cases when any CORESETs are not configured on the CC, may be determined by the activated TCI state with the lowest ID applicable to PDSCH in the active downlink BWP (DL-BWP) of the CC. In some cases, such may apply at least for UEs115supporting beam correspondence, for the single TRP cases, etc. As discussed herein, wireless communications system100may support identification or determination of a common default beam for a CC group (e.g., such that all CCs of a CC group may be associated with a same default beam). For example, a CC group may be configured or established to include one or more CCs. In some cases, each CC group may share a same analog beamformer. As such, a beam (e.g., a default uplink/downlink beam) may be established as default or common across CCs of a CC group versus default beams being configured or established for individual CCs. Such an established default beam of a CC group (e.g., a default beam common to all CCs of a CC group) may include or refer to a default downlink shared channel beam (e.g., a default PDSCH beam), a default sounding reference signal (SRS) beam, a default PDCCH beam, etc. Further, a default beam for a CC group may include or refer to a default downlink beam, a default uplink beam, and/or a default beam used for uplink and downlink. According to some aspects, a default beam for a CC group may be set as the default beam of some CC within that CC group. For example, a default beam may be determined for some CC of a CC group according to any of the techniques described herein, and the default beam may be applied for all other CCs within the CC group. In some cases, the CC used to determine or identify a default beam for the CC group may be established (e.g., preconfigured or determined by) the network or the wireless communications system (e.g., in some cases a CC with a lowest CC index within a CC group or a CC with a highest CC index within a CC group may be used by communicating devices to determine a default beam for the CC group). In some cases, the CC used to determine or identify a default beam for the CC group may be selected by a first device (e.g., by a UE115or a base station105), and the first device may then indicate the selected CC to a second device (e.g., such that the first and second device may use the same CC of a CC group to identify the default beam of the CC group). According to some aspects, a default beam for a CC group may be indicated by a base station. For example, in some cases, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), downlink control information (DCI), or any combinations thereof, may be used to indicate a default beam for a CC group. In some cases, a default beam may be identified based on a common transmission configuration indication (TCI) state or spatial relation information. In some examples (e.g., in scenarios where a base station employs multiple transmission/reception points (TRPs)), a common default beam for simultaneous receive/transmit communications may be established (e.g., a default beam may be identified/established for each TRP). FIG.2illustrates an example of a wireless communications system200that supports common default beam per CC group in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, wireless communications system200may implement aspects of wireless communications system100. Wireless communications system200includes base station105-a, which may be an example of a base station105described with reference toFIG.1. Wireless communications system200also includes UE115-a, which may be an example of a UE115described with reference toFIG.1. Base station105-amay provide communication coverage for a geographical coverage area110-a, which may be an example of a coverage area110described with reference toFIG.1. Generally, the described techniques provide for configuration, identification, determination, etc. of default beams for a CC group (e.g., such that all CCs of a CC group are associated with a same default beam). For example, each CC group may share a same analog beamformer (e.g., at UE115-a). As such, a beam205(e.g., a default uplink/downlink beam) may be established as a default or common across CCs of a CC group (versus default beams being configured or established for individual CCs of a CC group). For example, in cases where two CCs are part of a CC group, both of the two CCs may be associated with a same default beam205-arather than a first CC of the CC group being associated with a default beam205-aand a second CC of the CC group being associated with a default beam205-b. A default beam205-a(e.g., a default uplink/downlink beam) of a CC group may be used for a default downlink shared channel beam (a default PDSCH beam), for a SRS beam, for a default PDCCH beam, etc. In some cases, a default uplink beam and a default downlink beam may be used for a CC group. In some cases, a same beam may be used for both uplink and downlink for a CC group. As discussed herein, in the group CC based beam update, each CC group may share a same analog beamformer (e.g., a CC group may include one or more CCs for communications between UE115-aand base station105-a). In cases where default beams are employed independently for each CC, if a default beam (e.g., a default downlink/uplink beam) is different across CCs at a given time, a UE may resort to prioritization of some CCs (as the UE may default to one beam at a given time). As such, according to the techniques described herein, a default beam205-a(e.g., a default uplink beam and/or a default downlink beam) may be employed as a common (or same) uplink/downlink beam per CC group. Wireless communications system200may employ (e.g., configure, establish, etc.) a common downlink/uplink default beam used across multiple CCs (and/or bandwidth parts (BWPs)). For example, wireless communications system200may employ a common downlink/uplink default beam205-aused across all CCs within (comprised in) a CC group. Such unification of CCs may reduce overhead used to configure multiple CCs in a CC group, may reduce the number of beams UE115-amay prioritize for CCs within the CC group, etc. In some cases, multiple CCs/BWPs may share a same analog beamformer (which may be reported by UE115-aor indicated by base station105-a). According to some aspects, a default beam205-afor a CC group may be set as the default beam of some CC within that CC group. For example, a default beam205-amay be determined for some CC of a CC group, and the default beam205-amay be applied for all other CCs within the CC group. In some cases, the CC used to determine or identify a default beam205-afor the CC group may be established (e.g., preconfigured or determined by) the network or the wireless communications system200. For example, in some cases, a CC with a lowest CC index within a CC group may be used by communicating devices (e.g., base station105-aand UE115-a) to determine a default beam205-afor the CC group (e.g., a default beam105-aassociated with the CC with the lowest CC index within the CC group may be used to identify the default beam105-aassociated with each CC of the CC group). In some cases, a CC with a highest CC index within a CC group may be used by communicating devices (e.g., base station105-aand UE115-a) to determine a default beam205-afor the CC group. In some cases, a secondary cell (SCell) and/or primary cell (PCell) in a CC group may be used by communicating devices (e.g., base station105-aand UE115-a) to determine a default beam205-afor the CC group. In some cases, the CC used to determine or identify a default beam for the CC group may be selected by a first device, and the first device may then indicate the selected CC to a second device (such that the first and second device may use the same CC of a CC group to identify the default beam of the CC group). For example, a CC from a CC group may be selected by UE115-a, and UE115-amay transmit an indication of the CC to base station105-a(such that both UE115-aand base station105-amay use the CC selected by UE115-ato determine a default beam205-afor the CC group). In some examples, a CC from a CC group may be selected by base station105-a, and base station105-amay transmit an indication of the CC to UE115-a(such that both UE115-aand base station105-amay use the CC selected by UE115-ato determine a default beam205-afor the CC group). In some cases, a device (e.g., UE115-aor base station105-a) indicating which CCs make up a CC group (e.g., a device indicating that a CC1, a CC2, and a CC3are within a CC group) may further indicate which CC of the CC group is used for default beam205-aidentification. In some examples, base station105-amay be associated with multiple TRPs, and a default downlink/uplink beam per TRP may follow a lowest CORESET ID of same TRP in multi-DCI based TRP. For example, UE115-amay be configured with a subset of CORESETs for each TRP. In some cases, a first beam for a first TRP may be determined based on a lowest CORESET ID of the first TRP, and then a second beam for a second TRP may be determined based on a lowest CORESET ID of the second TRP. According to some aspects, a default beam for a CC group may be indicated by a base station. For example, in some cases, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), downlink control information (DCI), or any combinations thereof, may be used to indicate a default beam for a CC group. In some cases, a default beam may be signaled by a common transmission configuration indication (TCI) state or spatial relation information. In some examples, a common default beam (e.g., common downlink/uplink default beam) may have multiple default beams for simultaneous receive/transmit communications (e.g., in scenarios where a base station employs multiple TRPs, default beam205-a, for uplink and/or downlink, may be per TRP). In some examples, the common downlink/uplink default beam may be signaled by a common TCI state ID or spatial relation information (e.g., CCs per CC group may have common or different pools of configuration TCI states or spatial relation information). In some cases, the common downlink/uplink default beam may have multiple default beams for simultaneous receive/transmit (e.g., in multiple TRP configurations). For example, the common set of multiple downlink/uplink default beams may be identified by a set of common TCI state IDs or spatial relation information IDs, which may be further mapped to a common TCI or spatial relation code point in single-DCI based TRP. In some cases, the common downlink/uplink default beam may have common spatial division multiplexing (SDM) pattern, common time division multiplexing (TDM) pattern, common frequency division multiplexing (FDM) pattern, or some combination thereof (e.g., a default beam1and a default beam2may be used on odd symbols in every slot and a default beam3and a default beam4may be used on even symbols in every slot, across all CCs in the same group). In some examples, UE115-amay determine a path loss from downlink reference signals associated with the default beam of a CC group. From this path loss of the default beam, UE115-amay associate this path loss to one or more component carriers of the CC group apart from the default beam. In another example UE115-amay associate the path loss of the default beam across component carriers of a transmission/reception point affiliated with the default beam. FIG.3illustrates an example of a CORESET configuration300that supports common default beam per CC group in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, CORESET configuration300may implement aspects of wireless communications system100and/or wireless communications system200. In this example, CORESET configuration300may be monitored by a UE for control information from multiple TRPs in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. For example, the UE may monitor CORESETs305(e.g., with IDs #0and #1) for control information from a first TRP and CORESETs310(e.g., with IDs #2and #3) for control information from a second TRP. In other examples, the number of CORESETs assigned to each TRP may be different. In some examples, the lowest CORESET ID of each group of CORESET305and CORESET310may be used to determine a default beam. As indicated above, in some cases, UE115-amay be unable to concurrently receive default receive beams, such as if multiple default beams (e.g., different default beams associated with different CCs of a CC group, different default beams associated with different TRPs, etc.) are associated with a same antenna panel. For example, in some cases, multiple TRPs may be configured for simultaneous transmissions to a UE, where the UE is to simultaneously receive the multiple transmissions from the multiple TRPs. In some cases, the default beam for a first TRP (TRP1) may be based on a configured CORESET or multiple CORESETs305that the first TRP may monitor for control information. For example, the default beam may be determined based on a CORESET with a lowest CORESET ID, and a TCI state associated with the CORESET may be used to derive the corresponding beamforming parameters. For example, the default receive beam may be derived from quasi colocation (QCL) information of the identified CORESET. In some cases, each TRP (e.g., TRP1and TRP2) may be configured with a default beam configuration. In some cases, a common default beam for a CC group may be determined based on a CORESET ID (e.g., a lowest CORESET ID) of CORESET305and CORESET310, based on a CORESET ID (e.g., a lowest CORESET ID) of each group of CORESET305and CORESET310, etc. FIG.4illustrates an example of a process flow400that supports common default beam per CC group in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, process flow400may implement aspects of wireless communications system100, wireless communications system200, and/or CORESET configuration300. The process flow400includes functions and communications implemented by base station105-band UE115-bin the context of common default beam per CC group (e.g., for more efficient analog beamforming operations, more efficient CC utilization, etc.). In the following description of the process flow400, the operations between by UE115-band base station105-bmay be transmitted in a different order than the order shown, or the operations may be performed in different orders or at different times. Certain operations may also be left out of the process flow400, or other operations may be added to the process flow400. It is to be understood that while UE115-band base station105-bare shown performing a number of the operations of process flow400, any wireless device may perform the some or all of the operations shown. At405, a device may identify a set of CCs in a CC group. For example, at405-a, UE115-bmay identify a set of CCs in a CC group. Further, at405-b, base station105-bmay identify the set of CCs in the CC group. For example, in some cases either UE115-bor base station105-bmay determine the set of CCs in the CC group, and the UE115-bor base station105-bmay transmit an indication of the identified CCs to the other device (e.g., to the other device of UE115-bor base station105-b). As such, in cases where one of UE115-bor base station105-breceives an indication of the set of CCs in a CC group, such a device may identify the set of CCs in the CC group based on the received indication. In some cases, a CC group (e.g., a set of CCs in a CC group) may be identified based on a carrier aggregation configuration, based on channel conditions, based on resource utilization within a wireless communications system, based on capabilities of the UE115-b(e.g., based on a number of uplink CCs supported by UE115-b, based on a number of downlink CCs supported by UE115-b, etc.), based on analog beamforming panels, antenna panels, antenna arrays, etc. of the UE115-aand/or base station105-a, etc. For example, in some cases, the set of CCs in the CC group may share an analog beamformer at the UE115-b, at the base station105-b, or both. At410, a device may identify a default beam applicable for each CC of the set of CCs in the CC group (e.g., a device may identify a common default beam applicable for all CCs of a CC group). For example, at410-a, UE115-bmay identify a default beam applicable for each CC of the set of CCs in the CC group. Further, at410-b, base station105-bmay identify a default beam applicable for each CC of the set of CCs in the CC group. UE115-band base station105-bmay identify the default beam (the common default beam) applicable the CC group (for each CC of the set of CCs in the CC group) according to the various techniques described herein. For example, UE115-band/or base station105-bmay identify the default beam for the CC group based on a lowest CORESET ID (as described in more detail herein, for example, with reference toFIGS.1-3), based on a configured primary cell (PCell)/secondary cell (SCell) (as described in more detail herein, for example, with reference toFIGS.1-3), based on a lowest CC index/highest CC index associated with the set of CCs (as described in more detail herein, for example, with reference toFIGS.1-3), etc. In some cases, UE115-bmay identify one or more TCI states active for a cell associated with base station105-b, where the default beam may be identified based at least in part on a lowest TCI state ID of the identified one or more TCI states active for the cell. In some examples, base station105-bmay determine or identify the default beam, and the base station105-bmay transmit an indication of the identified default beam to UE115-b. For example, base station105-bmay transmit RRC signaling, a MAC CE, DCI, or any combinations thereof, to configure/indicate a default beam for a CC group (e.g., to UE115-b). In some cases, a default beam may be identified based on a common TCI state or spatial relation information. In some examples (e.g., in scenarios where base station105-bemploys multiple TRPs), a common default beam multiple default beams for simultaneous receive/transmit communications may be established (a default beam may be identified/established for each TRP). In some examples, the default beam may be identified based on a SDM pattern or configuration, a TDM pattern or configuration, a FDM pattern or configuration, or some combination thereof (e.g., a default beam1and a default beam2may be used on odd symbols in every slot and a default beam3and a default beam4may be used on even symbols in every slot, across all CCs in the same group). In some examples, a default PDSCH beam may be used to receive PDSCH when scheduling offset between DCI and scheduled PDSCH is less than the beam switch latency (where the beam switch latency may, in some cases, be reported as a UE115-bcapability). When the CC has CORESET configured, default PDSCH beam may be determined by the Quasi Co-Location (QCL) assumption for receiving CORESET with lowest CORESET ID in latest monitored slot on the same CC. When the CC has no CORESET configured, default PDSCH beam may be determined by the QCL-TypeD reference signal (RS) in the activated PDSCH TCI state with lowest TCI state ID on the same CC. At415, the devices may communicate with each other (e.g., UE115-bmay communicate with base station105-b, and vice versa) based on the identified default beam and at least one CC of the set of CCs. For example, UE115-band base station105-bmay communicate using any CC of the set of CCs, any combination of CCs within the set of CCs, or all of the CCs within the set of CCs (according to some carrier aggregation configuration, etc.) based on the identified default beam (as all CCs of the set of CCs may be associated with the same common default beam). FIG.5shows a diagram500of a device505that supports common default beam per CC group in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device505may be an example of aspects of a device (e.g., a UE115and/or a base station105) as described herein. The device505may include a receiver510, a communications manager515, and a transmitter520. The device505may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver510may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to common default beam per CC group, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device505. The receiver510may be an example of aspects of the transceiver820described with reference toFIG.8. The receiver510may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. The communications manager515may identify a set of component carriers in a component carrier group, identify a default beam applicable for each component carrier of the set of component carriers in the component carrier group, and communicate with a second device based on the identified default beam and at least one component carrier of the set of component carriers. The communications manager515may be an example of aspects of the communications manager810described herein. The communications manager515, or its sub-components, may be implemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communications manager515, or its sub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure. The communications manager515, or its sub-components, may be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations by one or more physical components. In some examples, the communications manager515, or its sub-components, may be a separate and distinct component in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communications manager515, or its sub-components, may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The transmitter520may transmit signals generated by other components of the device505. In some examples, the transmitter520may be collocated with a receiver510in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter520may be an example of aspects of the transceiver820described with reference toFIG.8. The transmitter520may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. FIG.6shows a diagram600of a device605that supports common default beam per CC group in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device605may be an example of aspects of a device505, a UE115, and/or a base station105as described herein. The device605may include a receiver610, a communications manager615, and a transmitter635. The device605may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver610may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to common default beam per CC group, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device605. The receiver610may be an example of aspects of the transceiver820described with reference toFIG.8. The receiver610may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. The communications manager615may be an example of aspects of the communications manager515as described herein. The communications manager615may include a CC manager620, a default beam manager625, and a communication beam manager630. The communications manager615may be an example of aspects of the communications manager810described herein. The CC manager620may identify a set of component carriers in a component carrier group. The default beam manager625may identify a default beam applicable for each component carrier of the set of component carriers in the component carrier group. The communication beam manager630may communicate with a second device based on the identified default beam and at least one component carrier of the set of component carriers. The transmitter635may transmit signals generated by other components of the device605. In some examples, the transmitter635may be collocated with a receiver610in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter635may be an example of aspects of the transceiver820described with reference toFIG.8. The transmitter635may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. FIG.7shows a diagram700of a communications manager705that supports common default beam per CC group in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager705may be an example of aspects of a communications manager515, a communications manager615, or a communications manager810described herein. The communications manager705may include a CC manager710, a default beam manager715, a communication beam manager720, a CC group manager725, and a TCI state manager730. Each of these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The CC manager710may identify a set of component carriers in a component carrier group. In some cases, the set of component carriers share an analog beamformer at the first device. In some cases, the set of component carriers share an analog beamformer at the second device. The default beam manager715may identify a default beam applicable for each component carrier of the set of component carriers in the component carrier group. In some examples, the default beam manager715may identify the default beam based on a lowest control resource set identifier. In some examples, the default beam manager715may identify the default beam based on a configured primary cell. In some examples, the default beam manager715may identify the default beam based on a configured secondary cell. In some examples, the default beam manager715may identify the default beam based on a lowest component carrier index associated with the set of component carriers. In some examples, the default beam manager715may identify the default beam based on a highest component carrier index associated with the set of component carriers. In some examples, the default beam manager715may transmit an indication of the identified default beam to the second device, where the communicating is based on the transmitted indication. In some examples, the default beam manager715may transmit a set of multiple default beams for simultaneous transmit/receive communications with the second device. In some examples, the default beam manager715may identify the default beam based on spatial division multiplexing pattern, a time division multiplexing pattern, a frequency division multiplexing pattern, or some combination thereof. In some examples, the default beam manager715may receive an indication of the default beam from the second device, where the default beam is identified based on the received indication. In some cases, the indication of the identified default beam includes a common transmission configuration indication state. In some cases, the indication of the identified default beam includes spatial relationship information. In some cases, each default beam of the set of multiple default beams corresponds to a transmission/reception point of the first device. In some cases, the default beam includes a default uplink beam, a default downlink beam, or both. In some cases, the default beam manager715may determining a path loss for the default beam, and associate the determined path loss to one or more other component carriers of the set of component carriers. In some cases, the default beam manager715may associate the determined path loss across component carriers of a transmission/reception point affiliated with the default beam The communication beam manager720may communicate with a second device based on the identified default beam and at least one component carrier of the set of component carriers. The CC group manager725may transmit an indication of the identified set of component carriers included in the component carrier group. In some examples, the CC group manager725may receive an indication of the set of component carriers included in the component carrier group, where the set of component carriers in the component carrier group are identified based on the received indication. The TCI state manager730may identify one or more transmission configuration indication states active for a cell associated with the second device, where the default beam is identified based on a lowest transmission configuration indication state identifier of the identified one or more transmission configuration indication states active for the cell. FIG.8shows a diagram of a system800including a device805that supports common default beam per CC group in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device805may be an example of or include the components of device505, device605, a UE115, and/or a base station105as described herein. The device805may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communications manager810, an I/O controller815, a transceiver820, an antenna825, memory830, and a processor840. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus845). The communications manager810may identify a set of component carriers in a component carrier group, identify a default beam applicable for each component carrier of the set of component carriers in the component carrier group, and communicate with a second device based on the identified default beam and at least one component carrier of the set of component carriers. The I/O controller815may manage input and output signals for the device805. The I/O controller815may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device805. In some cases, the I/O controller815may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some cases, the I/O controller815may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS/2®, UNIX®, LINUX®, or another known operating system. In other cases, the I/O controller815may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I/O controller815may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with the device805via the I/O controller815or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller815. The transceiver820may communicate bi-directionally, via one or more antennas, wired, or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver820may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver820may also include a modem to modulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antennas. In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna825. However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna825, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The memory830may include RAM and ROM. The memory830may store computer-readable, computer-executable code or software835including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory830may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices. The processor840may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor840may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor840. The processor840may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory830) to cause the device805to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting common default beam per CC group). The software835may include instructions to implement aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. The software835may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the software835may not be directly executable by the processor840but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. As discussed herein, device805may illustrate aspects of a base station105, a UE115, or both. As such, additional components may be added to device805, or in some cases some components may not be included in device805. As an example, in cases where device805illustrates a base station105, such a device may further include a network communications manager and an inter-station communications manager. The network communications manager may manage communications with the core network (e.g., a core network130via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communications manager may manage the transfer of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs115. The inter-station communications manager may manage communications with other base station105, and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UEs115in cooperation with other base stations105. For example, the inter-station communications manager may coordinate scheduling for transmissions to UEs115for various interference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-station communications manager may provide an X2 interface within an LTE/LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communication between base stations105. FIG.9shows a flowchart illustrating a method900that supports common default beam per CC group in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method900may be implemented by a device or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method900may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference toFIGS.5through8. In some examples, a device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the device to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a device may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware. At905, the device may identify a set of component carriers in a component carrier group. The operations of905may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of905may be performed by a CC manager as described with reference toFIGS.5through8. At910, the device may identify a default beam applicable for each component carrier of the set of component carriers in the component carrier group. The operations of910may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of910may be performed by a default beam manager as described with reference toFIGS.5through8. At915, the device may communicate with a second device based on the identified default beam and at least one component carrier of the set of component carriers. The operations of915may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of915may be performed by a communication beam manager as described with reference toFIGS.5through8. FIG.10shows a flowchart illustrating a method1000that supports common default beam per CC group in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method1000may be implemented by a device or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method1000may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference toFIGS.5through8. In some examples, a device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the device to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a device may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware. At1005, the device may identify a set of component carriers in a component carrier group. The operations of1005may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1005may be performed by a CC manager as described with reference toFIGS.5through8. At1010, the device may identify a default beam applicable for each component carrier of the set of component carriers in the component carrier group. The operations of1010may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1010may be performed by a default beam manager as described with reference toFIGS.5through8. At1015, the device may transmit an indication of the identified default beam to a second device. The operations of1015may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1015may be performed by a default beam manager as described with reference toFIGS.5through8. For instance, in examples where the operations of method1000may be implemented by a base station105or its components as described herein, the indication may include information such as a set of multiple default beams for simultaneous transmit/receive communications with the second device (e.g., each default beam of the set of multiple default beams may correspond to a TRP of the device). In some cases, the indication may include information such as spatial relationship information, a common transmission configuration indication state, etc. At1020, the device may communicate with the second device based on the identified default beam and at least one component carrier of the set of component carriers. The operations of1020may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1020may be performed by a communication beam manager as described with reference toFIGS.5through8. It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined. Techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communications systems such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 Releases may be commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1×, 1×, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1×EV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. A TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE, LTE-A, and LTE-A Pro are releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, and GSM are described in documents from the organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). The techniques described herein may be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned herein as well as other systems and radio technologies. While aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR applications. A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell may be associated with a lower-powered base station, as compared with a macro cell, and a small cell may operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cells may include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells according to various examples. A pico cell, for example, may cover a small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A femto cell may also cover a small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may provide restricted access by UEs having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs for users in the home, and the like). An eNB for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, a pico eNB, a femto eNB, or a home eNB. An eNB may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells, and may also support communications using one or multiple component carriers. The wireless communications systems described herein may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operations. Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof. The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration). The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations. As used herein, including in the claims, the term “and/or,” when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (for example, a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media. As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on.” In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label, or other subsequent reference label. The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “exemplary” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples. The description herein is provided to enable a person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. | 87,742 |
11943797 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Generalizations Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and/or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and/or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description. A network node (NN) can correspond to any type of radio network node or any network node, which communicates with a UE (directly or via another node) and/or with another network node. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, base station (BS), integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB, gNodeB. MeNB, SeNB, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), road side unit (RSU), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, RRU, RRH, nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g. MSC, MME etc), O&M, OSS, SON, positioning node (e.g. E-SMLC). Other examples of network nodes are NodeB, MeNB, eNB, a network node belonging to MCG or SCG, base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB, gNodeB, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, RRU, RRH, nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g. MSC, MME, etc), O&M, OSS, SON, positioning node (e.g. E-SMLC), MDT, test equipment (physical node or software). Furthermore, a NN can also correspond to a distributed gNB or BS, or to any one of the controlling unit and the distributed unit of a distributed BS. In some embodiments, the non-limiting term user equipment (UE) or wireless device may be used and may refer to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and/or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, PDA, PAD, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, UE category M1, UE category M2, ProSe UE, V2V UE, V2X UE. A UE can be generalized to correspond to a user terminal, or a network node like a relay node or an IAB node. An UL can be generalized to correspond to UL in the access link, and UL in the wireless backhaul link. Similarly, a DL can be generalized to correspond to DL in the access link, and DL in the wireless backhaul link. The term radio access technology, or RAT, may refer to any RAT e.g. UTRA, E-UTRA, narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT (NR), 4G, 5G, etc. Any of the network nodes herein may support a single or multiple RATs. The term signal used herein can be any physical signal or physical channel. Examples of downlink physical signals are reference signals (RSs) such as PSS, SSS, CRS, PRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, NRS, NPSS, NSSS, SS, MBSFN RS etc. Examples of uplink physical signals are RSs such as SRS, DMRS etc. The term physical channel (e.g., in the context of channel reception) used herein is also called as ‘channel. The physical channel carries higher layer information (e.g. RRC, logical control channel etc). Additionally, terminologies such as base station/gNodeB and UE should be considered non-limiting and do not imply a certain hierarchical relation between the two. Discussion Regarding Certain Aspects Solutions for Network Coordination Mechanisms for CLI Handling In theory, information exchange among different network nodes can provide a network node with additional knowledge on the CLI situation, and thereby making a better decision for CLI mitigation and increasing network performance. However, in practice, there are many challenges, e.g. backhaul signaling overhead, backhaul latency constraints, gNB/NN processing complexity, a lack of a centralized processing, etc., which make it difficult to achieve any performance gain via network coordination. The performance gains are even more difficult to realize in multi-vendor scenarios, where the timing and the latency of x2 message exchange can vary between different vendors, and the CLI mitigation schemes can be selected differently by different vendors. Exchange of TDD Configurations for CLI Handling—NR TDD Configuration NR supports semi-static TDD UL/DL configurations by cell-specific RRC signaling (TDD-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon in SIB1). Up to two concatenated TDD DL-UL patterns can be configured in NR. Each TDD DL-UL pattern is defined by a number of consecutive full DL slots at the beginning of the TDD pattern (nrofDownlinkSlots), a number of consecutive DL symbols in the slot following the full DL slots (nrofDownlinkSymbols), a number of symbols between DL and UL segments (GP, or flexible symbols), a number of UL symbols in the end of the slot preceding the first full UL slot (nrofUplinkSymbols), and a number of consecutive full UL slots at the end of the TDD pattern (nrofUplinkSlots). The periodicity of a TDD DL-UL pattern (DL-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity) can be configured ranging from 0.5 ms to 10 ms. Besides the cell-specific TDD UL/DL configuration via TDD-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon, a UE can be additionally configured by UE-specific RRC signaling (TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated) to override only the flexible symbols provided in the cell-specific semi-static TDD configuration. In addition, NR supports dynamic TDD, that is, dynamical configuring of the DL, flexible, and UL symbols for one or multiple slots for a group of UEs. Dynamic TDD configuration is enabled by using a Slot Format Indicator (SFI) in the DCI carried on a group-common PDCCH (DCI Format 2_0). A slot format is identified by a corresponding format index. The dynamic SFI cannot override the DL and UL transmission directions that are semi-statically configured via the cell-specific RRC signalling, neither can it override a dynamically scheduled DL or UL transmissions. However, the SFI can override a symbol period semi-statically indicated as flexible by restricting it to be DL or UL. In addition, the SFI can be used to provide a reserved resource, that is, if both the SFI and the semi-static signalling indicate a certain symbol to be flexible, then, the symbol should be treated as reserved and not be used for transmission. Dynamic Exchange of TDD Configuration One solution to mitigate the CLI is to let different network nodes dynamically exchange their intended DL/UL transmission configurations via backhaul signaling. For instance, the intended DL/UL transmission direction configuration can include the parameters like the TDD periodicity, the numerology, the slot format for each slot within the period, etc. This method can provide a network node with very detailed information on the intended dynamic TDD pattern to be used in the neighbouring nodes. However, this solution requires significant amount of information exchange via backhaul, which may significantly increase the backhaul signaling load. Moreover, depending on the traffic situations in a network node, the network node may adapt its TDD configuration dynamically. This puts significant requirements on the backhaul latency as well. Hence, dynamic exchange of intended DL/UL transmission configurations among network nodes via backhaul signalling is not feasible nor reliable. Furthermore, with no central decision point, the usefulness of massive information exchange between nodes can be questioned. That is, how should each node adopt to the information provided in for example the scheduling decision if it does not know how other nodes behave when receiving similar information. Slow Exchange of Fixed/Flexible TDD Configuration An alternative solution proposed herein is to divide the time resources of each network node into fixed and flexible resources and to let different network notes exchange their fixed/flexible resource configurations via backhaul signalling. The transmission directions on the fixed time resources may change over time but are not expected to change frequently. One example is to exchange the cell-specific TDD configuration among neighboring nodes. After receiving the configuration of time resources from multiple network nodes, a given network node can take the union of the provided configurations to understand if a given transmission direction is common to all network nodes considered, and hence can consider these set of resources as “protected from CLI”. Other resource can conversely be potentially considered impacted by CLI. Compared to a frequent dynamic signalling of a detailed TDD configuration, this solution can significantly reduce the backhaul signalling overhead and the backhaul latency requirement. In addition, the receiving network node can consider the fixed resources for the “foreseeable future”, hence, the decision on how to best utilize the radio resources can be taken by each network node individually without a need for any central decision node or joint scheduling. For instance, a network node may transmit important DL signals/channels, such as SSB and the PDCCH/PDSCH of URLLC traffic in the common fixed DL slots. And a network node may also configure the PRACH resources or other important UL traffic such as URLLC PUSCH in the common fixed UL slots. Furthermore, the fixed/flexible resource information exchange can be used to assist a network node to do more efficient interference measurement resource (IMR) configurations. Inter-NN Exchange of Intended UL/DL Configuration Hereinafter, inter-NN exchange (e.g. between gNBs) of intended UL/DL configuration is discussed, such as the detailed message format, interpretation of remaining resources, and SSB/RACH configuration related exchange. Further, different types of coordination message exchanges are discussed. One solution proposed herein is to divide the time resources of each NN into fixed and flexible resources and let the network nodes exchange their fixed/flexible resource configurations via backhaul signaling. The transmission directions on the fixed time resources are expected to be static for some foreseeable amount of time (but may change slowly), while the flexible resources can potentially change transmission direction as often as each TTI. After receiving the configuration of time resources from neighboring NNs, a given NN can take the union of the provided configurations to understand if a given transmission direction is common to all NNs considered, and hence “protected” from CLI. The other resources can then be considered potentially impacted by CLI. In one example solution, slots 1-3 and 9-10 within each radio frame are indicated as fixed DL slots and fixed UL slots, respectively, while slots 4-8 are indicated as flexible. If the interpretation is instead that resources not indicated as UL or DL shall be interpreted as unused resources, the consequence would be that much more frequent dynamic signaling of the intended TDD configuration for each TTI would be needed. In particular, the neighboring NNs would need to coordinate for each TTI their actual scheduling decisions. As the backhaul signaling is also associated with a delay (typically in the order of 5-15 ms for Xn interface), it is not clear how such short-term signaling can be useful to the receiver as it quickly becomes outdated. Conversely, interpreting the resources instead as flexible would significantly reduce the backhaul signaling overhead, as well as the backhaul latency requirement. The receiving NN can instead consider that the fixed/flexible resource indication is valid for the “foreseeable future”, until it receives a new message. The proposed type of more slow scale coordination can be useful even without a central decision node or applying joint scheduling, which is why it may be suitable for inter-vendor information exchange over Xn. Each NN can individually decide how to best utilize its available radio resources based on the information received from its neighbors. For instance, a NN may transmit important DL signals/channels, such as SSB and the PDCCH/PDSCH of URLLC traffic in the common fixed DL slots. ANN may also configure the PRACH resources or other important UL traffic such as URLLC PUSCH in the common fixed UL slots. Any slot/symbol not designated DL or UL is thus interpreted as a flexible slot/symbol. The fixed/flexible resource information exchange can be also used to assist a NN to do more efficient interference measurement resource (IMR) configurations. Detailed Message Format Different alternatives for the detailed message format exchange has been discussed in prior art. The proposal herein is a simple message exchange format following the structure of the TDD-UL-DL-SlotConfig IE, where a DL-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity in ms is defined together with a referenceSubcarrierSpacing. Together, these two entities define the number of slots in the TDD periodicity. A list of TDD-UL-DL-SlotConfig can then be given, where each TDD-UL-DL-SlotConfig indicates whether a slot with a certain slotIndex in the TDD periodicity is explicitly configured as either consisting of “all downlink symbols”, “all uplink symbols” or “a number of downlink symbols and a number of uplink symbols”. As discussed in the previous section, the slots/symbols which are not configured as UL or DL (i.e. that do not have a corresponding entry in the slotConfigList) are interpreted as flexible. In typical operation, the NN could indicate a DL-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity which corresponds to the concatenated TDD pattern periodicity P_1+P_2 (or only P_1 if non-concatenated TDD pattern is used). However, if the NN knows that it will in practice use a TDD pattern with larger periodicity (e.g. by configuring the TDD pattern in SIB1 as containing many flexible resources and then in its implementation overriding, by PDSCH/PUSCH scheduling, some of the flexible resource in, for instance, every other TDD pattern as varying between UL and DL, so that the effective TDD periodicity becomes larger), this can be indicated as well. That is, the intended TDD pattern exchanged over Xn may or may not correspond to any UE-common or UE-dedicated signalling. An alternative way to construct the message format could be to signal the TDD patterns directly, in a format similar to TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon. However, this format is much less flexible and does not save that much data overhead compared to the proposed format. Since this message exchange happens infrequently over the wired Xn interface, the overhead associated with it is not an issue and instead the aim should be to maximize flexibility. Exchange of messages for intended UL-DL is thus proposed as in the Intended-TDD-UL-DL-Config IE from 3GPP TS 38.331 V15.3.0 as described above. SSB/RACH Configuration Another issue that has been discussed is whether it is sufficient to exchange intended TDD pattern, or if additional configurations of SSB resources and/or PRACH resources needs to be exchanged as well. The motivation would be that an SSB or PRACH resource configured to a UE can override resources configured as flexible by the common or dedicated TDD configuration, and these resources may be transmitted with a longer periodicity than the TDD pattern periodicity. In the proposal given in the previous section, the NN could indicate intended UL/DL configuration for a longer effective TDD periodicity than it is possible to configure to a UE and hence it could include the effect of such SSB/PRACH resources. Inter-NN message exchange of fixed/flexible UL/DL resources can use a longer periodicity than that which can be signaled as TDD periodicity in SIB1, and can hence capture that configured SSB/PRACH resources create a larger effective TDD periodicity compared to the TDD periodicity configured in SIB1. The exchange of SSB position and periodicity between neighboring NNs is already possible, according to the current XnAP specification. Thus, no new signalling needs to be introduced. No additional exchange of SSB resources over Xn needs to be introduced for CLI coordination purpose. Regarding the PRACH occasions, it has been already agreed in NR Rel-15 that PRACH occasions in the UL part are always valid, and a PRACH occasion present in symbols configured as flexible is valid as long as it does not precede or collide with an SSB in the RACH slot and it is at least N symbols after the DL part and the last symbol of an SSB. N is 0 or 2, depending on PRACH format and subcarrier spacing. Since the NN already has ‘fixed UL’ slots information based on the exchange as suggested above, a NN can schedule PRACH occasions such that they fall into these ‘fixed UL’ slots. Therefore, there is no need to have PRACH configuration exchange. The current XnAP specification along with the proposed intended DL/UL configuration exchange is sufficient for NN coordination and there is no need of SSB/RACH configuration information exchange. Embodiments Some of the embodiments herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. According to certain embodiments, a solution is provided that includes classifying the time resources of a NN or a set of NNs into two types: fixed time resources and flexible time resources. Then, this fixed/flexible resource classification is exchanged between different NNs or different sets of NNs for CLI mitigation by partially coordinated transmission. A fixed time resource implies that the time resources may change over time but are not expected to change frequently. The fixed time resources include the fixed UL resources that can only be used for UL transmissions/receptions, the fixed DL resources that can only be used for DL transmissions/receptions, and possibly the reserved resources not to be used for communication. The fixed and flexible resource classification can be done on different granularities, e.g., a slot level or a symbol level, and can be indicated in different ways via the backhaul, e.g., the exact TDD config, or as delta info relative to a common reference TDD config. After receiving the configuration of time resources from multiple NNs, a given NN can take the union of the provided configurations to understand if a given transmission direction is common to all NNs considered, and hence can consider these sets of resources as protected from CLI. Other resources can conversely be considered potentially impacted by CLI. According to certain embodiments, additional details are disclosed relating to the exchange of information of fixed and flexible resources. For example, according to a particular embodiment, the exchanged information may consist of two parts that can be exchanged in different time scales. The first part carries the cell-specific TDD configuration and a network node only signals this first part information to other network nodes when the cell-specific TDD configuration is updated in SIB1. The second part carries the network node's intention on the long-term usage of the flexible resourced configured in SIB1, i.e., the intended or planned fixed and flexible resources classification within the SIB1-configured flexible resources. The second part of the information can be exchanged more often than the first part of the information, e.g., based on long-term traffic situation changes in the network. As another example embodiment, the exchanged information may cover both the cell-specific TDD configuration and the intended usage of the SIB1-configured flexible resources for DL/UL transmissions. As still another example, certain embodiments disclosed herein add conditions on fixed and flexible resource classification, by taking SSB and PRACH configurations into account. In the following, some examples are given on different methods for the fixed and flexible resource classification and methods for signaling the classification info via backhaul. In some embodiments, the coordination messages are transmitted over the Xn interface between neighboring NNs. According to certain embodiments, where inter-node coordination involves distributed NNs, the coordination messages are transmitted over the F1 interface within the involved NNs. In other embodiments, proprietary backhaul signaling is used. In yet other embodiments, the backhaul signaling is routed via the core network. Fixed and Flexible Resource Classification and Backhaul Signaling a) Network Nodes With Different Semi-Static TDD Configurations As an example, two NNs are considered with different semi-static TDD UL-DL configurations: the cell-specific semi-static TDD configuration for NN1 is formed by a concatenation of two TDD patterns, DDDFUU and DDFU; and the cell-specific semi-static TDD configuration for NN2 is formed by a concatenation of another two TDD patterns, DDFF and DDFUUU, as shown inFIG.7. This can be the case for the access links when the NNs belong to different operators with only semi-synchronized TDD configurations. it can also be the case for the wireless backhaul links when the IAB nodes are associated to un-synced parent nodes. InFIG.7, ‘D’ denotes a downlink slot where all symbols have DL Tx direction, ‘U’ denotes an uplink slot where all symbols have UL Tx direction, ‘F’ denotes a flexible slot where some or all symbols can have flexible Tx directions. The TDD configurations shown inFIG.7can be achieved by, e.g., configuring the TDD-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon field for NN1 as:referenceSubcarrierSpacing=30 KHzPattern1 DDDFUU:dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity=3 msnrofDownlinkSlots=3nrofDownlinkSymbols=0nrofUplinkSlots=2nrofUplinkSymbols=0Pattern2 DDFU:dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity=2 msnrofDownlinkSlots=2nrofDownlinkSymbols=0nrofUplinkSlots=1nrofUplinkSymbols=0 and configuring the TDD-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon field for NN2 as:referenceSubcarrierSpacing=30 KHzPattern1 DDFF:dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity=2 msnrofDownlinkSlots=2nrofDownlinkSymbols=2nrofUplinkSlots=0nrofUplinkSymbols=0Pattern2 DDFUUU:dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity=3 msnrofDownlinkSlots=2nrofDownlinkSymbols=2nrofUplinkSlots=3nrofUplinkSymbols=0 As already mentioned above, the fixed and flexible resource classification can be done with different granularities, i.e. either with a slot level granularity or with a symbol level granularity, or with a mix of the two as described below. When the fixed and flexible resource classification is on a symbol level, and based on the above assumption for the case shown inFIG.7, the resources for NN1 can be classified asfixed resources: all symbols in slots {0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9}flexible resources: all symbols in slots {3, 8} and the resources for NN2 can be classified asfixed resources: all symbols in slots {0, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9} and the first two symbols in slots {2 and 6}flexible resources: the last 12 symbols in slots {2, 6} and all symbols in slot 3 When the fixed and flexible resource classification is on a slot level, some information may be lost as compared to the classification on a symbol level. For example, the symbols in a flexible slot that actually have a fixed Tx direction will still be considered as flexible resources with the classification on a slot level. However, in many cases, the slot-level based classification can be enough for protecting important channels or signals and for assisting the network node to configure proper interference measurement resources. As an example, a modified TDD-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon field, can be exchanged among different network nodes or different sets of network nodes via backhaul to indicate the fixed and flexible resource classification. In the example of a slot level classification, the modification could consist in removing the parameters nrofDownlinkSymbols and nrofUplinkSymbols, In one embodiment, the network can change between resource classification on a symbol level and slot level to provide greater flexibility in the scheduling, while retaining the possibility to reduce overhead by switching to slot level classification. b) Network Nodes With the Same Semi-Static TDD Configurations If all the neighboring NNs belong to the same operator, it is highly likely that all these NNs are configured with the same cell-specific semi-static TDD configurations. Even for NNs belonging to different operators, this may still be the case due to regulations. FIG.8shows an example where two NNs, NN1 and NN2, are configured with the same TDD semi-static UL-DL configuration with the pattern DDDFFFFUUU. If neighboring NNs always are configured with the same semi-static TDD pattern, there is no need to exchange the already known fixed TDD pattern between the NNs. However, since NR supports the use of DCI signaling and user-specific RRC signaling to override the flexible symbols provided in the cell-specific semi-static TDD configuration, it is still possible for a NN to configure part of these flexible resources as fixed resources to, e.g., adapt to its long-term traffic situation. In this case, each NN can classify the flexible resources indicated by the cell-specific semi-static TDD configuration further into fixed resources and flexible resources, and then, exchange this classification information among different network nodes via backhaul signaling. FIG.9shows an example where the flexible slots configured for NN1, slots 3, 4 and 5, are restricted to be DL slots, and for NN2, slot 3 is restricted to be DL slot, and slots 5 and 6 are restricted to be UL slots. In this example, the cell-specific RRC indicated flexible resources for NN1 can be classified asfixed resources: slots {3,4,5}flexible resources: slots {6} and the cell-specific RRC indicated flexible resources for NN2 can be classified asfixed resources: slots {3,5,6}flexible resources: slots {4} In an embodiment, the fixed and flexible resource classification can be exchanged via backhaul based on a reference semi-static TDD configuration, e.g., the common TDD configuration used for all network nodes. As an example, the TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated field (see TDD-UL-DL-Config information element from 3GPP TS 38.331 V15.3.0 below) can be used to indicate the fixed and flexible resource classification. 3GPP TS 38.331 V15.3.0: TDD-UL-DL-Config information element-- ASN1START-- TAG-TDD-UL-DL-CONFIG-STARTTDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon ::=SEQUENCE {referenceSubcarrierSpacingSubcarrierSpacing,pattern1TDD-UL-DL-Pattern,pattern2TDD-UL-DL-PatternOPTIONAL, -- Need R...}TDD-UL-DL-Pattern ::=SEQUENCE {dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicityENUMERATED {ms0p5, ms0p625, ms1, ms1p25,ms2, ms2p5, ms5, ms10},nrofDownlinkSlotsINTEGER (0..maxNrofSlots),nrofDownlinkSymbolsINTEGER (0..maxNrofSymbols-1),nrofUplinkSlotsINTEGER (0..maxNrofSlots),nrofUplinkSymbolsINTEGER (0..maxNrofSymbols-1),...,[[dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity-v1530ENUMERATED {ms3, ms4}OPTIONAL -- Need R]]}TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated ::=SEQUENCE {slotSpecificConfigurationsToAddModListSEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofSlots))OF TDD-UL-DL-SlotConfigOPTIONAL, -- Need NslotSpecificConfigurationsToreleaseListSEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofSlots))OF TDD-UL-DL-SlotIndexOPTIONAL,-- Need N...}TDD-UL-DL-SlotConfig ::=SEQUENCE {slotIndexTDD-UL-DL-SlotIndex,symbolsCHOICE {allDownlinkNULL,allUplinkNULL,explicitSEQUENCE {nrofDownlinkSymbolsINTEGER (1..maxNrofSymbols-1)OPTIONAL,-- Need SnrofUplinkSymbolsINTEGER (1..maxNrofSymbols-1)OPTIONAL-- Need S}}}TDD-UL-DL-SlotIndex ::=INTEGER (0..maxNrofSlots-1)-- TAG-TDD-UL-DL-CONFIG-STOP-- ASN1STOP As another example shown inFIG.10, only the cell-specific RRC indicated flexible slots are extracted from the semi-static TDD configuration. Then, the TDD-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon field or a modified TDD-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon field can be used to indicate the fixed and flexible resource classification. This is similar to the methods discussed in bullet a) Network nodes with different semi-static TDD configurations above. For instance, the slot-level resource classification indication for NN1 can be:nrofDownlinkSlots=3nrofUplinkSlots=0 and the slot-level resource classification indication for NN2 can be:nrofDownlinkSlots=1nrofUplinkSlots=2 Use of Resource Classification Information for CLI Mitigation or Coordination The proposed solution herein enables a NN to know the fixed resource configured for neighboring NNs. By utilizing this information, the NN can protect the important channels/signals by scheduling or configuring them to the resources that will not be affected by CLI. For instance, consider the case shown inFIG.7, the network may transmit important DL signals/channels, such as SSB (Synchronization Signal Block), the PDCCH/PDSCH of URLLC (Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication) traffic, in slots 0 and 1. The network may also configure the PRACH resources or other important UL traffic such as URLLC PUSCH in slot 9. The information of the fixed and flexible resource classification may also be used to assist the NN to understand more about the CLI situation. For instance, the information may enable the NN to configure different interference measurement resources in different slots which exhibit characteristic CLI situations. For instance, considering the case shown inFIG.7, NN1 knows that there is always CLI from NN2 on slots 4, 5 and 7; there can be potential CLI from NN2 on slots 2, 3 and 6; and there will be CLI from NN2 if NN1 schedules downlink transmissions on slot 8. Therefore, for NN1, the UE-to-UE CLI measurements on slot 7 can be used as a reference. By comparing the UE-to-UE CLI measurements on slots 2, 3 or 6 with the reference, NN1 can better estimate the CLI level on these potential CLI slots. Furthermore, measurements can also be performed on slots {0,1,9} which would provide a CLI-free reference where normal DL interference levels would be reflected. The NN may also utilize the aggregate information received from multiple neighboring nodes. For instance, important signals/channels may be scheduled in slots which only experience CLI from a subset of the neighboring cells, while slots that experience CLI from many neighboring cells are not used for this purpose. Thus, according to certain embodiments described above, an inter-node condition method is proposed, where the time domain resources are classified as fixed and flexible resources, and only the information of the fixed/flexible resources is exchanged between different network nodes. Certain further described embodiments provide detailed ways and message formats for exchanging the information relating to fixed/flexible resources. For example, according to a particular embodiment, the exchanged information may consist of two parts that can be exchanged in different time scales. Specifically, a first part may carry the cell-specific TDD configuration. In a particular embodiment, a network node only signals this first part of the information to other network nodes when the cell-specific TDD configuration is updated in SIB1. The second part carries the network node's intention on the long-term usage of the flexible resourced configured in SIB1, i.e., the intended/planned fixed and flexible resources classification within the SIB1-configured flexible resources. The second part of the information can be exchanged more often than the first part of the information, e.g., based on long-term traffic situation changes in the network. An example of the message format to support the two-part transmission of information is shown above (TDD-UL-DL-Config information element (IE) from 3GPP TS 38.331 V15.3.0), where for instance structure similar to TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon conveys the first part and gives cell-specific TDD configuration and a structure similar to TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated can be used to convey second part of the message, the long-term usage of flexible resources. According to another embodiment, a single transmission of the exchanged information covers both the cell-specific TDD configuration and the intended usage of the SIB1-configured flexible resources for DL/UL transmissions. An example of the message format to support the single transmission of the exchanged information is given according to the following. Unlike the TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon IE, which has two patterns defined, the proposed message format does not differentiate explicitly if there is one TDD pattern or a concatenation of two TDD patterns as this differentiation is implicit within DL-UL transmission periodicity. In this proposed message format, symbols within each slot defined by slotConfigList can be either all DL, all UL, or a combination with some flexible symbols. Proposed message format for sending TDD configuration identifying fixed/flexible UL/DLslots/symbols according to embodiments: Intended-TDD-UL-DL-Config information elementIntended-TDD-UL-DL-Config ::=SEQUENCE {referenceSubcarrierSpacingSubcarrierSpacing,dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicityENUMERATED {ms0p5, ms0p625, ms1, ms1p25,ms2, ms2p5, ms3, ms4, ms5, ms10, ms20, ms40, ms60, ms80, ms100, ms120, ms140,ms160} ,slotConfigListSEQUENCE (SIZE (0..maxNrofSlots)) OF TDD-UL-DL-SlotConfig}TDD-UL-DL-SlotConfig ::=SEQUENCE {slotIndexTDD-UL-DL-SlotIndex,symbolsCHOICE {allDownlinkNULL,allUplinkNULL,explicitSEQUENCE {nrofDownlinkSymbolsINTEGER (1..maxNrofSymbols-1)OPTIONAL, -- Need SnrofUplinkSymbolsINTEGER (1..maxNrofSymbols-1)OPTIONAL -- Need S}}} In a particular embodiment, this Intended-TDD-UL-DL-Config IE is the message exchanged between network nodes. This can also be applied to the case of network nodes with same semi-static TDD configurations as will be described in detail next, where only the slots with flexible symbols will be exchanged through this message exchange. In some embodiments, the message sent between network nodes for coordination uses a message format comprising two messages, where a first message has a similar structure to TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon and a second message has a similar structure to TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated in the TDD-UL-DL-Config IE (in 3GPP TS 38.331) copied above. That is, the first message defines one or more concatenated TDD UL-DL pattern structures by specifying—for each TDD DL-UL—a number of consecutive full DL slots at the beginning of the TDD pattern (nrofDownlinkSlots), a number of consecutive DL symbols in the slot following the full DL slots (nrofDownlinkSymbols), a number of UL symbols in the end of the slot preceding the first full UL slot (nrofUplinkSymbols), and a number of consecutive full UL slots at the end of the TDD pattern (nrofUplinkSlots). The remaining symbols or slots are being interpreted as flexible symbols or slots. Then, the second message defines an override of the flexible symbols or slots, for instance comprising a list of slots as in TDD-UL-DL-SlotConfig defined above in the proposed Intended-TDD-UL-DL-Config IE. A motivation for using such a two-step message format is to reduce the overhead required for conveying the message information. In some embodiments, the TDD configuration is represented in the form of a bitmap. In other embodiments, the TDD configuration is indicated by means of an analytical description. Additionally, or alternatively, added conditions may be placed on fixed or flexible resource classification, by taking SSB and PRACH configurations into account. In NR rel-15, it is possible for a network node to configure SSB transmissions on the flexible time resources indicated by SIB1, and it is also possible for a network node to configure PRACH occasions in the flexible time resources configured by SIB1, and these PRACH occasions are valid if certain conditions are met. More specifically, a PRACH occasion within the SIB1-configured flexible time resource part is valid as long as it does not precede or collide with an SSB in the RACH slot and it is at least N symbols after the DL part and the last symbol of an SSB. N is 0 or 2 depending on PRACH format and subcarrier spacing. In an embodiment, for a network node, the network nodes consider its SSB and PRACH configurations and not only its TDD pattern configuration when determining the fixed/flexible resource indication message. For example, to proactively protect its SSB transmissions, a network node may indicate that those SIB1-configured flexible symbols/slots which comprises SSB transmission (if such symbols/slots exist) are part of the fixed DL resources in the message signaled to other network nodes. Similarly, to proactively protect its PRACH transmissions, a network node may indicate that those SIB1-configured flexible symbols/slots that are valid for PRACH transmissions (if such symbols/slots exist) are part of the fixed UL resources in the message signaled to other network nodes. As another example, some extra parameters are added in the backhaul signaling to indicate the fixed DL resources for SSB transmission in the SIB1-indicated flexible resource, and the fixed UL resources for PRACH transmission in the SIB1-indicated flexible resource. The parameters can include, e.g., the PRACH configuration index in the SIB1. According to certain embodiments, in addition to the TDD configuration, the coordination messages may contain position information associated with a UE or a group of UEs. According to certain embodiments, a NN uses its knowledge about the geographical position of its neighbor nodes and the knowledge about the relative position of a group of its connected UEs, to assemble a TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated for that group of its connected UEs. FIG.11illustrates a wireless network, in accordance with some embodiments. Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustrated inFIG.11. For simplicity, the wireless network ofFIG.11only depicts network1106, network nodes1160and1160b, and WDs1110,1110b, and1110c. In practice, a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node1160is depicted with additional detail. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices' access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wireless network. The wireless network may comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be configured to operate according to specific standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless network may implement communication standards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards. Network1106may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices. Network node1160and WD1110comprise various components. The components of network node1160are described in more detail below. These components work together in order to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the wireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, based on their transmit power level) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Yet further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs. As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. More generally, however, network nodes may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with access to the wireless network or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless network. InFIG.11, network node1160includes processing circuitry1170, device readable medium1180, interface1190, auxiliary equipment1184, power source1186, power circuitry1187, and antenna1162. Although network node1160illustrated in the example wireless network ofFIG.11may represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Moreover, while the components of network node1160are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a network node may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium1180may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules). Similarly, network node1160may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which network node1160comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeB's. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node1160may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium1180for the different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna1162may be shared by the RATs). Network node1160may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node1160, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node1160. Processing circuitry1170is configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry1170may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry1170by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Processing circuitry1170may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node1160components, such as device readable medium1180, network node1160functionality. For example, processing circuitry1170may execute instructions stored in device readable medium1180or in memory within processing circuitry1170. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry1170may include a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, processing circuitry1170may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry1172and baseband processing circuitry1174. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry1172and baseband processing circuitry1174may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry1172and baseband processing circuitry1174may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units. In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry1170executing instructions stored on device readable medium1180or memory within processing circuitry1170. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry1170without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry1170can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry1170alone or to other components of network node1160but are enjoyed by network node1160as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally. Device readable medium1180may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry1170. Device readable medium1180may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry1170and, utilized by network node1160. Device readable medium1180may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry1170and/or any data received via interface1190. In some embodiments, processing circuitry1170and device readable medium1180may be considered to be integrated. Interface1190is used in the wired or wireless communication of signalling and/or data between network node1160, network node1160b, network1106, and/or WDs1110. As illustrated, interface1190comprises port(s)/terminal(s)1194to send and receive data, for example to and from network1106, or to and from network node1160bvia a NN-to-NN interface1191(such as the Xn interface), over a wired connection. Interface1190also includes radio front end circuitry1192that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna1162. Radio front end circuitry1192comprises filters1198and amplifiers1196. Radio front end circuitry1192may be connected to antenna1162and processing circuitry1170. Radio front end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna1162and processing circuitry1170. Radio front end circuitry1192may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry1192may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters1198and/or amplifiers1196. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna1162. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna1162may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry1192. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry1170. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain alternative embodiments, network node1160may not include separate radio front end circuitry1192, instead, processing circuitry1170may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna1162without separate radio front end circuitry1192. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry1172may be considered a part of interface1190. In still other embodiments, interface1190may include one or more ports or terminals1194, radio front end circuitry1192, and RF transceiver circuitry1172, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface1190may communicate with baseband processing circuitry1174, which is part of a digital unit (not shown). Antenna1162may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna1162may be coupled to radio front end circuitry1190and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna1162may comprise one or more omni-directional, sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni-directional antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna1162may be separate from network node1160and may be connectable to network node1160through an interface or port. Antenna1162, interface1190, and/or processing circuitry1170may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna1162, interface1190, and/or processing circuitry1170may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Power circuitry1187may comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node1160with power for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry1187may receive power from power source1186. Power source1186and/or power circuitry1187may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node1160in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source1186may either be included in, or external to, power circuitry1187and/or network node1160. For example, network node1160may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry1187. As a further example, power source1186may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry1187. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used. Alternative embodiments of network node1160may include additional components beyond those shown inFIG.11that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node1160may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node1160and to allow output of information from network node1160. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node1160. As used herein, wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE). Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network. Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE). a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc. A WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and may in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device. As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node. The WD may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the WD may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g. refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal. As illustrated, wireless device1110includes antenna, interface, processing circuitry, device readable medium, user interface equipment, auxiliary equipment, power source and power circuitry. WD1110may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD1110, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or set of chips as other components within WD1110. FIG.12is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment1200in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or components thereof and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks). In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments1200hosted by one or more of hardware nodes1230. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may be entirely virtualized. The functions may be implemented by one or more applications1220(which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications1220are run in virtualization environment1200which provides hardware1230comprising processing circuitry1260and memory1290. Memory1290contains instructions1295executable by processing circuitry1260whereby application1220is operative to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein. Virtualization environment1200, comprises general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware devices1230comprising a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry1260, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors. Each hardware device may comprise memory1290-1which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions1295or software executed by processing circuitry1260. Each hardware device may comprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs)1270, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interface1280. Each hardware device may also include non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage media1290-2having stored therein software1295and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry1260. Software1295may include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers1250(also referred to as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines1240as well as software allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. Virtual machines1240, comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer1250or hypervisor. Different embodiments of the instance of virtual appliance1220may be implemented on one or more of virtual machines1240, and the implementations may be made in different ways. During operation, processing circuitry1260executes software1295to instantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer1250, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer1250may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to virtual machine1240. As shown inFIG.12, hardware1230may be a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware1230may comprise antenna12225and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware1230may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO)12100, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications1220. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment. In the context of NFV, virtual machine1240may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of virtual machines1240, and that part of hardware1230that executes that virtual machine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or hardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtual machines1240, forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE). Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more virtual machines1240on top of hardware networking infrastructure1230and corresponds to application1220inFIG.12. In some embodiments, one or more radio units12200that each include one or more transmitters12220and one or more receivers12210may be coupled to one or more antennas12225. Radio units12200may communicate directly with hardware nodes1230via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be affected with the use of control system12230which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes1230and radio units12200. FIG.13adepicts a method performed by a receiving network node,1160,1160b, for CLI mitigation. The method comprises receiving1310, from at least one sending network node, a time division duplex configuration of the at least one sending network node, the time division duplex configuration identifying:at least one slot of the time division duplex configuration as either a fixed uplink slot for which all symbols are for uplink transmission or a fixed downlink slot for which all symbols are for downlink transmission; andat least one slot of the time division duplex configuration as a flexible slot for which at least one symbol has an undefined transmission direction and the remaining symbols of the slot, if any, have a defined transmission direction which is either uplink or downlink. The method further comprises adapting1320operations in a cell based on the received time division duplex configuration for mitigating CLI with the at least one sending network node. In embodiments, adapting1320operations in the cell may comprise at least one of: scheduling1804a transmission or channel; configure channel resources; and configure interference measurement resources. In embodiments, the method may further comprise performing at least one measurement on the configured interference measurement resources to estimate CLI levels. In embodiments, adapting operations may further comprise determining a slot or symbol in the cell that will not be affected by CLI with the at least one sending network node, and adapting operations based on the determined slot or symbol. Determining the slot in the cell that will not be affected by CLI may comprise: determining the slot in the cell to correspond to a slot identified as a fixed uplink or downlink slot of the time division duplex configuration. Adapting operations based on the determined slot may comprise scheduling an uplink transmission when the determined slot corresponds to a slot identified as a fixed uplink slot of the time division duplex configuration and scheduling a downlink transmission when the determined slot corresponds to a slot identified as fixed downlink slot of the time division duplex configuration. In embodiments, the time division duplex configuration is received via a backhaul connection between the receiving and sending network node. In embodiments, the time division duplex configuration is received over an F1 interface or an Xn interface between the receiving and sending network node. In embodiments, the time division duplex configuration is received in a message listing the slots of the time division duplex configuration, each of the listed slots being identified by an index. Symbols within each of the listed slots may be indicated to be one of: all downlink symbols identifying the slot as a fixed downlink slot, all uplink symbols identifying the slot as a fixed uplink slot, and a combination of downlink symbols, uplink symbols, and symbols with undefined transmission direction identifying the slot as a flexible slot. In one embodiment, the message listing the slots is of the message format proposed above: Intended-TDD-UL-DL-Config IE. FIG.13bdepicts a method performed by a sending network node,1160,1160b, for CLI mitigation. The method comprises determining1330a time division duplex configuration of the sending network node. The time division duplex configuration identifies at least one slot of the time division duplex configuration as either a fixed uplink slot for which all symbols are for uplink transmission or a fixed downlink slot for which all symbols are for downlink transmission; and at least one slot of the time division duplex configuration as a flexible slot for which at least one symbol has an undefined transmission direction and the remaining symbols of the slot, if any, have a defined transmission direction which is either uplink or downlink transmission. The method further comprises sending1340, to at least one receiving network node, the determined time division duplex configuration, for enabling CLI mitigation by the at least one receiving network node. In embodiments, the time division duplex configuration may be determined based on a cell-specific time division duplex configuration of the sending node. Alternatively, or additionally, the time division duplex configuration may be determined based on at least one of a synchronization signal block and a random access transmission configuration. In embodiments, the time division duplex configuration may be sent via a backhaul connection between the sending and receiving network node. In embodiments, the time division duplex configuration may be sent over an F1 interface or an Xn interface between the sending and receiving network node. In embodiments, the time division duplex configuration may be sent in a message listing the slots of the time division duplex configuration, each of the listed slots being identified by an index. Symbols within each of the listed slots may be indicated to be one of: all downlink symbols identifying the slot as a fixed downlink slot, all uplink symbols identifying the slot as a fixed uplink slot, and a combination of downlink symbols, uplink symbols, and symbols with undefined transmission direction identifying the slot as a flexible slot. FIG.13cdepicts a method by a base station for CLI mitigation, according to certain embodiments. Boxes with dashed lines indicate optional steps. At step1802, the base station receives, from at least one other base station, information associated with identifying the at least one time resource of the other base station as a fixed time resource and/or a flexible time resource. Based on the information received from the at least one other base station, the base station schedules a transmission or channel to mitigate the CLI at step1804. FIG.13ddepicts another method by a base station for CLI mitigation, according to certain embodiments. Boxes with dashed lines indicate optional steps. At step2002, the base station classifies at least one time resource of the base station as a fixed time resource and/or a flexible time resource. At step2004, the base station transmits, to at least one other base station, information identifying the at least one time resource of the base station as the fixed time resource and/or the flexible time resource for performance of CLI mitigation by the at least one other base station. FIG.14aillustrates a schematic block diagram of a virtual apparatus1900in a wireless network (for example, the wireless network shown inFIG.11). The apparatus may be implemented in a network node (e.g., network node1160shown inFIG.11). Apparatus1900is operable to carry out the example method described with reference toFIGS.13aand13cand possibly any other processes or methods disclosed herein. Boxes with dashed lines indicate optional modules. It is also to be understood that the method ofFIG.13aor13cis not necessarily carried out solely by apparatus1900. At least some operations of the method can be performed by one or more other entities. Virtual Apparatus1900may comprise processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause receiving module1910, adapting module1905, optional scheduling module1920, and any other suitable units of apparatus1900to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. According to certain embodiments, receiving module1910may perform certain of the receiving functions of the apparatus1900. For example, receiving module1910may receive, from at least one other base station, information identifying the at least one time resource of the other base station as a fixed time resource and/or a flexible time resource; or receiving module1910may receive from at least one sending network node, a time division duplex configuration of the at least one sending network node, the time division duplex configuration identifying: at least one slot of the time division duplex configuration as either a fixed uplink slot for which all symbols are for uplink transmission or a fixed downlink slot for which all symbols are for downlink transmission; and at least one slot of the time division duplex configuration as a flexible slot for which at least one symbol has an undefined transmission direction and the remaining symbols of the slot, if any, have a defined transmission direction which is either uplink or downlink. According to certain embodiments, adapting module1905may perform certain of the adapting functions of the apparatus1900. For example, adapting module1905may adapt operations in a cell based on the received time division duplex configuration for mitigating CLI with the at least one sending network node. According to certain embodiments, the adapting module1905may comprise a scheduling module1920that may perform certain of the scheduling functions of the apparatus1900. For example, scheduling module1920may schedule a transmission or channel to mitigate the CLI based on the information received from the at least one other base station. FIG.14billustrates a schematic block diagram of a virtual apparatus2100in a wireless network (for example, the wireless network shown inFIG.11). The apparatus may be implemented in a network node (e.g., network node1160shown inFIG.11). Boxes with dashed lines indicate optional modules. Apparatus2100is operable to carry out the example method described with reference toFIG.13bor13dand possibly any other processes or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understood that the method ofFIG.13bor13dis not necessarily carried out solely by apparatus2100. At least some operations of the method can be performed by one or more other entities. Virtual Apparatus2100may comprise processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause determining module2105, classifying module2110, transmitting module2120, and any other suitable units of apparatus2100to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. According to certain embodiments, determining module2105may perform certain of the determining functions of the apparatus2100. For example, determining module2105may determine a time division duplex configuration of the sending network node, the time division duplex configuration identifying: at least one slot of the time division duplex configuration as either a fixed uplink slot for which all symbols are for uplink transmission or a fixed downlink slot for which all symbols are for downlink transmission; and at least one slot of the time division duplex configuration as a flexible slot for which at least one symbol has an undefined transmission direction and the remaining symbols of the slot, if any, have a defined transmission direction which is either uplink or downlink transmission. According to certain embodiments, the determining module2105may comprise a classifying module2110that may perform certain of the classifying functions of the apparatus2100. For example, classifying module2110may classify at least one time resource of the base station as a fixed time resource and/or a flexible time resource. According to certain embodiments, transmitting module2120may perform certain of the transmitting functions of the apparatus2100. For example, transmitting module2120may transmit, to at least one other base station, information identifying the at least one time resource of the base station as the fixed time resource and/or the flexible time resource for performance of CLI mitigation by the at least one other base station; or the transmitting module2120may send to at least one receiving network node, the determined time division duplex configuration, for enabling CLI mitigation by the at least one receiving network node. The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein. EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS Group A Embodiments 1. A method performed by a base station, e.g. for cross-link interference (CLI) mitigation, the method comprising one or more of:receiving, from at least one other base station, information associated with identifying at least one time resource of the other base station as a fixed time resource and/or a flexible time resource, optionally the information comprising a cell-specific TDD configuration and/or an intended usage of a flexible time resource for a downlink and/or uplink transmission; andbased on or in association with the information received from the at least one other base station, scheduling a transmission or channel to mitigate the CLI.2. The method of Embodiment 1, wherein the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource and/or the intended usage of a flexible time resource for the downlink and/or uplink transmission is received in single transmission from the at least one other base station.3. The method of Embodiment 2, wherein symbols within each slot or some slots defined by a slotConfigList or other similar parameter can be either all downlink, all uplink, or a combination with some flexible symbols.4. The method of Embodiment 2, wherein only slots with flexible symbols are exchanged in the single transmission from the at least one other base station.5. The method of Embodiment 1, wherein the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource is received in a first message from the at least one base station and the intended usage of the flexible time resource for the downlink and/or uplink transmission is received in a second message from the at least one base station, wherein, optionally, the first message and second message can be received with different periodicities.6. The method of Embodiment 5, wherein the first message comprising the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource is received when the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource is updated in SIB1.7. The method of any one of Embodiments 5 to 6, wherein intended usage comprises an intended/planned fixed and/or flexible resources classification within the SIB-1 configured flexible resources.8. The method of any one of Embodiments 5 to 7, wherein the first message comprises one or more concatenated TDD UL-DL pattern structures, e.g. by specifying one or more of: a number of consecutive full DL slots at a beginning of the TDD pattern, a number of consecutive DL symbols in the slot following the full DL slots, a number of UL symbols in the end of the slot preceding the first full UL slot, and a number of consecutive full UL slots at the end of the TDD pattern.9. The method of Embodiment 8, wherein the first base station determines that any remaining symbols/slots are flexible symbols/slots.10. The method of any one of Embodiments 5 to 9, wherein the second message defines an override of the flexible symbols/slots in the first message.11. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource is represented by a bitmap.12. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 11, wherein the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource is indicated by means of an analytical description.13. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 12, wherein the information indicates that a SIB1-configured flexible symbol or slot that is associated with a SSB transmission is a fixed DL resource.14. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 13, wherein the information indicates that a SIB1-configured flexible symbol or slot that is associated with a PRACH transmission is a fixed UL resource.15. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 14, wherein the information comprises position information associated with at least one UE.16. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 15, wherein the at least one time resource is categorized as a fixed time resource comprising at least one of:an uplink resource for use only for uplink transmissions and/or receptions;a downlink resource for use only for downlink transmissions and/or receptions; anda reserved resource not to be used for communications.17. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 16, wherein:the at least one resource comprises at least one slot; andthe information indicates each slot as either the fixed time resource or the flexible time resource.18. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 16, wherein:the at least one resource comprises at least one symbol; andthe information indicates each symbol as either the fixed time resource or the flexible time resource.19. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 18, wherein the information is received via a backhaul connection between the base station and the at least one other base station.20. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 18, wherein the information is received via a F1 interface.21. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 19, wherein the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource is a semi-static time division duplex configuration.22. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 21, wherein the information comprises a change in information relative to a common reference TDD configuration.23. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 18, wherein the information is received over an Xn interface.24. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 18, wherein the information is received from the at least one other base station via a core network.25. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 24, further comprising:transmitting, to the at least one other base station, information associated with identifying at least one time resource of the base station as a fixed time resource and/or a flexible time resource.26. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 25, further comprising:updating a semi-static time division duplex configuration of the base station based on the information received from the at least one other base station.27. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 26, wherein information indicates that the at least one time resource has changed from the fixed time resource to the flexible time resource.28. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 26, wherein information indicates that the at least one time resource has changed from the flexible time resource to the fixed time resource.29. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 28, wherein scheduling the transmission or channel to mitigate the CLI comprises at least one of:protecting the transmission or channel by scheduling or configuring the transmission or channel with at least one resource that will not be affected by CLI; andconfiguring a PRACH resource or other important uplink traffic.30. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 29, further comprising configuring interference measurement resources based on the information.31. The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 30, further comprisingperforming at least one measurement on a slot or symbol that is predicted to be CLI-free. Group B Embodiments 32. A method performed by a base station for cross-link interference (CLI) mitigation, the method comprising one or more of:classifying at least one time resource of the base station as a fixed time resource and/or a flexible time resource; andtransmitting, to at least one other base station, information associated with identifying the at least one time resource of the base station as the fixed time resource and/or the flexible time resource for performance of CLI mitigation by the at least one other base station, optionally the information comprising a cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource and an intended usage of a flexible time resource for a downlink and/or uplink transmission.33. The method of Embodiment 18, wherein transmitting the information identifying the at least one time resource as the fixed time resource and/or the flexible time resource comprising transmitting the information to a plurality of other base stations.34. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 33, wherein the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource and the intended usage of a flexible time resource for the downlink and/or uplink transmission is transmitted in single transmission to the at least one other base station.35. The method of Embodiment 34, wherein symbols within each slot defined by a slotConfigList or another message can be either all downlink, all uplink, or a combination with some flexible symbols.36. The method of Embodiment 34, wherein only slots with flexible symbols are exchanged in the single transmission to the at least one other base station.37. The method of Embodiment 32, wherein the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource is transmitted to the at least one base station in a first message and/or the intended usage of the flexible time resource for the downlink and/or uplink transmission is transmitted to the at least one base station in a second message, wherein, optionally, the first message and second message can be received with different periodicities.38. The method of Embodiment 37, wherein the first message comprising the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource is transmitted when the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource is update in SIB1.39. The method of any one of Embodiments 37 to 38, wherein intended usage comprises an intended/planned fixed and flexible resources classification within the SIB-1 configured flexible resources.40. The method of any one of Embodiments 37 to 39, wherein the first message comprises one or more concatenated TDD UL-DL pattern structures by specifying a number of consecutive full DL slots at a beginning of the TDD pattern, a number of consecutive DL symbols in the slot following the full DL slots, a number of UL symbols in the end of the slot preceding the first full UL slot, and a number of consecutive full UL slots at the end of the TDD pattern.41. The method of Embodiment 40, wherein the first base station determines that any remaining symbols/slots are flexible symbols/slots.42. The method of any one of Embodiments 37 to 41, wherein the second message defines an override of the flexible symbols/slots in the first message.43. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 42, wherein the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource is represented by a bitmap.44. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 42, wherein the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource is indicated by means of an analytical description.45. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 44, wherein the information indicates that a SIB1-configured flexible symbol or slot that is associated with a SSB transmission is a fixed DL resource.46. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 45, wherein the information indicates that a SIB1-configured flexible symbol or slot that is associated with a PRACH transmission is a fixed UL resource.47. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 46, wherein the information comprises position information associated with at least one UE.48. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 47, wherein the at least one time resource is categorized as a fixed time resource comprising at least one of:an uplink resource for use only for uplink transmissions and/or receptions;a downlink resource for use only for downlink transmissions and/or receptions; anda reserved resource not to be used for communications.49. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 48, wherein:the at least one resource comprises a plurality of slots; andclassifying the at least one time resource of the base station as the fixed time resource and/or the flexible time resource comprises classifying each of the plurality of slots as either the fixed time resource or the flexible time resource.50. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 49, wherein:the at least one resource comprises a plurality of symbols; andclassifying the at least one time resource of the base station as the fixed time resource and/or the flexible time resource comprises classifying each of the plurality of symbols as either the fixed time resource or the flexible time resource.51. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 50, wherein the information is transmitted via a backhaul connection between the base station and the at least one other base station.52. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 50, wherein the information is transmitted via a F1 interface.53. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 52, wherein the cell-specific TDD configuration or fixed time resource is a semi-static time division duplex configuration.54. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 53, wherein the information comprises a change in information relative to a common reference TDD configuration.55. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 54, wherein the information is transmitted over an Xn interface.56. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 55, wherein the information is transmitted to the at least one other base station via a core network.57. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 56, further comprising:receiving, from the at least one other base station, information identifying at least one time resource of the at least one other base station as a fixed time resource and/or a flexible time resource.58. The method of Embodiment 57, further comprising:updating a semi-static time division duplex configuration of the base station based on the information received from the at least one other base station.59. The method of any one of Embodiments 57 to 58, wherein the at least one time resource of the base station is classified as the fixed time resource and/or the flexible time resource based on at least one of:the information received from the at least one other base station, andthe updated semi-static time division duplex configuration of the base station.60. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 59, wherein information indicates that the at least one time resource has changed from the fixed time resource to the flexible time resource.61. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 60, wherein information indicates that the at least one time resource has changed from the flexible time resource to the fixed time resource.62. The method of any one of Embodiments 32 to 61, further comprising based on at least one of the classifying of the at least one resource as the flexible time resource and/or the flexible time resource performing at least one action, the at least one action comprising:protecting a channel/signal by scheduling or configuring the channel/signal with at least one resource that will not be affected by CLI;configuring a PRACH resource or other important uplink traffic;configure interference measurement resources; and/orperform at least one measurement on a slot or symbol that is predicted to be CLI-free. Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems and apparatuses described herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The components of the systems and apparatuses may be integrated or separated. Moreover, the operations of the systems and apparatuses may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. Additionally, operations of the systems and apparatuses may be performed using any suitable logic comprising software, hardware, and/or other logic. As used in this document, “each” refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set. Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the methods described herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The methods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in any suitable order. Although this disclosure has been described in terms of certain embodiments, alterations and permutations of the embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description of the embodiments does not constrain this disclosure. ABBREVIATIONS At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, preference should be given to how it is used above.3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project5G 5th GenerationCLI Cross-link InterferenceCN Core NetworkCP Cyclic PrefixCRC Cyclic Redundancy CheckCSI Channel State InformationDCCH Dedicated Control ChannelDCI Downlink Control InformationDL DownlinkDMRS Demodulation Reference SignalE-CID Enhanced Cell-ID (positioning method)eNB E-UTRAN NodeBeIMTA enhanced Interference Mitigation and Traffic AdaptationE-SMLC evolved Serving Mobile Location CenterE-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio AccessE-UTRAN E-UTRA NetworkFDD Frequency Division DuplexFFS For Further StudygNB gNode B (a base station in NR; a Node B supporting NR and connectivity to NGC)GP Guard PeriodGSM Global System for Mobile communicationLOS Line of SightLTE Long-Term EvolutionMME Mobility Management EntityMSC Mobile Switching CenterNGC Next Generation CoreNN Network NodeNR New RadioOFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division MultiplexingOFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple AccessOSS Operations Support SystemPDCCH Physical Downlink Control ChannelPDSCH Physical Downlink Shared ChannelPRACH Physical Random Access ChannelPRS Positioning Reference SignalPSS Primary Synchronization SignalPUCCH Physical Uplink Control ChannelPUSCH Physical Uplink Shared ChannelRACH Random Access ChannelRAT Radio Access TechnologyRB Resource BlockRNC Radio Network ControllerRNTI Radio Network Temporary IdentifierRRC Radio Resource ControlRS Reference SignalRSRP Reference Symbol Received Power ORReference Signal Received PowerRSSI Received Signal Strength IndicatorSCS Subcarrier SpacingSF SubframeSFI Slot Format IndicatorSI System InformationSIB System Information BlockSON Self Optimized NetworkSRS Sounding Reference SignalSS Synchronization SignalSSS Secondary Synchronization SignalTDD Time Division DuplexUE User EquipmentUL UplinkUMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunication SystemUTRA Universal Terrestrial Radio AccessUTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access NetworkWCDMA Wideband CDMAWLAN Wide Local Area Network | 97,080 |
11943798 | DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS In the present specification, “A or B” may mean “only A”, “only B” or “both A and B.” In other words, in the present specification, “A or B” may be interpreted as “A and/or B”. For example, in the present specification, “A, B, or C” may mean “only A”, “only B”, “only C”, or “any combination of A, B, C”. A slash (/) or comma used in the present specification may mean “and/or”. For example, “A/B” may mean “A and/or B”. Accordingly, “A/B” may mean “only A”, “only B”, or “both A and B”. For example, “A, B, C” may mean “A, B, or C”. In the present specification, “at least one of A and B” may mean “only A”, “only B”, or “both A and B”. In addition, in the present specification, the expression “at least one of A or B” or “at least one of A and/or B” may be interpreted as “at least one of A and B”. In addition, in the present specification, “at least one of A, B, and C” may mean “only A”, “only B”, “only C”, or “any combination of A, B, and C”. In addition, “at least one of A, B, or C” or “at least one of A, B, and/or C” may mean “at least one of A, B, and C”. In addition, a parenthesis used in the present specification may mean “for example”. Specifically, when indicated as “control information (PDCCH)”, it may mean that “PDCCH” is proposed as an example of the “control information”. In other words, the “control information” of the present specification is not limited to “PDCCH”, and “PDDCH” may be proposed as an example of the “control information”. In addition, when indicated as “control information (i.e., PDCCH)”, it may also mean that “PDCCH” is proposed as an example of the “control information”. A technical feature described individually in one figure in the present specification may be individually implemented, or may be simultaneously implemented. The technology described below may be used in various wireless communication systems such as code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and the like. The CDMA may be implemented with a radio technology, such as universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA) or CDMA-2000. The TDMA may be implemented with a radio technology, such as global system for mobile communications (GSM)/general packet ratio service (GPRS)/enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE). The OFDMA may be implemented with a radio technology, such as institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), and the like. IEEE 802.16m is an evolved version of IEEE 802.16e and provides backward compatibility with a system based on the IEEE 802.16e. The UTRA is part of a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) is part of an evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) using the E-UTRA. The 3GPP LTE uses the OFDMA in a downlink and uses the SC-FDMA in an uplink. LTE-advanced (LTE-A) is an evolution of the LTE. 5G NR is a successive technology of LTE-A corresponding to a new Clean-slate type mobile communication system having the characteristics of high performance, low latency, high availability, and the like. 5G NR may use resources of all spectrum available for usage including low frequency bands of less than 1 GHz, middle frequency bands ranging from 1 GHz to 10 GHz, high frequency (millimeter waves) of 24 GHz or more, and the like. For clarity in the description, the following description will mostly focus on LTE-A or 5G NR. However, technical features according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will not be limited only to this. FIG.2shows a structure of an NR system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofFIG.2may be combined with various embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.2, a next generation—radio access network (NG-RAN) may include a BS20providing a UE10with a user plane and control plane protocol termination. For example, the BS20may include a next generation-Node B (gNB) and/or an evolved-NodeB (eNB). For example, the UE10may be fixed or mobile and may be referred to as other terms, such as a mobile station (MS), a user terminal (UT), a subscriber station (SS), a mobile terminal (MT), a wireless device, and the like. For example, the BS may be referred to as a fixed station which communicates with the UE10and may be referred to as other terms, such as a base transceiver system (BTS), an access point (AP), and the like. The embodiment ofFIG.2exemplifies a case where only the gNB is included. The BSs20may be connected to one another via Xn interface. The BS20may be connected to one another via 5th generation (5G) core network (5GC) and NG interface. More specifically, the BSs20may be connected to an access and mobility management function (AMF)30via NG-C interface, and may be connected to a user plane function (UPF)30via NG-U interface. FIG.3shows a functional division between an NG-RAN and a 5GC in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.3, the gNB may provide functions, such as Inter Cell Radio Resource Management (RRM), Radio Bearer (RB) control, Connection Mobility Control, Radio Admission Control, Measurement Configuration & Provision, Dynamic Resource Allocation, and the like. An AMF may provide functions, such as non access stratum (NAS) security, idle state mobility processing, and the like. A UPF may provide functions, such as mobility anchoring, protocol data unit (PDU) processing, and the like. A session management function (SMF) may provide functions, such as user equipment (UE) Internet protocol (IP) address allocation, PDU session control, and the like. Layers of a radio interface protocol between the UE and the network can be classified into a first layer (L1), a second layer (L2), and a third layer (L3) based on the lower three layers of the open system interconnection (OSI) model that is well-known in the communication system. Among them, a physical (PHY) layer belonging to the first layer provides an information transfer service by using a physical channel, and a radio resource control (RRC) layer belonging to the third layer serves to control a radio resource between the UE and the network. For this, the RRC layer exchanges an RRC message between the UE and the BS. FIG.4shows a radio protocol architecture in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofFIG.4may be combined with various embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, (a) ofFIG.4shows a radio protocol architecture for a user plane, and (b) ofFIG.4shows a radio protocol architecture for a control plane. The user plane corresponds to a protocol stack for user data transmission, and the control plane corresponds to a protocol stack for control signal transmission. Referring toFIG.4, a physical layer provides an upper layer with an information transfer service through a physical channel. The physical layer is connected to a medium access control (MAC) layer which is an upper layer of the physical layer through a transport channel. Data is transferred between the MAC layer and the physical layer through the transport channel. The transport channel is classified according to how and with what characteristics data is transmitted through a radio interface. Between different physical layers, i.e., a physical layer of a transmitter and a physical layer of a receiver, data are transferred through the physical channel. The physical channel is modulated using an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme, and utilizes time and frequency as a radio resource. The MAC layer provides services to a radio link control (RLC) layer, which is a higher layer of the MAC layer, via a logical channel. The MAC layer provides a function of mapping multiple logical channels to multiple transport channels. The MAC layer also provides a function of logical channel multiplexing by mapping multiple logical channels to a single transport channel. The MAC layer provides data transfer services over logical channels. The RLC layer performs concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of Radio Link Control Service Data Unit (RLC SDU). In order to ensure diverse quality of service (QoS) required by a radio bearer (RB), the RLC layer provides three types of operation modes, i.e., a transparent mode (TM), an unacknowledged mode (UM), and an acknowledged mode (AM). An AM RLC provides error correction through an automatic repeat request (ARQ). A radio resource control (RRC) layer is defined only in the control plane. The RRC layer serves to control the logical channel, the transport channel, and the physical channel in association with configuration, reconfiguration and release of RBs. The RB is a logical path provided by the first layer (i.e., the physical layer or the PHY layer) and the second layer (i.e., the MAC layer, the RLC layer, and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer) for data delivery between the UE and the network. Functions of a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer in the user plane include user data delivery, header compression, and ciphering. Functions of a PDCP layer in the control plane include control-plane data delivery and ciphering/integrity protection. A service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer is defined only in a user plane. The SDAP layer performs mapping between a Quality of Service (QoS) flow and a data radio bearer (DRB) and QoS flow ID (QFI) marking in both DL and UL packets. The configuration of the RB implies a process for specifying a radio protocol layer and channel properties to provide a particular service and for determining respective detailed parameters and operations. The RB can be classified into two types, i.e., a signaling RB (SRB) and a data RB (DRB). The SRB is used as a path for transmitting an RRC message in the control plane. The DRB is used as a path for transmitting user data in the user plane. When an RRC connection is established between an RRC layer of the UE and an RRC layer of the E-UTRAN, the UE is in an RRC_CONNECTED state, and, otherwise, the UE may be in an RRC_IDLE state. In case of the NR, an RRC_INACTIVE state is additionally defined, and a UE being in the RRC_INACTIVE state may maintain its connection with a core network whereas its connection with the BS is released. Data is transmitted from the network to the UE through a downlink transport channel. Examples of the downlink transport channel include a broadcast channel (BCH) for transmitting system information and a downlink-shared channel (SCH) for transmitting user traffic or control messages. Traffic of downlink multicast or broadcast services or the control messages can be transmitted on the downlink-SCH or an additional downlink multicast channel (MCH). Data is transmitted from the UE to the network through an uplink transport channel. Examples of the uplink transport channel include a random access channel (RACH) for transmitting an initial control message and an uplink SCH for transmitting user traffic or control messages. Examples of logical channels belonging to a higher channel of the transport channel and mapped onto the transport channels include a broadcast channel (BCCH), a paging control channel (PCCH), a common control channel (CCCH), a multicast control channel (MCCH), a multicast traffic channel (MTCH), or the like The physical channel includes several OFDM symbols in a time domain and several sub-carriers in a frequency domain. One sub-frame includes a plurality of OFDM symbols in the time domain. A resource block is a unit of resource allocation, and consists of a plurality of OFDM symbols and a plurality of sub-carriers. Further, each subframe may use specific sub-carriers of specific OFDM symbols (e.g., a first OFDM symbol) of a corresponding subframe for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), i.e., an L1/L2 control channel. A transmission time interval (TTI) is a unit time of subframe transmission. FIG.5shows a structure of an NR system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofFIG.5may be combined with various embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.5, in the NR, a radio frame may be used for performing uplink and downlink transmission. A radio frame has a length of 10 ms and may be defined to be configured of two half-frames (HFs). A half-frame may include five 1 ms subframes (SFs). A subframe (SF) may be divided into one or more slots, and the number of slots within a subframe may be determined in accordance with subcarrier spacing (SCS). Each slot may include 12 or 14 OFDM(A) symbols according to a cyclic prefix (CP). In case of using a normal CP, each slot may include 14 symbols. In case of using an extended CP, each slot may include 12 symbols. Here, a symbol may include an OFDM symbol (or CP-OFDM symbol) and a Single Carrier-FDMA (SC-FDMA) symbol (or Discrete Fourier Transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbol). Table 1 shown below represents an example of a number of symbols per slot (Nslotsymb), a number slots per frame (Nframe,uslot), and a number of slots per subframe (Nsubframe,uslot) in accordance with an SCS configuration (u), in a case where a normal CP is used. TABLE 1SCS (15*2u)NsymbslotNslotframe, uNslotsubframe, u15 KHz (u = 0)1410130 KHz (u = 1)1420260 KHz (u = 2)14404120 KHz (u = 3)14808240 KHz (u = 4)1416016 Table 2 shows an example of a number of symbols per slot, a number of slots per frame, and a number of slots per subframe in accordance with the SCS, in a case where an extended CP is used. TABLE 2SCS (15*2u)NsymbslotNslotframe, uNslotsubframe, u60 KHz (u = 2)12404 In an NR system, OFDM(A) numerologies (e.g., SCS, CP length, and the like) between multiple cells being integrate to one UE may be differently configured. Accordingly, a (absolute time) duration (or section) of a time resource (e.g., subframe, slot or TTI) (collectively referred to as a time unit (TU) for simplicity) being configured of the same number of symbols may be differently configured in the integrated cells. In the NR, multiple numerologies or SCSs for supporting diverse 5G services may be supported. For example, in case an SCS is 15 kHz, a wide area of the conventional cellular bands may be supported, and, in case an SCS is 30 kHz/60 kHz a dense-urban, lower latency, wider carrier bandwidth may be supported. In case the SCS is 60 kHz or higher, a bandwidth that is greater than 24.25 GHz may be used in order to overcome phase noise. An NR frequency band may be defined as two different types of frequency ranges. The two different types of frequency ranges may be FR1 and FR2. The values of the frequency ranges may be changed (or varied), and, for example, the two different types of frequency ranges may be as shown below in Table A3. Among the frequency ranges that are used in an NR system, FR1 may mean a “sub 6 GHz range”, and FR2 may mean an “above 6 GHz range” and may also be referred to as a millimeter wave (mmW). TABLE 3Frequency RangeCorrespondingSubcarrierdesignationfrequency rangeSpacing (SCS)FR1450 MHz-6000 MHz15, 30, 60kHzFR224250 MHz-52600 MHz60, 120, 240kHz As described above, the values of the frequency ranges in the NR system may be changed (or varied). For example, as shown below in Table A4, FR1 may include a band within a range of 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. More specifically, FR1 may include a frequency band of 6 GHz (or 5850, 5900, 5925 MHz, and the like) and higher. For example, a frequency band of 6 GHz (or 5850, 5900, 5925 MHz, and the like) and higher being included in FR1 mat include an unlicensed band. The unlicensed band may be used for diverse purposes, e.g., the unlicensed band for vehicle-specific communication (e.g., automated driving). TABLE 4Frequency RangeCorrespondingSubcarrierdesignationfrequency rangeSpacing (SCS)FR1410 MHz-7125 MHz15, 30, 60kHzFR224250 MHz-52600 MHz60, 120, 240kHz FIG.6shows a structure of a slot of an NR frame in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.6, a slot includes a plurality of symbols in a time domain. For example, in case of a normal CP, one slot may include 14 symbols. However, in case of an extended CP, one slot may include 12 symbols. Alternatively, in case of a normal CP, one slot may include 7 symbols. However, in case of an extended CP, one slot may include 6 symbols. A carrier includes a plurality of subcarriers in a frequency domain. A Resource Block (RB) may be defined as a plurality of consecutive subcarriers (e.g., 12 subcarriers) in the frequency domain. A bandwidth part (BWP) may be defined as a plurality of consecutive (physical) resource blocks ((P)RBs) in the frequency domain, and the BWP may correspond to one numerology (e.g., SCS, CP length, and the like). A carrier may include a maximum of N number BWPs (e.g., 5 BWPs). Data communication may be performed via an activated BWP. Each element may be referred to as a Resource Element (RE) within a resource grid and one complex symbol may be mapped to each element. Meanwhile, a radio interface between a UE and another UE or a radio interface between the UE and a network may consist of an L1 layer, an L2 layer, and an L3 layer. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the L1 layer may imply a physical layer. In addition, for example, the L2 layer may imply at least one of a MAC layer, an RLC layer, a PDCP layer, and an SDAP layer. In addition, for example, the L3 layer may imply an RRC layer. Hereinafter, a bandwidth part (BWP) and a carrier will be described. The BWP may be a set of consecutive physical resource blocks (PRBs) in a given numerology. The PRB may be selected from consecutive sub-sets of common resource blocks (CRBs) for the given numerology on a given carrier. When using bandwidth adaptation (BA), a reception bandwidth and transmission bandwidth of a UE are not necessarily as large as a bandwidth of a cell, and the reception bandwidth and transmission bandwidth of the BS may be adjusted. For example, a network/BS may inform the UE of bandwidth adjustment. For example, the UE receive information/configuration for bandwidth adjustment from the network/BS. In this case, the UE may perform bandwidth adjustment based on the received information/configuration. For example, the bandwidth adjustment may include an increase/decrease of the bandwidth, a position change of the bandwidth, or a change in subcarrier spacing of the bandwidth. For example, the bandwidth may be decreased during a period in which activity is low to save power. For example, the position of the bandwidth may move in a frequency domain. For example, the position of the bandwidth may move in the frequency domain to increase scheduling flexibility. For example, the subcarrier spacing of the bandwidth may be changed. For example, the subcarrier spacing of the bandwidth may be changed to allow a different service. A subset of a total cell bandwidth of a cell may be called a bandwidth part (BWP). The BA may be performed when the BS/network configures the BWP to the UE and the BS/network informs the UE of the BWP currently in an active state among the configured BWPs. For example, the BWP may be at least any one of an active BWP, an initial BWP, and/or a default BWP. For example, the UE may not monitor downlink radio link quality in a DL BWP other than an active DL BWP on a primary cell (PCell). For example, the UE may not receive PDCCH, PDSCH, or CSI-RS (excluding RRM) outside the active DL BWP. For example, the UE may not trigger a channel state information (CSI) report for the inactive DL BWP. For example, the UE may not transmit PUCCH or PUSCH outside an active UL BWP. For example, in a downlink case, the initial BWP may be given as a consecutive RB set for an RMSI CORESET (configured by PBCH). For example, in an uplink case, the initial BWP may be given by SIB for a random access procedure. For example, the default BWP may be configured by a higher layer. For example, an initial value of the default BWP may be an initial DL BWP. For energy saving, if the UE fails to detect DCI during a specific period, the UE may switch the active BWP of the UE to the default BWP. Meanwhile, the BWP may be defined for SL. The same SL BWP may be used in transmission and reception. For example, a transmitting UE may transmit an SL channel or an SL signal on a specific BWP, and a receiving UE may receive the SL channel or the SL signal on the specific BWP. In a licensed carrier, the SL BWP may be defined separately from a Uu BWP, and the SL BWP may have configuration signaling separate from the Uu BWP. For example, the UE may receive a configuration for the SL BWP from the BS/network. The SL BWP may be (pre-)configured in a carrier with respect to an out-of-coverage NR V2X UE and an RRC_IDLE UE. For the UE in the RRC_CONNECTED mode, at least one SL BWP may be activated in the carrier. FIG.7shows an example of a BWP in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofFIG.7may be combined with various embodiments of the present disclosure. It is assumed in the embodiment ofFIG.7that the number of BWPs is 3. Referring toFIG.7, a common resource block (CRB) may be a carrier resource block numbered from one end of a carrier band to the other end thereof. In addition, the PRB may be a resource block numbered within each BWP. A point A may indicate a common reference point for a resource block grid. The BWP may be configured by a point A, an offset NstartBWPfrom the point A, and a bandwidth NsizeBWP. For example, the point A may be an external reference point of a PRB of a carrier in which a subcarrier 0 of all numerologies (e.g., all numerologies supported by a network on that carrier) is aligned. For example, the offset may be a PRB interval between a lowest subcarrier and the point A in a given numerology. For example, the bandwidth may be the number of PRBs in the given numerology. Hereinafter, V2X or SL communication will be described. FIG.8shows a radio protocol architecture for a SL communication in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofFIG.8may be combined with various embodiments of the present disclosure. More specifically, (a) ofFIG.8shows a user plane protocol stack, and (b) ofFIG.8shows a control plane protocol stack. Hereinafter, a sidelink synchronization signal (SLSS) and synchronization information will be described. The SLSS may include a primary sidelink synchronization signal (PSSS) and a secondary sidelink synchronization signal (SSSS), as an SL-specific sequence. The PSSS may be referred to as a sidelink primary synchronization signal (S-PSS), and the SSSS may be referred to as a sidelink secondary synchronization signal (S-SSS). For example, length-127 M-sequences may be used for the S-PSS, and length-127 gold sequences may be used for the S-SSS. For example, a UE may use the S-PSS for initial signal detection and for synchronization acquisition. For example, the UE may use the S-PSS and the S-SSS for acquisition of detailed synchronization and for detection of a synchronization signal ID. A physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) may be a (broadcast) channel for transmitting default (system) information which must be first known by the UE before SL signal transmission/reception. For example, the default information may be information related to SLSS, a duplex mode (DM), a time division duplex (TDD) uplink/downlink (UL/DL) configuration, information related to a resource pool, a type of an application related to the SLSS, a subframe offset, broadcast information, or the like. For example, for evaluation of PSBCH performance, in NR V2X, a payload size of the PSBCH may be 56 bits including 24-bit CRC. The S-PSS, the S-SSS, and the PSBCH may be included in a block format (e.g., SL synchronization signal (SS)/PSBCH block, hereinafter, sidelink-synchronization signal block (S-SSB)) supporting periodical transmission. The S-SSB may have the same numerology (i.e., SCS and CP length) as a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH)/physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) in a carrier, and a transmission bandwidth may exist within a (pre-)configured sidelink (SL) BWP. For example, the S-SSB may have a bandwidth of 11 resource blocks (RBs). For example, the PSBCH may exist across11RBs. In addition, a frequency position of the S-SSB may be (pre-)configured. Accordingly, the UE does not have to perform hypothesis detection at frequency to discover the S-SSB in the carrier. FIG.9shows a UE performing V2X or SL communication in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofFIG.9may be combined with various embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.9, in V2X or SL communication, the term ‘UE’ may generally imply a UE of a user. However, if a network equipment such as a BS transmits/receives a signal according to a communication scheme between UEs, the BS may also be regarded as a sort of the UE. For example, a UE1may be a first apparatus100, and a UE2may be a second apparatus200. For example, the UE1may select a resource unit corresponding to a specific resource in a resource pool which implies a set of series of resources. In addition, the UE1may transmit an SL signal by using the resource unit. For example, a resource pool in which the UE1is capable of transmitting a signal may be configured to the UE2which is a receiving UE, and the signal of the UE1may be detected in the resource pool. Herein, if the UE1is within a connectivity range of the BS, the BS may inform the UE1of the resource pool. Otherwise, if the UE1is out of the connectivity range of the BS, another UE may inform the UE1of the resource pool, or the UE1may use a pre-configured resource pool. In general, the resource pool may be configured in unit of a plurality of resources, and each UE may select a unit of one or a plurality of resources to use it in SL signal transmission thereof. Hereinafter, resource allocation in SL will be described. FIG.10shows a procedure of performing V2X or SL communication by a UE based on a transmission mode in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofFIG.10may be combined with various embodiments of the present disclosure. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmission mode may be called a mode or a resource allocation mode. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, in LTE, the transmission mode may be called an LTE transmission mode. In NR, the transmission mode may be called an NR resource allocation mode. For example, (a) ofFIG.10shows a UE operation related to an LTE transmission mode 1 or an LTE transmission mode 3. Alternatively, for example, (a) ofFIG.10shows a UE operation related to an NR resource allocation mode 1. For example, the LTE transmission mode 1 may be applied to general SL communication, and the LTE transmission mode 3 may be applied to V2X communication. For example, (b) ofFIG.10shows a UE operation related to an LTE transmission mode 2 or an LTE transmission mode 4. Alternatively, for example, (b) ofFIG.10shows a UE operation related to an NR resource allocation mode 2. Referring to (a) ofFIG.10, in the LTE transmission mode 1, the LTE transmission mode 3, or the NR resource allocation mode 1, a BS may schedule an SL resource to be used by the UE for SL transmission. For example, the BS may perform resource scheduling to a UE1through a PDCCH (more specifically, downlink control information (DCI)), and the UE1may perform V2X or SL communication with respect to a UE2according to the resource scheduling. For example, the UE1may transmit a sidelink control information (SCI) to the UE2through a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and thereafter transmit data based on the SCI to the UE2through a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). Referring to (b) ofFIG.10, in the LTE transmission mode 2, the LTE transmission mode 4, or the NR resource allocation mode 2, the UE may determine an SL transmission resource within an SL resource configured by a BS/network or a pre-configured SL resource. For example, the configured SL resource or the pre-configured SL resource may be a resource pool. For example, the UE may autonomously select or schedule a resource for SL transmission. For example, the UE may perform SL communication by autonomously selecting a resource within a configured resource pool. For example, the UE may autonomously select a resource within a selective window by performing a sensing and resource (re)selection procedure. For example, the sensing may be performed in unit of subchannels. In addition, the UE1which has autonomously selected the resource within the resource pool may transmit the SCI to the UE2through a PSCCH, and thereafter may transmit data based on the SCI to the UE2through a PSSCH. FIG.11shows three cast types in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofFIG.11may be combined with various embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, (a) ofFIG.11shows broadcast-type SL communication, (b) ofFIG.11shows unicast type-SL communication, and (c) ofFIG.11shows groupcast-type SL communication. In case of the unicast-type SL communication, a UE may perform one-to-one communication with respect to another UE. In case of the groupcast-type SL transmission, the UE may perform SL communication with respect to one or more UEs in a group to which the UE belongs. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, SL groupcast communication may be replaced with SL multicast communication, SL one-to-many communication, or the like. Meanwhile, in sidelink communication, a UE may need to effectively select a resource for sidelink transmission. Hereinafter, a method in which a UE effectively selects a resource for sidelink transmission and an apparatus supporting the method will be described according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the sidelink communication may include V2X communication. At least one scheme proposed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to at least any one of unicast communication, groupcast communication, and/or broadcast communication. At least one method proposed according to various embodiment of the present embodiment may apply not only to sidelink communication or V2X communication based on a PC5 interface or an SL interface (e.g., PSCCH, PSSCH, PSBCH, PSSS/SSSS, or the like) or V2X communication but also to sidelink communication or V2X communication based on a Uu interface (e.g., PUSCH, PDSCH, PDCCH, PUCCH, or the like). In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a receiving operation of a UE may include a decoding operation and/or receiving operation of a sidelink channel and/or sidelink signal (e.g., PSCCH, PSSCH, PSFCH, PSBCH, PSSS/SSSS, or the like). The receiving operation of the UE may include a decoding operation and/or receiving operation of a WAN DL channel and/or a WAN DL signal (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH, PSS/SSS, or the like). The receiving operation of the UE may include a sensing operation and/or a CBR measurement operation. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the sensing operation of the UE may include a PSSCH-RSRP measurement operation based on a PSSCH DM-RS sequence, a PSSCH-RSRP measurement operation based on a PSSCH DM-RS sequence scheduled by a PSCCH successfully decoded by the UE, a sidelink RSSU (S-RSSI) measurement operation, and an S-RSSI measurement operation based on a V2X resource pool related subchannel. In various embodiments of the disclosure, a transmitting operation of the UE may include a transmitting operation of a sidelink channel and/or a sidelink signal (e.g., PSCCH, PSSCH, PSFCH, PSBCH, PSSS/SSSS, or the like). The transmitting operation of the UE may include a transmitting operation of a WAN UL channel and/or a WAN UL signal (e.g., PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS, or the like). In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a synchronization signal may include SLSS and/or PSBCH. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a configuration may include signaling, signaling from a network, a configuration from the network, and/or a pre-configuration from the network. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a definition may include signaling, signaling from a network, a configuration form the network, and/or a pre-configuration from the network. In various embodiment of the present disclosure, a designation may include signaling, signaling from a network, a configuration from the network, and/or a pre-configuration from the network. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a ProSe per packet priority (PPPP) may be replaced with a ProSe per packet reliability (PPPR), and the PPPR may be replaced with the PPPP. For example, it may mean that the smaller the PPPP value, the higher the priority, and that the greater the PPPP value, the lower the priority. For example, it may mean that the smaller the PPPR value, the higher the reliability, and that the greater the PPPR value, the lower the reliability. For example, a PPPP value related to a service, packet, or message related to a high priority may be smaller than a PPPP value related to a service, packet, or message related to a low priority. For example, a PPPR value related to a service, packet, or message related to a high reliability may be smaller than a PPPR value related to a service, packet, or message related to a low reliability In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a session may include at least any one of a unicast session (e.g., unicast session for sidelink), a groupcast/multicast session (e.g., groupcast/multicast session for sidelink), and/or a broadcast session (e.g., broadcast session for sidelink). In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a carrier may be interpreted as at least any one of a BWP and/or a resource pool. For example, the carrier may include at least any one of the BWP and/or the resource pool. For example, the carrier may include one or more BWPs. For example, the BWP may include one or more resource pools. Hereinafter, various embodiments of a method in which an apparatus (or UE) performs LTE SL communication based on (NR) downlink control information (DCI) received from a (NR) base station will be described with reference toFIG.12andFIG.13. FIG.12shows a process in which a first apparatus performs LTE SL communication based on DCI received from an NR base station in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. According to an embodiment, the NR base station (e.g., a gNB) may transmit DCI to a UE through an NR UU interface in order to support an LTE mode 3 SL operation/scheduling. Here, from the perspective of the UE, for smooth LTE SL communication, it is necessary to exchange information at a high speed between an NR modem/module and an LTE modem/module of the UE. The information exchange between the NR modem/module and the LTE modem/module may include, for example, a process in which when the NR modem/module forwards DCI information received from the NR base station to the LTE modem/module, the LTE modem/module performs LTE mode 3 SL scheduling/operation based on the DCI information. Further, the information exchange between the NR modem/module and the LTE modem/module may include a process in which the LTE modem/module transmits generated LTE SL traffic-related information to the NR modem/module, and the NR modem/module transmits supplementary information on the LTE mode 3 SL scheduling/operation (e.g., an LTE traffic generation period/size, a (related) service priority, or the like) to the NR base station. Here, the information exchange between the NR modem/module and the LTE modem/module may increase the implementation complexity of the UE. In order to solve the problem related to the implementation complexity of the UE, the following embodiments of the present disclosure illustrate a method for efficiently transmitting information1234on LTE SL communication (or information on an LTE mode 3 SL operation/scheduling) through (NR) DCI1230. According to an embodiment, the NR base station1210may transmit information1234on LTE SL communication to the UE through signaling based on the NR UU interface (e.g., an RRC message or DCI). In one example, the information1234on LTE SL communication may be related to an SL SPS operation/scheduling of LTE mode 3 but is not limited to this example. For example, the information1234on LTE SL communication may be related to an SL dynamic operation/scheduling of LTE mode 3. In an embodiment, the information1234on LTE SL communication signaled through the DCI1230may include at least one of information on resource scheduling of LTE semi-persistent scheduling (SPS), information on activation or release (or deactivation) of an SPS process, and/or scheduling information on dynamic transmission. In one example, the DCI1230may be cross-RAT DCI including the information1234on LTE SL communication. In one example, the information1234on LTE SL communication may include content of LTE DCI format 5A (or a DCI 5A field of LTE-V). According to an embodiment, the first apparatus1220may receive the DCI1230from the NR base station1210. In one example, the DCI1230may be delivered from the NR base station1210to the first apparatus1220through a PDCCH. The DCI1230may be delivered to an NR module1222in the first apparatus1220. According to an embodiment, the first apparatus1220may obtain (information on) a first timing offset1232based on the DCI1230. In one example, the first timing offset may be equal to or greater than a minimum latency1223between the NR module1222of the first apparatus1220for new radio (NR) communication and an LTE module1224of the first apparatus1220for long-term evolution (LTE) communication. In one example, the minimum latency1223may indicate the minimum value of a time interval from the time when the NR module1222receives the DCI1230from the NR base station1210to the time when the LTE module1224receives LTE DCI, into which the DCI1230is converted, from the NR module1222. That is, in this example, the minimum latency1223may be the sum of a processing time for which the DCI1230is converted to the LTE DCI and an inter-modem (NR module1222-LTE module1224) delivering time. In another example, the minimum latency1223may indicate the minimum value of a time interval from the time when the NR module1222transmits the LTE DCI to the LTE module1224to the time when the LTE module1224receives the LTE DCI. That is, in this example, the minimum latency1223may be the inter-modem (NR module1222-LTE module1224) delivering time. In the present disclosure, the first timing offset may be variously referred to as X ms, DCI_TINF, RRC_TINF, and the like. The first timing offset is an NR reference offset based on an NR frame or NR numerology that the NR base station1210transmits to the first apparatus1220. In one embodiment, the DCI format of the LTE DCI may be LTE DCI format 5A (LTE DCI format 5A). According to an embodiment, the LTE module1224of the first apparatus1220may perform LTE SL communication (e.g., an LTE SL operation, LTE SL resource allocation, or the like) after a lapse of the first timing offset and a second timing offset from the time when the NR module1222receives the DCI1230. The second timing offset may be included in the information1234on LTE SL communication of the DCI1230. The second timing offset may be variously referred to as Z ms, SPS_TINF, and the like in the present disclosure. The second timing offset is an LTE reference offset based on LTE, which the NR base station1210transmits to the first apparatus1220. In one embodiment, the information1234on LTE SL communication may include at least one of information on activation and/or release of LTE SL semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) (process), index information on activated and/released LTE SL SPS (process), or resource scheduling information on LTE SL SPS (process) (e.g., information on PSCCH/PSSCH (or initial transmission/retransmission)-related time/frequency resources, a timing offset (e.g., OFF_INF or m) related to activation of LTE SL SPS, or the like). According to an embodiment, the first apparatus1220may assume that the LTE module1224receives the LTE DCI after a lapse of the first timing offset from the time when the NR module1224receives the DCI1230. Accordingly, the first apparatus1220may add the second timing offset (or Z ms) at the time after a lapse of the first timing offset from the time when the NR module1224receives the DCI1230. Regarding the second timing offset related to the time to determine whether to activate LTE SPS, the first apparatus may determine the time to determine whether to activate the LTE SPS based on the time after a lapse of the first timing offset and the second timing offset from the time when the NR module1224receives the DCI1230. When SPS is activated, the first apparatus1220may perform an LTE SL SPS operation. The time when the LTE module1224receives the LTE DCI may be referred to as a time based on RRC_TINF, TDL, or the like. In one embodiment, it may be determined whether to activate the LTE SPS at a time the same as or similar to that in the rule according to the LTE specifications. For example, it may be determined whether to activate the LTE SPS at “‘a time when it is assumed that the LTE module1224receives the LTE DCI’−NTA/2*TS+(4+OFF_INF)*10−3”. Alternatively, it may be determined whether to activate the LTE SPS at “‘a time after the first timing offset from a time when the NR module1222receives the DCI1230’−NTA/2*TS+(4+OFF_INF)*10−3”. Alternatively, it may be determined whether to activate the LTE SPS at “‘a time based on RRC_TINF’−NTA/2*TS+(4+OFF_INF)*10−3”. Alternatively, it may be determined whether to activate the LTE SPS at “‘a time based on X ms’−NTA/2*TS+(4+OFF_INF)*10−3”. Alternatively, it may be determined whether to activate the LTE SPS at “‘TDL’−NTA/2*TS+(4+OFF_INF)*10−3”. Here, NTA and TS may denote a timing offset between uplink/downlink (UL/DL) radio frames (from the perspective of the UE) and a basic time unit (=10 ms/307200), respectively. In one embodiment, the LTE SL communication may be based on Table 5 below. TABLE 5RRC-based activation/deactivation is not supportedDCI-based activation/deactivation is supportedSupport of LTE PC5 scheduling by NR Uu (mode 3-like) is based on UEcapabilityNR DCI provides the fields of DCI 5A in LTE-V that are related to SPSschedulingThe size of DCI for activation/deactivation is one of the DCI size(s) thatwill be defined for NR Uu scheduling NR V2VFFS whether the DCI format is the same as one of the DCI formatsthat will be defined for NR Uu scheduling NR V2VActivation/deactivation applies to the first LTE subframe after Z + X ms afterreceiving the DCIZ is the same timing offset in current LTE V2X specsX > 0. FFS value(s) of X, and if one or multiple values of X arepossible In an embodiment according to Table 5, RRC-based activation/deactivation may not be supported, whereas DCI-based activation/deactivation may be supported. Support of LTE PC5 scheduling by NR Uu (like mode 3) may be based on UE capability. NR DCI may provide fields of DCI 5A in LTE-V that are related to SPS. The size of DCI for activation/deactivation may be the same as/similar to one of a DCI size(s) to be defined for NR Uu scheduling NR V2V. As to whether the DCI format is the same as one of DCI formats to be defined for NR Uu scheduling NR V2V, various embodiments may exist. Activation/deactivation may apply to a first LTE subframe after a lapse of Z ms+X ms after receiving DCI. Z may be the same as a timing offset in the current LTE V2X specifications. X may be greater than 0 and may have various values. One or a plurality of values of X may be possible. In one embodiment, the following operations may be performed in order to activate and/or deactivate LTE SL-configured grant type-2 resources by NR DCI. In one example, a receiver (or receiving UE) may include both an NR (SL) module and an LTE (SL) module. First, the NR module may receive NR DCI transmitted from a gNB. Next, the NR module may convert the NR DCI into LTE DCI format 5A (or LTE DCI) for scheduling LTE SL-configured grant type-2 resources. The NR module may deliver converted LTE DCI format 5A to the LTE module. After LTE DCI format 5A is delivered to the LTE module, even though LTE DCI format 5A is delivered from the NR module, the LTE module may consider that LTE DCI format 5A is delivered from an eNB. After a lapse of a (pre)configured timing offset, the LTE module may perform an LTE SL operation by applying activation/release of related resources. In one embodiment, the NR module may convert the NR DCI into LTE DCI format 5A and may deliver LTE DCI format 5A to the LTE module after a lapse of X ms from the time when the NR DCI is received from the gNB. The LTE module may apply activation/release (of LTE SPS) in a first (entire) LTE subframe detected after a lapse of Z ms from the time when LTE DCI format 5A is received from the NR module. In one embodiment, Z ms may be simply expressed as a timing offset applied to the LTE module, and X ms may be simply expressed as a timing offset considering the time to switch a DCI format and a communication latency between the NR module and the LTE module. In one example, there may be the minimum value of X that satisfies all UE implementations. The gNB may select/configure an X value greater than the minimum value of X, and thus signaling/reporting required to check/confirm a specific UE capability may not be necessary. An X value may be selected/configured by the gNB among a plurality of possible values. In one embodiment, the base station may transmit information on an (candidate) X value (e.g., information on the number of (candidate) X values) to the UE through predefined (physical-layer and/or higher-layer) signaling. In one example, the size of a related field of the NR DCI (e.g., CEILING (LOG 2 (X_NUM)) bits, where CEILING (A) is a function to derive an integer value equal to or greater than A) may be (implicitly) determined according to the number of (candidate) X values (X_NUM). In another example, the capability of the UE may support one (or some) of a plurality of (candidate) X values (supported in the specifications), and the base station may receive capability information on the UE from the UE through predefined (physical-layer and/or higher-layer) signaling. For example, upon receiving the capability information on the UE from the UE, the base station may signal only an X value (and/or the number of X values) that the UE can support (among fixed X values defined in the specifications (and/or the number of fixed X values defined in the specifications)). FIG.13shows a process in which a first apparatus and a second apparatus perform LTE SL communication in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Since a method in which an NR base station1210configures (1240) a resource for LTE SL communication of the first device1220through DCI1230has been illustrated in detail inFIG.12, a redundant description is omitted inFIG.13. Referring toFIG.13, an LTE base station1310(e.g., eNB) according to an embodiment may control LTE SL communication1340of the second apparatus1320through LTE (dedicated) DCI1330. Specifically, the LTE base station1310may deliver the LTE (dedicated) DCI1330to an LTE module1332of the second apparatus1320, and the LTE module1332may perform LTE SL communication1340. In one embodiment, the LTE (dedicated) DCI1330is not based on cross-RAT DCI and may thus be referred to as LTE-dedicated DCI1330to be distinguished from LTE SL DCI derived based on cross-RAT DCI1230. A second timing offset1242determined by an LTE module1224of the first apparatus1220based on information1234on LTE SL communication of the DCI1230may be the same as or similar to a second timing offset1342determined by the LTE module1332of the second apparatus1320based on the LTE-dedicated DCI1330. In one embodiment, the LTE module1224of the first apparatus1220may not only receive the LTE SL DCI, converted based on the DCI1230, from the NR base station1210but may also receive the LTE (dedicated) DCI1330from the LTE base station1310. The second timing offset1242(or Z ms) derived by the LTE module1224based on the DCI1230may be the same as the second timing offset1342(or Z ms) derived by the LTE module1332based on the LTE (dedicated) DCI1330. According to an embodiment, the LTE module1224of the first apparatus1220may perform LTE SL communication1244at the time when the second timing offset1242is applied. In one example, the LTE module1224of the first apparatus1220may determine (or judge) whether SPS is activated at the time when the second timing offset1242is applied. The LTE module1224may apply LTE SPS based on the determination that the LTE SPS is activated. Alternatively, the LTE module1224may apply scheduling other than the LTE SPS based on the determination that the LTE SPS is deactivated. According to an embodiment, the LTE module1332of the second apparatus1320may perform LTE SL communication1344at the time when the second timing offset1342is applied. In one example, the LTE module1332of the second apparatus1320may determine (or judge) whether LTE SPS is activated at the time when the second timing offset1342is applied. The LTE module1332may apply LTE SPS based on the determination that the LTE SPS has been activated. Alternatively, the LTE module1332may apply scheduling other than the LTE SPS based on the determination that the LTE SPS has been deactivated. In one embodiment, the LTE SL communication1244by the LTE module1224of the first apparatus1220may be the same as or similar to the LTE SL communication1344by the LTE module1332of the second apparatus1320in terms of resource configuration, resource location, and resource allocation length. FIG.14is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a first apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Operations disclosed in the flowchart ofFIG.14may be performed in combination with various embodiments of the present disclosure. In one example, the operations disclosed in the flowchart ofFIG.14may be performed based on at least one of the devices illustrated inFIG.16toFIG.21. In another example, the operations disclosed in the flowchart ofFIG.14may be performed in combination with the individual operations of the embodiments disclosed inFIG.12andFIG.13by various methods. In one example, the first apparatus and/or a second apparatus ofFIG.14may correspond to a first wireless device100ofFIG.17described below. In another example, the first apparatus and/or the second apparatus ofFIG.14may correspond to a second wireless device200ofFIG.17described below. In the other example, the first apparatus ofFIG.14may correspond to the first apparatus (or first terminal)1220described above with reference toFIG.12andFIG.13. In the other example, the second apparatus ofFIG.14may correspond to the second apparatus (or second terminal)1320described above with reference toFIG.12andFIG.13. In the other example, a base station or an NR base station ofFIG.14may correspond to the NR base station1210described above with reference toFIG.12andFIG.13. In the other example, an LTE base station ofFIG.14may correspond to the LTE base station1310described above with reference toFIG.12andFIG.13. In step S1410, a first apparatus according to an embodiment may receive downlink control information (DCI) through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a new radio (NR) base station. In step S1420, a first apparatus according to an embodiment may obtain a first timing offset and a second timing offset related to LTE SL communication based on the DCI. In step S1430, a first apparatus according to an embodiment may perform the LTE SL communication from an initial LTE SL communication time determined based on the first timing offset and the second timing offset. In an embodiment, a time after a lapse of the first timing offset from a time when the first apparatus receives the DCI from the NR base station may be equal to a time when it is determined that the first apparatus has received LTE dedicated DCI from an LTE base station with respect to the LTE SL communication. In an embodiment, a minimum value of the first timing offset may be determined based on a minimum latency between an NR module of the first apparatus for an NR communication and an LTE module of the first apparatus for an LTE communication. In an embodiment, the minimum latency may represent a minimum value of a time taken from when the DCI is received by the NR module to when the DCI is converted into LTE SL DCI by the first apparatus, the LTE SL DCI is transmitted by the first apparatus and is received by the LTE module. In an embodiment, the minimum latency may be based on apparatus capability of the first apparatus. In an embodiment, the first timing offset may be equal to or greater than the minimum latency. In an embodiment, the LTE SL communication may be performed based on information on LTE SL communication included in the DCI. In an embodiment, the information on the LTE SL communication may include the second timing offset, and the second timing offset may be added at a time after a lapse of the first timing offset from a starting point which is a time when the NR module receives the DCI. In an embodiment, the second timing offset may be a timing offset related to activation of LTE semi-persistent scheduling (SPS). The first apparatus according to an embodiment may determine a time to determine whether to activate the LTE SPS based on a time after a lapse of the first timing offset and the second timing offset from the time when the NR module receives the DCI. Also, the first apparatus according to an embodiment may determine whether to activate the LTE SPS at the time to determine whether to activate the LTE SPS. In an embodiment, the time for determining whether to activate the LTE SPS may be determined based on a first subframe after a time when the first timing offset and the second timing offset have elapsed from the time when the NR module received the DCI. The first apparatus according to an embodiment may receive the LTE dedicated DCI from the LTE base station based on the LTE module. Also, the second timing offset included in the DCI may be equal to a third timing offset related to the LTE SL communication included in the LTE dedicated DCI. In an embodiment, the second timing offset included in the DCI may be equal to a fourth timing offset applied to an LTE dedicated module for LTE SL communication included in the second apparatus. Also, the fourth timing offset may be included in the LTE dedicated DCI received from the LTE base station to the LTE dedicated module of the second apparatus. In an embodiment, a first LTE SL configuration grant type-2 resource activated by the LTE module of the first apparatus based on the DCI may be based on the second timing offset. Also, a second LTE SL configuration grant type-2 activated by the LTE dedicated module of the second apparatus based on the LTE dedicated DCI may be based on the fourth timing offset. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first apparatus performing LTE SL communication through DCI may be provided. The first apparatus may include at least one memory to store instructions, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor to connect the at least one memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: control the at least one transceiver to receive downlink control information (DCI) through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a new radio (NR) base station, obtain a first timing offset and a second timing offset related to LTE SL communication based on the DCI, and perform the LTE SL communication from an initial LTE SL communication time determined based on the first timing offset and the second timing offset, wherein a time after a lapse of the first timing offset from a time when the first apparatus receives the DCI from the NR base station is equal to a time when it is determined that the first apparatus has received LTE dedicated DCI from an LTE base station with respect to the LTE SL communication. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an apparatus (or chip (set)) for controlling a first terminal may be provided. The apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one computer memory that is connected to be executable by the at least one processor and stores instructions, wherein, when the at least one processor executes the instructions, the first terminal is configured to: receive downlink control information (DCI) through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a new radio (NR) base station, obtain a first timing offset and a second timing offset related to LTE SL communication based on the DCI, and perform the LTE SL communication from an initial LTE SL communication time determined based on the first timing offset and the second timing offset, wherein a time after a lapse of the first timing offset from a time when the first apparatus receives the DCI from the NR base station is equal to a time when it is determined that the first apparatus has received LTE dedicated DCI from an LTE base station with respect to the LTE SL communication. In one example, the first terminal of the embodiment may indicate the first apparatus described throughout the present disclosure. In one example, each of the at least one processor, the at least one memory, and the like in the apparatus for controlling the first UE may be configured as a separate sub-chip, or at least two components thereof may be configured through a single sub-chip. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions (or indications) may be provided. Based on the instructions being executed by at least one processor of the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium: downlink control information (DCI) is received, by the first apparatus, through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a new radio (NR) base station, a first timing offset and a second timing offset related to LTE SL communication are obtained by the first apparatus based on the DCI, and the LTE SL communication is performed from an initial LTE SL communication time determined based on the first timing offset and the second timing offset, wherein a time after a lapse of the first timing offset from a time when the first apparatus receives the DCI from the NR base station is equal to a time when it is determined that the first apparatus has received LTE dedicated DCI from an LTE base station with respect to the LTE SL communication. FIG.15is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an NR base station in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Operations disclosed in the flowchart ofFIG.15may be performed in combination with various embodiments of the present disclosure. In one example, the operations disclosed in the flowchart ofFIG.15may be performed based on at least one of the devices illustrated inFIG.16toFIG.21. In another example, the operations disclosed in the flowchart ofFIG.15may be performed in combination with the individual operations of the embodiments disclosed inFIG.12andFIG.13by various methods. In one example, a (NR) base station or an LTE base station ofFIG.15may correspond to the BS ofFIG.9described above. In another example, a first apparatus ofFIG.15may correspond to the first apparatus (or first terminal)1220described above with reference toFIG.12andFIG.13. In the other another example, a second apparatus ofFIG.15may correspond to the second apparatus (or second terminal)1320described above with reference toFIG.12andFIG.13. In the other another example, the base station or the NR base station ofFIG.15may correspond to the NR base station1210described above with reference toFIG.12andFIG.13. In the other another example, the LTE base station ofFIG.15may correspond to the LTE base station1310described above with reference toFIG.12andFIG.13. In step S1510, a first apparatus according to an embodiment may determine DCI including a first timing offset and a second timing offset related to LTE SL communication. In step S1520, a first apparatus according to an embodiment may transmit the DCI to the first apparatus through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). In an embodiment, the first timing offset and the second timing offset may be used in a process where the first apparatus determines an initial LTE SL communication time to perform LTE SL communication. A time after a lapse of the first timing offset from a time when the first apparatus receives the DCI from the NR base station may be equal to a time when it is determined that the first apparatus has received LTE dedicated DCI from an LTE base station with respect to the LTE SL communication. In an embodiment, a minimum value of the first timing offset may be determined based on a minimum latency between an NR module of the first apparatus for an NR communication and an LTE module of the first apparatus for an LTE communication. In an embodiment, the minimum latency may represent a minimum value of a time taken from when the DCI is received by the NR module to when the DCI is converted into LTE SL DCI by the first apparatus, the LTE SL DCI is transmitted by the first apparatus and is received by the LTE module. In an embodiment, the minimum latency may be based on apparatus capability of the first apparatus. In an embodiment, the first timing offset may be equal to or greater than the minimum latency. In an embodiment, the LTE SL communication may be performed based on information on LTE SL communication included in the DCI. In an embodiment, the information on the LTE SL communication may include the second timing offset, and the second timing offset may be added at a time after a lapse of the first timing offset from a starting point which is a time when the NR module receives the DCI. In an embodiment, the second timing offset may be a timing offset related to activation of LTE semi-persistent scheduling (SPS). The first apparatus according to an embodiment may determine a time to determine whether to activate the LTE SPS based on a time after a lapse of the first timing offset and the second timing offset from the time when the NR module receives the DCI. Also, the first apparatus according to an embodiment may determine whether to activate the LTE SPS at the time to determine whether to activate the LTE SPS. In an embodiment, the time for determining whether to activate the LTE SPS may be determined based on a first subframe after a time when the first timing offset and the second timing offset have elapsed from the time when the NR module received the DCI. The first apparatus according to an embodiment may receive the LTE dedicated DCI from the LTE base station based on the LTE module. Also, the second timing offset included in the DCI may be equal to a third timing offset related to the LTE SL communication included in the LTE dedicated DCI. In an embodiment, the second timing offset included in the DCI may be equal to a fourth timing offset applied to an LTE dedicated module for LTE SL communication included in the second apparatus. Also, the fourth timing offset may be included in the LTE dedicated DCI received from the LTE base station to the LTE dedicated module of the second apparatus. In an embodiment, a first LTE SL configuration grant type-2 resource activated by the LTE module of the first apparatus based on the DCI may be based on the second timing offset. Also, a second LTE SL configuration grant type-2 activated by the LTE dedicated module of the second apparatus based on the LTE dedicated DCI may be based on the fourth timing offset. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an NR base station transmitting downlink control information (DCI) may be provided. The NR base station may include at least one memory to store instructions, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor to connect the at least one memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine DCI including a first timing offset and a second timing offset related to LTE SL communication, and control the at least one transceiver to transmit the DCI to the first apparatus through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), wherein the first timing offset and the second timing offset are used in a process where the first apparatus determines an initial LTE SL communication time to perform LTE SL communication, and wherein a time after a lapse of the first timing offset from a time when the first apparatus receives the DCI from the NR base station is equal to a time when it is determined that the first apparatus has received LTE dedicated DCI from an LTE base station with respect to the LTE SL communication. Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be independently implemented. Alternatively, the various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by being combined or merged. For example, although the various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described based on the 3GPP LTE system for convenience of explanation, the various embodiments of the present disclosure may also be extendedly applied to another system other than the 3GPP LTE system. For example, the various embodiments of the present disclosure may also be used in an uplink or downlink case without being limited only to direct communication between terminals. In this case, a base station, a relay node, or the like may use the proposed method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, it may be defined that information on whether to apply the method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is reported by the base station to the terminal or by a transmitting terminal to a receiving terminal through pre-defined signaling (e.g., physical layer signaling or higher layer signaling). For example, it may be defined that information on a rule according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is reported by the base station to the terminal or by a transmitting terminal to a receiving terminal through pre-defined signaling (e.g., physical layer signaling or higher layer signaling). For example, some embodiments among various embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied limitedly only to a resource allocation mode 1. For example, some embodiments among various embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied limitedly only to a resource allocation mode 2. Hereinafter, an apparatus to which various embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied will be described. The various descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts of the present disclosure described in this document may be applied to, without being limited to, a variety of fields requiring wireless communication/connection (e.g., 5G) between devices. Hereinafter, a description will be given in more detail with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings/description, the same reference symbols may denote the same or corresponding hardware blocks, software blocks, or functional blocks unless described otherwise. FIG.16shows a communication system1in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.16, a communication system1to which various embodiments of the present disclosure are applied includes wireless devices, Base Stations (BSs), and a network. Herein, the wireless devices represent devices performing communication using radio access technology (RAT) (e.g., 5G new rat (NR)) or long-term evolution (LTE)) and may be referred to as communication/radio/5G devices. The wireless devices may include, without being limited to, a robot100a, vehicles100b-1and100b-2, an extended reality (XR) device100c, a hand-held device100d, a home appliance100e, an Internet of things (IoT) device100f, and an Artificial Intelligence (AI) device/server400. For example, the vehicles may include a vehicle having a wireless communication function, an autonomous vehicle, and a vehicle capable of performing communication between vehicles. Herein, the vehicles may include an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (e.g., a drone). The XR device may include an augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR)/Mixed Reality (MR) device and may be implemented in the form of a head-mounted device (HMD), a head-up display (HUD) mounted in a vehicle, a television, a smartphone, a computer, a wearable device, a home appliance device, a digital signage, a vehicle, a robot, or the like The hand-held device may include a smartphone, a smartpad, a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch or a smartglasses), and a computer (e.g., a notebook). The home appliance may include a TV, a refrigerator, and a washing machine. The IoT device may include a sensor and a smartmeter. For example, the BSs and the network may be implemented as wireless devices and a specific wireless device200amay operate as a BS/network node with respect to other wireless devices. The wireless devices100ato100fmay be connected to the network300via the BSs200. An AI technology may be applied to the wireless devices100ato100fand the wireless devices100ato100fmay be connected to the AI server400via the network300. The network300may be configured using a 3G network, a 4G (e.g., LTE) network, or a 5G (e.g., NR) network. Although the wireless devices100ato100fmay communicate with each other through the BSs200/network300, the wireless devices100ato100fmay perform direct communication (e.g., sidelink communication) with each other without passing through the BSs/network. For example, the vehicles100b-1and100b-2may perform direct communication (e.g., vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)/vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication). The IoT device (e.g., a sensor) may perform direct communication with other IoT devices (e.g., sensors) or other wireless devices100ato100f. Wireless communication/connections150a,150b, or150cmay be established between the wireless devices100ato100f/BS200, or BS200/BS200. Herein, the wireless communication/connections may be established through various RATs (e.g., 5G NR) such as uplink/downlink communication150a, sidelink communication150b(or, D2D communication), or inter BS communication (e.g., relay, Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB)). The wireless devices and the BSs/the wireless devices may transmit/receive radio signals to/from each other through the wireless communication/connections150aand150b. For example, the wireless communication/connections150aand150bmay transmit/receive signals through various physical channels. To this end, at least a part of various configuration information configuring processes, various signal processing processes (e.g., channel encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, and resource mapping/demapping), and resource allocating processes, for transmitting/receiving radio signals, may be performed based on the various proposals of the present disclosure. FIG.17shows wireless devices in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.17, a first wireless device100and a second wireless device200may transmit radio signals through a variety of RATs (e.g., LTE and NR). Herein, {the first wireless device100and the second wireless device200} may correspond to {the wireless device100xand the BS200} and/or {the wireless device100xand the wireless device100x} ofFIG.16. The first wireless device100may include one or more processors102and one or more memories104and additionally further include one or more transceivers106and/or one or more antennas108. The processor(s)102may control the memory(s)104and/or the transceiver(s)106and may be configured to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in this document. For example, the processor(s)102may process information within the memory(s)104to generate first information/signals and then transmit radio signals including the first information/signals through the transceiver(s)106. The processor(s)102may receive radio signals including second information/signals through the transceiver106and then store information obtained by processing the second information/signals in the memory(s)104. The memory(s)104may be connected to the processor(s)102and may store a variety of information related to operations of the processor(s)102. For example, the memory(s)104may store software code including commands for performing a part or the entirety of processes controlled by the processor(s)102or for performing the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in this document. Herein, the processor(s)102and the memory(s)104may be a part of a communication modem/circuit/chip designed to implement RAT (e.g., LTE or NR). The transceiver(s)106may be connected to the processor(s)102and transmit and/or receive radio signals through one or more antennas108. Each of the transceiver(s)106may include a transmitter and/or a receiver. The transceiver(s)106may be interchangeably used with Radio Frequency (RF) unit(s). In the present disclosure, the wireless device may represent a communication modem/circuit/chip. The second wireless device200may include one or more processors202and one or more memories204and additionally further include one or more transceivers206and/or one or more antennas208. The processor(s)202may control the memory(s)204and/or the transceiver(s)206and may be configured to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in this document. For example, the processor(s)202may process information within the memory(s)204to generate third information/signals and then transmit radio signals including the third information/signals through the transceiver(s)206. The processor(s)202may receive radio signals including fourth information/signals through the transceiver(s)106and then store information obtained by processing the fourth information/signals in the memory(s)204. The memory(s)204may be connected to the processor(s)202and may store a variety of information related to operations of the processor(s)202. For example, the memory(s)204may store software code including commands for performing a part or the entirety of processes controlled by the processor(s)202or for performing the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in this document. Herein, the processor(s)202and the memory(s)204may be a part of a communication modem/circuit/chip designed to implement RAT (e.g., LTE or NR). The transceiver(s)206may be connected to the processor(s)202and transmit and/or receive radio signals through one or more antennas208. Each of the transceiver(s)206may include a transmitter and/or a receiver. The transceiver(s)206may be interchangeably used with RF unit(s). In the present disclosure, the wireless device may represent a communication modem/circuit/chip. Hereinafter, hardware elements of the wireless devices100and200will be described more specifically. One or more protocol layers may be implemented by, without being limited to, one or more processors102and202. For example, the one or more processors102and202may implement one or more layers (e.g., functional layers such as PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and SDAP). The one or more processors102and202may generate one or more protocol data units (PDUs) and/or one or more Service Data Unit (SDUs) according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in this document. The one or more processors102and202may generate messages, control information, data, or information according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in this document. The one or more processors102and202may generate signals (e.g., baseband signals) including PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data, or information according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in this document and provide the generated signals to the one or more transceivers106and206. The one or more processors102and202may receive the signals (e.g., baseband signals) from the one or more transceivers106and206and acquire the PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data, or information according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in this document. The one or more processors102and202may be referred to as controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or microcomputers. The one or more processors102and202may be implemented by hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. As an example, one or more application-specific integrated Circuits (ASICs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), one or more programmable logic devices (PLDs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) may be included in the one or more processors102and202. The descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in this document may be implemented using firmware or software and the firmware or software may be configured to include the modules, procedures, or functions. Firmware or software configured to perform the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in this document may be included in the one or more processors102and202or stored in the one or more memories104and204so as to be driven by the one or more processors102and202. The descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in this document may be implemented using firmware or software in the form of code, commands, and/or a set of commands. The one or more memories104and204may be connected to the one or more processors102and202and store various types of data, signals, messages, information, programs, code, instructions, and/or commands. The one or more memories104and204may be configured by read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), flash memories, hard drives, registers, cash memories, computer-readable storage media, and/or combinations thereof. The one or more memories104and204may be located at the interior and/or exterior of the one or more processors102and202. The one or more memories104and204may be connected to the one or more processors102and202through various technologies such as wired or wireless connection. The one or more transceivers106and206may transmit user data, control information, and/or radio signals/channels, mentioned in the methods and/or operational flowcharts of this document, to one or more other apparatuses. The one or more transceivers106and206may receive user data, control information, and/or radio signals/channels, mentioned in the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in this document, from one or more other apparatuses. For example, the one or more transceivers106and206may be connected to the one or more processors102and202and transmit and receive radio signals. For example, the one or more processors102and202may perform control so that the one or more transceivers106and206may transmit user data, control information, or radio signals to one or more other apparatuses. In addition, the one or more processors102and202may perform control so that the one or more transceivers106and206may receive user data, control information, or radio signals from one or more other apparatuses. In addition, the one or more transceivers106and206may be connected to the one or more antennas108and208and the one or more transceivers106and206may be configured to transmit and receive user data, control information, and/or radio signals/channels, mentioned in the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in this document, through the one or more antennas108and208. In this document, the one or more antennas may be a plurality of physical antennas or a plurality of logical antennas (e.g., antenna ports). The one or more transceivers106and206may convert received radio signals/channels or the like from RF band signals into baseband signals in order to process received user data, control information, radio signals/channels, or the like using the one or more processors102and202. The one or more transceivers106and206may convert the user data, control information, radio signals/channels, or the like processed using the one or more processors102and202from the base band signals into the RF band signals. To this end, the one or more transceivers106and206may include (analog) oscillators and/or filters. FIG.18shows a signal process circuit for a transmission signal in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.18, a signal processing circuit1000may include scramblers1010, modulators1020, a layer mapper1030, a precoder1040, resource mappers1050, and signal generators1060. An operation/function ofFIG.18may be performed by, without being limited to, the processors102and202and/or the transceivers106and206ofFIG.17. Hardware elements ofFIG.18may be implemented by the processors102and202and/or the transceivers106and206ofFIG.17. For example, blocks1010to1060may be implemented by the processors102and202ofFIG.17. Alternatively, the blocks1010to1050may be implemented by the processors102and202ofFIG.17and the block1060may be implemented by the transceivers106and206ofFIG.17. Codewords may be converted into radio signals via the signal processing circuit1000ofFIG.18. Herein, the codewords are encoded bit sequences of information blocks. The information blocks may include transport blocks (e.g., a UL-SCH transport block, a DL-SCH transport block). The radio signals may be transmitted through various physical channels (e.g., a PUSCH and a PDSCH). Specifically, the codewords may be converted into scrambled bit sequences by the scramblers1010. Scramble sequences used for scrambling may be generated based on an initialization value, and the initialization value may include ID information of a wireless device. The scrambled bit sequences may be modulated to modulation symbol sequences by the modulators1020. A modulation scheme may include pi/2-binary phase shift keying (pi/2-BPSK), m-phase shift keying (m-PSK), and m-quadrature amplitude modulation (m-QAM). Complex modulation symbol sequences may be mapped to one or more transport layers by the layer mapper1030. Modulation symbols of each transport layer may be mapped (precoded) to corresponding antenna port(s) by the precoder1040. Outputs z of the precoder1040may be obtained by multiplying outputs y of the layer mapper1030by an N*M precoding matrix W. Herein, N is the number of antenna ports and M is the number of transport layers. The precoder1040may perform precoding after performing transform precoding (e.g., DFT) for complex modulation symbols. Alternatively, the precoder1040may perform precoding without performing transform precoding. The resource mappers1050may map modulation symbols of each antenna port to time-frequency resources. The time-frequency resources may include a plurality of symbols (e.g., a CP-OFDMA symbols and DFT-s-OFDMA symbols) in the time domain and a plurality of subcarriers in the frequency domain. The signal generators1060may generate radio signals from the mapped modulation symbols and the generated radio signals may be transmitted to other devices through each antenna. For this purpose, the signal generators1060may include inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) modules, cyclic prefix (CP) inserters, digital-to-analog converters (DACs), and frequency up-converters. Signal processing procedures for a signal received in the wireless device may be configured in a reverse manner of the signal processing procedures1010to1060ofFIG.18. For example, the wireless devices (e.g.,100and200ofFIG.17) may receive radio signals from the exterior through the antenna ports/transceivers. The received radio signals may be converted into baseband signals through signal restorers. To this end, the signal restorers may include frequency downlink converters, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), CP remover, and fast Fourier transform (FFT) modules. Next, the baseband signals may be restored to codewords through a resource demapping procedure, a postcoding procedure, a demodulation processor, and a descrambling procedure. The codewords may be restored to original information blocks through decoding. Therefore, a signal processing circuit (not illustrated) for a reception signal may include signal restorers, resource demappers, a postcoder, demodulators, descramblers, and decoders. FIG.19shows a wireless device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless device may be implemented in various forms according to a use-case/service (seeFIG.16). Referring toFIG.19, wireless devices100and200may correspond to the wireless devices100and200ofFIG.17and may be configured by various elements, components, units/portions, and/or modules. For example, each of the wireless devices100and200may include a communication unit110, a control unit120, a memory unit130, and additional components140. The communication unit may include a communication circuit112and transceiver(s)114. For example, the communication circuit112may include the one or more processors102and202and/or the one or more memories104and204ofFIG.17. For example, the transceiver(s)114may include the one or more transceivers106and206and/or the one or more antennas108and208ofFIG.17. The control unit120is electrically connected to the communication unit110, the memory130, and the additional components140and controls overall operation of the wireless devices. For example, the control unit120may control an electric/mechanical operation of the wireless device based on programs/code/commands/information stored in the memory unit130. In addition, the control unit120may transmit the information stored in the memory unit130to the exterior (e.g., other communication devices) via the communication unit110through a wireless/wired interface or store, in the memory unit130, information received through the wireless/wired interface from the exterior (e.g., other communication devices) via the communication unit110. The additional components140may be variously configured according to types of wireless devices. For example, the additional components140may include at least one of a power unit/battery, input/output (I/O) unit, a driving unit, and a computing unit. The wireless device may be implemented in the form of, without being limited to, the robot (100aofFIG.16), the vehicles (100b-1and100b-2ofFIG.16), the XR device (100cofFIG.16), the hand-held device (100dofFIG.16), the home appliance (100eofFIG.16), the IoT device (100fofFIG.16), a digital broadcast terminal, a hologram device, a public safety device, an MTC device, a medicine device, a fintech device (or a finance device), a security device, a climate/environment device, the AI server/device (400ofFIG.16), the BSs (200ofFIG.16), a network node, or the like The wireless device may be used in a mobile or fixed place according to a use-example/service. InFIG.19, the entirety of the various elements, components, units/portions, and/or modules in the wireless devices100and200may be connected to each other through a wired interface or at least a part thereof may be wirelessly connected through the communication unit110. For example, in each of the wireless devices100and200, the control unit120and the communication unit110may be connected by wire and the control unit120and first units (e.g.,130and140) may be wirelessly connected through the communication unit110. Each element, component, unit/portion, and/or module within the wireless devices100and200may further include one or more elements. For example, the control unit120may be configured by a set of one or more processors. As an example, the control unit120may be configured by a set of a communication control processor, an application processor, an electronic control unit (ECU), a graphical processing unit, and a memory control processor. As another example, the memory130may be configured by a random access memory (RAM), a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a read-only memory (ROM)), a flash memory, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, and/or a combination thereof. Hereinafter, an example of implementingFIG.19will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG.20shows a hand-held device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The hand-held device may include a smartphone, a smartpad, a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch or a smartglasses), or a portable computer (e.g., a notebook). The hand-held device may be referred to as a Mobile Station (MS), a User Terminal (UT), a Mobile Subscriber Station (MSS), a Subscriber Station (SS), an Advanced Mobile Station (AMS), or a Wireless Terminal (WT). Referring toFIG.20, a hand-held device100may include an antenna unit108, a communication unit110, a control unit120, a memory unit130, a power supply unit140a, an interface unit140b, and an I/O unit140c. The antenna unit108may be configured as a part of the communication unit110. Blocks110to130/140ato140ccorrespond to the blocks110to130/140of FIG. X3, respectively. The communication unit110may transmit and receive signals (e.g., data and control signals) to and from other wireless devices or BSs. The control unit120may perform various operations by controlling constituent elements of the hand-held device100. The control unit120may include an application processor (AP). The memory unit130may store data/parameters/programs/code/commands needed to drive the hand-held device100. In addition, the memory unit130may store input/output data/information. The power supply unit140amay supply power to the hand-held device100and include a wired/wireless charging circuit, a battery, or the like. The interface unit140bmay support connection of the hand-held device100to other external devices. The interface unit140bmay include various ports (e.g., an audio I/O port and a video I/O port) for connection with external devices. The I/O unit140cmay input or output video information/signals, audio information/signals, data, and/or information input by a user. The I/O unit140cmay include a camera, a microphone, a user input unit, a display unit140d, a speaker, and/or a haptic module. As an example, in the case of data communication, the I/O unit140cmay acquire information/signals (e.g., touch, text, voice, images, or video) input by a user and the acquired information/signals may be stored in the memory unit130. The communication unit110may convert the information/signals stored in the memory into radio signals and transmit the converted radio signals to other wireless devices directly or to a BS. The communication unit110may receive radio signals from other wireless devices or the BS and then restore the received radio signals into original information/signals. The restored information/signals may be stored in the memory unit130and may be output as various types (e.g., text, voice, images, video, or haptic) through the I/O unit140c. FIG.21shows a car or an autonomous vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The car or autonomous vehicle may be implemented by a mobile robot, a car, a train, a manned/unmanned aerial vehicle (AV), a ship, or the like Referring toFIG.21, a car or autonomous vehicle100may include an antenna unit108, a communication unit110, a control unit120, a driving unit140a, a power supply unit140b, a sensor unit140c, and an autonomous driving unit140d. The antenna unit108may be configured as a part of the communication unit110. The blocks110/130/140ato140dcorrespond to the blocks110/130/140ofFIG.19, respectively. The communication unit110may transmit and receive signals (e.g., data and control signals) to and from external devices such as other vehicles, BSs (e.g., gNBs and road side units), and servers. The control unit120may perform various operations by controlling elements of the vehicle or the autonomous vehicle100. The control unit120may include an electronic control unit (ECU). The driving unit140amay cause the vehicle or the autonomous vehicle100to drive on a road. The driving unit140amay include an engine, a motor, a powertrain, a wheel, a brake, a steering device, or the like The power supply unit140bmay supply power to the vehicle or the autonomous vehicle100and include a wired/wireless charging circuit, a battery, or the like The sensor unit140cmay acquire a vehicle state, ambient environment information, user information, or the like The sensor unit140cmay include an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor, a collision sensor, a wheel sensor, a speed sensor, a slope sensor, a weight sensor, a heading sensor, a position module, a vehicle forward/backward sensor, a battery sensor, a fuel sensor, a tire sensor, a steering sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an illumination sensor, a pedal position sensor, or the like The autonomous driving unit140dmay implement technology for maintaining a lane on which a vehicle is driving, technology for automatically adjusting speed, such as adaptive cruise control, technology for autonomously driving along a determined path, technology for driving by automatically setting a path if a destination is set, and the like. For example, the communication unit110may receive map data, traffic information data, or the like from an external server. The autonomous driving unit140dmay generate an autonomous driving path and a driving plan from the obtained data. The control unit120may control the driving unit140asuch that the vehicle or the autonomous vehicle100may move along the autonomous driving path according to the driving plan (e.g., speed/direction control). In the middle of autonomous driving, the communication unit110may aperiodically/periodically acquire recent traffic information data from the external server and acquire surrounding traffic information data from neighboring vehicles. In addition, in the middle of autonomous driving, the sensor unit140cmay obtain a vehicle state and/or surrounding environment information. The autonomous driving unit140dmay update the autonomous driving path and the driving plan based on the newly obtained data/information. The communication unit110may transfer information about a vehicle position, the autonomous driving path, and/or the driving plan to the external server. The external server may predict traffic information data using AI technology, or the like, based on the information collected from vehicles or autonomous vehicles and provide the predicted traffic information data to the vehicles or the autonomous vehicles. The scope of the disclosure may be represented by the following claims, and it should be construed that all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents may be included in the scope of the disclosure. Claims in the present description can be combined in a various way. For instance, technical features in method claims of the present description can be combined to be implemented or performed in an apparatus, and technical features in apparatus claims can be combined to be implemented or performed in a method. Further, technical features in method claim(s) and apparatus claim(s) can be combined to be implemented or performed in an apparatus. Further, technical features in method claim(s) and apparatus claim(s) can be combined to be implemented or performed in a method. | 96,710 |
11943799 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS Herein below, certain embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the features of the embodiments can be freely combined with each other unless otherwise described. However, it is to be expressly understood that the description of certain embodiments is given by way of example only, and that it is by no way intended to be understood as limiting the invention to the disclosed details. Moreover, it is to be understood that the apparatus is configured to perform the corresponding method, although in some cases only the apparatus or only the method are described. Currently, 3GPP (in particular 3GPP TS 36.314) does not define at all how such Inter eNB CA Throughput should be measured. In an implementation example of Inter eNB CA, data on PDCP layer are divided between PCell and SCell(s). PDCP PDUs are sent over X2 interface from PCell to SCell. From PDCP perspective the data transmission, which happens on specific cell scheduler, whether it is PCell or SCell(s), is unknown. It is considered to measure IP Scheduled Throughput based on PDCP SDUs. An obstacle in performing such measurement is to define a way where PDCP data volume has been properly scheduled and transmitted to the CA user, from SCell(s) perspective. As SCell scheduler is on different eNB than PCell (for inter eNB CA), this is not a trivial task. Typically, on PCell this is currently done in such a way that each PDCP SDU is being verified for being transmitted based on HARQ ACK confirmation from MAC layer. One solution was proposed to create neighbour relation counters between cells from different eNBs, and to measure over each cell the portion of PCell data volume traffic and SCell data volume traffic, separately, done for this cell. Such solution would require a lot of counter instances to be created (up to 12 possible relations for a given cell) and a lot of effort in implementation on lower layers. There was also an assumption that it could greatly decrease the performance of eNB and thus, the solution was rejected. The general idea of this solution, which is based on neighbour relation, can be seen inFIG.1, where x1 and y1 represent PCell data volume and SCell data volume, respectively, transmitted via cell 3 on eNB1. Correspondingly, x2 and y2 represent PCell data volume and SCell data volume, respectively, transmitted via cell 1 on eNB2. So the total sum of x1, x2, y1 and y2 divided by the total time when CA data are sent from cell 3 on eNB1 and from cell 1 from eNB2 would directly tell us about IP scheduled throughput obtained from certain neighbour relation between eNB1's cell 3 and eNB2's cell 1, driven in 3GPP TS 36.314. It is also possible, based on this idea, to calculate CA IP scheduled throughput from certain cell perspective, e.g., x1+y2 shall give eNB's 1 cell 3 CA data volume which needs to be divided by the time when CA data are sent for that cell. Some embodiments of this invention provide an alternative to the rejected solution. Namely, some embodiments of the invention provide a method for evaluation of the IP scheduled throughput, according to 3GPP TS 36.314, for CA UEs handled by inter eNB(s) CA feature which is done by measurement of the PDCP SDU volume, by determining the size of the PDCP SDU frames transmitted to CA UEs via PCell and all the activated SCells which are physically located in other eNB(s), and dividing it by time of E-RAB with data in the RLC buffer for CA UEs. In case of inter eNB(s) CA feature the UE is considered as having data in the RLC buffer if at least one of the involved RLC buffers, either in PCell or in at least one of the SCells physically located in other eNB(s), is not empty, excluding last TTIs emptying the buffer. Furthermore, it is assumed that SCell RLC buffer becomes not empty after PCell has started to transmit some data to SCell (before that activity no data were being transmitted from PCell to SCell) and that SCell RLC buffer becomes empty after last portion of the PDCP SDU (excluding last TTIs) has been successfully transmitted to UE. According to some embodiments of the invention, the time the data spent in RLC buffer in the SCell of eNB2 (in the following description, PCell belongs to eNB1 and SCell belongs to eNB2) is estimated as: TPDCPSDUiBuffer=PDCPSDUVolumeiIPScheduledThroughputeNB2(1) where PDCP SDU Volume is the volume of i-th PDCP SDU frame sent from PCell eNB1 to SCell eNB2, and IP Scheduled Throughput eNB2 as IP scheduled throughput measured according to 3GPP TS 36.314 measured in eNB2 and only for PDCP SDUs sent from eNB1 to eNB2 for inter eNB CA case. SCell can identify these PDCP SDUs because, for inter eNB CA, a unique X2 interface is established between each PCell and SCell. PDCP SDUs arrived on this X2 interface (“relevant PDCP SDUs”) are to be taken into account for the measurement of the IP scheduled throughput in this case, and other PDCP SDUs are to be disregarded for the measurement. Note that the measurement need not be performed separately over each burst of relevant PDCP SDUs. It may be performed over a part of a burst of relevant PDCP SDUs or over plural bursts (or parts of plural bursts) of relevant PDCP SDUs. According to 3GPP TS 36.314, IP scheduled throughput is determined by measuring PDCP SDU volume transmitted to UE and dividing it by UE's total time with data in the RLC buffer, excluding both from numerator and denominator the portion related to last TTIs emptying the buffer. According to some embodiments of the invention, this principle is also kept for the inter eNB CA case. Considering parameters impacting the IP scheduled throughput it is therefore proposed according to some embodiments of the invention:A. From the point of view of the PCell, to consider the SCell RLC buffer physically located in eNB2 to become not-empty at the point of time the PCell sends PDCP data to this SCell, regardless of the point in time the data are received in RLC layer of SCell. This proposal is driven by the fact that once some data are sent to SCell in eNB2, the end user expects their reception, i.e., they are acting like they would be counted in PCell RLC buffer in intra eNB CA. In case of start of a new burst when counting is started after first portion of data related to this burst is sent to UE, it is assumed that firstly PDCP data are to be considered for transmission in PCell and after that in SCell(s), i.e., that the determination of the point in time when a first portion of data related to this burst is sent to UE is done in PCell (a message exchange between PCell and SCell(s) is not needed to determine this first point in time). This point in time can be determined as the first point in time when data of the RLC buffer of PCell are removed.B. Furthermore, it is considered that data are in the buffer when either PCell's RLC buffer or at least one of the RLC buffer of SCell(s) located in eNB2 has some data in it.C. The time duration a given i-th PDCP SDU sent from PCell eNB (eNB1) to SCell eNB (eNB2) is in RLC buffer, as seen from PCell eNB1 perspective, is marked as Total_TPDCP SDUiBuffer. It may be measured (determined) as follows: Total_TPDCP SDUiBuffer=TX2_PDCP SDUiBuffer+TPDCP SDUiBuffer(2)where TX2_PDCP SDUiBufferis time needed to travel from PCell eNB (eNB1) to SCell eNB (eNB2) via X2 interface (“link transmission delay”) and TPDCP SDUiBufferis time data related to i-th PDCP SDU spent in RLC buffer in the SCell eNB2 (excluding portion related to last TTIs) (“transmission delay”). The latter may be measured as follows: TPDCPSDUiBuffer=PDCPSDUVolumeiIPScheduledThroughputeNB2(3)where PDCP SDU Volume is the volume (data volume) of i-th PDCP SDU frame sent from PCell eNB1 to SCell eNB2, and IP Scheduled Throughput eNB2 as IP scheduled throughput measured according to 3GPP TS 36.314 measured in eNB2 and only for PDCP SDUs sent from eNB1 to eNB2 for inter eNB CA case.D. As indicated above, a massive and frequent X2 message exchange between the PCell and SCell eNBs may not be feasible in some cases. Therefore, in some embodiments of the invention, equation 2 and equation 3 relay on averaged values of X2 transmission time and/or IP Scheduled Throughput eNB2.IP Scheduled Throughput eNB2 may be communicated per a configurable time interval (e.g., 1 minute) from eNB2 to eNB1 via X2 interface and per the same (or another) time interval, the X2 transmission delay may be measured, too. The X2 message exchange can be thus decreased to 15 messages per measurement period of 15 minutes, considering 1 minute as configured time interval.For example, the X2 transmission delay can be measured as RTT/2 related to X2 interface between eNB1 and eNB2, and RTT may be measured by ping procedure.The measurement of IP Scheduled Throughput eNB2 in eNB2 and/or the measurement of the X2 transmission delay may be performed with the same period (time interval) as the reporting thereof. However, in some embodiments, plural measurements may be performed in the time interval and the plural measurements may be averaged for the reporting to eNB1. Also, in case of a single measurement of of IP Scheduled Throughput eNB2 per time interval, the time considered in the measurement may be the same as the time interval, or a shorter time duration within the time interval. The above four points #A to #D have impact to 3GPP TS 36.314 where the related chapter 4.1.6.1 is proposed to be modified (in bold) as shown below:4.1.6.1 Scheduled IP Throughput in DLProtocol Layer: PDCP, RLC, MAC DefinitionScheduled IP Throughput in DL. Throughput of PDCP SDU bits in downlinkfor packet sizes or data bursts that are large enough to require transmissions tobe split across several TTIs, by excluding transmission of the last piece of datain a data burst. Only data transmission time is considered, i.e., when datatransmission over Uu has begun but not yet finished. For UEs in inter eNBCarrier Aggregation (CA) mode when PCell and SCell(s) physically located indifferent eNBs with dedicated RLC, MAC and physical layers when last pieceof data may occur in each of that cell all such transmissions shall be excluded.Also, for UEs in inter eNB CA mode only data transmission time is consideredwhich in this case means when data transmission over Uu has begun but not yetfinished at least in one of the cells physically located in other eNB.Each measurement is a real value representing the throughput in kbits/s.The measurement is performed per QCI per UE. For successful reception,the reference point is MAC upper SAP.This measurement is obtained by the following formula for a measurementperiod:If∑ThpTimeD1>0,∑ThpVo1D1∑ThpTimeD1×1000[kbits/s]If Σ ThpTimeD1= 0, 0 [kbits/s], whereFor small data bursts, where all buffered data is included in one initial HARQtransmission, ThpTimeDl = 0, otherwise ThpTimeDl = T1 − T2 [ms]Explanations of the parameters can be found in the table 4.1.6.1-1 below. TABLE 4.1.6.1-1ThpTimeDlThe time to transmit a data burst excluding the last piece of datatransmitted in the TTI when the bufferor all the buffers for UEs ininter eNB CA modeare emptied. A sample of “ThpTimeDl” foreach time the DL buffer for one E-RAB is emptied.T1The point in time after T2 when data up until the second last piece ofdata in the transmitted data burst which emptied the PDCP SDUavailable for transmission for the particular E-RAB was successfullytransmitted, as acknowledged by the UE.T2The point in time when the first transmission begins after a PDCPSDU becomes available for transmission, where previously no PDCPSDUs were available for transmission for the particular E-RAB.T1-T2For UEs in inter eNB CA mode this time difference shall bemeasured as time PDCP SDU need to travel on X2 interface fromPCell to SCell eNB and time data of the particular PDCP SDUspent in the buffer of SCell eNB which shall be measured asvolume of the PDCP SDU divided with IP Scheduled Throughputof SCell eNB(related to PDCP SDUs sent from PCell to SCelleNB in inter eNB CA case). In order to avoid an overload of X2interface the IP Scheduled Throughput of SCell eNB isrecommended to be reported from SCell to PCell eNB once pera configured interval(couple of minutes).ThpVolDlThe volume of a data burst, excluding the data transmitted in the TTIwhen the buffer is emptied. For UEs in inter eNB CarrierAggregation (CA) mode when PCell and SCell(s) physically locatedin different eNBs with dedicated RLC, MAC and physical layerswhen last piece of data may occur in each of that cell all suchtransmissions shall be excluded. A sample for ThpVolDl is the datavolume, counted on PDCP SDU level, in kbits successfullytransmitted (acknowledged by UE) in DL for one E-RAB during asample of ThpTimeDl. It shall exclude the volume of the last pieceof data emptying the buffer. The principle of the method from implementation point of view is shown inFIG.2. As explained in above point #B, after PCell sends data to SCell for CA, RLC layer of the SCell(s) does not inform PCell via X2 interface (with the timestamp) each time the SCell RLC buffer becomes empty. Rather, SCell only informs PCell on its relevant IP scheduled throughput. Such confirmation mechanism may be performed for each user separately. FIG.3shows an example of an embodiment of the invention with one CA UE only and one SCell located in another eNB than the PCell. Related to point #A above, the PCell eNB considers the SCell RLC buffer as not-empty from the point of time the PCell sends PDCP data to this SCell (see graph #1 inFIG.3), regardless what is the actual point in time the data are received in RLC SCell layer (see graph #2 inFIG.3). On the other hand, PCell eNB considers the SCell RLC buffer to be empty at the point of time obtained from the timestamp using the Equation (2). Graph #3 inFIG.3shows when the SCell RLC Buffer from PCell/UE perspective is empty and not-empty, respectively. In relation to point #B above, PCell eNB then provides final graph #5 inFIG.3, where the time interval is determined when there are data in the respective buffer of any of the CA Cells. The graph #5 is obtained by an “OR function” applied to “graph #3” inFIG.3and “graph #4” inFIG.3(where graph #4 inFIG.3shows whether or not the PCell RLC buffer is empty). The method according to some embodiments of the invention is beneficial, because it keeps the logic of IP scheduled throughput unchanged from the end user perspective, compared with the basic definition of this measurement in 3GPP TS36.314. It also keeps a number of extra messages needed for this method on X2 interface on a low level. Even in some extreme case where such loading of X2 interface is not allowed at all, the X2 reporting for the IP Scheduled Throughput eNB2 may be completely skipped, and as configured time interval the measurement reporting interval (15 minutes a default) is used considering that IP Scheduled Throughput eNB2 is communicated from 3rdparty tools (containing PM data from this measurement period) to PCell eNB1. Regarding the communication of the IP Scheduled Throughput eNB2 as an average value per a configurable time interval (e.g., 1 minute) from eNB2 to eNB1 via X2 interface and not per each burst follows the logic how IP scheduled throughput is defined in 3GPP TS 36.314, which is an averaged throughput. It is assumed that the averaging does not severely impact the precision of the obtained throughput values. FIG.4shows an apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. The apparatus may be a base station such as a eNB or gNB or cell thereof such as a primary serving cell, or an element thereof.FIG.5shows a method according to an embodiment of the invention. The apparatus according toFIG.4may perform the method ofFIG.5but is not limited to this method. The method ofFIG.5may be performed by the apparatus ofFIG.4but is not limited to being performed by this apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for determining10, means for deciding20, means for monitoring30, means for obtaining40, means for estimating50, means for comparing60, and means for calculating70. The means for determining10, means for deciding20, means for monitoring30, means for obtaining40, means for estimating50, means for comparing60, and means for calculating70may be a determining means, deciding means, monitoring means, obtaining means, estimating means, comparing means, and calculating means, respectively. The means for determining10, means for deciding20, means for monitoring30, means for obtaining40, means for estimating50, means for comparing60, and means for calculating70may be a determiner, decider, monitor, obtainer, estimator, comparer, and calculator, respectively. The means for determining10, means for deciding20, means for monitoring30, means for obtaining40, means for estimating50, means for comparing60, and means for calculating70may be a determining processor, deciding processor, monitoring processor, obtaining processor, estimating processor, comparing processor, and calculating processor, respectively. The means for determining10determines (S10):a size of a first data volume received at a primary cell;a size of a secondary part of the first data volume;a size of a second data volume received at the primary cell;a size of a secondary part of the second data volume. The first data volume and the second data volume are to be transmitted to a terminal. The second data volume is different from the first data volume. The secondary parts of the first and second data volumes are transmitted on a link from the primary cell (PCell) to a secondary cell (SCell) for transmission to the terminal. For example, the primary cell and the secondary cell may act in carrier aggregation for the terminal. The means for deciding20decides a first initial point in time when the transmission of the first data volume to the terminal starts and a second initial point in time when the transmission of the second data volume to the terminal starts (S20). Furthermore, the means for deciding20decides a first primary final point in time and a second primary final point in time (S25). The first and second primary final points in time are decided based on an end of the transmission of the primary part of the respective data volume from the primary cell to the terminal (i.e., directly from the PCell via an air interface to the terminal). The sequence of S10and S20is arbitrary for each of the first data volume and the second data volume. They may be performed fully or partly in parallel. The means for monitoring30monitors if an indication of a scheduled throughput of the secondary cell is received (S30). The means for obtaining40obtains a link transmission delay on the link from the primary cell to the secondary cell (S40). The sequence of S30and S40is arbitrary. They may be performed fully or partly in parallel. Also, each of S30and S40may be performed in an arbitrary temporal relationship to S10, S20, and S25. The means for estimating50estimates first and second secondary final point in time based on the respective initial point in time (decided by the means for deciding20), the link transmission delay (obtained by the means for obtaining40), the size of the secondary part of the respective data volume (determined by the means for determining10), and the indication of the scheduled throughput (monitored by the means for monitoring30) (S50). At least one of the scheduled throughput and the link transmission delay is the same for the first data volume and the second data volume. For each of the first data volume and the second data volume, the means for comparing60compares the respective primary final point in time with the respective secondary final point in time. Thus, the means for comparing identifies respective latest final points in time among the respective primary and secondary final points in time (S60). For each of the first data volume and the second data volume, the means for calculating70calculates a respective throughput of the transmission of the data volume to the terminal based on a size of the respective data volume and a time duration between the respective initial point in time and the respective latest final point in time (S70). In particular, the means for calculating may calculate the respective throughput as a quotient of the respective data volume and the time duration between the respective initial point in time and the respective latest final point in time. FIG.6shows an apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. The apparatus may be a base station such as a eNB or gNB or cell thereof such as a secondary serving cell, or an element thereof.FIG.7shows a method according to an embodiment of the invention. The apparatus according toFIG.6may perform the method ofFIG.7but is not limited to this method. The method ofFIG.7may be performed by the apparatus ofFIG.6but is not limited to being performed by this apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for obtaining110, and means for providing120. The means for obtaining110, and means for providing120may be an obtaining means, and providing means, respectively. The means for obtaining110, and means for providing120may be an obtainer, and provider, respectively. The means for obtaining30, and means for providing40may be an obtaining processor, and providing processor, respectively. The means for obtaining110obtains a measured scheduled throughput of a scheduling of a transmission of a data volume from a secondary cell to a terminal (S110). The measured scheduled throughput is related to only the data volume scheduled for transmission from the secondary cell to the terminal and received by the secondary cell from a primary cell for the transmission to the terminal. The means for providing120provides an indication of an indicated scheduled throughput to the primary cell (S120). The indicated scheduled throughput is based on the measured scheduled throughput. For example, the indicated scheduled throughput may be the same as the measured scheduled throughput, or the indicated scheduled throughput may be an averaged scheduled throughput, wherein the averaging may be performed over plural measurements performed in a predefined period of time. FIG.8shows an apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. The apparatus comprises at least one processor810, at least one memory820including computer program code, and the at least one processor810, with the at least one memory820and the computer program code, being arranged to cause the apparatus to at least perform the method according to one ofFIGS.5and7. In some embodiments, half of the round trip time is considered for the link transmission delay. However, in some embodiments, other fractions of the round trip time may be used, e.g., if the link is asymmetric such that transmission in one direction is faster than in the other direction. In some embodiments, SCell informs PCell on its relevant IP scheduled throughput with a fixed period. In other embodiments, SCell may inform PCell on its relevant IP scheduled throughput if a certain event occurs (e.g., if a certain amount of PDCP SDUs are received over the X2 interface for a CA UE or for all CA UEs of the Scell). The criteria may be combined. E.g., SCell informs PCell after the amount of PDCP SDUs has received or after the time interval has elapsed in case the received amount PDCP SDUs is not sufficient. If a new measurement has not been performed when the amount of received PDCP SDUs is sufficient, SCell may report the value of the previous measurement. In some embodiments, PCell may modify the CA configuration depending on the calculated throughput of the transmission. For example, if the calculated throughput is lower than expected, it may select another SCell. As another example, if the calculated throughput is higher than expected, PCell may remove one or more SCells from the set of SCells configured for the UE. PCell may change some radio parameters in dependence of the calculated throughput. In some embodiments, PCell may estimate the duration while the PDCP SDU remain in the buffer of an SCell by a modified relationship of data volume (at SCell) and IP scheduled throughput (at SCell). For example, a factor may take into account some packet loss on X2 interface. Another factor may represent some margin because the actual IP scheduled throughput may be different from the IP scheduled throughput indicated by SCell. Instead of or in addition to a factor, an additive term may be adopted. Correspondingly, in some embodiments, the calculated throughput of CA may result from a modified relationship of (total) data volume and estimated duration. For example, the duration may be extended by some time needed for internal processing in PCell before data for SCell are sent on X2 link and/or internal processing in SCell after arrival of the data on X2 link. Another additive term may represent some margin for the estimation. Instead of or in addition to an additive term, a factor may be adopted. Some embodiments of the invention are described which are based on E-UTRAN. However, the invention is not limited to E-UTRAN and may be applied to UTRAN or forthcoming radio access technologies such as NR. In NR, a gNB corresponds to a eNB of E-UTRAN. The maximum number of SCells per UE is not generally limited to 4. According to some embodiments of the invention, the maximum number may be larger or smaller than 4, or the number of SCells may be unlimited. One piece of information may be transmitted in one or plural messages from one entity to another entity. Each of these messages may comprise further (different) pieces of information. Names of network elements, protocols, and methods are based on current standards. In other versions or other technologies, the names of these network elements and/or protocols and/or methods may be different, as long as they provide a corresponding functionality. If not otherwise stated or otherwise made clear from the context, the statement that two entities are different means that they perform different functions. It does not necessarily mean that they are based on different hardware. That is, each of the entities described in the present description may be based on a different hardware, or some or all of the entities may be based on the same hardware. It does not necessarily mean that they are based on different software. That is, each of the entities described in the present description may be based on different software, or some or all of the entities may be based on the same software. Each of the entities described in the present description may be embodied in the cloud. According to the above description, it should thus be apparent that example embodiments of the present invention provide, for example, a base station (such as a gNB or eNB) or a cell (such as a primary cell or a secondary cell) thereof, or a component thereof, an apparatus embodying the same, a method for controlling and/or operating the same, and computer program(s) controlling and/or operating the same as well as mediums carrying such computer program(s) and forming computer program product(s). Implementations of any of the above described blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques or methods include, as non-limiting examples, implementations as hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof. It is to be understood that what is described above is what is presently considered the preferred embodiments of the present invention. However, it should be noted that the description of the preferred embodiments is given by way of example only and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. | 27,946 |
11943800 | MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, (a) preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Note that, in this specification and the appended drawings, structural elements that have substantially the same function and structure are denoted with the same reference numerals, and repeated explanation of these structural elements is omitted. Note that the description will be made in the following order. 1. Embodiment 1.1. Overview 1.2. Wireless frame configuration 1.3. Channel and signal 1.4. Configuration 1.5. Control information and control channel 1.6. CA and DC 1.7. Resource allocation 1.8. Error correction 1.9. Resource element mapping 1.10. Self-contained transmission 1.11. Technical features 2. Application examples 2.1. Application example related to base station 2.2. Application example related to terminal device 3. Conclusion 1. EMBODIMENT 1.1. Overview Hereinafter, (a) preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Note that, in this specification and the appended drawings, structural elements that have substantially the same function and structure are denoted with the same reference numerals, and repeated explanation of these structural elements is omitted. Further, technologies, functions, methods, configurations, and procedures to be described below and all other descriptions can be applied to LTE and NR unless particularly stated otherwise. Wireless Communication System in the Present Embodiment In the present embodiment, a wireless communication system includes at least a base station device1and a terminal device2. The base station device1can accommodate multiple terminal devices. The base station device1can be connected with another base station device by means of an X2 interface. Further, the base station device1can be connected to an evolved packet core (EPC) by means of an S1 interface. Further, the base station device1can be connected to a mobility management entity (MME) by means of an S1-MME interface and can be connected to a serving gateway (S-GW) by means of an S1-U interface. The S1 interface supports many-to-many connection between the MME and/or the S-GW and the base station device1. Further, in the present embodiment, the base station device1and the terminal device2each support LTE and/or NR. Wireless Access Technology According to Present Embodiment In the present embodiment, the base station device1and the terminal device2each support one or more wireless access technologies (RATs). For example, an RAT includes LTE and NR. A single RAT corresponds to a single cell (component carrier). That is, in a case in which a plurality of RATs is supported, the RATs each correspond to different cells. In the present embodiment, a cell is a combination of a downlink resource, an uplink resource, and/or a sidelink. Further, in the following description, a cell corresponding to LTE is referred to as an LTE cell and a cell corresponding to NR is referred to as an NR cell. Downlink communication is communication from the base station device1to the terminal device2. Downlink transmission is transmission from the base station device1to the terminal device2and is transmission of a downlink physical channel and/or a downlink physical signal. Uplink communication is communication from the terminal device2to the base station device1. Uplink transmission is transmission from the terminal device2to the base station device1and is transmission of an uplink physical channel and/or an uplink physical signal. Sidelink communication is communication from the terminal device2to another terminal device2. Sidelink transmission is transmission from the terminal device2to another terminal device2and is transmission of a sidelink physical channel and/or a sidelink physical signal. The sidelink communication is defined for contiguous direct detection and contiguous direct communication between terminal devices. The sidelink communication, a frame configuration similar to that of the uplink and downlink can be used. Further, the sidelink communication can be restricted to some (sub sets) of uplink resources and/or downlink resources. The base station device1and the terminal device2can support communication in which a set of one or more cells is used in a downlink, an uplink, and/or a sidelink. Communication using a set of a plurality of cells or a set of a plurality of cells is also referred to as carrier aggregation or dual connectivity. The details of the carrier aggregation and the dual connectivity will be described below. Further, each cell uses a predetermined frequency bandwidth. A maximum value, a minimum value, and a settable value in the predetermined frequency bandwidth can be specified in advance. FIG.1is a diagram illustrating an example of setting of a component carrier according to the present embodiment. In the example ofFIG.1, one LTE cell and two NR cells are set. One LTE cell is set as a primary cell. Two NR cells are set as a primary secondary cell and a secondary cell. Two NR cells are integrated by the carrier aggregation. Further, the LTE cell and the NR cell are integrated by the dual connectivity. Note that the LTE cell and the NR cell may be integrated by carrier aggregation. In the example ofFIG.1, NR may not support some functions such as a function of performing standalone communication since connection can be assisted by an LTE cell which is a primary cell. The function of performing standalone communication includes a function necessary for initial connection. FIG.2is a diagram illustrating an example of setting of a component carrier according to the present embodiment. In the example ofFIG.2, two NR cells are set. The two NR cells are set as a primary cell and a secondary cell, respectively, and are integrated by carrier aggregation. In this case, when the NR cell supports the function of performing standalone communication, assist of the LTE cell is not necessary. Note that the two NR cells may be integrated by dual connectivity. 1.2. Radio Frame Configuration Radio Frame Configuration in Present Embodiment In the present embodiment, a radio frame configured with 10 ms (milliseconds) is specified. Each radio frame includes two half frames. A time interval of the half frame is 5 ms. Each half frame includes 5 sub frames. The time interval of the sub frame is 1 ms and is defined by two successive slots. The time interval of the slot is 0.5 ms. An i-th sub frame in the radio frame includes a (2×i)-th slot and a (2×i+1)-th slot. In other words, 10 sub frames are specified in each of the radio frames. Sub frames include a downlink sub frame, an uplink sub frame, a special sub frame, a sidelink sub frame, and the like. The downlink sub frame is a sub frame reserved for downlink transmission. The uplink sub frame is a sub frame reserved for uplink transmission. The special sub frame includes three fields. The three fields are a Downlink Pilot Time Slot (DwPTS), a Guard Period (GP), and an Uplink Pilot Time Slot (UpPTS). A total length of DwPTS, GP, and UpPTS is 1 ms. The DwPTS is a field reserved for downlink transmission. The UpPTS is a field reserved for uplink transmission. The GP is a field in which downlink transmission and uplink transmission are not performed. Further, the special sub frame may include only the DwPTS and the GP or may include only the GP and the UpPTS. The special sub frame is placed between the downlink sub frame and the uplink sub frame in TDD and used to perform switching from the downlink sub frame to the uplink sub frame. The sidelink sub frame is a sub frame reserved or set for sidelink communication. The sidelink is used for contiguous direct communication and contiguous direct detection between terminal devices. A single radio frame includes a downlink sub frame, an uplink sub frame, a special sub frame, and/or a sidelink sub frame. Further, a single radio frame includes only a downlink sub frame, an uplink sub frame, a special sub frame, or a sidelink sub frame. A plurality of radio frame configurations is supported. The radio frame configuration is specified by the frame configuration type. The frame configuration type 1 can be applied only to FDD. The frame configuration type 2 can be applied only to TDD. The frame configuration type 3 can be applied only to an operation of a licensed assisted access (LAA) secondary cell. In the frame configuration type 2, a plurality of uplink-downlink configurations is specified. In the uplink-downlink configuration, each of 10 sub frames in one radio frame corresponds to one of the downlink sub frame, the uplink sub frame, and the special sub frame. The sub frame0, the sub frame5and the DwPTS are constantly reserved for downlink transmission. The UpPTS and the sub frame just after the special sub frame are constantly reserved for uplink transmission. In the frame configuration type 3, 10 sub frames in one radio frame are reserved for downlink transmission. The terminal device2treats a sub frame by which PDSCH or a detection signal is not transmitted, as an empty sub frame. Unless a predetermined signal, channel and/or downlink transmission is detected in a certain sub frame, the terminal device2assumes that there is no signal and/or channel in the sub frame. The downlink transmission is exclusively occupied by one or more consecutive sub frames. The first sub frame of the downlink transmission may be started from any one in that sub frame. The last sub frame of the downlink transmission may be either completely exclusively occupied or exclusively occupied by a time interval specified in the DwPTS. Further, in the frame configuration type 3, 10 sub frames in one radio frame may be reserved for uplink transmission. Further, each of 10 sub frames in one radio frame may correspond to any one of the downlink sub frame, the uplink sub frame, the special sub frame, and the sidelink sub frame. The base station device1may transmit a downlink physical channel and a downlink physical signal in the DwPTS of the special sub frame. The base station device1can restrict transmission of the PBCH in the DwPTS of the special sub frame. The terminal device2may transmit uplink physical channels and uplink physical signals in the UpPTS of the special sub frame. The terminal device2can restrict transmission of some of the uplink physical channels and the uplink physical signals in the UpPTS of the special sub frame. Note that a time interval in single transmission is referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI) and 1 ms (1 sub frame) is defined as 1 TTI in LTE. Frame Configuration of LTE in Present Embodiment FIG.3is a diagram illustrating an example of a downlink sub frame of LTE according to the present embodiment. The diagram illustrated inFIG.3is referred to as a downlink resource grid of LTE. The base station device1can transmit a downlink physical channel of LTE and/or a downlink physical signal of LTE in a downlink sub frame to the terminal device2. The terminal device2can receive a downlink physical channel of LTE and/or a downlink physical signal of LTE in a downlink sub frame from the base station device1. FIG.4is a diagram illustrating an example of an uplink sub frame of LTE according to the present embodiment. The diagram illustrated inFIG.4is referred to as an uplink resource grid of LTE. The terminal device2can transmit an uplink physical channel of LTE and/or an uplink physical signal of LTE in an uplink sub frame to the base station device1. The base station device1can receive an uplink physical channel of LTE and/or an uplink physical signal of LTE in an uplink sub frame from the terminal device2. In the present embodiment, the LTE physical resources can be defined as follows. One slot is defined by a plurality of symbols. The physical signal or the physical channel transmitted in each of the slots is represented by a resource grid. In the downlink, the resource grid is defined by a plurality of sub carriers in a frequency direction and a plurality of OFDM symbols in a time direction. In the uplink, the resource grid is defined by a plurality of sub carriers in the frequency direction and a plurality of SC-FDMA symbols in the time direction. The number of sub carriers or the number of resource blocks may be decided depending on a bandwidth of a cell. The number of symbols in one slot is decided by a type of cyclic prefix (CP). The type of CP is a normal CP or an extended CP. In the normal CP, the number of OFDM symbols or SC-FDMA symbols constituting one slot is 7. In the extended CP, the number of OFDM symbols or SC-FDMA symbols constituting one slot is 6. Each element in the resource grid is referred to as a resource element. The resource element is identified using an index (number) of a sub carrier and an index (number) of a symbol. Further, in the description of the present embodiment, the OFDM symbol or SC-FDMA symbol is also referred to simply as a symbol. The resource blocks are used for mapping a certain physical channel (the PDSCH, the PUSCH, or the like) to resource elements. The resource blocks include virtual resource blocks and physical resource blocks. A certain physical channel is mapped to a virtual resource block. The virtual resource blocks are mapped to physical resource blocks. One physical resource block is defined by a predetermined number of consecutive symbols in the time domain. One physical resource block is defined from a predetermined number of consecutive sub carriers in the frequency domain. The number of symbols and the number of sub carriers in one physical resource block are decided on the basis of a parameter set in accordance with a type of CP, a sub carrier interval, and/or a higher layer in the cell. For example, in a case in which the type of CP is the normal CP, and the sub carrier interval is 15 kHz, the number of symbols in one physical resource block is 7, and the number of sub carriers is 12. In this case, one physical resource block includes (7×12) resource elements. The physical resource blocks are numbered from 0 in the frequency domain. Further, two resource blocks in one sub frame corresponding to the same physical resource block number are defined as a physical resource block pair (a PRB pair or an RB pair). In each LTE cell, one predetermined parameter is used in a certain sub frame. For example, the predetermined parameter is a parameter (physical parameter) related to a transmission signal. Parameters related to the transmission signal include a CP length, a sub carrier interval, the number of symbols in one sub frame (predetermined time length), the number of sub carriers in one resource block (predetermined frequency band), a multiple access scheme, a signal waveform, and the like. That is, in the LTE cell, a downlink signal and an uplink signal are each generated using one predetermined parameter in a predetermined time length (for example, a sub frame). In other words, in the terminal device2, it is assumed that a downlink signal to be transmitted from the base station device1and an uplink signal to be transmitted to the base station device1are each generated with a predetermined time length with one predetermined parameter. Further, the base station device1is set such that a downlink signal to be transmitted to the terminal device2and an uplink signal to be transmitted from the terminal device2are each generated with a predetermined time length with one predetermined parameter. Frame Configuration of NR in Present Embodiment In each NR cell, one or more predetermined parameters are used in a certain predetermined time length (for example, a sub frame). That is, in the NR cell, a downlink signal and an uplink signal are each generated using or more predetermined parameters in a predetermined time length. In other words, in the terminal device2, it is assumed that a downlink signal to be transmitted from the base station device1and an uplink signal to be transmitted to the base station device1are each generated with one or more predetermined parameters in a predetermined time length. Further, the base station device1is set such that a downlink signal to be transmitted to the terminal device2and an uplink signal to be transmitted from the terminal device2are each generated with a predetermined time length using one or more predetermined parameters. In a case in which the plurality of predetermined parameters are used, a signal generated using the predetermined parameters is multiplexed in accordance with a predetermined method. For example, the predetermined method includes Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), and/or Spatial Division Multiplexing (SDM). In a combination of the predetermined parameters set in the NR cell, a plurality of kinds of parameter sets can be specified in advance. FIG.5is a diagram illustrating examples of the parameter sets related to a transmission signal in the NR cell. In the example ofFIG.5, parameters of the transmission signal included in the parameter sets include a sub carrier interval, the number of sub carriers per resource block in the NR cell, the number of symbols per sub frame, and a CP length type. The CP length type is a type of CP length used in the NR cell. For example, CP length type 1 is equivalent to a normal CP in LTE and CP length type 2 is equivalent to an extended CP in LTE. The parameter sets related to a transmission signal in the NR cell can be specified individually with a downlink and an uplink. Further, the parameter sets related to a transmission signal in the NR cell can be set independently with a downlink and an uplink. FIG.6is a diagram illustrating an example of an NR downlink sub frame of the present embodiment. In the example ofFIG.6, signals generated using parameter set1, parameter set0, and parameter set2are subjected to FDM in a cell (system bandwidth). The diagram illustrated inFIG.6is also referred to as a downlink resource grid of NR. The base station device1can transmit the downlink physical channel of NR and/or the downlink physical signal of NR in a downlink sub frame to the terminal device2. The terminal device2can receive a downlink physical channel of NR and/or the downlink physical signal of NR in a downlink sub frame from the base station device1. FIG.7is a diagram illustrating an example of an NR uplink sub frame of the present embodiment. In the example ofFIG.7, signals generated using parameter set1, parameter set0, and parameter set2are subjected to FDM in a cell (system bandwidth). The diagram illustrated inFIG.6is also referred to as an uplink resource grid of NR. The base station device1can transmit the uplink physical channel of NR and/or the uplink physical signal of NR in an uplink sub frame to the terminal device2. The terminal device2can receive an uplink physical channel of NR and/or the uplink physical signal of NR in an uplink sub frame from the base station device1. Antenna Port in Present Embodiment An antenna port is defined so that a propagation channel carrying a certain symbol can be inferred from a propagation channel carrying another symbol in the same antenna port. For example, different physical resources in the same antenna port can be assumed to be transmitted through the same propagation channel. In other words, for a symbol in a certain antenna port, it is possible to estimate and demodulate a propagation channel in accordance with the reference signal in the antenna port. Further, there is one resource grid for each antenna port. The antenna port is defined by the reference signal. Further, each reference signal can define a plurality of antenna ports. The antenna port is specified or identified with an antenna port number. For example, antenna ports0to3are antenna ports with which CRS is transmitted. That is, the PDSCH transmitted with antenna ports0to3can be demodulated to CRS corresponding to antenna ports0to3. In a case in which two antenna ports satisfy a predetermined condition, the two antenna ports can be regarded as being a quasi co-location (QCL). The predetermined condition is that a wide area characteristic of a propagation channel carrying a symbol in one antenna port can be inferred from a propagation channel carrying a symbol in another antenna port. The wide area characteristic includes a delay dispersion, a Doppler spread, a Doppler shift, an average gain, and/or an average delay. In the present embodiment, the antenna port numbers may be defined differently for each RAT or may be defined commonly between RATs. For example, antenna ports0to3in LTE are antenna ports with which CRS is transmitted. In the NR, antenna ports0to3can be set as antenna ports with which CRS similar to that of LTE is transmitted. Further, in NR, the antenna ports with which CRS is transmitted like LTE can be set as different antenna port numbers from antenna ports0to3. In the description of the present embodiment, predetermined antenna port numbers can be applied to LTE and/or NR. 1.3. Channel and Signal Physical Channel and Physical Signal in Present Embodiment In the present embodiment, physical channels and physical signals are used. The physical channels include a downlink physical channel, an uplink physical channel, and a sidelink physical channel. The physical signals include a downlink physical signal, an uplink physical signal, and a sidelink physical signal. In LTE, a physical channel and a physical signal are referred to as an LTE physical channel and an LTE physical signal. In NR, a physical channel and a physical signal are referred to as an NR physical channel and an NR physical signal. The LTE physical channel and the NR physical channel can be defined as different physical channels, respectively. The LTE physical signal and the NR physical signal can be defined as different physical signals, respectively. In the description of the present embodiment, the LTE physical channel and the NR physical channel are also simply referred to as physical channels, and the LTE physical signal and the NR physical signal are also simply referred to as physical signals. That is, the description of the physical channels can be applied to any of the LTE physical channel and the NR physical channel. The description of the physical signals can be applied to any of the LTE physical signal and the NR physical signal. NR Physical Channel and NR Physical Signal in Present Embodiment The description of the physical channel and the physical signal in the LTED can also be applied to the NR physical channel and the NR physical signal, respectively. The NR physical channel and the NR physical signal are referred to as the following. The NR uplink physical channel includes an NR-PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), an NR-PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), an NR-PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel), and the like. The NR physical downlink signal includes an NR-SS, an NR-DL-RS, an NR-DS, and the like. The NR-SS includes an NR-PSS, an NR-SSS, and the like. The NR-RS includes an NR-CRS, an NR-PDSCH-DMRS, an NR-EPDCCH-DMRS, an NR-PRS, an NR-CSI-RS, an NR-TRS, and the like. The NR physical uplink channel includes an NR-PUSCH, an NR-PUCCH, an NR-PRACH, and the like. The NR physical uplink signal includes an NR-UL-RS. The NR-UL-RS includes an NR-UL-DMRS, an NR-SRS, and the like. The NR physical sidelink channel includes an NR-PSBCH, an NR-PSCCH, an NR-PSDCH, an NR-PSSCH, and the like. Downlink Physical Channel in Present Embodiment The PBCH is used to broadcast a master information block (MIB) which is broadcast information specific to a serving cell of the base station device1. The PBCH is transmitted only through the sub frame0in the radio frame. The MIB can be updated at intervals of 40 ms. The PBCH is repeatedly transmitted with a cycle of 10 ms. Specifically, initial transmission of the MIB is performed in the sub frame0in the radio frame satisfying a condition that a remainder obtained by dividing a system frame number (SFN) by 4 is 0, and retransmission (repetition) of the MIB is performed in the sub frame0in all the other radio frames. The SFN is a radio frame number (system frame number). The MIB is system information. For example, the MIB includes information indicating the SFN. The PCFICH is used to transmit information related to the number of OFDM symbols used for transmission of the PDCCH. A region indicated by PCFICH is also referred to as a PDCCH region. The information transmitted through the PCFICH is also referred to as a control format indicator (CFI). The PHICH is used to transmit an HARQ-ACK (an HARQ indicator, HARQ feedback, response information, and HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat request)) indicating ACKnowledgment (ACK) or negative ACKnowledgment (NACK) of uplink data (an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH)) received by the base station device1. For example, in a case in which the HARQ-ACK indicating ACK is received by the terminal device2, corresponding uplink data is not retransmitted. For example, in a case in which the terminal device2receives the HARQ-ACK indicating NACK, the terminal device2retransmits corresponding uplink data through a predetermined uplink sub frame. A certain PHICH transmits the HARQ-ACK for certain uplink data. The base station device1transmits each HARQ-ACK to a plurality of pieces of uplink data included in the same PUSCH using a plurality of PHICHs. The PDCCH and the EPDCCH are used to transmit downlink control information (DCI). Mapping of an information bit of the downlink control information is defined as a DCI format. The downlink control information includes a downlink grant and an uplink grant. The downlink grant is also referred to as a downlink assignment or a downlink allocation. The PDCCH is transmitted by a set of one or more consecutive control channel elements (CCEs). The CCE includes 9 resource element groups (REGs). An REG includes 4 resource elements. In a case in which the PDCCH is constituted by n consecutive CCEs, the PDCCH starts with a CCE satisfying a condition that a remainder after dividing an index (number) i of the CCE by n is 0. The EPDCCH is transmitted by a set of one or more consecutive enhanced control channel elements (ECCEs). The ECCE is constituted by a plurality of enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). The downlink grant is used for scheduling of the PDSCH in a certain cell. The downlink grant is used for scheduling of the PDSCH in the same sub frame as a sub frame in which the downlink grant is transmitted. The uplink grant is used for scheduling of the PUSCH in a certain cell. The uplink grant is used for scheduling of a single PUSCH in a fourth sub frame from a sub frame in which the uplink grant is transmitted or later. A cyclic redundancy check (CRC) parity bit is added to the DCI. The CRC parity bit is scrambled using a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI). The RNTI is an identifier that can be specified or set in accordance with a purpose of the DCI or the like. The RNTI is an identifier specified in a specification in advance, an identifier set as information specific to a cell, an identifier set as information specific to the terminal device2, or an identifier set as information specific to a group to which the terminal device2belongs. For example, in monitoring of the PDCCH or the EPDCCH, the terminal device2descrambles the CRC parity bit added to the DCI with a predetermined RNTI and identifies whether or not the CRC is correct. In a case in which the CRC is correct, the DCI is understood to be a DCI for the terminal device2. The PDSCH is used to transmit downlink data (a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH)). Further, the PDSCH is also used to transmit control information of a higher layer. The PMCH is used to transmit multicast data (a multicast channel (MCH)). In the PDCCH region, a plurality of PDCCHs may be multiplexed according to frequency, time, and/or space. In the EPDCCH region, a plurality of EPDCCHs may be multiplexed according to frequency, time, and/or space. In the PDSCH region, a plurality of PDSCHs may be multiplexed according to frequency, time, and/or space. The PDCCH, the PDSCH, and/or the EPDCCH may be multiplexed according to frequency, time, and/or space. Downlink Physical Signal in Present Embodiment A synchronization signal is used for the terminal device2to obtain downlink synchronization in the frequency domain and/or the time domain. The synchronization signal includes a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS). The synchronization signal is placed in a predetermined sub frame in the radio frame. For example, in the TDD scheme, the synchronization signal is placed in the sub frames0,1,5, and6in the radio frame. In the FDD scheme, the synchronization signal is placed in the sub frames0and5in the radio frame. The PSS may be used for coarse frame/symbol timing synchronization (synchronization in the time domain) or identification of a cell identification group. The SSS may be used for more accurate frame timing synchronization, cell identification, or CP length detection. In other words, frame timing synchronization and cell identification can be performed using the PSS and the SSS. The downlink reference signal is used for the terminal device2to perform propagation path estimation of the downlink physical channel, propagation path correction, calculation of downlink channel state information (CSI), and/or measurement of positioning of the terminal device2. The CRS is transmitted in the entire band of the sub frame. The CRS is used for receiving (demodulating) the PBCH, the PDCCH, the PHICH, the PCFICH, and the PDSCH. The CRS may be used for the terminal device2to calculate the downlink channel state information. The PBCH, the PDCCH, the PHICH, and the PCFICH are transmitted through the antenna port used for transmission of the CRS. The CRS supports the antenna port configurations of 1, 2, or 4. The CRS is transmitted through one or more of the antenna ports0to3. The URS associated with the PDSCH is transmitted through a sub frame and a band used for transmission of the PDSCH with which the URS is associated. The URS is used for demodulation of the PDSCH to which the URS is associated. The URS associated with the PDSCH is transmitted through one or more of the antenna ports5and7to14. The PDSCH is transmitted through an antenna port used for transmission of the CRS or the URS on the basis of the transmission mode and the DCI format. A DCI format 1A is used for scheduling of the PDSCH transmitted through an antenna port used for transmission of the CRS. A DCI format 2D is used for scheduling of the PDSCH transmitted through an antenna port used for transmission of the URS. The DMRS associated with the EPDCCH is transmitted through a sub frame and a band used for transmission of the EPDCCH to which the DMRS is associated. The DMRS is used for demodulation of the EPDCCH with which the DMRS is associated. The EPDCCH is transmitted through an antenna port used for transmission of the DMRS. The DMRS associated with the EPDCCH is transmitted through one or more of the antenna ports107to114. The CSI-RS is transmitted through a set sub frame. The resources in which the CSI-RS is transmitted are set by the base station device1. The CSI-RS is used for the terminal device2to calculate the downlink channel state information. The terminal device2performs signal measurement (channel measurement) using the CSI-RS. The CSI-RS supports setting of some or all of the antenna ports1,2,4,8,12,16,24, and32. The CSI-RS is transmitted through one or more of the antenna ports15to46. Further, an antenna port to be supported may be decided on the basis of a terminal device capability of the terminal device2, setting of an RRC parameter, and/or a transmission mode to be set. Resources of the ZP CSI-RS are set by a higher layer. Resources of the ZP CSI-RS may be transmitted with zero output power. In other words, the resources of the ZP CSI-RS may transmit nothing. The ZP PDSCH and the EPDCCH are not transmitted in the resources in which the ZP CSI-RS is set. For example, the resources of the ZP CSI-RS are used for a neighbor cell to transmit the NZP CSI-RS. Further, for example, the resources of the ZP CSI-RS are used to measure the CSI-IM. Further, for example, the resources of the ZP CSI-RS are resources with which a predetermined channel such as the PDSCH is not transmitted. In other words, the predetermined channel is mapped (to be rate-matched or punctured) except for the resources of the ZP CSI-RS. Note that, in the present embodiment, the CSI-RS is regarded as a nonzero-power (NZP) CSI-RS unless it is described as a ZP CSI-RS. A discovery signal (DS) is transmitted in order for the terminal device to discover a cell and perform RRM measurement. The DS includes one to five consecutive sub frames in frame configuration type 1 (FDD), two to five consecutive sub frames in frame configuration type 2 (TDD), and twelve consecutive OFDM symbols in a sub frame which is targeted as one nonempty sub frame (in which one signal is transmitted) in frame configuration type 3 (LAA). The DS includes a CRS, a PSS, and an SSS transmitted with antenna port0and 0 or more nonzero-power CSI-RSs. In the terminal device, a discovery measurement timing configuration (DMTC) is set by a dedicated RRC. In the DMTC, a period, an offset, and a DMTC section are set. The CRS in the DS is included in all the downlink sub frames and the DwPTS in the DS section. The PSS in the DS is included in head sub frames in the DS sections in frame configuration type 1 (FDD) and frame configuration type 3 (LAA). In addition, the PSS in the DS is included in the second sub frame in the DS section in frame configuration type 2 (TDD). The SSS in the DS is included in the head sub frame in the DS section. The nonzero-power CSI-RS in the DS is included in a sub frame based on offset information from the SSS set from a higher layer. Uplink Physical Signal in Present Embodiment The PUCCH is a physical channel used for transmitting uplink control information (UCI). The uplink control information includes downlink channel state information (CSI), a scheduling request (SR) indicating a request for PUSCH resources, and a HARQ-ACK to downlink data (a transport block (TB) or a downlink-shared channel (DL-SCH)). The HARQ-ACK is also referred to as ACK/NACK, HARQ feedback, or response information. Further, the HARQ-ACK to downlink data indicates ACK, NACK, or DTX. The PUSCH is a physical channel used for transmitting uplink data (uplink-shared channel (UL-SCH)). Further, the PUSCH may be used to transmit the HARQ-ACK and/or the channel state information together with uplink data. Further, the PUSCH may be used to transmit only the channel state information or only the HARQ-ACK and the channel state information. The PRACH is a physical channel used for transmitting a random access preamble. The PRACH can be used for the terminal device2to obtain synchronization in the time domain with the base station device1. Further, the PRACH is also used to indicate an initial connection establishment procedure (process), a handover procedure, a connection re-establishment procedure, synchronization (timing adjustment) for uplink transmission, and/or a request for PUSCH resources. In the PUCCH region, a plurality of PUCCHs is frequency, time, space, and/or code multiplexed. In the PUSCH region, a plurality of PUSCHs may be frequency, time, space, and/or code multiplexed. The PUCCH and the PUSCH may be frequency, time, space, and/or code multiplexed. The PRACH may be placed over a single sub frame or two sub frames. A plurality of PRACHs may be code-multiplexed. Physical Resources for Control Channel in Present Embodiment A resource element group (REG) is used to define mapping of the resource element and the control channel. For example, the REG is used for mapping of the PDCCH, the PHICH, or the PCFICH. The REG is constituted by four consecutive resource elements which are in the same OFDM symbol and not used for the CRS in the same resource block. Further, the REG is constituted by first to fourth OFDM symbols in a first slot in a certain sub frame. An enhanced resource element group (EREG) is used to define mapping of the resource elements and the enhanced control channel. For example, the EREG is used for mapping of the EPDCCH. One resource block pair is constituted by 16 EREGs. Each EREG is assigned the number of 0 to 15 for each resource block pair. Each EREG is constituted by 9 resource elements excluding resource elements used for the DM-RS associated with the EPDCCH in one resource block pair. 1.4. Configuration Configuration Example of Base Station Device1in Present Embodiment FIG.8is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of the base station device1of the present embodiment. As illustrated, the base station device1includes a higher layer processing unit101, a control unit103, a receiving unit105, a transmitting unit107, and a transceiving antenna109. Further, the receiving unit105includes a decoding unit1051, a demodulating unit1053, a demultiplexing unit1055, a wireless receiving unit1057, and a channel measuring unit1059. Further, the transmitting unit107includes an encoding unit1071, a modulating unit1073, a multiplexing unit1075, a wireless transmitting unit1077, and a downlink reference signal generating unit1079. As described above, the base station device1can support one or more RATs. Some or all of the units included in the base station device1illustrated inFIG.8can be configured individually in accordance with the RAT. For example, the receiving unit105and the transmitting unit107are configured individually in LTE and NR. Further, in the NR cell, some or all of the units included in the base station device1illustrated inFIG.8can be configured individually in accordance with a parameter set related to the transmission signal. For example, in a certain NR cell, the wireless receiving unit1057and the wireless transmitting unit1077can be configured individually in accordance with a parameter set related to the transmission signal. The higher layer processing unit101performs processes of a medium access control (MAC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a radio resource control (RRC) layer. Further, the higher layer processing unit101generates control information to control the receiving unit105and the transmitting unit107and outputs the control information to the control unit103. The control unit103controls the receiving unit105and the transmitting unit107on the basis of the control information from the higher layer processing unit101. The control unit103generates control information to be transmitted to the higher layer processing unit101and outputs the control information to the higher layer processing unit101. The control unit103receives a decoded signal from the decoding unit1051and a channel estimation result from the channel measuring unit1059. The control unit103outputs a signal to be encoded to the encoding unit1071. Further, the control unit103is used to control the whole or a part of the base station device1. The higher layer processing unit101performs a process and management related to RAT control, radio resource control, sub frame setting, scheduling control, and/or CSI report control. The process and the management in the higher layer processing unit101are performed for each terminal device or in common to terminal devices connected to the base station device. The process and the management in the higher layer processing unit101may be performed only by the higher layer processing unit101or may be acquired from a higher node or another base station device. Further, the process and the management in the higher layer processing unit101may be individually performed in accordance with the RAT. For example, the higher layer processing unit101individually performs the process and the management in LTE and the process and the management in NR. Under the RAT control of the higher layer processing unit101, management related to the RAT is performed. For example, under the RAT control, the management related to LTE and/or the management related to NR is performed. The management related to NR includes setting and a process of a parameter set related to the transmission signal in the NR cell. In the radio resource control in the higher layer processing unit101, generation and/or management of downlink data (transport block), system information, an RRC message (RRC parameter), and/or a MAC control element (CE) are performed. In a sub frame setting in the higher layer processing unit101, management of a sub frame setting, a sub frame pattern setting, an uplink-downlink setting, an uplink reference UL-DL setting, and/or a downlink reference UL-DL setting is performed. Further, the sub frame setting in the higher layer processing unit101is also referred to as a base station sub frame setting. Further, the sub frame setting in the higher layer processing unit101can be decided on the basis of an uplink traffic volume and a downlink traffic volume. Further, the sub frame setting in the higher layer processing unit101can be decided on the basis of a scheduling result of scheduling control in the higher layer processing unit101. In the scheduling control in the higher layer processing unit101, a frequency and a sub frame to which the physical channel is allocated, a coding rate, a modulation scheme, and transmission power of the physical channels, and the like are decided on the basis of the received channel state information, an estimation value, a channel quality, or the like of a propagation path input from the channel measuring unit1059, and the like. For example, the control unit103generates the control information (DCI format) on the basis of the scheduling result of the scheduling control in the higher layer processing unit101. In the CSI report control in the higher layer processing unit101, the CSI report of the terminal device2is controlled. For example, a settings related to the CSI reference resources assumed to calculate the CSI in the terminal device2is controlled. Under the control from the control unit103, the receiving unit105receives a signal transmitted from the terminal device2via the transceiving antenna109, performs a reception process such as demultiplexing, demodulation, and decoding, and outputs information which has undergone the reception process to the control unit103. Further, the reception process in the receiving unit105is performed on the basis of a setting which is specified in advance or a setting notified from the base station device1to the terminal device2. The wireless receiving unit1057performs conversion into an intermediate frequency (down conversion), removal of an unnecessary frequency component, control of an amplification level such that a signal level is appropriately maintained, quadrature demodulation based on an in-phase component and a quadrature component of a received signal, conversion from an analog signal into a digital signal, removal of a guard interval (GI), and/or extraction of a signal in the frequency domain by fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the uplink signal received via the transceiving antenna109. The demultiplexing unit1055separates the uplink channel such as the PUCCH or the PUSCH and/or uplink reference signal from the signal input from the wireless receiving unit1057. The demultiplexing unit1055outputs the uplink reference signal to the channel measuring unit1059. The demultiplexing unit1055compensates the propagation path for the uplink channel from the estimation value of the propagation path input from the channel measuring unit1059. The demodulating unit1053demodulates the reception signal for the modulation symbol of the uplink channel using a modulation scheme such as binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64 QAM, or 256 QAM. The demodulating unit1053performs separation and demodulation of a MIMO multiplexed uplink channel. The decoding unit1051performs a decoding process on encoded bits of the demodulated uplink channel. The decoded uplink data and/or uplink control information are output to the control unit103. The decoding unit1051performs a decoding process on the PUSCH for each transport block. The channel measuring unit1059measures the estimation value, a channel quality, and/or the like of the propagation path from the uplink reference signal input from the demultiplexing unit1055, and outputs the estimation value, a channel quality, and/or the like of the propagation path to the demultiplexing unit1055and/or the control unit103. For example, the estimation value of the propagation path for propagation path compensation for the PUCCH or the PUSCH is measured by the channel measuring unit1059using the UL-DMRS, and an uplink channel quality is measured using the SRS. The transmitting unit107carries out a transmission process such as encoding, modulation, and multiplexing on downlink control information and downlink data input from the higher layer processing unit101under the control of the control unit103. For example, the transmitting unit107generates and multiplexes the PHICH, the PDCCH, the EPDCCH, the PDSCH, and the downlink reference signal and generates a transmission signal. Further, the transmission process in the transmitting unit107is performed on the basis of a setting which is specified in advance, a setting notified from the base station device1to the terminal device2, or a setting notified through the PDCCH or the EPDCCH transmitted through the same sub frame. The encoding unit1071encodes the HARQ indicator (HARQ-ACK), the downlink control information, and the downlink data input from the control unit103using a predetermined coding scheme such as block coding, convolutional coding, turbo coding, or the like. The modulating unit1073modulates the encoded bits input from the encoding unit1071using a predetermined modulation scheme such as BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM, or 256 QAM. The downlink reference signal generating unit1079generates the downlink reference signal on the basis of a physical cell identification (PCI), an RRC parameter set in the terminal device2, and the like. The multiplexing unit1075multiplexes a modulated symbol and the downlink reference signal of each channel and arranges resulting data in a predetermined resource element. The wireless transmitting unit1077performs processes such as conversion into a signal in the time domain by inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), addition of the guard interval, generation of a baseband digital signal, conversion in an analog signal, quadrature modulation, conversion from a signal of an intermediate frequency into a signal of a high frequency (up conversion), removal of an extra frequency component, and amplification of power on the signal from the multiplexing unit1075, and generates a transmission signal. The transmission signal output from the wireless transmitting unit1077is transmitted through the transceiving antenna109. Configuration Example of Base Station Device2in Present Embodiment FIG.9is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of the terminal device2of the present embodiment. As illustrated, the terminal device2includes a higher layer processing unit201, a control unit203, a receiving unit205, a transmitting unit207, and a transceiving antenna209. Further, the receiving unit205includes a decoding unit2051, a demodulating unit2053, a demultiplexing unit2055, a wireless receiving unit2057, and a channel measuring unit2059. Further, the transmitting unit207includes an encoding unit2071, a modulating unit2073, a multiplexing unit2075, a wireless transmitting unit2077, and an uplink reference signal generating unit2079. As described above, the terminal device2can support one or more RATs. Some or all of the units included in the terminal device2illustrated inFIG.9can be configured individually in accordance with the RAT. For example, the receiving unit205and the transmitting unit207are configured individually in LTE and NR. Further, in the NR cell, some or all of the units included in the terminal device2illustrated inFIG.9can be configured individually in accordance with a parameter set related to the transmission signal. For example, in a certain NR cell, the wireless receiving unit2057and the wireless transmitting unit2077can be configured individually in accordance with a parameter set related to the transmission signal. The higher layer processing unit201outputs uplink data (transport block) to the control unit203. The higher layer processing unit201performs processes of a medium access control (MAC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a radio resource control (RRC) layer. Further, the higher layer processing unit201generates control information to control the receiving unit205and the transmitting unit207and outputs the control information to the control unit203. The control unit203controls the receiving unit205and the transmitting unit207on the basis of the control information from the higher layer processing unit201. The control unit203generates control information to be transmitted to the higher layer processing unit201and outputs the control information to the higher layer processing unit201. The control unit203receives a decoded signal from the decoding unit2051and a channel estimation result from the channel measuring unit2059. The control unit203outputs a signal to be encoded to the encoding unit2071. Further, the control unit203may be used to control the whole or a part of the terminal device2. The higher layer processing unit201performs a process and management related to RAT control, radio resource control, sub frame setting, scheduling control, and/or CSI report control. The process and the management in the higher layer processing unit201are performed on the basis of a setting which is specified in advance and/or a setting based on control information set or notified from the base station device1. For example, the control information from the base station device1includes the RRC parameter, the MAC control element, or the DCI. Further, the process and the management in the higher layer processing unit201may be individually performed in accordance with the RAT. For example, the higher layer processing unit201individually performs the process and the management in LTE and the process and the management in NR. Under the RAT control of the higher layer processing unit201, management related to the RAT is performed. For example, under the RAT control, the management related to LTE and/or the management related to NR is performed. The management related to NR includes setting and a process of a parameter set related to the transmission signal in the NR cell. In the radio resource control in the higher layer processing unit201, the setting information in the terminal device2is managed. In the radio resource control in the higher layer processing unit201, generation and/or management of uplink data (transport block), system information, an RRC message (RRC parameter), and/or a MAC control element (CE) are performed. In the sub frame setting in the higher layer processing unit201, the sub frame setting in the base station device1and/or a base station device different from the base station device1is managed. The sub frame setting includes an uplink or downlink setting for the sub frame, a sub frame pattern setting, an uplink-downlink setting, an uplink reference UL-DL setting, and/or a downlink reference UL-DL setting. Further, the sub frame setting in the higher layer processing unit201is also referred to as a terminal sub frame setting. In the scheduling control in the higher layer processing unit201, control information for controlling scheduling on the receiving unit205and the transmitting unit207is generated on the basis of the DCI (scheduling information) from the base station device1. In the CSI report control in the higher layer processing unit201, control related to the report of the CSI to the base station device1is performed. For example, in the CSI report control, a setting related to the CSI reference resources assumed for calculating the CSI by the channel measuring unit2059is controlled. In the CSI report control, resource (timing) used for reporting the CSI is controlled on the basis of the DCI and/or the RRC parameter. Under the control from the control unit203, the receiving unit205receives a signal transmitted from the base station device1via the transceiving antenna209, performs a reception process such as demultiplexing, demodulation, and decoding, and outputs information which has undergone the reception process to the control unit203. Further, the reception process in the receiving unit205is performed on the basis of a setting which is specified in advance or a notification from the base station device1or a setting. The wireless receiving unit2057performs conversion into an intermediate frequency (down conversion), removal of an unnecessary frequency component, control of an amplification level such that a signal level is appropriately maintained, quadrature demodulation based on an in-phase component and a quadrature component of a received signal, conversion from an analog signal into a digital signal, removal of a guard interval (GI), and/or extraction of a signal in the frequency domain by fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the uplink signal received via the transceiving antenna209. The demultiplexing unit2055separates the downlink channel such as the PHICH, PDCCH, EPDCCH, or PDSCH, downlink synchronization signal and/or downlink reference signal from the signal input from the wireless receiving unit2057. The demultiplexing unit2055outputs the uplink reference signal to the channel measuring unit2059. The demultiplexing unit2055compensates the propagation path for the uplink channel from the estimation value of the propagation path input from the channel measuring unit2059. The demodulating unit2053demodulates the reception signal for the modulation symbol of the downlink channel using a modulation scheme such as BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM, or 256 QAM. The demodulating unit2053performs separation and demodulation of a MIMO multiplexed downlink channel. The decoding unit2051performs a decoding process on encoded bits of the demodulated downlink channel. The decoded downlink data and/or downlink control information are output to the control unit203. The decoding unit2051performs a decoding process on the PDSCH for each transport block. The channel measuring unit2059measures the estimation value, a channel quality, and/or the like of the propagation path from the downlink reference signal input from the demultiplexing unit2055, and outputs the estimation value, a channel quality, and/or the like of the propagation path to the demultiplexing unit2055and/or the control unit203. The downlink reference signal used for measurement by the channel measuring unit2059may be decided on the basis of at least a transmission mode set by the RRC parameter and/or other RRC parameters. For example, the estimation value of the propagation path for performing the propagation path compensation on the PDSCH or the EPDCCH is measured through the DL-DMRS. The estimation value of the propagation path for performing the propagation path compensation on the PDCCH or the PDSCH and/or the downlink channel for reporting the CSI are measured through the CRS. The downlink channel for reporting the CSI is measured through the CSI-RS. The channel measuring unit2059calculates a reference signal received power (RSRP) and/or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) on the basis of the CRS, the CSI-RS, or the discovery signal, and outputs the RSRP and/or the RSRQ to the higher layer processing unit201. The transmitting unit207performs a transmission process such as encoding, modulation, and multiplexing on the uplink control information and the uplink data input from the higher layer processing unit201under the control of the control unit203. For example, the transmitting unit207generates and multiplexes the uplink channel such as the PUSCH or the PUCCH and/or the uplink reference signal, and generates a transmission signal. Further, the transmission process in the transmitting unit207is performed on the basis of a setting which is specified in advance or a setting set or notified from the base station device1. The encoding unit2071encodes the HARQ indicator (HARQ-ACK), the uplink control information, and the uplink data input from the control unit203using a predetermined coding scheme such as block coding, convolutional coding, turbo coding, or the like. The modulating unit2073modulates the encoded bits input from the encoding unit2071using a predetermined modulation scheme such as BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM, or 256 QAM. The uplink reference signal generating unit2079generates the uplink reference signal on the basis of an RRC parameter set in the terminal device2, and the like. The multiplexing unit2075multiplexes a modulated symbol and the uplink reference signal of each channel and arranges resulting data in a predetermined resource element. The wireless transmitting unit2077performs processes such as conversion into a signal in the time domain by inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), addition of the guard interval, generation of a baseband digital signal, conversion in an analog signal, quadrature modulation, conversion from a signal of an intermediate frequency into a signal of a high frequency (up conversion), removal of an extra frequency component, and amplification of power on the signal from the multiplexing unit2075, and generates a transmission signal. The transmission signal output from the wireless transmitting unit2077is transmitted through the transceiving antenna209. 1.5. Control Information and Control Channel Signaling of Control Information in Present Embodiment The base station device1and the terminal device2can use various methods for signaling (notification, broadcasting, or setting) of the control information. The signaling of the control information can be performed in various layers (layers). The signaling of the control information includes signaling of the physical layer which is signaling performed through the physical layer, RRC signaling which is signaling performed through the RRC layer, and MAC signaling which is signaling performed through the MAC layer. The RRC signaling is dedicated RRC signaling for notifying the terminal device2of the control information specific or a common RRC signaling for notifying of the control information specific to the base station device1. The signaling used by a layer higher than the physical layer such as RRC signaling and MAC signaling is also referred to as signaling of the higher layer. The RRC signaling is implemented by signaling the RRC parameter. The MAC signaling is implemented by signaling the MAC control element. The signaling of the physical layer is implemented by signaling the downlink control information (DCI) or the uplink control information (UCI). The RRC parameter and the MAC control element are transmitted using the PDSCH or the PUSCH. The DCI is transmitted using the PDCCH or the EPDCCH. The UCI is transmitted using the PUCCH or the PUSCH. The RRC signaling and the MAC signaling are used for signaling semi-static control information and are also referred to as semi-static signaling. The signaling of the physical layer is used for signaling dynamic control information and also referred to as dynamic signaling. The DCI is used for scheduling of the PDSCH or scheduling of the PUSCH. The UCI is used for the CSI report, the HARQ-ACK report, and/or the scheduling request (SR). Details of Downlink Control Information in Present Embodiment The DCI is notified using the DCI format having a field which is specified in advance. Predetermined information bits are mapped to the field specified in the DCI format. The DCI notifies of downlink scheduling information, uplink scheduling information, sidelink scheduling information, a request for a non-periodic CSI report, or an uplink transmission power command. The DCI format monitored by the terminal device2is decided in accordance with the transmission mode set for each serving cell. In other words, a part of the DCI format monitored by the terminal device2can differ depending on the transmission mode. For example, the terminal device2in which a downlink transmission mode1is set monitors the DCI format 1A and the DCI format 1. For example, the terminal device2in which a downlink transmission mode4is set monitors the DCI format 1A and the DCI format 2. For example, the terminal device2in which an uplink transmission mode1is set monitors the DCI format 0. For example, the terminal device2in which an uplink transmission mode2is set monitors the DCI format 0 and the DCI format 4. A control region in which the PDCCH for notifying the terminal device2of the DCI is placed is not notified of, and the terminal device2detects the DCI for the terminal device2through blind decoding (blind detection). Specifically, the terminal device2monitors a set of PDCCH candidates in the serving cell. The monitoring indicates that decoding is attempted in accordance with all the DCI formats to be monitored for each of the PDCCHs in the set. For example, the terminal device2attempts to decode all aggregation levels, PDCCH candidates, and DCI formats which are likely to be transmitted to the terminal device2. The terminal device2recognizes the DCI (PDCCH) which is successfully decoded (detected) as the DCI (PDCCH) for the terminal device2. A cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is added to the DCI. The CRC is used for the DCI error detection and the DCI blind detection. A CRC parity bit (CRC) is scrambled using the RNTI. The terminal device2detects whether or not it is a DCI for the terminal device2on the basis of the RNTI. Specifically, the terminal device2performs de-scrambling on the bit corresponding to the CRC using a predetermined RNTI, extracts the CRC, and detects whether or not the corresponding DCI is correct. The RNTI is specified or set in accordance with a purpose or a use of the DCI. The RNTI includes a cell-RNTI (C-RNTI), a semi persistent scheduling C-RNTI (SPS C-RNTI), a system information-RNTI (SI-RNTI), a paging-RNTI (P-RNTI), a random access-RNTI (RA-RNTI), a transmit power control-PUCCH-RNTI (TPC-PUCCH-RNTI), a transmit power control-PUSCH-RNTI (TPC-PUSCH-RNTI), a temporary C-RNTI, a multimedia broadcast multicast services (MBMS)-RNTI (M-RNTI)), an eIMTA-RNTI and a CC-RNTI. The C-RNTI and the SPS C-RNTI are RNTIs which are specific to the terminal device2in the base station device1(cell), and serve as identifiers identifying the terminal device2. The C-RNTI is used for scheduling the PDSCH or the PUSCH in a certain sub frame. The SPS C-RNTI is used to activate or release periodic scheduling of resources for the PDSCH or the PUSCH. A control channel having a CRC scrambled using the SI-RNTI is used for scheduling a system information block (SIB). A control channel with a CRC scrambled using the P-RNTI is used for controlling paging. A control channel with a CRC scrambled using the RA-RNTI is used for scheduling a response to the RACH. A control channel having a CRC scrambled using the TPC-PUCCH-RNTI is used for power control of the PUCCH. A control channel having a CRC scrambled using the TPC-PUSCH-RNTI is used for power control of the PUSCH. A control channel with a CRC scrambled using the temporary C-RNTI is used by a mobile station device in which no C-RNTI is set or recognized. A control channel with CRC scrambled using the M-RNTI is used for scheduling the MBMS. A control channel with a CRC scrambled using the eIMTA-RNTI is used for notifying of information related to a TDD UL/DL setting of a TDD serving cell in dynamic TDD (eIMTA). The control channel (DCI) with a CRC scrambled using the CC-RNTI is used to notify of setting of an exclusive OFDM symbol in the LAA secondary cell. Further, the DCI format may be scrambled using a new RNTI instead of the above RNTI. Scheduling information (the downlink scheduling information, the uplink scheduling information, and the sidelink scheduling information) includes information for scheduling in units of resource blocks or resource block groups as the scheduling of the frequency region. The resource block group is successive resource block sets and indicates resources allocated to the scheduled terminal device. A size of the resource block group is decided in accordance with a system bandwidth. Details of Downlink Control Channel in Present Embodiment The DCI is transmitted using a control channel such as the PDCCH or the EPDCCH. The terminal device2monitors a set of PDCCH candidates and/or a set of EPDCCH candidates of one or more activated serving cells set by RRC signaling. Here, the monitoring means that the PDCCH and/or the EPDCCH in the set corresponding to all the DCI formats to be monitored is attempted to be decoded. A set of PDCCH candidates or a set of EPDCCH candidates is also referred to as a search space. In the search space, a shared search space (CSS) and a terminal specific search space (USS) are defined. The CSS may be defined only for the search space for the PDCCH. A common search space (CSS) is a search space set on the basis of a parameter specific to the base station device1and/or a parameter which is specified in advance. For example, the CSS is a search space used in common to a plurality of terminal devices. Therefore, the base station device1maps a control channel common to a plurality of terminal devices to the CSS, and thus resources for transmitting the control channel are reduced. A UE-specific search space (USS) is a search space set using at least a parameter specific to the terminal device2. Therefore, the USS is a search space specific to the terminal device2, and it is possible for the base station device1to individually transmit the control channel specific to the terminal device2by using the USS. For this reason, the base station device1can efficiently map the control channels specific to a plurality of terminal devices. The USS may be set to be used in common to a plurality of terminal devices. Since a common USS is set in a plurality of terminal devices, a parameter specific to the terminal device2is set to be the same value among a plurality of terminal devices. For example, a unit set to the same parameter among a plurality of terminal devices is a cell, a transmission point, a group of predetermined terminal devices, or the like. The search space of each aggregation level is defined by a set of PDCCH candidates. Each PDCCH is transmitted using one or more CCE sets. The number of CCEs used in one PDCCH is also referred to as an aggregation level. For example, the number of CCEs used in one PDCCH is 1, 2, 4, or 8. The search space of each aggregation level is defined by a set of EPDCCH candidates. Each EPDCCH is transmitted using one or more enhanced control channel element (ECCE) sets. The number of ECCEs used in one EPDCCH is also referred to as an aggregation level. For example, the number of ECCEs used in one EPDCCH is 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32. The number of PDCCH candidates or the number of EPDCCH candidates is decided on the basis of at least the search space and the aggregation level. For example, in the CSS, the number of PDCCH candidates in the aggregation levels 4 and 8 are 4 and 2, respectively. For example, in the USS, the number of PDCCH candidates in the aggregations 1, 2, 4, and 8 are 6, 6, 2, and 2, respectively. Each ECCE includes a plurality of EREGs. The EREG is used to define mapping to the resource element of the EPDCCH. 16 EREGs which are assigned numbers of 0 to 15 are defined in each RB pair. In other words, an EREG0to an EREG15are defined in each RB pair. For each RB pair, the EREG0to the EREG15are preferentially defined at regular intervals in the frequency direction for resource elements other than resource elements to which a predetermined signal and/or channel is mapped. For example, a resource element to which a demodulation reference signal associated with an EPDCCH transmitted through antenna ports107to110is mapped is not defined as the EREG. The number of ECCEs used in one EPDCCH depends on an EPDCCH format and is decided on the basis of other parameters. The number of ECCEs used in one EPDCCH is also referred to as an aggregation level. For example, the number of ECCEs used in one EPDCCH is decided on the basis of the number of resource elements which can be used for transmission of the EPDCCH in one RB pair, a transmission method of the EPDCCH, and the like. For example, the number of ECCEs used in one EPDCCH is 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32. Further, the number of EREGs used in one ECCE is decided on the basis of a type of sub frame and a type of cyclic prefix and is 4 or 8. Distributed transmission and localized transmission are supported as the transmission method of the EPDCCH. The distributed transmission or the localized transmission can be used for the EPDCCH. The distributed transmission and the localized transmission differ in mapping of the ECCE to the EREG and the RB pair. For example, in the distributed transmission, one ECCE is configured using EREGs of a plurality of RB pairs. In the localized transmission, one ECCE is configured using an EREG of one RB pair. The base station device1performs a setting related to the EPDCCH in the terminal device2. The terminal device2monitors a plurality of EPDCCHs on the basis of the setting from the base station device1. A set of RB pairs that the terminal device2monitors the EPDCCH can be set. The set of RB pairs is also referred to as an EPDCCH set or an EPDCCH-PRB set. One or more EPDCCH sets can be set in one terminal device2. Each EPDCCH set includes one or more RB pairs. Further, the setting related to the EPDCCH can be individually performed for each EPDCCH set. The base station device1can set a predetermined number of EPDCCH sets in the terminal device2. For example, up to two EPDCCH sets can be set as an EPDCCH set0and/or an EPDCCH set1. Each of the EPDCCH sets can be constituted by a predetermined number of RB pairs. Each EPDCCH set constitutes one set of ECCEs. The number of ECCEs configured in one EPDCCH set is decided on the basis of the number of RB pairs set as the EPDCCH set and the number of EREGs used in one ECCE. In a case in which the number of ECCEs configured in one EPDCCH set is N, each EPDCCH set constitutes ECCEs0to N−1. For example, in a case in which the number of EREGs used in one ECCE is 4, the EPDCCH set constituted by 4 RB pairs constitutes16ECCEs. 1.6. CA and DC Details of CA and DC in Present Embodiment A plurality of cells is set for the terminal device2, and the terminal device2can perform multicarrier transmission. Communication in which the terminal device2uses a plurality of cells is referred to as carrier aggregation (CA) or dual connectivity (DC). Contents described in the present embodiment can be applied to each or some of a plurality of cells set in the terminal device2. The cell set in the terminal device2is also referred to as a serving cell. In the CA, a plurality of serving cells to be set includes one primary cell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCell). One primary cell and one or more secondary cells can be set in the terminal device2that supports the CA. The primary cell is a serving cell in which the initial connection establishment procedure is performed, a serving cell that the initial connection re-establishment procedure is started, or a cell indicated as the primary cell in a handover procedure. The primary cell operates with a primary frequency. The secondary cell can be set after a connection is constructed or reconstructed. The secondary cell operates with a secondary frequency. Further, the connection is also referred to as an RRC connection. The DC is an operation in which a predetermined terminal device2consumes radio resources provided from at least two different network points. The network point is a master base station device (a master eNB (MeNB)) and a secondary base station device (a secondary eNB (SeNB)). In the dual connectivity, the terminal device2establishes an RRC connection through at least two network points. In the dual connectivity, the two network points may be connected through a non-ideal backhaul. In the DC, the base station device1which is connected to at least an S1-MME and plays a role of a mobility anchor of a core network is referred to as a master base station device. Further, the base station device1which is not the master base station device providing additional radio resources to the terminal device2is referred to as a secondary base station device. A group of serving cells associated with the master base station device is also referred to as a master cell group (MCG). A group of serving cells associated with the secondary base station device is also referred to as a secondary cell group (SCG). Note that the group of the serving cells is also referred to as a cell group (CG). In the DC, the primary cell belongs to the MCG. Further, in the SCG, the secondary cell corresponding to the primary cell is referred to as a primary secondary cell (PSCell). A function (capability and performance) equivalent to the PCell (the base station device constituting the PCell) may be supported by the PSCell (the base station device constituting the PSCell). Further, the PSCell may only support some functions of the PCell. For example, the PSCell may support a function of performing the PDCCH transmission using the search space different from the CSS or the USS. Further, the PSCell may constantly be in an activation state. Further, the PSCell is a cell that can receive the PUCCH. In the DC, a radio bearer (a date radio bearer (DRB)) and/or a signaling radio bearer (SRB) may be individually allocated through the MeNB and the SeNB. A duplex mode may be set individually in each of the MCG (PCell) and the SCG (PSCell). The MCG (PCell) and the SCG (PSCell) may not be synchronized with each other. That is, a frame boundary of the MCG and a frame boundary of the SCG may not be matched. A parameter (a timing advance group (TAG)) for adjusting a plurality of timings may be independently set in the MCG (PCell) and the SCG (PSCell). In the dual connectivity, the terminal device2transmits the UCI corresponding to the cell in the MCG only through MeNB (PCell) and transmits the UCI corresponding to the cell in the SCG only through SeNB (pSCell). In the transmission of each UCI, the transmission method using the PUCCH and/or the PUSCH is applied in each cell group. The PUCCH and the PBCH (MIB) are transmitted only through the PCell or the PSCell. Further, the PRACH is transmitted only through the PCell or the PSCell as long as a plurality of TAGs is not set between cells in the CG. In the PCell or the PSCell, semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or discontinuous transmission (DRX) may be performed. In the secondary cell, the same DRX as the PCell or the PSCell in the same cell group may be performed. In the secondary cell, information/parameter related to a setting of MAC is basically shared with the PCell or the PSCell in the same cell group. Some parameters may be set for each secondary cell. Some timers or counters may be applied only to the PCell or the PSCell. In the CA, a cell to which the TDD scheme is applied and a cell to which the FDD scheme is applied may be aggregated. In a case in which the cell to which the TDD is applied and the cell to which the FDD is applied are aggregated, the present disclosure can be applied to either the cell to which the TDD is applied or the cell to which the FDD is applied. The terminal device2transmits information (supportedBandCombination) indicating a combination of bands in which the CA and/or DC is supported by the terminal device2to the base station device1. The terminal device2transmits information indicating whether or not simultaneous transmission and reception are supported in a plurality of serving cells in a plurality of different bands for each of band combinations to the base station device1. 1.7. Resource Allocation Details of Resource Allocation in Present Embodiment The base station device1can use a plurality of methods as a method of allocating resources of the PDSCH and/or the PUSCH to the terminal device2. The resource allocation method includes dynamic scheduling, semi persistent scheduling, multi sub frame scheduling, and cross sub frame scheduling. In the dynamic scheduling, one DCI performs resource allocation in one sub frame. Specifically, the PDCCH or the EPDCCH in a certain sub frame performs scheduling for the PDSCH in the sub frame. The PDCCH or the EPDCCH in a certain sub frame performs scheduling for the PUSCH in a predetermined sub frame after the certain sub frame. In the multi sub frame scheduling, one DCI allocates resources in one or more sub frames. Specifically, the PDCCH or the EPDCCH in a certain sub frame performs scheduling for the PDSCH in one or more sub frames which are a predetermined number after the certain sub frame. The PDCCH or the EPDCCH in a certain sub frame performs scheduling for the PUSCH in one or more sub frames which are a predetermined number after the sub frame. The predetermined number can be set to an integer of zero or more. The predetermined number may be specified in advance and may be decided on the basis of the signaling of the physical layer and/or the RRC signaling. In the multi sub frame scheduling, consecutive sub frames may be scheduled, or sub frames with a predetermined period may be scheduled. The number of sub frames to be scheduled may be specified in advance or may be decided on the basis of the signaling of the physical layer and/or the RRC signaling. In the cross sub frame scheduling, one DCI allocates resources in one sub frame. Specifically, the PDCCH or the EPDCCH in a certain sub frame performs scheduling for the PDSCH in one sub frame which is a predetermined number after the certain sub frame. The PDCCH or the EPDCCH in a certain sub frame performs scheduling for the PUSCH in one sub frame which is a predetermined number after the sub frame. The predetermined number can be set to an integer of zero or more. The predetermined number may be specified in advance and may be decided on the basis of the signaling of the physical layer and/or the RRC signaling. In the cross sub frame scheduling, consecutive sub frames may be scheduled, or sub frames with a predetermined period may be scheduled. In the semi-persistent scheduling (SPS), one DCI allocates resources in one or more sub frames. In a case in which information related to the SPS is set through the RRC signaling, and the PDCCH or the EPDCCH for activating the SPS is detected, the terminal device2activates a process related to the SPS and receives a predetermined PDSCH and/or PUSCH on the basis of a setting related to the SPS. In a case in which the PDCCH or the EPDCCH for releasing the SPS is detected when the SPS is activated, the terminal device2releases (inactivates) the SPS and stops reception of a predetermined PDSCH and/or PUSCH. The release of the SPS may be performed on the basis of a case in which a predetermined condition is satisfied. For example, in a case in which a predetermined number of empty transmission data is received, the SPS is released. The data empty transmission for releasing the SPS corresponds to a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) including a zero MAC service data unit (SDU). Information related to the SPS by the RRC signaling includes an SPS C-RNTI which is an SPN RNTI, information related to a period (interval) in which the PDSCH is scheduled, information related to a period (interval) in which the PUSCH is scheduled, information related to a setting for releasing the SPS, and/or the number of the HARQ process in the SPS. The SPS is supported only in the primary cell and/or the primary secondary cell. 1.8. Error Correction HARQ in Present Embodiment In the present embodiment, the HARQ has various features. The HARQ transmits and retransmits the transport block. In the HARQ, a predetermined number of processes (HARQ processes) are used (set), and each process independently operates in accordance with a stop-and-wait scheme. In the downlink, the HARQ is asynchronous and operates adaptively. In other words, in the downlink, retransmission is constantly scheduled through the PDCCH. The uplink HARQ-ACK (response information) corresponding to the downlink transmission is transmitted through the PUCCH or the PUSCH. In the downlink, the PDCCH notifies of a HARQ process number indicating the HARQ process and information indicating whether or not transmission is initial transmission or retransmission. In the uplink, the HARQ operates in a synchronous or asynchronous manner. The downlink HARQ-ACK (response information) corresponding to the uplink transmission is transmitted through the PHICH. In the uplink HARQ, an operation of the terminal device is decided on the basis of the HARQ feedback received by the terminal device and/or the PDCCH received by the terminal device. For example, in a case in which the PDCCH is not received, and the HARQ feedback is ACK, the terminal device does not perform transmission (retransmission) but holds data in a HARQ buffer. In this case, the PDCCH may be transmitted in order to resume the retransmission. Further, for example, in a case in which the PDCCH is not received, and the HARQ feedback is NACK, the terminal device performs retransmission non-adaptively through a predetermined uplink sub frame. Further, for example, in a case in which the PDCCH is received, the terminal device performs transmission or retransmission on the basis of contents notified through the PDCCH regardless of content of the HARQ feedback. Further, in the uplink, in a case in which a predetermined condition (setting) is satisfied, the HARQ may be operated only in an asynchronous manner. In other words, the downlink HARQ-ACK is not transmitted, and the uplink retransmission may constantly be scheduled through the PDCCH. In the HARQ-ACK report, the HARQ-ACK indicates ACK, NACK, or DTX. In a case in which the HARQ-ACK is ACK, it indicates that the transport block (codeword and channel) corresponding to the HARQ-ACK is correctly received (decoded). In a case in which the HARQ-ACK is NACK, it indicates that the transport block (codeword and channel) corresponding to the HARQ-ACK is not correctly received (decoded). In a case in which the HARQ-ACK is DTX, it indicates that the transport block (codeword and channel) corresponding to the HARQ-ACK is not present (not transmitted). A predetermined number of HARQ processes are set (specified) in each of downlink and uplink. For example, in FDD, up to eight HARQ processes are used for each serving cell. Further, for example, in TDD, a maximum number of HARQ processes is decided by an uplink/downlink setting. A maximum number of HARQ processes may be decided on the basis of a round trip time (RTT). For example, in a case in which the RTT is 8 TTIs, the maximum number of the HARQ processes can be 8. In the present embodiment, the HARQ information is constituted by at least a new data indicator (NDI) and a transport block size (TBS). The NDI is information indicating whether or not the transport block corresponding to the HARQ information is initial transmission or retransmission. The TBS is the size of the transport block. The transport block is a block of data in a transport channel (transport layer) and can be a unit for performing the HARQ. In the DL-SCH transmission, the HARQ information further includes a HARQ process ID (a HARQ process number). In the UL-SCH transmission, the HARQ information further includes an information bit in which the transport block is encoded and a redundancy version (RV) which is information specifying a parity bit. In the case of spatial multiplexing in the DL-SCH, the HARQ information thereof includes a set of NDI and TBS for each transport block. 1.9. Resource Element Mapping Details of LTE Downlink Resource Element Mapping in Present Embodiment FIG.10is a diagram illustrating an example of LTE downlink resource element mapping in the present embodiment. In this example, a set of resource elements in one resource block pair in a case in which one resource block and the number of OFDM symbols in one slot are 7 will be described. Further, seven OFDM symbols in a first half in the time direction in the resource block pair are also referred to as a slot0(a first slot). Seven OFDM symbols in a second half in the time direction in the resource block pair are also referred to as a slot1(a second slot). Further, the OFDM symbols in each slot (resource block) are indicated by OFDM symbol number0to6. Further, the sub carriers in the frequency direction in the resource block pair are indicated by sub carrier numbers0to11. Further, in a case in which a system bandwidth is constituted by a plurality of resource blocks, a different sub carrier number is allocated over the system bandwidth. For example, in a case in which the system bandwidth is constituted by six resource blocks, the sub carriers to which the sub carrier numbers0to71are allocated are used. Further, in the description of the present embodiment, a resource element (k, 1) is a resource element indicated by a sub carrier number k and an OFDM symbol number1. Resource elements indicated by R0to R3indicate cell-specific reference signals of the antenna ports0to3, respectively. Hereinafter, the cell-specific reference signals of the antenna ports0to3are also referred to as cell-specific RSs (CRSs). In this example, the case of the antenna ports in which the number of CRSs is 4 is described, but the number thereof can be changed. For example, the CRS can use one antenna port or two antenna ports. Further, the CRS can shift in the frequency direction on the basis of the cell ID. For example, the CRS can shift in the frequency direction on the basis of a remainder obtained by dividing the cell ID by 6. Resource element indicated by C1to C4indicates reference signals (CSI-RS) for measuring transmission path states of the antenna ports15to22. The resource elements denoted by C1to C4indicate CSI-RSs of a CDM group1to a CDM group4, respectively. The CSI-RS is constituted by an orthogonal sequence (orthogonal code) using a Walsh code and a scramble code using a pseudo random sequence. Further, the CSI-RS is code division multiplexed using an orthogonal code such as a Walsh code in the CDM group. Further, the CSI-RS is frequency-division multiplexed (FDM) mutually between the CDM groups. The CSI-RSs of the antenna ports15and16are mapped to C1. The CSI-RSs of the antenna ports17and18is mapped to C2. The CSI-RSs of the antenna port19and20are mapped to C3. The CSI-RSs of the antenna port21and22are mapped to C4. A plurality of antenna ports of the CSI-RSs is specified. The CSI-RS can be set as a reference signal corresponding to eight antenna ports of the antenna ports15to22. Further, the CSI-RS can be set as a reference signal corresponding to four antenna ports of the antenna ports15to18. Further, the CSI-RS can be set as a reference signal corresponding to two antenna ports of the antenna ports15to16. Further, the CSI-RS can be set as a reference signal corresponding to one antenna port of the antenna port15. The CSI-RS can be mapped to some sub frames, and, for example, the CSI-RS can be mapped for every two or more sub frames. A plurality of mapping patterns is specified for the resource element of the CSI-RS. Further, the base station device1can set a plurality of CSI-RSs in the terminal device2. The CSI-RS can set transmission power to zero. The CSI-RS with zero transmission power is also referred to as a zero power CSI-RS. The zero power CSI-RS is set independently of the CSI-RS of the antenna ports15to22. Further, the CSI-RS of the antenna ports15to22is also referred to as a non-zero power CSI-RS. The base station device1sets CSI-RS as control information specific to the terminal device2through the RRC signaling. In the terminal device2, the CSI-RS is set through the RRC signaling by the base station device1. Further, in the terminal device2, the CSI-IM resources which are resources for measuring interference power can be set. The terminal device2generates feedback information using the CRS, the CSI-RS, and/or the CSI-IM resources on the basis of a setting from the base station device1. Resource elements indicated by D1to D2indicate the DL-DMRSs of the CDM group1and the CDM group2, respectively. The DL-DMRS is constituted using an orthogonal sequence (orthogonal code) using a Walsh code and a scramble sequence according to a pseudo random sequence. Further, the DL-DMRS is independent for each antenna port and can be multiplexed within each resource block pair. The DL-DMRSs are in an orthogonal relation with each other between the antenna ports in accordance with the CDM and/or the FDM. Each of DL-DMRSs undergoes the CDM in the CDM group in accordance with the orthogonal codes. The DL-DMRSs undergo the FDM with each other between the CDM groups. The DL-DMRSs in the same CDM group are mapped to the same resource element. For the DL-DMRSs in the same CDM group, different orthogonal sequences are used between the antenna ports, and the orthogonal sequences are in the orthogonal relation with each other. The DL-DMRS for the PDSCH can use some or all of the eight antenna ports (the antenna ports7to14). In other words, the PDSCH associated with the DL-DMRS can perform MIMO transmission of up to 8 ranks. The DL-DMRS for the EPDCCH can use some or all of the four antenna ports (the antenna ports107to110). Further, the DL-DMRS can change a spreading code length of the CDM or the number of resource elements to be mapped in accordance with the number of ranks of an associated channel. The DL-DMRS for the PDSCH to be transmitted through the antenna ports7,8,11, and13are mapped to the resource element indicated by D1. The DL-DMRS for the PDSCH to be transmitted through the antenna ports9,10,12, and14are mapped to the resource element indicated by D2. Further, the DL-DMRS for the EPDCCH to be transmitted through the antenna ports107and108are mapped to the resource element indicated by D1. The DL-DMRS for the EPDCCH to be transmitted through the antenna ports109and110are mapped to the resource element denoted by D2. Details of Downlink Resource Elements Mapping of NR in Present Embodiment FIG.11is a diagram illustrating an example of the downlink resource element mapping of NR according to the present embodiment.FIG.11illustrates a set of resource elements in the predetermined resources in a case in which parameter set0is used. The predetermined resources illustrated inFIG.11are resources formed by a time length and a frequency bandwidth such as one resource block pair in LTE. In NR, the predetermined resource is referred to as an NR resource block (NR-RB). The predetermined resource can be used for a unit of allocation of the NR-PDSCH or the NR-PDCCH, a unit in which mapping of the predetermined channel or the predetermined signal to a resource element is defined, or a unit in which the parameter set is set. In the example ofFIG.11, the predetermined resources include 14 OFDM symbols indicated by OFDM symbol numbers0to13in the time direction and 12 sub carriers indicated by sub carrier numbers0to11in the frequency direction. In a case in which the system bandwidth includes the plurality of predetermined resources, sub carrier numbers are allocated throughout the system bandwidth. Resource elements indicated by C1to C4indicate reference signals (CSI-RS) for measuring transmission path states of the antenna ports15to22. Resource elements indicated by D1and D2indicate DL-DMRS of CDM group1and CDM group2, respectively. FIG.12is a diagram illustrating an example of the downlink resource element mapping of NR according to the present embodiment.FIG.12illustrates a set of resource elements in the predetermined resources in a case in which parameter set1is used. The predetermined resources illustrated inFIG.12are resources formed by the same time length and frequency bandwidth as one resource block pair in LTE. In the example ofFIG.12, the predetermined resources include 7 OFDM symbols indicated by OFDM symbol numbers0to6in the time direction and 24 sub carriers indicated by sub carrier numbers0to23in the frequency direction. In a case in which the system bandwidth includes the plurality of predetermined resources, sub carrier numbers are allocated throughout the system bandwidth. Resource elements indicated by C1to C4indicate reference signals (CSI-RS) for measuring transmission path states of the antenna ports15to22. Resource elements indicated by D1and D2indicate DL-DMRS of CDM group1and CDM group2, respectively. FIG.15is a diagram illustrating an example of the downlink resource element mapping of NR according to the present embodiment.FIG.15illustrates a set of resource elements in the predetermined resources in a case in which parameter set1is used. The predetermined resources illustrated inFIG.15are resources formed by the same time length and frequency bandwidth as one resource block pair in LTE. In the example ofFIG.13, the predetermined resources include 28 OFDM symbols indicated by OFDM symbol numbers0to27in the time direction and 6 sub carriers indicated by sub carrier numbers0to6in the frequency direction. In a case in which the system bandwidth includes the plurality of predetermined resources, sub carrier numbers are allocated throughout the system bandwidth. Resource elements indicated by C1to C4indicate reference signals (CSI-RS) for measuring transmission path states of the antenna ports15to22. Resource elements indicated by D1and D2indicate DL-DMRS of CDM group1and CDM group2, respectively. 1.10. Self-Contained Transmission Details of Self-Contained Transmission of NR in Present Embodiment In NR, a physical channel and/or a physical signal can be transmitted by self-contained transmission.FIG.14illustrates an example of a frame configuration of the self-contained transmission in the present embodiment. In the self-contained transmission, single transceiving includes successive downlink transmission, a GP, and successive downlink transmission from the head in this order. The successive downlink transmission includes at least one piece of downlink control information and the DMRS. The downlink control information gives an instruction to receive a downlink physical channel included in the successive downlink transmission and to transmit an uplink physical channel included in the successive uplink transmission. In a case in which the downlink control information gives an instruction to receive the downlink physical channel, the terminal device2attempts to receive the downlink physical channel on the basis of the downlink control information. Then, the terminal device2transmits success or failure of reception of the downlink physical channel (decoding success or failure) by an uplink control channel included in the uplink transmission allocated after the GP. On the other hand, in a case in which the downlink control information gives an instruction to transmit the uplink physical channel, the uplink physical channel transmitted on the basis of the downlink control information is included in the uplink transmission to be transmitted. In this way, by flexibly switching between transmission of uplink data and transmission of downlink data by the downlink control information, it is possible to take countermeasures instantaneously to increase or decrease a traffic ratio between an uplink and a downlink. Further, by notifying of the success or failure of the reception of the downlink by the uplink transmission immediately after the success or failure of reception of the downlink, it is possible to realize low-delay communication of the downlink. A unit slot time is a minimum time unit in which downlink transmission, a GP, or uplink transmission is defined. The unit slot time is reserved for one of the downlink transmission, the GP, and the uplink transmission. In the unit slot time, neither the downlink transmission nor the uplink transmission is included. The unit slot time may be a minimum transmission time of a channel associated with the DMRS included in the unit slot time. One unit slot time is defined as, for example, an integer multiple of a sampling interval (Ts) or the symbol length of NR. The unit frame time may be a minimum time designated by scheduling. The unit frame time may be a minimum unit in which a transport block is transmitted. The unit slot time may be a maximum transmission time of a channel associated with the DMRS included in the unit slot time. The unit frame time may be a unit time in which the uplink transmission power in the terminal device2is decided. The unit frame time may be referred to as a sub frame. In the unit frame time, there are three types of only the downlink transmission, only the uplink transmission, and a combination of the uplink transmission and the downlink transmission. One unit frame time is defined as, for example, an integer multiple of the sampling interval (Ts), the symbol length, or the unit slot time of NR. A transceiving time is one transceiving time. A time (a gap) in which neither the physical channel nor the physical signal is transmitted may occupy between one transceiving and another transceiving. The terminal device2may not average the CSI measurement between different transceiving. The transceiving time may be referred to as TTI. One transceiving time is defined as, for example, an integer multiple of the sampling interval (TO, the symbol length, the unit slot time, or the unit frame time of NR. 1.11. Technical Features Details of LAA in Present Embodiment First, LAA will be described. The terminal device acquires information regarding an occupied OFDM symbol configuration on the basis of the DCI of a PDCCH to which a CRC scrambled with a CC-RNTI transmitted in an LAA secondary cell is added. The CC-RNTI is a common RNTI of the terminal devices for identifying the PDCCH including the information regarding of the occupied OFDM symbol configuration. The information regarding the occupied OFDM symbol configuration is 4-bit information indicating an occupied (transmitted) final OFDM symbol in a sub frame in which the DCI is detected and a subsequent sub frame. The information regarding the occupied OFDM symbol configuration enables the terminal device to recognize up to which OFDM symbol is scheduled to be transmitted in the sub frame in which the DCI is detected and the subsequent sub frame. Simultaneously, the terminal device can recognize up to which CRS is scheduled to be transmitted in the sub frame in which the DCI is detected and the subsequent sub frame. Note that the occupied OFDM is an OFDM used to transmit a physical channel and/or a physical signal. Details of Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) in Present Embodiment Next, the details of the radio link monitoring (RLM) will be described. The RLM is used to maintain stability of connection establishment between a base station device (EUTRA) and a terminal device (UE) in exchange of information regarding a higher layer such as the RRC layer. The RLM enables the terminal device to determine whether downlink connection is stably maintained. Specifically, the terminal device detects quality of connection (link) with the base station device (a cell or a serving cell) to which the terminal device is connected and monitors downlink quality of a primary cell in order to instruct the higher layer of an in-synchronization (in-sync) state or an out-of-synchronization (out-of-sync) state. In addition, in a case in which dual connectivity (SCG) is set and a parameter related to a radio link failure (RLF) is supplied from the higher layer, the terminal device monitors downlink quality of a primary secondary cell. Hereinafter, monitoring of the downlink quality is also referred to as RLM measurement. Note that the in-synchronization (in-sync) state may also be regarded as a state in which the terminal device is inside coverage (in-coverage) of a measured cell. In addition, the out-of-synchronization (out-of-sync) state may also be regarded as a state in which the terminal device is out of the coverage (out-of-coverage) of the measured cell. The downlink quality (that is, a downlink radio link quality or downlink link quality) is monitored on the basis of a synchronization signal or a reference signal which is a known signal between the base station and the terminal device. As a specific example, the downlink quality is monitored on the basis of cell-specific reference signal (CRS). In addition, as another specific example, the downlink quality may also be monitored on the basis of a CSI-RS. In addition, as another example, the downlink quality may be monitored on the basis of the PRS. In addition, as still another example, the downlink quality may be monitored on the basis of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS). In addition, as still another example, the downlink quality may be monitored on the basis of a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and/or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS). In addition, as still another specific example, the downlink quality may be monitored on the basis of a discovery signal. In addition, for example, the downlink quality is defined with reception power of a synchronization signal and/or a reference signal transmitted from a serving cell. In addition, for example, the downlink quality may be defined with a value of an RSRP or an RSRQ from the serving cell. Note that a frequency band for measuring the downlink quality is preferably a system band of the serving cell of which the downlink quality is measured, but may be another bandwidth. Examples of the bandwidth for measuring the downlink quality include a PRB in which an EPDDCH is set, a band in which a downlink control channel which can be commonly received between the terminal devices is disposed, a band of a minimum bandwidth which can be received by the terminal device, a band in which the PSS/SSS is disposed, and a band in which the PBCH is disposed. Whether the radio link quality indicates in-synchronization (in-sync) or out-of-synchronization (out-of-sync) is evaluated by comparing the downlink radio link quality to a threshold. As the threshold, a threshold Qinused to determine in-synchronization (in-sync) and a threshold Qoutused to determine out-of-synchronization (out-of-sync) are decided. For example,FIG.15is an explanatory diagram illustrating examples of a time variation of radio link quality and each of an in-synchronization state and an out-of-synchronization state. The example illustrated inFIG.15is an example of a case in which the in-synchronization (in-sync) state transitions to the out-of-synchronization (out-of-sync) state. Specifically, in a case in which the radio link quality is lowered to be less than the threshold Qout, the physical layer of the terminal device broadcasts the out-of-synchronization (out-of-sync) state to the higher layer. In addition, in a subsequent evaluation timing, in a case in which the radio link quality is not greater than the threshold Qin, the physical layer of the terminal device broadcasts the out-of-synchronization (out-of-sync) state to the higher layer. In a case in which the out-of-synchronization (out-of-sync) is broadcast consecutively a predetermined number of times (N310or N313) set with the parameter related to the radio link failure (RLF), the higher layer determines that there is a problem in the physical layer and causes an RLF timer (T310or T313) to start. In a case in which the in-synchronization (in-sync) is broadcast consecutively a predetermined number of times (N311or N314) set with the parameter related to the RLF before the RLF timer expires, the higher layer determines that the problem in the physical layer is resolved and causes the RLF timer (T310or T313) to stop. Conversely, in a case in which the RLF timer expires, the RLF occurs and the terminal device performs separation from an RRC connection (RRC CONNECTED) mode or connection reestablishment. In addition, in a case in which the RLF timer (T310) of the primary cell expires, transmission power of the terminal device is cut off within 40 ms. In addition, in a case in which the RLF timer (T313) of the primary secondary cell expires, transmission power of the primary secondary cell is cut off within 40 ms. The threshold Qoutand the threshold Qinare defined at a level at which an environment in which information regarding the higher layer such as the RRC layer can be exchanged stably between the base station device and the terminal device is assumed. For example, the level is defined with an error ratio of a channel necessary to send the information regarding the higher layer. For example, the threshold Qoutis defined at a level equivalent to 10% of a block error rate of virtual PDCCH transmission in which a PCFICH error is considered. As the virtual PDCCH, a PDCCH transmitted with a DCI format 1A, an aggregation level of 4 or 8, and a boost of 1 dB or 4 dB from average RS power is assumed. In addition, for example, the threshold Qinis defined at a level sufficiently better than the threshold Qoutin the reception quality and equivalent to 2% of the block error rate of virtual PDCCH transmission in which the PCFICH error is considered. As the virtual PDCCH, a PDCCH transmitted with a DCI format 1C, an aggregation level of 4, and a boost of 1 dB or 4 dB from the average RS power is assumed. Note that, in a case in which the downlink quality is defined with reception power of the reference signal and the synchronization signal, the threshold Qinand the threshold Qoutare defined as power values equivalent to the levels of the foregoing examples. In a case in which the downlink quality is defined with RSRP or RSRQ, the threshold Qinand the threshold Qoutare defined with values of RSRP or RSRQ equivalent to the foregoing levels. Note that the threshold Qinand the threshold Qoutare preferably values of different levels. Specifically, the threshold Qinis preferably a value higher than the threshold Qout. The terminal device may measure radio link quality of all the wireless frames in a predetermined time section. In addition, in a case in which a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode is set, the terminal device may measure radio link quality of an entire DRX section in a predetermined time section. As predetermined time sections in which the terminal device evaluates the radio link quality, a time section TEvaluate_Qinfor evaluating in-synchronization (in-sync) and a time section TEvaluate_Qoutfor evaluating out-of-synchronization (out-of-sync) are each individually defined. The time section TEvaluate_Qoutis a minimum measurement section defined to evaluate the out-of-synchronization (out-of-sync). For example, a predetermined period (for example, 200 ms), a length of a DRX cycle, or the like can be set. Note that the foregoing example is a minimum section and the terminal device may perform measurement over a period longer than the foregoing example. The time section TEvaluate_Qinis a minimum measurement section defined to evaluate the in-synchronization (in-sync). For example, a predetermined period (for example, 100 ms), a length of the DRX cycle, or the like can be set. Note that the foregoing example is a minimum section and the terminal device may perform measurement over a period longer than the foregoing example. As broadcast periods of the in-synchronization (in-sync) and the out-of-synchronization (out-of-sync), 10 ms (one wireless frame) may be set at minimum. Synchronization in LAA in Present Embodiment Next, synchronization in LAA will be described. In a known LAA technology, a cell (carrier) operated in the unlicensed band is limited to only an operation as a secondary cell. In addition, in this case, in the LAA secondary cell, stability of connection with the LAA secondary cell may not be guaranteed since assistance with information necessary for connection from the primary cell operated in the licensed band is possible. On the other hand, in order to further extend flexibility of the operation, the operation as the primary cell or the primary secondary cell is also preferable in the cell (the carrier) operated in the unlicensed band. In this case, it is assumed that it is difficult to obtain assistance information from the serving cell operated in the licensed band or the obtained assistance information is insufficient. Therefore, on the assumption of such a situation, the stability of connection is ensured by performing the RLM even in LAA in the system according to the present embodiment. RLM of LAA in Present Embodiment Next, the RLM in LAA will be described. In the system according to the present embodiment, for example, the CRS is used to measure downlink radio link quality. On the other hand, in the unlicensed band, the CRS is not necessarily transmitted consecutively (continuously) for coexistence of different nodes or different systems. In other words, in the unlicensed band, a predetermined reference signal used to measure communication quality as in the CRS can be selectively transmitted in at least some of the sub frames. That is, in the unlicensed band, the reference signal such as the CRS is not transmitted during all the unit periods such as the sub frames, and the reference signal is not transmitted during some of the unit periods in some cases. Therefore, in LAA in which an operation in the unlicensed band is assumed, the CRS is discontinuously transmitted. For example,FIG.16is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of transmission of a reference signal (RS) used to measure downlink radio link quality. An example illustrated in (a) ofFIG.16is a transmission example of the RS in a case in which LTE is operated in the licensed band. In addition, an example illustrated in (b) ofFIG.16is a transmission example of the RS in a case in which LTE is operated in the unlicensed band. In the example illustrated in (a) ofFIG.16, the base station device can consecutively transmit the CRS or the DS. That is, in this case, the terminal device can perform RLM measurement on the assumption that the CRS or the DS is consecutively transmitted. On the other hand, in the example illustrated in (b) ofFIG.16, the base station device determines whether or not to transmit the CRS or the DS on the basis of a result of channel sensing by Listen Before Talk (LBT) before the transmission is performed. Further, in the unlicensed band, the base station device ends the transmission within a predetermined section. Therefore, in the unlicensed band, a section in which both the DS and the CRS are not transmitted (that is, the unit period such as the sub frame) can occur as in the example illustrated in (b) ofFIG.16. Here, when a section in which the CRS is not transmitted is added to an evaluation target of the downlink quality in the RLM measurement, the terminal device can broadcast the out-of-synchronization (out-of-sync) at a high frequency. Therefore, in this case, it is preferable to exclude the section in which the CRS is not transmitted as an evaluation target. Accordingly, hereinafter, an example of a technique by which the section in which the CRS is not transmitted can be excluded as an evaluation target of the communication quality will be described as an example of a technique for the RLM measurement in LAA. For example, as an example of the technique for the RLM measurement in LAA, a technique for performing the RLM measurement in a sub frame (unit period) with which the DS is transmitted in a section set as a discovery measurement timing configuration (DMTC) can be exemplified. The DMTC is set with an RRC message in the terminal device. Note that the DMTC may be broadcast with broadcast information (for example, an MIB or an SIB) in a case in which initial connection of LTE in the unlicensed band is performed. In a case in which the sub frame with which the DS is transmitted is detected in one sub frame in the DMTC section, the one sub frame is used to evaluate the radio link quality and five other sub frames are not used to evaluate the radio link quality. Here, the sub frame in which the DS is transmitted is equivalent to, for example, a sub frame in which the PSS and the SSS are transmitted. That is, the case in which the sub frame with which the DS is transmitted is detected is equivalent to a case in which the PSS and the SSS are detected. Specifically, in a case in which the PSS and the SSS are detected, the terminal device performs the RLM measurement by measuring reception power of the CRS in the sub frame in which the PSS and the SSS are detected. That is, in this case, evaluation based on the RLM measurement is performed with only a target sub frame within a predetermined time. As a more specific example, communication quality is measured with only a valid sub frame during a predetermined period (for example, 100 ms). In addition, as another example of the technique for the RLM measurement in LAA, a technique for performing the RLM measurement on the basis of a specific downlink period instructed with the PDCCH can be exemplified. For example, the RLM measurement may be performed on the basis of a sub frame (unit period) and an OFDM symbol for which a transmission schedule is instructed with information regarding an occupied OFDM symbol configuration. Specifically, the terminal device estimates an OFDM with which the CRS is transmitted from information regarding an OFDM symbol scheduled to be transmitted in the sub frame or a subsequent sub frame rather than the information regarding the occupied OFDM symbol configuration and performs the RLM measurement using the OFDM. In addition, as still another example of the technique for the RLM measurement in LAA, the RLM measurement may be performed even in a sub frame (unit period) instructed with the occupied OFDM symbol configuration in addition to the sub frame (the unit period) with which the DS in the section set as a discovery measurement timing configuration (DMTC) is transmitted. In addition, as still another example of the technique for the RLM measurement in LAA, the RLM measurement may be performed with a sub frame (unit period) in which a synchronization signal (PSS/SSS) is transmitted. As a specific example, the terminal device attempts to perform the RLM measurement in sub frames0and5. That is, in a case in which the PSS and the SSS transmitted with sub frames0and5are detected, the terminal device measures the reception power of the CRS in the sub frames in which the PSS and the SSS are detected and performs the RLM measurement. Conversely, in a case in which the PSS or the SSS is not detected in sub frames0and5, the terminal device may not perform the RLM measurement in the sub frame in which the PSS or the SSS is not detected. In addition, as still another example of the technique for the RLM measurement in LAA, the RLM measurement may be performed during a period equivalent to a predetermined number of sub frames from a sub frame (unit period) in which a synchronization signal (initial signal) transmitted in the head of a downlink transmission burst is detected. The predetermined number of sub frames is one or more and is preferably set with the RRC. Note that in a case in which it is notified or recognized that the terminal device is operated in Japan, for example, 4 is set as the predetermined number of sub frames. In addition, the initial signal may be, for example, a signal sequence such as the PSS/SSS. Note that a part of the initial signal may be configured as, for example, a Zadoff-Chu sequence. In addition, as still another example of the technique for the RLM measurement in LAA, a technique for performing the RLM measurement in a sub frame with which the terminal device can recognize that a channel or a signal from a serving cell is transmitted can be exemplified. For example, in a case in which a predetermined channel or signal is detected and a case in which average power of head OFDM symbols of sub frames or slots exceeds a predetermined value or the like, the terminal device may recognize that the channel or the signal from the serving cell may be transmitted. In addition, as still another example of the technique for the RLM measurement in LAA, a technique for performing the RLM measurement in a downlink sub frame after a predetermined number of sub frames from an uplink sub frame with which the terminal device transmits a predetermined uplink channel or uplink signal can be exemplified. An example of the predetermined uplink channel or uplink signal includes a PUCCH or the like including the PRACH, the SRS, and the SR. The downlink sub frame after the predetermined number of sub frames may be, for example, a first downlink sub frame after four sub frames from the uplink sub frame. Note that the foregoing techniques for the RLM measurement may be combined and applied. By combining two or more of the techniques, the number of sub frames in which the RLM measurement is performed increases and measurement precision of the downlink quality becomes better. Note that a measurement section used in LAA may be individually set. For example, in the measurement section used in an LAA cell, different setting from a measurement section used in a cell which is not the LAA cell may be performed. In addition, an RLF timer used in LAA may be individually set. For example, as the RLF timer used in LAA, a different timer from the timer T310or T313described with reference toFIG.15may be set. The RLM timer used in LAA may be set with, for example, the RRC. Note that in the RLF timer used in LAA, a fixed value may be set or a preset value may be used. Note that for the threshold Qoutand the threshold Qinapplied to LAA, the definition and the values of the threshold Qoutand the threshold Qinapplied to a primary cell of LTE may be different. As one example, the threshold Qoutused in LAA is defined, for example, at a level equivalent to 10% of a block error rate of the virtual PDCCH transmission in which the PCFICH error is considered. As the virtual PDCCH, a PDCCH to which a CRC scrambled with a CC-RNTI is added is assumed. In addition, the threshold Qinis defined, for example, at a level sufficiently better than the threshold Qoutin the reception quality and equivalent to 2% of the block error rate of the virtual PDCCH transmission in which the PCFICH error is considered. As the virtual PDCCH, a PDCCH to which a CRC scrambled with a CC-RNTI is added is assumed. Note that the foregoing technique can also be applied similarly to NR in which the RS used to measure the downlink quality is not included in all the sub frames. Note that, in NR, the RLM measurement may be performed even in a secondary cell in addition to the primary cell and/or the primary secondary cell. That is, the terminal device which can be connected to NR may be able to perform the RLM measurement in the secondary cell in addition to the primary cell and/or the primary secondary cell. In addition, in NR, the RLM measurement may be performed even in a neighbor cell (adjacent cell) in addition to the serving cell. That is, the terminal device which can be connected to NR may be able to perform the RLM measurement even in the neighbor cell in addition to the serving cell. Thus, since cell synchronization with the neighbor cell can be established in advance, the terminal device can realize high-speed handover from the serving cell to the neighbor cell. 2. APPLICATION EXAMPLES The technology according to the present disclosure can be applied to various products. For example, the base station device1may be realized as any type of evolved Node B (eNB) such as a macro eNB or a small eNB. The small eNB may be an eNB that covers a cell, such as a pico eNB, a micro eNB, or a home (femto) eNB, smaller than a macro cell. Instead, the base station device1may be realized as another type of base station such as a NodeB or a base transceiver station (BTS). The base station device1may include a main entity (also referred to as a base station device) that controls wireless communication and one or more remote radio heads (RRHs) disposed at different locations from the main entity. Further, various types of terminals to be described below may operate as the base station device1by performing a base station function temporarily or permanently. Moreover, at least some of the constituent elements of the base station device1may be realized in a base station device or a module for the base station device. Further, for example, the terminal device2may be realized as a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, a portable/dongle mobile router or a digital camera, or an in-vehicle terminal such as a car navigation device. Further, the terminal device2may be realized as a terminal that performs machine to machine (M2M) communication (also referred to as a machine type communication (MTC) terminal). Moreover, at least some of the constituent elements of the terminal device2may be realized in a module mounted on the terminal (for example, an integrated circuit module configured on one die). 2.1. Application Examples for Base Station First Application Example FIG.15is a block diagram illustrating a first example of a schematic configuration of an eNB to which the technology according to the present disclosure may be applied. An eNB800includes one or more antennas810and a base station apparatus820. Each antenna810and the base station apparatus820may be connected to each other via an RF cable. Each of the antennas810includes a single or a plurality of antenna elements (e.g., a plurality of antenna elements constituting a MIMO antenna) and is used for the base station apparatus820to transmit and receive a wireless signal. The eNB800may include the plurality of the antennas810as illustrated inFIG.15, and the plurality of antennas810may, for example, correspond to a plurality of frequency bands used by the eNB800. It should be noted that whileFIG.15illustrates an example in which the eNB800includes the plurality of antennas810, the eNB800may include the single antenna810. The base station apparatus820includes a controller821, a memory822, a network interface823, and a wireless communication interface825. The controller821may be, for example, a CPU or a DSP, and operates various functions of an upper layer of the base station apparatus820. For example, the controller821generates a data packet from data in a signal processed by the wireless communication interface825, and transfers the generated packet via the network interface823. The controller821may generate a bundled packet by bundling data from a plurality of base band processors to transfer the generated bundled packet. Further, the controller821may also have a logical function of performing control such as radio resource control, radio bearer control, mobility management, admission control, and scheduling. Further, the control may be performed in cooperation with a surrounding eNB or a core network node. The memory822includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores a program executed by the controller821and a variety of control data (such as, for example, terminal list, transmission power data, and scheduling data). The network interface823is a communication interface for connecting the base station apparatus820to the core network824. The controller821may communicate with a core network node or another eNB via the network interface823. In this case, the eNB800may be connected to a core network node or another eNB through a logical interface (e.g., S1 interface or X2 interface). The network interface823may be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface for wireless backhaul. In the case where the network interface823is a wireless communication interface, the network interface823may use a higher frequency band for wireless communication than a frequency band used by the wireless communication interface825. The wireless communication interface825supports a cellular communication system such as long term evolution (LTE) or LTE-Advanced, and provides wireless connection to a terminal located within the cell of the eNB800via the antenna810. The wireless communication interface825may typically include a base band (BB) processor826, an RF circuit827, and the like. The BB processor826may, for example, perform encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, multiplexing/demultiplexing, and the like, and performs a variety of signal processing on each layer (e.g., L1, medium access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)). The BB processor826may have part or all of the logical functions as described above instead of the controller821. The BB processor826may be a module including a memory having a communication control program stored therein, a processor to execute the program, and a related circuit, and the function of the BB processor826may be changeable by updating the program. Further, the module may be a card or blade to be inserted into a slot of the base station apparatus820, or a chip mounted on the card or the blade. Meanwhile, the RF circuit827may include a mixer, a filter, an amplifier, and the like, and transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna810. The wireless communication interface825may include a plurality of the BB processors826as illustrated inFIG.15, and the plurality of BB processors826may, for example, correspond to a plurality of frequency bands used by the eNB800. Further, the wireless communication interface825may also include a plurality of the RF circuits827, as illustrated inFIG.15, and the plurality of RF circuits827may, for example, correspond to a plurality of antenna elements. Note thatFIG.15illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface825includes the plurality of BB processors826and the plurality of RF circuits827, but the wireless communication interface825may include the single BB processor826or the single RF circuit827. In the eNB800illustrated inFIG.15, one or more constituent elements of the higher layer processing unit101and the control unit103described with reference toFIG.8may be implemented in the wireless communication interface825. Alternatively, at least some of the constituent elements may be implemented in the controller821. As one example, a module including a part or the whole of (for example, the BB processor826) of the wireless communication interface825and/or the controller821may be implemented on the eNB800. The one or more constituent elements in the module may be implemented in the module. In this case, the module may store a program causing a processor to function as the one more constituent elements (in other words, a program causing the processor to execute operations of the one or more constituent elements) and execute the program. As another example, a program causing the processor to function as the one or more constituent elements may be installed in the eNB800, and the wireless communication interface825(for example, the BB processor826) and/or the controller821may execute the program. In this way, the eNB800, the base station device820, or the module may be provided as a device including the one or more constituent elements and a program causing the processor to function as the one or more constituent elements may be provided. In addition, a readable recording medium on which the program is recorded may be provided. Further, in the eNB800illustrated inFIG.15, the receiving unit105and the transmitting unit107described with reference toFIG.8may be implemented in the wireless communication interface825(for example, the RF circuit827). Further, the transceiving antenna109may be implemented in the antenna810. Further, the network communication unit130may be implemented in the controller821and/or the network interface823. Second Application Example FIG.16is a block diagram illustrating a second example of a schematic configuration of an eNB to which the technology according to the present disclosure may be applied. An eNB830includes one or more antennas840, a base station apparatus850, and an RRH860. Each of the antennas840and the RRH860may be connected to each other via an RF cable. Further, the base station apparatus850and the RRH860may be connected to each other by a high speed line such as optical fiber cables. Each of the antennas840includes a single or a plurality of antenna elements (e.g., antenna elements constituting a MIMO antenna), and is used for the RRH860to transmit and receive a wireless signal. The eNB830may include a plurality of the antennas840as illustrated inFIG.16, and the plurality of antennas840may, for example, correspond to a plurality of frequency bands used by the eNB830. Note thatFIG.16illustrates an example in which the eNB830includes the plurality of antennas840, but the eNB830may include the single antenna840. The base station apparatus850includes a controller851, a memory852, a network interface853, a wireless communication interface855, and a connection interface857. The controller851, the memory852, and the network interface853are similar to the controller821, the memory822, and the network interface823described with reference toFIG.15. The wireless communication interface855supports a cellular communication system such as LTE and LTE-Advanced, and provides wireless connection to a terminal located in a sector corresponding to the RRH860via the RRH860and the antenna840. The wireless communication interface855may typically include a BB processor856or the like. The BB processor856is similar to the BB processor826described with reference toFIG.15except that the BB processor856is connected to an RF circuit864of the RRH860via the connection interface857. The wireless communication interface855may include a plurality of the BB processors856, as illustrated inFIG.15, and the plurality of BB processors856may, for example, correspond to a plurality of frequency bands used by the eNB830. Note thatFIG.16illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface855includes the plurality of BB processors856, but the wireless communication interface855may include the single BB processor856. The connection interface857is an interface for connecting the base station apparatus850(wireless communication interface855) to the RRH860. The connection interface857may be a communication module for communication on the high speed line which connects the base station apparatus850(wireless communication interface855) to the RRH860. Further, the RRH860includes a connection interface861and a wireless communication interface863. The connection interface861is an interface for connecting the RRH860(wireless communication interface863) to the base station apparatus850. The connection interface861may be a communication module for communication on the high speed line. The wireless communication interface863transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna840. The wireless communication interface863may typically include the RF circuit864or the like. The RF circuit864may include a mixer, a filter, an amplifier and the like, and transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna840. The wireless communication interface863may include a plurality of the RF circuits864as illustrated inFIG.16, and the plurality of RF circuits864may, for example, correspond to a plurality of antenna elements. Note thatFIG.16illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface863includes the plurality of RF circuits864, but the wireless communication interface863may include the single RF circuit864. In the eNB830illustrated inFIG.16, one or more constituent elements of the higher layer processing unit101and the control unit103described with reference toFIG.8may be implemented in the wireless communication interface855and/or the wireless communication interface863. Alternatively, at least some of the constituent elements may be implemented in the controller851. As one example, a module including a part or the whole of (for example, the BB processor856) of the wireless communication interface855and/or the controller851may be implemented on the eNB830. The one or more constituent elements may be implemented in the module. In this case, the module may store a program causing a processor to function as the one more constituent elements (in other words, a program causing the processor to execute operations of the one or more constituent elements) and execute the program. As another example, a program causing the processor to function as the one or more constituent elements may be installed in the eNB830, and the wireless communication interface855(for example, the BB processor856) and/or the controller851may execute the program. In this way, the eNB830, the base station device850, or the module may be provided as a device including the one or more constituent elements and a program causing the processor to function as the one or more constituent elements may be provided. In addition, a readable recording medium on which the program is recorded may be provided. Further, in the eNB830illustrated inFIG.16, for example, the receiving unit105and the transmitting unit107described with reference toFIG.8may be implemented in the wireless communication interface863(for example, the RF circuit864). Further, the transceiving antenna109may be implemented in the antenna840. Further, the network communication unit130may be implemented in the controller851and/or the network interface853. 2.2 Application Examples for Terminal Apparatus First Application Example FIG.17is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone900to which the technology according to the present disclosure may be applied. The smartphone900includes a processor901, a memory902, a storage903, an external connection interface904, a camera906, a sensor907, a microphone908, an input device909, a display device910, a speaker911, a wireless communication interface912, one or more antenna switches915, one or more antennas916, a bus917, a battery918, and an auxiliary controller919. The processor901may be, for example, a CPU or a system on chip (SoC), and controls the functions of an application layer and other layers of the smartphone900. The memory902includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores a program executed by the processor901and data. The storage903may include a storage medium such as semiconductor memories and hard disks. The external connection interface904is an interface for connecting the smartphone900to an externally attached device such as memory cards and universal serial bus (USB) devices. The camera906includes, for example, an image sensor such as charge coupled devices (CCDs) and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), and generates a captured image. The sensor907may include a sensor group including, for example, a positioning sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor and the like. The microphone908converts a sound that is input into the smartphone900to an audio signal. The input device909includes, for example, a touch sensor which detects that a screen of the display device910is touched, a key pad, a keyboard, a button, a switch or the like, and accepts an operation or an information input from a user. The display device910includes a screen such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, and displays an output image of the smartphone900. The speaker911converts the audio signal that is output from the smartphone900to a sound. The wireless communication interface912supports a cellular communication system such as LTE or LTE-Advanced, and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface912may typically include the BB processor913, the RF circuit914, and the like. The BB processor913may, for example, perform encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, multiplexing/demultiplexing, and the like, and performs a variety of types of signal processing for wireless communication. On the other hand, the RF circuit914may include a mixer, a filter, an amplifier, and the like, and transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna916. The wireless communication interface912may be a one-chip module in which the BB processor913and the RF circuit914are integrated. The wireless communication interface912may include a plurality of BB processors913and a plurality of RF circuits914as illustrated inFIG.17. Note thatFIG.17illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface912includes a plurality of BB processors913and a plurality of RF circuits914, but the wireless communication interface912may include a single BB processor913or a single RF circuit914. Further, the wireless communication interface912may support other types of wireless communication system such as a short range wireless communication system, a near field communication system, and a wireless local area network (LAN) system in addition to the cellular communication system, and in this case, the wireless communication interface912may include the BB processor913and the RF circuit914for each wireless communication system. Each antenna switch915switches a connection destination of the antenna916among a plurality of circuits (for example, circuits for different wireless communication systems) included in the wireless communication interface912. Each of the antennas916includes one or more antenna elements (for example, a plurality of antenna elements constituting a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmission and reception of the wireless signal by the wireless communication interface912. The smartphone900may include a plurality of antennas916as illustrated inFIG.17. Note thatFIG.17illustrates an example in which the smartphone900includes a plurality of antennas916, but the smartphone900may include a single antenna916. Further, the smartphone900may include the antenna916for each wireless communication system. In this case, the antenna switch915may be omitted from a configuration of the smartphone900. The bus917connects the processor901, the memory902, the storage903, the external connection interface904, the camera906, the sensor907, the microphone908, the input device909, the display device910, the speaker911, the wireless communication interface912, and the auxiliary controller919to each other. The battery918supplies electric power to each block of the smartphone900illustrated inFIG.17via a feeder line that is partially illustrated in the figure as a dashed line. The auxiliary controller919, for example, operates a minimally necessary function of the smartphone900in a sleep mode. In the smartphone900illustrated inFIG.17, one or more constituent elements of the higher layer processing unit201and the control unit203described with reference toFIG.9described with reference toFIG.9may be implemented in the wireless communication interface912. Alternatively, at least some of the constituent elements may be implemented in the processor901or the auxiliary controller919. As one example, a module including a part or the whole of (for example, the BB processor913) of the wireless communication interface912, the processor901, and/or the auxiliary controller919may be implemented on the smartphone900. The one or more constituent elements may be implemented in the module. In this case, the module may store a program causing a processor to function as the one more constituent elements (in other words, a program causing the processor to execute operations of the one or more constituent elements) and execute the program. As another example, a program causing the processor to function as the one or more constituent elements may be installed in the smartphone900, and the wireless communication interface912(for example, the BB processor913), the processor901, and/or the auxiliary controller919may execute the program. In this way, the smartphone900or the module may be provided as a device including the one or more constituent elements and a program causing the processor to function as the one or more constituent elements may be provided. In addition, a readable recording medium on which the program is recorded may be provided. Further, in the smartphone900illustrated inFIG.17, for example, the receiving unit205and the transmitting unit207described with reference toFIG.9may be implemented in the wireless communication interface912(for example, the RF circuit914). Further, the transceiving antenna209may be implemented in the antenna916. Second Application Example FIG.18is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation apparatus920to which the technology according to the present disclosure may be applied. The car navigation apparatus920includes a processor921, a memory922, a global positioning system (GPS) module924, a sensor925, a data interface926, a content player927, a storage medium interface928, an input device929, a display device930, a speaker931, a wireless communication interface933, one or more antenna switches936, one or more antennas937, and a battery938. The processor921may be, for example, a CPU or an SoC, and controls the navigation function and the other functions of the car navigation apparatus920. The memory922includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores a program executed by the processor921and data. The GPS module924uses a GPS signal received from a GPS satellite to measure the position (e.g., latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the car navigation apparatus920. The sensor925may include a sensor group including, for example, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, a barometric sensor and the like. The data interface926is, for example, connected to an in-vehicle network941via a terminal that is not illustrated, and acquires data such as vehicle speed data generated on the vehicle side. The content player927reproduces content stored in a storage medium (e.g., CD or DVD) inserted into the storage medium interface928. The input device929includes, for example, a touch sensor which detects that a screen of the display device930is touched, a button, a switch or the like, and accepts operation or information input from a user. The display device930includes a screen such as LCDs and OLED displays, and displays an image of the navigation function or the reproduced content. The speaker931outputs a sound of the navigation function or the reproduced content. The wireless communication interface933supports a cellular communication system such as LTE or LTE-Advanced, and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface933may typically include the BB processor934, the RF circuit935, and the like. The BB processor934may, for example, perform encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, multiplexing/demultiplexing, and the like, and performs a variety of types of signal processing for wireless communication. On the other hand, the RF circuit935may include a mixer, a filter, an amplifier, and the like, and transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna937. The wireless communication interface933may be a one-chip module in which the BB processor934and the RF circuit935are integrated. The wireless communication interface933may include a plurality of BB processors934and a plurality of RF circuits935as illustrated inFIG.18. Note thatFIG.18illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface933includes a plurality of BB processors934and a plurality of RF circuits935, but the wireless communication interface933may include a single BB processor934or a single RF circuit935. Further, the wireless communication interface933may support other types of wireless communication system such as a short range wireless communication system, a near field communication system, and a wireless LAN system in addition to the cellular communication system, and in this case, the wireless communication interface933may include the BB processor934and the RF circuit935for each wireless communication system. Each antenna switch936switches a connection destination of the antenna937among a plurality of circuits (for example, circuits for different wireless communication systems) included in the wireless communication interface933. Each of the antennas937includes one or more antenna elements (for example, a plurality of antenna elements constituting a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmission and reception of the wireless signal by the wireless communication interface933. The car navigation apparatus920may include a plurality of antennas937as illustrated inFIG.18. Note thatFIG.18illustrates an example in which the car navigation apparatus920includes a plurality of antennas937, but the car navigation apparatus920may include a single antenna937. Further, the car navigation apparatus920may include the antenna937for each wireless communication system. In this case, the antenna switch936may be omitted from a configuration of the car navigation apparatus920. The battery938supplies electric power to each block of the car navigation apparatus920illustrated inFIG.18via a feeder line that is partially illustrated in the figure as a dashed line. Further, the battery938accumulates the electric power supplied from the vehicle. In the car navigation920illustrated inFIG.18, one or more constituent elements of the higher layer processing unit201and the control unit203described with reference toFIG.9described with reference toFIG.9may be implemented in the wireless communication interface933. Alternatively, at least some of the constituent elements may be implemented in the processor921. As one example, a module including a part or the whole of (for example, the BB processor934) of the wireless communication interface933and/or the processor921may be implemented on the car navigation920. The one or more constituent elements may be implemented in the module. In this case, the module may store a program causing a processor to function as the one more constituent elements (in other words, a program causing the processor to execute operations of the one or more constituent elements) and execute the program. As another example, a program causing the processor to function as the one or more constituent elements may be installed in the car navigation920, and the wireless communication interface933(for example, the BB processor934) and/or the processor921may execute the program. In this way, the car navigation920or the module may be provided as a device including the one or more constituent elements and a program causing the processor to function as the one or more constituent elements may be provided. In addition, a readable recording medium on which the program is recorded may be provided. Further, in the car navigation920illustrated inFIG.18, for example, the receiving unit205and the transmitting unit207described with reference toFIG.9may be implemented in the wireless communication interface933(for example, the RF circuit935). Further, the transceiving antenna209may be implemented in the antenna937. The technology of the present disclosure may also be realized as an in-vehicle system (or a vehicle)940including one or more blocks of the car navigation apparatus920, the in-vehicle network941, and a vehicle module942. That is, the in-vehicle system (or a vehicle)940may be provided as a device that includes at least one of the higher layer processing unit201, the control unit203, the receiving unit205, or the transmitting unit207. The vehicle module942generates vehicle data such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and trouble information, and outputs the generated data to the in-vehicle network941. 3. CONCLUSION As described above, in a situation in which a reference signal such as a CRS is discontinuously transmitted as in LAA or NR (that is, a situation in which a sub frame with which a reference signal is not transmitted can occur), a communication device (the terminal device) according to the present embodiment acquires information regarding communication quality on the basis of the reference signal targeting a period in which the reference signal is transmitted (for example, a sub frame). Note that, a period in which the reference signal is transmitted may be specified on the basis of, for example, a detection result of a synchronization signal such as a DS or information regarding the period may be notified of by the base station. In addition, the period in which the reference signal is transmitted may be set in advance. In this way, in the present embodiment, the acquisition of the information regarding the communication quality (for example, measurement of communication quality) is performed in the unit period (for example, the sub frame) in which the predetermined reference signal is transmitted. According to the foregoing configuration, in the communication device according to the present embodiment, a situation in which a period in which the reference signal is not transmitted is considered to be an acquisition target of information regarding the communication quality can be prevented from occurring in a situation in which the reference signal is discontinuously transmitted. Thus, in the communication device according to the present embodiment, more stable downlink synchronization or RLM measurement can be realized even in a situation in which the reference signal such as the CRS is not transmitted during all the unit periods (for example, the sub frames). The preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure has/have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, whilst the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples. A person skilled in the art may find various alterations and modifications within the scope of the appended claims, and it should be understood that they will naturally come under the technical scope of the present disclosure. Further, the effects described in this specification are merely illustrative or exemplified effects, and are not limitative. That is, with or in the place of the above effects, the technology according to the present disclosure may achieve other effects that are clear to those skilled in the art from the description of this specification. Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below. (1) A communication device including: a communication unit configured to perform wireless communication; and an acquisition unit configured to acquire information regarding communication quality of the wireless communication targeting a period in which a reference signal is transmitted on the basis of the reference signal that is discontinuously transmitted. (2) The communication device according to (1), in which, in a series of periods including a plurality of unit periods, the reference signal is selectively transmitted during at least some of the unit periods, and the acquisition unit acquires information regarding the communication quality targeting the unit period in which the reference signal is transmitted in the series of periods. (3) The communication device according to (1) or (2), in which the acquisition unit acquires information regarding the communication quality targeting a period on the basis of a detection result of a predetermined synchronization signal. (4) The communication device according to any one of (1) to (3), in which the acquisition unit acquires information regarding the communication quality targeting a period specified on the basis of information notified of by a base station. (5) The communication device according to any one of (1) to (4), in which the acquisition unit acquires information regarding the communication quality targeting a predetermined period in which a predetermined synchronization signal is transmitted. (6) The communication device according to (1), in which the acquisition unit acquires information regarding the communication quality targeting a period specified on the basis of a detection result of a predetermined synchronization signal transmitted in a downlink signal from a base station. (7) The communication device according to (6), in which, in a series of periods including a plurality of unit periods, the acquisition unit acquires information regarding the communication quality targeting a predetermined number of the unit periods among the unit periods in which the synchronization signal is detected. (8) The communication device according to any one of (1) to (7), including: a control unit configured to control the wireless communication with a base station on the basis of the acquired information regarding the communication quality, in which the control unit disconnects or reestablishes the wireless communication with the base station in a case in which a period indicating that the communication quality is equal to or less than a threshold exceeds a predetermined time. (9) The communication device according to (8), in which setting of a timer for measuring the predetermined time is different from setting of the timer in a communication scheme of consecutively transmitting the reference signal. (10) The communication device according to any one of (1) to (9), in which the acquisition unit acquires information regarding the communication quality, acquires information regarding the communication quality targeting a period in which the reference signal is transmitted on the basis of the reference signal that is discontinuously transmitted, in a case in which the wireless communication is performed using an unlicensed band. (11) The communication device according to any one of (1) to (10), in which the acquisition unit acquires information regarding the communication quality targeting a period in which the reference signal is transmitted on the basis of the reference signal that is discontinuously transmitted, in a case in which the wireless communication is performed on the basis of a communication scheme of enabling a sub carrier interval and a symbol length to be controlled. (12) The communication device according to any one of (1) to (11), in which the acquisition unit acquires information regarding the communication quality with regard to each of a primary cell and a secondary cell. (13) The communication device according to any one of (1) to (11), in which the acquisition unit acquires information regarding the communication quality with regard to each of a secondary cell and at least any of a primary cell or a primary secondary cell. (14) The communication device according to any one of (1) to (11), in which the acquisition unit acquires information regarding the communication quality with regard to each of a serving cell and a neighbor cell. (15) A communication device including: a communication unit configured to perform wireless communication; and a control unit configured to control a reference signal that is discontinuously transmitted and used to measure communication quality of the wireless communication such that information for directly or indirectly specifying a period in which the reference signal is transmitted is transmitted to a terminal device. (16) The communication device according to (15), in which the control unit performs control such that the reference signal is transmitted to the terminal device during a period in which transmission of a predetermined synchronization signal is set. (17) The communication device according to (15) or (16), in which the control unit performs control such that information regarding a period in which transmission of the reference signal is allocated is transmitted to the terminal device. (18) The communication device according to any one of (15) to (17), in which the control unit performs control such that the reference signal is transmitted to the terminal device during a predetermined period in which a predetermined synchronization signal is transmitted. (19) A communication method including: performing wireless communication; and acquiring, by a computer, information regarding communication quality of the wireless communication targeting a period in which a reference signal is transmitted on the basis of the reference signal that is discontinuously transmitted. (20) A communication method including: performing wireless communication; and controlling, by a computer, a reference signal that is discontinuously transmitted and used to measure communication quality of the wireless communication such that information for directly or indirectly specifying a period in which the reference signal is transmitted is transmitted to a terminal device. (21) A program causing a computer to: perform wireless communication; and acquire information regarding communication quality of the wireless communication targeting a period in which a reference signal is transmitted on the basis of the reference signal that is discontinuously transmitted. (22) A program causing a computer to: perform wireless communication; and control a reference signal that is discontinuously transmitted and used to measure communication quality of the wireless communication such that information for directly or indirectly specifying a period in which the reference signal is transmitted is transmitted to a terminal device. REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1base station device101higher layer processing unit103control unit105receiving unit1051decoding unit1053demodulating unit1055demultiplexing unit1057wireless receiving unit1059channel measuring unit107transmitting unit1071encoding unit1073modulating unit1075multiplexing unit1077wireless transmitting unit1079link reference signal generating unit109transceiving antenna130network communication unit2terminal device201higher layer processing unit203control unit205receiving unit2051decoding unit2053demodulating unit2055demultiplexing unit2057wireless receiving unit2059channel measuring unit207transmitting unit2071encoding unit2073modulating unit2075multiplexing unit2077wireless transmitting unit2079link reference signal generating unit209transceiving antenna | 159,344 |
11943801 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding of the solution. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the solution may be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific details. In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the solution with unnecessary details. Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present solution. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the 5G wireless communications networks heterogeneity of the different domains to be managed (e.g. transport, radio, data-centers and VNF) is very complex to be handled because:these domains could belong to different providers; thus, it is suitable to avoid exposing all information to each other, but it could be better to hide part of them for security/confidentiality reasons while disclosing some information that enables seamless deployment of services;scalability is easier to achieve with reduced amount of informationsince the information is heterogenous because it is derived from heterogenous domains, the optimization could be complex and hence providing a representation according to a common model can simplify the task for the orchestrator. Abstracting may be a very useful method to deal with these critical points. For example, scalability is easier if implemented on abstracted information compared with the original full data set because abstracting reduces the amount of information to be handled. However, the 5G model makes the problem of heterogeneity of the different domains to be managed even more complex because it includes the concept of end user mobility. Existing solutions for abstracting are based on the concept that a service is required from an ingress point to an egress point that is kept static during the service usage, instead in 5G a service requires some connectivity (that is provided by the cooperation of radio and transport) in a defined geographical area. One such solution for abstracting is disclosed, for example, in patent application WO2015/124200. The 5G wireless communications networks require providing services which takes into account mobility of end users (i.e. mobility of user equipment or terminals). This means that managing and delivery of services should be done taking into account the end user's mobility. Solutions for design and service delivery platforms discussed for 5G are based on the fact that a service is required on static ingress point and static egress point. For example, the radio access and the related resources of the transport network are usually exposed as an ingress point representing the physical port of the equipment, e.g. switch, antenna, and an egress point, e.g. physical port of the egress switch of the transport and port of the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). However, when it is required to support mobility for a service, e.g. an automotive service that offers collision avoidance at a crossroad, we need to provide a coverage area of the crossroad. Several antennas of the radio domain and corresponding one or more switches of the transport domain (ingress ports of the switches) are required to provide the service in this coverage area. Hence, it is necessary to represent the capability of the infrastructure to provide resources (radio, transport and computing) on such coverage area while end users move in this coverage area. Hence it is very difficult for an orchestrator (of radio, transport, data-centers) to provide a suitable view to a service orchestrator when the VNF designed to deliver the requested service (e.g. collision avoidance) must be allocated and managed. The VNF is designed to deliver this service and the service orchestrator manages this VNF. Moreover, it is advantageous to decouple radio and transport in a sort of client server relationship for scalability reasons and because they can belong to different providers. Hence the problem to solve is how to abstract the resources of the transport domain and include support for mobility of final services, independently of radio specific requirements. The method should also ensure that at the same time resources in radio and computing domains will be available for providing the service to a mobile user. Although there are several solutions to provide an abstract view of the transport network, several significant challenges remain to be addressed in the context of wireless network abstraction (e.g., isolation, resource discovery and allocation, mobility management). Moreover, a solution that allows handling mobility of end users (and their terminals/UEs) while managing the transport resources doesn't exist. The solution now to be disclosed provides a novel method to include the coverage area in the abstraction. The method allows for selecting the set of resources (radio, transport and computing) to provide service in the coverage area and, by monitoring received service requests, get the information about status of these resources. This is novel method to manage the resources is a way to enable the isolation, resource discovery and allocation, mobility management. In this proposal we disclose a novel abstracting method that includes a parameter indicative of a coverage area in order to meet the mobility requirements of services in a way that allows the orchestrator to manage the transport resources. Moreover, this proposal meets the requirement of keeping radio, transport and computing domains decoupled from each other. Keeping these domains separated may be necessary and/or recommended for several reasons, for example:radio, transport and computing (i.e. data-centers) domains may be operated by different providers,the three domains may by managed by different organizations of the same operator (provider),the three domains operate based on different commands,scalability reasons. Hence, keeping these domains separated is useful, especially if it is possible to orchestrate them efficiently. The term “mobility of an end user” refers to the fact that a user and its User Equipment, UE, is free to move around (with the obvious consequences on handover in the radio domain) and the service will be delivered to this UE. The term “mobility of services” refers to the ability of the network to deliver services to a UE that is mobile. Hence the “mobility requirement of a service” is the requirement (or a set of requirements) that must be met in order to deliver the service to a mobile UE (mobile user). This document proposes an abstracting system architecture, which enables the abstracting method to produce an abstracted view of the physical infrastructure (network, transport, computing) which takes into account the mobility of the end users (and their terminals/UEs). Such an abstracted view is referred to in this document as “abstracted resources”. The system,100, (illustrated inFIG.1) provides a cross-abstraction that aggregates virtual resources (radio, transport, computing), represented by the individual abstracted resources from the three domains, based on the service coverage area to guarantee a specific a class of service. By the class of service it is understood a service or a group of services with the same requirements in terms of bandwidth, latency, CPU, memory, etc. The service coverage area is the geographical area in which it is possible to ask for that service. In one embodiment the system,100, comprises abstraction modules, one for each domain: radio —102, transport —104and computing —106, which provide abstracted resources for radio, transport, and computing infrastructure. These abstraction modules may be implemented as modules (applications, functions) in NMS/OSS or outside NMS/OSS. Abstracting resources in each of these three domains may be carried out using one of the known methods for abstracting. The references114,116and118represent the three domains (radio, transport and computing), whereas references120,122and124represent resources at these three domains. Network abstraction is a process in which information representing the network is simplified by removing certain elements (nodes, edges and their characteristics) that are not important for the task (or tasks) for which the abstracted network information is going to be used. The goal of network abstraction is to retain only information that is relevant to the intended purpose. Methods and tools for abstracting network information are known. In one embodiment of the present solution a cross-abstraction manager (CAM),110, receives information comprising abstracted resources from three sources (radio102, transport104and computing106domains) and because the characteristics of these three domains are very different in a preferred embodiment the information comprising abstracted resources is translated so that the CAM,110, operates on abstracted resources from all three domains in the same format. The information comprising the abstracted resources from the three domains is received at the CAM,110, via an interface506,610. The CAM may have one or more interfaces for communication and information transfer. To simplify the orchestration and make it efficient, the idea is that the subset of information exposed is translated from the technology dependent information (e.g. wavelengths, spectrum, etc.) into service information (e.g. delay, bandwidth, resiliency, coverage area). The translation outputs service parameters and this operation allows for having the same abstraction parameters independently of the specific technology of each of the domains. The CAM,110, provides a new level of abstraction that takes into account the mobility of the services, and it achieves this by aggregating the abstracted resources based on the type of service specified by the service descriptor,108. The mobility information may be considered by the cross-abstraction manager,110in at least two different ways. In a first embodiment the CAM,110, receives abstracted resources from radio, transport, and computing domains (infrastructure) and then another input (a first service description) from the service descriptor,108. The first service description comprises, amongst other information described below, also information indicative of the geographical area in which to guarantee coverage for the service specified in said service description (“coverage area”). Based on all these inputs the CAM,110identifies (and in one embodiment also assigns) resources in radio102, transport104and computing106domains that will deliver the service as specified in the received first service description. In this case the output produced by the CAM,110, are the resources that meet the requirements specified in said first service description. In a second embodiment the CAM,110, receives information comprising abstracted resources from radio, transport, and computing domains (infrastructure) and then another input from the service descriptor,108. The service descriptor,108, provides a second service description as the input to the CAM,110. The second service description is similar to the first service description described above with the difference that the second service description does not contain information explicitly indicative of the coverage area in which to guarantee coverage for the service. The remaining information contained in the second service description is described below. With this input the CAM,110, determines the area in which resources from radio102, transport104and computing106domains can guarantee delivery of the service as specified in the received second service description. In this case the output produced by the CAM,110, are the resources that meet the requirements specified in said second service description and information indicative of the coverage area in which the resources are located. One can interpret this embodiment as a way to deliver a specific service in a broadest possible area—the service description specifies only the service and the CAM identifies where this service can be guaranteed. Alternatively, the second embodiment may use the first service description, which comprises, amongst other information described below, also information indicative of the coverage area in which to guarantee coverage for the service specified in said service description (“coverage area”), but in this alternative the “coverage area” would be defined by information indicative of “maximum available coverage area”. This approach would be beneficial when deploying, for example, some government sponsored emergency services for which it is important to cover as broadly as possible. The service descriptor,108, is a function that identifies several classes of service (based on vertical requests, e.g. fleet management from car manufacturer, health service, etc.) and for each service description it creates a record in a database,112, (e.g., a relational database) specifying the following information:<type of service, priority, performance requirements, DC requirements, coverage area, optional> The service descriptor108may receive a service request or information derived from a service request received from a service operator. The service descriptor may also have access to information relevant to service requests from forecasts, off-line records on contracts with service providers and historical records in the database112. This information may then be used to produce service descriptions. Table 1 below gives examples of the information elements present in the service description. TABLE 1Information elementExamples (the list is not exhaustive)type of serviceIntelligent Transport SystempriorityHighperformance requirementsbandwidth, latencyDC (data centre)computing capabilities, CPU, memory,requirementsstoragecoverage area1 km length, 200 meters large on thecross-road at the address XXXX From now on the more generic term “service description” will be used to cover both terms “first service description” and “second service description”. By including the “coverage area” parameter in the service description it is possible to take into account the mobility of the services in the selection of the resources independently from the specific abstraction model used to abstract radio, transport and computing domains. The CAM,110, receiving inputs from radio, transport, computing domains as well as from the service descriptor, produces cross-abstraction for different geographical areas (depending on the “coverage area” parameter). A flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method of orchestrating a plurality of network resources for providing a requested network service in a mobile communications network in accordance with the present invention is presented inFIG.2. The method comprises an operation of monitoring service requests,202. Service requests are received from service operators (service requestors) and are received by an interface,506,610, of the CAM,110. The service requests may be received by the interface directly from the service operators or indirectly, via elements of the network. The CAM,110, may produce a system response to the user requesting the service (service operator) via the interface506,610including a service catalogue, etc. The method also comprises an operation of obtaining information comprising abstracted resources of radio domain, transport domain and computing domain,206. This information is obtained from abstracting functions,102,104,106, associated with the respective domains. These abstracting functions,102,104,106, may be in one embodiment part of the radio, transport and computing domains, but equally they may be located outside these domains and receive necessary information from their corresponding domains to perform abstracting. It is also possible that some of the abstracting functions,102,104,106, are part of these domains while the remaining ones are outside their respective domains. In the next operation the method comprises obtaining and processing a service description comprising a set of parameters defining the service to be provided,208. Then, the method comprises an operation of identifying in the abstracted resources from the radio, transport and computing domains resources for delivering the service defined in the service description in a coverage area determined based on the service description,212. In the embodiment described above the term “obtaining” may comprise receiving, when the relevant information is sent. In an alternative embodiment obtaining may comprise downloading the relevant information when the relevant information was published and made available for download. Thus, the method may operate in embodiments relying obtaining relevant information in push and pull implementations. FIG.3illustrates one embodiment of the operation of obtaining and processing service description,208. In step302the CAM,110, processes that service description by identifying class of service of the requested service. The service descriptor disclosed earlier illustrates format and Table 1 presented earlier in this document gives examples of the information elements present in the service description. Because by the class of service we mean a service or a group of services with the same requirements in terms of bandwidth, latency, CPU, memory, by analysing the content of the service description it is possible to identify the class of service of the requested service. The CAM,110, also identifies,304, the coverage area where the service is requested to operate at the class identified at step302. In one embodiment the service description comprises information indicative of the coverage area. This information may explicitly identify the coverage area, for example using latitude and longitude coordinates. In alternative embodiments the coverage area may be given implicitly, for example by description of the service, for example WiFi tether in tramway line number14in Manchester. The order of the steps302and304as illustrated inFIG.3and described above may be reversed or the two operations302and304may be performed in parallel.FIG.3illustrates just one possible embodiment of several possible. Preferably the method also comprises forecasting,204, service distribution in a geographical area based on results of the operation of monitoring,202. In this preferred embodiment a starting point is that at least some of the resources are presented as available to the service requestor. This availability may be forecasted based on contracts, previous measurements, etc. . . . . For example, there may be another service, already running in the network and it needs certain resources. However, the nature of this service is that the resources are needed until early evening hours, (e.g. 9 pm) and then not needed until 6 am. Knowing this allows to present these resources as available during nights. When a new service request arrives, the system updates the abstraction to reflect consumption of the resources by this new service and in this way allowing to determine availability of resources at any given time in the future based on currently running and newly received service requests. In principle if no forecast is available the system starts from scratch. Abstraction views are always available (each of the three domains provides its own abstracted resources independently from service requests), but it may be that they are not correlated to a forecast. In case the resources exposed by the abstraction do not meet the requirements of the service request the system verifies if it is possible to modify the abstracted views to provide alternative resources that can meet the service request. As a result, the cross-abstraction changes. In another preferred embodiment the method comprises identifying in the abstracted resources from the radio, transport and computing domains resources in order to produce a cross-abstraction,210. The cross-abstraction is an aggregation of the abstracted resources per geographical area and per class of service. Delivering a service in in such a system works in two main phases that are correlated and linked to each other. At the beginning the resources necessary for delivering the service are identified (e.g. as a cross-abstraction) and provided including the coverage area. In this initial phase the service is created, but is not yet operational, i.e. it is a potential service which is included in a catalogue. In the next phase the service is operated (i.e. delivered) after a request to provide the service. The requests and responses (e.g. the catalogue) are communicated via the interface506,610. Producing the cross-abstraction after obtaining the information comprising abstracted resources from the three domains is advantageous because it gives the information representing the capability of the infrastructure to provide resources (radio, transport and computing) capable to deliver services at a specific class of service and identifies geographical area where this class of service can be delivered while end users move about this geographical area and still enjoy the service. This, in turn, makes processing of a new service request with its associated service description easier because the initial work has already been done. In the following step the operation of identifying the resources for delivering the service defined in the service description is performed on said cross-abstraction. In alternative embodiment the information on abstracted resources from the three domains waits at the CAM,110, until a service request and service description arrive and the CAM,110, works on the on abstracted resources from the radio, transport and computing domains. In this embodiment the cross-abstraction is produced on-the-fly. In yet another alternative the method comprises identifying resources from the three domains required to deliver the requested service based on information comprising abstracted resources from radio, transport and computing domains and the service description comprising information indicative of the required coverage area and class of service. This last embodiment may be advantageous in delivering simple services requiring mobility of users, e.g. providing a WiFi tether in a tramway running a fixed route through a city. Such a simple service does not require full cross-abstraction and can be done based by identifying resources from the three domains rather than processing all information to produce the cross-abstraction. In different embodiments the definition of the class of service can be done according different criteria, e.g. a class of service represents the final user services (e.g. cloud robotics), or it represents a sub-service with same requirements, for example, in the cloud robotics scenario robot monitoring is performed with medium latency and robot control is performed with very low latency. Such two sub-services can be considered as different class of services. In consequence, the definition of class of service and its mapping into the coverage area can be based on such different criteria. For example, for each geographical coverage area, it possible to create a sort of “virtual coverage areas” where the different classes of service are mapped. In one embodiment the service description comprises information indicative of the coverage area. As explained earlier this information may be given explicitly or implicitly in the service description. Based on the services priority, the performance and data centre (DC) requirements, the system aggregates the abstracted resources provided by radio, transport and computing domains exposing for the different coverage area a cross-abstraction that takes into account the network and performance requirements, service isolation and mobility support. If there is an overlap among different coverage areas the resources exposed for each coverage area are different according to the priority of services and the requirements of the specific class of service. The term “exposed” refers to the resources presented as available to the service requestor. They could be allocated, allocated and configured or not allocated. This depends on the policy and technology of the domains (e.g. in case of optical network usually the resource is allocated because it requires a lot of time to be configured, in case of packet technology the configuration time is very fast but in this case the decision on whether the resources should be allocated or not depends on the priority associated with the service. For example, let's suppose to have packet technology and multiple services. Some of them with high priority and high latency, other lower priority and low latency; in this case it could be reasonable to allocate and configure the resource for high priority and high latency and keep some resources not allocated in advance to share for low priority and low latency. The latency is characteristic of the network (high latency=long delays, low latency=small delays). The present invention can work with any type of policy of the different domains. Moreover, by monitoring the services and resource utilization the system,100, is able to update the abstraction views for a particular coverage area according to the real service distribution. In this way any change, such as the number of end users, mobility of end users (and their UEs/terminals), fluctuation of channel status, etc., will cause an adjustment of the abstraction views without causing changes in resource allocation for other services guaranteeing service isolation. Within a coverage area, by tracking user location, it is possible to maintain service continuity by keeping a user connected when its point of connection to the network moves from one access point (or base station) to another. FIG.4illustrates further alternative operations of the method illustrated in embodiments shown inFIGS.2and35. In this embodiment if the service description comprises information explicitly identifying coverage area,402—Yes, the method continues to step212(i.e. identifying in the abstracted resources from the radio domain, transport domain and computing domain resources for delivering the service defined in the service description in a coverage area determined based on the service description). Alternatively, if the service description does not comprise explicit information indicative of the coverage area,402-No, the method comprises determining the coverage area based on a type of service identified in the service description,404. For example, if the service description (type of service field) explains the application of the service is real time reporting of certain blood parameters of a mobile patient it may be inferred from this that the coverage should be the maximum coverage the network can provide. In another example the service may be WiFi tether in tramway line number14in Manchester from which the geographical coverage may also be inferred. In another embodiment the CAM,110, may also use information included in the service request corresponding to the service description in order to determine the coverage area. Using information from a service request may supplement the information obtained (obtainable) from service description or the method may use only the information obtained from the service description. The method then comprises two alternative embodiments. In the first embodiment the coverage area is taken to be the one inferred from the service information and/or possibly from its corresponding service request and the method continues to step212. The second embodiment includes dialog with service operator who requested the service. In step406shown inFIG.4the service operator requesting the network service is provided with information indicative of the determined coverage area. This is the coverage area inferred from the service information and/or possibly from its corresponding service request. In the next step a response from the service operator is received indicative of the requested coverage area,408. This may be a simple confirmation that the coverage area provided in step406should be used or the response may include a different coverage area for use in the method. Finally, the method comprises using,410, the information indicative of the requested coverage area, indicated by service operator's response, in the operation of step212. The above embodiment illustrated inFIG.4may be also explained with reference to the earlier mentioned example of collision avoidance. Once the CAM,110, receives the service description,208, and determines that the service description does not comprise explicit identification of a coverage area, 4012—No, the CAM,110, processes the service description and finds that the type of service field contains value automotive—collision avoidance. Based on this value the CAM determines coverage area to be a network of corridors along roads in a country in which this network operates,404. In one alternative embodiment this coverage area may be used for identifying in the abstracted resources from the three domains the resources required for delivering the service defined in the service description along the roads,212. Preferably, however, the CAM,110, sends the information identifying the coverage area determined in step404as explained above to the service operator,406. The service operator may respond in for example by confirming that the coverage area determined in step404should be used or the service operator may modify the coverage area and specify that the collision avoidance service will be deployed at crossroads (e.g. 500 meters along each A-road, 200-meters along each B-road, and 1000 meters along motorways near exits). The CAM receives,408, this response and uses,410, the information indicative of the coverage area for identifying in the abstracted resources from the three domains the resources required for delivering the service defined in the service description. Preferably the method further comprises allocating the identified resources to the requested service. On the basis of service request and corresponding service description resources in the coverage are identified, then the availability of the resources is verified in the coverage area. These operations can be performed in accordance with several parameters and criteria. The simplest embodiment considers that all the resources belonging to the coverage area are utilized concurrently by the service during whole duration of the service. In this case all the resources at the peak are booked until the service is terminated. A second embodiment considers the amount of time each of the resources is occupied. This approach considers mobility of the user (i.e. that the user is moving with his/her UE and where it is going), hence the use of the resources varies while the user move. This second embodiment benefits from availability of characteristic of the service which then allows to derive the use of the resource at the time the service is delivered. This characteristic may be provided by the service operator or be determined by the CAM,110, monitoring usage of the resources as a function of time. This may be particularly effective in the case of repetitive services, for example the WiFi tether on board of a tramway is very repetitive and easy to predict—the radio resources are needed where the tramway car is located, and the tramway goes along a well-defined route according to a timetable. Hence, it is easy to predict which resources will be needed and when they will be needed by analysing usage of these resources over a few days (the length of the learning period will depend on whether there is a different timetable for weekdays and weekends). FIG.5illustrates one embodiment of an apparatus,500, which implements the method of orchestrating a plurality of network resources for providing a requested network service in a mobile communications network described earlier. The apparatus,500, may include processing circuitry (one or more than processor)502coupled to the interface(s)506, and to the memory504. By way of example, the interface(s)506, the processor(s)502, and the memory504could be connected in series as illustrated inFIG.5. Alternatively, these components502,504and506may be coupled to an internal bus system of the apparatus,500. The memory804may include a Read-Only-Memory (ROM), e.g., a flash ROM, a Random Access Memory (RAM), e.g., a Dynamic RAM (DRAM) or Static RAM (SRAM), a mass storage, e.g., a hard disk or solid state disk, or the like. The memory,504, may include software,512, and/or control parameters,514. The memory,504, may include suitably configured program code to be executed by the processor(s),502, so as to implement the above-described method as explained in connection withFIGS.1-4. It is to be understood that the structures as illustrated inFIG.5are merely schematic and that the apparatus,500, may actually include further components which, for the sake of clarity, have not been illustrated, e.g., further interfaces or processors. Also, it is to be understood that the memory504may include further program code for implementing other and/or known functionalities. According to some embodiments, also a computer program may be provided for implementing functionalities of the apparatus500, e.g., in the form of a physical medium storing the program code and/or other data to be stored in the memory504, or by making the program code available for download or by streaming. It is also to be understood that the apparatus500may be provided as a virtual apparatus500. In one embodiment, the apparatus500may be provided in distributed resources, such as in cloud resources. When provided as a virtual apparatus, it will be appreciated that the memory504, processing circuitry502, and interface506may be provided as functional elements. The functional elements may be distributed in a logical network and not necessarily be directly physically connected. It is also to be understood that the apparatus500may be provided as a single-node device, or as a multi-node system. In a preferred embodiment the apparatus,500, for orchestrating a plurality of network resources for providing a requested network service in a mobile communications network comprises a processing circuitry,502and a memory,504. The memory,504, containing instructions in a form of a software code,512, which are executable by the processing circuitry,502. When the software code comprising the instructions is executed the apparatus,500, is operative to monitor service requests and receive (or download) information comprising abstracted resources of radio domain, transport domain and computing domain. The options for receiving or downloading were already discussed in description of the method and the same is applicable to embodiments of an apparatus implementing the method. The apparatus,500, is also operative to obtain and process a service description comprising a set of parameters defining the service to be provided. In one embodiment processing of the service description leads to identifying class of service of the requested service. The service descriptor disclosed earlier illustrates format and Table 1 presented earlier gives examples of the information elements present in the service description. The processing also allows the apparatus500to identify the coverage area where the service is requested to operate at the class of service identified as described earlier identified. In one embodiment the service description comprises information indicative of the coverage area. This information may explicitly identify the coverage area, for example using latitude and longitude coordinates. In alternative embodiments the coverage area may be given implicitly, for example by description of the service, for example WiFi tether in tramway line number14in Manchester. The apparatus,500, is further operative to identify in the abstracted resources from the three domains the resources for delivering the service defined in the service description in a coverage area determined based on the service description. FIG.6illustrates alternative embodiment of an apparatus,600, which implements the method of orchestrating a plurality of network resources for providing a requested network service in a mobile communications network described earlier. The apparatus,600, comprises a monitor module or function,602, for monitoring service requests. The service requests arrive from service operators (directly on indirectly) at the interface610. The apparatus also comprises a module for obtaining,604, information comprising abstracted resources of radio domain, transport domain and computing domain and a processing module,606, for obtaining and processing a service description comprising a set of parameters defining the service to be provided. As explained earlier obtaining may include receiving or downloading in embodiments of this invention. The apparatus,600, also comprises a module for identifying,608, in the abstracted resources from the three domains resources for delivering the service defined in the service description in a coverage area determined based on the service description. In the embodiments illustrated inFIGS.5and6and described in this document the apparatus500and600operates as the cross-abstraction manager (CAM)110shown inFIG.1and is operative to carry out the embodiments of the method described above with reference toFIGS.2,3and4. Preferably the apparatus,500,600,110, is configured to identify in the abstracted resources from the radio, transport and computing domains resources to produce a cross-abstraction, wherein said cross-abstraction aggregates the abstracted resources per geographical area and per class of services. The apparatus is further configured to perform the operation of identifying the resources for delivering the service defined in the service description on said cross-abstraction. In a preferred embodiment the service description comprises information indicative of the coverage area. This may be an explicit indication using geographical coordinates or some other descriptive identification of the coverage area, e.g. 2 km on either side of bridge over river Avon along M40 motorway. If the service description does not comprise information indicative of the coverage area the apparatus,500,600,110, is operative to determine the coverage area based on a type of service identified in the service description. Preferably the content of the service type field is used to determine the coverage area on its own, or in combination with information obtained from a corresponding service request. When the service description does not comprise information indicative of the coverage area in one embodiment the apparatus500,600,110takes the coverage area inferred from the service description (preferably with supporting information obtained from the corresponding request). However, in a preferred embodiment, in order to provide a bespoke service, the apparatus,500,600,110, initiates dialog with the service operator to get the coverage area determined accurately. The apparatus is configured to provided provide the service operator requesting the network service with information indicative of the determined coverage area inferred from service description (and in some embodiments also from the corresponding service request) and then obtain a response indicative of the requested coverage area from the service operator. The apparatus is configured to use the information indicative of the requested coverage area as indicated in the service operator's response to identify in the abstracted resources from the radio, transport and computing domains resources for delivering the service defined in the service description. The methods of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware, or as software modules running on one or more processors. The methods may also be carried out according to the instructions of a computer program, and the present disclosure also provides a computer readable medium having stored thereon a program for carrying out any of the methods described herein. A computer program embodying the disclosure may be stored on a computer readable medium, or it could, for example, be in the form of a signal such as a downloadable data signal provided from an Internet website, or it could be in any other form. It should be noted that the above-mentioned examples illustrate rather than limit the disclosure, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. The word “comprising” does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim, “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality, and a single processor or other unit may fulfil the functions of several units recited in the claims. Any reference signs in the claims shall not be construed so as to limit their scope. | 41,729 |
11943802 | While the features described herein may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to be limiting to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure: Memory Medium—Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include an installation medium, e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; a computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; a non-volatile memory such as a Flash, magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage; registers, or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may include other types of non-transitory memory as well or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system in which the programs are executed, or may be located in a second different computer system which connects to the first computer system over a network, such as the Internet. In the latter instance, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or more memory mediums which may reside in different locations, e.g., in different computer systems that are connected over a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as computer programs) that may be executed by one or more processors. Carrier Medium—a memory medium as described above, as well as a physical transmission medium, such as a bus, network, and/or other physical transmission medium that conveys signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals. Programmable Hardware Element—includes various hardware devices comprising multiple programmable function blocks connected via a programmable interconnect. Examples include FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (Field Programmable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). The programmable function blocks may range from fine grained (combinatorial logic or look up tables) to coarse grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). A programmable hardware element may also be referred to as “reconfigurable.” Computer System—any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system, workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digital assistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or other device or combinations of devices. In general, the term “computer system” can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium. User Equipment (UE) (or “UE Device”)—any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile telephones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™-based phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS™, PlayStation Portable™ Gameboy Advance™, iPhone™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watch, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, or other handheld devices, etc. In general, the term “UE” or “UE device” can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and/or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) which is easily transported by a user and capable of wireless communication. Wireless Device—any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device can be portable (or mobile) or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A UE is an example of a wireless device. Communication Device—any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communications, where the communications can be wired or wireless. A communication device can be portable (or mobile) or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device. Base Station—The term “Base Station” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning, and at least includes a wireless communication station installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system. For example, if the base station is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an ‘eNodeB’ or ‘eNB’. If the base station is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternately be referred to as a ‘gNodeB’ or ‘gNB’. Although certain aspects are described in the context of LTE or 5G NR, references to “eNB,” “gNB,” “nodeB,” “base station,” “NB,” etc., may refer to one or more wireless nodes that service a cell to provide a wireless connection between user devices and a wider network generally and that the concepts discussed are not limited to any particular wireless technology. Although certain aspects are described in the context of LTE or 5G NR, references to “eNB,” “gNB,” “nodeB,” “base station,” “NB,” etc., are not intended to limit the concepts discussed herein to any particular wireless technology and the concepts discussed may be applied in any wireless system. Node—The term “node,” as used herein, may refer to one more apparatus associated with a cell that provide a wireless connection between user devices and a wired network generally. Processing Element (or Processor)—refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing a function in a device, such as a user equipment or a cellular network device, Processing elements may include, for example: processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, individual processors, processor arrays, circuits such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), programmable hardware elements such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), as well any of various combinations of the above. Channel—a medium used to convey information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since characteristics of the term “channel” may differ according to different wireless protocols, the term “channel” as used herein may be considered as being used in a manner that is consistent with the standard of the type of device with reference to which the term is used. In some standards, channel widths may be variable (e.g., depending on device capability, band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels may be 22 MHz wide while Bluetooth channels may be 1 Mhz wide, Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. Furthermore, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, e.g., different channels for uplink or downlink and/or different channels for different uses such as data, control information, etc. Band—The term “band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning, and at least includes a section of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose. Unlicensed band—The term “unlicensed band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning, and at least includes a section of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) which is available for public use without a license to transmit on the section of spectrum. Often devices operating in an unlicensed band are not regulatorily protected from interference and may be subject to power and other authorization limits. An example of unlicensed band device includes non-licensed transmitter devices which comply with the regulations in Part 15 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules. Automatically—refers to an action or operation performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g., circuitry, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.), without user input directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Thus the term “automatically” is in contrast to an operation being manually performed or specified by the user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiated by input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that are performed “automatically” are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed “manually”, where the user specifies each action to perform. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing information, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is filling out the form manually, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user actions. The form may be automatically filled out by the computer system where the computer system (e.g., software executing on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills in the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automatic filling of the form, but is not involved in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user is not manually specifying answers to fields but rather they are being automatically completed). The present specification provides various examples of operations being automatically performed in response to actions the user has taken. Approximately—refers to a value that is almost correct or exact. For example, approximately may refer to a value that is within 1 to 10 percent of the exact (or desired) value. It should be noted, however, that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may be application dependent. For example, in some embodiments, “approximately” may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments, the threshold may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, and so forth, as desired or as required by the particular application. Concurrent—refers to parallel execution or performance, where tasks, processes, or programs are performed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency may be implemented using “strong” or strict parallelism, where tasks are performed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computational elements, or using “weak parallelism”, where the tasks are performed in an interleaved manner, e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads. Configured to—Various components may be described as “configured to” perform a task or tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad recitation generally meaning “having structure that” performs the task or tasks during operation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the task even when the component is not currently performing that task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect a module to another module, even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad recitation of structure generally meaning “having circuitry that” performs the task or tasks during operation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the task even when the component is not currently on. In general, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuits. Various components may be described as performing a task or tasks, for convenience in the description. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase “configured to.” Reciting a component that is configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) interpretation for that component. Example Wireless Communication System Turning now toFIG.1, a simplified example of a wireless communication system is illustrated, according to some embodiments. It is noted that the system ofFIG.1is merely one example of a possible system, and that features of this disclosure may be implemented in any of various systems, as desired. As shown, the example wireless communication system includes a base station102A, which communicates over a transmission medium with one or more user devices106A,106B, etc., through106N. Each of the user devices may be referred to herein as a “user equipment” (UE). Thus, the user devices106are referred to as UEs or UE devices. The base station (BS)102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cell site (a “cellular base station”), and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with the UEs106A through106N. The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station may be referred to as a “cell.” The base station102A and the UEs106may be configured to communicate over the transmission medium using any of various radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies, or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G new radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. As shown, the base station102A may also be equipped to communicate with a network100(e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunication network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and/or the Internet, among various possibilities). Thus, the base station102A may facilitate communication between the user devices and/or between the user devices and the network100. In particular, the cellular base station102A may provide UEs106with various telecommunication capabilities, such as voice, SMS and/or data services. Base station102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations102B . . .102N) operating according to the same or a different cellular communication standard may thus be provided as a network of cells, which may provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UEs106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards. Thus, while base station102A may act as a “serving cell” for UEs106A-N as illustrated inFIG.1, each UE106may also be capable of receiving signals from (and possibly within communication range of) one or more other cells (which might be provided by base stations102B-N and/or any other base stations), which may be referred to as “neighboring cells.” Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communication between user devices and/or between user devices and the network100. Such cells may include “macro” cells, “micro” cells, “pica” cells, and/or cells which provide any of various other granularities of service area size. For example, base stations102A-B illustrated inFIG.1might be macro cells, while base station102N might be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible. In some embodiments, base station102A may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB.” in some embodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) 5G core (5GC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, it may be possible that the base station102A and one or more other base stations102support joint transmission, such that UE106may be able to receive transmissions from multiple base stations (and/or multiple TRPs provided by the same base station). For example, as illustrated inFIG.1, both base station102A and base station102C are shown as serving UE106A. Note that a UE106may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE106may be configured to communicate using a wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and/or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.) in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.). The UE106may also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigational satellite systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M/H), and/or any other wireless communication protocol, if desired. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible. Example User Equipment (UE) FIG.2illustrates user equipment106(e.g., one of the devices106A through106N) in communication with a base station102, according to some embodiments. The UE106may be a device with cellular communication capability such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer, a laptop, a tablet, a smart watch or other wearable device, or virtually any type of wireless device. The UE106may include a processor (processing element) that is configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. The UE106may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively, or in addition, the UE106may include a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array), an integrated circuit, and/or any of various other possible hardware components that are configured to perform (e.g., individually or in combination) any of the method embodiments described herein, or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein. The UE106may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, the UE106may be configured to communicate using, for example, NR or LTE using at least some shared radio components. As additional possibilities, the UE106could be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (1×RTT/1×EV-DO/HRPD/eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio and/or GSM or LTE using the single shared radio. The shared radio may couple to a single antenna, or may couple to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. In general, a radio may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog RF signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation as well as other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implement one or more receive and transmit chains using the aforementioned hardware. For example, the UE106may share one or more parts of a receive and/or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies, such as those discussed above. In some embodiments, the UE106may include separate transmit and/or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As a further possibility, the UE106may include one or more radios which are shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radios which are used exclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE106might include a shared radio for communicating using either of LTE or 5G NR (or either of LTE or 1×RTT, or either of LTE or GSM, among various possibilities), and separate radios for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible, Example Communication Device FIG.3illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a communication device106, according to some embodiments. It is noted that the block diagram of the communication device ofFIG.3is only one example of a possible communication device. According to embodiments, communication device106may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet, and/or a combination of devices, among other devices. As shown, the communication device106may include a set of components300configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system on chip (SOC), which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, this set of components300may be implemented as separate components or groups of components for the various purposes. The set of components300may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communication device106. For example, the communication device106may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash310), an input/output interface such as connector I/F320(e.g., for connecting to a computer system; dock; charging station; input devices, such as a microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices, such as speakers; etc.), the display360, which may be integrated with or external to the communication device106, and wireless communication circuitry330(e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, UMTS, GSM, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.). In some embodiments, communication device106may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a network interface card, e.g., for Ethernet. The wireless communication circuitry330may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antenna(s)335as shown. The wireless communication circuitry330may include cellular communication circuitry and/or short to medium range wireless communication circuitry, and may include multiple receive chains and/or multiple transmit chains for receiving and/or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) configuration. In some embodiments, as further described below, cellular communication circuitry330may include one or more receive chains (including and/or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). In addition, in some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry330may include a single transmit chain that may be switched between radios dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio may be dedicated to a first RAT, e.g., LTE, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with a second radio. The second radio may be dedicated to a second RAT, e.g., 5G NR, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain. The communication device106may also include and/or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include any of various elements, such as display360(which may be a touchscreen display), a keyboard (which may be a discrete keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touchscreen display), a mouse, a microphone and/or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and/or any of various other elements capable of providing information to a user and/or receiving or interpreting user input. The communication device106may further include one or more smartcards345that include SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC(s) (Universal Integrated Circuit Card(s)) cards345. As shown, the SOC300may include processor(s)302, which may execute program instructions for the communication device106and display circuitry304, which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to the display360. The processor(s)302may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU)340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s)302and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory306, read only memory (ROM)350, NAND flash memory310) and/or to other circuits or devices, such as the display circuitry304, wireless communication circuitry330, connector I/F320, and/or display360. The MMU340may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or set up. In some embodiments, the MMU340may be included as a portion of the processor(s)302. As noted above, the communication device106may be configured to communicate using wireless and/or wired communication circuitry. As described herein, the communication device106may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. The processor302of the communication device106may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processor302may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field. Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition) the processor302of the communication device106, in conjunction with one or more of the other components300,304,306,310,320,330,340,345,350,360may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein. In addition, as described herein, processor302may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor302may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processor302. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc) configured to perform the functions of processor(s)302. Further, as described herein, wireless communication circuitry330may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in wireless communication circuitry330. Thus, wireless communication circuitry330may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of wireless communication circuitry330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of wireless communication circuitry330. Example Base Station FIG.4illustrates an example block diagram of a base station102, according to some embodiments. It is noted that the base station ofFIG.4is merely one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station102may include processor(s)404which may execute program instructions for the base station102. The processor(s)404may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU)440, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s)404and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory460and read only memory (ROM)450) or to other circuits or devices. The base station102may include at least one network port470. The network port470may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide a plurality of devices, such as UE devices106, access to the telephone network as described above inFIGS.1and2. The network port470(or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility related services and/or other services to a plurality of devices, such as UE devices106. In some cases, the network port470may couple to a telephone network via the core network, and/or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., among other UE devices serviced by the cellular service provider). In some embodiments, base station102may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB.” In such embodiments, base station102may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC)/5G core (5GC) network. In addition, base station102may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPS). In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. The base station102may include at least one antenna434, and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna434may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE devices106via radio430. The antenna434communicates with the radio430via communication chain432. Communication chain432may be a receive chain, a transmit chain or both. The radio430may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including, but not limited to, 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, etc. The base station102may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiple wireless communication standards. In some instances, the base station102may include multiple radios, which may enable the base station102to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station102may include an LTE radio for performing communication according to LTE as well as a 5G NR radio for performing communication according to 5G NR. In such a case, the base station102may be capable of operating as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, the base station102may include a multi-mode radio, which is capable of performing communications according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and LTE, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.). As described further subsequently herein, the BS102may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting implementation of features described herein. The processor404of the base station102may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor404may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition) the processor404of the BS102, in conjunction with one or more of the other components430,432,434,440,450,460,470may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the features described herein. In addition, as described herein, processor(s)404may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor(s)404may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processor(s)404. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor(s)404. Further, as described herein, radio430may include one or more processing elements. Thus, radio430may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of radio430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio430. Example Cellular Communication Circuitry FIG.5illustrates an example simplified block diagram of cellular communication circuitry, according to some embodiments. It is noted that the block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry ofFIG.5is only one example of a possible cellular communication circuit; other circuits, such as circuits including or coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas, or circuits including or coupled to fewer antennas, e.g., that may be shared among multiple RATs, are also possible. According to some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry330may be included in a communication device, such as communication device106described above. As noted above, communication device106may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet and/or a combination of devices, among other devices. The cellular communication circuitry330may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas335a-band336as shown. In some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry330may include dedicated receive chains (including and/or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple RATS (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, as shown inFIG.5, cellular communication circuitry330may include a first modem510and a second modem520. The first modem510may be configured for communications according to a first RAT e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A, and the second modem520may be configured for communications according to a second RAT, e.g., such as 5G NR. As shown, the first modem510may include one or more processors512and a memory516in communication with processors512. Modem510may be in communication with a radio frequency (RF) front end530. RF front end530may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RF front end530may include receive circuitry (RX)532and transmit circuitry (TX)534. In some embodiments, receive circuitry532may be in communication with downlink (DL) front end550, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna335a. Similarly the second modem520may include one or more processors522and a memory526in communication with processors522. Modem520may be in communication with an RF front end540. RE front end540may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RF front end540may include receive circuitry542and transmit circuitry544. In some embodiments, receive circuitry542may be in communication with DL front end560, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna335b. In some embodiments, a switch570may couple transmit circuitry534to uplink (UL) front end572. In addition, switch570may couple transmit circuitry544to LI front end572. UL front end572may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna336. Thus, when cellular communication circuitry330receives instructions to transmit according to the first RAT (e.g., as supported via the first modem510), switch570may be switched to a first state that allows the first modem510to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes transmit circuitry534and UL front end572). Similarly, when cellular communication circuitry330receives instructions to transmit according to the second RAT (e.g., as supported via the second modem520), switch570may be switched to a second state that allows the second modem520to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes transmit circuitry544and UL front end572). As described herein, the first modem510and/or the second modem520may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. The processors512,522may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processors512,522may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), Alternatively (or in addition) the processors512,522, in conjunction with one or more of the other components530,532,534,540,542,544,550,570,572,335and336may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein. In addition, as described herein, processors512,522may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processors512,522may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processors512,522. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processors512. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry330may include only one transmit/receive chain. For example, the cellular communication circuitry330may not include the modem520, the RF front end540, the DL front end560, and/or the antenna335b. As another example, the cellular communication circuitry330may not include the modem510, the RF front end530, the DL front end550, and/or the antenna335a. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry330may also not include the switch570, and the RF front end530or the RF front end540may be in communication, e.g., directly, with the UL front end572. Example Network Element FIG.6illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a network element600, according to some embodiments. According to some embodiments, the network element600may implement one or more logical functions/entities of a cellular core network, such as a mobility management entity (MME), serving gateway (S-GW), access and management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), network slice quota management (NSQM) function, etc. It is noted that the network element600ofFIG.6is merely one example of a possible network element600. As shown, the core network element600may include processor(s)604which may execute program instructions for the core network element600. The processor(s)604may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU)640, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s)604and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory660and read only memory (ROM)650) or to other circuits or devices. The network element600may include at least one network port670. The network port670may be configured to couple to one or more base stations and/or other cellular network entities and/or devices. The network element600may communicate with base stations (e.g., eNBs/gNBs) and/or other network entities/devices by means of any of various communication protocols and/or interfaces. As described further subsequently herein, the network element600may include hardware and software components for implementing and/or supporting implementation of features described herein. The processor(s)604of the core network element600may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a nontransitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor604may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Uplink Transmission Cancellation FIG.7illustrates an example timing diagram700of an uplink cancellation700, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The timing diagram700includes a timeline for a lower priority UE device702and a timeline for a higher priority UE device750for a single period of time. As an example, the lower priority UE device702may be an eMBB device, massive machine type communication (mMTC) device, etc., and the higher priority UE device750may be a URLLC device. As shown, the lower priority UE device702receives a lower priority UE device PDCCH message704scheduling an uplink interval706, during which the lower priority UE device702may transmit. In certain cases, the lower priority UE device PDCCH message704may be sent to and provide a transmission and reception schedule for multiple lower priority UE devices. To facilitate cancelling a scheduled uplink of a UE during transmission, the UE may listen for an uplink cancellation indication (UL CI) during defined UL CI monitoring occasions708. In certain cases, UL CI may be sending using a new radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), such as a cancellation indication RNTI (CI-RNTI). The UL CI message helps allow specific transmissions and/or repetitions to be cancelled individually. Upon receipt of the UL CI710during a monitoring occasion, the lower priority UE device702may cancel its uplink712by stopping its transmission. By stopping the transmission of the lower priority UE device702, the higher priority UE device750may be scheduled, e.g., via a higher priority LIE device PDCCH752, to transmit754without interference. By cancelling the uplink from the lower-priority UE device, the higher priority UE device is able to transmit without having to wait for the full uplink interval706of the lower priority UE device to pass. In certain cases, the cancelled UE does not automatically resume transmitting, but may be rescheduled at a later time, for example by another lower priority UE device PDCCH message. In certain cases, the UL CI may include a 2D bitmap indicating a time and frequency resource region being cancelled. The UL CI defines a reference time region in time and frequency within which the UL CI is to be applied. The reference time region for which a UL CI is applicable starts X symbols after the ending symbol of the PDCCH CORESET carrying the UL CI. A CORESET is a set of physical resources, such as a downlink resource grid, and a set of parameters used to carry the PDCCH/Downlink Control Information (DCI). detecting a power level on the unlicensed band, and determining that the detected power level is below a threshold power level FIG.8is a timing diagram illustrating an unlicensed band channel access procedure800, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. As unlicensed bands are accessible publicly, other devices may be transmitting on the unlicensed bands. Additionally, devices which operate on unlicensed bands are often expected to attempt to minimize interference with other devices also operating on the unlicensed bands. To help share access to the unlicensed bands, wireless devices, such as UEs, may be configured to listen-before-talk (LBT). In LBT, the wireless device listens on the unlicensed band that the wireless device wants to use to determine whether the unlicensed band is already in use. LBT may be implemented in many ways. One implementation is load based equipment (LBE), in which channel sensing of the unlicensed band may be performed at any time as needed by a wireless device. Multiple categories of LBE may be defined for interoperability of multiple devices associated with a particular type of wireless network. For example, in certain wireless networks, categories of LBT may be defined and wireless devices may implement one or more categories of LBT.FIG.8illustrates wireless transmissions8021-8024by NR unlicensed band (NR-U) devices on the unlicensed band over time801with examples of four categories of LBT support (e.g., NR-U LBT categories). Devices which support category 1 (CAT-1)804may transmit8022on the unlicensed based immediately without listening804on the unlicensed band first (e.g., no LBT). There may be other limitations on CAT-1 device, for example, a duration of an UL performed without LBT sensing may be limited to a certain amount of time, such as 584 μs. Devices which support category 2 (CAT-2) may sense the licensed band for a fixed amount of time without a random back-off period. If the CAT-2 device senses808that no other devices are transmitting during the CCA period, the CAT-2 device begins transmitting after the CCA period806ends. If another transmission is detected during the CCA period806, then the CAT-2 device does not transmit. In this example, the CAT-2 device may sense808for other devices during a 25 μs clear channel assessment (CCA) period806. In certain cases, a wireless system, such as NR-U, multiple CCA periods may be defined, each with specific sensing timings. For example, a UE may support CAT-2, 25 where the UE may transmit after immediately after a 25 μs CCA if it determines that the unlicensed bank is idle. During the CCA, the UE may sense the unlicensed band during two sensing slots. These sensing slots may be 9 μs in length, where the first sensing slot occurs at the beginning of the CCA, and the second sensing slot begins 16 μs after the beginning of the CCA. Sensing that the unlicensed band is idle within a sensing slot occurs by detecting a power level on the unlicensed band, and determining that the detected power for at least a sensing duration, such as 4 μs within the sensing slot, is less than a predefined detection threshold. If the unlicensed band is sensed to be idle in both sensing slots, then the unlicensed band is considered idle under CAT-2, 25. As another example, a UE may support CAT-2, 16, where the UE may transmit immediately after a 16 μs CCA if it determines that the unlicensed band is idle. During the CCA, the UE may sense the unlicensed band by detecting a power level on the unlicensed band, and determining that the detected power level is below a threshold power level for a total of 5 μs, where at least 4 μs of the sensing must occur within the last 9 μs of the 16 μs CCA. It should be understood that 25 and 16 μs are example CCA periods and other CCA periods are possible. Devices which support category 3 (CAT-3) may first wait for the unlicensed band to be idle for a time period, such as 16 μs, and then sense810within a fixed sized contention window of time. If the CAT-3 device senses810that another device is transmitting during the contention window, then the CAT-3 device will back off for a random period of time812and try to sense810the unlicensed channel again. The CAT-3 device may sense at a random time within the fixed size (e.g., length) contention window. Sensing may be performed by detecting a power level on the unlicensed band and determining whether that the detected power level is below a threshold power level. If the CAT-3 device senses810that no other devices are transmitting during sensing, the CAT-3 device begins transmitting. Category 4 (CAT-4) devices are similar to CAT-3 devices except that CAT-4 devices sense814within a variable size contention window. Otherwise, back off and sensing in CAT-4 operates similarly to CAT-3. Generally, uplink channel occupancy times (COT) of the unlicensed band may be initiated by a node or a wireless device. In a node initiated COT, the node may obtain access to the unlicensed band and transmit an indication to one or more UEs to transmit uplink bursts on one or more of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), physical random access channel (PRACH), and/or sounding reference signal (SRS). For a wireless device initiated COT, the wireless device may obtain access to the unlicensed band, for example, using CAT-4 LBT process, and transmit an uplink control information (UCI) PUSCH. In certain cases, higher priority UE devices, such as URLLC devices, as well as lower priority UE devices, such as eMBB devices, may both operate on unlicensed bands and it may be desirable to enable uplink cancellation on unlicensed bands. However, devices operating on unlicensed bands may be configured to perform channel access procedures to help reduce potential interference, such as LBT. If the lower priority UE device cancels it's uplink transmission too early, a third UE may start transmitting on the unlicensed band before the higher priority UE device can perform an LIST and being transmitting. Similarly, if the lower priority UE device cancels it's uplink transmission too late, the higher priority UE may detect the uplink transmission and determine that the unlicensed band is in use and either back off or not transmit. Additionally, the lower priority UE device may have a cancellation capability where the lower priority UE device is either able to cancel its uplink transmission at a specific time, or cancel its uplink transmission with some accuracy within a certain time window from a specific time. Thus, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, a technique for UL cancellation and channel access in unlicensed bands may take into account the LBT behavior of the higher priority UE device as well as a cancellation capability of the lower priority UE device. Initially, To provide node initiated UL cancellation in unlicensed bands, three broad cancellation classes may be defined based on the LBE category of the higher priority UE device. The first cancellation class may include scenarios where the higher priority UE device supports CAT-1. The second cancellation class may include scenarios where the higher priority UE device supports CAT-2, and the third cancellation class may include scenarios where the higher priority UE device supports CAT-4 and CAT-3. Each cancellation class may include sub-classes based on whether a lower priority UE device is capable of cancelling its uplink transmission at a specific time, or if the lower priority UE device is able to cancel its transmission within a cancellation time window. Initially, a gNB may determine which cancellation class and sub-classes may be applicable, for example, based on signaled UE capability information. For example, a UE device which may supports uplink cancellation may transmit cancellation capability information for unlicensed bands to a gNB. This cancellation capability information may be transmitted, for example, as a part of capability signaling, such as in a UE capability information message sent as part of establishing a connection with a gNB. In certain cases, this cancellation capability information may indicate whether the UE is capable of cancelling an uplink transmission at a specific time or specify a cancellation time tolerance or cancellation time window in which it can cancel an uplink transmission. In certain cases, one or more classes of uplink cancellation tolerance categories may be defined. For example, a class may be defined for those UEs which support uplink cancellation at a specific time, another class defined for those UEs which support cancellation within a 10 μs window, another with a 20 μs window, etc., and the UE may indicate its uplink cancellation tolerance category. In other cases, uplink cancellation tolerance may be defined for certain categories of UEs (e.g., UL cat. 1, UL cat 2, etc.). Similarly, higher priority UE devices may indicate what cancellation class(es) they support. UE Uplink Cancellation Timing Diagram Examples FIG.9illustrate example timing diagrams, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. For consistency and clarity purposes, for timing diagrams illustrated inFIGS.9-12which have multiple UEs (e.g., UE1, UE2, etc.) in a single timeline, UE1represents a lower priority UE device which has a scheduled UL transmission being cancelled, UE2represents a high priority. UE device that may be scheduled to transmit in place of the canceled uplink transmission, and delegated UE represents another UE device. It may be understood that UE1may also represent a group of one or more UEs, where the one or more UEs are together addressed by the UL CI. In certain cases, where UE1represents a group of one or more UEs with mixed cancellation tolerances, the most limiting cancellation tolerance may be used for the group. For example, if a first UE of the group of one or more UEs supports uplink cancellation at a specific time, while a second UE of the group supports uplink cancellation within a cancellation time window, the gNB may use a cancellation subclass consistent with the second UE for the group of one or more UEs. It may be understood that the timing diagrams illustrated inFIGS.9-12assume that UE1has previously received a UL CI during a monitoring occasion with a scheduled cancellation time at time t1. The timing diagrams shown inFIG.9illustrate examples of the first cancellation class (e.g., higher priority UE device supports CAT-1 uplink transmissions on an unlicensed band). In certain cases, UEs configured to use the first cancellation class should begin their UL transmission within 16 μs of when the cancelled UE, UE1, stops transmitting as this helps avoid allowing other UEs, such as CAT-2, CAT-3, and CAT-4 devices to start transmitting. Timing diagram900illustrates an example UL cancellation in an unlicensed band with a higher priority UE device supporting the first cancellation class and where the lower priority UE device, such as UE1901, capable of cancelling a first uplink at a specific time. In such scenarios, if the gNB receives an indication that the UE1901is capable of cancelling the first uplink transmission at a specific904, the gNB can schedule the first uplink transmission of UE1901to be cancelled at cancellation time t1904and also schedule a second uplink907of UE2902to begin within 16 μs of the cancellation. The gNB can schedule the cancellation of the first uplink of UE1901and the transmission of the second uplink907from UE2902such that there is less than a 16 μs gap between the cancellation of UE1901and the transmission from UE2902. In certain cases, the scheduled cancellation of UE1901and the scheduled beginning of the second uplink transmission907of UE2902may be the same time. The gNB can indicate to UE2902to use CAT-1 for the second uplink transmission907and indicate to UE2902a specific time to begin the second uplink transmission907. In certain cases, the start and duration of the uplink transmission from the higher priority UE may be sent as a start and length indicator value (SLIV) parameter value. Timing diagram910illustrates an example UL cancellation in an unlicensed band with a higher priority UE device supporting the first cancellation class and where the lower priority UE device is capable of cancelling a first uplink associated with the lower priority UE within a maximum gap time window. This maximum gap time window may be a period of time defined, for example, by a standard or based on sensing timings for other devices configured to operate on the unlicensed band. In certain cases, this maximum gap time window may be a 16 μs time window. For example, if the gNB receives an indication that the UE1911is capable of cancelling a first uplink transmission within the 16 μs cancellation time window916of cancellation time t1913, the gNB may schedule the cancellation of the first uplink transmission of UE1911at cancellation time t1913and schedule a second uplink transmission915from UE2912to begin at time t2914, where the cancellation time t1913is the same as the time t2914. As the UE1911can cancel within 16 μs of cancellation time913, scheduling UE2912to begin the second uplink transmission915at the same time as cancellation time t1913ensures that the second uplink transmission915of UE2912begins within 16 μs of when UE1911stops transmitting. The gNB can indicate to UE2912to use CAT-1 for its uplink transmission and indicate to UE2912a specific time to begin the uplink transmission915. Timing diagram920illustrates an example UL cancellation in an unlicensed band with a higher priority UE device supporting the first cancellation class and where the lower priority UE is capable of cancelling a first uplink associated with the lower priority UE in a time window greater the maximum gap time window. For example, the gNB may receive an indication that the UE1921is capable of cancelling a first uplink transmission in a cancellation time window925that is Y μs long, such as 33 μs. The gNB may indicate to UE2922to use CAT-1 for its uplink transmission and indicate to UE2922a specific time to begin a second uplink transmission926. As Y is greater than a 16 μs maximum gap time window, the gNB may schedule the cancellation of the first uplink transmission of UE1921at cancellation time t1923and schedule a second uplink transmission926from UE2922to begin at time t2924. In certain cases, the cancellation time t1923may be the same as the time t2924. As UE1921may cancel the first uplink transmission up to Y=33 μs before the time t2924that UE2922is scheduled to start the second uplink, another device may potentially detect that the unlicensed band is free during this time and begin transmitting. To avoid this issue, the gNB may schedule UE2922to transmit a reservation transmission927on the unlicensed band during the cancellation time window926of UE1921. The UE2921may begin to broadcast the reservation transmission927using CAT-1 and without LBT. In certain cases, the reservation transmission927may be scheduled to start at the beginning (e.g., t1−Y)936of the cancellation time window926. In certain cases, the reservation transmission927may be scheduled to start at the maximum gap time window in the cancellation time window926. For example, with a maximum gap time window of 16 μs, the reservation transmission927may be scheduled 16 μs (e.g., t1−Y+16, if t1=t2)937after the start of the cancellation time window926. In certain cases, the reservation transmission927may include an extended cyclic prefix. In other cases, the reservation transmission927may include information from a dedicated. SLIV table. In other cases, the reservation transmission927may include a portion of an existing SLIV table. In other cases, the reservation transmission927may include information about an upcoming, current, or previous transmission, such as a size, length, etc. In yet other cases, the reservation transmission927may be encoded based on another parameter, such as a LBT type of the transmitting device, power level information, set of UEs transmitting, etc. In certain cases, contents of the reservation transmission927may be repeated as needed to fill an amount of time for the reservation transmission927. It may be understood that the exact contents of the reservation transmission927may vary as the reservation transmission927is intended to temporarily occupy the portion of the unlicensed band until the scheduled start of the second uplink transmission by UE2921. In certain cases, the start and duration of the reservation transmission may be sent as a SLIV parameter value. Timing diagram930illustrates an example variant of timing diagram920, where the reservation transmission is transmitted by a wireless device other than the higher priority UE device. Similar to timing diagram920, the gNB may receive an indication that the UE1931is capable of cancelling a first uplink transmission in a cancellation time window935that is Y μs long, and greater than a 16 μs maximum gap time window. The gNB can indicate to UE2933to use CAT-1 for its uplink transmission and indicate to UE2933a specific time to begin the uplink transmission939. The gNB may schedule the cancellation of the first uplink transmission of UE1921at cancellation time t1935and schedule a second uplink transmission941from UE2933to begin at time t2939. In certain cases, the cancellation time t1935may be the same as the time t2939. The gNB may also schedule a reservation transmission938on the unlicensed band during the cancellation time window934of UE1931in a way similar to that described above with respect to timing diagram920. However, instead of scheduling the UE2933to transmit the reservation transmission938, in certain cases, the gNB can transmit the reservation transmission938. In other cases, the gNB may schedule a delegated UE932to transmit the reservation transmission938. The delegated UE932may be any wireless device capable of using CAT-1 for uplink transmissions. The reservation transmission938for the delegated UE932may include information similar to the reservation transmission described above. Additionally, the reservation transmission938for the delegated UE932may be encoded with other parameters such as a power level of the delegated UE932, set of delegated UEs transmitting, etc. in certain cases, the delegated UE932may be a group of one or more UEs. FIG.10illustrates example timing diagrams, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The timing diagrams shown inFIG.10illustrate examples of the second cancellation class (e.g., higher priority UE device supports CAT-2 uplink transmissions on an unlicensed band). In these examples, the higher priority UE device may support CAT-2, 16 having a fixed CCA period of 16 μs, where at least 4 μs of the sensing must occur within the last 9 μs of the 16 μs CCA. For example, the gNB may receive an indication that the higher priority UE device supports CAT-2, 16 for uplink transmissions. Timing diagram1000illustrates an example UL cancellation in an unlicensed band with a higher priority UE device supporting the second cancellation class and where the lower priority UE device, such as UE11001, capable of cancelling a first uplink at a specific time. In such scenarios, if the gNB receives an indication that the UE11001is capable of cancelling the first uplink transmission at a specific time, the gNB can schedule the first uplink transmission of UE11001to be cancelled at cancellation time t11004and schedule a second uplink transmission of UE21002to begin at least 9 μs after cancellation time1004and no more than 16 μs after cancellation time1004. The gNB can indicate to UE21002to use CAT-2, 16 for the second uplink transmission1007and indicate to UE21002a specific time to begin the second uplink transmission1007. Timing diagram1010illustrates an example UL cancellation in an unlicensed band with a higher priority UE device supporting the second cancellation class and where the lower priority UE device is capable: of cancelling a first uplink associated with the lower priority UE at some time before the cancellation time. In this example, the higher priority UE device, UE21012, may support CAT-2, 16 having a fixed CCA period of 16 μs, and the maximum gap time window1016is 16−9=7 μs. Where UE1indicates a specific number X cancellation time window, the gNB may schedule the cancellation time at least 16−X μs before the second uplink begins at schedule time t21014. For example, if the UE11011indicates an ability to cancel the first uplink transmission within the maximum gap time window1016(e.g., within 7 μs of a cancellation time), the gNB may indicate to UE11011a cancellation time t11013at least 9 μs before the scheduled time t21014for UE21012to begin the second uplink transmission1015to allow for a medium sensing time1018. In other cases, such as where an exact cancellation time window cannot be provided, the gNB may indicate to the UE21012to use CAT-1 as discussed above with respect toFIG.9. Timing diagram1020illustrates an example UL cancellation in an unlicensed band with a higher priority UE device supporting the second cancellation class and where the lower priority UE is capable of cancelling a first uplink associated with the lower priority UE in a time window greater than or equal to a maximum gap time window. In this example, the higher priority UE device, UE21022, may support CAT-2, 16 having a fixed CCA period of 16 μs, and the maximum gap time window is 16−9=7 μs. In this example, the gNB may receive an indication that UE11021is capable of cancelling a first uplink transmission in a cancellation time window1026that is Y μs long, where Y>=maximum gap time window. The gNB may indicate to UE21022to use CAT-2, 16 for its uplink transmission and indicate to UE21022a specific time t21024to begin a second uplink transmission1027. The gNB may also indicate to UE11021to a cancellation time t11023. The cancellation time t11023may be any time between the time t21024UE21022starts transmitting minus a medium sensing time1025(e.g., t2−9) and the time t21024UE21022starts transmitting minus the CCA period (e.g., t2−16). To help avoid another device from transmitting, gNB may schedule UE21022to transmit a reservation transmission1029on the unlicensed band during the cancellation time window1026. In certain cases, the reservation transmission1029may be scheduled to start at the beginning (e.g., t1−Y)1028of the cancellation time window1026. For example, if UE11021has indicated an exact time X for the cancellation time window1026, then the reservation transmission1029may be scheduled to begin at t1−X. The reservation transmission1029may be scheduled to end at cancellation time t11023. This allows the unlicensed band to be reserved for UE21022and provides time for sensing the unlicensed band prior to the second uplink transmission1027. In this case UE21022supports CAT-1 transmission on the unlicensed band to perform the reservation transmission1029and also supports an ability to rapidly switching from transmitting to receiving. Timing diagram1030illustrates an example variant of timing diagram1020, where the reservation transmission is transmitted by a wireless device other than the higher priority UE device. In this example, the higher priority UE device, UE21033, may support CAT-2, 16 having a fixed CCA period of 16 μs, and the maximum gap time window is 16−9=7 μs. As in timing diagram920, the gNB may receive an indication that UE11031is capable of cancelling a first uplink transmission in a cancellation time window1034that is Y μs long, where Y>=maximum gap time window. The gNB may indicate to UE21033to use CAT-2, 16 for its uplink transmission and indicate to UE21033a specific time t21040to begin a second uplink transmission1042. The gNB may also indicate to UE11031to a cancellation time t11035The cancellation time t11035may be any time between the time t21042UE21033starts transmitting minus a medium sensing time1036(e.g., t2−9) and the time t21042. UE21033starts transmitting minus the CCA period (e.g., t2−16). To help avoid another device from transmitting on the unlicensed band, the gNB may schedule a reservation transmission1037on the unlicensed band during the cancellation time window1034of UE11031in a way similar to that described above with respect to timing diagram1020. However, instead of scheduling the UE21033to transmit the reservation transmission1037, in certain cases, the gNB can transmit the reservation transmission1037. In other cases, the gNB may schedule a delegated UE1032to transmit the reservation transmission1037. The delegated UE1032may be any wireless device capable of using CAT-1 for uplink transmissions. FIG.11illustrates example timing diagrams, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The timing diagrams shown inFIG.11also illustrate examples of the second cancellation class (e.g., higher priority UE device supports CAT-2 uplink transmissions on an unlicensed band). In these examples, the higher priority UE device may support CAT-2, 25 having a fixed CCA period of 25 μs with one sensing period at the start of the CCA period and another sensing period at the end of the CCA period. For example, the gNB may receive an indication that the higher priority UE device supports CAT-2, 25 for uplink transmissions. Timing diagram1100illustrates an example UL cancellation in an unlicensed band with a higher priority UE device supporting the second cancellation class and where the lower priority UE device, such as UE11101, capable of cancelling a first uplink at a specific time. If the gNB receives an indication that the UE11101is capable of cancelling the first uplink transmission at a specific time, the gNB can schedule the first uplink transmission of UE11101to be cancelled at cancellation time t11104and schedule a second uplink transmission of UE21102to begin at least 25 μs after cancellation time1104. The gNB can indicate to UE21102to use CAT-2, 25 for the second uplink transmission1107and indicate to UE21102a specific time to begin the second uplink transmission1107. Timing diagram1110illustrates an example UL cancellation in an unlicensed band with a higher priority UE device supporting the second cancellation class and where the lower priority. UE device is capable of cancelling a first uplink associated with the lower priority UE at some time before the cancellation time. In this example, the higher priority UE device, UE21112, may indicate support for CAT-2, 25 having a fixed CCA period of 25 μs, and the lower priority UE device, UE11111may indicate an ability to cancel a first uplink transmission in Y μs of a cancellation time t11113. Where UE1indicates a specific number Y cancellation time window1114, the gNB may schedule UE21112to begin a second uplink transmission1117at time t21119and indicate to UE11111to cancel the first uplink transmission at cancellation time t11113to allow for a 25 μs medium sensing time1115. To help avoid another device from transmitting, gNB may schedule UE21122to transmit a reservation transmission1118on the unlicensed band during the cancellation time window1114. In certain cases, the reservation transmission1118may be scheduled to begin at the beginning of the cancellation time window1114(e.g., t1−Y1120) and may be scheduled to end at the beginning of the CCA period before the second uplink transmission1117) (e.g., at time t2−251122). This allows the unlicensed band to be reserved for UE21112and provides time for sensing the unlicensed band prior to the second uplink transmission1117. In this case UE21112supports CAT-1 transmission on the unlicensed band to perform the reservation transmission1118and also supports an ability to rapidly switching from transmitting to receiving. Timing diagram1130illustrates an example variant of timing diagram1130, where the reservation transmission is transmitted by a wireless device other than the higher priority UE device. In this example, the higher priority UE device, UE21133, may support CAT-2, 25 having a fixed CCA period of 25 μs, and the lower priority UE device, UE11131may indicate an ability to cancel a first uplink transmission in Y μs of a cancellation time t11134. Where UE1indicates a specific number Y cancellation time window, the gNB may schedule UE21133to begin a second uplink transmission1142at time t21140and indicate to UE11131to cancel the first uplink transmission at time t11134to allow for a 25 μs medium sensing time1115. To help avoid another device from transmitting on the unlicensed band, the gNB may schedule a reservation transmission1137on the unlicensed band during the cancellation time window1136of UE11131in a way similar to that described above with respect to timing diagram1110. However, instead of scheduling the UE21133to transmit the reservation transmission1137, in certain cases, the gNB can transmit the reservation transmission1137. In other cases, the gNB may schedule a delegated UE1132to transmit the reservation transmission1137. The delegated UE1132may be any wireless device capable of using CAT-1 for uplink transmissions. FIG.12illustrates example timing diagrams, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The timing diagrams shown inFIG.11also illustrate examples of the third cancellation class (e.g., higher priority UE device supports CAT-3 and CAT-4 uplink transmissions on an unlicensed band). In these examples, the higher priority UE device may support CAT-3 with random backoff and a fixed contention window or CAT-4 with random backoff and a variable contention window. For example, the gNB may receive an indication that one or more higher priority UE devices support CAT-3 or CAT-4 for uplink transmissions. In these cases, a maximum contention time window may be defined. For CAT-3 the maximum contention time window may be based on the fixed contention window and for CAT-4, the maximum contention time window may be based on a maximum size of the variable contention window. In certain cases, the third cancellation class may not be useful in the scenario where a single higher priority UE device is scheduled. The third cancellation class may be more applicable when multiple higher priority UE devices may be scheduled during the cancelled uplink time. In certain cases, the gNB may signal the maximum contention time window to one or more UEs via. DCI signaling or configured in the RRC for the one or more UEs. The gNB may signal the one or more UEs to use CAT-3 or CAT-4 for the uplink transmission. Timing diagram1200illustrates an example UL cancellation in an unlicensed band with higher priority UE devices, such as UE21202and UE31203, supporting the third cancellation class and where the lower priority UE device, such as UE11201, is capable of cancelling a first uplink at a specific time. If the gNB receives an indication that the UE11201is capable of cancelling the first uplink transmission at a specific time, the gNB can schedule the first uplink transmission of UE11201to be cancelled at cancellation time t11204and schedule a second uplink transmission of UE21102and UE31203to begin at time t21210, where time t21210is equal to or greater than the maximum contention time window M1206. The UEs, here UE21202and UE31203, then contend during the contention window. In certain cases, during contention, each UE may randomly select a time during the contention window to listen for other transmissions on the unlicensed band and when the time to listen is over, if the unlicensed band is not being used (e.g., received power below a certain threshold), then a UE may determine that it has acquired the unlicensed band and start transmitting. When the UE successfully acquires the unlicensed band, here UE21202, the UE begins transmitting a reservation transmission1208on the unlicensed band during the remainder of the maximum contention time window M1206. After the maximum contention time window M1206ends, the UE that successfully acquired the unlicensed band, UE21202, begins the second uplink transmission at time t21210. Timing diagram1220illustrates an example UL cancellation in an unlicensed band with a higher priority UE device supporting the third cancellation class and where the lower priority UE device is capable of cancelling a first uplink associated with the lower priority UE at some time before the cancellation time. In this example, the higher priority UE devices, UE21222and UE31223, may indicate support for CAT-3 or CAT-4 and the lower priority UE device, UE11221may indicate an ability to cancel a first uplink transmission in Y μs of a cancellation time t11225(e.g., within a cancellation window1226Y μs in length). In such cases, the gNB1224can schedule the first uplink transmission of UE11221to be cancelled at cancellation time t11225and schedule a second uplink transmission of UE21222and UE31223to begin at time t21229, where time t21229is equal to or greater than the maximum contention time window M1227. The gNB1224may also schedule a first reservation transmission1234, to be transmitted by any combination of UE21222, UE31223, gNB1224, or a delegated UE (not shown). In certain cases, the first reservation transmission1234may be scheduled to begin at the beginning of the cancellation time window1226(e.g., t1−Y1230) and may be scheduled to end at the beginning of the maximum contention time window M1227(e.g., t2−M1232). The UEs, here UE21222and UE31223, then contend during the contention window. In certain cases, during contention, each UE may randomly select a time during the contention window to listen for other transmissions on the unlicensed band and when the time to listen is over, if the unlicensed band is not being used (e.g., received power below a certain threshold), then a UE may determine that it has acquired the unlicensed band and start transmitting. When the UE successfully acquires the unlicensed band, here UE21222, the UE may begin transmitting a second reservation transmission1228on the unlicensed band during the remainder of the maximum contention time window M1227. After the maximum contention time window M1227ends, the UE that successfully acquired the unlicensed band, UE21222, begins the second uplink transmission at time t21236. Exemplary UE Uplink Cancellation Methods in Unlicensed Bands FIG.13Ais a flow diagram illustrating a technique1300for communications in a wireless system, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At block1302, cancellation capability information is received from a first user device. At block1304, unlicensed frequency transmission capability information is received from a second user device. In certain cases, the transmission capability information may be sent autonomously by the UE to the node, or may be a scheduled by the gNB for the UE to transmit. In certain cases, transmission capability information may be sent as a part of a UE capability information. At block1306, an uplink transmission over an unlicensed frequency band is received from the first user device. At block1308, a need for a higher priority uplink transmission by the second user device is determined. At block1310, an uplink cancellation time for the first user device is scheduled based on the cancellation capability information and unlicensed frequency transmission capability information. At block1312, an uplink transmission time for the second user device is scheduled based on the cancellation capability information and unlicensed frequency transmission capability information. At block1314, an uplink cancellation request is transmitted to the first user device based on the scheduled uplink cancellation time. At block1316, an uplink transmission time for the higher priority uplink transmission is transmitted to the second user device based on the scheduled uplink transmission time. FIG.13Bis a flow diagram illustrating various ways to receive, from a second user device, unlicensed frequency transmission capability information of step1304, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At block1320, an option is presented for where the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information indicates that the second user device supports transmitting without sensing whether the unlicensed frequency band is in use, and wherein the uplink cancellation time is the same as the uplink transmission time. At block1322, an option is presented for where the cancellation capability information indicates that the first user device has a cancellation time capability equal to or less than a gap time period, and further comprising scheduling a reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band based on the cancellation time capability and a sensing time of the sensing. At block1324, an option is presented for where the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information indicates that the second user device supports transmitting without sensing that the unlicensed frequency band is in use, the sensing having a sensing time period, wherein the cancellation capability information indicates that the first user device has a cancellation time capability longer than a gap time period, and further comprising scheduling a reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band based on the cancellation time capability and the uplink transmission time. FIG.13Cis a flow diagram illustrating additional ways to receive, from a second user device, unlicensed frequency transmission capability information of step1304, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At block1330, an option is presented for where the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information indicates that the second user device supports transmitting after sensing whether the unlicensed frequency band is in use, the sensing having a sensing time period, wherein the cancellation capability information indicates that the first user device has a cancellation time capability shorter than the sensing time period, and wherein the uplink cancellation time is scheduled based on the sensing time period. At block1332, an option is presented for unlicensed frequency transmission capability information indicates that the second user device supports transmitting after sensing whether the unlicensed frequency band is in use, the sensing having a sensing time period, wherein the cancellation capability information indicates that the first user device has a cancellation time capability longer than the sensing time period, and further comprising scheduling a reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band based on the cancellation time capability and the sensing time. FIG.13Dis a flow diagram illustrating optional ways for communications in a wireless system, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At block1340, a maximum contention time window size may be determined based on the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information for the second user device. At block1360, an indication of the maximum contention time window size may be transmitted to one or more user devices, the one or more user device including at least the second user device, wherein the scheduled the uplink transmission time for the second user device is based on an end of the maximum contention time window. At block1380, a reservation transmission may be received from a user device of the one or more user devices that acquires the unlicensed frequency band. FIG.13Eis a flow diagram illustrating optional ways for communications in a wireless system, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At block1350, a maximum contention time window size may be determined based on the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information for the second user device. At block1352, an indication of the maximum contention time window may be transmitted to one or more user devices, the one or more user device including at least the second user device, wherein the scheduled the uplink transmission time for the second user device is based on an end of the maximum contention time window. At block1354, a reservation transmission may be scheduled in the unlicensed frequency band based on a cancellation time capability. At block1356, a reservation transmission may be received from a user device of the one or more user devices that acquires the unlicensed frequency band. FIG.14Ais a flow diagram illustrating a technique1400for communications in a wireless system, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At block1402, a second user device transmits unlicensed frequency transmission capability information. At block1404, an uplink transmission time is received for the second user device based on the unlicensed frequency transmission capability. At block1406, the second user device receives a request to transmit a reservation transmission in an unlicensed frequency band based on a cancellation time capability of a first user device and the uplink transmission time. At block1408, the second user device transmits the reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band. At block1410, second user device transmits a higher priority uplink transmission in the unlicensed frequency band. FIG.14Bis a flow diagram illustrating optional ways for communications in a wireless system, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At block1450, an indication of a maximum contention window size is received from a node, wherein the uplink transmission time for the second user device is based on an end of the maximum contention window. At block1452, listening may be performed on the unlicensed frequency band during the maximum contention window to determine that the unlicensed frequency band is idle. For example, the listening may be based on a randomly chosen amount of time within the maximum contention window, or may be a fixed amount of time. It may be understood that randomly chosen may refer to a number generated using any type of pseudo-random number generator. At block1454, a reservation transmission is transmitted during the maximum contention window. FIG.15is a flow diagram illustrating a technique1500for communications in a wireless system, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At block1502, a request to transmit a reservation transmission in an unlicensed frequency hand based on a cancellation time capability of a first user device and an uplink transmission time is received. At block1504, the reservation transmission is transmitted in the unlicensed frequency band. FIG.16is a flow diagram illustrating a technique1600for communications in a wireless system, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At block1602a first user device transmits cancellation capability information. At block1604, a second user device transmits unlicensed frequency transmission capability information. At block1606, the first user device transmits an uplink transmission over an unlicensed frequency band. At block1608, an uplink cancellation time is received for the first user device based on the cancellation capability information and unlicensed frequency transmission capability information. At block1610, an uplink transmission time is received for the second user device based on the cancellation capability information and unlicensed frequency transmission capability information. At block1612, the first user device cancels the uplink transmission. At block1614, the a higher priority uplink transmission is transmitted by the second user device, based on the scheduled uplink transmission time. EXAMPLES In the following sections, further examples are provided. According to example 1, a method for communications in a wireless system is disclosed, comprising: receiving, from a first user device, cancellation capability information; receiving, from a second user device, unlicensed frequency transmission capability information; receiving, from the first user device, an uplink transmission over an unlicensed frequency band; determining, a need for a higher priority uplink transmission by the second user device; scheduling an uplink cancellation time for the first user device based on the cancellation capability information and the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information; scheduling an uplink transmission time for the second user device based on the cancellation capability information and the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information; transmitting an uplink cancellation request to the first user device based on the scheduled uplink cancellation time; and transmitting an uplink transmission time for the higher priority uplink transmission to the second user device based on the scheduled uplink transmission time. Example 2 comprises the subject matter of example 1, wherein the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information indicates that the second user device supports transmitting without sensing whether the unlicensed frequency band is in use, and wherein the uplink cancellation time is the same as the uplink transmission time. Example 3 comprises the subject matter of example 2, wherein the cancellation capability information indicates that the first user device has a cancellation time capability equal to or less than a gap time period, and further comprising: scheduling a reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band based on the cancellation time capability and a sensing time of the sensing. Example 4 comprises the subject matter of example 3, wherein the gap time period is based on a sensing interval, and wherein the scheduled uplink transmission time is after the gap time period. Example 5 comprises the subject matter of example 1, wherein the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information indicates that the second user device supports transmitting without sensing that the unlicensed frequency band is in use, the sensing having a sensing time period, wherein the cancellation capability information indicates that the first user device has a cancellation time capability longer than a gap time period, and further comprising: scheduling a reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band based on the cancellation time capability and the uplink transmission time. Example 6 comprises the subject matter of example 5, further comprising transmitting, to the second user device, an indication to transmit the reservation transmission, wherein the scheduled reservation transmission is before the uplink transmission time. Example 7 comprises the subject matter of example 5, further comprising transmitting the reservation transmission, wherein the scheduled reservation transmission is before the uplink transmission time. Example 8 comprises the subject matter of example 5, further comprising transmitting, to a third user device, an indication to transmit the reservation transmission, wherein the scheduled reservation transmission is before the uplink transmission time. Example 9 comprises the subject matter of example 1-8, further comprising transmitting, to the second user device, an indication to transmit the higher priority uplink transmission without sensing the unlicensed frequency band is in use. Example 10 comprises the subject matter of example 1, wherein unlicensed frequency transmission capability information indicates that the second user device supports transmitting after sensing whether the unlicensed frequency band is in use, the sensing having a sensing time period, wherein the cancellation capability information indicates that the first user device has a cancellation time capability shorter than the sensing time period, and wherein the uplink cancellation time is scheduled based on the sensing time period. Example 11 comprises the subject matter of example 1, wherein unlicensed frequency transmission capability information indicates that the second user device supports transmitting after sensing that the unlicensed frequency band is in use, the sensing having a sensing time period, wherein the cancellation capability information indicates that the first user device has a cancellation time capability longer than the sensing time period, and further comprising: scheduling a reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band based on the cancellation time capability and the sensing time. Example 12 comprises the subject matter of example 11, further comprising transmitting, to the second user device, an indication to transmit the reservation transmission during a time period of the cancellation time capability of the first user device. Example 13 comprises the subject matter of example 11, further comprising transmitting the reservation transmission during a time period of the cancellation time capability of the first user device. Example 14 comprises the subject matter of example 11, further comprising transmitting, to a third user device, an indication to transmit the reservation transmission during a time period of the cancellation time capability of the first user device. Example 15 comprises the subject matter of example 10-14, further comprising transmitting, to the second user device, an indication to transmit the higher priority uplink transmission after sensing whether the unlicensed frequency band is in use. Example 16 comprises the subject matter of example 1, further comprising: determining a maximum contention time window size based on the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information for the second user device; transmitting an indication of the maximum contention time window size to one or more user devices, the one or more user device including at least the second user device, wherein the scheduled the uplink transmission time for the second user device is based on an end of the maximum contention time window; and receiving a reservation transmission from a user device of the one or more user devices that acquires the unlicensed frequency band. Example 17 comprises the subject matter of example 16, further comprising: determining a maximum contention time window size based on the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information for the second user device; transmitting an indication of the maximum contention time window to one or more user devices, the one or more user device including at least the second user device, wherein the scheduled the uplink transmission time for the second user device is based on an end of the maximum contention time window; scheduling a reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band based on a cancellation time capability; and receiving a reservation transmission from a user device of the one or more user devices that acquires the unlicensed frequency band. Example 18 comprises the subject matter of example 17, further comprising transmitting, to the second user device, an indication to transmit the reservation transmission, wherein the scheduled reservation transmission is during the uplink cancellation time. Example 19 comprises the subject matter of example 17, further comprising transmitting the reservation transmission, wherein the scheduled reservation transmission is during the uplink cancellation time. Example 20 comprises the subject matter of example 17 further comprising transmitting, to a third user device, an indication to transmit the reservation transmission, wherein the scheduled reservation transmission during the uplink cancellation time. Example 21 comprises the subject matter of example 1, wherein the uplink transmission time comprises an indication of a start time and duration of the higher priority data transmission. Example 22 comprises the subject matter of any of examples 3-8, 11-14, or 16-20, wherein the request to transmit a reservation transmission comprises an indication of a start time and duration of the reservation transmission. Example 23 comprises the subject matter of any of examples 3-8, 11-14, or 16-20, wherein the reservation transmission comprises a cyclic prefix encoded in a start and length indicator table. Example 24 comprises the subject matter of any of examples 3-8, 11-14, or 16-20, wherein the reservation transmission comprises an encoded indication of a listen before talk type. Example 25 comprises the subject matter of any of examples 3-8, 11-14, or 16-20, further comprising transmitting an indication of contents of the reservation transmission. According to example 26, a device is disclosed, comprising: an antenna; a radio operably coupled to the antenna; and a processor operably coupled to the radio; wherein the device is configured to: receive, from a first user device, cancellation capability information; receive, from a second user device, unlicensed frequency transmission capability information; receive, from the first user device, an uplink transmission over an unlicensed frequency band; determine, a need for a higher priority uplink transmission by the second user device; schedule an uplink cancellation time for the first user device based on the cancellation capability information and the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information; schedule an uplink transmission time for the second user device based on the cancellation capability information and the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information; transmit an uplink cancellation request to the first user device based on the scheduled uplink cancellation time; and transmit an uplink transmission time for the higher priority uplink transmission to the second user device based on the scheduled uplink transmission time. Example 27 comprises the subject matter of example 26, wherein the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information indicates that the second user device supports transmitting without sensing whether the unlicensed frequency band is in use, and wherein the uplink cancellation time is the same as the uplink transmission time. Example 28 comprises the subject matter of example 27, wherein the cancellation capability information indicates that the first user device has a cancellation time capability equal to or less than a gap time period, and wherein the device is further configured to: schedule a reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band based on the cancellation time capability and a sensing time of the sensing. Example 29 comprises the subject matter of example 28, wherein the gap time period is based on a sensing interval, and wherein the scheduled uplink transmission time is after the gap time period. Example 30 comprises the subject matter of example 26, wherein the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information indicates that the second user device supports transmitting without sensing that the unlicensed frequency band is in use, the sensing having a sensing time period, wherein the cancellation capability information indicates that the first user device has a cancellation time capability longer than a gap time period, and wherein the device is further configured to: schedule a reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band based on the cancellation time capability and the uplink transmission time. Example 31 comprises the subject matter of example 30, wherein the device is further configured to: transmit, to the second user device, an indication to transmit the reservation transmission, wherein the scheduled reservation transmission is before the uplink transmission time. Example 32 comprises the subject matter of example 30, wherein the device is further configured to: transmit the reservation transmission, wherein the scheduled reservation transmission is before the uplink transmission time. Example 33 comprises the subject matter of example 30, wherein the device is further configured to: transmit, to a third user device, an indication to transmit the reservation transmission, wherein the scheduled reservation transmission is before the uplink transmission time. Example 34 comprises the subject matter of example 26, wherein unlicensed frequency transmission capability information indicates that the second user device supports transmitting after sensing whether the unlicensed frequency band is in use, the sensing having a sensing time period, wherein the cancellation capability information indicates that the first user device has a cancellation time capability shorter than the sensing time period, and wherein the uplink cancellation time is scheduled based on the sensing time period. Example 35 comprises the subject matter of example 26, wherein unlicensed frequency transmission capability information indicates that the second user device supports transmitting after sensing that the unlicensed frequency band is in use, the sensing having a sensing time period, wherein the cancellation capability information indicates that the first user device has a cancellation time capability longer than the sensing time period, and wherein the device is further configured to: schedule a reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band based on the cancellation time capability and the sensing time. Example 36 comprises the subject matter of example 35, wherein the device is further configured to transmit, to the second user device, an indication to transmit the reservation transmission during a time period of the cancellation time capability of the first user device. Example 37 comprises the subject matter of example 35, wherein the device is further configured to transmit the reservation transmission during a time period of the cancellation time capability of the first user device. Example 38 comprises the subject matter of example 35, wherein the device is further configured to transmit, to a third user device, an indication to transmit the reservation transmission during a time period of the cancellation time capability of the first user device. Example 39 comprises the subject matter of example 26, wherein the device is further configured to: determine a maximum contention time window size based on the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information for the second user device; transmit an indication of the maximum contention time window size to one or more user devices, the one or more user device including at least the second user device, wherein the scheduled the uplink transmission time for the second user device is based on an end of the maximum contention time window; and receive a reservation transmission from a user device of the one or more user devices that acquires the unlicensed frequency band. Example 40 comprises the subject matter of example 39, wherein the device is further configured to: determine a maximum contention time window size based on the unlicensed frequency transmission capability information for the second user device; transmit an indication of the maximum contention time window to one or more user devices, the one or more user device including at least the second user device, wherein the scheduled the uplink transmission time for the second user device is based on an end of the maximum contention time window; schedule a reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band based on a cancellation time capability; and receive a reservation transmission from a user device of the one or more user devices that acquires the unlicensed frequency band. Example 41 comprises the subject matter of example 40, wherein the device is further configured to: transmit, to the second user device, an indication to transmit the reservation transmission, wherein the scheduled reservation transmission is during the uplink cancellation time. Example 42 comprises the subject matter of example 40, wherein the device is further configured to: transmit the reservation transmission, wherein the scheduled reservation transmission is during the uplink cancellation time. Example 43 comprises the subject matter of example 40, wherein the device is further configured to: transmit, to a third user device, an indication to transmit the reservation transmission, wherein the scheduled reservation transmission during the uplink cancellation time. Example 44 comprises the subject matter of example 26, wherein the uplink transmission time comprises an indication of a start time and duration of the higher priority data transmission. According to example 45, a method for communications in a wireless system is disclosed, comprising: transmitting, from a second user device, unlicensed frequency transmission capability information; receiving an uplink transmission time for the second user device based on the unlicensed frequency transmission capability; receiving, at the second user device, a request to transmit a reservation transmission in an unlicensed frequency band based on a cancellation time capability of a first user device and the uplink transmission time; transmitting, by the second user device, the reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band; and transmitting, by the second user device, a higher priority uplink transmission in the unlicensed frequency band. Example 46 comprises the subject matter of example 45, further comprising: receiving, an indication to sense the unlicensed frequency band to determine whether the unlicensed frequency band is in use before transmitting the higher priority uplink transmission; and sensing the unlicensed frequency band to determine that the unlicensed frequency band is not in use before transmitting the higher priority uplink transmission. Example 47 comprises the subject matter of example 45, further comprising: receiving, an indication to transmit the higher priority uplink transmission without sensing the unlicensed frequency band is in use. Example 48 comprises the subject matter of example 45, further comprising: receiving an indication of a maximum contention window size from a node, wherein the uplink transmission time for the second user device is based on an end of the maximum contention window; listening on the unlicensed frequency band during the maximum contention window to determine that the unlicensed frequency band is idle; and transmitting a reservation transmission during the maximum contention window. Example 49 comprises the subject matter of example 48, wherein the listening is based on a randomly chosen amount of time within the maximum contention window. Example 50 comprises the subject matter of example 45, wherein the uplink transmission time comprises an indication of a start time and duration of the higher priority data transmission. Example 51 comprises the subject matter of example 45, wherein the request to transmit a reservation transmission comprises an indication of a start time and duration of the reservation transmission. Example 52 comprises the subject matter of example 45, wherein the reservation transmission comprises an extended cyclic prefix. Example 53 comprises the subject matter of example 45, wherein the reservation transmission comprises one or more portions of a start and length indicator table. Example 54 comprises the subject matter of example 45, wherein the reservation transmission comprises an encoded indication of a listen before talk type. Example 55 comprises the subject matter of any of examples 45-54, further comprising receiving an indication of contents of the reservation transmission. According to example 56, a method for communications in a wireless system is disclosed, comprising: receiving, from a node, a request to transmit a reservation transmission in an unlicensed frequency band based on a cancellation time capability of a first user device and an uplink transmission time; and transmitting the reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band. Example 57 comprises the subject matter of example 56, wherein the request to transmit a reservation transmission comprises an indication of a start time and duration of the reservation transmission. Example 58 comprises the subject matter of example 56, wherein the reservation transmission comprises a cyclic prefix encoded in a star and length indicator table. Example 59 comprises the subject matter of example 56, wherein the reservation. transmission comprises an encoded indication of a listen before talk type. Example 60 comprises the subject matter of any of examples 56-59, further comprising receiving an indication of contents of the reservation transmission. According to example 61, a method for communications in a wireless system is disclosed, comprising: transmitting, from a first user device, cancellation capability information; transmitting, from a second user device, unlicensed frequency transmission capability information; transmitting, from the first user device, an uplink transmission over an unlicensed frequency band; receiving an uplink cancellation time for the first user device based on the cancellation capability information and unlicensed frequency transmission capability information; receiving an uplink transmission time for the second user device based on the cancellation capability information and unlicensed frequency transmission capability information; cancelling, by the first user device, the uplink transmission; and transmitting a higher priority uplink transmission, by the second user device, based on the scheduled uplink transmission time. According to example 62, a wireless device is disclosed, comprising: an antenna; a radio operably coupled to the antenna; and a processor operably coupled to the radio; wherein the wireless device is configured to: transmit, from a second user device, unlicensed frequency transmission capability information; receive an uplink transmission time for the second user device based on the unlicensed frequency transmission capability; receive, at the second user device, a request to transmit a reservation transmission in an unlicensed frequency band based on a cancellation time capability of a first user device and the uplink transmission time; transmit, by the second user device, the reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band; and transmit, by the second user device, a higher priority uplink transmission in the unlicensed frequency band. Example 63 comprises the subject matter of example 62, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: receive, an indication to sense the unlicensed frequency band to determine whether the unlicensed frequency band is in use before transmitting the higher priority uplink transmission; and sense the unlicensed frequency band to determine that the unlicensed frequency band is not in use before transmitting the higher priority uplink transmission. Example 64 comprises the subject matter of example 62, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: receive, an indication to transmit the higher priority uplink transmission without sensing the unlicensed frequency band is in use. Example 65 comprises the subject matter of example 62, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: receive an indication of a maximum contention window size from a node, wherein the uplink transmission time for the second user device is based on an end of the maximum contention window; listen on the unlicensed frequency band during the maximum contention window to determine that the unlicensed frequency band is idle; and transmit a reservation transmission during the maximum contention window. Example 66 comprises the subject matter of example 65, wherein the listening is based on a randomly chosen amount of time within the maximum contention window. Example 67 comprises the subject matter of example 62, wherein the uplink transmission time comprises an indication of a start time and duration of the higher priority data transmission. Example 68 comprises the subject matter of example 62, wherein the request to transmit a reservation transmission comprises an indication of a start time and duration of the reservation transmission. Example 69 comprises the subject matter of example 62, wherein the reservation transmission comprises an extended cyclic prefix. Example 70 comprises the subject matter of example 62, wherein the reservation transmission comprises one or more portions of a start and length indicator table. Example 71 comprises the subject matter of example 62, wherein the reservation transmission comprises an encoded indication of a listen before talk type. Example 72 comprises the subject matter of any of examples 62-71, wherein the wireless device is further configured to receive an indication of contents of the reservation transmission. According to example 73, a wireless device is disclosed, comprising: an antenna; a radio operably coupled to the antenna; and a processor operably coupled to the radio; wherein the wireless device is configured to: receive, from a node, a request to transmit a reservation transmission in an unlicensed frequency band based on a cancellation time capability of a first user device and an uplink transmission time; and transmit the reservation transmission in the unlicensed frequency band. Example 74 comprises the subject matter of example 73, wherein the request to transmit a reservation transmission comprises an indication of a start time and duration of the reservation transmission. Example 75 comprises the subject matter of example 73, wherein the reservation transmission comprises a cyclic prefix encoded in a start and length indicator table. Example 76 comprises the subject matter of example 73, wherein the reservation transmission comprises an encoded indication of a listen before talk type. Example 77 comprises the subject matter of any of examples 73-76, further comprising receiving an indication of contents of the reservation transmission. Yet another exemplary embodiment may include a method, comprising: by a device: performing any or all parts of the preceding examples. A yet further exemplary embodiment may include a non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium comprising program instructions which, when executed at a device, cause the device to implement any or all parts of any of the preceding examples. A still further exemplary embodiment may include a computer program comprising instructions for performing any or all parts of any of the preceding examples. Yet another exemplary embodiment may include an apparatus comprising means for performing any or all of the elements of any of the preceding examples. Still another exemplary embodiment may include an apparatus comprising a processor configured to cause a device to perform any or all of the elements of any of the preceding examples. It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized in any of various forms. For example, some embodiments may be realized as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. Other embodiments may be realized using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Still other embodiments may be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs. In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium may be configured so that it stores program instructions and/or data, where the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of a method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets. In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE106, a BS102, a network element600) may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, where the memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, where the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or, any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets). The device may be realized in any of various forms. Although the embodiments above have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications. | 115,159 |
11943803 | While the features described herein may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific aspects thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to be limiting to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure: Memory Medium—Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include an installation medium, e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; a computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc., a non-volatile memory such as a Flash, magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage; registers, or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may include other types of non-transitory memory as well or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system in which the programs are executed, or may be located in a second different computer system which connects to the first computer system over a network, such as the Internet. In the latter instance, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or more memory mediums which may reside in different locations, e.g., in different computer systems that are connected over a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as computer programs) that may be executed by one or more processors. Carrier Medium—a memory medium as described above, as well as a physical transmission medium, such as a bus, network, and/or other physical transmission medium that conveys signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals. Programmable Hardware Element—includes various hardware devices comprising multiple programmable function blocks connected via a programmable interconnect. Examples include FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (Field Programmable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). The programmable function blocks may range from fine grained (combinatorial logic or look up tables) to coarse grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). A programmable hardware element may also be referred to as “reconfigurable logic.” Computer System—any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system, workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digital assistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or other device or combinations of devices. In general, the term “computer system” can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium. User Equipment (UE)(or “user device”/“UE Device”)—any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile telephones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone™. Android™-based phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS™, PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™, iPhone™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watch, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, or other handheld devices, etc. In general, the terms “user device,” “UE,” or “UE device” can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and/or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) which is easily transported by a user and capable of wireless communication. Wireless Device—any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device can be portable (or mobile) or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A UE is an example of a wireless device. Communication Device—any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communications, where the communications can be wired or wireless. A communication device can be portable (or mobile) or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device. Base Station (or “Wireless Station”)—The terms “base station” or “wireless station” have the full breadth of their ordinary meaning, and at least include a wireless communication station installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system. For example, if the base station or wireless station is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternately be referred to as an “eNodeB” or “eNB.” If the base station or wireless station is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternately be referred to as a “gNodeB” or “gNB.” Processing Element (or Processor)—refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing a function in a device, such as a user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements may include, for example: processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, individual processors, processor arrays, circuits such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), programmable hardware elements such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), as well any of various combinations of the above. Channel—a medium used to convey information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since characteristics of the term “channel” may differ according to different wireless protocols, the term “channel” as used herein may be considered as being used in a manner that is consistent with the standard of the type of device with reference to which the term is used. In some standards, channel widths may be variable (e.g., depending on device capability, band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels may be 22 MHz wide while Bluetooth channels may be 1 Mhz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. Furthermore, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, e.g., different channels for uplink or downlink and/or different channels for different uses such as data, control information, etc. Band—The term “band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning, and at least includes a section of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose. Automatically—refers to an action or operation performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g., circuitry, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.), without user input directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Thus the term “automatically” is in contrast to an operation being manually performed or specified by the user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiated by input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that are performed “automatically” are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed “manually”, where the user specifies each action to perform. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing information, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is filling out the form manually, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user actions. The form may be automatically filled out by the computer system where the computer system (e.g., software executing on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills in the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automatic filling of the form, but is not involved in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user is not manually specifying answers to fields but rather they are being automatically completed). The present specification provides various examples of operations being automatically performed in response to actions the user has taken. Approximately—refers to a value that is almost correct or exact. For example, approximately may refer to a value that is within 1 to 10 percent of the exact (or desired) value. It should be noted, however, that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may be application dependent. For example, in some aspects, “approximately” may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other aspects, the threshold may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, and so forth, as desired or as required by the particular application. Concurrent—refers to parallel execution or performance, where tasks, processes, or programs are performed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency may be implemented using “strong” or strict parallelism, where tasks are performed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computational elements, or using “weak parallelism”, where the tasks are performed in an interleaved manner, e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads. Configured to—Various components may be described as “configured to” perform a task or tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad recitation generally meaning “having structure that” performs the task or tasks during operation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the task even when the component is not currently performing that task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect a module to another module, even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad recitation of structure generally meaning “having circuitry that” performs the task or tasks during operation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the task even when the component is not currently on. In general, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuits. Various components may be described as performing a task or tasks, for convenience in the description. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase “configured to.” Reciting a component that is configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) interpretation for that component. Example Wireless Communication System Turning now toFIG.1, a simplified example of a wireless communication system is illustrated, according to some aspects. It is noted that the system ofFIG.1is merely one example of a possible system, and that features of this disclosure may be implemented in any of various systems, as desired. As shown, the example wireless communication system includes a base station102A, which communicates over a transmission medium with one or more user devices106A,106B, etc., through106N. Each of the user devices may be referred to herein as a “user equipment” (UE). Thus, the user devices106are referred to as UEs or UE devices. The base station (BS)102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cell site (a “cellular base station” or “wireless station”) and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with the UEs106A through106N. The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station may be referred to as a “cell.” The base station102A and the UEs106may be configured to communicate over the transmission medium using any of various radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies, or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE. LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G new radio (5G NR). HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. As shown, the base station102A may also be equipped to communicate with a network100(e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunication network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and/or the Internet, among various possibilities). Thus, the base station102A may facilitate communication between the user devices and/or between the user devices and the network100. In particular, the cellular base station102A may provide UEs106with various telecommunication capabilities, such as voice, SMS and/or data services. Base station102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations102B . . .102N) operating according to the same or a different cellular communication standard may thus be provided as a network of cells, which may provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UEs106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards. Thus, while base station102A may act as a “serving cell” for UEs106A-N as illustrated inFIG.1, each UE106may also be capable of receiving signals from (and possibly within communication range of) one or more other cells (which might be provided by base stations102B-N and/or any other base stations), which may be referred to as “neighboring cells.” Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communication between user devices and/or between user devices and the network100. Such cells may include “macro” cells, “micro” cells, “pico” cells, and/or cells which provide any of various other granularities of service area size. For example, base stations102A-B illustrated inFIG.1might be macro cells, while base station102N might be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible. In some aspects, base station102A may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB.” In some aspects, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC)/5G core (5GC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, it may be possible that that the base station102A and one or more other base stations102support joint transmission, such that UE106may be able to receive transmissions from multiple base stations (and/or multiple TRPs provided by the same base station). For example, as illustrated inFIG.1, both base station102A and base station102C are shown as serving UE106A. Note that a UE106may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE106may be configured to communicate using a wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and/or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.) in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR. HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.). The UE106may also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigational satellite systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M/H), and/or any other wireless communication protocol, if desired. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible. Example User Equipment (UE) FIG.2illustrates user equipment106(e.g., one of the devices106A through106N) in communication with a base station102, according to some aspects. The UE106may be a device with cellular communication capability such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer, a laptop, a tablet, a smart watch or other wearable device, or virtually any type of wireless device. The UE106may include a processor (processing element) that is configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. The UE106may perform any of the methods described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively, or in addition, the UE106may include a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array), an integrated circuit, and/or any of various other possible hardware components that are configured to perform (e.g., individually or in combination) any of the methods described herein, or any portion of any of the methods described herein. The UE106may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some aspects, the UE106may be configured to communicate using, for example, NR or LTE using at least some shared radio components. As additional possibilities, the UE106could be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (1×RTT/1×EV-DO/HRPD/eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio and/or GSM or LTE using the single shared radio. The shared radio may couple to a single antenna, or may couple to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. In general, a radio may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog RF signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation as well as other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implement one or more receive and transmit chains using the aforementioned hardware. For example, the UE106may share one or more parts of a receive and/or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies, such as those discussed above. In some aspects, the UE106may include separate transmit and/or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As a further possibility, the UE106may include one or more radios which are shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radios which are used exclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE106might include a shared radio for communicating using either of LTE or 5G NR (or either of LTE or 1×RTT, or either of LTE or GSM, among various possibilities), and separate radios for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible. Example Communication Device FIG.3illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a communication device106, according to some aspects. It is noted that the block diagram of the communication device ofFIG.3is only one example of a possible communication device. According to aspects, communication device106may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet, and/or a combination of devices, among other devices. As shown, the communication device106may include a set of components300configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system on chip (SOC), which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, this set of components300may be implemented as separate components or groups of components for the various purposes. The set of components300may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communication device106. For example, the communication device106may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash310), an input/output interface such as connector I/F320(e.g., for connecting to a computer system; dock; charging station; input devices, such as a microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices, such as speakers; etc.), the display360, which may be integrated with or external to the communication device106, and wireless communication circuitry330(e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR. UMTS, GSM, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.). In some aspects, communication device106may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a network interface card, e.g., for Ethernet. The wireless communication circuitry330may couple (e.g., communicatively, directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antenna(s)335as shown. The wireless communication circuitry330may include cellular communication circuitry and/or short to medium range wireless communication circuitry, and may include multiple receive chains and/or multiple transmit chains for receiving and/or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) configuration. In some aspects, as further described below, cellular communication circuitry330may include one or more receive chains (including and/or coupled to (e.g., communicatively, directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). In addition, in some aspects, cellular communication circuitry330may include a single transmit chain that may be switched between radios dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio may be dedicated to a first RAT, e.g., LTE, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with a second radio. The second radio may be dedicated to a second RAT, e.g., 5G NR, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain. The communication device106may also include and/or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include any of various elements, such as display360(which may be a touchscreen display), a keyboard (which may be a discrete keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touchscreen display), a mouse, a microphone and/or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and/or any of various other elements capable of providing information to a user and/or receiving or interpreting user input. The communication device106may further include one or more smart cards345that include SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC(s) (Universal Integrated Circuit Card(s)) cards345. As shown, the SOC300may include processor(s)302, which may execute program instructions for the communication device106and display circuitry304, which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to the display360. The processor(s)302may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU)340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s)302and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory306, read only memory (ROM)350, NAND flash memory310) and/or to other circuits or devices, such as the display circuitry304, wireless communication circuitry330, connector I/F320, and/or display360. The MMU340may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or set up. In some aspects, the MMU340may be included as a portion of the processor(s)302. As noted above, the communication device106may be configured to communicate using wireless and/or wired communication circuitry. As described herein, the communication device106may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. The processor302of the communication device106may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processor302may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition) the processor302of the communication device106, in conjunction with one or more of the other components300,304,306,310,320,330,340,345,350,360may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein. In addition, as described herein, processor302may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor302may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processor302. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor(s)302. Further, as described herein, wireless communication circuitry330may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in wireless communication circuitry330. Thus, wireless communication circuitry330may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of wireless communication circuitry330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of wireless communication circuitry330. Example Base Station FIG.4illustrates an example block diagram of a base station102, according to some aspects. It is noted that the base station ofFIG.4is merely one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station102may include processor(s)404which may execute program instructions for the base station102. The processor(s)404may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU)440, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s)404and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory460and read only memory (ROM)450) or to other circuits or devices. The base station102may include at least one network port470. The network port470may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide a plurality of devices, such as UE devices106, access to the telephone network as described above inFIGS.1and2. The network port470(or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility related services and/or other services to a plurality of devices, such as UE devices106. In some cases, the network port470may couple to a telephone network via the core network, and/or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., among other UE devices serviced by the cellular service provider). In some aspects, base station102may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB.” In such aspects, base station102may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC)/5G core (5GC) network. In addition, base station102may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. The base station102may include at least one antenna434, and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna434may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE devices106via radio430. The antenna434communicates with the radio430via communication chain432. Communication chain432may be a receive chain, a transmit chain or both. The radio430may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including, but not limited to, 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc. The base station102may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiple wireless communication standards. In some instances, the base station102may include multiple radios, which may enable the base station102to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station102may include an LTE radio for performing communication according to LTE as well as a 5G NR radio for performing communication according to 5G NR. In such a case, the base station102may be capable of operating as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, the base station102may include a multi-mode radio, which is capable of performing communications according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and LTE, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.). As described further subsequently herein, the BS102may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting implementation of features described herein. The processor404of the base station102may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor404may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition) the processor404of the BS102, in conjunction with one or more of the other components430,432,434,440,450,460,470may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the features described herein. In addition, as described herein, processor(s)404may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor(s)404may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processor(s)404. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor(s)404. Further, as described herein, radio430may include one or more processing elements. Thus, radio430may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of radio430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio430. Example Cellular Communication Circuitry FIG.5illustrates an example simplified block diagram of cellular communication circuitry, according to some aspects. It is noted that the block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry ofFIG.5is only one example of a possible cellular communication circuit; other circuits, such as circuits including or coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas, or circuits including or coupled to fewer antennas, e.g., that may be shared among multiple RATs, are also possible. According to some aspects, cellular communication circuitry330may be included in a communication device, such as communication device106described above. As noted above, communication device106may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet and/or a combination of devices, among other devices. The cellular communication circuitry330may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas335a-band336as shown. In some aspects, cellular communication circuitry330may include dedicated receive chains (including and/or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, as shown inFIG.5, cellular communication circuitry330may include a first modem510and a second modem520. The first modem510may be configured for communications according to a first RAT, e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A, and the second modem520may be configured for communications according to a second RAT, e.g., such as 5G NR. As shown, the first modem510may include one or more processors512and a memory516in communication with processors512. Modem510may be in communication with a radio frequency (RF) front end530. RF front end530may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RF front end530may include receive circuitry (RX)532and transmit circuitry (TX)534. In some aspects, receive circuitry532may be in communication with downlink (DL) front end550, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna335a. Similarly, the second modem520may include one or more processors522and a memory526in communication with processors522. Modem520may be in communication with an RF front end540. RF front end540may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RF front end540may include receive circuitry542and transmit circuitry544. In some aspects, receive circuitry542may be in communication with DL front end560, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna335b. In some aspects, a switch570may couple transmit circuitry534to uplink (UL) front end572. In addition, switch570may couple transmit circuitry544to UL front end572. UL front end572may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna336. Thus, when cellular communication circuitry330receives instructions to transmit according to the first RAT (e.g., as supported via the first modem510), switch570may be switched to a first state that allows the first modem510to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes transmit circuitry534and UL front end572). Similarly, when cellular communication circuitry330receives instructions to transmit according to the second RAT (e.g., as supported via the second modem520), switch570may be switched to a second state that allows the second modem520to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes transmit circuitry544and UL front end572). As described herein, the first modem510and/or the second modem520may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. The processors512,522may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processors512,522may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition) the processors512,522, in conjunction with one or more of the other components530,532,534,540,542,544,550,570,572,335and336may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein. In addition, as described herein, processors512,522may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processors512,522may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processors512,522. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processors512,522. In some aspects, the cellular communication circuitry330may include only one transmit/receive chain. For example, the cellular communication circuitry330may not include the modem520, the RF front end540, the DL front end560, and/or the antenna335b. As another example, the cellular communication circuitry330may not include the modem510, the RF front end530, the DL front end550, and/or the antenna335a. In some aspects, the cellular communication circuitry330may also not include the switch570, and the RF front end530or the RF front end540may be in communication, e.g., directly, with the UL front end572. Example Network Element FIG.6illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a network element600, according to some aspects. According to some aspects, the network element600may implement one or more logical functions/entities of a cellular core network, such as a mobility management entity (MME), serving gateway (S-GW), access and management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), network slice quota management (NSQM) function, etc. It is noted that the network element600ofFIG.6is merely one example of a possible network element600. As shown, the core network element600may include processor(s)604which may execute program instructions for the core network element600. The processor(s)604may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU)640, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s)604and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory660and read only memory (ROM)650) or to other circuits or devices. The network element600may include at least one network port670. The network port670may be configured to couple to one or more base stations and/or other cellular network entities and/or devices. The network element600may communicate with base stations (e.g., eNBs/gNBs) and/or other network entities/devices by means of any of various communication protocols and/or interfaces. As described further subsequently herein, the network element600may include hardware and software components for implementing and/or supporting implementation of features described herein. The processor(s)604of the core network element600may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the methods described herein. e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a nontransitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor604may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Uplink Transmission Cancellation FIG.7illustrates an example timing diagram700of an uplink cancellation technique (also referred to herein as “Inter-UE cancellation” techniques when involving more than a single UE), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The timing diagram700includes a timeline for a lower priority UE device702and a timeline for a higher priority UE device750for a single period of time. As an example, the lower priority UE device702may be an Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) device, massive machine type communication (mMTC) device, etc., and the higher priority UE device750may be a URLLC device. As shown, the lower priority UE device702receives a lower priority UE device PDCCH message704scheduling an uplink interval706, during which the lower priority UE device702may transmit. In certain cases, the lower priority UE device PDCCH messages704may be sent to and provide a transmission and reception schedule for multiple lower priority UE devices. To facilitate cancelling a scheduled uplink of a UE before or during transmission, the UE may listen for an uplink cancellation indication (i.e., a UL CI) during defined UL CI monitoring occasions708. In certain cases, UL CI may be sent using a new radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), such as a cancellation indication RNTI (CI-RNTI). In some cases, a base station may send the CI to the eMBB UEs on a downlink control channel, such as the Group-Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (GC-PDCCH). The UL CI message helps allow specific transmissions and/or repetitions to be cancelled individually. Upon receipt of the UL CI710during a monitoring occasion, the lower priority UE device702may cancel its uplink712by stopping its transmission (or cancelling its planned transmission). By stopping the transmission of the lower priority UE device702, the higher priority UE device750may be scheduled, e.g., via a higher priority UE device PDCCH752, to transmit754without interference. By cancelling the uplink from the lower-priority UE device, the higher priority UE device is able to transmit without having to wait for the full uplink interval706of the lower priority UE device to pass. In certain cases, the cancelled UE does not automatically resume transmitting, but may be rescheduled at a later time, for example by another lower priority UE device PDCCH message. In certain cases, the inter-UE uplink cancellation techniques illustrated inFIG.7may reuse existing methods for the search space configuration, e.g., slot-level and symbol-level monitoring periodicities are allowed. Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration of Downlink Control Information (DCI) payload, Aggregation Levels (AL) and/or number of PDDCH candidates is also possible. In some implementations, the maximum monitoring periodicity may be set to a predefined number of slots, e.g., five slots. Such configuration would allow for cross-carrier UL cancellation, as well as cancellation of PUSCH (e.g., Dynamic Grant PUSCH (DG-PUSCH), Configured Grant PUSCH (CG-PUSCH), and/or PUSCH carrying semi-persistent CSI (SP-CSI) reports) and/or a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). However, in some embodiments, cancellation may not be permitted on PUCCH or RACH (e.g., of Msgs 1/3 or Msg A). For PUSCH with repetitions, UL CI may be applied to each repetition individually (i.e., actual repetition). Exemplary Reference Regions for UL CI Turning now toFIG.8, an example800showing a reference region for Inter-UE UL cancellation indication application is illustrated, according to some aspects. The UL CI defines a reference region within which the UL CI is to be applied810in terms of both a reference time region806and a reference frequency region808. In some cases, the reference time region806may comprise a predefined number of symbols, e.g., 2, 4, 7, 14, or 28 symbols, etc. As shown at804, the reference time region for which a UL CI is applicable may start X symbols after the ending symbol of the PDCCH CORESET carrying the UL CI (802), wherein X is at least equal to the minimum processing time for the UL cancellation (N2). A CORESET may comprise a set of physical resources, such as a downlink resource grid, as well as a set of parameters used to carry the PDCCH/Downlink Control Information (DCI). FIG.9illustrates an exemplary reference region bitmap structure900for Inter-UE UL cancellation indication application, according to some aspects. In certain cases, the UL CI may include a 2D bitmap, indicating a time and frequency resource region being cancelled. As illustrated inFIG.9, the frequency domain has been divided into four frequency partitions, and the time domain has been divided into two time partitions. Thus, the 2D bitmap may comprise 8 individual bits, wherein each bit corresponds to a particular frequency/time resource region. As illustrated inFIG.9, the presence of ‘1’s may indicate that a particular frequency/time resource region is to be canceled, and the presence of ‘0’s may indicate that a particular frequency/time resource region is not to be canceled. It is to be understood that the example ofFIG.9is merely illustrative, and reference regions may take on any desired size or shape, in both the frequency and time domains, as is needed for a given implementation, e.g., Y bits may be used for bitmap indication of a reference region with M partitions in time and N partitions in frequency, wherein Y=M×N. According to some embodiments, partitioning of the reference region is done after excluding DL symbols indicated by gNB configuration and SSB symbols. The values of M (i.e., timegranularityforCI) and N (i.e., frequencygranularityforCI) may be obtained from the following values from the RRC configuration: CI-PayloadSize (1, . . . , 112), timegranularityforCI (1 . . . , 28), timedurationforCI, frequencyRegionforCI. The value of frequencygranularityforCI may then be derived from the above values. The value of timedurationCI may be related to the UL CI monitoring periodicity, i.e., it may be at least the same, if 1 slot is used with 1 monitoring occasion, frequencyRegionforCI may be used to indicate the reference frequency region for cancellation with an offset and a length (e.g., as indicated by an R1V). The number of frequency partitions may also be determined by the CI payload size and the number of time partitions, e.g., if the CI payload size given by ci-PayloadSize-r16 is 8, and the number of time partitions given by timeGranularityForCI-r16 is 2, then the number of frequency partitions is 8/2, or 4. For each time partition, there may be a 1-D cancellation bitmap, wherein each bit corresponds to a particular frequency partition. Additional examples of reference regions and schemes to be used for interlaced UL CI will be discussed in further detail below, with reference toFIGS.10-13. Interlaced Resource Allocation Schemes for UL CI FIG.10illustrates an exemplary interlaced resource allocation scheme1000for PUSCH (1004) and PUCCH (1006), according to some aspects. Scheme1000illustrates an exemplary interlacing pattern for a system with 30 kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS), although, as will be explained further below, other SCSs are also possible. In scheme1000, there are M=5 interlaces (1012), represented by the 5 alternating shading patterns of the physical resource blocks (PRBs) in each utilized OFDM symbol of the illustrated slot (1002). It is to be understood that the usage of Symbols #0, 2, 9 in the example of scheme1000is merely for illustrative purposes. As shown in the Legend ofFIG.10, each of the M=5 interlaces may apply to a particular User or UE (e.g., User 1 may be assigned Interlace 1, transmitted at PRBs #1, 6, 11, and so forth; while User 2 may be assigned Interlace 2, transmitted at PRBs #2, 7, 12, and so forth). As illustrated in scheme1000, there are 51 exemplary PRBs (1008) shown stacked upon one another in the frequency domain (1001), divided evenly into 10 repeating clusters (1010), with N=10 PRBs total assigned to each interlace (i.e., M=5 interlaces*N=10 clusters=a utilized bandwidth of 50 PRBs), plus one additional PRB to show where the eleventh cluster would begin. As illustrated inFIG.10, depending on the system bandwidth available and the number, N, of PRBs used per interlace, the total number of PRBs utilized could continue on to utilize 51 or more PRBs. FIG.11illustrates an exemplary nested interlaced resource allocation scheme1100, according to some aspects. According to some aspects, it may be desirable to support a common interlace design for PUSCH and PUCCH, regardless of carrier bandwidth and/or SCS. In the example illustrated inFIG.11, the carrier on the left ofFIG.11utilizes interlaces with 30 kHz SCS (1104), while the carrier on the right ofFIG.11utilizes interlaces with 15 kHz SCS (1106). As shown at1102, the two carriers may advantageously use a common PRB reference point (1102) (also referred to in NR as “Point A”), e.g., so that the “nested” structure may be employed to achieve efficient multiplexing of users, regardless of SCS. For example, the same spacing between consecutive PRBs in an interlace in the frequency domain (1101) could be employed, regardless of carrier system bandwidth1116or the bandwidth part (BWP) of a UE1118, i.e., a part of the system's bandwidth made up of a subset of contiguous common PRBs assigned to a UE. Meanwhile, the number of PRBs used per interlace could be dependent on carrier bandwidth. As shown in the example ofFIG.11, the same amount of carrier bandwidth may be able to support 5 interlaces (i.e., Interlace 0 through Interlace 4) with 30 kHz SCS (1112), while being able to support 10 interlaces (i.e., Interlace 0 through Interlace 9) with 15 kHz SCS (1120). As shown in ‘split’ PRB1110, this may be achievable by essentially splitting each 30 kHz PRB (e.g.,1108) into two equally-sized 15 kHz interlaces in the 15 kHZ SCS example. As discussed above, a cluster1114of interlaces may comprise a repeating set of each of the defined interlaces in the scheme (e.g., cluster 0=11140, cluster 1=11141, cluster 2=11142, etc.). In the nested example ofFIG.11, the clusters in both the 30 kHZ SCS example (e.g.,1112) and the 15 kHz example (e.g.,1120) would advantageously take up the same amount of system bandwidth (i.e., 5*30 kHZ=150 kHz, in the 30 kHz SCS example, and also 10*15 kHz=150 kHz, in the 15 kHz SCS example). Further details regarding UL resource allocation and, in particular, UL resource allocation type 2 for PUSCH may be found in TS 38.214, e.g., at Section 6.1.2.2.3, wherein it is explained that the allocated interlace indices may be given by RIV, which provides either the starting interlace index and the number of contiguous interlace indices, or provides the interlace indices according to the Table 6.1.2.3.3-1 in TS 38.214. The allocated PRBs may then be given by RIVset, which provides the starting PRB set and the number of contiguous PRB sets. FIG.12illustrates an exemplary interlaced resource allocation scheme1200for multiple PUSCHs, according to some aspects. As mentioned above, a new type of frequency resource allocation with interlaced structure has been introduced in NR-U. However, inter-UE uplink cancellation indication is defined in Rel-16 without taking into account the interlaced allocation, which may lead to inefficiencies when indicating the resources for cancellation when the interlaced resource allocation is used. For example, in the scheme1200illustrated inFIG.12, there are again repeating clusters of 5 interlaces (1212) in the frequency domain (1202) for a given OFDM symbol1204(i.e., Interlace 0, Interlace 1, Interlace 2, Interlace 3, and Interlace 4, repeating). Assuming that a ‘high priority’ transmission (e.g., from a URLLC device) needed to be allocated certain resources on a shared uplink channel “PUSCH1” (1206) that are currently assigned to interlace 1, as indicated by the shaded PRBs12071/12072/12073/12074, then, according to prior art UL cancellation schemes (e.g., as defined in Rel-16), such as the exemplary scheme illustrated inFIG.12with 4 partitions in frequency domain, the UL CI indication (1208) would have to indicate a cancellation (i.e., a value of ‘1’ in a UL CI bitmap) in each of the frequency partitions, because there is one PRB in each of the partitions being used by the ‘high priority’ transmission (i.e., the aforementioned shaded PRBs12071/12072/12073/12074). In effect, this would cause the uplink cancellation of all 5 interlaces-even though it was only interlace 1 that needed to be canceled in this example, thus resulting in inefficiency and unnecessary underutilization of resources due to the unnecessary cancellation. In particular, assuming there was another PUSCH, “PUSCH2” (1210), having a resource allocation assigned to interlace 2, as indicated by the shaded PRBs12111/12112/12113/12114, then, according to prior art UL cancellation schemes, the UL CI indication (1208) would also unnecessarily cancel the entire PUSCH2. In other words, current UL CI indication schemes do not provide the mechanism to account for the targeted cancellation of individual interlaced resource allocations. Thus, exemplary techniques to provide such cancellation indication that are able to account for interlaced resource allocation schemes are described further, hereinbelow. Exemplary Interlaced Frequency Resource Allocation Cancellation Indication Schemes According to some aspects, for the frequency domain in the uplink cancellation indication, instead of having each bit in the UL CI (e.g., in the case of a UL CI indicate using a bitmap or bitmask) indicating a contiguous set of PRBs, the indicator may be defined to indicate one or more interlaces—as well as the PRBs within each of the indicated interlaces—for cancellation. Various options for indicating the interlaces for cancellation are possible within the scope of the teachings of this disclosure, three of which will now be described in greater detail.Interlace indication Option 1: One or more interlaces indices (e.g., indices in the range of 0 to 9) may be indicated directly. A special case is that a single interlace index may be indicated. This has smaller overhead, but it also has the limitation of only being able to indicate one interlace. The number of interlace indices may either be pre-defined or semi-statically configured or dynamically indicated. However, this may have a larger overhead, depending on how many interlace indices are indicated.Interlace indication Option 2: The RIV definition in TS 38.214 Section 6.1.2.2.3 may be reused to indicate one or more consecutive interlace(s). Optionally. Table 6.1.2.2.3-1 in TS 38.214 can be used to define some combinations of non-consecutive interlaces for cancellation. This option may have the limitation that it can only indicate consecutive interlaces in most cases (i.e., except for the cases defined in Table 6.1.2.2.3-1). It may be suitable for cases wherein the UL CI is used to indicate for a single preempting PUSCH transmission, but it may not be as efficient when there are multiple preempting PUSCH transmissions.Interlace indication Option 3: The interlaces to be canceled may be indicated by a bitmap, e.g., with each bit in the bitmap corresponding to one or more interlaces. A special case is that the bitmap length is the same as the total number of interlaces, whereby each bit in the bitmap may correspond to one interlace. This provides the most flexibility, but the overhead may be large (e.g., see uplink resource allocation Type 2 with 30 kHz SCS). The number of interlaces each bit corresponds to can be either pre-defined or semi-statically configured or dynamically indicated. For example, for carriers using 15 kHz SCS with 10 interlaces, a 5-bit bitmap may be defined, wherein the first bit corresponds to the 1st and 2nd interlaces, the second bit corresponds to the 3rd and 4th interlaces, and so forth. Alternatively, the number of bits in the bitmap may be defined or signaled directly. As described above, each interlace may be comprised of 2 or more PRBs, each of which may or may not need to be canceled. As such, it may be desirable to provide an indication of which PRBs, within a given interlace, should be canceled at a given time. Various options for indicating the PRBs within an interlace for cancellation are possible within the scope of the teachings of this disclosure, three of which will now be described in greater detail.PRB indication Option A: The PRBs for cancellation may be indicated by a bitmap. e.g., with one bit corresponding to a set of one or more PRBs. This is similar to how UL CI is defined in Rel-16, except that, according to PRB indication Option A, bitmap value may correspond to only the PRBs within one interlace, i.e., rather than simply referring to consecutive PRBs in frequency. If the frequency domain granularity is configurable (e.g., the bitmap length is configurable), it provides the flexibility for the gNB to determine the granularity, while considering the tradeoff between increased UL CI overhead and greater granularity in the indication of the resources to be cancelled.PRB indication Option B: The PRBs for cancellation may be indicated by the starting PRB index number and the number of PRBs separately. For the indication under Option B, the PRBs can be indexed considering only the PRBs within an interlace. However, as explained below, Option B may have a larger overhead than Option C.PRB indication Option C: The PRBs for cancellation may be indicated by the starting PRB and the number of PRBs using RIVRBset. e.g., in the same way that it is defined in uplink resource allocation type 2 in TS 38.214 Section 6.1.2.2.3. For the indication under Option C, the PRBs can be indexed considering only the PRBs within an interlace. It is to be understood that the various Options described above for interlace and PRB indication may be used in different cases and/or scenarios (e.g., with different Options being used for different SCS configurations), and may be combined in any possible way. For example, Interlace indication Options 2/3 combined with PRB indication Option C would effectively reuse the mechanism of uplink resource allocation type 2. In other words, such a combination would be able to signal the exact resources for cancellation in the case when the UL CI is used to indicate for a single preempting PUSCH transmission. However, it may need to include unnecessary resources for cancellation if there are more than one preempting PUSCH transmissions. As another example, Interlace indication Option 3 combined with PRB indication Option A could provide good flexibility in terms of a tradeoff between DCI overhead and resource granularity, assuming the granularity is configurable. It is possible for the standard to define which Options are used (including different combinations of Options for different scenarios and use cases). It is also possible for the choice of Options to be configured by higher layers in the network. The SCS configuration for the frequency resource indication can be either: the DL SCS where the UE monitors the UL CI, the UL SCS of the UE; or a reference SCS (e.g., that is semi-statically configured, or pre-defined based on the broadcast/unicast signaling). It may also be semi-statically configured as to whether the CI is based on the interlaced frequency resource structure or follows the existing Rel-16 definition. Alternatively, it can be dynamically indicated in the CI message itself, e.g., by adding an additional field in the CI message. As alluded to above, the PRB indication may be applicable to one or more interlaces that are indicated in the interlace indication. For example, the PRB indication can be common for all the indicated interlaces. This gives the smallest overhead. As another example, the PRB indication can be separately indicated for each indicated interlace. This would result in larger overhead but provide for finer granularity in the indication of resources to be canceled. As another example, each PRB indication can be applicable to a group of interlaces. The grouping can be done either based on all the interlaces, or based on the indicated interlaces only. The number of groups or the number of interlaces in a group can be configurable. In a first example, if there are a total of 10 interlaces, the interlaces may be divided into 5 groups, with 2 interlaces in each group. Each PRB indication may then be applicable to one group (i.e., to a set of 2 interlaces). This could be suitable for use, e.g., if the preempting PUSCH transmission is typically scheduled with a 2-symbol interval. In a second example, assuming the number of groups is configured to be 4, the indicated interlaces may be divided into 4 groups (e.g., as equally as possible), and then each PRB indication may be applicable to one of the groups. Turning now toFIG.13A, an exemplary interlaced frequency resource allocation cancellation indication scheme1300is illustrated, according to some aspects. Scheme1300reflects an exemplary implementation of Interlace indication Option 1 combined with PRB indication Option A (as defined above), wherein there are clusters of 10 PRBs (1302) repeated in the frequency domain1310. In the example illustrated inFIG.13A, a single interlace index (i.e., interlace 5) is indicated with bits1304, while the PRB cancellation indication uses a bitmap1306, with each bit in bitmap1306corresponding to each PRB. In this example, each interlace is spread across4different PRBs, thus a 4-bit bitmap may be used to indicate which PRB(s) in an interlace should be cancelled. In this case, the first and third PRBs of interlace 5 are to be canceled, as indicated at1312. Beginning at the bottom of the frequency domain1310, the first PRB assigned to the fifth interlace, which is to be canceled, is represented by PRB13082, while the third PRB assigned to the fifth interlace, which is also to be canceled, is represented by PRB13081. As may now be understood, the bits in bitmaps1304and1306jointly specify the cancellation of only a certain subset of PRBs1308(in this case13081and13082), while all other PRBs may continue to be used for uplink transmission (e.g., by eMBBs), which provides the gNB with greater granularity, and avoids unnecessarily cancelling uplink resources for other UEs. FIG.13Billustrates another exemplary interlaced frequency resource allocation cancellation indication scheme1320, according to some aspects. Scheme1320reflects an exemplary implementation of Interlace indication Option 3 combined with PRB indication Option A (as defined above). In the example illustrated inFIG.13B, the interlaces for cancellation are indicated with a 5-bit bitmap (1328), with one bit corresponding to each interlace (i.e., interlaces 1 and 4 are to be canceled in the example ofFIG.13B, as shown at1338). Meanwhile, the PRBs to be canceled are indicated with a 4-bit bitmap (1330). In this example, each interlace (1324) has 8 PRBs (i.e., there are 8 clusters (1322) repeated across the frequency domain1321, each including a PRB for each of interlace 0 through interlace 4), so each of the 4 bits in the bitmask1330is used to correspond to a 2-PRB set (i.e., so that all 8 PRBs per interlace might be addressed). In this example, the first bit of bitmask1330being set to ‘1’ means the 2 PRBs in the first PRB set (i.e., the first two PRBs, counting up from the bottom ofFIG.13B, within a given interlace) are to be canceled. In other words, this bit corresponds to13321and13323for interlace 1, and13322and13324for interlace 4. The third bit of bitmask1330being set to ‘1’ means the 2 PRBs in the third PRB set (i.e., the fifth and sixth PRBs, counting up from the bottom ofFIG.13B, within a given interlace) are to be canceled. In other words, this bit corresponds to13325and13327for interlace 1, and13326and13328for interlace 4. In this example, the same PRB indication applies to all the interlaces indicated (in other words, to both interlace 1 and interlace 4). Thus, the final PRBs indicated by the CI for cancellation in the example ofFIG.13B(i.e., represented by shaded boxes13321-13328in column1326) comprise: the first and fourth interlaces (i.e.,13321/13323and13322/13324) of the first and second clusters (i.e.,13341and13342), labeled jointly as cluster set13361, as well as the first and fourth interlaces (i.e.,13325/13327and13326/1332s) of the fifth and sixth clusters (i.e.,13343and13344), labeled jointly as cluster set13362. FIG.13Cillustrates yet another exemplary interlaced frequency resource allocation cancellation indication scheme1340, according to some aspects. Scheme1340reflects an exemplary implementation of Interlace indication Option 2 combined with PRB indication Option C (as defined above). In other words, the interlaces (1344) for cancelation in the frequency domain (1341) are indicated with a RIV value (1348), which translates into the starting interlace index and the number of contiguous interlaces. In the example ofFIG.13C, an RIV value of 32 is indicated (1356). With a total of 10 interlaces per cluster (1342), it means that the starting interlace index is 2, and the number of allocated contiguous interlaces is 4, according to TS 38.214 at Section 6.1.2.2.3. In other words, interlaces having indices #2, #3, #4, and #5 are to be canceled. The PRBs for cancelation are indicated with a RIV9a value (1350), which translates into the starting PRB (set) and the number of contiguous PRB sets. In the example ofFIG.13C, for each interlace, there are 4 PRB sets, with a single PRB in each PRB set. Thus, because an RIVsetvalue of 8 has been indicated (1358), it translates to a starting PRB index of 0, and a number of contiguous PRBs of 3, again, according to TS 38.214 at Section 6.1.2.2.3. In other words, each of PRBs #0, #1, and #2 are to be canceled for each of interlaces #2, #3, #4, and #5. Thus, the final PRBs indicated by the CI for cancellation in the example ofFIG.13C(i.e., represented by shaded boxes13521-13523in column1346) comprise: the second through fifth interlaces (i.e.,1352) of each of the first, second, and third clusters (i.e.,13541,13542, and13543). Exemplary Methods for Performing Interlaced Frequency Resource Allocation Cancellation Indication FIG.14is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process1400for a wireless station of determining and sending an uplink cancellation indication for interlaced frequency resources, according to some aspects. First, at Step1402, the process1400may schedule, by a wireless station, a first uplink (UL) transmission from a wireless device of a set of two or more wireless devices. Next, at Step1404, the process1400may determine, by the wireless station, a need for a higher priority uplink transmission that uses resources overlapping with the first UL transmission. Next, at Step1406, the process1400may determine, by the wireless station, a reference region, within which a UL cancellation indication is to be applied. Next, at Step1408, the process1400may determine, by the wireless station, a set of UL resources in the reference region for cancellation, wherein at least a subset of the UL resources in the reference region are interlaced (e.g., as illustrated in the various schemes described above). Next, at Step1410, the process1400may send via a downlink control channel (e.g., GC-PDCCH), an indication of the determined set of UL resources for cancellation. Finally, at Step1412, the process1400may receive, at the wireless station, the higher priority uplink transmission via at least a subset of the determined set of cancelled UL resources. FIG.15is a flowchart illustrating exemplary options1502for indicating interlaces and/or physical resource blocks for cancellation, according to some aspects. Options1502comprise various ways of indicating the determined set of UL resources for cancellation, e.g., as referred to in Step1410ofFIG.14. According to some embodiments, a first set of options may exist for indicating the interlace indices of the UL resources that are to be canceled. For example, the first set of options may comprise: indicating one or more interlace indices directly (e.g., a predefined number of indices, semi-statically configured, or dynamically indicated) (block1504); reusing resource indicator value (RIV) definitions to indicate one or more interlace(s) (e.g., consecutive interlaces) (block1506); or indicating one or more interlace indices using a bitmap, with each bit corresponding to one or more interlaces (block1508). According to other embodiments, a second set of options may exist for indicating the particular physical resource blocks (PRBs) within the indicated interlaces that are to be canceled. For example, the second set of options may comprise: indicating one or more PRBs using a bitmap, with each bit corresponding to one or more PRBs (block1510); indicating one or more PRBs using the starting PRB index and number of PRBs separately (block1512); or reusing RIV definitions to indicate the starting PRB index and number of PRBs (block1514). FIG.16is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process1600for a wireless device of determining, based on a received uplink cancellation indication, a set of interlaced UL resources for cancellation, according to some aspects. First, at Step1602, a wireless device may request to transmit uplink transmissions to a wireless station. Next, at Step1604, the process1600may receive, by the wireless device, a UL cancellation indication to be applied to a determined reference region. Next, at Step1606, the process1600may determine, by the wireless device, a set of UL resources for cancellation based on the UL CI received from the wireless station, wherein at least a subset of the UL resources for cancellation are interlaced. Next, at Step1608, the process1600may cancel, by the wireless device, at least the UL transmissions that overlap with the determined set of UL resources for cancellation. It is to be understood that, in some embodiments, the UE may also cancel additional UL transmissions to those that overlap with the determined set of UL resources for cancellation. For example, the actual cancellation may also cancel any uploads that comes after the determined set of UL resources for cancellation. In some embodiments, a UE may also cancel resources that are earlier in time than the determined set of UL resources for cancellation. In still other embodiments, with respect to the frequency domain, a given UE may actually cancel all its uploads, i.e., over the entire frequency bandwidth, not just the PRBs overlapping with the would cancel everything, not just the overlapping PRBs overlapping with the determined set of UL resources for cancellation. Finally, at Step1610, if desired, the process1600may perform, at the wireless device, UL transmissions that do not overlap with the determined set of UL resources for cancellation in any UL CI to the wireless station. EXAMPLES In the following sections, further examples are provided.According to example 1, a method for communication in a wireless system is disclosed, comprising: scheduling, by a wireless station, a first uplink (UL) transmission from a wireless device of a set of two or more wireless devices; determining, by the wireless station, a need for a higher priority uplink transmission that uses resources overlapping with the first UL transmission; determining, by the wireless station, a reference region, within which a UL cancellation indication (CI) is to be applied; determining, by the wireless station, a set of UL resources in the reference region for cancellation, wherein at least a subset of the UL resources in the reference region are interlaced; sending, via a downlink (DL) control channel, indication of the determined set of UL resources for cancellation; and receiving, at the wireless station, the higher priority uplink transmission via at least a subset of the determined set of cancelled UL resources.Example 2 comprises the subject matter of example 1, wherein the higher priority uplink transmission comprises a transmission from an Internet of Things (IoT) or Ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) device.Example 3 comprises the subject matter of example 1, wherein the determined set of UL resources in the reference region for cancellation comprise UL resources in an unlicensed band of frequency spectrum.Example 4 comprises the subject matter of example 1, wherein the DL control channel comprises a Group-Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (GC-PDCCH).Example 5 comprises the subject matter of example 1, wherein sending, via a DL control channel, indication of the determined set of UL resources for cancellation further comprises: indicating one or more interlaces and Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation.Example 6 comprises the subject matter of example 5, wherein the indication of the one or more interlaces and PRBs within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation is based, at least in part, on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration of the wireless station.Example 7 comprises the subject matter of example 5, wherein indicating the one or more interlaces for cancellation comprises at least one of the following: indicating one or more interlace indices directly; using resource indication value (RIV) definitions to indicate one or more interlaces; or indicating one or more interlace indices using a bitmap.Example 8 comprises the subject matter of example 5, wherein indicating the PRBs within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation comprises at least one of the following: indicating one or more PRB indices using a bitmap; indicating one or more PRBs using a starting PRB index and a number of PRBs; or using resource indication value (RIV) definitions to indicate a starting PRB index and a number of PRBs.According to example 9, a wireless station is disclosed, comprising: a radio; and a processor operably coupled to the radio; wherein the wireless station is configured to: schedule a first uplink (UL) transmission from a wireless device of a set of two or more wireless devices; determine a need for a higher priority uplink transmission that uses resources overlapping with the first UL transmission; determine a reference region, within which a UL cancellation indication (CI) is to be applied; determine a set of UL resources in the reference region for cancellation, wherein at least a subset of the UL resources in the reference region are interlaced; and send, via a downlink (DL) control channel, indication of the determined set of UL resources for cancellation.Example 10 comprises the subject matter of example 9, wherein the wireless station is further configured to: receive the higher priority uplink transmission via at least a subset of the determined set of cancelled UL resources.Example 11 comprises the subject matter of example 9, wherein the higher priority uplink transmission comprises a transmission from an Internet of Things (IoT) or Ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) device.Example 12 comprises the subject matter of example 9, wherein the determined set of UL resources in the reference region for cancellation comprise UL resources in an unlicensed band of frequency spectrum.Example 13 comprises the subject matter of example 9, wherein the DL control channel comprises a Group-Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (GC-PDCCH).Example 14 comprises the subject matter of example 9, wherein the wireless station being configured to send, via a DL control channel, indication of the determined set of UL resources for cancellation further comprises the wireless station being configured to: indicate one or more interlaces and Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation.Example 15 comprises the subject matter of example 14, wherein the indication of the one or more interlaces and PRBs within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation is based, at least in part, on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration of the wireless station.Example 16 comprises the subject matter of example 14, wherein the wireless station being configured to indicate the one or more interlaces for cancellation comprises the wireless station being configured to perform at least one of the following operations: indicate one or more interlace indices directly; use resource indication value (RIV) definitions to indicate one or more interlaces; or indicate one or more interlace indices using a bitmap.Example 17 comprises the subject matter of example 14, wherein the wireless station being configured to indicate the PRBs within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation comprises the wireless station being configured to perform at least one of the following operations: indicate one or more PRB indices using a bitmap; indicate one or more PRBs using a starting PRB index and a number of PRBs; or use resource indication value (RIV) definitions to indicate a starting PRB index and a number of PRBs.According to example 18, an integrated circuit is disclosed, comprising circuitry configured to cause a wireless station to: schedule a first uplink (UL) transmission from a wireless device of a set of two or more wireless devices; determine a need for a higher priority uplink transmission that uses resources overlapping with the first UL transmission; determine a reference region, within which a UL cancellation indication (CI) is to be applied; determine a set of UL resources in the reference region for cancellation, wherein at least a subset of the UL resources in the reference region are interlaced; and send, via a downlink (DL) control channel, indication of the determined set of UL resources for cancellation.Example 19 comprises the subject matter of example 18, wherein the higher priority uplink transmission comprises a transmission from an Internet of Things (IoT) or Ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) device.Example 20 comprises the subject matter of example 18, wherein the determined set of UL resources in the reference region for cancellation comprise UL resources in an unlicensed band of frequency spectrum.Example 21 comprises the subject matter of example 18, wherein the DL control channel comprises a Group-Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (GC-PDCCH).Example 22 comprises the subject matter of example 18, wherein the circuitry being configured to cause the wireless station to send, via a DL control channel, indication of the determined set of UL resources for cancellation further comprises circuitry being configured to cause the wireless station: indicate one or more interlaces and Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation.Example 23 comprises the subject matter of example 22, wherein the indication of the one or more interlaces and PRBs within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation is based, at least in part, on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration of the wireless station.Example 24 comprises the subject matter of example 22, wherein the circuitry being configured to cause the wireless station to indicate the one or more interlaces for cancellation comprises the circuitry being configured to cause the wireless station to perform at least one of the following operations: indicate one or more interlace indices directly; use resource indication value (RIV) definitions to indicate one or more interlaces; or indicate one or more interlace indices using a bitmap.Example 25 comprises the subject matter of example 22, wherein the circuitry being configured to cause the wireless station to indicate the PRBs within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation comprises the circuitry being configured to cause the wireless station to perform at least one of the following operations: indicate one or more PRB indices using a bitmap; indicate one or more PRBs using a starting PRB index and a number of PRBs; or use resource indication value (RIV) definitions to indicate a starting PRB index and a number of PRBs.According to example 26, a method for communication in a wireless system is disclosed, comprising: requesting transmission, by a wireless device, of uplink (UL) transmissions to a wireless station; receiving, by the wireless device, a UL cancellation indication (CI) to be applied to a determined reference region; determining, by the wireless device, a set of UL resources for cancellation based on the UL CI received from the wireless station, wherein at least a subset of the UL resources for cancellation are interlaced; and canceling, by the wireless device, UL transmissions at least over the determined set of UL resources for cancellation.Example 27 comprises the subject matter of example 26, further comprising: performing, at the wireless device, UL transmissions that do not overlap with the determined set of UL resources for cancellation in any UL CI to the wireless station.Example 28 comprises the subject matter of example 26, wherein the determined set of UL resources in the reference region for cancellation comprise UL resources in an unlicensed band of frequency spectrum.Example 29 comprises the subject matter of example 26, wherein the UL CI is received via a Group-Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (GC-PDCCH).Example 30 comprises the subject matter of example 26, wherein determining, by the wireless device, the set of UL resources for cancellation based on the UL CI received from the wireless station further comprises: determining one or more indicated interlaces and the Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation.Example 31 comprises the subject matter of example 30, wherein the indication of the one or more interlaces and PRBs within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation is based, at least in part, on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration of the wireless station.Example 32 comprises the subject matter of example 30, wherein determining the one or more indicated interlaces for cancellation comprises at least one of the following: determining a direct indication of one or more interlace indices, using resource indication value (RIV) definitions to determine an indication of one or more interlaces; or using a bitmap to determine an indication of one or more interlace indices.Example 33 comprises the subject matter of example 30, wherein determining the PRBs within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation comprises at least one of the following: using a bitmap to determine an indication of one or more PRB indices; determining one or more PRBs using a starting PRB index and a number of PRBs; or using resource indication value (RIV) definitions to determine a starting PRB index and a number of PRBs.According to example 34, a wireless device is disclosed, comprising: a radio; and a processor operably coupled to the radio; wherein the wireless device is configured to: request transmission of uplink (UL) transmissions to a wireless station; receive a UL cancellation indication (CI) to be applied to a determined reference region; determine a set of UL resources for cancellation based on the UL CI received from the wireless station, wherein at least a subset of the UL resources for cancellation are interlaced; and cancel UL transmissions at least over the determined set of UL resources for cancellation.Example 35 comprises the subject matter of example 34, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: perform UL transmissions that do not overlap with the determined set of UL resources for cancellation in any UL CI to the wireless station.Example 36 comprises the subject matter of example 34, wherein the determined set of UL resources in the reference region for cancellation comprise UL resources in an unlicensed band of frequency spectrum.Example 37 comprises the subject matter of example 34, wherein the UL CI is received via a Group-Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (GC-PDCCH).Example 38 comprises the subject matter of example 34, wherein the wireless device being configured to determine the set of UL resources for cancellation based on the UL CI received from the wireless station further comprises the wireless device being configured to: determine one or more indicated interlaces and the Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation.Example 39 comprises the subject matter of example 38, wherein the indication of the one or more interlaces and PRBs within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation is based, at least in part, on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration of the wireless station.Example 40 comprises the subject matter of example 38, wherein the wireless device being configured to determine the one or more indicated interlaces for cancellation comprises the wireless device performing at least one of the following operations: determine a direct indication of one or more interlace indices; use resource indication value (RIV) definitions to determine an indication of one or more interlaces; or use a bitmap to determine an indication of one or more interlace indices.Example 41 comprises the subject matter of example 38, wherein the wireless device being configured to determine the PRBs within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation comprises the wireless device performing at least one of the following operations: use a bitmap to determine an indication of one or more PRB indices; determine one or more PRBs using a starting PRB index and a number of PRBs; or use resource indication value (RIV) definitions to determine a starting PRB index and a number of PRBs.Example 42 comprises the subject matter of example 34, wherein the wireless device does not comprise an Internet of Things (IoT) or Ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) device.According to example 43, an integrated circuit is disclosed, comprising circuitry configured to cause a wireless device to: request transmission of uplink (UL) transmissions to a wireless station; receive a UL cancellation indication (CI) to be applied to a determined reference region; determine a set of UL resources for cancellation based on the UL CI received from the wireless station, wherein at least a subset of the UL resources for cancellation are interlaced; and cancel UL transmissions at least over the determined set of UL resources for cancellation.Example 44 comprises the subject matter of example 43, wherein the circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless device to: perform UL transmissions that do not overlap with the determined set of UL resources for cancellation in any UL CI to the wireless station.Example 45 comprises the subject matter of example 43, wherein the determined set of UL resources in the reference region for cancellation comprise UL resources in an unlicensed band of frequency spectrum.Example 46 comprises the subject matter of example 43, wherein the UL CI is received via a Group-Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (GC-PDCCH).Example 47 comprises the subject matter of example 43, wherein the circuitry being configured to cause the wireless device to determine the set of UL resources for cancellation based on the UL CI received from the wireless station further comprises the circuitry being configured to cause the wireless device to; determine one or more indicated interlaces and the Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation.Example 48 comprises the subject matter of example 47, wherein the indication of the one or more interlaces and PRBs within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation is based, at least in part, on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration of the wireless station.Example 49 comprises the subject matter of example 47, wherein the circuitry being configured to cause the wireless device to determine the one or more indicated interlaces for cancellation comprises the circuitry being configured to cause the wireless device to perform at least one of the following operations: determine a direct indication of one or more interlace indices; use resource indication value (RIV) definitions to determine an indication of one or more interlaces; or use a bitmap to determine an indication of one or more interlace indices.Example 50 comprises the subject matter of example 47, wherein the circuitry being configured to cause the wireless device to determine the PRBs within each of the indicated one or more interlaces for cancellation comprises the circuitry being configured to cause the wireless device to perform at least one of the following operations: use a bitmap to determine an indication of one or more PRB indices; determine one or more PRBs using a starting PRB index and a number of PRBs; or use resource indication value (RIV) definitions to determine a starting PRB index and a number of PRBs. Yet another example may include a method, comprising, by a device, performing any or all parts of the preceding examples. A yet further exemplary embodiment may include a non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium comprising program instructions which, when executed at a device, cause the device to implement any or all parts of any of the preceding Examples. A still further exemplary embodiment may include a computer program comprising instructions for performing any or all parts of any of the preceding examples. Yet another exemplary embodiment may include an apparatus comprising means for performing any or all of the elements of any of the preceding examples. Still another exemplary embodiment may include an apparatus comprising a processor configured to cause a device to perform any or all of the elements of any of the preceding examples. It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users. Aspects of the present disclosure may be realized in any of various forms. For example, some aspects may be realized as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. Other aspects may be realized using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Still other aspects may be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs. In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium may be configured so that it stores program instructions and/or data, where the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of the methods described herein, or, any combination of the methods described herein, or, any subset of any of the methods described herein, or, any combination of such subsets. In some aspects, a device (e.g., a UE106, a BS102, a network element600) may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, where the memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, where the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various methods described herein (or, any combination of the methods described herein, or, any subset of any of the methods described herein, or, any combination of such subsets). The device may be realized in any of various forms. Although the aspects above have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications. | 90,518 |
11943804 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various aspects of the disclosure are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings one skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure, whether implemented independently of or combined with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method, which is practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or other than the various aspects of the disclosure set forth. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim. Several aspects of telecommunications systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatuses and techniques. These apparatuses and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, and/or the like (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. It should be noted that while aspects may be described using terminology commonly associated with 5G and later wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure can be applied in other generation-based communications systems, such as and including 3G and/or 4G technologies. Wireless communication systems, such as new radio (NR) access (e.g., 5G technology), may support various wireless communications services, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) targeting wide bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz or beyond), millimeter wave (mmWave) targeting high carrier frequency (e.g., 25 GHz or beyond), massive machine-type communications (mMTC) targeting non-backward compatible MTC techniques, and/or mission critical targeting ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC). The described services may include quality of service (QoS) specifications, such as latency and reliability requirements. Different transmission time intervals (TTIs) may be specified to satisfy the respective QoS specifications. In addition, the described services may co-exist in the same subframe. In some examples, a UE may dynamically multiplex different services, such as eMBB and URLLC, in a same time-frequency resource to improve spectrum use. Some wireless standards, such as NR Release-16 and beyond, may support intra-UE multiplexing and cancellation for uplink channels. In some examples, a UE may multiplex payloads of colliding uplink channels if the colliding uplink channels have a same priority. As an example, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) may collide with another PUCCH of a same priority. In this example, the UE may multiplex the uplink control information (UCI) payload of the two PUCCHs, and transmit the multiplexed UCIs in one PUCCH. As another example, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) may collide with another transmission, such as a PUCCH, of a same priority. In this example, the UE may piggyback the UCI of the PUCCH on the PUSCH transmission. Piggybacking refers to transmitting control information, such as the UCI, together with data in a data area of an uplink shared channel, such as the PUSCH. Piggybacking may be an example of multiplexing. In some examples, a UE may multiplex (e.g., piggyback) eMBB services, such as multiplexing eMBB UCI on an eMBB PUSCH or multiplexing the eMBB UCI on eMBB PUSCH. Aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to multiplexing eMBB services, other services may be multiplexed. In some examples, a UE may drop a channel with a lower priority if two uplink channels of different priorities collide. The priority may be defined in a physical layer. For example, if an eMBB uplink channel has a higher priority than a URLLC uplink channel, the UE may drop the URLLC uplink channel that collides with the eMBB uplink channel. As described, a UE may mitigate collisions between a low priority uplink channel and a high priority uplink channel by dropping the low priority uplink channel. In some examples, a low priority uplink channel may collide with two or more high priority uplink channels. Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to cancelling a low priority (LP) channel colliding with two or more high priority (HP) uplink channels. Some aspects of the present disclose are also directed to multiplexing two or more HP uplink channels. Additionally, some aspects of the present disclosure are directed determining an expected transmission time for respective HP uplink channels based on an LP channel colliding with two or more HP uplink channels. FIG.1is a diagram illustrating a network100in which aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced. The network100may be a 5G or NR network or some other wireless network, such as an LTE network. The wireless network100may include a number of BSs110(shown as BS110a, BS110b, BS110c, and BS110d) and other network entities. A BS is an entity that communicates with user equipment (UEs) and may also be referred to as a base station, an NR BS, a Node B, a gNB, a 5G node B (NB), an access point, a transmit and receive point (TRP), and/or the like. Each BS may provide communications coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a BS and/or a BS subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. A BS may provide communications coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs having association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In the example shown inFIG.1, a BS110amay be a macro BS for a macro cell102a, a BS110bmay be a pico BS for a pico cell102b, and a BS110cmay be a femto BS for a femto cell102c. A BS may support one or multiple (e.g., three) cells. The terms “eNB,” “base station,” “NR BS,” “gNB,” “TRP,” “AP,” “node B,” “5G NB,” and “cell” may be used interchangeably. In some aspects, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of the cell may move according to the location of a mobile BS. In some aspects, the BSs may be interconnected to one another and/or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless network100through various types of backhaul interfaces such as a direct physical connection, a virtual network, and/or the like using any suitable transport network. The wireless network100may also include relay stations. A relay station is an entity that can receive a transmission of data from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a UE) and send a transmission of the data to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station may also be a UE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown inFIG.1, a relay station110dmay communicate with macro BS110aand a UE120din order to facilitate communications between the BS110aand UE120d. A relay station may also be referred to as a relay BS, a relay base station, a relay, and/or the like. The wireless network100may be a heterogeneous network that includes BSs of different types, e.g., macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, relay BSs, and/or the like. These different types of BSs may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different impact on interference in the wireless network100. For example, macro BSs may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 to 40 Watts) whereas pico BSs, femto BSs, and relay BSs may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 Watts). As an example, the BSs110(shown as BS110a, BS110b, BS110c, and BS110d) and the core network130may exchange communications via backhaul links132(e.g., S1, etc.). Base stations110may communicate with one another over other backhaul links (e.g., X2, etc.) either directly or indirectly (e.g., through core network130). The UEs120(e.g.,120a,120b,120c) may communicate with the core network130through a communications link135. The core network130may be an evolved packet core (EPC), which may include at least one mobility management entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and at least one packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may be the control node that processes the signaling between the UEs120and the EPC. All user IP packets may be transferred through the S-GW, which itself may be connected to the P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The P-GW may be connected to the network operator's IP services. The operator's IP services may include the Internet, the Intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), and a packet-switched (PS) streaming service. The core network130may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, IP connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. One or more of the base stations110or access node controllers (ANCs) may interface with the core network130through backhaul links132(e.g., S1, S2, etc.) and may perform radio configuration and scheduling for communications with the UEs120. In some configurations, various functions of each access network entity or base station110may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., a base station110). UEs120(e.g.,120a,120b,120c) may be dispersed throughout the wireless network100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE may also be referred to as an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, and/or the like. A UE may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communications device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device or equipment, biometric sensors/devices, wearable devices (smart watches, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wrist bands, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a vehicular component or sensor, smart meters/sensors, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium. One or more UEs120may establish a protocol data unit (PDU) session for a network slice. In some cases, the UE120may select a network slice based on an application or subscription service. By having different network slices serving different applications or subscriptions, the UE120may improve its resource utilization in the wireless network100, while also satisfying performance specifications of individual applications of the UE120. In some cases, the network slices used by UE120may be served by an AMF (not shown inFIG.1) associated with one or both of the base station110or core network130. In addition, session management of the network slices may be performed by a session management function (SMF). The BSs110(e.g., BSs110a,110b,110c,110d) may include a UE timeline module138. For ease of explanation, only one BS110ais shown as including the UE timeline module138. The UE timeline module138may be a component of each BS110. The UE timeline module138may work in conjunction with one or more components of the BS110. The UE timeline module138may transmit, to a user equipment UE, an LP grant for scheduling an LP uplink transmission in a slot, the LP uplink transmission overlapping a set of HP uplink transmissions in the slot. The UE timeline module138may also determine an uplink shared channel preparation time of the UE as a function of an SCS configuration and a UE processing time capability based on the LP uplink transmission overlapping the set of HP uplink transmissions. The UE timeline module138may further determine an earliest transmission time for scheduling each respective HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions based on a corresponding HP grant, the earliest transmission time being a function of the uplink shared channel preparation time and a time duration corresponding to a reported UE capability. The UE timeline module138may still further receive, from the UE, the LP uplink transmission based on the LP grant, the LP uplink transmission cancelled before a symbol of the LP uplink transmission overlaps an earliest HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions. The UEs120(e.g., UEs120a,120b,120c,120d,120e) may include an uplink timeline module140. For ease of explanation, only one UE120dis shown as including the uplink timeline module140. The uplink timeline module140may be a component of each UE120. The uplink timeline module140may receive an LP grant for scheduling an LP uplink transmission in a slot. The uplink timeline module140may also determine an uplink shared channel preparation time as a function of an SCS configuration and a UE processing time capability based on the LP uplink transmission overlapping the set of HP uplink transmissions. The uplink timeline module140may further determine a time period until an expected transmission time for each respective HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions scheduled based on a corresponding HP grant. The uplink timeline module140may further cancel the LP uplink transmission before a symbol of the LP uplink transmission overlaps an earliest HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions. Some UEs may be considered machine-type communications (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) UEs. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, and/or the like, that may communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node may provide, for example, connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communications link. Some UEs may be considered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and/or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband Internet-of-things) devices. Some UEs may be considered a customer premises equipment (CPE). UE120may be included inside a housing that houses components of UE120, such as processor components, memory components, and/or the like. In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular radio access technology (RAT) and may operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface, and/or the like. A frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, a frequency channel, and/or the like. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed. In some aspects, two or more UEs120(e.g., shown as UE120aand UE120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., without using a base station110as an intermediary to communicate with one another). For example, the UEs120may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communications, device-to-device (D2D) communications, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocol (e.g., which may include a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocol, a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocol, and/or the like), a mesh network, and/or the like. In this case, the UE120may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and/or other operations described elsewhere as being performed by the base station110. For example, the base station110may configure a UE120via downlink control information (DCI), radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a media access control-control element (MAC-CE) or via system information (e.g., a system information block (SIB). As indicated above,FIG.1is provided merely as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.1. FIG.2shows a block diagram of a design200of the base station110and UE120, which may be one of the base stations and one of the UEs inFIG.1. The base station110may be equipped with T antennas234athrough234t, and UE120may be equipped with R antennas252athrough252r, where in general T≥1 and R≥1. At the base station110, a transmit processor220may receive data from a data source212for one or more UEs, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCS(s) selected for the UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. Decreasing the MCS lowers throughput but increases reliability of the transmission. The transmit processor220may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI) and/or the like) and control information (e.g., channel quality indicator (CQI) requests, grants, upper layer signaling, and/or the like) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor220may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., the cell-specific reference signal (CRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., the primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor230may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs)232athrough232t. Each modulator232may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and/or the like) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator232may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. T downlink signals from modulators232athrough232tmay be transmitted via T antennas234athrough234t, respectively. According to various aspects described in more detail below, the synchronization signals can be generated with location encoding to convey additional information. At the UE120, antennas252athrough252rmay receive the downlink signals from the base station110and/or other base stations and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs)254athrough254r, respectively. Each demodulator254may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator254may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM and/or the like) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector256may obtain received symbols from all R demodulators254athrough254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor258may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for the UE120to a data sink260, and provide decoded control information and system information to a controller/processor280. A channel processor may determine reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), channel quality indicator (CQI), and/or the like. In some aspects, one or more components of the UE120may be included in a housing. On the uplink, at the UE120, a transmit processor264may receive and process data from a data source262and control information (e.g., for reports comprising RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, and/or the like) from the controller/processor280. Transmit processor264may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor264may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor266if applicable, further processed by modulators254athrough254r(e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, and/or the like), and transmitted to the base station110. At the base station110, the uplink signals from the UE120and other UEs may be received by the antennas234, processed by the demodulators254, detected by a MIMO detector236if applicable, and further processed by a receive processor238to obtain decoded data and control information sent by the UE120. The receive processor238may provide the decoded data to a data sink239and the decoded control information to a controller/processor240. The base station110may include communications unit244and communicate to the core network130via the communications unit244. The core network130may include a communications unit294, a controller/processor290, and a memory292. The controller/processor240of the base station110, the controller/processor280of the UE120, and/or any other component(s) ofFIG.2may perform one or more techniques associated with canceling an LP uplink transmission before an initial symbol of an HP uplink transmission overlaps the LP uplink transmission, as described in more detail elsewhere. For example, the controller/processor240of the base station110, the controller/processor280of the UE120, and/or any other component(s) ofFIG.2may perform or direct operations of, for example, the processes ofFIGS.6-7and/or other processes as described. Memories242and282may store data and program codes for the base station110and UE120, respectively. A scheduler246may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and/or uplink. In some aspects, the UEs120may include means for receiving an LP grant for scheduling an LP uplink transmission in a slot; means for determining an uplink shared channel preparation time as a function of an SCS configuration and a UE processing time capability based on the LP uplink transmission overlapping the set of HP uplink transmissions; means for determining a time period until an expected transmission time for each respective HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions scheduled based on a corresponding HP grant; and means for canceling the LP uplink transmission before a symbol of the LP uplink transmission overlaps an earliest HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions. In some aspects, a BSs110may include means for transmitting, to a user equipment UE, an LP grant for scheduling an LP uplink transmission in a slot; means for determining an uplink shared channel preparation time of the UE as a function of an SCS configuration and a UE processing time capability based on the LP uplink transmission overlapping the set of HP uplink transmissions; means for determining an earliest transmission time for scheduling each respective HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions based on a corresponding HP grant; means for receiving, from the UE, the LP uplink transmission based on the LP grant. As indicated above,FIG.2is provided merely as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.2. Wireless communication systems, such as new radio (NR) access (e.g., 5G technology), may support various wireless communications services, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) targeting wide bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz or beyond), millimeter wave (mmWave) targeting high carrier frequency (e.g., 25 GHz or beyond), massive machine-type communications (mMTC) targeting non-backward compatible MTC techniques, and/or mission critical targeting ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC). The described services may include quality of service (QoS) specifications, such as latency and reliability requirements. Different transmission time intervals (TTIs) may be specified to satisfy the respective QoS specifications. In addition, the described services may co-exist in the same subframe. In some examples, a UE may dynamically multiplex different services, such as eMBB and URLLC, in a same time-frequency resource to improve spectrum use. Some wireless standards, such as NR Release-16 and beyond, may support intra-UE multiplexing and cancellation for uplink channels. In some examples, a UE may multiplex payloads of colliding uplink channels if the colliding uplink channels have a same priority. As an example, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) may collide with another PUCCH of a same priority. In this example, the UE may multiplex the uplink control information (UCI) payload of the two PUCCHs, and transmit the multiplexed UCIs in one PUCCH. As another example, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) may collide with another PUSCH of a same priority. In this example, the UE may piggyback the UCI of the PUCCH on the PUSCH transmission. Piggybacking refers to transmitting control information, such as the UCI, together with data in a data area of an uplink shared channel, such as the PUSCH. Piggybacking may be an example of multiplexing. In some examples, a UE may multiplex (e.g., piggyback) eMBB services, such as multiplexing eMBB UCI on an eMBB PUSCH or multiplexing the eMBB UCI on eMBB PUSCH. Aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to multiplexing eMBB services, other services may be multiplexed. In some examples, a UE may drop a channel with a lower priority if two uplink channels of different priorities collide. The priority may be defined in a physical layer. For example, if an eMBB uplink channel has a higher priority than a URLLC uplink channel, the UE may drop the URLLC uplink channel that collides with the eMBB uplink channel. As described, a UE may mitigate collisions between a low priority uplink channel and a high priority uplink channel by dropping the low priority uplink channel. In some examples, a low priority uplink channel may collide with two or more high priority uplink channels. Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to cancelling a low priority (LP) channel colliding with two or more high priority (HP) uplink channels. Some aspects of the present discloser are also directed to multiplexing two or more HP uplink channels. Additionally, some aspects of the present disclosure are directed determining an expected transmission time for respective HP uplink channels based on an LP channel colliding with two or more HP uplink channels. In some wireless communication systems, such as NR, a base station may provide time for a UE to process an uplink transmission. A PUSCH preparation time (N2) may be an example of an uplink transmission processing time. The PUSCH preparation time may be defined as a number of OFDM symbols specified for a UE from an end of a downlink transmission, such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission, including a grant to an earliest possible start of an uplink transmission, such as a PUSCH transmission, scheduled based on the grant. In some examples, the PUSCH preparation time (N2) described above may be represented as an absolute time (e.g., seconds). In such examples, the PUSCH preparation time may be referred to as Tproc,2. In some examples, the PUSCH preparation time (Tproc,2) may correspond to a UE's processing capability. In general, the UE is not expected to perform an uplink transmission if the UE is not provided sufficient time for processing (e.g., as indicated by the Tproc,2value for the UE, based on the UE's processing capability). As described, the PUSCH preparation time (Tproc,2) may be a minimum time for a UE to prepare an uplink transmission, such as a PUSCH transmission, in a wireless communication system, such as an NR system. In some examples, the PUSCH preparation time (Tproc,2) may be determined based on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration (μ) and also a PUSCH preparation time (N2) of the uplink carrier on which the uplink transmission is scheduled. The SCS configuration (μ) may be determined based on an SCS configuration (μDL) of a downlink channel, such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), including a grant and an SCS configuration (μUL) of an uplink transmission scheduled based on the grant. In some wireless communication standards, such as NR communication standards, different UE processing capabilities may be defined. In some examples, the UE may have a first processing capability, referred to as Cap 1, and a second processing capability, referred to as Cap 2. Cap 2 corresponds to higher UE processing capability (e.g., faster processing time) and, thus, shorter times for the PUSCH preparation time (Tproc,2). For example, TABLES 1 and 2 provide example values for the SCS configuration (μ) and the PUSCH preparation time (N2) used for determining the PUSCH preparation time (Tproc,2) for Cap 1 and Cap 2, respectively. In TABLES 1 and 2, the values for the PUSCH preparation time (N2) represent a minimum number of symbols required for processing an uplink transmission. For example, as shown in TABLE 1, for Cap 1, if the SCS configuration (μ) is zero, then the PUSCH preparation time (N2) is ten. TABLE 1Cap 1SCS configuration (μ)PUSCH preparation time (N2) [symbols]010112223336 TABLE 2Cap 2SCS configuration (μ)PUSCH preparation time (N2) [symbols]0515.5211 for frequency range 1 A UE may be limited to performing one uplink transmission per slot. Therefore, when two or more uplink transmissions are scheduled for a same slot, the UE may multiplex two or more transmissions and/or cancel one or more transmissions. As described, an HP uplink transmission may collide with an LP uplink transmission in the same slot. The collision refers to a scenario where one uplink transmission overlaps another uplink transmission in the same slot. In some examples, the UE may mitigate a collision between the HP uplink transmission and the LP uplink transmission in the slot by cancelling the LP uplink transmission. In some examples, an exact cancellation time may be specified for a UE to cancel an LP uplink transmission.FIG.3is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary timeline300for a UE cancelling an LP uplink transmission304colliding with an HP uplink transmission308, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The UE (not shown inFIG.3) may be an example of a UE120as described with reference toFIGS.1and2. As shown inFIG.3, at time t1, the UE receives a first grant302scheduling an LP uplink transmission304at time t3. The first grant302may be LP downlink control information (DCI) received in a downlink control channel, such as a PDCCH. Additionally, at time t2, the UE receives a second grant306scheduling an HP uplink transmission308at time t4. The second grant306may be an example of HP DCI received in the downlink control channel. In the example ofFIG.3, an expected transmission time for the HP uplink transmission308may be based on the PUSCH preparation time (Tproc,2) and a reported UE capability (d1). In such examples, the reported UE capability (d1) may be a time duration corresponding to 0, 1, or 2 symbols reported by the UE capability. In the example ofFIG.3, the UE expects the transmission of the HP uplink transmission308will not start before Tproc,2+d1after a last symbol of the second grant306scheduling the HP uplink transmission308. In the example ofFIG.3, Tproc,2is determined based on an assumption that a first symbol of a PUSCH allocation only includes a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) (e.g., the DM-RS is front-loaded), such that d2,1=0. In some examples, the UE cancels the LP uplink transmission304at Tproc,2+d1. In some other examples, the UE cancels the LP uplink transmission304before a first symbol of the HP uplink transmission308overlaps the LP uplink transmission304. In the example ofFIG.3, for exemplary purposes, the first symbol of the HP uplink transmission308overlaps the LP uplink transmission304at time t4. Therefore, in the example ofFIG.3, the UE may cancel the LP uplink transmission304any time before time t4. Additionally, in the current example, a base station (e.g., gNB) maintains at least a threshold time (Tproc,2+d1) between an ending symbol of the second grant306and a starting symbol of the HP uplink transmission308. That is, the HP uplink transmission308is not scheduled before Tproc,2+d1. The base station (not shown inFIG.3) may be an example of a base station110as described with reference toFIGS.1and2. In some examples, two or more HP uplink transmissions may overlap an LP uplink transmission. In some implementations, an expected transmission time may be determined for one or more of the multiple HP uplink transmissions.FIG.4is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary timeline400for a UE cancelling an LP uplink transmission406colliding with a first HP uplink transmission410and a second HP uplink transmission414, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The UE (not shown inFIG.4) may be an example of a UE120as described with reference toFIGS.1and2. As shown inFIG.4, at time t1, the UE receives an LP grant404scheduling an LP uplink transmission406at time t4. The LP grant404may be LP DCI received in a downlink control channel, such as a PDCCH. Additionally, at time t2a, the UE receives a first HP grant408scheduling a first HP uplink transmission410at time t5. Furthermore, at time t3a, the UE receives a second HP grant412scheduling a second HP uplink transmission414at time t6. The first HP grant408and the second HP grant412may be HP DCIs, respectively, and each HP grant408,412may be received in a downlink control channel, such as the PDCCH. In the example ofFIG.4, the UE expects the base station will not schedule a transmission of an earliest scheduled HP uplink transmission, such as the first HP uplink transmission410, to start before a time period, such as Tproc,2+d1, after a last symbol of latest received HP grant, such as the second HP grant412. That is, Tproc,2+d1may be an example of a time period until an expected transmission time of an HP uplink transmission. As an example, as shown inFIG.4, the UE expects the base station will not schedule a transmission of the first HP uplink transmission410to start before Tproc,2+d1(e.g., time t5) after a last symbol of the second HP grant412. As shown inFIG.4, the last symbol of the second HP grant412occurs at time t3b. The base station (not shown inFIG.4) may be an example of a base station110as described with reference toFIGS.1and2.FIG.4is provided as an example and is not drawn to scale. In the example ofFIG.4, the UE may cancel the LP uplink transmission406before a first symbol of the first HP uplink transmission410overlaps the LP uplink transmission406. For exemplary purposes, as shown inFIG.4, the first symbol of the first HP uplink transmission410overlaps the LP uplink transmission406at time t5. Therefore, the UE may cancel the LP uplink transmission406any time before time t5. In another implementation, the UE expects a transmission of one or more of the HP uplink transmissions410,414will not start before a time period, such as Tproc,2+d1, after a last symbol of a corresponding HP grant408,412. That is, Tproc,2+d1may be an example of a time period until an expected transmission time of an HP uplink transmission. As an example, the UE expects the transmission of the first HP uplink transmission410will not start before Tproc,2+d1after a last symbol of the first HP grant408. For exemplary purposes, the last symbol of the first HP grant408occurs at time t2b. Thus, although not shown inFIG.4, in this example, time t5corresponds to Tproc,2+d1after a last symbol of the first HP grant408. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE may expect that transmission of the second HP uplink transmission414will not start before Tproc,2+d1after a last symbol of the second HP grant412. For exemplary purposes, the last symbol of the second HP grant412occurs at time t3a. Thus, although not shown inFIG.4, in this example, time t6corresponds to Tproc,2+d1after a last symbol of the second HP grant412. As described above, the example ofFIG.4, the UE may cancel the LP uplink transmission406before a first symbol of the first HP uplink transmission410overlaps the LP uplink transmission406. In some implementations, such as the example ofFIG.4, Tproc,2may be determined based on an assumption that a first symbol of a PUSCH allocation consists of DM-RS only, such that d2,1=0. In the example ofFIG.4, the LP uplink transmission406may be a PUSCH transmission, the first HP uplink transmission410may be a PUCCH transmission, and the second HP uplink transmission414may be a PUSCH transmission. According to aspects of the present disclosure, the UE may piggyback the UCI of the first HP uplink transmission410on the second HP uplink transmission414.FIG.4illustrates examples of two HP uplink channels overlapping an LP uplink channel. Aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to two HP uplink channels overlapping an LP uplink channel. Aspects of the present disclosure, such as the expected transmission time, as described with respect toFIG.4, and determining the processing time (e.g., Tproc,2), as described below. Aspects of the present disclosure may also contemplate scenarios in which one of the multiple HP channels overlaps the LP channel and two or more HP channels overlap each other. According to aspects of the present disclosure, such as the aspects described with reference toFIG.4, the PUSCH preparation time (Tproc,2) may be based on a value of an SCS configuration (μ) corresponding to a smallest SCS configuration of each PDCCH (μDL) carrying a grant (e.g., DCI), such as the first HP grant408, the second HP grant412, and the LP grant404ofFIG.4, and each PUSCH or PUCCH (μUL) scheduled by a received grant, such as the LP uplink transmission406, the first HP uplink transmission410, and the second HP uplink transmission414ofFIG.4. For example, if the SCS configurations are zero, one, and two, a value of the SCS configuration (μ) for the PUSCH preparation time (Tproc,2) may be zero (e.g., the smallest SCS configuration). Additionally, in some aspects, such as the aspects described with reference toFIG.4, the UE may consider a processing timing capability (e.g., Cap 1 or Cap 2) of all uplink transmissions, such as all HP uplink transmissions, and use a lowest capability. In some implementations, a second processing timing capability (Cap 2) may be enabled on all uplink carriers for scheduled HP uplink transmissions and scheduled LP uplink transmissions. As an example, a processing Type 2 parameter, such as processingType2Enabled parameter, may be enabled for all serving cells corresponding to the scheduled HP uplink transmissions. In such implementations, a PUSCH preparation time (N2) may correspond to a Cap 2 value. Additionally, based on the PUSCH preparation time (N2) corresponding to a Cap 2 value, a value of the SCS configuration (μ) may also correspond to a Cap 2 value. Alternatively, a first processing timing capability (Cap 1) may be enabled on one or more uplink carriers for the scheduled HP uplink transmissions. In such implementations, the PUSCH preparation time (N2) may be correspond to a Cap 1 value. In some examples, based on the PUSCH preparation time (N2) corresponding to a Cap 1 value, a value of the SCS configuration (μ) may also correspond to a Cap 1 value. In some examples, an HP uplink transmission may be scheduled without a corresponding grant.FIG.5is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary timeline500for a UE cancelling an LP uplink transmission506colliding with a first HP uplink transmission510and a second HP uplink transmission514, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The UE (not shown inFIG.5) may be an example of a UE120as described with reference toFIGS.1and2. As shown inFIG.5, at time t1, the UE receives, from a base station, an LP grant504scheduling an LP uplink transmission506at time t4. The LP grant504may be LP DCI received in a downlink control channel, such as a PDCCH. Additionally, at time t2a, the UE receives an HP grant512scheduling a second HP uplink transmission514at time t5. The HP grant512may be HP DCI received in a downlink control channel, such as the PDCCH. The base station (not shown inFIG.5) may be an example of a base station110as described with reference toFIGS.1and2. In the example ofFIG.5, a first HP uplink transmission510scheduled at time t4may be an example of an uplink transmission that is scheduled without a corresponding dynamic grant, such as the HP grant512. Examples of an uplink transmission that is scheduled without a corresponding dynamic grant include, but are not limited to, type 1 or type 2 uplink configured grants, scheduling request (SR) transmissions, or hybrid automatic repeat request (HARD)-acknowledgement (ACK) reports for semi-persistent (SPS) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). A HARQ-ACK report for an SPS PDSCH may be an example of a HARQ-ACK report transmitted in response to a received PDSCH without a corresponding PDCCH. In one example, the first HP uplink transmission510may be a HARQ-ACK report for an SPS PDSCH. In some examples, such as the example ofFIG.5, due to the absence of the dynamic grant, a base station may not the dynamic grant when determining an expected transmission time for the first HP uplink transmission510. Additionally, the SCS (μDL) value for the grant (μDL) of the grantless HP uplink transmission may not be considered when determining the SCS value (μ) for the Tproc,2, as described with reference toFIG.4. For ease of explanation, an HP uplink transmission that does not correspond to a grant (e.g., PDCCH) may be referred to as a grantless HP uplink transmission. In such examples, the UE may cancel the LP uplink transmission before a first symbol of a grantless HP uplink transmission overlaps the LP uplink transmission if the grantless HP uplink transmission is an earliest HP uplink transmission from a set of HP uplink transmissions scheduled in a slot. In the example ofFIG.5, the the first HP uplink transmission510is the earliest HP uplink transmission from the set of HP uplink transmissions510,514scheduled in a slot. Therefore, the UE may cancel the LP uplink transmission506before the first symbol of the first HP uplink transmission510overlaps the LP uplink transmission506at time t4. Additionally, as shown inFIG.5, the UE may expect a transmission of the second HP uplink transmission514will not start before Tproc,2+d1(e.g., before time t5) after a last symbol of the HP grant512. In the example ofFIG.5, the last symbol of the HP grant512occurs at time t2b. As indicated above,FIGS.3,4, and5are provided as examples. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect toFIGS.3,4, and5. FIG.6is a diagram illustrating an example process performed at a UE that supports canceling an LP uplink transmission before an initial symbol of an HP uplink transmission overlaps the LP uplink transmission, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the process600may be implemented by a UE, such as a UE120, or its components, as described with reference toFIGS.1,2,3,4, and5, respectively. For example, operations of the process600may be performed by an uplink (UL) timeline module140as described with reference toFIG.1. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the operations or functions described below. Additionally, or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of the operations or functions described below using special-purpose hardware. In block602, the process600may receive an LP grant for scheduling an LP uplink transmission in a slot. In some examples, such as the examples described in reference toFIGS.3-6, the LP uplink transmission overlaps a set of HP uplink transmissions in the slot. The HP uplink transmissions may include one or both of control channel (e.g., PUCCH) or data channel (e.g., PUSCH) transmissions. At block604, the process600may determine an uplink shared channel preparation time as a function of an SCS configuration and a UE processing time capability based on the LP uplink transmission overlapping the set of HP uplink transmissions. As described, the uplink shared channel (e.g., PUSCH) preparation time (Tproc,2) may be a minimum time for a UE to prepare an uplink transmission, such as a PUSCH transmission, in a wireless communication system, such as an NR system. In some examples, the PUSCH preparation time (Tproc,2) may be determined based on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration (μ) and also a PUSCH preparation time (N2) of the uplink carrier on which the uplink transmission is scheduled. The SCS configuration (μ) may be determined based on an SCS configuration (μDL) of a downlink channel, such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), including a grant and an SCS configuration (μUL) of an uplink transmission scheduled based on the grant. As shown inFIG.6, at block606, the process600determines a time period until an expected transmission time for each respective HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions scheduled based on a corresponding HP grant. The time period may be a function of the uplink shared channel preparation time and a time duration corresponding to a reported UE capability. As shown inFIG.6, at block606, the process600determines a time period until an expected transmission time for each respective HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions scheduled based on a corresponding HP grant. The time period may be a function of the uplink shared channel preparation time and a time duration corresponding to a reported UE capability. For example, as described with reference toFIG.3, an expected transmission time for an HP uplink transmission may be based on the PUSCH preparation time (Tproc,2) and a reported UE capability (d1). In some examples, the reported UE capability (d1) may be a time duration corresponding to 0, 1, or 2 symbols reported by the UE capability. In some implementations, the UE expects the transmission of the HP uplink transmission will not start before Tproc,2+d1after a last symbol of a grant scheduling the HP uplink transmission. In such implementations, the PUSCH preparation time (Tproc,2) may be determined based on an assumption that a first symbol of a PUSCH allocation only includes a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) (e.g., the DM-RS is front-loaded), such that d2,1=0. Additionally, as shown inFIG.6, at block608, the process600may cancel the LP uplink transmission before a symbol of the LP uplink transmission overlaps an earliest HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions. For example, as described in reference toFIG.4, the LP uplink transmission406is cancelled at a time before time t5, where time t5corresponds to a time when a symbol of the LP uplink transmission overlaps the first HP uplink transmission410. In the example ofFIG.4, the first HP uplink transmission410is an earliest HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions410,414. FIG.7is a diagram illustrating an example process performed at a base station that supports an LP uplink transmission being cancelled before an initial symbol of an HP uplink transmission overlaps the LP uplink transmission, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the process700may be implemented by a base station, such as a base station110, or its components, as described with reference toFIGS.1,2,3,4, and5, respectively. For example, operations of the process700may be performed by a UE timeline module138as described with reference toFIG.1. In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the operations or functions described below. Additionally, or alternatively, a base station may perform aspects of the operations or functions described below using special-purpose hardware. In block702, the process700may transmit, to a UE, an LP grant for scheduling an LP uplink transmission in a slot. The LP uplink transmission may overlap a set of HP uplink transmissions in the slot. At block704, the process700determines an uplink shared channel preparation time of the UE as a function of an SCS configuration and a UE processing time capability based on the LP uplink transmission overlapping the set of HP uplink transmissions. In some examples, the PUSCH preparation time (Tproc,2) may be determined based on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration (μ) and also a PUSCH preparation time (N2) of the uplink carrier on which the uplink transmission is scheduled. The SCS configuration (μ) may be determined based on an SCS configuration (μDL) of a downlink channel, such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), including a grant and an SCS configuration (μUL) of an uplink transmission scheduled based on the grant. At block706, the process700may determine an earliest transmission time for scheduling each respective HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions based on a corresponding HP grant. The earliest transmission time may be a function of the uplink shared channel preparation time and a time duration corresponding to a reported UE capability. For example, as described with reference toFIG.3, the earliest transmission time for an HP uplink transmission may be based on the PUSCH preparation time (Tproc,2) and a reported UE capability (d1). At block708, the process receives, from the UE, the LP uplink transmission based on the LP grant, the LP uplink transmission cancelled before a symbol of the LP uplink transmission overlaps an earliest HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions. Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:1. A method for wireless communications performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a low priority (LP) grant for scheduling an LP uplink transmission in a slot, the LP uplink transmission overlapping a set of high priority (HP) uplink transmissions in the slot; determining an uplink shared channel preparation time as a function of a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration and a UE processing time capability based on the LP uplink transmission overlapping the set of HP uplink transmissions; determining a time period until an expected transmission time for each respective HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions scheduled based on a corresponding HP grant, the time period being a function of the uplink shared channel preparation time and a time duration corresponding to a reported UE capability; and canceling the LP uplink transmission before a symbol of the LP uplink transmission overlaps an earliest HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions.2. The method of Clause 1, further comprising receiving a set of high priority (HP) grants for scheduling the set of HP uplink transmissions in the slot, each respective HP grant of the set of HP grants corresponding to different HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions.3. The method of any of Clauses 1-2, in which the time period until the expected transmission time for each respective HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions scheduled based on the corresponding HP grant is initiated after a last symbol of the corresponding HP grant.4. The method of any of Clauses 1-3, further comprising transmitting each respective HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions scheduled based on the corresponding HP grant no earlier than the expected transmission time.5. The method of any of Clauses 1-4, in which the SCS configuration corresponds to a smallest SCS configuration selected from one of a set of first SCS configurations, a set of second SCS configurations, a third SCS configuration, and a fourth SCS configuration.6. The method of Clause 5, in which: each first SCS configuration of the set of first SCS configurations is associated with a different HP uplink grant of a set of HP uplink grants corresponding to a set of HP uplink transmissions; and each second SCS configuration of the second SCS configurations is associated with a different HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions.7. The method of Clause 5, in which: the third SCS configuration is associated with the LP grant; and the fourth SCS configuration is associated with the LP uplink transmission.8. The method of any of Clauses 1-7, in which the UE processing time capability is processing time capability 2 when each HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions corresponds to processing time capability 2, a value of the uplink shared channel preparation time for processing time capability 2 being less than a value of the uplink shared channel preparation time for processing time capability 1.9. The method of any of Clauses 1-7, in which the UE processing time capability is processing time capability 1 when one HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions corresponds to processing time capability 1.10. The method of any of Clauses 1-9, in which the earliest HP uplink transmission is a grantless HP uplink transmission comprising HARQ-ACK information generated based on a downlink shared channel received without a corresponding downlink control channel.11. The method of any of Clauses 1-9, in which the earliest HP uplink transmission is a grantless HP uplink transmission comprising a scheduling request (SR).12. The method of any of Clauses 1-9, in which the earliest HP uplink transmission is a grantless HP uplink transmission generated based on a configured grant.13. The method of any of Clauses 1-12, in which the UE assumes a first symbol of the LP uplink transmission is limited to including demodulation reference signals (DM-RS).14. A method for wireless communications performed by a base station, comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a low priority (LP) grant for scheduling an LP uplink transmission in a slot, the LP uplink transmission overlapping a set of high priority (HP) uplink transmissions in the slot; determining an uplink shared channel preparation time of the UE as a function of a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration and a UE processing time capability based on the LP uplink transmission overlapping the set of HP uplink transmissions; determining an earliest transmission time for scheduling each respective HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions based on a corresponding HP grant, the earliest transmission time being a function of the uplink shared channel preparation time and a time duration corresponding to a reported UE capability; and receiving, from the UE, the LP uplink transmission based on the LP grant, the LP uplink transmission cancelled before a symbol of the LP uplink transmission overlaps an earliest HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions.15. The method of Clause 14, further comprising transmitting a set of high priority (HP) grants for scheduling the set of HP uplink transmissions in the slot, each respective HP grant of the set of HP grants corresponding to different HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions.16. The method of any of Clauses 14-15, in which the earliest transmission time for each respective HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions is an end of a time period initiated after a last symbol of the corresponding HP grant.17. The method of any of Clauses 14-16, further comprising receiving each respective HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions no earlier than the earliest transmission time.18. The method of any of Clauses 14-17, in which the SCS configuration is a smallest SCS configuration corresponding to one of a set of first SCS configurations, a set of second SCS configurations, a third SCS configuration, and a fourth SCS configuration.19. The method of Clause 18, in which: each first SCS configuration of the set of first SCS configurations is associated with a different HP uplink grant of a set of HP uplink grants corresponding to a set of HP uplink transmissions; and each second SCS configuration of the second SCS configurations is associated with a different HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions.20. The method of Clause 18, in which: the third SCS configuration is associated with the LP uplink grant; and the fourth SCS configuration is associated with the LP uplink transmission.21. The method of any of Clauses 14-20, in which the UE processing time capability is processing time capability 2 when each HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions corresponds to processing time capability 2, a value of the uplink shared channel preparation time for processing time capability 2 being less than a value of the uplink shared channel preparation time for processing time capability 1.22. The method of any of Clauses 14-20, in which the UE processing time capability is processing time capability 1 when one HP uplink transmission of the set of HP uplink transmissions corresponds to processing time capability 1.23. The method of any of Clauses 14-22, in which the earliest HP uplink transmission is a grantless HP uplink transmission comprising HARQ-ACK information generated based on a downlink shared channel transmitted without a corresponding downlink control channel.24. The method of any of Clauses 14-22, in which the earliest HP uplink transmission is a grantless HP uplink transmission comprising a scheduling request (SR).25. The method of any of Clauses 14-22, in which the earliest HP uplink transmission is a grantless HP uplink transmission generated based on a configured grant. The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects. As used, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. As used, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. Some aspects are described in connection with thresholds. As used, satisfying a threshold may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, and/or the like. It will be apparent that systems and/or methods described may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods were described without reference to specific software code—it being understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based, at least in part, on the description. Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. A phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b, b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering of a, b, and c). No element, act, or instruction used should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Furthermore, as used, the terms “set” and “group” are intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, a combination of related and unrelated items, and/or the like), and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” and/or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. | 62,167 |
11943805 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various aspects of the disclosure are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein one skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or combined with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or other than the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim. Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatuses and techniques. These apparatuses and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, and/or the like (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. It should be noted that while aspects may be described herein using terminology commonly associated with a 5G or NR radio access technology (RAT), aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to other RATs, such as a 3G RAT, a 4G RAT, and/or a RAT subsequent to 5G (e.g., 6G). FIG.1is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network100in accordance with the present disclosure. The wireless network100may be or may include elements of a 5G (NR) network and/or an LTE network, among other examples. The wireless network100may include a number of base stations110(shown as BS110a, BS110b, BS110c, and BS110d) and other network entities. A base station (BS) is an entity that communicates with user equipment (UEs) and may also be referred to as an NR BS, a Node B, a gNB, a 5G node B (NB), an access point, or a transmit receive point (TRP). Each BS may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a BS and/or a BS subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. A BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs having association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). ABS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. ABS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In the example shown inFIG.1, a BS110amay be a macro BS for a macro cell102a, a BS110bmay be a pico BS for a pico cell102b, and a BS110cmay be a femto BS for a femto cell102c. A BS may support one or multiple (e.g., three) cells. The terms “eNB”, “base station”, “NR BS”, “gNB”, “TRP”, “AP”, “node B”, “5G NB”, and “cell” may be used interchangeably herein. In some aspects, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of the cell may move according to the location of a mobile BS. In some aspects, the BSs may be interconnected to one another and/or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless network100through various types of backhaul interfaces such as a direct physical connection, or a virtual network using any suitable transport network. Wireless network100may also include relay stations. A relay station is an entity that can receive a transmission of data from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a UE) and send a transmission of the data to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station may also be a UE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown inFIG.1, a relay BS110dmay communicate with macro BS110aand a UE120din order to facilitate communication between BS110aand UE120d. A relay BS may also be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, or a relay. Wireless network100may be a heterogeneous network that includes BSs of different types, such as macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, and/or relay BSs. These different types of BSs may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different impacts on interference in wireless network100. For example, macro BSs may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 to 40 watts) whereas pico BSs, femto BSs, and relay BSs may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts). A network controller130may couple to a set of BSs and may provide coordination and control for these BSs. Network controller130may communicate with the BSs via a backhaul. The BSs may also communicate with one another, directly or indirectly, via a wireless or wireline backhaul. UEs120(e.g.,120a,120b,120c) may be dispersed throughout wireless network100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE may also be referred to as an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, and/or the like. A UE may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device or equipment, biometric sensors/devices, wearable devices (smart watches, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wrist bands, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a vehicular component or sensor, smart meters/sensors, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium. Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, and/or location tags that may communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node may provide, for example, connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and/or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband internet of things) devices. Some UEs may be considered a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). UE120may be included inside a housing that houses components of UE120, such as processor components and/or memory components. In some aspects, the processor components and the memory components may be coupled together. For example, the processor components (e.g., one or more processors) and the memory components (e.g., a memory) may be operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and/or electrically coupled. In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, and/or an air interface. A frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, and/or a frequency channel. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed. In some aspects, two or more UEs120(e.g., shown as UE120aand UE120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., without using a base station110as an intermediary to communicate with one another). For example, the UEs120may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communications, device-to-device (D2D) communications, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocol (e.g., which may include a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocol, or a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocol), and/or a mesh network. In this case, the UE120may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and/or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by the base station110. Devices of wireless network100may communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided based on frequency or wavelength into various classes, bands, channels, or the like. For example, devices of wireless network100may communicate using an operating band having a first frequency range (FR1), which may span from 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz, and/or may communicate using an operating band having a second frequency range (FR2), which may span from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are sometimes referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to as a “sub-6 GHz” band. Similarly, FR2 is often referred to as a “millimeter wave” band despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band. Thus, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies less than 6 GHz, frequencies within FR1, and/or mid-band frequencies (e.g., greater than 7.125 GHz). Similarly, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies within the EHF band, frequencies within FR2, and/or mid-band frequencies (e.g., less than 24.25 GHz). It is contemplated that the frequencies included in FR1 and FR2 may be modified, and techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges. As indicated above,FIG.1is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.1. FIG.2is a diagram illustrating an example200of a base station110in communication with a UE120in a wireless network100, in accordance with the present disclosure. Base station110may be equipped with T antennas234athrough234t, and UE120may be equipped with R antennas252athrough252r, where in general T>1 and R>1. At base station110, a transmit processor220may receive data from a data source212for one or more UEs, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCS(s) selected for the UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. Transmit processor220may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Transmit processor220may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., the primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor230may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs)232athrough232t. Each modulator232may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator232may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. T downlink signals from modulators232athrough232tmay be transmitted via T antennas234athrough234t, respectively. At UE120, antennas252athrough252rmay receive the downlink signals from base station110and/or other base stations and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs)254athrough254r, respectively. Each demodulator254may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator254may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector256may obtain received symbols from all R demodulators254athrough254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor258may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE120to a data sink260, and provide decoded control information and system information to a controller/processor280. The term “controller/processor” may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. A channel processor may determine reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and/or CQI, among other examples. In some aspects, one or more components of UE120may be included in a housing284. Network controller130may include communication unit294, controller/processor290, and memory292. Network controller130may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. Network controller130may communicate with base station110via communication unit294. Antennas (e.g., antennas234athrough234tand/or antennas252athrough252r) may include, or may be included within, one or more antenna panels, antenna groups, sets of antenna elements, and/or antenna arrays, among other examples. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include one or more antenna elements. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include a set of coplanar antenna elements and/or a set of non-coplanar antenna elements. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include antenna elements within a single housing and/or antenna elements within multiple housings. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include one or more antenna elements coupled to one or more transmission and/or reception components, such as one or more components ofFIG.2. On the uplink, at UE120, a transmit processor264may receive and process data from a data source262and control information (e.g., for reports that include RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and/or CQI) from controller/processor280. Transmit processor264may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from transmit processor264may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor266if applicable, further processed by modulators254athrough254r(e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM), and transmitted to base station110. In some aspects, a modulator and a demodulator (e.g., MOD/DEMOD254) of the UE120may be included in a modem of the UE120. In some aspects, the UE120includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna(s)252, modulators and/or demodulators254, MIMO detector256, receive processor258, transmit processor264, and/or TX MIMO processor266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor280) and memory282to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (for example, as described with reference toFIGS.3-11). At base station110, the uplink signals from UE120and other UEs may be received by antennas234, processed by demodulators232, detected by a MIMO detector236if applicable, and further processed by a receive processor238to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE120. Receive processor238may provide the decoded data to a data sink239and the decoded control information to controller/processor240. Base station110may include communication unit244and communicate to network controller130via communication unit244. Base station110may include a scheduler246to schedule UEs120for downlink and/or uplink communications. In some aspects, a modulator and a demodulator (e.g., MOD/DEMOD232) of the base station110may be included in a modem of the base station110. In some aspects, the base station110includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna(s)234, modulators and/or demodulators232, MIMO detector236, receive processor238, transmit processor220, and/or TX MIMO processor230. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor240) and memory242to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (for example, as described with reference toFIGS.3-11). Controller/processor240of base station110, controller/processor280of UE120, and/or any other component(s) ofFIG.2may perform one or more techniques associated with beta offset factor configuration for uplink control information (UCI) multiplexing on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, controller/processor240of base station110, controller/processor280of UE120, and/or any other component(s) ofFIG.2may perform or direct operations of, for example, process800ofFIG.8, process900ofFIG.9, and/or other processes as described herein. Memories242and282may store data and program codes for base station110and UE120, respectively. In some aspects, memory242and/or memory282may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and/or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, or after compiling, converting, and/or interpreting) by one or more processors of base station110and/or UE120, may cause the one or more processors, UE120, and/or base station110to perform or direct operations of, for example, process800ofFIG.8, process900ofFIG.9, and/or other processes as described herein. In some aspects, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and/or interpreting the instructions, among other examples. In some aspects, UE120includes means for selecting a set (e.g., table), from among a plurality of sets (tables) that include beta offset factors associated with multiplexing UCI with data on a PUSCH, based at least in part on a priority level of the UCI and a priority level of the data on the PUSCH, means for selecting a beta offset factor from the selected set according to a type of the UCI, means for multiplexing the UCI with the data in an uplink communication on the PUSCH based at least in part on the selected beta offset factor, and/or means for transmitting the uplink communication. The means for UE120to perform operations described herein may include, for example, antenna252, demodulator254, MIMO detector256, receive processor258, transmit processor264, TX MIMO processor266, modulator254, controller/processor280, and/or memory282. In some aspects, base station110includes means for determining a plurality of sets with beta offset factors for multiplexing UCI with data on a PUSCH, means for transmitting configuration information associated with the plurality of sets to a UE such that the UE is configured to select, based at least in part on a priority level of the UCI and a priority level of the data on the PUSCH, a beta offset factor from the plurality of sets for multiplexing the UCI with the data in an uplink communication on the PUSCH, and/or means for receiving the uplink communication with the UCI and the data multiplexed on the PUSCH, where the UCI and the data are multiplexed based at least in part on the selected beta offset factor. The means for base station110to perform operations described herein may include, for example, transmit processor220, TX MIMO processor230, modulator232, antenna234, demodulator232, MIMO detector236, receive processor238, controller/processor240, memory242, and/or scheduler246. While blocks inFIG.2are illustrated as distinct components, the functions described above with respect to the blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combination component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functions described with respect to the transmit processor264, the receive processor258, and/or the TX MIMO processor266may be performed by or under the control of controller/processor280. As indicated above,FIG.2is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.2. FIG.3is a diagram illustrating an example300of UCI multiplexing, in accordance with the present disclosure. A UE may transmit UCI on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) to a base station. The base station may use feedback in the UCI, such as a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARD) acknowledgement (ACK), to configure and/or schedule communications for the UE. Example300shows UCI on the PUCCH and uplink shared data (UL-SCH) on the PUSCH. When a PUCCH overlaps in time with data to be transmitted on a PUSCH, the PUCCH transmission may be dropped, as shown by the PUCCH crossed out in example300. However, the UCI that was to be carried on the PUCCH may be multiplexed with the data on the PUSCH, as shown in example300. The UE may transmit the multiplexed UCI and data on the PUSCH. Data on the PUSCH may have to share resource elements (REs) on the PUSCH with UCI, and thus the UCI may be provided some REs on the PUSCH according to a particular spectrum efficiency. “Spectrum efficiency” may refer to how many REs are allotted. The amount of UCI that is multiplexed with the data on the PUSCH may be too much or not enough, and a UE may increase or reduce a spectrum efficiency of the UCI when the UCI is multiplexed on the PUSCH. For example, the UE may increase a quantity of REs that are used for the UCI when the UCI is multiplexed with the data on the PUSCH, resulting in a higher reliability for the UCI but a greater impact on the data on the PUSCH. The quantity of REs for the UCI may be set according to a beta offset factor βoffsetPUSCH, which is shown in the following example equation: QACK′=min{⌈(0ACK+LACK)·βoffsetPUSCH·∑l=0Nsymb,allPUSCH-1MscUCI(l)Σr=0CUL-SCH-1Kr⌉,⌈α·∑l=l0Nsymb,allPUSCH-1MSCUCI(l)⌉} In this example equation, QACK′ represents a quantity of REs assigned to HARQ-ACK. OACKrepresents a quantity of ACK bits, and LACKrepresents cyclic redundancy check bits for ACK. ∑l=0Nsymb,allPUSCH-1MscUCI(l) represents a total number of REs allocated for the PUSCH. Σr=0CUL-SCH−1Krrepresents a quantity of bits for the PUSCH. The a in the terms after the comma serves as a cap on the quantity of REs. In sum, the equation specifies a ratio of the quantity of bits for ACK over a total quantity of bits for the PUSCH, so as to determine how many REs are to be allocated for ACK. The larger the beta offset factor βoffsetPUSCH, the lower the spectrum efficiency of the UCI with respect to a spectrum efficiency of the data. That is, the larger the beta offset factor, the more REs that are used for UCI. As indicated above,FIG.3is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.3. FIG.4is a diagram illustrating an example400of a beta offset factor table, in accordance with the present disclosure. A base station may configure a beta offset factor set for a UE via a radio resource control (RRC) message, and an example framework for such a set is shown by example400. A beta offset factor set may include one or more beta offset factors for different quantities of bits for HARQ-ACK, for CSI part 1, and/or for CSI part 2. A beta offset factor set may be represented in a table. The table may apply to configured grant (CG) PUSCH or dynamic grant (DG) scheduled PUSCH. The table inFIG.4is an example that applies to CG PUSCH and lists an entry (represented by letters A through G) for each type of UCI, including HARQ-ACK that is 2 bits or less, HARQ-ACK that is from 3 bits to 11 bits, HARQ-ACK that is greater than 11 bits, channel state information (CSI) part 1 that is 11 bits or less, CSI part 1 that is greater than 11 bits, CSI part 2 that is 11 bits or less, and/or CSI part 2 that is greater than 11 bits. The entries for the beta offsets may be semi-static. UCI and PUSCH may have different priorities, such that a priority for UCI may be higher or lower than a priority for data on the PUSCH. In some aspects, the UCI may specifically have a high priority or low priority, and the data on the PUSCH may have a high priority or low priority. Priority levels may be indicated by a value, such as a 0 (zero) or a 1 (one). However, there is currently one beta factor offset table that does not account for multiplexing with different priorities. If high priority communications are not multiplexed with sufficient REs, then important control information or data may be lost or delayed. Communications may degrade or experience additional latency. Retransmissions may be necessary and cause the UE to waste power, processing resources, and signaling resources. As indicated above,FIG.4is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.4. FIG.5is a diagram illustrating an example500of beta offset factor tables for different priorities, in accordance with the present disclosure. According to various aspects described herein, a base station (e.g., gNB) may configure a UE with multiple beta offset factor sets (which may be represented in tables) to be used for different combinations of priorities. In this way, an appropriate beta offset factor may be chosen such that a quantity of REs may be allocated to a UCI that is consistent with a priority of the UCI with respect to a priority of the data on the PUSCH. The UE may avoid degraded communications, reduce latency, and conserve power, processing resources, and signaling resources that would otherwise be consumed by late or retransmitted high priority communications that should have been allocated more REs. The multiple beta offset sets (tables) configured at the UE may include Table 1, shown inFIG.5, which the UE may select based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low. Table 2 shows a table to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high. Table 3 shows a table to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low. Table 4 shows a table to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high. The tables may each include entries for beta offset factors as appropriate for the priorities of the table. As indicated above,FIG.5is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.5. FIG.6is a diagram illustrating an example600of beta offset factor configuration for UCI multiplexing on a PUSCH, in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.6, example600includes communication between BS610(e.g., a BS110depicted inFIGS.1and2) and a UE620(e.g., a UE120depicted inFIGS.1and2). In some aspects, BS610and UE620may be included in a wireless network, such as wireless network100. BS610and UE620may communicate on a wireless access link, which may include an uplink and a downlink. As shown by reference number630, BS610may determine a plurality of beta offset factor sets (tables) for multiplexing UCI with data on a PUSCH. The tables may include a table to be selected based on different combinations of priorities for UCI and for data on the PUSCH, as described in connection withFIG.5. As shown by reference number635, BS610may transmit configuration information associated with the tables to UE620. For example, BS610may transmit the tables or information indicating the tables to UE620. In some aspects, UE620may have the tables based at least in part on stored configuration information, and the information from BS610may indicate the tables to be used. UE620may be configured with a certain level of priority for UCI and for data on the PUSCH. In some aspects, UE620may be configured for CG PUSCH, and the priority level of the UCI and/or the priority level of the data on the PUSCH may be configured by an RRC message. In some aspects, UE620may be configured for DG for HARQ-ACK multiplexed on CG PUSCH, and the priority level of the UCI (e.g., HARQ-ACK) may be configured by downlink control information (DCI) and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH may be configured by an RRC message. In some aspects, UE620may be configured for persistent channel state information (P-CSI) feedback, and the priority level of the UCI and/or the priority level of the data on the PUSCH may be configured by an RRC message. As shown by reference number640, UE620may select a set (table), from among a plurality of beta offset factor sets (tables), based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH. For example, if the priority level of the UCI is low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH is high, UE620may select a table such as Table 2 shown inFIG.5. As shown by reference number645, UE620may select a beta offset factor from the selected set (table). The selection may be according to a type of UCI. For example, if Table 2 ofFIG.5is selected and if the UCI is a HARQ-ACK greater than 11 bits, UE620may select a beta offset factor that is an entry in column 4 of Table 2. As shown by reference number650, UE620may multiplex the UCI with the data on the PUSCH in an uplink communication on the PUSCH based at least in part on the selected beta offset factor. As shown by reference number655, UE620may transmit the uplink communication to BS610. BS610may demultiplex the uplink communication received on the PUSCH to obtain the UCI (e.g., HARQ-ACK) on one or more REs in the uplink communication and the data on other REs of the uplink communication. To continue with the example using Table 2, the uplink communication may include, for example, mostly data REs and only one or two UCI REs, because the UCI is low priority, and the data is high priority. More high priority data may be received by BS610using the selected beta offset factor from Table 2 by using a beta offset factor that is blind to the UCI and data priorities. As indicated above,FIG.6is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.6. FIG.7is a diagram illustrating an example700of beta offset factor tables, in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG.7shows multiple tables of beta offset factors, including Table 2 and Table 3 that were also shown inFIG.5. However, in some aspects, Table 1 and Table 4 ofFIG.5may be merged into a single table, shown as Table 1 inFIG.7, for when the priority level of the UCI and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH are the same. Other tables may be configured for other combinations of priorities, including for priorities beyond “low” and “high.” As indicated above,FIG.7is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.7. FIG.8is a diagram illustrating an example process800performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process800is an example where the UE (e.g., UE120depicted inFIGS.1-2, UE620depicted in FIG.6) performs operations associated with beta offset factor configuration for UCI multiplexing on a PUSCH. As shown inFIG.8, in some aspects, process800may include selecting a set, from among a plurality of sets that include beta offset factors associated with multiplexing UCI with data on a PUSCH, based at least in part on a priority level of the UCI and a priority level of the data on the PUSCH (block810). For example, the UE (e.g., using selection component1008depicted inFIG.10) may select a set, from among a plurality of sets that include beta offset factors associated with multiplexing UCI with data on a PUSCH, based at least in part on a priority level of the UCI and a priority level of the data on the PUSCH, as described above. As further shown inFIG.8, in some aspects, process800may include selecting a beta offset factor from the selected set according to a type of the UCI (block820). For example, the UE (e.g., using selection component1008depicted inFIG.10) may select a beta offset factor from the selected set according to a type of the UCI, as described above. As further shown inFIG.8, in some aspects, process800may include multiplexing the UCI with the data in an uplink communication on the PUSCH based at least in part on the selected beta offset factor (block830). For example, the UE (e.g., using multiplexer component1010depicted inFIG.10) may multiplex the UCI with the data in an uplink communication on the PUSCH based at least in part on the selected beta offset factor, as described above. As further shown inFIG.8, in some aspects, process800may include transmitting the uplink communication (block840). For example, the UE (e.g., using transmission component1004depicted inFIG.10) may transmit the uplink communication, as described above. Process800may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein. In a first aspect, the plurality of sets includes a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low, a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high, a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low, and a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high. In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the plurality of sets includes a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being the same, a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high, and a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low. In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, selecting the beta offset factor from the selected set according to the type of the UCI includes selecting the beta offset factor from among a plurality of types of UCI, the plurality of types of UCI including HARQ-ACK that is 2 bits or less, HARQ-ACK that is from 3 bits to 11 bits, HARQ-ACK that is greater than 11 bits, CSI part 1 that is 11 bits or less, CSI part 1 that is greater than 11 bits, CSI part 2 that is 11 bits or less, and CSI part 2 that is greater than 11 bits. In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the UE is configured for CG PUSCH, and at least one of the priority level of the UCI or the priority level of the data on the PUSCH is configured by an RRC message. In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, the UE is configured for DG for HARQ-ACK multiplexed on CG PUSCH, and the priority level of the UCI is configured by DCI and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH is configured by an RRC message. In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the UE is configured for P-CSI feedback, and at least one of the priority level of the UCI or the priority level of the data on the PUSCH is configured by an RRC message. In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, multiplexing the UCI with the data includes setting a spectrum efficiency of the UCI based at least in part on the beta offset factor. In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, setting the spectrum efficiency of the UCI based at least in part on the beta offset factor includes setting a quantity of resource elements that are to be used for the UCI when multiplexing the UCI with the data on the PUSCH. AlthoughFIG.8shows example blocks of process800, in some aspects, process800may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted inFIG.8. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process800may be performed in parallel. FIG.9is a diagram illustrating an example process900performed, for example, by a base station, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process900is an example where the base station (e.g., base station110depicted inFIGS.1-2, BS610depicted inFIG.6) performs operations associated with beta offset factor configuration for UCI multiplexing on a PUSCH. As shown inFIG.9, in some aspects, process900may include determining a plurality of sets with beta offset factors for multiplexing UCI with data on a PUSCH (block910). For example, the base station (e.g., using determination component1108depicted inFIG.11) may determine a plurality of sets with beta offset factors for multiplexing UCI with data on a PUSCH, as described above. As further shown inFIG.9, in some aspects, process900may include transmitting configuration information associated with the plurality of sets to a UE such that the UE is configured to select, based at least in part on a priority level of the UCI and a priority level of the data on the PUSCH, a beta offset factor from the plurality of sets for multiplexing the UCI with the data in an uplink communication on the PUSCH (block920). For example, the base station (e.g., using transmission component1104depicted inFIG.11) may transmit configuration information associated with the plurality of sets to a UE such that the UE is configured to select, based at least in part on a priority level of the UCI and a priority level of the data on the PUSCH, a beta offset factor from the plurality of sets for multiplexing the UCI with the data in an uplink communication on the PUSCH, as described above. As further shown inFIG.9, in some aspects, process900may include receiving the uplink communication with the UCI and the data multiplexed on the PUSCH (block930). For example, the base station (e.g., using reception component1102depicted inFIG.11) may receive the uplink communication with the UCI and the data multiplexed on the PUSCH, as described above. In some aspects, the UCI and the data are multiplexed based at least in part on the selected beta offset factor. Process900may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein. In a first aspect, the plurality of sets includes a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low, a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high, a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low, and a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high. In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the plurality of sets includes a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being the same, a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high, and a set to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low. In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, each set of the plurality of sets includes beta offset factors for a plurality of types of UCI, the plurality of types of UCI including HARQ-ACK that is 2 bits or less, HARQ-ACK that is from 3 bits to 11 bits, HARQ-ACK that is greater than 11 bits, CSI part 1 that is 11 bits or less, CSI part 1 that is greater than 11 bits, CSI part 2 that is 11 bits or less, and CSI part 2 that is greater than 11 bits. In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the UE is configured for CG PUSCH, and process900further comprises transmitting an RRC message that indicates at least one of the priority level of the UCI or the priority level of the data on the PUSCH. In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, the UE is configured for DG for HARQ-ACK multiplexed on CG PUSCH, and process900further comprises transmitting DCI that indicates the priority level of the UCI and transmitting an RRC message that indicates the priority level of the data on the PUSCH. In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the UE is configured for P-CSI feedback, and process900further comprises transmitting an RRC message that indicates at least one of the priority level of the UCI or the priority level of the data on the PUSCH. AlthoughFIG.9shows example blocks of process900, in some aspects, process900may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted inFIG.9. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process900may be performed in parallel. FIG.10is a block diagram of an example apparatus1000for wireless communication. The apparatus1000may be a UE (e.g., UE120, UE620), or a UE may include the apparatus1000. In some aspects, the apparatus1000includes a reception component1002and a transmission component1004, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components). As shown, the apparatus1000may communicate with another apparatus1006(such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the reception component1002and the transmission component1004. As further shown, the apparatus1000may include a selection component1008or a multiplexer component1010, among other examples. In some aspects, the apparatus1000may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection withFIGS.3-9. Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus1000may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process800ofFIG.8. In some aspects, the apparatus1000and/or one or more components shown inFIG.10may include one or more components of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown inFIG.10may be implemented within one or more components described above in connection withFIG.2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and execuset by a controller or a processor to perform the functions or operations of the component. The reception component1002may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus1006. The reception component1002may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus1000. In some aspects, the reception component1002may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples), and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus1000. In some aspects, the reception component1002may include one or more antennas, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2. The transmission component1004may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus1006. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus1000may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component1004for transmission to the apparatus1006. In some aspects, the transmission component1004may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples), and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus1006. In some aspects, the transmission component1004may include one or more antennas, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2. In some aspects, the transmission component1004may be co-located with the reception component1002in a transceiver. The selection component1008may select a set, from among a plurality of sets that include beta offset factors associated with multiplexing UCI with data on a PUSCH, based at least in part on a priority level of the UCI and a priority level of the data on the PUSCH. In some aspects, the selection component1008may include a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2. The selection component1008may select a beta offset factor from the selected set according to a type of the UCI. The multiplexer component1010may multiplex the UCI with the data in an uplink communication on the PUSCH based at least in part on the selected beta offset factor. In some aspects, the multiplexer component1010may include one or more antennas, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2. The transmission component1004may transmit the uplink communication. The number and arrangement of components shown inFIG.10are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown inFIG.10. Furthermore, two or more components shown inFIG.10may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown inFIG.10may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown inFIG.10may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown inFIG.10. FIG.11is a block diagram of an example apparatus1100for wireless communication. The apparatus1100may be a base station (e.g., BS110, BS610), or a base station may include the apparatus1100. In some aspects, the apparatus1100includes a reception component1102and a transmission component1104, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components). As shown, the apparatus1100may communicate with another apparatus1106(such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the reception component1102and the transmission component1104. As further shown, the apparatus1100may include a determination component1108, among other examples. In some aspects, the apparatus1100may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection withFIGS.3-9. Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus1100may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process900ofFIG.9. In some aspects, the apparatus1100and/or one or more components shown inFIG.11may include one or more components of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown inFIG.11may be implemented within one or more components described above in connection withFIG.2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processor to perform the functions or operations of the component. The reception component1102may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus1106. The reception component1102may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus1100. In some aspects, the reception component1102may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples), and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus1100. In some aspects, the reception component1102may include one or more antennas, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2. The transmission component1104may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus1106. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus1100may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component1104for transmission to the apparatus1106. In some aspects, the transmission component1104may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples), and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus1106. In some aspects, the transmission component1104may include one or more antennas, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2. In some aspects, the transmission component1104may be co-located with the reception component1102in a transceiver. The determination component1108may determine a plurality of sets with beta offset factors for multiplexing UCI with data on a PUSCH. In some aspects, the determination component1108may include a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2. The transmission component1104may transmit configuration information associated with the plurality of sets to a UE such that the UE is configured to select, based at least in part on a priority level of the UCI and a priority level of the data on the PUSCH, a beta offset factor from the plurality of sets for multiplexing the UCI with the data in an uplink communication on the PUSCH. The reception component1102may receive the uplink communication with the UCI and the data multiplexed on the PUSCH, where the UCI and the data are multiplexed based at least in part on the selected beta offset factor. The number and arrangement of components shown inFIG.11are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown inFIG.11. Furthermore, two or more components shown inFIG.11may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown inFIG.11may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown inFIG.11may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown inFIG.11. The following provides an overview of some Aspects of the present disclosure: Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: selecting a set (table), from among a plurality of sets (tables) that include beta offset factors associated with multiplexing uplink control information (UCI) with data on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), based at least in part on a priority level of the UCI and a priority level of the data on the PUSCH; selecting a beta offset factor from the selected set (table) according to a type of the UCI; multiplexing the UCI with the data in an uplink communication on the PUSCH based at least in part on the selected beta offset factor; and transmitting the uplink communication. Aspect 2: The method of Aspect 1, wherein the plurality of sets (tables) includes a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low, a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high, a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low, and a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high. Aspect 3: The method of Aspect 1, wherein the plurality of sets (tables) includes a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being the same, a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high, and a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low. Aspect 4: The method of any of Aspects 1-3, wherein selecting the beta offset factor from the selected set according to the type of the UCI includes selecting the beta offset factor from among a plurality of types of UCI, the plurality of types of UCI including: hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) that is 2 bits or less, HARQ-ACK that is from 3 bits to 11 bits, HARQ-ACK that is greater than 11 bits, channel state information (CSI) part 1 that is 11 bits or less, CSI part 1 that is greater than 11 bits, CSI part 2 that is 11 bits or less, and CSI part 2 that is greater than 11 bits. Aspect 5: The method of any of Aspects 1-4, wherein the UE is configured for configured grant PUSCH, and wherein at least one of the priority level of the UCI or the priority level of the data on the PUSCH is configured by a radio resource control message. Aspect 6: The method of any of Aspects 1-5, wherein the UE is configured for dynamic grant for hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) multiplexed on configured grant PUSCH, and wherein the priority level of the UCI is configured by downlink control information and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH is configured by a radio resource control message. Aspect 7: The method of any of Aspects 1-6, wherein the UE is configured for persistent channel state information (CSI) feedback, and wherein at least one of the priority level of the UCI or the priority level of the data on the PUSCH is configured by a radio resource control message. Aspect 8: The method of any of Aspects 1-7, wherein multiplexing the UCI with the data includes setting a spectrum efficiency of the UCI based at least in part on the beta offset factor. Aspect 9: The method of Aspect 8, wherein setting the spectrum efficiency of the UCI based at least in part on the beta offset factor includes setting a quantity of resource elements that are to be used for the UCI when multiplexing the UCI with the data on the PUSCH. Aspect 10: A method of wireless communication performed by a base station, comprising: determining a plurality of sets (tables) with beta offset factors for multiplexing uplink control information (UCI) with data on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH); transmitting configuration information associated with the plurality of sets (tables) to a user equipment (UE) such that the UE is configured to select, based at least in part on a priority level of the UCI and a priority level of the data on the PUSCH, a beta offset factor from the plurality of sets (tables) for multiplexing the UCI with the data in an uplink communication on the PUSCH; and receiving the uplink communication with the UCI and the data multiplexed on the PUSCH, wherein the UCI and the data are multiplexed based at least in part on the selected beta offset factor. Aspect 11: The method of Aspect 10, wherein the plurality of sets (tables) includes a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low, a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high, a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low, and a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high. Aspect 12: The method of Aspect 10, wherein the plurality of sets (tables) includes a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being the same, a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being low and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being high, and a set (table) to be selected based at least in part on the priority level of the UCI being high and the priority level of the data on the PUSCH being low. Aspect 13: The method of any of Aspects 10-12, wherein each set of the plurality of sets (tables) includes beta offset factors for a plurality of types of UCI, the plurality of types of UCI including: hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) that is 2 bits or less, HARQ-ACK that is from 3 bits to 11 bits, HARQ-ACK that is greater than 11 bits, channel state information (CSI) part 1 that is 11 bits or less, CSI part 1 that is greater than 11 bits, CSI part 2 that is 11 bits or less, and CSI part 2 that is greater than 11 bits. Aspect 14: The method of any of Aspects 10-13, wherein the UE is configured for configured grant PUSCH, and wherein the method further comprises transmitting a radio resource control message that indicates at least one of the priority level of the UCI or the priority level of the data on the PUSCH. Aspect 15: The method of any of Aspects 10-14, wherein the UE is configured for dynamic grant for hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) multiplexed on configured grant PUSCH, and wherein the method further comprises transmitting downlink control information that indicates the priority level of the UCI and transmitting a radio resource control message that indicates the priority level of the data on the PUSCH. Aspect 16: The method of any of Aspects 10-15, wherein the UE is configured for persistent channel state information (CSI) feedback, and wherein the method further comprises transmitting a radio resource control message that indicates at least one of the priority level of the UCI or the priority level of the data on the PUSCH. Aspect 17: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-16. Aspect 18: A device for wireless communication, comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-16. Aspect 19: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising at least one means for performing the method of one or more of Aspects 1-16. Aspect 20: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-16. Aspect 21: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set (table) of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-16. The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects. As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. “Software” shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, and/or functions, among other examples, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. As used herein, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. It will be apparent that systems and/or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods were described herein without reference to specific software code—it being understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based, at least in part, on the description herein. As used herein, satisfying a threshold may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, or the like. Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. A used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b, b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering of a, b, and c). No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Further, as used herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more items referenced in connection with the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “the one or more.” Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “set” and “group” are intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, a combination of related and unrelated items), and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” and/or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and/or,” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in combination with “either” or “only one of”). | 66,967 |
11943806 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Basis of the Present Disclosure In order to support the multiplexing of different services with diverse requirements, it has been agreed in 3GPP RAN1 #85 (Nanjing, May 2016) that NR supports the multiplexing of different numerologies within a same NR carrier bandwidth (from the network perspective). On the other hand, from a UE perspective, a UE may support one or more than one usage scenarios (e.g., an eMBB UE or a UE supporting both eMBB and URLLC). Generally speaking, supporting more than one numerology can complicate UE processing. From the network perspective, it would be beneficial to consider the multiplexing of different numerologies in both a frequency domain (aka FDM) and a time domain (aka TDM) within a NR carrier. One exemplary multiplexing of different numerologies is given inFIG.7, where numerology 1 could be used for eMBB, numerology 2 for URLLC and numerology 3 for mMTC. The reason why eMBB and URLLC are better to be TDMed is that they both demand a very broad bandwidth, which is necessary for eMBB to achieve high data rates and for URLLC to achieve better frequency diversity to meet the high-reliability requirements. On the other hand, mMTC is considered to be FDMed with eMBB and/or URLLC since it requires only a narrow transmission bandwidth. In LTE/LTE-A, the frequency-time resources are organized into resource blocks (RBs), where one RB consists of 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and one 0.5 ms slot in the time domain as explained in detail before in connection withFIG.2. In NR, it is expected that some sort of RB concept to describe the minimum resource granularity as well as resource scheduling unit will be also needed. However, the definition of an RB is traditionally tightly connected to the numerology. Hence, when multiple different numerologies are scheduled, the concept of RBs needs to be revisited. This is an ongoing topic in 3GPP. It further remains unclear how the time-frequency radio resources will be efficiently allocated for the various services according to the different numerologies. In particular, an improved uplink scheduling scheme for the new radio technology is needed. The present disclosure thus shall present solutions facilitating to overcome one or more of the problems mentioned above. Detailed Description of Present Disclosure A mobile station or mobile node or user terminal or user equipment (UE) is a physical entity within a communication network. One node may have several functional entities. A functional entity refers to a software or hardware module that implements and/or offers a predetermined set of functions to other functional entities of a node or the network. Nodes may have one or more interfaces that attach the node to a communication facility or medium over which nodes can communicate. Similarly, a network entity may have a logical interface attaching the functional entity to a communication facility or medium over which it may communicate with other functional entities or correspondent nodes. The term “radio resources” as used in the set of claims and in the application is to be broadly understood as referring to physical radio resources, such as physical time-frequency radio resources. The term “numerology scheme” (and other similar terms such as “numerology layer” or “OFDM numerology”) as used in the set of claims and in the application is to be broadly understood as referring to how the physical time-frequency radio resources are handled in the mobile communication system, particularly how these resources are partitioned into resource scheduling units to be allocated by a scheduler (e.g. in the radio base station). Put differently, a numerology scheme can also be considered as being defined by the parameters used to partition the above-mentioned physical time-frequency radio resources into resource scheduling units, such as the subcarrier spacing and corresponding symbol duration, the TTI length, the number of subcarriers and symbols per resource scheduling unit, the cyclic prefix length, search space details etc.; these parameters may be called L1 (Layer 1) parameters, since they are mainly used in the physical layer to perform the uplink transmission and to receive downlink transmissions. The term “resource scheduling unit” shall be understood as a group of physical time-frequency radio resources being the minimum unit that can be allocated by a scheduler. A resource scheduling unit thus comprises time-frequency radio resources, composed of one or more contiguous subcarriers for the duration of one or more symbols, according to the particular characteristics of the numerology scheme. The term “logical channel” as used in the set of claims and in the application may be understood in a similar manner as already known from previous standards for LTE and LTE-Advanced, i.e. as an abstract concept for handling the data transfer of services. Nevertheless, in LTE/LTE-A systems the term logical channel is closely related to the RLC layer, which however does not have to be the same in future releases for 5G. Although the term logical channel has already been used in connection with the new 5G development, it is not yet decided whether and how exactly this term is defined and/or related to a possible RLC layer in the user equipment. Consequently, in the present application it is exemplarily assumed that a logical channel defines what type of information is transmitted over the air, e.g. traffic channels, control channels, system broadcast, etc. Data and signaling messages are carried on logical channels between the protocol layers e.g. between RLC and MAC layer in LTE. Logical channels are distinguished by the information they carry and can be classified in two ways. Firstly, logical traffic channels carry data in the user plane, while logical control channels carry signaling messages in the control plane Furthermore, a logical channel has associated certain parameters like a logical channel priority or other parameters which should ensure that the Quality of Service requirements of the data carried by the logical channels is fulfilled, e.g. during logical channel prioritization procedure. There is a one-to-one mapping between radio bearer and logical channels. Data of one radio bearer is mapped to one logical channel. The term “data transmission usage scenario” or simply “usage scenario” as used in the set of claims and in the application may be understood broadly as a range of use cases for mobile/stationary terminals. Exemplarily, a usage scenario as studied for the new 5G study item can be e.g. the eMBB, mMTC, or URLLC as introduced in detail in the background section. The new radio technology will be evolving from the radio technology already defined for LTE(-A), although several changes can be expected so as to meet the requirements for 5G mobile communication systems. Consequently, particular exemplary implementations of the various embodiments could still reuse procedures, messages, functions etc. already defined for the LTE(-A) communication systems (according to Release 10/11/12/13/14 etc.) as long as they are equally applicable to the new radio technology for 5G communication systems and as long as they are applicable to the various implementations as explained for the following embodiments. Some of these LTE(-A) procedures that could be relevant for the present disclosure are summarized in the background section. As explained in the background section, different numerologies schemes are foreseen to be supported in the new 5G mobile communication systems. In particular, eNodeBs and user equipments shall support one or more numerologies schemes at the same time, so as to simultaneously be able to participate in numerous services e.g. eMBB, URLLC, mMTC. There is an ongoing discussion on how the uplink radio resource allocation can be implemented in such a new environment. In general, two different modes are being discussed for the uplink scheduling, the eNodeB-controlled transmission mode and the grant-free transmission mode. However, there have been no detailed discussions on these modes nor have agreements been reached on how these modes can be implemented. Consequently, there is a need for an improved radio resource allocation procedure to allocate radio resources in the uplink usable by a user equipment to perform transmissions. The following exemplary embodiments provide an improved radio resource allocation procedure for the new radio technology envisioned for the 5G mobile communication systems for solving the above-mentioned problem(s). Different implementations and variants of the embodiment will be explained as well. Only very few things have been agreed on with regard to the 5G mobile communication system such that many assumptions have to be made in the following so as to be able to explain the principles underlying the present disclosure. These assumptions are however to be understood as merely examples that should not limit the scope of the disclosure. A skilled person will be aware that the principles of the present disclosure as laid out in the claims can be applied to different scenarios and in ways that are not explicitly described herein. Moreover, terms used in the following to explain the embodiments are closely related to LTE/LTE-A systems, even though specific terminology to be used in the context of the new radio access technology for the next 5G communication systems is not decided yet. Consequently, a skilled person is aware that the present disclosure and its scope of protection should not be restricted to particular terms exemplary used herein for lack of newer terminology but should be more broadly understood in terms of functions and concepts that underlie the present disclosure. A simple and exemplary scenario is assumed with a radio base station and several user terminals, as illustrated inFIG.8. The three illustrated UEs respectively support different services, namely the mMTC, eMBB, and URLLC services already introduced in the background section. As illustrated, it is assumed that one UE shall support and be configured for two different services, exemplarily URLLC and eMBB services. As discussed in the background section, it is agreed that for the next-generation 5G several different numerologies are to be supported and shall coexist in the mobile communication system, the different numerology schemes being adapted to particular service types, such as the eMBB, mMTC, or URLLC. It should be noted that the 3GPP standardization is at the very beginning and there is a lot of uncertainty as to which and how exactly particular services will actually be supported. However, for the following explanations it is exemplarily assumed that several services (e.g. eMBB, mMTC, and URLLC) shall be supported simultaneously by a communication system so as to allow data transmissions for each of these services. Correspondingly, at least one respective numerology scheme for each of the services will be presumably defined, where the different numerology schemes allow partitioning the available time-frequency radio resources of a frequency band (such as a carrier of a particular bandwidth, e.g. 100 MHz, below 6 GHz) into resource scheduling units that can be allocated by a scheduler, e.g. being located in an eNodeB. For the exemplary scenario that will be used in the following for illustration purposes, the bandwidth of the frequency band is assumed to be 4.3 MHz. The embodiments and principles can be equally applied to different frequency bands and bandwidths. In general, numerology schemes are characterized by different parameters such as the subcarrier spacing and the symbol duration (being directly related to each other), the number of subcarriers per resource scheduling unit, the cyclic prefix length, or the TTI length (scheduling time interval; defined by the number of symbols per resource scheduling unit or the absolute time duration per resource scheduling unit from which the number of symbols can be derived). Consequently, numerology schemes may differ from one another by one or more of these numerology characteristics. By appropriately determining the numerology characteristics, one numerology scheme can be tailored to a particular service and its requirements (such as latency, reliability, frequency diversity, data rates etc.). For instance as explained in the background section, the services eMBB and URLLC are similar in that they both demand a very broad bandwidth, however are different in that the URLLC service requires ultra-low latencies. These requirements may result in that a numerology scheme for URLLC services will typically use shorter TTIs (and possibly shorter symbol lengths) than a numerology scheme for the eMBB service. There are no agreements yet on the numerology characteristics to be used for each service. As will become apparent from below, the main numerology characteristics that differ between the numerology schemes exemplary used for illustrating the principles of the embodiments are the subcarrier spacing and symbol duration as well as the length of the scheduling time interval (i.e. the number of symbols per resource scheduling unit). Although not illustrated in the figures, the length of the cyclic prefix is assumed to be scaled in the same manner as the symbol length, while it is exemplarily assumed that each numerology scheme partitions the radio resources such that a resource scheduling unit has 12 subcarriers with respective subcarrier spacings according to the numerology scheme. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the embodiments and underlying principles are not restricted to merely those different numerology schemes used exemplarily in the following, but can be applied to different numerology schemes and corresponding different numerology characteristics of same. And although in the following explanations only three numerology schemes are defined in total, the principles will equally apply when different sets and different numbers of numerology schemes are defined for the mobile communication system. The different exemplary numerology schemes will be illustrated in connection withFIG.9and are based onFIG.6AtoFIG.6C.FIG.9is a simplified illustration of the partitioning of radio resources according to three different numerology schemes. The resulting resource scheduling units are illustrated with a bold square in each of the numerology schemes. Numerology scheme 1 ofFIG.9is characterized by having a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz (with a resulting symbol duration of 66.7 μs; seeFIG.6A), 12 subcarriers and 6 symbols per resource scheduling unit. The resulting resource scheduling unit has a frequency bandwidth of 180 kHz and a length of 0.5 ms (when exemplary considering a cyclic prefix of each 16.7 μs, as e.g. known from LTE systems). Correspondingly, in the frequency domain the bandwidth of the frequency band will be partitioned into 24 resource scheduling units (each with 180 kHz bandwidth). With these numerology characteristics, numerology scheme 1 may be considered for the transmission of data for the mMTC service. A UE following that numerology scheme could thus be theoretically scheduled by the scheduler every TTI, i.e. 0.5 ms. Numerology scheme 2 is characterized by having a subcarrier spacing of (2×15 kHz=) 30 kHz (with a resulting symbol duration of 33.3 μs; seeFIG.6B), 12 subcarriers and 6 symbols per resource scheduling unit. The resulting resource scheduling unit has thus a frequency bandwidth of 360 kHz and a length of 0.25 ms (when exemplary considering a scaled cyclic prefix of 16.7 μs/2 each). Correspondingly, in the frequency domain the bandwidth of the frequency band will be partitioned into 12 resource scheduling units (each with 360 kHz bandwidth). With these numerology characteristics, numerology scheme 2 may be considered for the transmission of data for the eMBB service. A UE following that numerology scheme could thus be theoretically scheduled by the scheduler every TTI, i.e. 0.25 ms. Numerology scheme 3 is characterized by having a subcarrier spacing of (4×15 kHz=) 60 kHz (with a resulting symbol duration of 16.7 μs; seeFIG.6C), 12 subcarriers and 4 symbols per resource scheduling unit. The resulting resource scheduling unit has thus a frequency bandwidth of 720 kHz and a length of 0.0833 ms (when exemplary considering a scaled cyclic prefix of 16.7 μs/4 each). Correspondingly, in the frequency domain the bandwidth of the frequency band will be partitioned into 6 resource scheduling units (each with 720 kHz bandwidth). With these numerology characteristics, numerology scheme 3 may be considered for the transmission of data for the URLLC service. A UE following that numerology scheme could thus be theoretically scheduled by the scheduler every TTI, i.e. 0.0833 ms. Consequently, the time-frequency radio resources of the frequency band that are to be shared among the different numerologies can be interpreted differently based on the numerology characteristics underlying the different numerology schemes. The different numerology schemes shall coexist in the mobile network, and radio resources of the different numerology schemes should be available for being allocated to user terminals as needed. As discussed in the background section, there are several possibilities on how to multiplex the different numerologies within the frequency band and its radio resources in the frequency domain and/or the time domain, whereFIG.7shows but one example. There are other possible multiplexing schemes that may be equally be used. In general, so as to be able to allocate radio resources for data transmissions according to each numerology scheme, the available time-frequency radio resources of the frequency band should be split in an appropriate manner between the different numerology schemes coexisting in the system. Correspondingly, each numerology scheme is associated to a particular set of radio resources among the available radio resources of the frequency band which are then usable by the scheduler (such as the radio base station) for being allocated according to that numerology scheme, i.e. so as to allocate radio resources to transmit data for the corresponding service (here URLLC, mMTC, mMBB) following the numerology characteristics of the particular numerology scheme. In view of that the traffic amount for each service varies with time, this multiplexing of different coexisting numerology schemes for the services may also be flexible. According to the embodiments and variants thereof, an improved radio resource allocation procedure shall be provided that allows the eNB to control the uplink resource allocation for UEs configured with at least one of the above discussed numerology schemes. Different UEs will support different numerology schemes. Low-cost UEs may only support one type of service, e.g. of type mMTC, and will thus only support the corresponding numerology scheme(s) suitable to that type of service (i.e. usage scenario). On the other hand, it is expected that other UEs will be capable to operate according to various or even all the possible numerology schemes in order to be able to support data transmissions in all usage scenarios. One UE is exemplarily assumed to be configured with two different services, one eMBB service and one URLLC service (seeFIG.8). Depending on the circumstances (such as the radio cell and the eNB a UE is connected with, the services it is currently having etc.), the UE will be configured to operate according to one or more of its supported numerology schemes. This may exemplary be done when connecting to a radio cell, where the corresponding eNB will configure the UE to operate according to some or all of those numerology schemes that it itself supports in its radio cell. The exact procedure of how this can be achieved is not yet known, and some of the details are not essential to the present disclosure. Nevertheless, one possible approach in said respect could be that e.g. when applying to a service, the eNodeB configures the UE with the suitable numerology scheme for that service for which the UE is applying. For example when the UE has new traffic to send, or learns about the network's intent to send new traffic, it sends the MME a Service Request message. During a subsequent bearer establishment procedure, the bearers and connections in the EPS bearer (i.e. DRB, S1 bearer and S5 bearer) and the signaling connection (i.e. ECM connection, S11 GTP-C and S5 GTP-C tunnels) are now established to support traffic delivery between the UE and the network (UE through P-GW). The eNB further sends an RRC CONNECTION RECONFIGURATION MESSAGE to the UE, which specifies the information received from the MME along with the new radio bearer configuration data. The UE configures the bearer as instructed and acknowledges this with an RRC CONNECTION RECONFIGURATION COMPLETE message to the eNB. Now, the eNB acknowledges with the E-RAB SETUP RESPONSE message. Within the RRC Connection reconfiguration message the eNB could configure the UE with the numerology scheme to be applied for the new bearer respectively logical channel. Overall, the UE shall be aware of the numerology schemes with which it is configured and of the corresponding parameters associated with the configured numerology scheme(s). According to one option, the eNB may keep a list of numerology schemes supported in its radio cell, together with the corresponding associated parameters such as subcarrier spacing, TTI length, symbols per scheduling interval, and possibly also other information relevant to the numerology schemes such as the search space details, the UL/DL nominal set configuration. An index for each numerology scheme may be provided for ease of reference in later procedures (such as the improved radio resource allocation procedure discussed below). The eNodeB can broadcast information on the supported numerology schemes in its radio cell as part of the system information broadcast (SIB). There is an ongoing discussion for 5G to differentiate between essential system information which is continuously broadcast by the eNodeB and non-essential (may also be termed “other”) system information that shall only be provided on demand. The distinction is made so as to allow reducing complexity and overhead (e.g. in scenarios where beamforming is used). Correspondingly, the information on the supported numerology schemes could be broadcast as part of the essential system information. In case of numerology-specific Random access configuration(s), i.e. the RACH configuration is different for each numerology scheme, the L1 parameter(s) associated with a given numerology scheme should be broadcast in the cell. Alternatively, the information on the supported numerology schemes and the associated L1 parameter(s) could be signaled as part of the non-essential system information, i.e. signaled directly to the UE when required/requested. Alternatively or in addition, numerology schemes and the corresponding parameters may be already fixed e.g. in the standards or in the (U)SIM card of a mobile phone that is provided by the operator. In order to easily indicate a particular numerology scheme, a corresponding index can be associated to each numerology scheme. Consequently, the numerology schemes and their parameters are widely known and can be easily referenced by merely providing the index, instead of having to transmit/broadcast all the necessary information on the numerology scheme(s) and the corresponding parameters thereof. For instance, the eNodeB may regularly broadcast only corresponding indices of those numerology schemes that are supported in its radio cell. Due to the reduced overhead, the indices may easily be broadcast in the essential system information, but could theoretically be signaled on demand as part of non-essential system information. Furthermore, the UE is exemplarily assumed to be configured with a plurality of logical channels each of which can be associated with at least one of the configured numerology schemes. In more detail, as known from LTE(-A) UEs, logical channels are configured/established when radio bearers are setup/established, e.g. when the UE has new traffic to send or learns about the network's intent to send new traffic. In view of that no procedures have been yet agreed for 5G in said respect, it may be exemplarily assumed that the LTE(-A) procedure will be used in a same or similar manner for 5G-UEs. During the radio bearer setup procedure the logical channel configuration will be provided to the UE, and the eNB configures the associated/linked numerology scheme(s) for the logical channel as part of the logical channel configuration. In this context, it should be noted that a logical channel will usually be associated with only one numerology scheme, namely that one that is suitable for transmitting the data of that logical channel. However, a logical channel can also be associated with more than one numerology scheme. For instance, there can be services for which several numerology schemes are defined, particularly when service provision can benefit from the different numerology schemes. For instance, an eMBB service such as TCP can use either a lower-frequency spectrum or the millimeter frequency spectrum. More in detail, the transmission control protocol (TCP) involves a slow-start phase where a larger subcarrier spacing provides gains due to the smaller symbol length, whereas during a later phase during which data shall be transmitted at full speed a smaller subcarrier spacing might be more efficient. As a result, a logical channel being set up for the TCP service can be associated with two numerology schemes differing at least with regard to their subcarrier spacing. More in particular, the UE would transmit data packets of the logical channel preferably during the slow-start phase using a numerology scheme with a larger subcarrier-spacing and during the congestion phase on a numerology scheme with smaller subcarrier spacing. In order to allow such behavior, the UE Access Stratum (AS), e.g. MAC layer, would need to be aware of the different phases/states of the TCP protocol. Therefore, according to one exemplary implementation, the application layer indicates to the AS the state of the TCP protocol, i.e. slow-start phase respectively congestion control phase. The AS layer, e.g. MAC layer, uses this information in order to map the data packet of the logical channel to the corresponding numerology layer. In general, for the case that a logical channel is mapped to multiple numerology layers/schemes, the UE behavior for routing packets needs to be specified. For instance, the UE when being scheduled for one of the numerology layers might transmit as much data as possible. In that case, there would be basically no additional criteria for the routing of data packets. According to another exemplary embodiment, the UE could prefer the transmission of data using one numerology compared to another numerology. For example when a logical channel is mapped to two numerology layers/schemes, one numerology used on a lower frequency band and one on a higher frequency band, i.e. millimeter wave spectrum, the UE might try to optimize data transmission on the higher frequency band (since higher data rates are to be expected on the higher frequency band). Another criterion might be the header overhead, i.e. trying to minimize L2 header overhead when generating a TB, when selecting the numerology layer for transmitting data. In general, the UE behavior should be that UE reports the buffer status report for the logical channel, and subsequently the eNB decides on which numerology layer to schedule the UE (as well as the size of the resource allocation). Consequently, a mapping is thus established in the UE associating logical channels with the corresponding numerology scheme(s). After having thus configured the service(s), the suitable numerology schemes and after having set up logical channels in said respect, the eNodeB will control the uplink scheduling for the UE during service provision. As mentioned before, a general discussion is ongoing in 3GPP as to which scheduling modes will be supported for uplink scheduling. The current discussion is at the moment focusing on two types of scheduling modes, an eNB-controlled scheduling mode and a grant-free scheduling mode. Generally, the eNodeB-controlled scheduling mode is characterized in that the UE will not autonomously perform uplink transmissions but will follow corresponding uplink scheduling assignments provided by the eNodeB. The eNodeB-controlled scheduling mode allows the eNodeB to control radio resource usage in its radio cell and thus to avoid collisions between uplink transmissions of various user equipments. However, uplink transmissions are significantly delayed since the UE has to first request and then receive a suitable uplink grant before performing the uplink transmissions. On the other hand, a grant-free scheduling mode allows the UE to immediately perform uplink transmissions in certain circumstances without having to request or receive a corresponding resource allocation from the eNodeB, thereby significantly reducing the delay. Suitable radio resources usable for such a grant-free uplink transmission may for instance be defined previously e.g. by the eNB (may be termed resource pools). Such a transmission is contention-based and thus prone to collisions with other uplink transmissions. Moreover, in view of the ongoing discussions and the very early stage of standardization, also other scheduling modes may be defined in the future, and the present disclosure shall not be constrained to merely the two above discussed scheduling modes. Generally speaking, it is likely that at least two different scheduling modes will be available for uplink scheduling, one of which allows for fast but possibly less reliable uplink transmissions (could be termed fast resource allocation mode) and the other of which allows for reliable but delayed uplink transmissions (could be termed eNB-controlled resource allocation mode). The logical channels may be configured with a particular uplink scheduling mode, e.g. one of the two above-presented scheduling modes currently being discussed in 3GPP for 5G. Only certain logical channels are allowed to use the grant-free scheduling mode, for instance logical channels set up for services with very stringent latency requirements such as services for a URLLC usage case, e.g. for mission-critical transmissions. The present embodiments and variants are focusing on the eNB-controlled scheduling mode according to which the UE will receive an uplink scheduling assignment from the eNB, assigning uplink radio resources to be used by the eNB for uplink transmissions. The uplink scheduling grants provided by the eNB can be made specific to a numerology scheme, i.e. the radio resources assigned by the eNB are to be only applied to a certain numerology scheme as decided by the eNB. Correspondingly, the UE, upon receiving an uplink scheduling assignment from the eNB, determines for which numerology scheme the uplink scheduling assignment is intended. Then, when processing the received uplink scheduling assignment, the UE will perform the logical channel prioritization procedure on that basis by appropriately allocating the assigned radio resources to the configured logical channels and additionally prioritizing those logical channels that are associated with the intended numerology scheme of the received uplink scheduling assignment. Prioritizing the logical channels in this context can also mean that the assigned radio resources are to be exclusively used for transmitting data of only those logical channels that are associated with the intended numerology scheme.FIG.10is an exemplary flow diagram illustrating this basic UE behavior. In the following, various detailed embodiments will be presented. There are several possibilities on how the UE may determine the intended numerology scheme of a received uplink scheduling assignment. One option is that the eNB includes a corresponding numerology layer indication within the uplink scheduling assignment, such that the UE determines the intended numerology layer/scheme from that indication and a corresponding table at the UE linking the indexes with the supported/configured numerology layers. In more detail, the DCI conveying the uplink resource allocation may exemplarily contain an index which refers to the list of numerology schemes and associated L1 parameters broadcast by the eNB in the system information. An index with the value 1 for instance refers to the first entry of the numerology information broadcast, etc. Alternatively, the index could refer to a list of numerology schemes/L1 parameters preconfigured in the UE. Another option is that the eNB uses different RNTIs for different numerology schemes when generating the uplink scheduling assignment such that the UE can derive the intended numerology scheme from the RNTI used by the eNodeB for the encoding process. In particular, in present systems, a UE identity (e.g. the C-RNTI, Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identifier) is used by the eNB for scrambling the CRC-(cyclic redundancy check)-part of an uplink scheduling assignment so as to allow the UE to identify which uplink scheduling assignments are intended for itself. In order to differentiate the numerology schemes, various RNTIs could be defined by the eNodeB each of which being associated unambiguously with one numerology scheme configured for the UE. When generating the uplink scheduling assignment for a particular UE, the eNodeB uses the particular UE-specific and numerology-specific RNTI to encode the uplink scheduling assignment, e.g. by scrambling its CRC part as already known from current LTE/LTE-A systems. Still another option is that different numerology schemes are differentiated through different search spaces via which the uplink scheduling assignments are transmitted. In particular, as already done in LTE/LTE-A, a control information region (can also be denoted uplink scheduling assignment search space, or Downlink Control Information (DCI) search space) can be defined, such that part of these radio resources can then be used by the scheduler (e.g. radio base station) to transmit control information such as the resource allocation information to the UEs. Correspondingly, each UE should monitor respective control information region(s) in order to see whether control information is present that is actually destined to itself. It is currently unclear whether and how search spaces will be defined for the new radio access technology of 5G. Generally, it could be assumed that the control information is transmitted in the same numerology scheme as the data for which the control information is transmitted. Consequently, for a UE that supports multiple services and respective numerology schemes, individual search spaces could be defined for each numerology scheme, such that the UE can determine the numerology scheme from that search space via which the received uplink scheduling assignment was transmitted by the eNodeB. This approach has the advantage that no additional information in the uplink scheduling assignments (DCI) is needed and no data overhead is generated in said respect. On the other hand, it may have the disadvantage that it may preferably be only applied in systems where the search spaces for different numerology schemes are clearly separated, thus allowing an unambiguous determination of the intended numerology scheme of the received uplink scheduling assignment based on the search space used for the transmission. The definition of separate search spaces however increases the blind decoding effort on the UE side. The blind decoding effort on the UE side could be reduced by defining a common control information region or by overlapping the different search spaces, in which case however the search space would not unambiguously indicate the intended numerology scheme. Further information would be necessary for the UE to unambiguously determine the intended numerology scheme. In any case, after the UE has processed the received uplink scheduling assignment and has determined the intended numerology scheme according to any of the above-mentioned options, the UE operation continuous to prepare the transmission of data. In said respect, the UE will have to somehow select data in its transmission buffers to be transmitted using the uplink radio resources as indicated in the received uplink scheduling assignment. In currently standardized systems for LTE and LTE-A, the UE has an uplink rate control function, also termed a logical channel prioritization procedure, as discussed in detail in the background section. It is exemplarily assumed in the following that also in the new 5G systems a similar function will be performed by the UE, which shall also be called logical channel prioritization procedure. Correspondingly, when a new transmission is to be performed, the UE will generate a data packet (exemplary also termed transport block) to be transmitted in the uplink, and determines which data available for transmission is included in the data packet. As explained before, the uplink scheduling assignment is numerology layer specific, and the LCP procedure shall take this into account by prioritizing during the LCP procedure the data from those logical channels that are associated with the intended numerology layer of the received uplink scheduling assignment. In particular, the radio resources allocated by the received uplink grant are to be used preferably to transmit data from those logical channels associated with the intended numerology layer. However, should radio resources remain after having allocated radio resources for transmitting all pending data of logical channels of the intended numerology layer, the remaining radio resources could also be used to transmit data of logical channels that are associated with other numerology layers. One variant of the prioritization is that the radio resources assigned by the received uplink grant are to be used only for data of those logical channels associated with the intended numerology layer; i.e. the radio resources shall not be used to transmit data of logical channels associated with other numerology layer(s). In other words, for the logical channel prioritization procedure only logical channels are considered that are mapped to the numerology layer for which the received uplink grant is intended. Although radio resources that remain might be wasted, this exclusive prioritization ensures that the data is always transmitted with the “correct” numerology scheme so as to comply with the data requirements for which the numerology scheme was configured. According to one exemplary implementation of the above embodiment(s), a common LCP procedure can be performed for logical channels of all numerology layers, where the logical channels are prioritized according to their associated numerology layers as explained above. According to another exemplary implementation, a separate LCP procedure is performed for each numerology layer, in which case the LCP procedure would be performed only over those logical channels that are associated to the respective numerology layer of the LCP procedure. In this case however, only the logical channels of the numerology layer (of the uplink scheduling assignment) would be considered; i.e. a gradual prioritization of logical channels of different numerology layers would thus not be possible. The common LCP procedure mentioned above could be implemented by providing a common MAC (Medium Access Control) entity in the UE, responsible for handling the common LCP procedure. Similarly, the common MAC entity could also be performing the separate LCP procedures for the different numerology schemes. Alternatively, instead of providing a common MAC entity, separate MAC entities can be provided, one for each numerology layer configured in the UE, so as to implement the separate LCP procedures. The mapping between the logical channels and the MAC entities is based on the mapping between the logical channels and the numerology layers. FIG.11andFIG.12illustrate an exemplary layer structure in the user equipment for numerology specific MAC entities and LCP procedures respectively a common MAC entity and a common LCP procedure. As apparent fromFIG.11, each numerology scheme configured in the UE is associated with a separate numerology-specific MAC entity and corresponding LCP procedure. As apparent fromFIG.12, the UE comprises one common MAC entity and LCP procedure for all numerology schemes configured in the UE. Alternatively, as illustrated inFIG.13, the common MAC entity could perform separate numerology-specific LCP procedures similar toFIG.11, respectively over only those logical channels associated to one numerology scheme, instead of performing one common LCP procedure over all logical channels in the UE. In the above discussed implementations, it is exemplarily assumed that the LCP procedure will be part of the MAC entity of a UE, as is the case in current LTE(-A) UEs. However, no agreements have been made yet for 5G in said respect. Correspondingly, it might be decided that the LCP procedure resides in another entity (e.g. the RLC entity), in which case the above discussion shall apply with respect to the other entity. Exemplarily, a specific implementation of the LCP procedure could be based on the one discussed in the background section with suitable adaptations as follows. The detailed algorithm for the LCP procedure would according to one exemplary embodiment consider for the first three steps (as described in the background section) only those logical channels that are associated to the respective numerology layer. This would ensure that data of those logical channels associated with the respective numerology layer are prioritized. Then, in case there are some remaining resources, i.e. the transport block is not completely filled yet, the LCP procedure as described in the background section, i.e. step 1 to step 3, would then be run for some or all of the remaining logical channels of other numerology layer(s). Essentially, the detailed algorithm would be a two-stage procedure where at each stage the current LCP procedure is run with a different set of logical channels. Alternatively, when the allocated radio resources are to be exclusively used by those logical channels having an associated numerology scheme as indicated in the resource allocation (uplink grant), only the first stage is performed, i.e. the LCP procedure is run for only those logical channels having an associated numerology scheme as indicated in the resource allocation. In order to be able to perform the above discussed numerology-specific prioritization of logical channels, in some of the implementations information on the intended numerology layer has to be made available to the LCP procedure, more specifically to the processor or (MAC) entity responsible for performing the LCP procedure. For example, the physical layer of the UE, responsible for decoding the uplink scheduling assignment, may forward the relevant information to a MAC entity of the UE responsible for the LCP procedure(s). In more detail, when using separate MAC entities, the physical layer should provide the grant-specific information (e.g. transport block size, the HARQ information etc. exemplarily in a similar manner as in current LTE/LTE-A systems) of the uplink scheduling assignment to that MAC entity responsible for the numerology layer for which the received uplink grant is intended. In said case, information on the numerology layer could but does not need to be provided to the numerology-specific MAC entity. In case of using a common MAC entity, the physical layer provides the grant-specific information as well as the intended numerology layer to the common MAC entity, such that the common MAC entity can use this information during the LCP procedure. The UE thus can generate a transport block, and then transmit same according to the received uplink scheduling assignment. A resource allocation procedure as presented above according to the various embodiment and variants which allows the eNodeB to efficiently schedule uplink transmissions for an UE which is configured with one or more different numerology layers. Instead of being associated with a numerology layer, a logical channel/radio bearer could be associated with a TTI length, i.e. a mapping is provided in the UE between logical channels and TTI lengths. Then, the uplink grant would indicate the TTI length, and subsequently the LCP procedure would be performed according to the indicated TTI length, e.g. logical channels which are associated with the indicated TTI are prioritized (or even exclusively served) during the LCP procedure. As a further alternative to the above-described numerology-specific LCP procedure, a variant of the embodiment foresees that one LCP procedure is provided for each usage scenario, i.e. one LCP procedure is performed for eMBB, another one for URRL and another one for mMTC, etc. This could be implemented in the UE e.g. by providing a separate MAC entity for each usage scenario of the UE or by providing a common MAC entity. In case of using separate MAC entities, there would be also a mapping between logical channels and usage scenarios respectively the corresponding MAC entities. In said case, when performing the LCP procedure, it should be clear which logical channels are associated with which usage scenario such that the UE can distinguish and appropriately prioritize the logical channels during the LCP procedure. The uplink scheduling assignment transmitted by the eNB can still be numerology specific, such that logical channels that belong to the numerology layer indicated by the received uplink scheduling assignment are prioritized over other logical channels. Furthermore, since the LCP procedure is usage scenario specific, only those logical channels belonging to that usage scenario shall be considered for and prioritized during the usage-scenario-specific LCP procedure.FIG.14illustrates an exemplary layer structure of the UE with separate usage scenario specific MAC entities and corresponding separate LCP procedures. As mentioned before, different scheduling modes are possible for the UE and the logical channels. In said respect, logical channels can be scheduled based on one or more scheduling modes. In a further improved variant of the embodiments, the LCP procedure(s) should also take into account the scheduling modes of the logical channels. Put generally, radio resources allocated by an uplink scheduling assignment received from the eNodeB, should be preferably used for transmitting data from logical channels that are associated with the eNodeB-controlled scheduling mode. Therefore, during the LCP procedure, the logical channels shall be prioritized not only according to their associated numerology scheme, but shall also be prioritized according to whether or not they are associated to the eNodeB-controlled scheduling mode. For instance, radio resources allocated by an uplink scheduling assignment received from the eNodeB should not be used for transmitting data from logical channels that are only associated with the grant-free scheduling mode, or should only be allocated in case radio resources remain after the assigned radio resources have been allocated to data from logical channels that are associated with the eNodeB-controlled scheduling mode. In order to assist the scheduling function (e.g. in the eNodeB) and to allow for efficient uplink scheduling, the buffer status reporting procedure can be adapted to the new radio access technology of 5G and possibly also to the improved radio resource allocation procedure as discussed above. In general, the scheduling control function in the eNodeB should be provided by the UE with appropriate information to generate numerology-layer-specific uplink scheduling assignments. Therefore, the buffer status reporting procedure performed by the UE should be reporting the buffer status per numerology layer to the eNB, such that the eNB can determine the amount of data available for transmission in the UE for each numerology layer. This can be achieved as follows. According to one option, a common buffer status reporting procedure is performed in the UE for all numerology layers, according to which for each numerology layer configured in the UE, a buffer status is separately determined across logical channels associated to the respective numerology layer. The buffer status reporting procedure then generates a corresponding report comprising information on the buffer status of all the configured numerology layers, the generated report being then transmitted to the eNodeB. According to one exemplary implementation, a new BSR MAC control element could be defined to carry the buffer status information for each configured numerology scheme. FIG.15shows an exemplary BSR MAC control element where the three bits are assumed to be used for indicating the numerology scheme followed by respectively 6 bits for the buffer size for each of the two exemplarily assumed two logical channel groups. An extension bit is provided in order to indicate whether a further buffer status is reported for another numerology scheme. In such a buffer status reporting procedure, in a scenario where a data of a service can be transmitted using different numerology schemes, the UE can suggest respectively decide on how to divide the pending data of one service among the respective numerology schemes. According to another option, separate buffer status reporting procedures can be foreseen for the numerology layers configured for the UE, such that the UE performs the buffer status reporting separately for each configured numerology layer. Consequently, a buffer status is determined across logical channels associated to one numerology layer, and information thereon is included in a corresponding buffer status report. According to one implementation, a new BSR MAC CE could be defined to carry the buffer status information for one configured numerology scheme. Alternatively, the BSR MAC CE as already known from the currently standardized LTE/LTE-A systems could be used in said respect. Moreover, the buffer status reporting procedure can be implemented in the UE either with one MAC entity or separate MAC entities. For example, a common MAC entity could be responsible for performing either a common buffer status reporting procedure or the various separate numerology specific buffer status reporting procedures. On the other hand, one MAC entity can be provided per numerology layer (an option already discussed above in connection with the LCP procedure) such that the BSR procedure is already specific to only the respective numerology layer. In the above discussed implementations, it is exemplarily assumed that the BSR procedure will be part of the MAC entity of a UE, as is the case in current LTE(-A) UEs. However, no agreements have been made yet for 5G in said respect. Correspondingly, it might be decided that the BSR procedure resides in another entity (e.g. the RLC entity), in which case the above discussion shall apply with respect to this other entity. According to further variants of the improved BSR procedure, separate BSR configurations can be defined per numerology layer. In particular, as explained in the background section, the BSR procedure is triggered by certain events. Some or all of the BSR triggers respectively the BSR-related timers can also be made numerology layer specific. For instance, for services mapped to a specific numerology layer it might be beneficial to report the buffer status periodically, i.e. for eMBB services, whereas for other services that are using a different numerology it might not be very useful, e.g. mMTC services mapped to a certain numerology layer. As a further example, a padding BSR might not be used for all numerology layers. Essentially, the BSR configurations, i.e. timer settings, or other BSR trigger might be different for different numerologies. In other exemplary embodiments, even though the BSR configurations/triggers may be numerology-layer-specific, the reporting of the buffer status will be always for all numerology layers. More in particular, upon a BSR is triggered for any of the numerology layers, the UE will report the complete buffer status of the UE, i.e. UE reports for all numerology layers the corresponding buffer status. As explained in the background section, buffer status reporting according to LTE(-A) is based on a group concept where several logical channels can be grouped together (e.g. based on having same/similar QoS requirements) when determining the buffer status. In a similar manner, the logical channels for each numerology layer can be appropriately grouped together in different logical channel groups to implement a finer granularity than provided by a BSR reporting per numerology layer. As a further alternative, instead of providing a buffer status reporting procedure to report the buffer status per numerology layer, other embodiments provide a BSR procedure to report the buffer status per usage scenario, such that the eNB can determine the amount of data available for transmission in the UE per usage scenario of the UE. For instance, services of the eMBB type (as discussed above with the TCP) can benefit from having separate numerology schemes (lower frequency band vs. higher frequency band), in which case it is enough for the eNodeB to learn the amount of data available in the UE for the eMBB usage scenario rather than the numerology schemes of the eMBB service. The eNodeB can then decide on how to allocate resources to either of the numerology schemes for the eMBB scenario, and thus issues corresponding numerology-specific uplink scheduling assignments as discussed before. FIG.16discloses such an exemplary BSR MAC control element, based on the currently-standardized, long BSR MAC CE, where three octets are available per usage scenario for reporting the buffer status of four different LCGs. Compared to the buffer status reporting, as explained in connection withFIG.15, the UE simply reports the data per usage scenario, such that the buffer status reporting does not vary for scenarios where a particular service is associated with several numerology schemes. Another improvement for the radio resource allocation procedure focuses on the scheduling request transmitted by a UE in order to request uplink radio resources from the eNodeB. The scheduling request can be specific to a numerology scheme or to a usage scenario, e.g. by simply indicating the numerology scheme/usage scenario for which the uplink radio resources are being requested. For instance, a new field in the scheduling request could be foreseen to indicate the numerology scheme or usage scenario. The eNB when receiving the scheduling request can decide how much radio resources to allocate to a specific numerology scheme as discussed above. Alternatively, in order for the eNodeB to learn the intended numerology layer or usage scenario, the UE could be configured with different channels where the scheduling request is being transmitted, i.e. one SR channel configuration for each numerology layer respectively usage scenario. According to further embodiments, the DRX functionality can be adapted to the new radio access technology of 5G. Particularly, the DRX configuration can be made numerology specific or usage scenario specific. In more detail, the DRX procedure is currently defined on a subframe basis, as discussed in detail in the background section. Taking into account that the different numerology schemes may differ with regard to their subframe time period, the common DRX scheme as currently used in the standardized LTE(-A) systems seems not appropriate. Separate DRX procedures can be provided for different numerology schemes. Also, when seeing it from the service point of view, the different usage scenarios have very different traffic models/characteristics. Therefore, separate DRX configurations are, according to one exemplary embodiment, used for different usage scenarios. In case one usage scenario (e.g. eMBB) is using multiple numerology layers, there may be some common DRX scheme/configuration across these multiple numerology layers, i.e. Active Time is the same for these multiple numerology layers. On the other hand, when having separate DRX configurations/schemes for usage scenario respectively numerology layers, it would basically mean that the UE could have a different DRX state for each usage scenario/numerology layer. Essentially, UE could be in DRX, i.e. power saving state, for one numerology layer, i.e. not being required to monitor for control channels, whereas the UE is in ActiveTime for another usage scenario/numerology layer, i.e. UE is monitoring for control channels. More in particular, a DCI/control channel, e.g. uplink or downlink grant, received for a specific numerology layer/usage scenario will trigger the starting of the DRX related timers, i.e. for instance DRX-Inactivity timer, of the DRX procedure associated to this numerology layer/usage scenario. For example, when the eNB grants uplink resources for an eMBB service, then the UE shall start, upon reception of this DCI, the inactivity timer of the eMMB-linked DRX procedure. According to further embodiments, the timing advance procedure can be adapted to the new radio access technology of 5G. Particularly, the timing advance procedure can be made numerology scheme specific, for instance by providing timing advance timer values that are different for different numerology schemes. Since one of the characteristics/L1 parameter of a numerology layer is the cyclic prefix (CP) length, the maintenance of the timing alignment for uplink synchronization is numerology layer-specific according to one exemplary embodiment. The uplink transmission timing should be set with an accuracy well within the length of the uplink CP length. Since CP lengths are different for different numerologies as mentioned before, there might be a need to have a finer granularity of the uplink timing alignment for certain numerologies, i.e. the ones having a small CP length. According to one exemplary embodiment, the different numerologies will be grouped for the maintenance of uplink timing/synchronization, i.e. numerology layers/scheme having similar channel characteristics, e.g. CP length, will have one common Timing Advance timer. Further Embodiments According to a first aspect, a user equipment in a mobile communication system is provided, the user equipment being configured with at least one numerology scheme, each of which is associated with parameters that partition a plurality of time-frequency radio resources of the mobile communication system into resource scheduling units in a different manner. The user equipment is configured with a plurality of logical channels each of which is associated with at least one of the configured numerology schemes. A receiver of the user equipment receives an uplink scheduling assignment from a radio base station that controls the user equipment, the uplink scheduling assignment indicating uplink radio resources usable by the user equipment. A processor of the user equipment determines for which numerology scheme the received uplink scheduling assignment is intended based on the received uplink scheduling assignment. The processor performs a logical channel prioritization procedure by allocating the assigned uplink radio resources to the configured logical channels and by prioritizing those of the configured logical channels that are associated with the numerology scheme for which the uplink scheduling assignment is intended. According to a second aspect which is provided in addition to the first aspect, the receiver receives information on a plurality of numerology schemes supported by the radio base station. Optionally, the information on the plurality of numerology schemes is received in a system information block broadcast by the radio base station. As a further option the information on the plurality of numerology schemes comprises a numerology layer indication for each numerology scheme. According to a third aspect which is provided in addition to one of the first to second aspects, the processor determines for which numerology scheme the received uplink scheduling assignment is intended from:a numerology layer indication within the received uplink scheduling assignment, ora user equipment identity used by the radio base station for encoding the uplink scheduling assignment, ortime-frequency resources used by the radio base station for transmitting the uplink scheduling assignment. According to a fourth aspect in addition to one of the first to third aspects, a different Medium Access Control, MAC, entity in the user equipment is configured for and associated to each numerology scheme configured for the user equipment. Each of the MAC entities in the user equipment is responsible for the logical channel prioritization procedure according to the associated numerology scheme. Alternatively, a different Medium Access Control, MAC, entity in the user equipment is configured for and associated to each data transmission usage scenario of the user equipment. Each of the MAC entities in the user equipment is responsible for the logical channel prioritization procedure according to the associated data transmission usage scenario. Optionally each data transmission usage scenario encompasses at least one numerology scheme. Optionally, the data transmission usage scenario is one of massive machine-type communication, mMTC, enhanced mobile broadband, eMBB, and ultra-reliable low-latency communications, URLLC. According to a fifth aspect in addition to one of the first to fourth aspects, each of the logical channels is configured with a resource allocation mode. The resource allocation mode is for either a radio base station controlled resource allocation mode and/or a fast resource allocation mode. The processor performs the logical channel prioritization procedure by allocating the assigned radio resources to the configured logical channels and by prioritizing those of the configured logical channels that are associated with the radio base station controlled resource allocation mode. Optionally, the fast radio resource allocation mode is performed by the user equipment autonomously without requesting and receiving an uplink scheduling assignment from the radio base station. According to a sixth aspect in addition to one of the first to fifth aspects, the processor performs a common buffer status reporting procedure for all numerology schemes configured for the user equipment. The processor, when performing the common buffer status reporting procedure, generates a common buffer status report that separately indicates a buffer status of the logical channels being associated with each numerology scheme configured for the user equipment. A transmitter of the user equipment transmits the generated common buffer status report to the radio base station. Optionally, a separate buffer status reporting configurations and/or triggers for the common buffer status reporting procedure are defined for each numerology scheme configured for the user equipment. According to the seventh aspect in addition to one of the first to fifth aspects, the processor performs a separate buffer status reporting procedure for each of the numerology schemes configured for the user equipment. The processor, when performing the separate buffer status reporting procedure for one of the numerology schemes, generates a buffer status report that indicates a buffer status of the logical channels being associated with that one numerology scheme. A transmitter of the user equipment transmits the generated separate buffer status reports to the radio base station. According to eighth aspect in addition to one of the first to fifth aspects, the processor performs a common buffer status reporting procedure for all data transmission usage scenarios of the user equipment. The processor, when performing the common buffer status reporting procedure, generates a common buffer status report that separately indicates a buffer status of the logical channels being associated with each data transmission usage scenario. A transmitter of the user equipment transmits the generated common buffer status report to the radio base station. Optionally, each data transmission usage scenario encompasses at least one numerology scheme. Optionally, the data transmission usage scenario is one of massive machine-type communication, mMTC, enhanced mobile broadband, eMBB, and ultra-reliable low-latency communications, URLLC. According to ninth aspect in addition to one of the first to eighth aspects, the processor, when performing the logical channel prioritization procedure, prioritizes the logical channels such that radio resources are allocated to only those logical channels that are associated with the numerology scheme for which the received uplink scheduling assignment is intended. According to tenth aspect in addition to one of the first to ninth aspects, the processor generates a scheduling request for requesting uplink radio resources from the radio base station. The scheduling request indicates the numerology scheme or the data transmission usage scenario for which the uplink radio resources are requested. According to eleventh aspect, a radio base station is provided for performing a radio resource allocation procedure for a user equipment in a mobile communication system. The user equipment is configured with at least one numerology scheme, each of which is associated with parameters that partition a plurality of time-frequency radio resources of the mobile communication system into resource scheduling units in a different manner. The user equipment is configured with a plurality of logical channels each of which is associated with at least one of the configured numerology schemes. A processor of the radio base station generates an uplink scheduling assignment indicating uplink radio resources usable by the user equipment. The uplink scheduling assignment is generated such that the user equipment, upon receiving the uplink scheduling assignment, can determine for which numerology scheme the uplink scheduling assignment is intended based on the uplink scheduling assignment received by the user equipment. A transmitter of the radio base station transmits the generated uplink scheduling assignment to the user equipment. According to a twelfth aspect in addition to the eleventh aspect, the transmitter transmits information on a plurality of numerology schemes supported by the radio base station. Optionally, the information on the plurality of numerology schemes is broadcast in a system information block. Optionally, the information on the plurality of numerology schemes comprises a numerology layer indication for each numerology scheme. According to a thirteenth aspect provided in addition to the eleventh or twelfth aspect, the processor, when generating the uplink scheduling assignment:includes a numerology layer indication within the uplink scheduling assignment, orencodes the uplink scheduling assignment using a user equipment identity specific to the intended numerology scheme, or the generated uplink scheduling assignment is transmitted by the transmitter in time-frequency resources specific to the intended numerology scheme. According to a fourteenth aspect provided in addition to one of the eleventh to thirteenth aspects, a receiver of the radio base station receives a common buffer status report that separately indicates a buffer status of the logical channels being associated with each numerology scheme configured for the user equipment, or receives separate buffer status reports, each of which indicates a buffer status of the logical channels being associated with one numerology scheme, or receives a common buffer status report that separately indicates a buffer status of the logical channels being associated with each data transmission usage scenario. Optionally, each data transmission usage scenario encompasses at least one numerology scheme, optionally wherein the data transmission usage scenario is one of massive machine-type communication, mMTC, enhanced mobile broadband, eMBB, and ultra-reliable low-latency communications, URLLC. According to a fifteenth aspect provided in addition to one of the eleventh to fourteenth aspects, a receiver of the radio base station receives a scheduling request from the user equipment requesting uplink radio resources, wherein the scheduling request indicates the numerology scheme or the data transmission usage scenario for which the uplink radio resources are requested. According to a sixteenth aspect, a method for a user equipment in a mobile communication system is provided. The user equipment is configured with at least one numerology scheme, each of which is associated with parameters that partition a plurality of time-frequency radio resources of the mobile communication system into resource scheduling units in a different manner. The user equipment is configured with a plurality of logical channels each of which is associated with at least one of the configured numerology schemes. The method comprises the following steps performed by the user equipment. An uplink scheduling assignment is received from a radio base station that controls the user equipment, the uplink scheduling assignment indicating uplink radio resources usable by the user equipment. The user equipment determines for which numerology scheme the received uplink scheduling assignment is intended based on the received uplink scheduling assignment. A logical channel prioritization procedure is performed by the user equipment by allocating the assigned uplink radio resources to the configured logical channels and by prioritizing those of the configured logical channels that are associated with the numerology scheme for which the uplink scheduling assignment is intended. According to a seventeenth aspect provided in addition to the sixteenth aspect, the method further comprises the step of receiving information on a plurality of numerology schemes supported by the radio base station. Optionally, the information on the plurality of numerology schemes is received in a system information block broadcast by the radio base station. Optionally, the information on the plurality of numerology schemes comprises a numerology layer indication for each numerology scheme. According to an eighteenth aspect provided in addition to the sixteenth or seventeenth aspect, the step of determining determines for which numerology scheme the received uplink scheduling assignment is intended from:a numerology layer indication within the received uplink scheduling assignment, ora user equipment identity used by the radio base station for encoding the uplink scheduling assignment, ortime-frequency resources used by the radio base station for transmitting the uplink scheduling assignment. According to a nineteenth aspect provided in addition to one of the sixteenth to eighteenth aspects, each of the logical channels is configured with a resource allocation mode. The resource allocation mode is a radio base station controlled resource allocation mode and/or a fast resource allocation mode. The step of performing the logical channel prioritization procedure further includes prioritizing those of the configured logical channels that are associated with the radio base station controlled resource allocation mode. Optionally, the fast radio resource allocation mode is performed by the user equipment autonomously without requesting and receiving an uplink scheduling assignment from the radio base station. According to a twentieth aspect provided in addition to one of the sixteenth to eighteenth aspects, the method further comprises the step of performing a common buffer status reporting procedure for all numerology schemes configured for the user equipment. The step of performing the common buffer status reporting procedure includes generating a common buffer status report that separately indicates a buffer status of the logical channels being associated with each numerology scheme configured for the user equipment and transmitting the generated common buffer status report to the radio base station. Optionally, separate buffer status reporting configurations and/or triggers for the common buffer status reporting procedure are defined for each numerology scheme configured for the user equipment. According to a 21'st aspect provided in addition to one of the sixteenth to eighteenth aspects, the method further comprises the step of performing a separate buffer status reporting procedure for each of the numerology schemes configured for the user equipment. The step of performing the separate buffer status reporting procedure for one of the numerology schemes includes generating a buffer status report that indicates a buffer status of the logical channels being associated with that one numerology scheme, and transmitting the generated separate buffer status reports to the radio base station. According to a 22'nd aspect provided in addition to one of the sixteenth to eighteenth aspects, the method further comprises the step of performing a common buffer status reporting procedure for all data transmission usage scenarios of the user equipment. The step of performing the common buffer status reporting procedure, includes generating a common buffer status report that separately indicates a buffer status of the logical channels being associated with each data transmission usage scenario and transmitting the generated common buffer status report to the radio base station. Optionally, each data transmission usage scenario encompasses at least one numerology scheme, optionally wherein the data transmission usage scenario is one of massive machine-type communication, mMTC, enhanced mobile broadband, eMBB, and ultra-reliable low-latency communications, URLLC. According to a 23'rd aspect provided in addition to one of the sixteenth to 22'nd aspects, the step of prioritizing the logical channels is such that radio resources are allocated to only those logical channels that are associated with the numerology scheme for which the received uplink scheduling assignment is intended. According to a 24'th aspect provided in addition to one of the sixteenth to 23'rd aspects, the method further comprises the steps of generating a scheduling request for requesting uplink radio resources from the radio base station and transmitting the generated scheduling request to the radio base station. The scheduling request indicates the numerology scheme or the data transmission usage scenario for which the uplink radio resources are requested. In one general first aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature a radio base station for performing a radio resource allocation procedure for a user equipment in a mobile communication system. The user equipment is configured with at least one numerology scheme, each of which is associated with parameters that partition a plurality of time-frequency radio resources of the mobile communication system into resource scheduling units in a different manner. The user equipment is configured with a plurality of logical channels each of which is associated with at least one of the configured numerology schemes. A processor of the radio base station generates an uplink scheduling assignment indicating uplink radio resources usable by the user equipment, wherein the uplink scheduling assignment is generated such that the user equipment, upon receiving the uplink scheduling assignment, can determine for which numerology scheme the uplink scheduling assignment is intended based on the uplink scheduling assignment received by the user equipment. A transmitter of the radio base station transmits the generated uplink scheduling assignment to the user equipment. In one general first aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature a method for a user equipment in a mobile communication system. The user equipment is configured with at least one numerology scheme, each of which is associated with parameters that partition a plurality of time-frequency radio resources of the mobile communication system into resource scheduling units in a different manner. The user equipment is configured with a plurality of logical channels each of which is associated with at least one of the configured numerology schemes. The method comprises the following steps performed by the user equipment:receiving an uplink scheduling assignment from a radio base station that controls the user equipment, the uplink scheduling assignment indicating uplink radio resources usable by the user equipment,determining for which numerology scheme the received uplink scheduling assignment is intended based on the received uplink scheduling assignment, andperforming a logical channel prioritization procedure by allocating the assigned uplink radio resources to the configured logical channels and by prioritizing those of the configured logical channels that are associated with the numerology scheme for which the uplink scheduling assignment is intended. Hardware and Software Implementation of the Present Disclosure Other exemplary embodiments relate to the implementation of the above described various embodiments using hardware, software, or software in cooperation with hardware. In this connection a user terminal (mobile terminal) is provided. The user terminal is adapted to perform the methods described herein, including corresponding entities to participate appropriately in the methods, such as receiver, transmitter, processors. It is further recognized that the various embodiments may be implemented or performed using computing devices (processors). A computing device or processor may for example be general purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, etc. The various embodiments may also be performed or embodied by a combination of these devices. In particular, each functional block used in the description of each embodiment described above can be realized by an LSI as an integrated circuit. They may be individually formed as chips, or one chip may be formed so as to include a part or all of the functional blocks. They may include a data input and output coupled thereto. The LSI here may be referred to as an IC, a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI depending on a difference in the degree of integration. However, the technique of implementing an integrated circuit is not limited to the LSI and may be realized by using a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. In addition, a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can be programmed after the manufacture of the LSI or a reconfigurable processor in which the connections and the settings of circuits cells disposed inside the LSI can be reconfigured may be used. Further, the various embodiments may also be implemented by means of software modules, which are executed by a processor or directly in hardware. Also a combination of software modules and a hardware implementation may be possible. The software modules may be stored on any kind of computer readable storage media, for example RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, registers, hard disks, CD-ROM, DVD, etc. It should be further noted that the individual features of the different embodiments may individually or in arbitrary combination be subject matter to another embodiment. It would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the present disclosure as shown in the specific embodiments. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive. | 80,569 |
11943807 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts and features described herein may be practiced. The following description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well known circuits, structures, techniques and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the described concepts and features. The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may be implemented across a broad variety of telecommunication systems, network architectures, and communication standards. Referring now toFIG.1, as an illustrative example without limitation, a schematic illustration of a radio access network100is provided. The geographic region covered by the radio access network100may be divided into a number of cellular regions (cells) that can be uniquely identified by a user equipment (UE) based on an identification broadcasted over a geographical area from one access point or base station.FIG.1illustrates macrocells102,104, and106, and a small cell108, each of which may include one or more sectors. A sector is a sub-area of a cell. All sectors within one cell are served by the same base station. A radio link within a sector can be identified by a single logical identification belonging to that sector. In a cell that is divided into sectors, the multiple sectors within a cell can be formed by groups of antennas with each antenna responsible for communication with UEs in a portion of the cell. In general, each cell is served by a respective base station (BS). Broadly, a base station is a network element in a radio access network responsible for radio transmission and reception in one or more cells to or from a UE. A BS may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), an access point (AP), a Node B (NB), an eNode B (eNB), a gNode B (gNB), or some other suitable terminology. InFIG.1, two base stations110and112are shown in cells102and104, and a third base station114is shown controlling a remote radio head (RRH)116in cell106. That is, a base station can have an integrated antenna or can be connected to an antenna or RRH by feeder cables. In the illustrated example, the cells102,104, and106may be referred to as macrocells, as the base stations110,112, and114support cells having a large size. Further, a base station118is shown in the small cell108(e.g., a microcell, picocell, femtocell, home base station, home Node B, home eNode B, etc.) which may overlap with one or more macrocells. In this example, the cell108may be referred to as a small cell, as the base station118supports a cell having a relatively small size. Cell sizing can be done according to system design as well as component constraints. It is to be understood that the radio access network100may include any number of wireless base stations and cells. Further, a relay node may be deployed to extend the size or coverage area of a given cell. The base stations110,112,114,118provide wireless access points to a core network for any number of mobile apparatuses. FIG.1further includes a quadcopter or drone120, which may be configured to function as a base station. That is, in some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of the cell may move according to the location of a mobile base station such as the quadcopter120. In general, base stations may include a backhaul interface for communication with a backhaul portion (not shown) of the network. The backhaul may provide a link between a base station and a core network, (not shown), and in some examples, the backhaul may provide interconnection between the respective base stations. The core network may be a part of a wireless communication system, and may be independent of the radio access technology used in the radio access network. Various types of backhaul interfaces may be employed, such as a direct physical connection, a virtual network, or the like using any suitable transport network. The radio access network100is illustrated supporting wireless communication for multiple mobile apparatuses. A mobile apparatus is commonly referred to as user equipment (UE) in standards and specifications promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), but may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS), a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. A UE may be an apparatus that provides a user with access to network services. Within the present document, a “mobile” apparatus need not necessarily have a capability to move, and may be stationary. The term mobile apparatus or mobile device broadly refers to a diverse array of devices and technologies. For example, some non-limiting examples of a mobile apparatus include a mobile, a cellular (cell) phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal computer (PC), a notebook, a netbook, a smartbook, a tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a broad array of embedded systems, e.g., corresponding to an “Internet of things” (IoT). A mobile apparatus may additionally be an automotive or other transportation vehicle, a remote sensor or actuator, a robot or robotics device, a satellite radio, a global positioning system (GPS) device, an object tracking device, a drone, a multi-copter, a quad-copter, a remote control device, a consumer and/or wearable device, such as eyewear, a wearable camera, a virtual reality device, a smart watch, a health or fitness tracker, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, etc. A mobile apparatus may additionally be a digital home or smart home device such as a home audio, video, and/or multimedia device, an appliance, a vending machine, intelligent lighting, a home security system, a smart meter, etc. A mobile apparatus may additionally be a smart energy device, a security device, a solar panel or solar array, a municipal infrastructure device controlling electric power (e.g., a smart grid), lighting, water, etc.; an industrial automation and enterprise device; a logistics controller; agricultural equipment; military defense equipment, vehicles, aircraft, ships, and weaponry, etc. Still further, a mobile apparatus may provide for connected medicine or telemedicine support, i.e., health care at a distance. Telehealth devices may include telehealth monitoring devices and telehealth administration devices, whose communication may be given preferential treatment or prioritized access over other types of information, e.g., in terms of prioritized access for transport of critical service data, and/or relevant QoS for transport of critical service data. Within the radio access network100, the cells may include UEs that may be in communication with one or more sectors of each cell. For example, UEs122and124may be in communication with base station110, UEs126and128may be in communication with base station112, UEs130and132may be in communication with base station114by way of RRH116, UE134may be in communication with base station118, and UE136may be in communication with mobile base station120. Here, each base station110,112,114,118, and120may be configured to provide an access point to a core network (not shown) for all the UEs in the respective cells. Transmissions from a base station (e.g., base station110) to one or more UEs (e.g., UEs122and124) may be referred to as downlink (DL) transmission, while transmissions from a UE (e.g., UE122) to a base station may be referred to as uplink (UL) transmissions. In accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure, the term downlink may refer to a point-to-multipoint transmission originating at a scheduling entity202. Another way to describe this scheme may be to use the term broadcast channel multiplexing. In accordance with further aspects of the present disclosure, the term uplink may refer to a point-to-point transmission originating at a scheduled entity204. In some examples, a mobile network node (e.g., quadcopter120) may be configured to function as a UE. For example, the quadcopter120may operate within cell102by communicating with base station110. In some aspects of the disclosure, two or more UE (e.g., UEs126and128) may communicate with each other using peer to peer (P2P) or sidelink signals127without relaying that communication through a base station (e.g., base station112). In the radio access network100, the ability for a UE to communicate while moving, independent of its location, is referred to as mobility. The various physical channels between the UE and the radio access network are generally set up, maintained, and released under the control of an access and mobility management function (AMF), which may include a security context management function (SCMF) that manages the security context for both the control plane and the user plane functionality, and a security anchor function (SEAF) that performs authentication. In various aspects of the disclosure, a radio access network100may utilize DL-based mobility or UL-based mobility to enable mobility and handovers (i.e., the transfer of a UE's connection from one radio channel to another). In a network configured for DL-based mobility, during a call with a scheduling entity, or at any other time, a UE may monitor various parameters of the signal from its serving cell as well as various parameters of neighboring cells. Depending on the quality of these parameters, the UE may maintain communication with one or more of the neighboring cells. During this time, if the UE moves from one cell to another, or if signal quality from a neighboring cell exceeds that from the serving cell for a given amount of time, the UE may undertake a handoff or handover from the serving cell to the neighboring (target) cell. For example, UE124(illustrated as a vehicle, although any suitable form of UE may be used) may move from the geographic area corresponding to its serving cell102to the geographic area corresponding to a neighbor cell106. When the signal strength or quality from the neighbor cell106exceeds that of its serving cell102for a given amount of time, the UE124may transmit a reporting message to its serving base station110indicating this condition. In response, the UE124may receive a handover command, and the UE may undergo a handover to the cell106. In a network configured for UL-based mobility, UL reference signals from each UE may be utilized by the network to select a serving cell for each UE. In some examples, the base stations110,112, and114/116may broadcast unified synchronization signals (e.g., unified Primary Synchronization Signals (PSSs), unified Secondary Synchronization Signals (SSSs) and unified Physical Broadcast Channels (PBCH)). The UEs122,124,126,128,130, and132may receive the unified synchronization signals, derive the carrier frequency and slot timing from the synchronization signals, and in response to deriving timing, transmit an uplink pilot or reference signal. The uplink pilot signal transmitted by a UE (e.g., UE124) may be concurrently received by two or more cells (e.g., base stations110and114/116) within the radio access network100. Each of the cells may measure a strength of the pilot signal, and the radio access network (e.g., one or more of the base stations110and114/116and/or a central node within the core network) may determine a serving cell for the UE124. As the UE124moves through the radio access network100, the network may continue to monitor the uplink pilot signal transmitted by the UE124. When the signal strength or quality of the pilot signal measured by a neighboring cell exceeds that of the signal strength or quality measured by the serving cell, the network100may handover the UE124from the serving cell to the neighboring cell, with or without informing the UE124. Although the synchronization signal transmitted by the base stations110,112, and114/116may be unified, the synchronization signal may not identify a particular cell, but rather may identify a zone of multiple cells operating on the same frequency and/or with the same timing. The use of zones in 5G networks or other next generation communication networks enables the uplink-based mobility framework and improves the efficiency of both the UE and the network, since the number of mobility messages that need to be exchanged between the UE and the network may be reduced. In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled, wherein a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) allocates resources for communication among some or all devices and equipment within its service area or cell. Within the present disclosure, as discussed further below, the scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more scheduled entities. That is, for scheduled communication, UEs or scheduled entities utilize resources allocated by the scheduling entity. Base stations are not the only entities that may function as a scheduling entity. That is, in some examples, a UE may function as a scheduling entity, scheduling resources for one or more scheduled entities (e.g., one or more other UEs). In other examples, sidelink signals may be used between UEs without necessarily relying on scheduling or control information from a base station. For example, UE138is illustrated communicating with UEs140and142. In some examples, the UE138is functioning as a scheduling entity or a primary sidelink device, and UEs140and142may function as a scheduled entity or a non-primary (e.g., secondary) sidelink device. In still another example, a UE may function as a scheduling entity in a device-to-device (D2D), peer-to-peer (P2P), or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network, and/or in a mesh network. In a mesh network example, UEs140and142may optionally communicate directly with one another in addition to communicating with the scheduling entity138. Thus, in a wireless communication network with scheduled access to time-frequency resources and having a cellular configuration, a P2P configuration, or a mesh configuration, a scheduling entity and one or more scheduled entities may communicate utilizing the scheduled resources. Referring now toFIG.2, a block diagram illustrates a scheduling entity202and a plurality of scheduled entities204(e.g.,204aand204b). Here, the scheduling entity202may correspond to a base station110,112,114, and/or118. In additional examples, the scheduling entity202may correspond to a UE138, the quadcopter120, or any other suitable node in the radio access network100. Similarly, in various examples, the scheduled entity204may correspond to the UE122,124,126,128,130,132,134,136,138,140, and142, or any other suitable node in the radio access network100. As illustrated inFIG.2, the scheduling entity202may broadcast traffic206to one or more scheduled entities204(the traffic may be referred to as downlink traffic). Broadly, the scheduling entity202is a node or device responsible for scheduling traffic in a wireless communication network, including the downlink transmissions and, in some examples, uplink traffic210from one or more scheduled entities to the scheduling entity202. Broadly, the scheduled entity204is a node or device that receives control information, including but not limited to scheduling information (e.g., a grant), synchronization or timing information, or other control information from another entity in the wireless communication network such as the scheduling entity202. In some examples, scheduled entities such as a first scheduled entity204aand a second scheduled entity204bmay utilize sidelink signals for direct D2D communication. Sidelink signals may include sidelink traffic214and sidelink control216. Sidelink control information216may in some examples include a request signal, such as a request-to-send (RTS), a source transmit signal (STS), and/or a direction selection signal (DSS). The request signal may provide for a scheduled entity204to request a duration of time to keep a sidelink channel available for a sidelink signal. Sidelink control information216may further include a response signal, such as a clear-to-send (CTS) and/or a destination receive signal (DRS). The response signal may provide for the scheduled entity204to indicate the availability of the sidelink channel, e.g., for a requested duration of time. An exchange of request and response signals (e.g., handshake) may enable different scheduled entities performing sidelink communications to negotiate the availability of the sidelink channel prior to communication of the sidelink traffic information214. As a UE operates in the radio access network100, the UE may perform a random access procedure with the radio access network100. A random access procedure is a contention-based channel access procedure that a connected UE may use to obtain and utilize resources for wireless communication. A random access procedure can also be triggered by a handover or initial access to the network. During a conventional random access procedure, a UE and a network entity (e.g., a base station) employ a four-step communication process. For example,FIG.3is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a typical random access procedure. Initially, a UE302randomly selects a PRACH (physical random access channel) preamble sequence from a set of available preamble sequences and sends a first message306on the PRACH at increasing power until the base station304detects the preamble. The preamble transmission306includes a RA-RNTI (random access radio network temporary identity) that can be determined from the subframe index in which the UE302sends the preamble. In response to detecting the preamble transmitted by the UE302, the base station304sends a second message308that includes a transmission on the PDCCH (physical downlink control channel) that can be identified using a RA-RNTI, and a random access response (RAR) transmitted on the PDSCH (physical downlink shared channel). If the UE302is able to decode the PDCCH with the RA-RNTI at310, then the UE302attempts to decode the RAR on the PDSCH at312. Among other things, the RAR includes a random access preamble ID. If the RAR includes a random access preamble ID corresponding to the transmitted random access preamble, the UE302considers that random access was successful. In response to decoding the RAR on the PDSCH, the UE sends a third message314including an RRC connection request message using PUSCH and PUCCH. This third message314may also include a CCCH SDU or a temporary C-RNTI (TC-RNTI). It is possible that multiple UEs could use the identical preamble sequence to access the system. This will cause the base station304to send a PDCCH that includes the same RA-RNTI. Multiple UEs will then detect the RA-RNTI and decode the RAR being sent on PDSCH. All these UEs will detect a Random Access ID match and will send data on the uplink using the same UL resource blocks and the same Time Adjustment. A contention resolution procedure is therefore typically employed at this point. The base station304will only receive the third message310from one of the UEs whose time alignment was suitable. The base station304first sends a PDCCH with the temporary C-RNTI originally included in the RAR, followed by transmission of the contention resolution message316on the PDSCH where the base station304includes a contention resolution ID that matches the CCCH SDU of only one of the UEs. The respective UE detects that the contention resolution message316was directed toward it, then the UE sends an ACK indicating contention resolution was successful. An alternative to this is when the UE already has a C-RNTI, which it included in PUSCH, the base station304resolves contention by just transmitting316the PDCCH with C-RNTI and an UL grant as well on the PDCCH. The above described messaging is also depicted in the block diagram ofFIG.4. As shown, there is a time period between each of the transmissions described above with reference toFIG.3. For purposes of this disclosure, these time periods are referred to as delay periods. As shown inFIG.4, there is a first delay period T1following transmission of the first message306until the UE302opens a RAR measurement window to monitor for the second message308sent from the base station304. After successfully decoding the PDCCH and the RAR in the PDSCH, a second delay period T2passes before the UE302sends the third message314, at least in part because of the timing advance value received in the second message308that informs the UE to change its timing to compensate for the round trip delay. Additionally, after transmitting the third message314, there is a third delay period T3before the UE receives the fourth message316from the base station. In some instances, it may be beneficial to reduce the response delay resulting from the above described random access procedure, including the three delay periods. Aspects of the present disclosure include a random access procedure that reduces the number of steps compared to the procedure described above with reference toFIGS.3and4. Referring now toFIG.5, a flow diagram is shown depicting a random access procedure according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. In this example, a UE502is shown communicating with a base station504. It should be understood that aspects of the disclosure can be employed between a scheduled entity (e.g. UE502) and a scheduling entity (e.g., base station504). As shown, the UE502randomly selects a PRACH preamble sequence from a set of available preamble sequences and sends a first message506on the PRACH at increasing power until the base station304detects the preamble. In this example, the first message506can include at least some of the information included in the first message306and third message310from the example inFIG.3. For instance, in addition to including the PRACH preamble sequence, the first message506can include a RACH message. According to at least one implementation, the RACH message may include an identity of the UE502(UE ID), a channel flag, a buffer status report (BSR), scheduling request (SR), and/or other information. When the base station504receives the first message506, the base station504detects the preamble and decodes the RACH message at step508. In response to successfully detecting the preamble and decoding the RACH message, the base station504can send a second message510to the UE502that includes a transmission on the PDCCH and a message transmitted on the PDSCH. The PDCCH in the second transmission510may include CRC bits that are scrambled with a UE-specific network identifier (e.g., RNTI). The message transmitted on the PDSCH may include UE-specific content, such as an indication confirming the PRACH preamble, a timing advance value, a back-off indicator, a contention resolution message, a transmit power control (TPC) command, an uplink or downlink resource grant, and/or other information. On receipt of the second message510, the UE502attempts to decode the PDCCH and the message on the PDSCH at step512. If the UE502successfully decodes both the PDCCH and the message on the PDSCH, then the UE502can send an ACK to the base station504. If the UE502fails to decode the PDCCH, then the UE502can operate as if the first message506was not successfully received by the base station504, and can retransmit the first message506with power ramping and/or random timing. On the other hand, if the UE502successfully decodes the PDCCH, but does not successfully decode the message on the PDSCH, then the UE502can transmit a NACK to the base station504, which can cause the base station504to retransmit the message. Employing the random access procedure described above including just two transmissions instead of four can reduce the time associated with the random access procedure.FIG.6is a block diagram depicting the two-step random access procedure ofFIG.5. As shown, the first delay period T1following transmission of the first message506until the UE502opens a RAR measurement window to monitor for the second message510sent from the base station504can be the same as the first delay period T1inFIG.4. Following successful reception and decoding of the second message510, the UE502may transmit an ACK or NACK after a second delay period that may be similar to the delay period T2inFIG.4when the UE502employs the timing indicated by the second message510. A timing adjustment may be performed when the UE502transmits the ACK or NACK, where the timing adjustment is in accordance with a timing advance value included in the received second message510. In the example described above with reference toFIG.3, the UE initially utilizes a RA-RNTI for the first and second messages. In the procedure described above with reference toFIG.5, the UE and base station can utilize a unique network identifier, or at least substantially unique network identifier associated with the UE (e.g., RNTI), for the ability to send a NACK when it is able to decode the PDCCH without decoding the message on the PDSCH, and to receive a retransmission of the message on the PDSCH. In at least one implementation, the UE502and base station504may generate a device-specific network identifier associated with the UE (e.g., TC-RNTI) based on an identity of the UE (UE ID). For example, the UE and base station may employ a predetermined number of bits of the UE identity (UE ID) as the device-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI) or to derive the device-specific network identifier. Referring again toFIG.5, when the UE502includes the UE ID, or at least a portion of the UE ID, in the first message506, the base station504can determine from the UE ID a device-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI) in the same manner that the UE502determines a device-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI) from the UE ID. In this way, both entities are aware of the device-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI) to be associated with the UE502. In at least one other implementation, the UE502and base station504can generate the device-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI) based on information associated with the resources utilized to send the first message506. For example, the resources utilized to send the first message506may include the transmission time, the frequency, the preamble sequence (e.g., the root, shifts), etc. The UE502and the base station504may employ information associated with one or more of these resource parameters to generate the device-specific network identifier (TC-RNTI) to be employed by the UE502as part of the random access procedure. In yet another implementation, the UE502and base station504can generate a UE-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI) based on a combination of at least a portion of the UE ID and one or more parameters associated with the resources selected for sending the first message506. For instance, the UE-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI) may be generated by mapping at least a portion of the UE ID and one or more parameters associated with the resources selected for sending the first message506. In such implementations, the resources for sending the first message506may be selected randomly, similar to the example described with reference toFIG.3. Alternatively, such implementations may include the one or more parameters for transmitting the first message506being selected based on a predetermined number of bits from the UE ID. Additional bits of the UE ID may also be transmitted in the first message506. Utilizing both the UE ID payload and one or more parameters associated with the resources utilized for sending the first message506, the UE502and base station504can map a UE-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI) that is unique to the UE502. With a unique or substantially unique network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI), the PDCCH for the second message510may be transmitted in either common search space or UE-specific search space of the PDCCH. Further, if the second message510is retransmitted in response to a NACK sent by the UE502to the base station504, the UE502can combine the new transmission with the previous transmission to improve performance. That is, the UE502can receive the first transmission of the second message510and save in memory the message on the PDSCH received in that first transmission of the second message510, even though the UE502was unable to decode the message (e.g., the CRC fails in the first transmission). The UE502can then receive a second transmission of the message on the PDSCH of the second message510and can combine the message on the PDSCH in the second transmission with the message that was stored from the first transmission to improve the decoding of the second message510at the UE510. According to aspects of the present disclosure, when the base station504transmits the second message510, but receives a retransmission of the first message506, the base station504is informed that the UE502failed to decode the PDCCH. In response, the base station504may retransmit the PDCCH with increased resources or a lower coding rate. According to aspects of the present disclosure, scheduling entities and scheduled entities are adapted to facilitate the two-step random access procedure described herein.FIG.7is a block diagram illustrating select components of a scheduling entity700employing a processing system702according to at least one example of the present disclosure. In this example, the processing system702is implemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus704. The bus704may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific application of the processing system702and the overall design constraints. The bus704communicatively couples together various circuits including one or more processors (represented generally by the processing circuit706), a memory708, and computer-readable media (represented generally by the storage medium710). The bus704may also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further. A bus interface712provides an interface between the bus704and a transceiver714. The transceiver714provides a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. Depending upon the nature of the apparatus, a user interface716(e.g., keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick) may also be provided. The processing circuit706is responsible for managing the bus704and general processing, including the execution of programming stored on the computer-readable storage medium710. The programming, when executed by the processing circuit706, causes the processing system702to perform the various functions described below for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable storage medium710and the memory708may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processing circuit706when executing programming. As used herein, the term “programming” shall be construed broadly to include without limitation instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. The processing circuit706is arranged to obtain, process and/or send data, control data access and storage, issue commands, and control other desired operations. The processing circuit706may include circuitry adapted to implement desired programming provided by appropriate media, and/or circuitry adapted to perform one or more functions described in this disclosure. For example, the processing circuit706may be implemented as one or more processors, one or more controllers, and/or other structure configured to execute executable programming and/or execute specific functions. Examples of the processing circuit706may include a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) and/or other programmable logic component, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may include a microprocessor, as well as any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processing circuit706may also be implemented as a combination of computing components, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a number of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, an ASIC and a microprocessor, or any other number of varying configurations. These examples of the processing circuit706are for illustration and other suitable configurations within the scope of the present disclosure are also contemplated. In some instances, the processing circuit706may include a random access circuit and/or module718. The random access circuit/module718may generally include circuitry and/or programming (e.g., programming stored on the storage medium710) adapted to perform a random access procedure at a scheduling entity according to one or more of the aspects for a two-step random access procedure described herein. As used herein, reference to circuitry and/or programming may be generally referred to as logic (e.g., logic gates and/or data structure logic). The storage medium710may represent one or more computer-readable devices for storing programming, such as processor executable code or instructions (e.g., software, firmware), electronic data, databases, or other digital information. The storage medium710may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processing circuit706when executing programming. The storage medium710may be any available non-transitory media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose processor, including portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, and various other mediums capable of storing, containing and/or carrying programming By way of example and not limitation, the storage medium710may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium such as a magnetic storage device (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical storage medium (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD)), a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive), random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, a removable disk, and/or other mediums for storing programming, as well as any combination thereof. The storage medium710may be coupled to the processing circuit706such that the processing circuit706can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium710. That is, the storage medium710can be coupled to the processing circuit706so that the storage medium710is at least accessible by the processing circuit706, including examples where the storage medium710is integral to the processing circuit706and/or examples where the storage medium710is separate from the processing circuit706(e.g., resident in the processing system702, external to the processing system702, distributed across multiple entities). Programming stored by the storage medium710, when executed by the processing circuit706, can cause the processing circuit706to perform one or more of the various functions and/or process steps described herein. In at least some examples, the storage medium710may include random access operations720. The random access operations720are generally adapted to cause the processing circuit706to perform a random access procedure according to one or more of the aspects of a two-step random access procedure described herein. Thus, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the processing circuit706for scheduling entity700is adapted to perform (independently or in conjunction with the storage medium710) any or all of the processes, functions, steps and/or routines for any or all of the scheduling entities described herein (e.g., base station110,112,114,118,504, UE138, quadcopter120, scheduling entity202). As used herein, the term “adapted” in relation to the processing circuit706may refer to the processing circuit706being one or more of configured, employed, implemented, and/or programmed (in conjunction with the storage medium710) to perform a particular process, function, step and/or routine according to various features described herein. FIG.8is a flow diagram illustrating a method operational on a scheduling entity, such as the scheduling entity700, according to at least one example. With reference toFIGS.7and8, the scheduling entity700may receive a first transmission from a scheduled entity for a random access procedure, at802. For example, the processing circuit706may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module718, random access operations720) to receive a first transmission via the transceiver714from a scheduled entity for a random access procedure. The received first transmission may include a PRACH preamble sequence and a first message including information for determining a device-specific network identifier for the scheduled entity. In one or more examples, the first message may further include a channel flag, a buffer status report (BSR), a scheduling request (SR), and/or other information. In at least one example, the information for determining the device-specific network identifier may include the UE identity (UE ID) for the scheduled entity. In at least one other example, the information for determining the device-specific network identifier may include one or more parameters associated with the resources utilized to send the first transmission. In yet another example, the information for determining the device-specific network identifier may include a combination of at least a portion of the UE identity (UE ID) and one or more parameters associated with the resources selected for sending the first transmission. At804, the scheduling entity700may detect the PRACH preamble sequence in the first transmission. For example, the processing circuit706may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module718, random access operations720) to detect the PRACH preamble sequence in the first transmission. At806, the scheduling entity700may decode the received first message. For example, the processing circuit706may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module718, random access operations720) to decode the received first message including the information for determining the device-specific network identifier for the scheduled entity. At808, the scheduling entity700may determine the device-specific network identifier for the scheduled entity based on the included information in the first message of the first transmission. For example, the processing circuit706may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module718, random access operations720) to determine the device-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI) based on the information for determining the device-specific network identifier included in the first transmission. As stated above, the information for determining the device-specific network identifier may include the UE identity (UE ID) for the scheduled entity. In such an implementation, the processing circuit706may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module718, random access operations720) to determine the device-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI) based on at least a portion of the received UE identity (UE ID). For example, the processing circuit706may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module718, random access operations720) to employ a predetermined number of bits of the UE identity (UE ID) as the device-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI) or to derive the device-specific network identifier. In another example, the information for determining the device-specific network identifier may include one or more parameters associated with the resources utilized to send the first transmission. For example, the resources utilized to send the first transmission may include the transmission time, the frequency, the preamble sequence (e.g., the root, shifts), etc. The processing circuit706may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module718, random access operations720) to employ information associated with one or more of these resource parameters to determine the device-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI). In yet another example, the information for determining the device-specific network identifier may include a combination of at least a portion of the UE identity (UE ID) and one or more parameters associated with the resources selected for sending the first transmission. For example, the processing circuit706may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module718, random access operations720) to determine the UE-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI) by mapping at least a portion of the UE ID and one or more parameters associated with the resources selected for sending the first transmission. Utilizing both the UE identity (UE ID) and one or more parameters associated with the resources utilized for sending the first transmission, the scheduling entity700can map a UE-specific network identifier (e.g., TC-RNTI) that is unique to the scheduled entity. In response to successfully detecting the PRACH preamble and decoding the first message in the first transmission, the scheduling entity700may transmit a second transmission including information on a PDCCH addressed to the device-specific network identifier for the scheduled entity, and a second message on a PDSCH, at810. For example, the processing circuit706may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module718, random access operations720) to transmit the second transmission via the transceiver714, including information on a PDCCH addressed to the device-specific network identifier for the scheduled entity, and a second message on the PDSCH. The second transmission may be sent in a common search space or a device-specific search space of the PDCCH. In at least one example, the information on the PDCCH may be addressed to the device-specific network identifier by including CRC bits that are scrambled with the UE-specific network identifier. The second message transmitted on the PDSCH may include content specific to the scheduled entity, such as an indication confirming the PRACH preamble, a timing advance value, a back-off indicator, a contention resolution message, a transmit power control (TPC) command, an uplink or downlink resource grant, and/or other information. In some implementations, the scheduling entity700may receive a retransmission of the first transmission from the scheduled entity after the scheduling entity700has sent the second transmission. In such instances, the scheduling entity700may transmit the second transmission a second time utilizing at least one of increased resources or a lower coding rate for the PDCCH. For example, the processing circuit706may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module718, random access operations720) to send the second transmission a second time with increased resources or a lower coding rate for the PDCCH in response to receiving the first transmission from the scheduled entity after previously sending the second transmission. Turing now toFIG.9, a block diagram is depicted illustrating select components of a scheduled entity900employing a processing system902according to at least one example of the present disclosure. Similar to the processing system702inFIG.7, the processing system902may be implemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus904. The bus904may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific application of the processing system902and the overall design constraints. The bus904communicatively couples various circuits including one or more processors (represented generally by the processing circuit906), a memory908, and computer-readable media (represented generally by the storage medium910). The bus904may also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further. A bus interface912provides an interface between the bus904and a transceiver914. The transceiver914provides a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. Depending upon the nature of the apparatus, a user interface916(e.g., keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick) may also be provided. The processing circuit906is responsible for managing the bus904and general processing, including the execution of programming stored on the computer-readable storage medium910. The programming, when executed by the processing circuit906, causes the processing system902to perform the various functions described below for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable storage medium910and the memory908may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processing circuit906when executing programming. The processing circuit906is arranged to obtain, process and/or send data, control data access and storage, issue commands, and control other desired operations. The processing circuit906may include circuitry adapted to implement desired programming provided by appropriate media in at least one example, and/or circuitry adapted to perform one or more functions described in this disclosure. The processing circuit906may be implemented and/or configured according to any of the examples of the processing circuit706described above. In some instances, the processing circuit906may include a random access circuit and/or module918. The random access circuit/module918may generally include circuitry and/or programming (e.g., programming stored on the storage medium910) adapted to perform a random access procedure at a scheduled entity according to one or more of the aspects for a two-step random access procedure described herein. As noted previously, reference to circuitry and/or programming may be generally referred to as logic (e.g., logic gates and/or data structure logic). The storage medium910may represent one or more computer-readable devices for storing programming, such as processor executable code or instructions (e.g., software, firmware), electronic data, databases, or other digital information. The storage medium910may be configured and/or implemented in a manner similar to the storage medium710described above. Programming stored by the storage medium910, when executed by the processing circuit906, can cause the processing circuit906to perform one or more of the various functions and/or process steps described herein. In at least some examples, the storage medium910may include random access operations920adapted to cause the processing circuit906to perform a random access procedure for a scheduled entity according to one or more of the aspects for a two-step random access procedure described herein. Thus, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the processing circuit906is adapted to perform (independently or in conjunction with the storage medium910) any or all of the processes, functions, steps and/or routines for any or all of the scheduled entities described herein (e.g., UE122,124,126,128,130,132,134,136,138,140,142, and502, scheduled entity204, scheduled entity900). As used herein, the term “adapted” in relation to the processing circuit906may refer to the processing circuit906being one or more of configured, employed, implemented, and/or programmed (in conjunction with the storage medium910) to perform a particular process, function, step and/or routine according to various features described herein. FIG.10is a flow diagram illustrating a method operational on a scheduled entity, such as the scheduled entity900, according to at least one example. With reference toFIGS.9and10, the scheduled entity900may transmit a first transmission for a random access procedure at1002. For example, the processing circuit906may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module918, random access operations920) to send the first transmission via the transceiver914. The first transmission may include a PRACH preamble sequence and a first message including information for determining a devices-specific network identifier for the scheduled entity900. In some examples, the first message may further include a channel flag, a buffer status report (BSR), a scheduling request (SR), and/or other information. In at least one example, the information for determining the device-specific network identifier may include the UE identity (UE ID) for the scheduled entity. In at least one other example, the information for determining the device-specific network identifier may include one or more parameters associated with the resources utilized to send the first transmission. In yet another example, the information for determining the device-specific network identifier may include a combination of at least a portion of the UE identity (UE ID) and one or more parameters associated with the resources selected for sending the first transmission. At1004, the scheduled entity900may receive a second transmission including a PDCCH addressed to the device-specific network identifier for the scheduled entity900and a second message on a PDSCH. For example, the processing circuit906may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module918, random access operations920) to receive the second transmission via the transceiver914. In some examples, the information on the PDCCH may include a CRC scrambled by the device-specific network identifier for the scheduled entity. In some examples, the second transmission may be received in either a common search space or a device-specific search space of the PDCCH. Further, the second message on the PDSCH may include on or more of an indication confirming the PRACH preamble, a timing advance value, a back-off indicator, a contention resolution message, a transmit power control (TPC) command, an uplink resource grant, a downlink resource grant, and/or other information. At1006, the scheduled entity900attempts to decode the second message on the PDSCH. For example, the processing circuit906may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module918, random access operations920) to decode the received second message on the PDSCH. If the scheduled entity900is successful in decoding the second message, the scheduled entity900may send an ACK to the scheduling entity at1008. On the other hand, if the scheduled entity900is not able to successfully decode the second message (e.g., the CRC fails), the scheduled entity900can save the second message at1010and can transmit an NACK at1012. For example, the processing circuit906may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module918, random access operations920) to save the second message to the memory908or to the storage medium910. Further, the processing circuit906may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module918, random access operations920) to transmit a NACK via the transceiver914to the scheduling entity. In response to the NACK, the scheduled entity900may receive a retransmission of the second message on the PDSCH at1014. With the retransmission of the second message, the scheduled entity900can once again attempt to decode the second message at1006. In some implementations, the scheduled entity900utilize the previously received and saved second message and the retransmitted second message to decode the second message. For example, the processing circuit906may include logic (e.g., random access circuit/module918, random access operations920) to combine the new transmission with the previous transmission to improve the decoding of the second message. An example of combining the previous transmission with the new transmission may include summing up the new transmission with the previous transmission that is saved before passing the transmission for decoding. By way of example, a summing up of the two transmissions may be performed utilizing a simple maximum ratio combining (MRC) technique. Several aspects of a wireless communication network have been presented with reference to an exemplary implementation. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout this disclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, network architectures and communication standards. By way of example, various aspects may be implemented within other systems defined by 3GPP, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), the Evolved Packet System (EPS), the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), and/or the Global System for Mobile (GSM). Various aspects may also be extended to systems defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), such as CDMA2000 and/or Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO). Other examples may be implemented within systems employing IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth, and/or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunication standard, network architecture, and/or communication standard employed will depend on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system. Within the present disclosure, the word “exemplary” is used to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation or aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of the disclosure. Likewise, the term “aspects” does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation. The term “coupled” is used herein to refer to the direct or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if object A physically touches object B, and object B touches object C, then objects A and C may still be considered coupled to one another—even if they do not directly physically touch each other. For instance, a first object may be coupled to a second object even though the first object is never directly physically in contact with the second object. The terms “circuit” and “circuitry” are used broadly, and intended to include both hardware implementations of electrical devices and conductors that, when connected and configured, enable the performance of the functions described in the present disclosure, without limitation as to the type of electronic circuits, as well as software implementations of information and instructions that, when executed by a processor, enable the performance of the functions described in the present disclosure. While the above discussed aspects, arrangements, and embodiments are discussed with specific details and particularity, one or more of the components, steps, features and/or functions illustrated inFIGS.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, and/or10may be rearranged and/or combined into a single component, step, feature or function or embodied in several components, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps, and/or functions may also be added or not utilized without departing from the present disclosure. The apparatus, devices and/or components illustrated inFIGS.1,2,7, and/or9may be configured to perform or employ one or more of the methods, features, parameters, and/or steps described inFIGS.3,4,5,6,8, and/or10. The novel algorithms described herein may also be efficiently implemented in software and/or embedded in hardware. It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless specifically recited therein. The various features associate with the examples described herein and shown in the accompanying drawings can be implemented in different examples and implementations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, although certain specific constructions and arrangements have been described and shown in the accompanying drawings, such embodiments are merely illustrative and not restrictive of the scope of the disclosure, since various other additions and modifications to, and deletions from, the described embodiments will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the scope of the disclosure is only determined by the literal language, and legal equivalents, of the claims which follow. | 58,004 |
11943808 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Frequencies outside of traditional new radio (NR) frequencies (e.g., outside of FR1 and FR2) may be of interest to implementers of NR equipment. For example, frequencies between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz may be of interest due to their proximity to 52.6 GHz (the FR2 upper bound) and/or because of the unlicensed nature of at least some of this spectrum (e.g., between 57 GHz and 71 GHz). These (or other) frequencies may be used to establish/host one or more channels (e.g., a bandwidth which can be used for signaling between devices) according to the transmission abilities of a wireless transmission system. Accordingly, a channel access mechanism for accessing/establishing channels this (or another) range of frequencies outside of FR1 and FR2 may be defined to allow implementers of NR equipment to configure their NR devices to use channels within this (or another) range of frequencies. For example, in some embodiments, the channel access mechanism may assume a beam based operation in order to comply with the regulatory requirements. For example, a channel access mechanism may be used to control access to, for example, a channel that is in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz range (or another range). This channel access mechanism may be configured to comply with regulatory requirements applicable to any unlicensed spectrum within this frequency range. The channel access mechanism may be specified for both listen before talk (LBT) and no-LBT related procedures. For the no-LBT case, no additional sensing mechanism may be specified. In some countries LBT procedures are mandated. In other countries there may not be an LBT mandate. Thus, both LBT and no-LBT should be supported. Further, it is anticipated that in NR systems, in many cases, a transmission may use multiple transmit (Tx) antennas. The multiple antennas may be used for omni-directional or directional beams. Thus, there is a need to specify whether the NR system is using omni-directional LBT or directional LBT. A NR system may provide transmission information via a plurality of methods. A Downlink Control Information (DCI) message is one way in which the NR system may provide information to a user equipment (UE). For example, a DCI format 2-0 may be used to indicate a slot format, indicate available resource block (RB) set, indicate channel occupancy time (COT) duration, and indicate a search space for UE power saving. Some embodiments herein expand the DCI format 2-0 to provide a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state indication. Additionally, embodiments herein may use higher level signaling, such as a system information block (SIB) message sent via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, to configure a TCI state indication parameter. FIG.1illustrates a base station (e.g., network node108a,108b, and108c) performing directional LBT and Omni LBT. In some embodiments, the LBT beam and transmission beam are explicitly associated. When (quasi)-omni-LBT is used for sensing, transmission can be any direction. When directional LBT is used for sensing, transmission beam should be linked to the LBT beam. WhileFIG.1illustrates a downlink channel transmission, if granted an uplink transmission COT may also be allocated. In the single direction scenario102, the network node108aperforms a directional LBT process in relation to a transmission to a UE on the intended transmission beam. Once the directional LBT process is performed, the network node108aacquires the channel in the direction of the intended transmission beam for a COT. In other words, the network node108amay limit its use of the channel attendant to this channel acquisition to the use of the intended transmission beam during the COT. After the network node108auses a directional LBT to acquire the channel in the direction of the intended transmission beam for a COT, the base station202may use the COT to perform one or more transmissions to the UE on the intended Tx beam. Similarly, in the multiple direction scenario104may use directional LBT in multiple directions in relation to transmissions to multiple UEs on multiple (respective) intended transmission beams. In one embodiment according, the network node108bperforms a directional LBT in relation to both a transmission to a first UE on the first intended transmission beam and a transmission to a second UE on the second intended Tx beam. After the network node108buses a directional LBT to acquire the channel in the direction of the first intended transmission beam and the second intended Tx beam for a COT, the network node108bmay use the COT to perform one or more transmissions to the first UE and the second UE. Additionally, the network node108cmay use the omni scenario106to perform an omni LBT process to communicate to multiple UE via an associated omni COT. After the network node108cuses an omni LBT to acquire the channels of the intended transmission beam for a COT, the base station202may use the COT to perform one or more transmissions to the UEs on the intended Tx beams. FIG.2is a simplified signal flow diagram200for determining a TCI state for a COT in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz range. The network node204may use higher layer signaling, such as RRC signaling, and DCI messages to configure a TCI state for a COT. In the illustrated embodiment, the network node204configures206a SIB to provide information to the UE202. The SIB may include LBT related parameters. For example, the network node204may set up LBT related parameters in an LBT configuration element. In some embodiments, the LBT configuration element may be named lbt-ConfigCommon. The LBT configuration element lbt-ConfigCommon may include a number of LBT related parameters. The LBT configuration element may include a parameter that indicates whether LBT or no LBT may be used. This parameter may depend on local regulations. The LBT configuration element may also include a parameter that indicates an LBT type. For example, the LBT type parameter may indicate whether to use directional, omni, or combination of both for LBT. Additionally, the LBT type parameter may indicate if receiver assisted is enabled or not. The LBT configuration element may also include parameters related to an LBT beam TCI state. For example, the TCI state information parameters may include a maximum LBT beam value. For example, the parameters may indicate that eight or four beams will be used depending on how wide the LBT beam will be. The parameters may also include a TCI state identifier and a Quasi co-location (QCL) type. The QCL type may be type A, type D, or both type A and type D. Additionally, the parameters may indicate a reference signal association (e.g., Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) or Channel-State Information reference signal (CSI-RS)). The mapping between the LBT beams and the reference signal may be one to one or one to many. In some embodiments, the TCI state can be the sensing beam TCI state, and the UE may derive a transmission TCI state of the COT based on an RRC configured sensing beam to transmission beam mapping. In some embodiments, the TCI state may be the transmission beam TCI state. In some embodiments, if the LBT configuration element is not configured in the SIB, the UE202and the network node204may use a default value. For example, in some embodiments the default value may correspond to omni LBT. In some embodiments, the LBT configuration can be transmitted using UE specific RRC message, e.g., lbt-ConfigDedicated. The network node204may transmit208the SIB to the UE202. When the UE202receives the SIB, the UE202may decode210the SIB to determine the LBT related parameters including the TCI state parameter. The network node204may configure212a DCI message such as a DCI Format 2-0. The DCI message indicating an enabled TCI state for a channel occupancy time (COT). The network node204may configure the DCI message to indicate the TCI state using a bit field. In some embodiments, if the default is omni sensing and if omni sensing is configured, there may be no bit field in the DCI message. If directional LBT is configured in SIB (e.g., lbt-ConfigCommon is configured) the network node204may configure the DCI message to indicate the TCI state. The DCI message may enable a bit field of maximum sensing TCI State enabled. The length of the bit field may correspond to the number of TCI states and indicate the enabled TCI states. In other words, which LBT beam direction is used in a sensing period, the corresponding TCI State may be indicated for this COT using the bit field. When used together with a unified TCI State framework, the indicated COT TCI State may be applied to Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), and CSI-RS/Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). In some embodiments, if only one TCI is activated by higher layer signaling (e.g., SIB), UE202may apply the TCI directly and TCI in DCI may not be present. If both directional LBT and omni LBT are configured in SIB, (e.g., configured in lbt-ConfigCommon), the network node204may enable a bit field in the DCI message for the maximum TCI state plus another one bit for omni LBT. In some embodiments, one default value of TCI in the bit field of the DCI may indicate omni LBT. In some embodiments, if omni sensing is performed before the COT, omni LBT bit may be set to 1, and the other bit field for directional LBT may be ignored. In some embodiments, if directional sensing is performed before the COT, omni LBT bit may be set to zero and the LBT beam corresponding the TCI bit in the bit field for directional LBT is set to 1. In some embodiments, a medium access control element (MAC CE) can be used to enable the LBT configuration signaled in SIB. In some embodiments the MAC CE may be used in place of the DCI message. In other embodiments, the network node204may use a combination of the DCI format and the MAC CE to enable the LBT configuration signaled in SIB. The TCI state signaled in the DCI message may be used to indirectly or directly indicate the transmission beam. For example, in one embodiment, the DCI message can indicate an LBT beam (sensing beam direction) and the UE202may derive transmission beam by associated sensing beam to reference signal association. Thus, the UE202may determine the transmission beam direction indirectly. In another embodiment, the DCI message can directly indicate the transmission beam TCI state. The UE202may decode216the DCI message and determine the enabled TCI state for the COT. The network node204may enable 218 the TCI state for the COT to facilitate data transmissions. The DCI message (e.g., DCI format 2-0) may also be applied to LBT in multiple component carriers (CCs) in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz range. To send the DCI message, a clear channel assessment (CCA) may be performed. The CCA may be used to determine whether to allow the wireless transmission system to access the channel. Generally, if the wireless transmission system finds an Operating Channel occupied, the network may not transmit in that channel and it shall not enable other equipment(s) to transmit in that channel. Conversely, the wireless transmission system may use the CCs if it is determined that the CCs are not occupied. The LBT procedure for CCA on multiple CCs may be one of two types. Accordingly, the bit field indicating TCI state of the DCI message may be different based on the type of LBT procedure. A first type of LBT procedure may be supported by the bit field300ainFIG.3Aand a second type of LBT procedure may be supported by the bit field300binFIG.3B. FIG.3Aillustrates a bit field300athat may be used in a DCI for type one LBT in multiple CCs. In type one, the network node picks one random CC of the multiple CCs and then performs the LBT procedure for CCA on that one random CC. If the random CC is determined to be clear, transmission on all of the multiple CCs can proceed after one shot LBT on other CC. Accordingly, the network node may configure and transmit a DCI message (e.g., DCI Format 2-0). The DCI message may be sent in any of the CCs. For example, the DCI message may be sent in the random CC that succeeded the LBT CCA procedure. The DCI message may indicate a COT TCI state (omni or directional) to apply to all the CCs. For example, a DCI format 2-0 message may include the bit field300aindicating the TCI state. The bit field may include an omni bit302and bits associated with each potential TCI state configured in an SIB. The bits in the bit field300amay indicate what COT TCI state is enabled. The COT TCI state enabled by the bit field300amay be applied to all the CCs not just the CC that the DCI message is sent in. For this first type of LBT procedure, a UE receiving a DCI message including the bit field300amay decode the DCI message to determine the TCI state indicated in the bit field300a. If directional LBT is enabled and the TCI state indicated by the DCI message is not included in UE's active TCI state list as configured by a SIB via RRC signaling, the UE can skip monitoring the COT for UE power saving. The UE may also freeze an LBT counter to avoid contending radio resource and cause interference to the network node. For example, the UE may set network allocation vector (NAV) timers. In some embodiments, when multiple band groups are configured, a similar LBT procedure may be performed. For example, a random CC can be chosen from a CC list configured by higher layer signaling. A random CC may be chosen per band or band group. If the random CC is clear than all the CCs within the band can be used for transmission. The DCI message including the bit field300amay be used to indicate an enabled COT TCI state (omni or directional) for all of the CCs, the CCs in a band, or the CCs in a band group. FIG.3Billustrates a bit field300bthat may be used in a DCI for type two LBT in multiple CCs. In type two, the network node performs the LBT CCA procedure independently. This may result in different combinations of LBT beams based on which CC are determined to be clear and not clear. In some embodiments, the network node may send a DCI message comprising the TCI state indication in every CC that succeeds the LBT CCA procedure. Each DCI message may be individualized for a specific CC. Accordingly, the TCI state indication in the DCI message would apply only to the associated CC. A bit field similar to the bit field300ainFIG.3Bmay be used and sent in every CC. In other embodiments, the DCI message may be sent to one CC of the CCs that are cleared. The DCI message may be a define a cell group listing and a TCI state indication for each cell group. For example, the DCI message may include a bit field300bthat includes TCI state bits and an omni bit for each Scell group. For this second type of LBT procedure, a UE receiving the DCI message may monitor the corresponding CC with either omni LBT or TCI State indicated by the DCI message as included in UE's active TCI State list. Additionally, the UE may set NAV timers. In some embodiments, the TCI state procedures discussed herein may be applied to multiple transmission and reception points (mTRP) enabled wireless communication systems. When mTRP is enabled in the frequency band of 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz range, CCA sensing procedure in mTRP may be one of two types. A first type of CCA sensing for mTRP may randomly choose one transmission and reception point (TRP) and perform the CCA LBT procedure. Upon finishing the CCA LBT procedure in one TRP transmission from each of the TRPs can start. This first type of CCA sensing may only apply to omni LBT. A second CCA sensing type for mTRP may include performing the CCA LBT procedure on each of the TRPs. The mTRP enabled system can coordinate the starting time of the CCA LBT procedure and the random number of slots used for sensing. If the CCA LBT procedures for both mTRP finish the at the same time, a DCI message (e.g., DCI Format 2-0) may be used to signal the TCI State used in LBT sensing for both TRP. The network can freeze the LBT counter if one or both TRP is busy, to ensure synchronized mTRP transmission. Async mTRP may not supported in certain MIMO design. If one TRP start transmission and the other TRP is still in the LBT procedure, COT may not be initiated independently from the other TRP. FIG.4is a simplified signal flow diagram400for determining a TCI state for an uplink (UL) COT in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz range for uplink dynamic grant (DG) transmission. As shown, the UE402transmits a scheduling request406to the network node404. The network node404may configure408an uplink DCI410. The UL DCI can explicitly indicate a sensing beam (directional or omni) for the DG PUSCH414. For example, the uplink DCI410may include a new bit indicating the sensing beam. The UE may decode412the UL DCI to determine a TCI state for the UL COT. If the sensing beam is explicitly indicated, the UE402uses the indicated beam to transmit the DG PUSCH414. If the bit is not configured in the UL DCI410, the UE402may cause the UL COT beam sensing to follow a current active TCI state used in beam management. FIG.5is a simplified signal flow diagram500for determining a TCI state for an uplink (UL) COT in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz range for UL configured grant (CG) transmission. As shown, the network node504may configure506and transmit508to the UE502an RRC configuration message. The RRC configuration message for CG (e.g., ConfiguredGrantConfig) may indicate whether the UE502is to perform directional LBT, omni LBT, or if it is up to the UE to acquire CG COT. The UE502may decode510the RRC configuration message to determine the TCI state. If the RRC configuration message indicates that a directional LBT, UE502may perform directional LBT with specific Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) and beam direction for the transmission burst, using current active TCI State indicated in the RRC configuration message. If the RRC configuration message indicates omni LBT, the UE502may perform omni LBT. Omni LBT may be a default such that if directional LBT is not indicated in the RRC configuration, the UE performs omni LBT. In some embodiments, the sensing beam and/or transmission beam direction may be signaled via a CG-Uplink Control Information (UCI). The UE may transmit512the CG-UCI on a CG PUSCH. The CG-UCI content may include HARQ ID, new data indicator (NDI), redundancy version (RV), and COT sharing information. The COT sharing information may include COT duration and offset, and a TCI state. The network node504may share the COT sharing information in the CG-UCI for PDCCH/PDSCH transmission within the TCI State. FIG.6illustrates an example architecture of a system600of a network, in accordance with various embodiments. The following description is provided for an example system600that operates in conjunction with the LTE system standards and 5G or NR system standards as provided by 3GPP technical specifications. However, the example embodiments are not limited in this regard and the described embodiments may apply to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems (e.g., Sixth Generation (6G)) systems, IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), or the like. As shown byFIG.6, the system600includes UE622and UE620. In this example, the UE622and the UE620are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks), but may also comprise any mobile or non-mobile computing device. In some embodiments, the UE622and/or the UE620may be IoT UEs, which may comprise a network access layer designed for low power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. The UE622and UE620may be configured to connect, for example, communicatively couple, with an access node or radio access node (shown as (R)AN608). In embodiments, the (R)AN608may be an NG RAN or a SG RAN, an E-UTRAN, or a legacy RAN, such as a UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, the term “NG RAN” or the like may refer to a (R)AN608that operates in an NR or SG system, and the term “E-UTRAN” or the like may refer to a (R)AN608that operates in an LTE or 4G system. The UE622and UE620utilize connections (or channels) (shown as connection604and connection602, respectively), each of which comprises a physical communications interface or layer (discussed in further detail below). In this example, the connection604and connection602are air interfaces to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols, such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a PTT protocol, a POC protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, a SG protocol, a NR protocol, and/or any of the other communications protocols discussed herein. In embodiments, the UE622and UE620may directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface610. The ProSe interface610may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink (SL) interface110and may comprise one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a PSCCH, a PSSCH, a PSDCH, and a PSBCH. The UE620is shown to be configured to access an AP612(also referred to as “WLAN node,” “WLAN,” “WLAN Termination,” “WT” or the like) via connection624. The connection624can comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein the AP612would comprise a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi®) router. In this example, the AP612may be connected to the Internet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below). The (R)AN608can include one or more AN nodes, such as RAN node614and RAN node616, that enable the connection604and connection602. As used herein, the terms “access node,” “access point,” or the like may describe equipment that provides the radio baseband functions for data and/or voice connectivity between a network and one or more users. These access nodes can be referred to as BS, gNBs, RAN nodes, eNBs, NodeBs, RSUs TRxPs or TRPs, and so forth, and can comprise ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providing coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, the term “NG RAN node” or the like may refer to a RAN node that operates in an NR or SG system (for example, a gNB), and the term “E-UTRAN node” or the like may refer to a RAN node that operates in an LTE or 4G system600(e.g., an eNB). According to various embodiments, the RAN node614or RAN node616may be implemented as one or more of a dedicated physical device such as a macrocell base station, and/or a low power (LP) base station for providing femtocells, picocells or other like cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells. According to various embodiments, the UE622and UE620and the RAN node614and/or the RAN node616communicate data (for example, transmit and receive) over a licensed medium (also referred to as the “licensed spectrum” and/or the “licensed band”) and an unlicensed shared medium (also referred to as the “unlicensed spectrum” and/or the “unlicensed band”). The licensed spectrum may include channels that operate in the frequency range of approximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, whereas the unlicensed spectrum may include the 5 GHz band. To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the UE622and UE620and the RAN node614or RAN node616may operate using LAA, eLAA, and/or feLAA mechanisms. In these implementations, the UE622and UE620and the RAN node614or RAN node616may perform one or more known medium-sensing operations and/or carrier-sensing operations in order to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum is unavailable or otherwise occupied prior to transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. The medium/carrier sensing operations may be performed according to a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol. LBT is a mechanism whereby equipment (for example, UE622and UE620, RAN node614or RAN node616, etc.) senses a medium (for example, a channel or carrier frequency) and transmits when the medium is sensed to be idle (or when a specific channel in the medium is sensed to be unoccupied). The medium sensing operation may include CCA, which utilizes at least ED to determine the presence or absence of other signals on a channel in order to determine if a channel is occupied or clear. This LBT mechanism allows cellular/LAA networks to coexist with incumbent systems in the unlicensed spectrum and with other LAA networks. ED may include sensing RF energy across an intended transmission band for a period of time and comparing the sensed RF energy to a predefined or configured threshold. Typically, the incumbent systems in the 5 GHz band are WLANs based on IEEE 802.11 technologies. WLAN employs a contention-based channel access mechanism, called CSMA/CA Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS) such as UE622, AP612, or the like) intends to transmit, the WLAN node may first perform CCA before transmission. Additionally, a backoff mechanism is used to avoid collisions in situations where more than one WLAN node senses the channel as idle and transmits at the same time. The backoff mechanism may be a counter that is drawn randomly within the CWS, which is increased exponentially upon the occurrence of collision and reset to a minimum value when the transmission succeeds. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to the CSMA/CA of WLAN. In some implementations, the LBT procedure for DL or UL transmission bursts including PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions, respectively, may have an LAA contention window that is variable in length between X and Y ECCA slots, where X and Y are minimum and maximum values for the CWSs for LAA. In one example, the minimum CWS for an LAA transmission may be 9 microseconds (μs); however, the size of the CWS and a MCOT (for example, a transmission burst) may be based on governmental regulatory requirements. The LAA mechanisms are built upon CA technologies of LTE-Advanced systems. In CA, each aggregated carrier is referred to as a CC. A CC may have a bandwidth of 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 20 MHz and a maximum of five CCs can be aggregated, and therefore, a maximum aggregated bandwidth is 100 MHz. In FDD systems, the number of aggregated carriers can be different for DL and UL, where the number of UL CCs is equal to or lower than the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, individual CCs can have a different bandwidth than other CCs. In TDD systems, the number of CCs as well as the bandwidths of each CC is usually the same for DL and UL. CA also comprises individual serving cells to provide individual CCs. The coverage of the serving cells may differ, for example, because CCs on different frequency bands will experience different pathloss. A primary service cell or PCell may provide a PCC for both UL and DL, and may handle RRC and NAS related activities. The other serving cells are referred to as SCells, and each SCell may provide an individual SCC for both UL and DL. The SCCs may be added and removed as required, while changing the PCC may require the UE622to undergo a handover. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCells may operate in the unlicensed spectrum (referred to as “LAA SCells”), and the LAA SCells are assisted by a PCell operating in the licensed spectrum. When a UE is configured with more than one LAA SCell, the UE may receive UL grants on the configured LAA SCells indicating different PUSCH starting positions within a same subframe. The PDSCH carries user data and higher-layer signaling to the UE622and UE620. The PDCCH carries information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It may also inform the UE622and UE620about the transport format, resource allocation, and HARQ information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE620within a cell) may be performed at any of the RAN node614or RAN node616based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UE622and UE620. The downlink resource assignment information may be sent on the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UE622and UE620. The PDCCH uses CCEs to convey the control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets, which may then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as REGs. Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of the DCI and the channel condition. There can be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1, 2, 4, or 8). Some embodiments may use concepts for resource allocation for control channel information that are an extension of the above-described concepts. For example, some embodiments may utilize an EPDCCH that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more ECCEs. Similar to above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as an EREGs. An ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs in some situations. The RAN node614or RAN node616may be configured to communicate with one another via interface630. In embodiments where the system600is a SG or NR system (e.g., when CN606is an SGC), the interface630may be an Xn interface. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes (e.g., two or more gNBs and the like) that connect to SGC, between a RAN node614(e.g., a gNB) connecting to SGC and an eNB, and/or between two eNBs connecting to 5GC (e.g., CN606). In some implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support/provide data forwarding and flow control functionality. The Xn-C may provide management and error handling functionality, functionality to manage the Xn-C interface; mobility support for UE622in a connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED) including functionality to manage the UE mobility for connected mode between one or more RAN node614or RAN node616. The mobility support may include context transfer from an old (source) serving RAN node614to new (target) serving RAN node616; and control of user plane tunnels between old (source) serving RAN node614to new (target) serving RAN node616. A protocol stack of the Xn-U may include a transport network layer built on Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer on top of a UDP and/or IP layer(s) to carry user plane PDUs. The Xn-C protocol stack may include an application layer signaling protocol (referred to as Xn Application Protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer that is built on SCTP. The SCTP may be on top of an IP layer, and may provide the guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transport IP layer, point-to-point transmission is used to deliver the signaling PDUs. In other implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and/or the Xn-C protocol stack may be same or similar to the user plane and/or control plane protocol stack(s) shown and described herein. The (R)AN608is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network-in this embodiment, CN606. The CN606may comprise one or more network elements632, which are configured to offer various data and telecommunications services to customers/subscribers (e.g., users of UE622and UE620) who are connected to the CN606via the (R)AN608. The components of the CN606may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes including components to read and execute instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In some embodiments, NFV may be utilized to virtualize any or all of the above-described network node functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage mediums (described in further detail below). A logical instantiation of the CN606may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN606may be referred to as a network sub-slice. NFV architectures and infrastructures may be used to virtualize one or more network functions, alternatively performed by proprietary hardware, onto physical resources comprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches. In other words, NFV systems can be used to execute virtual or reconfigurable implementations of one or more EPC components/functions. Generally, an application server618may be an element offering applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS PS domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). The application server618can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UE622and UE620via the EPC. The application server618may communicate with the CN606through an IP communications interface636. In embodiments, the CN606may be an SGC, and the (R)AN116may be connected with the CN606via an NG interface634. In embodiments, the NG interface634may be split into two parts, an NG user plane (NG-U) interface626, which carries traffic data between the RAN node614or RAN node616and a UPF, and the S1 control plane (NG-C) interface628, which is a signaling interface between the RAN node614or RAN node616and AMFs. In embodiments, the CN606may be a SG CN, while in other embodiments, the CN606may be an EPC). Where CN606is an EPC, the (R)AN116may be connected with the CN606via an S1 interface634. In embodiments, the S1 interface634may be split into two parts, an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface626, which carries traffic data between the RAN node614or RAN node616and the S-GW, and the S1-MME interface628, which is a signaling interface between the RAN node614or RAN node616and MMEs. FIG.7illustrates an example of infrastructure equipment700in accordance with various embodiments. The infrastructure equipment700may be implemented as a base station, radio head, RAN node, AN, application server, and/or any other element/device discussed herein. In other examples, the infrastructure equipment700could be implemented in or by a UE. The infrastructure equipment700includes application circuitry702, baseband circuitry704, one or more radio front end module706(RFEM), memory circuitry708, power management integrated circuitry (shown as PMIC710), power tee circuitry712, network controller circuitry714, network interface connector720, satellite positioning circuitry716, and user interface circuitry718. In some embodiments, the device infrastructure equipment700may include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, or input/output (I/O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device. For example, said circuitries may be separately included in more than one device for CRAN, vBBU, or other like implementations. Application circuitry702includes circuitry such as, but not limited to one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of low drop-out voltage regulators (LDOs), interrupt controllers, serial interfaces such as SPI, I2C or universal programmable serial interface module, real time clock (RTC), timer-counters including interval and watchdog timers, general purpose input/output (I/O or IO), memory card controllers such as Secure Digital (SD) MultiMediaCard (MMC) or similar, Universal Serial Bus (USB) interfaces, Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) interfaces and Joint Test Access Group (JTAG) test access ports. The processors (or cores) of the application circuitry702may be coupled with or may include memory/storage elements and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the infrastructure equipment700. In some implementations, the memory/storage elements may be on-chip memory circuitry, which may include any suitable volatile and/or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash memory, solid-state memory, and/or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein. The processor(s) of application circuitry702may include, for example, one or more processor cores (CPUs), one or more application processors, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISC Machine (ARM) processors, one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSP), one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. In some implementations, the application circuitry702may include one or more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, or the like. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and/or deep learning (DL) accelerators. As examples, the programmable processing devices may be one or more a field-programmable devices (FPDs) such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and the like; programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), and the like; ASICs such as structured ASICs and the like; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and the like. In such implementations, the circuitry of application circuitry702may comprise logic blocks or logic fabric, and other interconnected resources that may be programmed to perform various functions, such as the procedures, methods, functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuitry702may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuses, etc.)) used to store logic blocks, logic fabric, data, etc. in look-up-tables (LUTs) and the like. The baseband circuitry704may be implemented, for example, as a solder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. The user interface circuitry718may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with the infrastructure equipment700or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interaction with the infrastructure equipment700. User interfaces may include, but are not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, speakers or other audio emitting devices, microphones, a printer, a scanner, a headset, a display screen or display device, etc. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a nonvolatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power supply interface, etc. The radio front end module706may comprise a millimeter wave (mmWave) radio front end module (RFEM) and one or more sub-mmWave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-mmWave RFICs may be physically separated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFICs may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays, and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both mmWave and sub-mmWave radio functions may be implemented in the same physical radio front end module706, which incorporates both mmWave antennas and sub-mmWave. The memory circuitry708may include one or more of volatile memory including dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and/or synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and nonvolatile memory (NVM) including high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as Flash memory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc., and may incorporate the three-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memories from Intel® and Micron®. The memory circuitry708may be implemented as one or more of solder down packaged integrated circuits, socketed memory modules and plug-in memory cards. The PMIC710may include voltage regulators, surge protectors, power alarm detection circuitry, and one or more backup power sources such as a battery or capacitor. The power alarm detection circuitry may detect one or more of brown out (under-voltage) and surge (over-voltage) conditions. The power tee circuitry712may provide for electrical power drawn from a network cable to provide both power supply and data connectivity to the infrastructure equipment700using a single cable. The network controller circuitry714may provide connectivity to a network using a standard network interface protocol such as Ethernet, Ethernet over GRE Tunnels, Ethernet over Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may be provided to/from the infrastructure equipment700via network interface connector720using a physical connection, which may be electrical (commonly referred to as a “copper interconnect”), optical, or wireless. The network controller circuitry714may include one or more dedicated processors and/or FPGAs to communicate using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the network controller circuitry714may include multiple controllers to provide connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols. The positioning circuitry716includes circuitry to receive and decode signals transmitted/broadcasted by a positioning network of a global navigation satellite system. FIG.8illustrates an example of a platform800in accordance with various embodiments. In embodiments, the computer platform800may be suitable for use as UEs, application servers, and/or any other element/device discussed herein. The platform800may include any combinations of the components shown in the example. The components of platform800may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions thereof, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof adapted in the computer platform800, or as components otherwise incorporated within a chassis of a larger system. The block diagram ofFIG.8is intended to show a high level view of components of the computer platform800. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangement of the components shown may occur in other implementations. Application circuitry802includes circuitry such as, but not limited to one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of LDOs, interrupt controllers, serial interfaces such as SPI, I2C or universal programmable serial interface module, RTC, timer-counters including interval and watchdog timers, general purpose IO, memory card controllers such as SD MMC or similar, USB interfaces, MIPI interfaces, and JTAG test access ports. The processors (or cores) of the application circuitry802may be coupled with or may include memory/storage elements and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the platform800. In some implementations, the memory/storage elements may be on-chip memory circuitry, which may include any suitable volatile and/or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash memory, solid-state memory, and/or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein. The processor(s) of application circuitry802may include, for example, one or more processor cores, one or more application processors, one or more GPUs, one or more RISC processors, one or more ARM processors, one or more CISC processors, one or more DSP, one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, a multithreaded processor, an ultra-low voltage processor, an embedded processor, some other known processing element, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuitry802may comprise, or may be, a special-purpose processor/controller to operate according to the various embodiments herein. Additionally or alternatively, application circuitry802may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more a field-programmable devices (FPDs) such as FPGAs and the like; programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), and the like; ASICs such as structured ASICs and the like; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and the like. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuitry802may comprise logic blocks or logic fabric, and other interconnected resources that may be programmed to perform various functions, such as the procedures, methods, functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuitry802may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuses, etc.)) used to store logic blocks, logic fabric, data, etc. in look-up tables (LUTs) and the like. The baseband circuitry804may be implemented, for example, as a solder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. The radio front end module806may comprise a millimeter wave (mmWave) radio front end module (RFEM) and one or more sub-mmWave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-mmWave RFICs may be physically separated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFICs may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays, and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both mmWave and sub-mmWave radio functions may be implemented in the same physical radio front end module806, which incorporates both mmWave antennas and sub-mmWave. The memory circuitry808may include any number and type of memory devices used to provide for a given amount of system memory. As examples, the memory circuitry808may include one or more of volatile memory including random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM) and/or synchronous dynamic RAM (SD RAM), and nonvolatile memory (NVM) including high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as Flash memory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc. The memory circuitry808may be developed in accordance with a Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council (JEDEC) low power double data rate (LPDDR)-based design, such as LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, or the like. Memory circuitry808may be implemented as one or more of solder down packaged integrated circuits, single die package (SDP), dual die package (DDP) or quad die package (Q17P), socketed memory modules, dual inline memory modules (DIMMs) including microDIMMs or MiniDIMMs, and/or soldered onto a motherboard via a ball grid array (BGA). In low power implementations, the memory circuitry808may be on-die memory or registers associated with the application circuitry802. To provide for persistent storage of information such as data, applications, operating systems and so forth, memory circuitry808may include one or more mass storage devices, which may include, inter alia, a solid state disk drive (SSDD), hard disk drive (HDD), a microHDD, resistance change memories, phase change memories, holographic memories, or chemical memories, among others. For example, the computer platform800may incorporate the three-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memories from Intel® and Micron®. The removable memory826may include devices, circuitry, enclosures/housings, ports or receptacles, etc. used to couple portable data storage devices with the platform800. These portable data storage devices may be used for mass storage purposes, and may include, for example, flash memory cards (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards, microSD cards, xD picture cards, and the like), and USB flash drives, optical discs, external HDDs, and the like. The platform800may also include interface circuitry (not shown) that is used to connect external devices with the platform800. The external devices connected to the platform800via the interface circuitry include sensors822and electro-mechanical components (shown as EMCs824), as well as removable memory devices coupled to removable memory826. The sensors822include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and send the information (sensor data) about the detected events to some other a device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, inter alia, inertia measurement units (IMUs) comprising accelerometers, gyroscopes, and/or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) comprising 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes, and/or magnetometers; level sensors; flow sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors; barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless apertures); light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared radiation detector and the like), depth sensors, ambient light sensors, ultrasonic transceivers; microphones or other like audio capture devices; etc. EMCs824include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to enable platform800to change its state, position, and/or orientation, or move or control a mechanism or (sub)system. Additionally, EMCs824may be configured to generate and send messages/signaling to other components of the platform800to indicate a current state of the EMCs824. Examples of the EMCs824include one or more power switches, relays including electromechanical relays (EMRs) and/or solid state relays (SSRs), actuators (e.g., valve actuators, etc.), an audible sound generator, a visual warning device, motors (e.g., DC motors, stepper motors, etc.), wheels, thrusters, propellers, claws, clamps, hooks, and/or other like electro-mechanical components. In embodiments, platform800is configured to operate one or more EMCs824based on one or more captured events and/or instructions or control signals received from a service provider and/or various clients. In some implementations, the interface circuitry may connect the platform800with positioning circuitry816. In some implementations, the interface circuitry may connect the platform800with Near-Field Communication circuitry (shown as NFC circuitry812). The NFC circuitry812is configured to provide contactless, short-range communications based on radio frequency identification (RFID) standards, wherein magnetic field induction is used to enable communication between NFC circuitry812and NFC-enabled devices external to the platform800(e.g., an “NFC touchpoint”). The driver circuitry818may include software and hardware elements that operate to control particular devices that are embedded in the platform800, attached to the platform800, or otherwise communicatively coupled with the platform800. The driver circuitry818may include individual drivers allowing other components of the platform800to interact with or control various input/output (I/O) devices that may be present within, or connected to, the platform800. For example, driver circuitry818may include a display driver to control and allow access to a display device, a touchscreen driver to control and allow access to a touchscreen interface of the platform800, sensor drivers to obtain sensor readings of sensors822and control and allow access to sensors822, EMC drivers to obtain actuator positions of the EMCs824and/or control and allow access to the EMCs824, a camera driver to control and allow access to an embedded image capture device, audio drivers to control and allow access to one or more audio devices. The power management integrated circuitry (shown as PMIC810) (also referred to as “power management circuitry”) may manage power provided to various components of the platform800. In particular, with respect to the baseband circuitry804, the PMIC810may control power-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion. The PMIC810may often be included when the platform800is capable of being powered by a battery814, for example, when the device is included in a UE. In some embodiments, the PMIC810may control, or otherwise be part of, various power saving mechanisms of the platform800. For example, if the platform800is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected to the RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the platform800may power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, then the platform800may transition off to an RRC Idle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The platform800goes into a very low power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The platform800may not receive data in this state; in order to receive data, it must transition back to RRC_Connected state. An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totally unreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay is acceptable. A battery814may power the platform800, although in some examples the platform800may be mounted deployed in a fixed location, and may have a power supply coupled to an electrical grid. The battery814may be a lithium ion battery, a metal-air battery, such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, and the like. In some implementations, such as in V2X applications, the battery814may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery. In some implementations, the battery814may be a “smart battery,” which includes or is coupled with a Battery Management System (BMS) or battery monitoring integrated circuitry. The BMS may be included in the platform800to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery814. A power block, or other power supply coupled to an electrical grid may be coupled with the BMS to charge the battery814. In some examples, the power block may be replaced with a wireless power receiver to obtain the power wirelessly, for example, through a loop antenna in the computer platform800. In these examples, a wireless battery charging circuit may be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuits chosen may depend on the size of the battery814, and thus, the current required. The charging may be performed using the Airfuel standard promulgated by the Airfuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standard promulgated by the Wireless Power Consortium, or the Rezence charging standard promulgated by the Alliance for Wireless Power, among others. User interface circuitry820includes various input/output (I/O) devices present within, or connected to, the platform800, and includes one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with the platform800and/or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interaction with the platform800. The user interface circuitry820includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting an input including, inter alia, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, keypad, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, microphones, scanner, headset, and/or the like. The output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for showing information or otherwise conveying information, such as sensor readings, actuator position(s), or other like information. Output device circuitry may include any number and/or combinations of audio or visual display, including, inter alia, one or more simple visual outputs/indicators such as binary status indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs such as display devices or touchscreens (e.g., Liquid Chrystal Displays (LCD), LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), with the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, and the like being generated or produced from the operation of the platform800. The output device circuitry may also include speakers or other audio emitting devices, printer(s), and/or the like. In some embodiments, the sensors822may be used as the input device circuitry (e.g., an image capture device, motion capture device, or the like) and one or more EMCs may be used as the output device circuitry (e.g., an actuator to provide haptic feedback or the like). In another example, NFC circuitry comprising an NFC controller coupled with an antenna element and a processing device may be included to read electronic tags and/or connect with another NFC-enabled device. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a USB port, an audio jack, a power supply interface, etc. Although not shown, the components of platform800may communicate with one another using a suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technology, which may include any number of technologies, including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCix, PCie, a Time-Trigger Protocol (TTP) system, a FlexRay system, or any number of other technologies. The bus/IX may be a proprietary bus/IX, for example, used in a SoC based system. Other bus/IX systems may be included, such as an I2C interface, an SPI interface, point-to-point interfaces, and a power bus, among others. For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and/or methods as set forth in the Example Section below. For example, the baseband circuitry as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below. For another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below in the example section. EXAMPLE SECTION The following examples pertain to further embodiments. Example 1 is a method for a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving a system information block (SIB) via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the SIB comprising a listen before talk (LBT) configuration element, the LBT configuration element including a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state parameter indicating potential TCI states; receiving a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, the DCI message indicating an enabled TCI state for a channel occupancy time (COT), the enabled TCI state associated with one of the potential TCI states; decoding the DCI message and determining the enabled TCI state for the COT; and applying the enabled TCI state for the COT as indicated in the DCI message. Example 2 is the method of Example 1, wherein the LBT configuration element is for a frequency range comprising 52.6 gigahertz (GHz) to 71 GHz. Example 3 is the method of Example 1, wherein the LBT configuration element includes parameters indicating LBT or no LBT, omni or directional LBT, and LBT beam TCI state information. Example 4 is the method of Example 3, wherein the LBT beam TCI state information includes maximum number of LBT beams, TCI state ID, QCL type, reference signal association and default LBT beam configuration. Example 5 is the method of Example 1, wherein the DCI message is a DCI Format 2-0 message. Example 6 is the method of Example 1, wherein determining the enabled TCI state for the COT comprises determining that the enabled TCI state is omni when there is no bit field in the DCI message associated with the enabled TCI state. Example 7 is the method of Example 1, wherein the DCI message comprises a bit field a size of a maximum TCI state, wherein the bit field indicates the enabled TCI state. Example 8 is the method of Example 5, wherein the enabled TCI state is the sensing beam TCI state, and wherein the method further comprises deriving a transmission TCI state of the COT based on an RRC configured sensing beam to transmission beam mapping. Example 9 is the method of Example 5, wherein the enabled TCI state is the transmission beam TCI state. Example 10 is the method of Example 1, wherein if both directional LBT and omni LBT are configured in the LBT configuration element of the SIB, the DCI message comprises a bit field one bit larger than a size of a maximum TCI state, wherein if omni sensing is performed before the COT, an omni LBT bit of the bit field is set to one and other directional LBT bits in the bit field are ignored, and wherein if directional sensing is performed before the COT, the omni LBT bit is set to zero and a directional LBT bit corresponding to the directional sensing is set to one. Example 11 is the method of Example 1, further comprising receiving a medium access control element (MAC CE) that enables an LBT configuration signaled in the SIB. Example 12 is the method of Example 1, further comprising determining a COT TCI state for multiple component carriers (CCs) by executing a LBT procedure on one CC of the multiple CCs, wherein if CC is clear transmission on all the multiple CCs can proceed, and the DCI message is sent in any of the multiple CCs, wherein the enabled TCI state in the DCI message applies to all of the multiple CCs. Example 13 is the method of Example 12, wherein when multiple band groups are configured a random CC can be chosen for a band group and if the CC is clear then all CCs within the band group are considered usable for transmission. Example 14 is the method of Example 1, further comprising determining a COT TCI state for multiple CCs by independently performing LBT procedure on each CC, and wherein the DCI message includes a bit field defining TCI states for each CC. Example 15 is the method of Example 1, further comprising determining if transmission and reception points of a multiple transmission and reception point enabled system are clear and receiving a TCI state used in LBT sensing for the transmission and reception points. Example 16 is a method for a network node, the method comprising: transmitting a system information block (SIB) via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the SIB comprising a listen before talk (LBT) configuration element, the LBT configuration element including a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state parameter that comprises potential TCI states; configuring a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message comprising an indication of an enabled TCI state for a channel occupancy time (COT) from the potential TCI states; transmitting the DCI message to a UE; and applying the enabled TCI state for the COT as indicated in the DCI message. Example 17 is the method of Example 16, wherein the LBT configuration element is for a frequency range comprising 52.6 gigahertz (GHz) to 71 GHz. Example 18 is the method of Example 16, wherein the DCI message is a DCI Format 2-0 message. Example 19 is the method of Example 16, wherein when the enabled TCI state is omni the network node does not include a bit field associated with the enabled TCI state in the DCI message. Example 20 is the method of Example 16, wherein the DCI message comprises a bit field a size of a maximum TCI state, wherein the bit field indicates the enabled TCI state. Example 21 is the method of Example 16, wherein if both directional LBT and omni LBT are configured in the LBT configuration element of the SIB, the DCI message comprises a bit field one bit larger than a size of a maximum TCI state, wherein if omni sensing is performed before the COT, an omni LBT bit of the bit field is set to one and other directional LBT bits in the bit field are ignored, and wherein if directional sensing is performed before the COT, the omni LBT bit is set to zero and a directional LBT bit corresponding to the directional sensing is set to one. Example 22 is the method of Example 16, further comprising transmitting a medium access control element (MAC CE) that enables an LBT configuration signaled in the SIB. Example 23 is the method of Example 16, further comprising enabling a COT TCI state for multiple component carriers (CCs) by executing a LBT procedure on one CC of the multiple CCs, wherein if CC is clear transmission on all the multiple CCs can proceed, and the DCI message is sent in any of the multiple CCs, wherein the enabled TCI state in the DCI message applies to all of the multiple CCs. Example 24 is the method of Example 23, wherein when multiple band groups are configured a random CC can be chosen for a band group and if the CC is clear then all CCs within the band group are considered usable for transmission. Example 25 is the method of Example 16, further comprising enabling a COT TCI state for multiple CCs by independently performing LBT procedure on each CC, and wherein the DCI message includes a bit field defining TCI states for each CC. Example 26 is the method of Example 16, wherein the LBT configuration element includes parameters indicating LBT or no LBT, omni or directional LBT, and LBT beam TCI state information. Example 27 is the method of Example 26, wherein the LBT beam TCI state information includes maximum number of LBT beams, TCI state ID, QCL type, reference signal association and default LBT beam configuration. Example 28 is the method of Example 16, wherein the enabled TCI state is the sensing beam TCI state, and wherein the method further comprises deriving a transmission TCI state of the COT based on an RRC configured sensing beam to transmission beam mapping. Example 29 is the method of Example 16, wherein the enabled TCI state is the transmission beam TCI state. Example 30 is the method of Example 16, further comprising determining if transmission and reception points of a multiple transmission and reception point enabled system are clear and transmitting a TCI state used in LBT sensing for the transmission and reception points. Example 31 is a method for a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: transmitting a scheduling request for uplink (UL) dynamic grant (DG); receiving an UL DG DCI; determine if the UL DG DCI comprises a parameter indicating a sensing beam for DG Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), wherein if the sensing beam is explicitly indicated, transmitting the DG PUSCH using the indicated beam, and wherein if the sensing beam is not configured in the UL DG DCI, causing an UL channel occupancy time (COT) beam sensing to follow a current active TCI state used in beam management. Example 32 is a method for a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving a radio resource control (RRC) configuration message for UL configured grant (CG); decoding the RRC configuration message to determine an enabled TCI state, wherein if the RRC configuration message indicates a directional LBT, performing directional LBT with specific Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) and beam direction for the transmission burst, using current active TCI State indicated in the RRC configuration message, and wherein if the RRC configuration message indicates omni LBT, performing omni LBT. Example 33 is the method of Example 32, further comprising signaling a sensing beam and transmission beam direction via a CG-Uplink Control Information (UCI). Example 34 is the method of Example 33, wherein the CG-UCI content includes HARQ ID, new data indicator (NDI), redundancy version (RV), and COT sharing information, and wherein the COT sharing information includes COT duration and offset, and a TCI state. Example 35 may include an apparatus comprising means to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of the above Examples, or any other method or process described herein. Example 36 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of the above Examples, or any other method or process described herein. Example 37 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of the above Examples, or any other method or process described herein. Example 38 may include a method, technique, or process as described in or related to any of the above Examples, or portions or parts thereof. Example 39 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of the above Examples, or portions thereof. Example 40 may include a signal as described in or related to any of the above Examples, or portions or parts thereof Example 41 may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU), or message as described in or related to any of the above Examples, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure. Example 42 may include a signal encoded with data as described in or related to any of the above Examples, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure. Example 43 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, packet, frame, segment, PDU, or message as described in or related to any of the above Examples, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure. Example 44 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors is to cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of the above Examples, or portions thereof Example 45 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element is to cause the processing element to carry out the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of the above Examples, or portions thereof. Example 46 may include a signal in a wireless network as shown and described herein. Example 47 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein. Example 48 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. Example 49 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. Any of the above described examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples), unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments. Embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations, which may be embodied in machine-executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. A computer system may include one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computers (or other electronic devices). The computer system may include hardware components that include specific logic for performing the operations or may include a combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. It should be recognized that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments can be combined into single systems, partially combined into other systems, split into multiple systems or divided or combined in other ways. In addition, it is contemplated that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of one embodiment can be used in another embodiment. The parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are merely described in one or more embodiments for clarity, and it is recognized that the parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. can be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment unless specifically disclaimed herein. It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users. Although the foregoing has been described in some detail for purposes of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles thereof. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the processes and apparatuses described herein. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered illustrative and not restrictive, and the description is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims. | 75,195 |
11943809 | DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Through the specification, when it is said that a certain part includes specific elements or a certain process includes specific steps, this means that the part or process may further include other elements or other steps. That is, the terms used in the specification are merely used in order to describe particular embodiments, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used herein, a slash (/) or comma may indicate “and/or”. For example, “A/B” may indicate “A and/or B,” and therefore may mean “only A”, “only B”, or “A and B”. Technical features that are separately described in one drawing may be implemented separately or may be implemented simultaneously. As used herein, parentheses may indicate “for example”. Specifically, “control information (Signal)” may mean that “Signal” is proposed as an example of “control information”. Further, “control information (i.e., signal)” may also mean that “signal” is proposed as an example of “control information”. The following examples of the present specification may be applied to various wireless communication systems. For example, the following examples of the present specification may be applied to a wireless local area network (WLAN) system. For example, the present specification may be applied to IEEE 802.11a/g/n/ac or IEEE 802.11ax. The present specification may also be applied to a newly proposed EHT standard or a new WLAN stand which has enhanced IEEE 802.11be. Hereinafter, technical features of a WLAN system to which the present disclosure is applicable will be described in order to describe technical features of the present disclosure. FIG.1is a conceptual view illustrating a layer architecture of a WLAN system supported by IEEE 802.11. Referring toFIG.1, the layer architecture of the WLAN system may include a physical medium dependent (PMD) sublayer100, a physical layer convergence procedure (PLCP) sublayer110, and a medium access control (MAC) sublayer120. The PMD sublayer100may serve as a transmission interface for transmitting and receiving data between a plurality of STAs. The PLCP sublayer110is implemented such that the MAC sublayer120can operate with a minimum dependency on the PMD sublayer100. The PMD sublayer100, the PLCP sublayer110, and the MAC sublayer120may conceptually include management entities. For example, the management entity of the MAC sublayer120is referred to as a MAC layer management entity (MLME)125. The management entity of the physical layer is referred to as a PHY layer management entity (PLME)115. These management entities can provide interfaces for performing a layer management operation. For example, the PLME115can be connected to the MLME125to perform a management operation for the PLCP sublayer110and the PMD sublayer100. The MLME125can be connected to the PLME115to perform a management operation for the MAC sublayer120. For a correct MAC layer operation, an STA management entity (SME)150may be present. The SME150can be operated as a component independent of each layer. The PLME115, the MLME125, and the SME150can transmit/receive information to/from each other on the basis of primitive. The operation of each sublayer will be briefly described below. For example, the PLCP sublayer110transfers a MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) received from the MAC sublayer120to the PMD sublayer100or transfers a frame from the PMD sublayer100to the MAC sublayer120according to an instruction of the MAC layer between the MAC sublayer120and the PMD sublayer100. The PMD sublayer100is a sublayer of PLCP and can perform transmission and reception of data between a plurality of STAs through a radio medium. An MPDU transmitted from the MAC sublayer120is referred to as a physical service data unit (PSDU) in the PLCP sublayer110. Although an MPDU is similar to a PSDU, individual MPDUs may differ from PSDUs in a case where an aggregated MPDU (AMPDU) obtained by aggregating a plurality of MPDUs is transmitted. The PLCP sublayer110adds an additional field including necessary information to a PSDU by a transceiver of the physical layer in a process of receiving the PSDU from the MAC sublayer120and transmitting the PSDU to the PMD sublayer100. Here, the field added to the PSDU may include a PLCP preamble, a PLCP header, tail bits necessary to return a convolution encoder to a zero state, and the like. The PLCP sublayer110adds the aforementioned field to the PSDU to generate a PHY protocol data unit (PPDU) and transmits the PPDU to a receiving STA via the PMD sublayer100, and the receiving STA receives the PPDU, acquires information necessary for data restoration from the PLCP preamble and the PLCP header, and restores data. An STA as a predetermined functional medium that includes a medium access control (MAC) that follows a regulation of an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard and a physical layer interface for a radio medium may be used as a meaning including all of the APs and the non-AP stations (STAs). The STA may be called various names such as a mobile terminal, a wireless device, a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile subscriber unit, or just a user. FIG.2illustrates an example of a WLAN system. As illustrated, the WLAN system includes at least one access point (AP) and a plurality of STAs520a/b/c/e/d/f/g/h/i/j/kassociated with the AP. The plurality of STAs in the example ofFIG.2can execute functions of an AP and/or a non-AP. The plurality of STAs520a/b/c/e/d/f/g/h/i/j/kinFIG.2may be called various names such as a user terminal (UT). In addition, at least one STA520finFIG.2may route/relay communication between a plurality of APs510a/b, control a plurality of APs, or control STAs associated with the plurality of Aps510a/b. Furthermore, the APs510a/binFIG.2may be connected to a system control device530to communicate with another AP or a network entity (e.g., a network entity or an Internet server defined by 3GPP) other than an AP. The plurality of STAs illustrated inFIG.2may constitute basic service sets (BSSs). BSSs100and105are sets of APs and STAs that can be successfully synchronized and can communicate with each other and do not refer to specific areas. A BSS may include one or more STAs that can be associated with a single AP. A BSS may include a distribution system that connects at least one STA, an AP that provides a distribution service, and a plurality of APs. The distribution system can constitute an extended service set by connecting a plurality of BSSs. The ESS may be used as a term indicating a network constructed by connecting one or more APs through the distribution system. APs included in a single ESS may have the same service set identification (SSID). A portal can serve as a bridge for connection to WLAN network (IEEE 802.11) and another network (e.g., 802.X). STAs may establish a network and perform communication therebetween without an AP. This network may be called an ad-hoc network or an independent basic service set (IBS S). FIG.3is a diagram illustrating frequency domains used in a WLAN system. A WLAN system can use at least one channel defined in a 2.4 GHz band. The 2.4 GHz band may be called other names such as a first band. As illustrated inFIG.3, 14 channels can be configured in a 4 GHz band. Each channel can be configured as a 20 MHz frequency domain (or bandwidth). FO indicates a center frequency. The channels in the 2.4 GHz band have center frequencies at intervals of 5 MHz except channel #14. Neighboring channels among the 14 channels may overlap. Allowed frequency channels or maximum power levels in allowed frequency channels may be set differently for countries. For example, channel #13 may be allowed in most countries although it is not allowed in North America. Specific numerical values in the example ofFIG.3may be changed. FIG.4illustrates an example with respect to network discovery. To access a WLAN, an STA needs to perform discovery with respect to the network. Such discovery can be performed through a scanning process for the network. Scanning may be divided into active scanning and passive scanning. As illustrated inFIG.4, an STA that performs active scanning can transmit a probe request frame in order to search neighboring APs while moving channels and wait for a response thereto. A responder can transmit a probe response frame to the STA that has transmitted the probe request frame in response to the probe request frame. The responder may be an STA that has transmitted a last beacon frame in a BSS of a channel that is being scanned. An AP is a responder in a BSS because the AP transmits a beacon frame, and a responder may be changed in an IBSS because STAs transmit a beacon frame in rotation. When the STA transmits the probe request frame through channel #1 and receives the probe response frame through channel #1, the STA can store information about a BSS included in the probe response frame, move to the next channel (e.g., channel #2), and repeat scanning in the same manner. As illustrated inFIG.4, scanning may be performed in a passive scanning manner. An STA that performs passive scanning can receive a beacon frame while moving channels. The beacon frame is an example of a management frame in IEEE 802.11. The beacon frame can be periodically transmitted. The STA that has received the beacon frame can store BSS related information included in the received beacon frame, move to the next channel, and perform passive scanning in the next channel. Although not illustrated inFIG.4, a plurality of processes may be performed after the scanning procedure ofFIG.4. For example, an authentication process may be performed after the scanning procedure. The authentication process may include a process in which an STA transmits an authentication request frame to an AP and the AP transmits an authentication response frame to the STA in response to the authentication request frame. An authentication frame used for an authentication request/response corresponds to the management frame. The authentication frames may include information about an authentication algorithm number, an authentication transaction sequence number, a status code, a challenge text, a robust security network (RSN), and a finite cyclic group. The STA may transmit the authentication request frame to the AP. The AP may determine whether to allow the authentication of the STA based on the information included in the received authentication request frame. The AP may provide the authentication processing result to the STA via the authentication response frame. When the STA is successfully authenticated, the STA may perform an association process. The association process includes a process in which the STA transmits an association request frame to the AP and the AP transmits an association response frame to the STA in response. The association request frame may include, for example, information about various capabilities, a beacon listen interval, a service set identifier (SSID), a supported rate, a supported channel, RSN, a mobility domain, a supported operating class, a traffic indication map (TIM) broadcast request, and an interworking service capability. The association response frame may include, for example, information about various capabilities, a status code, an association ID (AID), a supported rate, an enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameter set, a received channel power indicator (RCPI), a received signal-to-noise indicator (RSNI), a mobility domain, a timeout interval (association comeback time), an overlapping BSS scanning parameter, a TIM broadcast response, and a QoS map. FIG.5illustrates an example of a PPDU transmitted/received by an STA of the present disclosure. The example ofFIG.5illustrates representative fields of the PPDU, and the order of the fields illustrated inFIG.5can be changed in various manners. The PPDU ofFIG.5may include a short training field (STF)510. The STF510may be realized as an L-STF, an HT-STF, a VHT-STF, an HE-STF, an EHT-STF, and the like which will be described later. STF510can be used for frame detection, automatic gain control (AGC), diversity detection, coarse frequency/time synchronization, and the like. The PPDU ofFIG.5may include a long training field (LTF)520. The LTF520may be realized as an L-LTF, an HT-LTF, a VHT-LTF, an HE-LTF, an EHT-LTF, and the like which will be described later. The LTF520can be used for fine frequency/time synchronization and channel prediction. The PPDU ofFIG.5may include an SIG530. The SIG530may be realized as an L-SIG, an HT-SIG, a VHT-SIG, an HE-SIG, an EHT-SIG, and the like which will be described later. The SIG530may include control information for decoding the PPDU. The PPDU ofFIG.5may include a data field540. The data field540may include a service field541, a physical layer service data unit (PSDU)542, a PPDU tail bit543, and padding bits544. Some bits of the service field541can be used for synchronization of a descrambler at a receiving stage. The PSDU542corresponds to a MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) defined in the MAC layer and may include data generated/used in a higher layer. The PPDU tail bit543can be used to return an encoder to a zero state. The padding bits544can be used to adjust the length of the data field to a predetermined unit. FIG.6illustrates examples of PPDUs according to legacy WLAN standards. A PPDU illustrated in subfigure (a) ofFIG.6is an example of a PPDU used in IEEE 802.11a/g. A PPDU illustrated in subfigure (b) ofFIG.6is an example of a PPDU used in IEEE 802.11n. FIG.7illustrates another example of a PPDU according to legacy WLAN standards. FIG.7illustrates an example of a PPDU according to IEEE 802.11ac. Illustrated common fields include legacy L-STF, L-LTF, and L-SIG and further include a VHT-SIG-A field newly suggested in IEEE 802.11ac. The PPDU ofFIG.7can be used for both single-user (SU) communication through which an AP transmits a signal to a single user STA and multi-user (MU) communication through which an AP transmits signals to multiple user STAs. In a case where MU communication is performed, the VHT-SIG-A field includes common control information commonly applied to all receiving STAs. Per-User fields illustrated inFIG.7include a field transmitted for at least one user STA when MU communication is performed. A VHT-STF field is an STF field newly suggested in the VHT standard (i.e., IEEE 802.11ac) and A VHT-LTF field is an LTF field newly suggested in the VHT standard. A VHT-SIG-B field includes information for decoding the data field and can be individually configured per receiving STA. The PPDU ofFIG.7can be transmitted to a plurality of STAs on the basis of MU-MIMO (multi-user multiple input, multiple output). Further, the PPDU can be transmitted to a single STA on the basis of SU-MIMO. FIG.8is a diagram illustrating another example of an HE-PPDU. The example ofFIG.8can be applied to IEEE 802.11ax or HE (high efficiency) WLAN systems. Four PPDU formats according to IEEE 802.11ax are defined, andFIG.8illustrates an example of an MU-PPDU used for MU communication. However, some technical features applied to fields illustrated inFIG.8may be used for SU communication or UL-MU communication as they are. Technical features of the HE-PPDU illustrated inFIG.8can be applied to an EHT-PPDU to be newly suggested. For example, technical features applied to the HE-SIG can be applied to an EHT-SIG and technical features applied to the HE-STF/LTF can be applied to an EHT-STF/LTF. An L-STF inFIG.8may include a short training orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol. The L-STF can be used for frame detection, automatic gain control (AGC), diversity detection, and coarse frequency/time synchronization. An L-LTF inFIG.8may include a long training orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol. The L-LTF can be used for fine frequency/time synchronization and channel prediction. An L-SIG inFIG.8can be used to transmit control information. The L-SIG may include information about a data rate and a data length. Further, the L-SIG may be repeatedly transmitted. That is, the L-SIG may be configured in a repeated format (which may be called an R-LSIG, for example). HE-SIG-A inFIG.8may include control information common for receiving stations. Specifically, HE-SIG-A may include information about 1) a DL/UL indicator, 2) a BSSS color field that is a BSS identifier, 3) a field indicating a remaining time of a current TXOP period, 4) a bandwidth field indicating 20, 40, 80, 160, or 80+80 MHz, 5) a field indicating an MCS applied to HE-SIG-B, 6) a field indicating whether HE-SIG-B is modulated through dual subcarrier modulation for MCS, 7) a field indicating the number of symbols used for HE-SIG-B, 8) a field indicating whether HE-SIG-B is generated over the entire band, 9) a field indicating the number of symbols of HE-LTF, 10) a field indicating an HE-LTF length and a CP length, 11) a field indicating whether there are additional OFDM symbols for LDPC coding, 12) a field indicating control information about packet extension (PE), and 13) a field indicating information about a CRC field of HE-SIG-A. Such specific fields of HE-SIG-A may be added or some thereof may be omitted. In addition, some fields may be added to or omitted from HE-SIG-A in embodiments other than MU environments. HE-SIG-B inFIG.8can be included only in the case of a PPDU for MU, as described above. Basically, HE-SIG-A or HE-SIG-B may include resource allocation information (or virtual resource allocation information) about at least one receiving STA. An HE-STF inFIG.8can be used to improve automatic gain control estimation in a MIMO (multiple input multiple output) environment or an OFDMA environment. An HE-LTF inFIG.8can be used for channel estimation in a MIMO environment or an OFDMA environment. A size of FFT/IFFT applied to fields after the HE-STF and HE-STF ofFIG.8may differ from a size of FFT/IFFT applied to fields before the HE-STF. For example, the size of FFT/IFFT applied to fields after the HE-STF and HE-STF may be four times the size of FFT/IFFT applied to fields before the HE-STF. For example, when at least one of the L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, HE-SIG-A, and HE-SIG-B of the PPDU inFIG.8is referred to as a first field/part, at least one of the data field, HE-STF, and HE-LTF may be referred to as a second field/part. The first field may include fields related to legacy systems, and the second field may include fields related to HE systems. In this case, a fast Fourier transform (FFT) size/inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) size may be defined as N (N is a natural number, for example, N=1, 2, 4) times an FFT/IFFT size used in legacy WLAN systems. That is, FFT/IFFT having a size N(=4) times a size of FFT/IFFT applied to the first field of the HE PPDU can be applied to the second field of the HE PPDU. For example, 256 FFT/IFFT can be applied to a bandwidth of 20 MHz, 512 FFT/IFFT can be applied to a bandwidth of 40 MHz, 1024 FFT/IFFT can be applied to a bandwidth of 80 MHz, and 2048 FFT/IFFT can be applied to a bandwidth of continuous 160 MHz or discontinuous 160 MHz. In other words, a subcarrier spacing may be 1/N times (N is a natural number, for example, 78.125 kHz when N=4) a subcarrier spacing used in legacy WLAN systems. That is, a subcarrier spacing having a size of 312.5 kHz that is a legacy subcarrier spacing can be applied to the first field/part of the HE PPDU, and a subcarrier spacing having a size of 78.125 kHz can be applied to the second field/part of the HE PPDU. Alternatively, an IDFT/DFT period applied to each symbol of the first field may be N(=4) times shorter than an IDFT/DFT period applied to each data symbol of the second field. That is, the IDFT/DFT period applied to each symbol of the first field of the HE PPDU may be 3.2 μs and the IDFT/DFT period applied to each symbol of the second field of the HE PPDU may be 3.2 μs*4 (=12.8 μs). An OFDM symbol length may be a value obtained by adding a guard interval (GI) length to an IDFT/DFT length. The GI length may have various values such as 0.4 μs, 0.8 μs, 1.6 μs, 2.4 μs, and 3.2 μs. The technical feature in which different subcarrier spacings are applied to one PPDU can be applied to the HT-PPDU as it is. That is, a subcarrier spacing of 312.5 kHz can be applied to a first field/part of the EHT-PPDU and a subcarrier spacing of 78.125 kHz can be applied to a second field/part of the EHT-PPDU. The first field/part of the EHT-PPDU may include an L-LTF, an L-STF, an L-SIG, EHT-SIG-A, and/or EHT-SIG-B. In addition, the second field/part of the EHT-PPDU may include an EHT-STF, an EHT-LTF, and/or a data field. Division of the first part/second part of the EHT-PPDU may be changed. Hereinafter, a resource unit (RU) used in the PPDU will be described. The resource unit may include a plurality of subcarriers (or tones). The resource unit can be used when signals are transmitted to a plurality of STAs on the basis of OFDMA. Furthermore, the resource unit may be defined when a signal is transmitted to a single STA. The resource unit can be used for the STF, the LTF, and the data field. FIG.9is a diagram illustrating a channel access method based on EDCA. In a wireless LAN system, an STA may perform channel access based on a plurality of user priorities defined for enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA). Specifically, for the transmission of a quality of service (QoS) data frame based on a plurality of user priorities, four access categories (ACs) (AC_BK (background), AC_BE (best effort), AC_VI (video), and AC_VO (voice) may be defined. An STA may receive, from a higher layer, traffic data (e.g., MAC service data unit (MSDU)) having a preset user priority. For example, in order to determine the transmission sequence of a MAC frame to be transmitted by an STA, a differential value may be set in a user priority for each traffic data. The user priority may be mapped based on each access category (AC) in which traffic data is buffered and Table 1 below. TABLE 1PriorityUser priorityAccess category (AC)Low1AC_BK2AC_BK0AC_BE3AC_BE4AC_VI5AC_VI6AC_VOHigh7AC_VO In the disclosure, the user priority may be understood as a traffic identifier (hereinafter “TID”) indicating the characteristics of traffic data. Referring to Table 1, traffic data having the user priority (i.e., TID) of “1” or “2” may be buffered in a transmission queue950of an AC_BK type. Traffic data having the user priority (i.e., TID) of “0” or “3” may be buffered in a transmission queue940of an AC_BE type. Traffic data having the user priority (i.e., TID) of “4” or “5” may be buffered in a transmission queue930of an AC_VI type. Traffic data having the user priority (i.e., TID) of “6” or “7” may be buffered in a transmission queue920of an AC_VO type. Instead of a DCF interframe space (DIFS), CWmin, and CWmax that are parameters for a back-off operation/procedure based on the existing distributed coordination function (DCF), an arbitration interframe space (AIFS)[AC], CWmin[AC], CWmax[AC] and TXOP limit[AC] that are EDCA parameter sets may be used for a back-off operation/procedure of an STA performing EDCA. A difference between transmission priorities of ACs may be implemented based on a differentiated EDCA parameter set. A default value of the EDCA parameter set (i.e., AIFS[AC], CWmin[AC], CWmax[AC], and TXOP limit[AC]) corresponding to each AC is illustratively shown in Table 2. Detailed values of Table 2 may be set differently from those listed below. TABLE 2ACCWmin[AC]CWmax[AC]AIFS[AC]TXOP limit[AC]AC_BK31102370AC_BE31102330AC_VI153123.008 msAC_VO71521.504 ms The EDCA parameter set for each AC may be set as a default value or may be included in a beacon frame and transmitted from an access point (AP) to each STA. The smaller the values of the AIFS [AC] and the CWmin[AC], the higher the priorities. Accordingly, a more band can be used in a given traffic environment because channel access latency is reduced. The EDCA parameter set may include information on a channel access parameter (e.g., AIFS [AC], CWmin[AC], and CWmax[AC]) for each AC. A back-off operation/procedure for EDCA may be performed based on an EDCA parameter set individually set in each of the four ACs included in each STA. Proper setting of an EDCA parameter value that defines a different channel access parameter for each AC can optimize network performance and also increase a transmission effect based on the priority of traffic. Accordingly, in a wireless LAN system, an AP needs to perform an overall management and coordination function on the EDCA parameters in order to guarantee fair medium access for all STAs participating in a network. Referring toFIG.9, one STA (or AP)900may include a virtual mapper910, the plurality of transmission queues920˜950and a virtual collision processor960. InFIG.9, the virtual mapper910may function to map an MSDU, received from a logical link control (LLC) layer, onto a transmission queue corresponding to each AC based on Table 1. InFIG.9, each of the plurality of transmission queues920˜950may play a role of an EDCA contention entity for wireless medium access within one STA (or AP). FIG.10is a concept view illustrating a back-off operation/procedure of EDCA. A plurality of STAs may share a wireless medium based on a DCF, that is, a contention-based function. The DCF may use CSMA/CA in order to coordinate a collision between STAs. In a channel access scheme using the DCF, if a medium is not used (i.e., channel is idle) during a DCF interframe space (DIFS), an STA may transmit an internally determined MPDU. The DIFS is a kind of time length used in the IEEE standard. The IEEE standard uses various time intervals, such as a slot time, a short inter-frame space (SIFS), a PCF inter-frame space (PIFS), a DIFS, and an arbitration interframe space (AIFS). A detailed value of each of the time intervals may be variously set. In general, a long length is set in order of the slot time, SIFS, PIFS, DIFS, and AIFS. If it is determined that a wireless medium is used by another STA based on the carrier sensing mechanism of an STA (i.e., channel is busy), the STA may determine the size of a contention window (hereinafter “CW”) and perform a back-off operation/procedure. In order to perform a back-off operation/procedure, each STA may set a randomly selected back-off value in a back-off counter within a CW. Each STA may perform a back-off operation/procedure for channel access by counting down a back-off window in a slot time unit. An STA that has selects a relatively shorter back-off window among a plurality of STAs may obtain a transmission opportunity (hereinafter “TXOP”) capable of occupying a medium. During a time interval for the TXOP, the remaining STAs may suspend countdown operations. The remaining STAs may wait until the time interval for the TXOP is ended. After the time interval for the TXOP is ended, the remaining STAs may resume the suspended countdown operations in order to occupy the wireless medium. Based on a transmission method based on such a DCF, a collision phenomenon which may occur when a plurality of STAs transmits frames at the same time can be prevented. In this case, a channel access scheme using the DCF does not have a concept for a transmission priority (i.e., user priority). That is, when the DCF is used, quality of service (QoS) of traffic to be transmitted by an STA cannot be guaranteed. In order to solve such a problem, in 802.11e, a hybrid coordination function (hereinafter “HCF”), that is, a new coordination function, has been defined. The newly defined HCF has better performance than channel access performance of the existing DCF. The HCF may use both HCF-controlled channel access (HCCA) of the polling scheme and contention-based enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA), that is, two types of channel access schemes, for QoS improvement purposes. Referring toFIG.10, it is assumed that an STA performs EDCA for the transmission of traffic data buffered in the STA. Referring to Table 1, a user priority set in each traffic data may be differentiated into eight stages. Each STA may include output queues of the four types (AC_BK, AC_BE, AC_VI, and AC_VO) mapped onto the eight-stage user priorities of Table 1. IFSs, such as the SIFS, the PIFS, and the DIFS, are additionally described below. The IFS may be determined based on the attributes specified by the physical layer of an STA regardless of the bit rate of the STA. The remainder except the AIFS among the interframe spacings (IFSs) may fixedly use a value preset for each physical layer. As illustrated in Table 2, the AIFS may be set as a value corresponding to the transmission queues of the four types mapped onto user priorities. The SIFS has the shortest time gap among the aforementioned IFSs. Accordingly, the SIFS may be used when an STA occupying a wireless medium needs to maintain the occupancy of the medium without the interruption of another STA in an interval in which a frame exchange sequence is performed. That is, a priority may be assigned when an on-going frame exchange sequence is completed using the smallest gap between transmissions within the frame exchange sequence. Furthermore, an STA accessing a wireless medium using the SIFS may immediately start transmission in an SIFS boundary without determining whether the medium is busy. Duration of the SIFS for a specific physical (PHY) layer may be defined based on an aSIFSTime parameter. For example, an SIFS value is 11 μs in the physical layer (PHY) of the IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n and IEEE 802.11ac standards. The PIFS may be used to provide an STA with a high priority next the SIFS. That is, the PIFS may be used to obtain a priority for accessing a wireless medium. The DIFS may be used by an STA that transmits a data frame (MPDU) and a management frame (Mac protocol data unit (MPDU) based on the DCF. After a received frame and a back-off time expires, if a medium is determined to be in the idle state through a carrier sense (CS) mechanism, the STA may transmit the frame. FIG.11is a diagram describing a back-off operation. Each of STAs1110,1120,1130,1140, and1150may select a back-off value for a back-off operation/procedure. Furthermore, each STA may attempt transmission after waiting as much as time (i.e., a back-off window) in which the selected back-off value is indicated in a slot time slot time unit. Furthermore, each STA may count down a back-off window in a slot time unit. A countdown operation for channel access to a wireless medium may be individually performed by each STA. Time corresponding to the back-off window may be described as a random back-off time Tb[i]. In other words, each STA may individually set the back-off time Tb[i] in the back-off counter of each STA. Specifically, the back-off time Tb[i] is a pseudo-random integer value, and may be computed based on Equation 1. Tb[i]=Random(i)*SlotTime [Equation 1] In Equation 1, Random(i) is a function using a uniform distribution and generating a given integer between 0 and CW[i]. CW[i] may be understood as a contention window selected between a minimum contention window CWmin[i] and a maximum contention window CWmax[i]. The minimum contention window CWmin[i] and the maximum contention window CWmax[i] may correspond to CWmin[AC] and CWmax[AC], that is, default values in Table 2. In initial channel access, an STA may select a given integer between 0 and CWmin[i] through Random(i) with CW[i] being fixed to CWmin[i]. In the present embodiment, the selected given integer may be described as a back-off value. i may be understood as the user priority of traffic data. In Equation 1, i may be construed as corresponding to any one of AC_VO, AC_VI, AC_BE or AC_BK according to Table 1. In Equation 1, the slot time SlotTime may be used to provide a sufficient time so that the preamble of a transmission STA is sufficiently detected by an adjacent STA. In Equation 1, the slot time SlotTime may be used to define the aforementioned PIFS and DIFS. For example, the slot time SlotTime may be 9 μs. For example, when a user priority(i) is “7”, an initial back-off time Tb[AC_VO] for the transmission queue of the AC_VO type may be time in which a back-off value selected between 0 and CWmin[AC_VO] is represented in unit of the slot time SlotTime. If a collision between STAs occurs according to a back-off operation/procedure (or if an ACK frame for a transmitted frame is not received), an STA may compute an increased back-off time Tb[i]′ based on Equation 2 below. CWnew[i]=((CWold[i]+1)*PF)−1 [Equation 2] Referring to Equation 2, a new contention window CWnew[i] may be computed based on a previous window CWold[i]. In Equation 2, the PF value may be computed according to a procedure defined in the IEEE 802.11e standard. For example, in Equation 2, the PF value may be set to “2.” In the present embodiment, the increased back-off time Tb[i]′ may be understood as time in which a given integer (i.e., a back-off value) selected between 0 and the new contention window CWnew[i] is represented in a slot time unit. The CWmin[i], CWmax[i], AIFS[i] and PF values described inFIG.11may be signaled from an AP through a QoS parameter set element, that is, a management frame. The CWmin[i], CWmax[i], AIFS[i] and PF values may be values preset by an AP and an STA. Referring toFIG.11, if the state of a specific medium changes from an occupy (or busy) state to an idle state, a plurality of STAs may attempt data (or frame) transmission. In this case, as a scheme for minimizing a collision between the STAs, each STA may select a back-off time back-off time Tb[i] in Equation 1, may wait for a slot time corresponding to the selected back-off time back-off, and may then attempt transmission. When a back-off operation/procedure is initiated, each STA may individually count down the selected back-off counter time in a slot time unit. Each STA may continuously monitor the medium during the countdown. If the state of the wireless medium is monitored as the occupancy state, the STA may suspend the countdown and may wait. If the state of the wireless medium is monitored as the idle state, the STA may resume the countdown. Referring toFIG.11, when a frame for the third STA1130reaches the MAC layer of the third STA1130, the third STA1130may check whether the state of a medium is the idle state during a DIFS. Next, if the state of the medium is determined to be the idle state during the DIFS, the third STA1130may transmit the frame. While the frame is transmitted by the third STA1130, the remaining STAs may check the occupancy state of the medium and wait for the transmission interval of the frame. The frame may reach the MAC layer of each of the first STA1110, the second STA1120and the fifth STA1160. If the state of the medium is checked as the idle state, each STA may wait for the DIFS and then count down an individual back-off time selected by each STA. FIG.11illustrates a case where the second STA1120has selected the smallest back-off time and the first STA1110has selected the greatest back-off time.FIG.11illustrates a case where at timing T1at which frame transmission is started after a back-off operation/procedure for a back-off time selected by the second STA1120is terminated, the remaining back-off time of the fifth STA1160is shorter than the remaining back-off time of the first STA1110. When the medium is occupied by the second STA1120, the first STA1110and the fifth STA1160may suspend the back-off operation/procedures and may wait. Next, when the medium occupancy of the second STA1120is ended (i.e., when the state of the medium becomes the idle state again), the first STA1110and the fifth STA1160may wait as much as the DIFS. Next, the first STA1110and the fifth STA1160may resume the back-off operation/procedures based on the suspended remaining back-off time. In this case, since the remaining back-off time of the fifth STA1160is shorter than the remaining back-off time of the first STA1110, the fifth STA1160may complete the back-off operation/procedure before the first STA1110. Meanwhile, referring toFIG.11, when the medium is occupied by the second STA1120, a frame for the fourth STA1150may reach the MAC layer of the fourth STA1150. When the state of the medium becomes the idle state, the fourth STA1150may wait as much as the DIFS. Next, the fourth STA1150may count down a back-off time selected by the fourth STA1150. Referring toFIG.11, the remaining back-off time of the fifth STA1160may coincide with the back-off time of the fourth STA1150. In this case, a collision occurs between the fourth STA1150and the fifth STA1160. When the collision between the STAs occurs, both the fourth STA1150and the fifth STA1160do not receive ACK and may fail in data transmission. Accordingly, the fourth STA1150and the fifth STA1160may individually compute new contention windows CWnew[i] according to Equation 2. Next, the fourth STA1150and the fifth STA1160may individually perform countdown on the back-off times newly computed according to Equation 2. Meanwhile, when the state of the medium is the occupancy state due to the transmission of the fourth STA1150and the fifth STA1160, the first STA1110may wait. Next, when the state of the medium becomes the idle state, the first STA1110may wait as much as the DIFS and then resume back-off counting. When the remaining back-off time of the first STA1110elapses, the first STA1110may transmit the frame. An STA (AP and/or non-AP STA) of the present disclosure can support multi-link communication. The STA supporting multi-link communication can simultaneously perform communication through a plurality of links. That is, STA supporting multi-link communication can perform communication through a plurality of links for a first time period and perform communication through only any one of the plurality of links for a second time period. Multi-link communication may mean communication supporting a plurality of links, and a link may include a channel (e.g., 20/40/80/160/240/320 MHz channel) defined in a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, a 6 GHz band, and/or a specific band which will be described below. Hereinafter, various bands and channels will be described. FIG.12illustrates an example of channels used/supported/defined in a 2.4 GHz band. The 2.4 GHz band may be called other names such as a first band. Further, the 2.4 GHz band may mean a frequency domain in which channels having center frequencies close to 2.4 GHz (e.g., channels having center frequencies within 2.4 to 2.5 GHz) are used/supported/defined. The 2.4 GHz band may include a plurality of 20 MHz channels. The 20 MHz channels in the 2.4 GHz band may have a plurality of channel indexes (e.g., index1to index14). For example, the center frequency of a 20 MHz channel to which channel index1is allocated may be 2.412 GHz, the center frequency of a 20 MHz channel to which channel index2is allocated may be 2.417 GHz, and the center frequency of a 20 MHz channel to which channel index N is allocated may be (2.407+0.005*N) GHz. A channel index may be called other names such as a channel number. Specific numerical values of channel indexes and center frequencies may be changed. FIG.12illustrates four channels in the 2.4 GHz band. Each of the illustrated first to fourth frequency domains1210to1240may include a single channel. For example, the first frequency domain1210may include channel #1 (20 MHz channel having index #1). Here, the center frequency of channel #1 may be set to 2412 MHz. The second frequency domain1220may include channel #6. Here, the center frequency of channel #6 may be set to 2437 MHz. The third frequency domain1230may include channel #11. Here, the center frequency of channel #11 may be set to 2462 MHz. The fourth frequency domain1240may include channel #14. Here, the center frequency of channel #14 may be set to 2484 MHz. FIG.13illustrates an example of channels used/supported/defined in a 5 GHz band. The 5 GHz band may be called other names such as a second band. The 5 GHz band may mean a frequency domain in which channels having center frequencies of 5 GHz or higher and less than 6 GHz (or less than 5.9 GHz) are used/supported/defined. Otherwise, the 5 GHz band may include a plurality of channels in a range of 4.5 GHz to 5.5 GHz. Specific numerical values illustrated inFIG.13may be changed. A plurality of channels in the 5 GHz band includes UNII (Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure)-1, UNII-2, UNII-3, and ISM. UNII-1 may also be called UNII Low. UNII-2 may include frequency domains called UNII Mid and UNII-2Extended. UNII-3 may be called UNII-Upper. A plurality of channels may be set in the 5 GHz band, and a bandwidth of each channel may be set to 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or 160 MHz in various manners. For example, a frequency domain/range of 5170 MHz to 5330 MHz in UNII-1 and UNII-2 may be divided into eight 20 MHz channels. The frequency domain/range of 5170 MHz to 5330 MHz may be divided into four channels through a 40 MHz frequency domain. The frequency domain/range of 5170 MHz to 5330 MHz may be divided into two channels through an 80 MHz frequency domain. Alternatively, the frequency domain/range of 5170 MHz to 5330 MHz may be defined as a single channel through a 160 MHz frequency domain. FIG.14illustrates an example of channels used/supported/defined in a 6 GHz band. The 6 GHz band may be called other names such as a third band. The 6 GHz band may mean a frequency domain in which channels having center frequencies of 5.9 GHz or higher are used/supported/defined. Specific numerical values illustrated inFIG.14may be changed. For example, a 20 MHz channel inFIG.14may be defined from 5.940 GHz. Specifically, the leftmost channel among 20 MHz channels ofFIG.14may have index #1 (or channel index #1, channel number #1, or the like) and a center frequency of 5.945 GHz may be allocated thereto. That is, a center frequency of a channel with index #N may be determined as (5.940+0.005*N) GHz. Accordingly, indexes (or channel numbers) of 20 MHz channels inFIG.14may be 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, 37, 41, 45, 49, 53, 57, 61, 65, 69, 73, 77, 81, 85, 89, 93, 97, 101, 105, 109, 113, 117, 121, 125, 129, 133, 137, 141, 145, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165, 169, 173, 177, 181, 185, 189, 193, 197, 201, 205, 209, 213, 217, 221, 225, 229, and 233. Further, indexes of 40 MHz channels inFIG.20may be 3, 11, 19, 27, 35, 43, 51, 59, 67, 75, 83, 91, 99, 107, 115, 123, 131, 139, 147, 155, 163, 171, 179, 187, 195, 203, 211, 219, and 227 according to the above-described (5.940+0.005*N) GHz rule. Although 20, 40, 80, and 160 MHz channels are illustrated in the example ofFIG.14, 240 MHz channels or 320 MHz channels may be added. Hereinafter, the concept of conventional channel bonding will be described. For example, in an IEEE 802.11n system, two 20 MHz channels may be combined and thus 40 MHz channel bonding may be performed. In an IEEE 802.11ac system, 40/80/160 MHz channel bonding may be performed. For example, an STA may perform channel bonding with respect to a primary 20 MHz channel (P20 channel) and a secondary 20 MHz channel (S20 channel). A backoff counter/counter may be used in a channel bonding process. A backoff count value may be selected as a random value and may decrease in a backoff interval. When a backoff count value becomes 0, the STA can attempt to access a channel, in general. The STA performing channel bonding determines whether the S20 channel has been maintained in an idle state for a specific period (e.g., point coordination function interframe space (PIFS)) at a point in time at which a backoff count value for the P20 channel becomes 0 upon determining that the P20 channel is in an idle state for a backoff interval. If the S20 channel is in an idle state, the STA can perform bonding of the P20 channel and the S20 channel. That is, the STA can transmit a signal (PPDU) through a 40 MHz channel (i.e., 40 MHz bonded channel) including the P20 channel and the S20 channel. FIG.15illustrates an example of channel bonding. As illustrated inFIG.15, a primary 20 MHz channel and a secondary 20 MHz channel may construct a 40 MHz channel (primary 40 MHz channel) through channel bonding. That is, the bonded 40 MHz channel can include the primary 20 MHz channel and the secondary 20 MHz channel. Channel bonding can be performed when a channel consecutive to a primary channel is in an idle state. That is, a primary 20 MHz channel, a secondary 20 MHz channel, a secondary 40 MHz channel, and a secondary 80 MHz channel may be sequentially bonded. If the secondary 20 MHz channel is determined to be busy, channel bonding may not be performed even if all of other secondary channels are idle. Further, when it is determined that the secondary 20 MHz channel is idle and the secondary 40 MHz channel is busy, channel bonding may be performed only on the primary 20 MHz channel and the secondary 20 MHz channel. Hereinafter, technical features with respect to multiple links and aggregation will be described. An STA (AP and/or non-AP STA) of the present disclosure can support multi-link communication. That is, the STA can simultaneously transmit and receive signals through a first link and a second link on the basis of a multi-link. That is, the multi-link may refer to a technique by which an STA simultaneously transmits and receives signals through a plurality of links. For example, transmission of a signal through a certain link and reception of a signal through another link can also be included in multi-link communication. An STA supporting multi-link may use a plurality of links in a first time period and use only one link in a second time period. FIG.16is a view for describing technical features of links used for multi-link. Links used for multi-link may have at least one of the following technical features. Features with respect to links described below are exemplary and additional technical features are applicable. For example, links used for multi-link may be included in different bands. That is, when multi-link supporting first and second links is used, each of the first and second links is included in a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, or a 6 GHz band, but the first and second links may be included in different bands. Referring toFIG.16, the first link1610and the second link1620may be used for multi-link. The first link1610ofFIG.16may be included in a 5 GHz band, for example. The second link1620ofFIG.16may be included in a 6 GHz band, for example. Links used for multi-link may be included in the same band. For example, when multi-link supporting first/second/third links is used, all links may be included in the same band, or the first/second links may be included in a first band and the third link may be included in a second band. Multi-link may be configured on the basis of different RF modules (e.g., IDFT/IFFT blocks). Additionally or alternatively, a plurality of links included in multi-link may be nonconsecutive in a frequency domain. That is, a frequency gap may be present between a frequency domain corresponding to the first link among a plurality of links and a frequency domain corresponding to a second link. As illustrated inFIG.16, the first link1610may include a plurality of channels1611,1612,1613, and1614. An STA can apply conventional channel bonding to the plurality of channels1611,1612,1613, and1614. That is, when the plurality of channels1611,1612,1613, and1614are idle for a specific time period (e.g., for PIFS), the plurality of channels1611,1612,1613, and1614can be configured as a single bonded channel, and the single bonded channel can operate as the single link1610. Alternatively, some (e.g.,1611,1612, and1614) of the plurality of channels1611,1612,1613, and1614may operate as the single link1610through preamble puncturing newly proposed in the IEEE 802.11ax standard. The aforementioned features can be equally applied to the second link1620. An upper limit may be set to the number (and/or a maximum bandwidth) of channels included in a single link used for multi-link. For example, a maximum of four channels can configure a single link as in the example ofFIG.16. Additionally or alternatively, a maximum bandwidth of a single link may be 160 MHz, 240 MHz, or 320 MHz. Additionally or alternatively, a single link may include only consecutive channels. The aforementioned specific numerical values may be changed. A procedure for identifying/specifying/determining links used for multi-link relates to an aggregation (or channel aggregation) procedure. An STA may aggregate a plurality of links to perform multi-link communication. That is, the STA can perform 1) a first procedure for identifying/specifying/determining links aggregated for multi-link and 2) a second procedure for performing multi-link communication through identified/specified/determined links. The STA may separately or simultaneously perform the first procedure and the second procedure. Hereinafter, technical features of the first procedure will be described. An STA can transmit/receive information about a plurality of links configuring multi-link. For example, an AP can transmit identification information about bands for which multi-link capability is supported and/or identification information about channels for which multi-link capability is supported through a beacon, a probe response, an association response, and other control frames. For example, when the AP can aggregate some channels in a 5 GHz band and some channels in a 6 GHz band and then perform communication through the aggregated channels, the AP can transmit identification about the channels that can be aggregated to a user STA. For example, the user STA can also transmit identification information about bands for which multi-link capability is supported and/or identification information about channels for which multi-link capability is supported through a probe request, an association response, and other control frames. For example, when the user STA can aggregate some channels in a 5 GHz band and some channels in a 6 GHz band and then perform communication through the aggregated channels, the user STA can transmit identification about the channels that can be aggregated to the AP. Any one of a plurality of links configuring multi-link may operate as a primary link. The primary link can execute various functions. For example, an STA can perform aggregation of other links when a backoff value of the primary link is 0 (and/or when the primary link is idle for PIFS). Such information about the primary link may also be included in the beacon, the probe request/response, and association request/response. The user-STA/AP can specify/determine/acquire bands and/or channels for multi-link communication through a negotiation procedure for exchanging information about their capability. For example, the STA can specify/determine/acquire a first candidate band/channel that can be used for the first link, a second candidate band/channel that can be used for the second link, and a third candidate band/channel that can be used for the third link through the negotiation procedure. Then, the STA can perform a procedure for identifying/specifying/determining links aggregated for multi-link. For example, the STA can aggregate at least two bands/channels on the basis of backoff counts and/or clear channel assessment (CCA) sensing results (busy/idle) of the first candidate band/channel, the second candidate band/channel, and the third candidate band/channel. For example, the STA can aggregate the second candidate band/channel that has been maintained in an idle state for a specific period (for PIFS) at a point in time at which the backoff count value of the first candidate band/channel is 0. That is, the STA can determine/specify the first candidate band/channel as the first link for multi-link, determine/specify the second candidate band/channel as the second link for multi-link, and perform multi-link communication through the first and second links. Hereinafter, technical features of the second procedure will be described. For example, when the STA determines that the first and second links are aggregated, the STA can perform multi-link communication through the first and second links. For example, the STA may transmit PPDUs having the same length through both the first and second links. Alternatively, the STA may receive a transmitting PPDU through the first link and receive a receiving PPDU through the second link for an overlap time period. The STA may perform communication through all the aggregated links in a specific time period and use only one link in other time periods. In the following example, an STA can set a network allocation vector (NAV) for a specific band (or specific link). NAVs may be divided into an intra-BSS NAV and an overlapping BSS (OBSS) NAV. The OBSS NAV may also be called a basic NAV. The intra-BSS NAV may be set on the basis of an intra-BSS frame (or packet). Frames/packets received by an STA may be divided into an intra-BSS frame and an OBSS frame. The intra-BSS frame is a frame received through an intra-BSS and may be a frame generated in a BSS to which an STA (i.e., a receiving STA) that receives the frame belongs. On the other hand, the OBSS frame (or inter-BSS frame) may be a frame received from a BSS (e.g., a neighboring BSS) to which the receiving STA does not belong. The receiving STA may determine whether a received frame is an intra-BSS frame or an OBSS frame on the basis of a specific field (e.g., a BSS color ID included in an HE-SIG-A field) included in the received frame. For example, the receiving STA may set an intra-BSS NAV on the basis of a duration field (e.g., a duration/ID field included in a MAC header) or a TXOP field (e.g., a TXOP field included in HE-SIG-A) of the frame determined to be an intra-BSS frame. In addition, the receiving STA may set an OBSS NAV (i.e., basic NAV) on the basis of the duration field (e.g., the duration/ID field included in the MAC header) or the TXOP field (e.g., the TXOP field included in HE-SIG-A) of the frame determined to be an OBSS frame. The receiving STA that sets two NAVs can use at least one of the set two NAVs for a following transmission operation (e.g., UL-MU). Hereinafter, the present disclosure proposes an example in which an STA sets a NAV on the basis of a signal received from a transmitting STA. Specifically, the transmitting STA may aggregate links through a backoff procedure for each primary channel of each link and transmit signals (or data) at the time of multi-link aggregation. Here, links for transmission of the transmitting STA may be links included in all bands supported by STAs or some of bands supported by the transmitting STA. The transmitting STA can aggregate all links including a primary link. The transmitting STA can transmit signals (or data) through the all aggregated links. In this case, a receiving STA and/or a third party device can perform a reception operation or a NAV setting operation in the same manner as a case where multi-link signal reception is not performed. However, when the transmitting STA aggregates only some links and transmits a first signal (or data), the first signal may collide with a second signal (or data) transmitted from the receiving STA operating in a link that is not aggregated. Hereinafter, a method of setting a NAV by a receiving STA when a transmitting STA aggregates only some links and transmits a signal is proposed. FIG.17andFIG.18are diagrams for describing an example in which collision occurs in a multi-link operation. The transmitting STA (or AP) can support a plurality of frequency bands. The receiving STA can support at least one of the plurality of frequency bands supported by the transmitting STA. The transmitting STA and the receiving STA can constitute a BSS. The transmitting STA can configure a multi-link through at least one of the plurality of frequency bands. That is, the transmitting STA (or AP) can aggregate at least two of a plurality of links to configure a multi-link. While the transmitting STA transmits a signal (e.g., a PPDU) through the multi-link, at least one STA connected to the transmitting STA may transmit a signal through a link that is not aggregated. The transmitting STA may not identify the signal received through the link that is not aggregated because it transmits the signal through the multi-link. When the signal is transmitted through the link that is not aggregated, the transmitting STA cannot receive the signal and thus resources may be wasted. Hereinafter, the aforementioned problem will be described using a specific example with reference toFIG.17andFIG.18. Referring toFIG.17andFIG.18, AP11710, STA11711, STA21712, STA31713, and STA41714may constitute a first BSS. AP21720and STA51725may constitute a second BSS (or OBSS). For example, AP11710may support 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and/or 6 GHz bands. STA11711, STA21712, STA31713, or STA41714may include an STA supporting at least one of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands. For example, STA11711may support 5 GHz and/or 6 GHz bands. STA21712may support 5 GHz and/or 6 GHz bands. STA31713may support 2.4 GHz and/or 5 GHz bands. STA41714may support a 2.4 GHz band. AP21720may support 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and/or 6 GHz band. STA51725may support 2.4 GHz and/or 5 GHz bands. AP11710may support a first link1810, a second link1820, and/or a third link1830. For example, the first link1810may be included in the 5 GHz band. The second link1820may be included in the 2.4 GHz band. The third link1830may be included in the 6 GHz band. AP11710may configure a multi-link for transmitting signals (hereinafter, downlink (DL) signals) to STA11711and STA21712. AP11710may determine whether primary channels of the first link1810, the second link1820, and/or the third link1830are idle. AP11710may determine that the primary channel of the second link1820is busy. AP11710may determine that the primary channels of the first link1810and the third link1830are idle. AP11710may specify the first link1810and the third link1830as links to be aggregated. AP11710may transmit a DL signal (e.g., DL PPDU) to STA11711and STA21712through the aggregated first and second links1810and1830. Here, AP11710may not receive a signal (hereinafter an uplink (UL) signal) transmitted from STA31713or STA41714through the second link1820while transmitting the DL signal to STA11711and STA21712because AP11710cannot simultaneously perform transmission and reception. AP11710may not receive the UL signal (e.g., UL PPDU) because it is transmitting the DL signal. Since AP11710cannot receive the UL signal, resources may be wasted. Accordingly, a method for reducing such resource waste may be required. STA31713supporting the 2.4 GHz band or the 5 GHz band may recognize a DL signal transmitted through the first link1810of the 5 GHz band. However, STA41714supporting the 2.4 GHz band may not recognize a DL signal transmitted through the first link1810or the third link1830. STA51725that is an OBSS STA can recognize a DL signal from AP11710because it supports the 5 GHz band. Accordingly, different solutions for STAs may be required. For reference, an intra-BSS NAV set in a BSS to which an STA belongs and a basic NAV set in a BSS (or OBSS) to which an STA does not belong may be set for each link (or band). Hereinafter, technical features proposed by the present disclosure to solve the aforementioned problems in response to STAs will be described. A method of setting a NAV by an STA will be described according to three cases. In CASE 1, a method of setting a NAV in the case of a third party STA in the same BSS which recognizes signal transmission (e.g., STA31713ofFIG.17) will be described. In CASE 2, a method of setting a NAV in the case of a third party STA in the same BSS which does not recognize signal transmission (e.g., STA41714ofFIG.17) will be described. In CASE 3, a method of setting a NAV in the case of an STA included in an OBSS (e.g., STA51725ofFIG.17) will be described. For clear and brief description, the following three cases will be described using a transmitting STA (or AP), a first STA, a second STA, a third STA, and a fourth STA. In the following example, “a link (e.g., first/second/third link)” may include any channel (20/40/80/160/240/320 MHz channel) on any band (e.g., any one of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz). For example, the first link may include one of channels on the 5 GHz band. The second link2link may include one of channels on the 2.4 GHz band. The third link may include one of channels on the 6 GHz band. The transmitting STA (e.g., AP11710inFIG.17) can support the first to third links. The first STA (e.g., STA31713inFIG.17) can support the first and second links. The second STA (e.g., STA21712inFIG.17) can support the first and third links. The third STA (e.g., STA41714inFIG.17) can support the second link. The fourth STA (e.g., STA51725inFIG.17) can support the first and second links. The transmitting STA, the first STA, the second STA, and the third STA may constitute a single BSS. The fourth STA may be included in an OBSS. The transmitting STA may transmit a first signal (e.g., PPDU) to the second STA through aggregated first and third links. In this case, operations of the first to fourth STAs to set a NAV may be proposed according to each case.CASE 1: a case where a third party station (e.g., the first STA or the third STA of the same BSS) recognizes the first signal (e.g., PPDU) transmitted from the transmitting STA CASE 1 relates to an operation performed in the third party STA when the third party STA can recognize/detect the first signal. That is, CASE 1 may relate to the operation of the first STA. The third party STA may support a multi-link (or band). The third party STA may be an STA other than a target STA to which a signal is transmitted from the transmitting STA. The third party STA may receive a packet (i.e., intra-BSS packet) from the BSS to which it belongs. Accordingly, the third party STA can acquire an intra-BSS NAV value of a link from which the packet is detected. In addition, the third party STA may set the acquired intra-BSS NAV value to the same value as an intra-BSS NAV value for which no packet is detected. For example, the first STA can receive a PPDU generated for the second STA from the transmitting STA through the first link. The first STA can acquire information related to a NAV on the basis of the PPDU. The information related to the NAV may include information about a NAV value. The first STA can set a first type NAV for the first link according to the NAV value. The first type NAV may include an intra-BSS NAV. The first STA can set a first type NAV for the second link to the same value as the NAV value. FIG.19illustrates an example in which an STA sets a NAV according to CASE 1. FIG.19illustrates a specific example of CASE 1. Referring toFIG.19, an AP1900can specify links to be aggregated from among a first link1910to a third link1930in order to transmit a PPDU1940to a second STA1902. The AP1900can specify the first link1910and the third link1930as links to be aggregated on the basis of backoff count (BC) values and/or clear channel assessment (CCA) sensing results (busy/idle) of the first link1910to the third link1930. For example, the AP1900may determine that a CCA sensing result of the second link1920is a busy state and CCA sensing results of the first link1910and the third link1930are an idle state. Accordingly, the AP1900can specify the first link1910and the third link1930as links to be aggregated. As another example, the AP1900can aggregate the first link1910and the third link1930when BC values of primary channels (e.g., primary 20 MHz channels) of the first link1910and the third link1930are a first value (e.g., {0}) and/or when the primary channels are idle for a PIFS. The AP1900can transmit the PPDU1940to the second STA1902through the aggregated first and third links1910and1930. The PPDU may include information for setting the first type NAV for the first link1910. The first type NAV may include an intra-BSS NAV. The first STA1901supports the first link1910and the second link1920and thus can receive the PPDU1940through the first link1910. The first STA1901can check that the PPDU1940has been generated for the second STA1902. The first STA1901can acquire a NAV value for the first link1910on the basis of a duration field of a MAC header frame or a signal field of a PHY header frame included in the PPDU1940. For example, the signal field of the PHY header frame may include a SIG-A field (e.g., HE-SIG-A). The SIG-A field may include a TXOP field. For example, the first STA1901may acquire the NAV value for the first link1910on the basis of the TXOP field included in the SIG-A field of the PPDU1940. The first STA1901can set the first type NAV for the first link1910on the basis of the NAV value. The first STA1901can acquire a NAV value for the second link1920on the basis of the duration field of the MAC header frame or the signal field of the PHY header frame included in the PPDU1940. For example, the signal field of the PHY header frame may include a SIG-A field (e.g., HE-SIG-A). The SIG-A field may include a TXOP field. For example, the first STA1901may acquire the NAV value for the second link1920on the basis of the TXOP field included in the SIG-A field of the PPDU1940. The first STA1901can set the first type NAV for the second link1920on the basis of the NAV value. The first type NAV for the second link1920may include an intra-BSS NAV for the second link1920. The first STA1901may set the first type NAV for the second link1920to the same NAV value as the first type NAV for the first link1910. Specifically, the first STA1901may set the first type NAV for the first link1910and then set the first type NAV for the second link1920to the same NAV value as the first type NAV for the first link1910. A period length of the first type NAV for the second link1920may be set to be identical to a period length of the first type NAV for the first link1910. The first STA1901may not transmit a signal to the AP1900for a period in which the first STA1901is set to the first type NAV by setting the first type NAV for the first link1910and the first type NAV for the second link1920. FIG.20is a flowchart for describing an example of an operation of a transmitting STA according to CASE 1. Referring toFIG.20, a transmitting STA (e.g., AP1900inFIG.19) may specify the first link and the third link in step S2010. Specifically, the transmitting STA may specify links to be aggregated from among the first to third links in order to transmit a PPDU to the second STA (e.g., the second STA1902inFIG.19). The transmitting STA may specify the first link and the third link on the basis of BC values of the first link and the third link and/or CCA sensing results (busy/idle) of the first link and the third link through a backoff procedure. The transmitting STA can aggregate the first link and the third link. In step S2020, the transmitting STA can transmit the PPDU through the first link and the third link. The PPDU may include information about a target STA (i.e., the second STA) that is a PPDU transmission target. In addition, the PPDU may include information about a TXOP or a NAV. For example, the duration field of the MAC header frame and/or the signal field of the PHY header frame included in the PPDU may include information about a NAV. The transmitting STA can transmit the PPDU in the same length in the first link and the third link. In step S2030, the transmitting STA can receive ACK through the first link and the third link. The transmitting STA can receive ACK from the target STA (e.g., the second STA1902inFIG.19) that is the PPDU transmission target in response to the PPDU. The transmitting STA can receive ACK through the aggregated first and third links. FIG.21is a flowchart for describing an example of an operation of a first STA according to CASE 1. Referring toFIG.21, the first STA (e.g., the first STA1901inFIG.19) can receive a PPDU generated for the second STA (e.g., the second STA1902inFIG.19) through the first link in step S2110. The first STA can support the first link and the second link. The PPDU can be transmitted through the aggregated first and third links. The first STA can receive the PPDU only through the first link in the aggregated first and third links. The first STA can check that the PPDU is transmitted to the second STA. The first link can be received through a first band. The second link can be received through a second band different from the first band. In step S2120, the first STA can set the first type NAV for the first link on the basis of the PPDU. The PPDU may include information about a NAV. Specifically, the first STA can acquire a NAV value through the duration field of the MAC header frame included in the PPDU and/or the signal field included in the PPDU. For example, the signal field may include a SIG-A field (e.g., HE-SIG-A) and the SIG-A field may include a TXOP field. The first STA can set the first type NAV for the first link using the NAV value. The first type NAV for the first link may include an intra-BSS NAV for the first link. In step S2130, the first STA can set the first type NAV for the second link on the basis of the PPDU. For example, the first STA can acquire a NAV value for the second link on the basis of the duration field of the MAC header frame or the signal field of the PHY header frame included in the PPDU. For example, the signal field of the PHY header frame may include a SIG-A field (e.g., HE-SIG-A). The SIG-A field may include a TXOP field. For example, the first STA can acquire the NAV value for the second link on the basis of the TXOP field included in the SIG-A field of the PPDU. The first STA can set the first type NAV for the second link on the basis of the NAV value. The first type NAV for the second link may include an intra-BSS NAV for the second link. The first STA may set the first type NAV for the second link to the same NAV value as the first type NAV for the first link. A period length of the first type NAV for the second link may be set to be identical to a period length of the first type NAV for the first link. The first STA may not transmit a signal to an STA distinguished from the first STA (e.g., AP1900inFIG.19) for a period in which the first STA is set to the first type NAV by setting the first type NAV for the first link and the first type NAV for the second link.CASE 2: a case where a third party STA in the same BSS does not recognize a first signal (e.g., PPDU) transmitted from a transmitting STA CASE 2 proposes an operation of the third party STA or the transmitting STA (or AP) when the third party STA can recognize/detect the first signal. That is, CASE 2 may relate to an operation of a third STA. The third party STA cannot recognize a signal (e.g., PPDU) transmitted through a link (or band) that is not supported thereby. Accordingly, in this case, a hidden band (link) problem may be generated. For example, the third STA may not detect/recognize transmission of the first signal from the transmitting STA to the second STA through the first link and the third link because the third STA supports the second link. Accordingly, the third STA may transmit a signal to the transmitting STA while the transmitting STA transmits the first signal through the first link and the third link. The transmitting STA may not receive the signal from the third STA because the transmitting STA is transmitting the first signal. Accordingly, a method by which the third STA recognizes a signal transmitted from the transmitting STA may be required. As methods for solving this problem, CASE 2-1,202, and/or 2-3 may be proposed. CASE 2-1 to 2-3 below may be applied to CASE 1.CASE 2-1: a method of transmitting a CTS-to-self frame first, by a transmitting STA, before transmission of a first signal The transmitting STA can transmit a CTS-to-self frame through all bands (or links) supported thereby before transmission of a first signal (e.g., PPDU). The transmitting STA can notify other STAs (e.g., the first to third STAs) of presence of the first signal (e.g., PPDU) which will be transmitted through the CTS-to-self frame. The CTS-to-self frame may include information to distinguish a link (e.g., the first link and the third link) through which the first signal is transmitted after the CTS-to-self frame from a link (e.g., the second link) through which the first signal is not transmitted. Further, the CTS-to-self frame may include information related to a NAV to be set by a third party STA. The information related to the NAV may be included in the duration/ID field. The transmitting STA can transmit the CTS-to-self frame through all links supportable thereby such that an STA (e.g., a fourth STA) supporting only a link through which the first signal is not transmitted can also set a NAV. The transmitting STA can determine a link through which the first signal will be transmitted through a backoff procedure. That is, the link through which the first signal will be transmitted may be a link determined to be idle through CCA and thus may be a link in a ready state for transmission of the first signal. Accordingly, the transmitting STA can additionally determine whether the link through which the first signal is not transmitted is idle for a designated period before transmission of the CTS-to-self frame. The designated period may include, for example, PIFS, AIFS, or one slot. The transmitting STA can cause the third party STA to effectively set a NAV through the CTS-to-self frame. For example, the transmitting STA can cause all third party STAs to set a NAV when there is no hidden node. In addition, the transmitting STA can transmit the relatively short CTS-to-self frame before transmission of the first signal that is long due to data included therein to acquire TXOP. For example, the transmitting STA can check that the second link is idle for a designated period (e.g., PIFS) before transmission of the first signal. The transmitting STA can transmit the CTS-to-self frame through all links (bands) supported thereby before transmission of the first signal. The third STA can acquire information about a transmission link of the first signal and/or information related to a NAV from the CTS-to-self frame. The third STA can set a first type NAV related to the length of a TXOP period in which the transmitting STA communicates with the second STA through the aggregated first and third links. The first type NAV may include an intra-BSS NAV. The third STA may not transmit a signal through the second link for the set first type NAV period. FIG.22illustrates an example in which an STA sets a NAV according to CASE 2-1. FIG.22illustrates a specific example of CASE 2-1. Referring toFIG.22, an AP2200can specify links to be aggregated from among a first link2210to a third link2230in order to transmit a PPDU2250to a second STA2202. The AP2200can specify the first link2210and the third link2230as links to be aggregated on the basis of backoff count (BC) values and/or clear channel assessment (CCA) sensing results (busy/idle) of the first link2210to the third link2230. The AP2200can determine whether the second link is idle for a designated period. The designated period may include, for example, PIFS, AIFS, or one slot. When the second link is idle for the designated period, the AP2200can transmit a CTS-to-self frame2240through all links (or bands) supportable thereby. That is, the AP2200can transmit the CTS-to-self frame2240through the first link2210to the third link2230. Although the CTS-to-self frame2240is illustrated as a single frame, the CTS-to-self2240may include CTS-to-self frames independently transmitted through the first link to the third link. The CTS-to-self frame2240may include information about links (the first link2210and the third link2230) through which the PPDU2250is transmitted and/or information about a NAV. A third STA2203supporting a second link2220can receive the CTS-to-self frame2240through the second link2220. The third STA2203can check that a PPDU2250which will be subsequently transmitted is for the second STA2203. The third STA2203can acquire a NAV value on the basis of a duration/ID field of the CTS-to-self frame2240. The third STA2203can set a first type NAV for the second link2220on the basis of the NAV value. The first type NAV may include an intra-BSS NAV. Technical features with respect to an operation of a fourth STA2204will be separately described below. FIG.23is a flowchart for describing an example of an operation of a transmitting STA according to CASE 2-1. Referring toFIG.23, a transmitting STA (e.g., AP2200inFIG.22) can specify the first link and the third link in step S2310. Specifically, the transmitting STA can specify links to be aggregated from among the first to third links in order to transmit a PPDU to a second STA (e.g., the second STA2202inFIG.22). The transmitting STA may specify the first link and the third link on the basis of BC values of the first link and the third link and/or CCA sensing results (busy/idle) of the first link and the third link through a backoff procedure. The transmitting STA can aggregate the first link and the third link. In step S2320, the transmitting STA can transmit a CTS-to-self frame through all links supported thereby. The transmitting STA can determine whether the second link is idle for a designated period before transmission of the CTS-to-self frame. The designated period may include, for example, PIFS, AIFS, or one slot. When the second link is idle for the designated period, the transmitting STA can transmit the CTS-to-self frame through the first to third links. The CTS-to-self frame may include information about a target STA (i.e., the second STA) that is a PPDU transmission target. In addition, the CTS-to-self frame may include information about links (the first link and the third link) through which a PPDU will be transmitted and/or information about a NAV. In step S2330, the transmitting STA can transmit the PPDU through the first link and the third link. The transmitting STA can transmit the PPDU to the second STA through the aggregated first and third links. The transmitting STA can transmit the PPDU in the same length in the first link and the third link. In step S2340, the transmitting STA can receive ACK through the first link and the third link. The transmitting STA can receive ACK through the aggregated first and third links. The transmitting STA can receive ACK from the second STA in response to the PPDU. FIG.24is a flowchart for describing an example of an operation of a third STA according to CASE 2-1. Referring toFIG.24, the third STA (e.g., the third STA2203inFIG.22) can receive a CTS-to-self frame through the first link in step S2410. The CTS-to-self frame can be transmitted through the aggregated first and third links. The third STA supporting only the first link can receive the CTS-to-self frame through the first link. The third STA can check that a PPDU which will be subsequently transmitted is a PPDU transmitted to the second STA (e.g., the second STA2202inFIG.22). In step S2420, the third STA can set the first type NAV for the first link on the basis of the CTS-to-self frame. The CTS-to-self frame may include information about links (the first link and the third links) through which the PPDU is transmitted and/or information about a NAV. For example, the third STA can acquire a NAV value on the basis of a duration/ID field of the CTS-to-self frame. The third STA can set the first type NAV for the first link on the basis of the NAV value. The first type NAV may include an intra-BSS NAV. For example, the third STA can set an intra-BSS NAV related to the length of a TXOP period in which the transmitting STA communicates with the second STA through the aggregated first and third links. The third STA may not transmit a signal through the second link for the set intra-BSS NAV period.CASE 2-2: a method of transmitting a CTS-to-self frame along with a first signal by a transmitting STA The transmitting STA can transmit a CTS-to-self frame as in CASE 2-1. However, the transmitting STA can transmit a first signal (e.g., a PPDU) through a link for transmitting the first signal differently from CASE 2-1. At the same point in time, the transmitting STA can transmit the CTS-to-self frame through a link through which the first signal is not transmitted. The transmitting STA can transmit different signals (or frames) for respective links supported thereby. The transmitting STA can determine a link through which the first signal will be transmitted through a backoff procedure. That is, the link through which the first signal will be transmitted may be a link determined to be idle through CCA and thus may be a link in a ready state for transmission of the first signal. Accordingly, the transmitting STA can determine whether the link through which the first signal is not transmitted is idle for a designated period before transmission of the CTS-to-self frame. The designated period may include, for example, PIFS, AIFS, or one slot. The CTS-to-self frame may include information related to a NAV to be set by a third party STA. The information related to the NAV may be included in a duration/ID field. The transmitting STA can transmit the CTS-to-self frame through the link through which the first signal is not transmitted such that an STA (e.g., a fourth STA) supporting only the link through which the first signal is not transmitted sets a NAV. The transmitting STA can cause a third party STA to effectively set a NAV through the CTS-to-self frame. For example, the transmitting STA can cause all third party STAs to set a NAV when there is no hidden node. In addition, the transmitting STA can transmit the relatively short CTS-to-self frame along with the first signal that is long due to data included therein to acquire (or secure) TXOP. For example, when the transmitting STA transmits the first signal through the first link and the third link, the transmitting STA can check whether the first link is idle for a designated period (e.g., PIFS). The transmitting STA can transmit the first signal through the aggregated first and third links and transmit the CTS-to-self frame along with the first signal through the second link when the first link is idle for the designated period. The third STA can acquire information about a NAV from the CTS-to-self frame. The third STA can set an intra-BSS NAV for the second link. The third STA may not transmit a signal through the second link for the set intra-BSS NAV period. For example, the third STA can set an intra-BSS NAV related to the length of a TXOP period in which the transmitting STA communicates with the second STA through the aggregated first and third links. The third STA may not transmit a signal through the first link for the set intra-BSS NAV period. FIG.25illustrates an example in which an STA sets a NAV according to CASE 2-2. FIG.25illustrates a specific example of CASE 2-2. Referring toFIG.25, an AP2500can specify links to be aggregated from among the first link2510to the third link2530in order to transmit a PPDU2550to a second STA2502. The AP2500can specify the first link2510and the third link2530as links to be aggregated on the basis of backoff count (BC) values and/or clear channel assessment (CCA) sensing results (busy/idle) of the first link2510to the third link2530. The AP2500can determine whether a second link is idle for a designated period. The designated period may include, for example, PIFS, AIFS, or one slot. When the second link is idle for the designated period, the AP2500can transmit a CTS-to-self frame2540through the second link2520. Simultaneously, the AP2500can transmit the PPDU2550through the aggregated first and third links2510and2530. A third STA2503supporting the second link2520can receive the CTS-to-self frame2540through the second link2520. The third STA2503can check that the PPDU2550is transmitted through the first link2510and the third link2530through the CTS-to-self frame2540. The third STA2503can acquire a NAV value on the basis of the duration/ID field of the CTS-to-self frame2540. The third STA2503can set a first type NAV for the second link2520on the basis of the NAV value. The first type NAV may include an intra-BSS NAV. Technical features with respect to an operation of a fourth STA2504will be separately described below. FIG.26is a flowchart for describing an example of an operation of a transmitting STA according to CASE 2-2. Referring toFIG.26, a transmitting STA (e.g., AP2500inFIG.25) can specify the first link and the third link in step S2610. Specifically, the transmitting STA can specify links to be aggregated from among the first to third links in order to transmit a PPDU to a second STA (e.g., the second STA2502inFIG.25). The transmitting STA may specify the first link and the third link on the basis of BC values of the first link and the third link and/or CCA sensing results (busy/idle) of the first link and the third link through a backoff procedure. The transmitting STA can aggregate the first link and the third link. In step S2620, the transmitting STA can transmit a PPDU through the first link and the third link and transmit a CTS-to-self frame through the second link. The transmitting STA can determine whether the second link is idle for a designated period before transmission of the CTS-to-self frame. The designated period may include, for example, PIFS, AIFS, or one slot. When the second link is idle for the designated period, the transmitting STA can transmit the CTS-to-self frame through the second link. In addition, the transmitting STA can transmit the PPDU through the aggregated first and third links. The transmitting STA can transmit the PPDU in the same length in the first link and the third link. The CTS-to-self frame may include information about links (the first link and the third link) through which the PPDU is transmitted and/or information about a NAV. In step S2630, the transmitting STA can receive ACK through the first link and the third link. The transmitting STA can receive ACK through the aggregated first and third links. The transmitting STA can receive ACK from the second STA in response to the PPDU. FIG.27is a flowchart for describing an example of an operation of a third STA according to CASE 2-2. FIG.27illustrates an operation of the third STA in CASE 2-2. Referring toFIG.27, the third STA (e.g., the third STA2503inFIG.25) can receive a CTS-to-self frame through the first link in step S2710. The CTS-to-self frame can be transmitted through the aggregated first and third links. The third STA supporting only the first link can receive the CTS-to-self frame through the first link. In step S2720, the third STA can set a first type NAV for the first link on the basis of the CTS-to-self frame. The CTS-to-self frame may include information about a NAV. For example, the third STA can acquire a NAV value on the basis of the duration/ID field of the CTS-to-self frame. The third STA can set the first type NAV for the first link on the basis of the NAV value. The first type NAV may include an intra-BSS NAV. For example, the third STA can set an intra-BSS NAV related to the length of a TXOP period in which a transmitting STA communicates with a second STA through the aggregated first and third links. The third STA may not transmit a signal through the first link for the set intra-BSS NAV period.CASE 2-3: a method of using multi-band (or multi-link) RTS/CTS before transmission of a first signal A transmitting STA can transmit a multi-band (MB) RTS frame and receive an MB CTS frame before transmission of a first signal. The transmitting STA can perform protection for a hidden node and an STA that cannot recognize/detect the first signal through the MB RTS frame and/or the MB CTS frame. In addition, the transmitting STA can acquire a TXOP through the MB RTS frame and/or the MB CTS frame. The MB RTS frame and/or the MB CTS frame may include information about a link through which the first signal is transmitted and information about a link through which the first signal is not transmitted. An STA (e.g., a third STA) supporting only the link through which the first signal is not transmitted can transmit an MB CTS frame in response to the MB RTS frame even when it receives the MB RTS frame. Accordingly, the STA supporting only the link through which the first signal is not transmitted can transmit, to a hidden STA, information about the link through which the first signal is transmitted and information about the link through which the first signal is not transmitted through the MB CTS frame. The hidden STA may include an STA that has not received the MB RTS frame. The hidden STA can set an intra-BSS NAV on the basis of the MB CTS frame. Then, the STA supporting only the link through which the first signal is not transmitted can set a first type NAV on the basis of the MB RTS frame. The first type NAV may include an intra-BSS NAV. The transmitting STA can determine a link through which the first signal will be transmitted through a backoff procedure. That is, the link through which the first signal will be transmitted may be a link determined to be idle through CCA and thus may be a link in a ready state for transmission of the first signal. Accordingly, the transmitting STA can determine whether the link through which the first signal is not transmitted is idle for a designated period before transmission of the CTS-to-self frame. The designated period may include, for example, PIFS, AIFS, or one slot. The MB RTS frame may also be called a multi-link (ML) RTS frame. The MB CTS frame may also be called a multi-link (ML) CTS frame. For example, the transmitting STA can check that the second link is idle for the designated period (e.g., PIFS) before transmitting the first signal through the first link and the third link. The transmitting STA can transmit the MB RTS frame before transmitting the first signal through all links (or bands) supported thereby. The second STA that is a target STA of the first signal can transmit the MB CTS frame to the transmitting STA through the first link and the third link. The third STA can transmit the MB CTS frame through the second link even when the first signal is not a signal for the third STA. The third STA can set a first type NAV related to the length of a TXOP period in which the transmitting STA communicates with the second STA through the aggregated first and third links. The first type NAV may include an intra-BSS NAV. The third STA may not transmit a signal through the second link for the set first type NAV period. FIG.28illustrates an example in which an STA sets a NAV according to CASE 2-3. FIG.28illustrates a specific example of CASE 2-3. Referring toFIG.28, an AP2800can specify links to be aggregated from among a first link2810to a third link2830in order to transmit a signal (or data) to a second STA2802. The AP2800can specify the first link2810and the third link2830as links to be aggregated on the basis of backoff count (BC) values and/or clear channel assessment (CCA) sensing results (busy/idle) of the first link2810to the third link2830. The AP2800can determine whether a second link is idle for a designated period. The designated period may include, for example, PIFS, AIFS, or one slot. When the second link is idle for the designated period, the AP2800can transmit an MB RTS frame2840through all links (or bands) supportable thereby. That is, the AP2800can transmit the MB RTS frame2840through the first link2810to the third link2830. Although the MB RTS frame2840is illustrated as a single frame, the MB RTS frame2840may include MB RTS frames independently transmitted in the first link to the third link. The MB RTS frame2840may include information about links (i.e., the first link2810and the third link2830) through which a PPDU2860is transmitted and information about a NAV. A third STA2803supporting the second link2820can receive the MB RTS frame2840through the second link2820. The third STA2803can check that the PPDU2860which will be subsequently transmitted is a PPDU for the second STA2802. The third STA2803can acquire a NAV value on the basis of a duration/ID field of the MB RTS frame2840. The third STA2803can transmit an MB CTS2850through the second link2820in response to the MB RTS frame2840before setting a NAV for the second link2820. The third STA2803can set a first type NAV for the second link2820on the basis of the NAV value. Technical features with respect to an operation of a fourth STA2804will be separately described below. FIG.29is a flowchart for describing an example of an operation of a transmitting STA according to CASE 2-3. Referring toFIG.29, a transmitting STA (e.g., AP2800inFIG.28) can specify the first link and the third link in step S2910. Specifically, the transmitting STA can specify links to be aggregated from among the first to third links in order to transmit a PPDU to a second STA (e.g., the second STA2802inFIG.28). The transmitting STA may specify the first link and the third link on the basis of BC values of the first link and the third link and/or CCA sensing results (busy/idle) of the first link and the third link through a backoff procedure. The transmitting STA can aggregate the specified first link and the third link. In step S2920, the transmitting STA can transmit an MB RTS frame through all links supported thereby. That is, the transmitting STA can transmit the MB RTS frame through the first link to the third link. The transmitting STA can determine whether the second link is idle for a designated period before transmission of the MB RTS frame. The designated period may include, for example, PIFS, AIFS, or one slot. When the second link is idle for the designated period, the transmitting STA can transmit the MB RTS frame through the first link to the third link. The MB RTS frame may include information about a target STA (i.e., the second STA) that is a transmission target of a PPDU that will be subsequently transmitted. Further, the MB RTS frame may include information about links (the first link and the third link) through which the PPDU is transmitted and/or information about a NAV. In step S2930, the transmitting STA can receive an MB CTS frame through all links supported thereby. That is, the transmitting STA can receive the MB CTS frame through the first link to the third link. The MB CTS frame may be a response frame to an MB RTS frame transmitted from an STA belonging to the same BSS to which the transmitting STA belongs. For example, the transmitting STA can receive the MB CTS frame from the STA to which the PPDU will be transmitted. In step S2940, the transmitting STA can transmit the PPDU through the first link and the third link. The transmitting STA can transmit the PPDU to the second STA through the aggregated first and third links. The transmitting STA can transmit the PPDU in the same length in the first link and the third link. In step S2950, the transmitting STA can receive ACK through the first link and the third link. The transmitting STA can receive ACK through the aggregated first and third links. The transmitting STA can receive ACK from the second STA in response to the PPDU. FIG.30is a flowchart for describing an example of an operation of a third STA according to CASE 2-3. Referring toFIG.30, the third STA can receive an MB RTS frame through the first link in step S3010. The MB RTS frame can be transmitted through the first link to the third link. The third STA supporting only the first link can receive the MB RTS frame through the first link. The third STA can check that a PPDU that will be subsequently transmitted is a signal for the second STA. The third STA can check that the PPDU will be subsequently transmitted through the first link and the third link. In step S3020, the third STA can transmit an MB CTS frame. The third STA can transmit the MB CTS frame in response to the MB RTS frame. An STA that has not received the MB RTS can set a NAV (e.g., intra-BSS NAV) on the basis of the MB CTS frame transmitted form the third STA. In step S3030, the third STA can set a first type NAV for the first link on the basis of the MB RTS frame. The MB RTS frame may include information about a NAV. For example, the third STA can acquire a NAV value on the basis of the duration/ID field of the NB RTS frame. The third STA can set the first type NAV for the first link on the basis of the NAV value. The first type NAV may include an intra-BSS NAV. For example, the third STA can set an intra-BSS NAV related to the length of a TXOP period in which a transmitting STA communicates with a second STA through the aggregated first and third links. The third STA may not transmit a signal through the first link for the set intra-BSS NAV period.CASE 3: a method of setting a basic NAV in the case of an OBSS STA CASE 3 proposes an operation of an OBSS STA when the OBSS can recognize/detect a first signal. That is, CASE 3 may relate to the operation of the fourth STA. The OBSS STA (e.g., the fourth STA) can set a second type NAV for a link through which the first signal is transmitted irrespective of recognition/detection of the first signal. The second type NAV may include a basic NAV. As in CASE 2 (2-1 to 2-3), when a CTS-to-self frame or an MB RTS frame is received from a BSS different from a BSS to which the OBSS STA belongs, the OBSS STA can set the second type NAV for a link (e.g., the first link and the third link) through which the first signal is transmitted. However, the OBSS STA may not set the second type NAV for a link (e.g., the second link) through which the first signal is not transmitted. The OBSS STA can transmit a signal to the BSS thereof with respect to the link through which the first signal is not transmitted by not setting the second type NAV for the link through which the first signal is not transmitted. The second type NAV may include a basic NAV. The OBSS STA can acquire information about the link through which the first signal is transmitted and/or information about a NAV through the MB RTS frame or the CTS-to-self frame. The OBSS STA can set the second type NAV for the link through which the first signal is transmitted on the basis of the information about the link through which the first signal is transmitted and/or the information about a NAV. The OBSS STA may not set the second type NAV for the link through which the first signal is not transmitted on the basis of the information about the link through which the first signal is transmitted and/or the information about a NAV. In addition, as in CASE 1, the OBSS STA may acquire a NAV value from the first signal instead of the CTS-to-self frame or the MB RTS frame. The OBSS STA may set the second type NAV for the link through which the first signal is transmitted on the basis of the NAV value. If the OBSS STA does not support the link through which the first signal is transmitted, collision between signals may not occur because the OBSS STA belongs to the BSS unrelated to the link through which the first signal is transmitted. Accordingly, the OBSS STA that does not support the link through which the first signal is transmitted may not set the second type NAV. For example, according to CASE 1, the transmitting STA can transmit the first signal through the first link and the third link. The fourth STA that is an OBSS STA can receive the first signal through the first link. The fourth STA can check that the first signal is not transmitted from the BSS thereof. The fourth STA can acquire a NAV value on the basis of the first signal. The fourth STA can set a basic NAV for the first link on the basis of the NAV value. The fourth STA may not set a NAV for a second link that is another link supported by the fourth STA. As another example, according to CASE 2 (2-1 to 2-3), the transmitting STA can transmit a CTS-to-self frame or an MB RTS frame. The fourth STA that is an OBSS STA can acquire information about a link through which the first signal is transmitted and/or information about a NAV on the basis of the MB RTS frame or the CTS-to-self frame. The fourth STA can set a basic NAV for the first link that is a link through which the first signal is transmitted. The fourth STA may not set a basic NAV for the second link that is a link through which the first signal is not transmitted. The operation of an OBSS will be described below with reference toFIG.22,FIG.25, andFIG.28. Referring back toFIG.22, the fourth STA2204supporting the first link2210and the second link2220can receive the CTS-to-self frame2240through the first link2210and the second link2220. The fourth STA2204may belong to a BSS (i.e., OBSS) different from the BSS to which the AP2200belongs. The fourth STA2204can check information about links (the first link2210and the third link2230) through which the PPDU2250is transmitted and/or information about a NAV on the basis of the CTS-to-self frame2240. That is, the fourth STA2204can check that the PPDU2250will be transmitted through the first link2210and the third link2230. The fourth STA2204can set a second type NAV for the first link2210on the basis of the information about a NAV. The second type NAV may include a basic NAV. The fourth STA2204may not set the second type NAV for the second link2220. Referring back toFIG.25, the fourth STA2504supporting the first link2510and the second link2520can receive the CTS-to-self frame2540through the second link2520. The fourth STA2504can receive the PPDU2550through the first link2510. The fourth STA2504may belong to a BSS (i.e., OBSS) different from the BSS to which the AP2500belongs. The fourth STA2504can check information about links (the first link2510and the third link2530) through which the PPDU2550is transmitted on the basis of the CTS-to-self frame2540. In addition, the fourth STA2504can check information about links through which the PPDU2550is transmitted and/or information about a NAV on the basis of the PPDU2550. The fourth STA2504can set a second type NAV for the first link2510on the basis of the CTS-to-self frame2540and/or the PPDU2550. The second type NAV may include a basic NAV. The fourth STA2504may not set the second type NAV for the second link2520. Referring back toFIG.28, the fourth STA2804supporting the first link2810and the second link2820can receive the MB RTS frame2840through the first link2810and the second link2820. The fourth STA2804may belong to a BSS (i.e., OBS S) different from the BSS to which the AP2800belongs. The fourth STA2804can check information about links (the first link2810and the third link2830) through which the PPDU2860is transmitted and/or information about a NAV on the basis of the MB RTS frame2840. That is, the fourth STA2804can check that the PPDU2860is transmitted through the first link2810and the third link2830. The fourth STA2804can set a second type NAV for the first link2810. The second type NAV may include a basic NAV. The fourth STA2804may not set the second type NAV for the second link2820. FIG.31illustrates a transmitting STA or a receiving STA to which an example of the present disclosure is applied. Referring toFIG.31, the STA3100may include a processor3110, a memory3120, and a transceiver3130. The features ofFIG.31may be applied to a non-AP STA or an AP STA. The illustrated processor, memory, and transceiver may be implemented as separate chips, or at least two or more blocks/functions may be implemented through a single chip. The illustrated transceiver3130performs a signal transmission/reception operation. Specifically, the transceiver3130may transmit and receive IEEE 802.11 packets (e.g., IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be, etc.). The processor3110may implement the functions, processes, and/or methods proposed in the present disclosure. Specifically, the processor3110may receive a signal through the transceiver3130, process the received signal, generate a transmission signal, and perform control for signal transmission. The processor3110may include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), another chipset, a logic circuit, and a data processing device. The memory3120may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, memory card, storage medium, and/or other storage device. The memory3120may store a signal (i.e., a reception signal) received through the transceiver and may store a signal (i.e., a transmission signal) to be transmitted through the transceiver. That is, the processor3110may acquire the received signal through the memory3120and store the signal to be transmitted in the memory3120. FIG.32illustrates another example of a detailed block diagram of a transceiver. Some or all blocks ofFIG.32may be included in the processor3110. Referring toFIG.32, a transceiver3200includes a transmission part3201and a reception part3202. The transmission part3201includes a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) unit3211, a subcarrier mapper3212, an IDFT/(inverse fast Fourier transform) IFFT unit3213, a CP insertion unit3214, and a wireless transmission unit3215. The transmission part3201may further include a modulator. In addition, for example, the transmission part3201may further include a scramble unit (not shown), a modulation mapper (not shown), a layer mapper (not shown), and a layer permutator (not shown), and these components may be arranged before the DTF unit3211. That is, in order to prevent an increase in a peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), the transmission part3201allows information to first go through first the DFT unit3211before mapping a signal to a subcarrier. After a signal spread by the DFT unit3211(or precoded in the same sense) is mapped through the subcarrier mapper3212, the mapped signal goes through the IDTF/IFFT unit3213so as to be generated as a signal on a time axis. The DFT unit3211performs DFT on input symbols and outputs complex-valued symbols. For example, when Ntx symbols are input (here, Ntx is a natural number), a DFT size is Ntx. The DFT unit3211may be referred to as a transform precoder. The subcarrier mapper3212maps the complex-valued symbols to each subcarrier in a frequency domain. The complex symbols may be mapped to resource elements corresponding to a resource block allocated for data transmission. The subcarrier mapper3212may be referred to as a resource element mapper. The IDFT/IFFT unit3213performs IDFT/IFFT on an input symbol and outputs a baseband signal for data as a time domain signal. The CP insertion unit3214copies a rear part of the base band signal for data and inserts it into a front part of the base band signal for data. Inter-symbol interference (ISI) and inter-carrier interference (ICI) may be prevented through CP insertion, so that orthogonality may be maintained even in a multipath channel. Meanwhile, the receiving part3202includes a wireless reception unit3221, a CP removal unit3222, an FFT unit3223, an equalization unit3224, and the like. The wireless reception unit3221, the CP removing unit3222, and the FFT unit3223of the receiving part3202perform reverse functions of the wireless transmission unit3215, the CP inserting unit3214, and the IFF unit3213of the transmitting part3201. The receiving part3202may further include a demodulator. In addition to the illustrated blocks, the transceiver ofFIG.32may include a reception window controller (not shown) extracting a part of a received signal and a decoding operation processing unit (not shown) performing a decoding operation on a signal extracted through a reception window. The foregoing technical features of this specification are applicable to various applications or business models. For example, the foregoing technical features may be applied for wireless communication of a device supporting artificial intelligence (AI). Artificial intelligence refers to a field of study on artificial intelligence or methodologies for creating artificial intelligence, and machine learning refers to a field of study on methodologies for defining and solving various issues in the area of artificial intelligence. Machine learning is also defined as an algorithm for improving the performance of an operation through steady experiences of the operation. An artificial neural network (ANN) is a model used in machine learning and may refer to an overall problem-solving model that includes artificial neurons (nodes) forming a network by combining synapses. The artificial neural network may be defined by a pattern of connection between neurons of different layers, a learning process of updating a model parameter, and an activation function generating an output value. The artificial neural network may include an input layer, an output layer, and optionally one or more hidden layers. Each layer includes one or more neurons, and the artificial neural network may include synapses that connect neurons. In the artificial neural network, each neuron may output a function value of an activation function of input signals input through a synapse, weights, and deviations. A model parameter refers to a parameter determined through learning and includes a weight of synapse connection and a deviation of a neuron. A hyperparameter refers to a parameter to be set before learning in a machine learning algorithm and includes a learning rate, the number of iterations, a mini-batch size, and an initialization function. Learning an artificial neural network may be intended to determine a model parameter for minimizing a loss function. The loss function may be used as an index for determining an optimal model parameter in a process of learning the artificial neural network. Machine learning may be classified into supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning. Supervised learning refers to a method of training an artificial neural network with a label given for training data, wherein the label may indicate a correct answer (or result value) that the artificial neural network needs to infer when the training data is input to the artificial neural network. Unsupervised learning may refer to a method of training an artificial neural network without a label given for training data. Reinforcement learning may refer to a training method for training an agent defined in an environment to choose an action or a sequence of actions to maximize a cumulative reward in each state. Machine learning implemented with a deep neural network (DNN) including a plurality of hidden layers among artificial neural networks is referred to as deep learning, and deep learning is part of machine learning. Hereinafter, machine learning is construed as including deep learning. The foregoing technical features may be applied to wireless communication of a robot. Robots may refer to machinery that automatically process or operate a given task with own ability thereof. In particular, a robot having a function of recognizing an environment and autonomously making a judgment to perform an operation may be referred to as an intelligent robot. Robots may be classified into industrial, medical, household, military robots and the like according uses or fields. A robot may include an actuator or a driver including a motor to perform various physical operations, such as moving a robot joint. In addition, a movable robot may include a wheel, a brake, a propeller, and the like in a driver to run on the ground or fly in the air through the driver. The foregoing technical features may be applied to a device supporting extended reality. Extended reality collectively refers to virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). VR technology is a computer graphic technology of providing a real-world object and background only in a CG image, AR technology is a computer graphic technology of providing a virtual CG image on a real object image, and MR technology is a computer graphic technology of providing virtual objects mixed and combined with the real world. MR technology is similar to AR technology in that a real object and a virtual object are displayed together. However, a virtual object is used as a supplement to a real object in AR technology, whereas a virtual object and a real object are used as equal statuses in MR technology. XR technology may be applied to a head-mount display (HMD), a head-up display (HUD), a mobile phone, a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a TV, digital signage, and the like. A device to which XR technology is applied may be referred to as an XR device. | 113,273 |
11943810 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS FIG.1illustrates an example of a configuration of a wireless communication system according to the present invention. InFIG.1, an AP1, an AP2, an AP3, and an AP4make up different BSSs, respectively, and the AP1and an STA1-1, an STA1-2, and an STA1-3make up the same BSS. It is possible that as a CCA threshold of the AP1, −82 dBm is selected as default and that −76 dBm is selected for a Non-HE format, −66 dBm for an HE format, and −62 dBm for a Non-WLAN frame. A carrier sense range of the AP1is one that depends on the CCA threshold, and is indicated here by a circle for simplicity. Receiver sensitivity is assumed here to be a predetermined value of −82 dBm or less. It is noted that numerical values of the CCA threshold and the receiver sensitivity, as well as default values thereof, are examples. With respect to the AP1, the STA1-1and the STA1-3are present within a carrier sense range in accordance with a CCA threshold of −62 dBm for the Non-WLAN frame. With respect to the AP1, the AP3is present between the carrier sense range in accordance with the CCA threshold of −62 dBm for the Non-WAN frame and a carrier sense range in accordance with a CCA threshold of −66 dBm for the HE format. With respect to the AP1, the AP2and the STA1-2are present between the carrier sense range in accordance with the CCA threshold of −66 dBm for the HE format and a carrier sense range in accordance with a CCA threshold of −76 dBm for the Non-HE format. With respect to the AP1, the AP4is present between the carrier sense range in accordance with the CCA threshold of −76 dBm for the Non-HE format and a carrier sense range accordance with a default CCA threshold of −82 dBm. In the AP1, interference from the AP2to the AP4is observed according to the CCA threshold that is set in advance. At this point, the AP1, the STA1-1, the STA1-2are assumed to be HE stations, and the STA1-3is assumed to be a Non-HE station. Therefore, the AP1transmits a frame at the HE format, which is destined for the STA1-1and the STA1-2, and the AP1transmits a frame at the Non-HE format, which is destined for the STA1-3. A frame which is destined for the STA1-1and the STA1-3is assumed to be present in a transmission queue in the AP1. A control example in which a transmission opportunity is efficiently acquired in the AP1and system throughput is improved, and a control example in which a frame necessary for information collection, such as a beacon frame, is also efficiently acquired will be described below. In a first embodiment, a control example of a communication area resulting from setting the receiver sensitivity is described. In a second embodiment, a control example of each receive frame format is described. In a third embodiment, a control example of each receive frame type is described. In a fourth embodiment, an example of control for each standard of a destination station and each of the supported functionalities of the destination station is described. In a fifth embodiment, a control example of each transmit frame format or type is described. First Embodiment In the first embodiment, it is assumed that all stations which have to perform communication with the AP1are placed within a range of a single-digit meter in which tethering is performed. For example, inFIG.1, if only the STA1-1and the STA1-3are present in the vicinity of the AP1, receiver sensitivity of the AP1, for example, is set to −62 dBm or more. Accordingly, it is possible that the AP1performs simultaneous transmissions to the STA1-1and the STA1-3more simply than the AP1controls the CCA threshold. A control server, which is connected to each AP in a shared manner and in a wired or wireless manner, can set receiver sensitivity that corresponds to a communication area, which is controlled by each AP. InFIG.1, the AP1measures receive signals from the STA1-1and the STA1-3or RSSIs of wireless signals that are transmitted from the AP2to AP4in the vicinity, and notifies the control server of results of the measurement. If the RSSIs from the STA1-1and the STA1-3, which are measured by the AP1, are sufficiently strong, the control server determines that the station is present close to the AP1, and controls the receiver sensitivity. The receiver sensitivity, for example, is a value that is equal to or lower than the RSSIs from the STA1-1and the STA1-3, and is set to be stronger than RSSIs from the AP2to the AP4in the vicinity, which are measured by the AP1. Furthermore, if a transmitted signal strength indication or an antenna gain of each STA or each AP is known, a RSSI from each STA or each AP may be corrected using these values. However, if it is determined that a RSSI from the AP1, which is measured in the AP2to AP4, causes an interference in any of the AP2to AP4, and that throughput decreases, the receiver sensitivity of the AP1may not be controlled. Second Embodiment A feature of the second embodiment is that a CCA threshold of each receive frame format in the AP1is controlled. At this point, the CCA threshold is controlled to be a high value, for example, −66 dBm that is illustrated inFIG.1, in such a manner that the simultaneous transmissions are positively performed in a frame in the HE format. From the perspective of the fairness, when it comes to a frame in the Non-HE format, the CCA threshold is controlled to be a default value, for example, −82 dBm that is illustrated inFIG.1, or to be a value that is lower than the CCA threshold for the HE format, for example, −76 dBm that is illustrated inFIG.1. It is noted that the CCA threshold for the HE format may be set to be in a fixed relationship to the CCA threshold for the Non-HE format, for example, be set to be higher by 10 dB, and so forth. FIG.2illustrates a first example of a procedure for the AP1to perform receiving processing in the second embodiment of the present invention. It is noted that this holds true for another AP and STA. InFIG.2, the AP1starts to perform carrier sense at the default CCA threshold of −82 dBm (S0), and, if a received signal strength indication (RSSI) of a receive frame is at a receiver sensitivity of −82 dBm or below (Yes in S1), detects a preamble of the receive frame (S2). If the preamble is normally detected (Yes in S3), it is checked whether frame format is the HE format or the Non-HE format (S4). If the frame format is the HE format (Yes in S5), a BSSID in the preamble is checked (S6). If a BSSID of the receive frame is the BSSID of the AP1(Yes in S7), demodulation of the receive frame is continued (S8). Furthermore, if the preamble of the receive frame is not detected normally in Step S3(No in S3), it is determined that a wireless LAN frame is not present, setting to a CCA threshold of −62 dBm for the Non-WLAN frame takes place, and a channel state is determined (S9). This control is the same as that in Step S108, which is illustrated inFIG.14. Narrowing down to the carrier sense range and determination of the channel state can cause the transmission opportunity to be increased. Furthermore, if in Step S5, the receive frame is not in the HE format (No in S5), setting to the CCA threshold of −76 dBm for the Non-HE format takes place and the channel state is determined (S10). At this point, if a channel is busy (Yes in S11), the demodulation of the receive frame is continued (S12) and the simultaneous transmissions are deferred. On the other hand, if the channel is idle (No in S11), the demodulation of the receive frame is stopped (S13), and a state where the simultaneous transmissions are possible is set to be entered. Furthermore, in Step S7, if the BSSID of the receive frame is not consistent with the BSSID of the AP1(No in S7), because a frame in the HE format from another BSS is received, setting to a CCA threshold of −66 dBm for the HE frame takes place and the channel state is determined (S14). Then, despite the fact that the channel is busy or idle, the demodulation of the receive frame is stopped (S15), and the simultaneous transmissions are set to be performed. FIG.3illustrates an operational example of Steps S6to S8and S10to S12. An example of an operation by the AP1that is to be performed when the frame in the HE format that is transmitted by the STA1-2is received and the frame in the Non-HE format that is transmitted by the AP2is received is described here. InFIG.3, at time t1, the AP1detects a RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity and starts to receive a frame. At time t2, the AP1normally receives the preamble of the receive frame, checks that the HE format is present, checks that the BSSID is the same as that of the BSS that the AP1itself makes up, and then continues the demodulation. At time t3, the AP1completes the frame demodulation. In this case, because it is determined that the received frame is a frame of the STA1-2that the AP1itself makes up, which needs to be demodulated, the demodulation is continued and the simultaneous transmissions are not performed. It is noted that, if the frames in the HE format that are transmitted by the AP2to AP4are received, because the simultaneous transmissions are performed after the preamble is received in the processing in Step S15, the demodulation is stopped, but a description will be made of that with reference toFIGS.4and5. At time t4, the AP1detects the RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity and starts to receive the frame. At time t5, the AP1normally receives the preamble of the receive frame, checks that the Non-HE format is present, and causes the setting to the CCA threshold of −76 dBm for the Non-HE format to take place in the processing in Step S10. In the present example of the operation, because the frame is the receive frame from the AP2and the RSSI exceeds the CCA threshold, it is determined that the channel is busy and the demodulation is continued and the frame demodulation is completed at time t6. In this case, because a frame in the Non-HE format that is transmitted by the AP2that makes up another BSS is present, it is determined that there is a likelihood that the demodulation will be needed as is the case with, for example, the beacon frame or the like, and thus the demodulation is continued and the simultaneous transmissions are not performed. In this manner, although the CCA threshold is high, if the channel is busy, the simultaneous transmissions are avoided, and thus an influence of an interference on another BSS that is receiving the frame can be reduced. On the other hand, when the setting to the CCA threshold of −76 dBm for the Non-HE format takes place in the processing in Step S10, because the RSSI from the AP4falls below the CCA threshold, the AP1that receives the frame in the Non-HE format from the AP4determines that the channel is idle, and the demodulation is stopped in the processing in Step S13. Thus, the simultaneous transmissions are possible. It is noted that the reception of the frame in the Non-HE format, such as the beacon frame that is transmitted by the AP4is possibly dealt with according to a procedure that will be described below in the third embodiment. FIG.4illustrates a first example of operations in Steps S14and S15. An example of an operation by the AP1that is to be performed when the frame in the HE format that is transmitted by the AP2is received is described here. InFIG.4, the STA1-1and the AP1detect the RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity and start to receive the frame, at times t7and t8, and normally receive the preamble of the receive frame and check that the HE format is present, at times t9and t10. At this point, because the BSSID indicates that the AP2makes up another BSS, the setting to the CCA threshold of −66 dBm for the HE format takes place in the processing in Step S14and the demodulation is stopped in the processing Step S15. In the present example of the operation, when the AP1performs the recognition as the frame from the AP2and raises the CCA threshold, because the RSSI falls below the CCA threshold of the AP1, it is determined that the channel is idle, and the demodulation is stopped. Thus, the simultaneous transmissions are possible. If the channel is idle until time t11at which a fixed time+a random time have elapsed, the AP1transmits a frame that is destined for the STA1-1. The STA1-1stops the demodulation at time t9, and detects the RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity and starts to receive the frame, at time t12. In this manner, after detecting the preamble of the frame in the HE format that is transmitted by the AP2that makes up another BSS, the AP1causes setting to a high CCA threshold for the HE format to take place and stops the demodulation. Because of this, the AP1, along with the AP2, easily acquires the transmission right and performs the simultaneous transmissions. On the other hand, the STA1-1also stops the demodulation after detecting the preamble of another BSS, and, although the AP2is transmitting the frame, can normally demodulate the frame that is transmitted by the AP1. FIG.5illustrates a second example of the operations in Steps S14and S15. An example of an operation by the AP1that is to be performed when the frame in the HE format that is transmitted by the STA1-2is received after the frame in the HE format that is transmitted by the AP3is received is described here. InFIG.5, the AP1detects the RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity and starts to receive the frame, at time t13, and normally receives the preamble of the receive frame and checks that the HE format is present, at time t14. At this point, because the BSSID indicates the AP3that makes up another BSS, the setting to the CCA threshold of −66 dBm for the HE format takes place in the processing in Step S14and the demodulation is stopped in the processing in Step S15. In the present example of the operation, although the AP1performs the recognition as the frame from the AP3and raises the CCA threshold, because the RSSI exceeds the CCA threshold of the AP1, it is determined that the channel is busy, and the simultaneous transmissions are deferred. On the other hand, the STA1-1and the STA1-2also receive the frame in the HE format from the AP3and stops the demodulation. If the channel is idle, the STA1-1and the STA1-2possibly perform the transmission. At this point, if the RSSI from the AP3falls below the CCA threshold of −66 dBm for the HE format in the STA1-2, it is determined that the channel is idle, and a frame that is destined for the AP1is transmitted. The AP1stops the demodulation of the frame from the AP3, at time t14, and detects the RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity and starts to receive the frame from the STA1-2, at time t15. In this manner, after detecting the preamble of the frame in the HE format that is transmitted by the AP3that makes up another BSS, the AP1causes the setting to the high CCA threshold for the HE format to take place and stops the demodulation, but the RSSI of the frame from the AP3is stronger than the CCA threshold of the AP1, the channel is busy and the simultaneous transmissions are deferred without being performed. On the other hand, after detecting the preamble of another BSS, the STA1-2raises the CCA threshold and stops the demodulation, and if the channel is idle, the transmission of the frame is possible. However, although the AP3is transmitting a frame, if the STA1-2can transmit a frame, the AP1can normally demodulate the frame. In examples inFIG.4andFIG.5, if, with the BSSID that is detected as a result of demodulating the preamble of the frame in the HE format in the processing in each of Steps S6and S7inFIG.2, it is determined in the AP1that the frame from the AP2or the AP3that makes up another BSS is present, the default CCA threshold of −82 dBm is raised to the CCA threshold of −66 dBm for the HE format in the processing in Step S14inFIG.2. At this point, the frame of the AP2is not detected and the channel is idle. The frame of the AP3remains detected and the channel is busy. However, any AP1stops the demodulation. In the example inFIG.4, the AP1possibly performs the transmission and in the example inFIG.5, the AP1possibly performs the reception. Incidentally, if the receive frame is in the HE format and is determined as the frame of another BSS in the processing in each of Steps S6and S7inFIG.2, in some cases, it is also desirable that in the AP1, when it comes to a form of the receive frame, the channel is set to be busy without performing processing that controls the CCA threshold that is described with reference to Step S14. For example, in new wireless LAN specifications, a functionality is assumed that allows a plurality of STAs which receive a trigger frame from the AP to simultaneously transmit a UL MU frame to the AP using uplink (UP) multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO). If another AP starts to perform transmission to the trigger frame, the STA cannot transmit the UL MU frame, or although the STA transmits the UL MU frame, there is a concern in which quality will be remarkably degraded due to the interference. In order to deal with this concern, if signaling information is added to a predetermined field within a preamble of the trigger frame, for example, it is determined in the processing in each of Steps S6and S7inFIG.2that a frame of another BSS is present, and the predetermined signaling information is detected from the preamble, control is performed in such a manner that it is determined that the channel is busy, without performing the CCA threshold, or in such a manner that although the transmission opportunity is acquired with the CCA threshold control, the transmission is set to be performed within the duration of the trigger frame. On the other hand, if the signaling information is not detected in the frame, the setting to the CCA threshold of −66 dBm for the HE format takes place in the processing in Step S14inFIG.2and the processing for channel state determination may be started. FIG.6illustrates a second example of the procedure for the AP1to perform the receiving processing in the second embodiment of the present invention. It is noted that this holds true for another AP and STA. InFIG.6, processing in each of Steps S0to S9, S14, and S15are the same as those in the first example of the procedure for the AP1to perform the receiving processing, which is illustrated inFIG.2. If in Step S5, the receive frame is not in the HE format (No in S5), the AP1checks the BSS ID within a MAC header in the Non-HE format, and determines whether or not the BSS ID is consistent with the BSS that the AP1itself makes up (S21). If the BSS ID is consistent with the BSS that the AP1itself makes up (S22), the AP1continues the demodulation and defers the simultaneous transmissions. On the other hand, if the BSS ID in the receive frame is not consistent with the BSS that the AP1itself makes up, the setting to the CCA threshold of −76 dBm for the Non-HE format takes place, the channel state for performing the simultaneous transmissions is determined (S23), and the demodulation of the receive frame is stopped (S24). FIG.7illustrates an example of an operation in each of Steps S21, S23, and S24. An example of an operation by the AP1that is to be performed when the frame in the HE format that is transmitted by the STA1-2is received after the frame in the Non-HE format that is transmitted by the AP3is received is described here. InFIG.7, the AP1detects the RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity and starts to receive the frame, at time t16, and normally receives the preamble of the receive frame, checks that the Non-HE format is present and checks the MAC header at time t17. Then, at time t18, because it is checked that the BSS ID within the MAC header indicates another BSS, the setting to the CCA threshold of −76 dBm for the Non-HE format takes place in the processing in Step S23, and the demodulation is stopped in the processing in Step S24. In the present example of the operation, the AP1stops the demodulation when receiving the frame from the AP3, but because the RSSI exceeds the CCA threshold for the Non-HE format, it is determined that the channel is busy, and the simultaneous transmissions are deferred. On the other hand, the STA1-1and the STA1-2also receive the frame in the Non-HE format from the AP3and stop the demodulation. If the channel is idle, the STA1-1and STA1-2possibly perform the transmission. At this point, if the RSSI from the AP3falls below the CCA threshold of −76 dBm for the Non-HE format in the STA1-2, it is determined that the channel is idle, and the frame that is destined for the AP1is transmitted. The AP1stops the demodulation of the frame from the AP3, at time t18, and detects the RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity and starts to receive the frame, at time t19. In this manner, the AP1stops the demodulation after detecting the BSS ID in the frame in the Non-HE format that is transmitted by the AP3that makes up another BSS, and causes the setting to the CCA threshold for the Non-HE format to take place, but because the RSSI of the frame that is transmitted by the AP3is stronger than the CCA threshold, the simultaneous transmissions are deferred without being performed. On the other hand, the STA1-2also stops the demodulation after receiving the frame of another BSS, and possibly transmits the frame. Therefore, although the AP3is performing the transmission, the AP1can normally demodulate the frame that is transmitted from the STA1-2. It is noted that, if the frame in the Non-HE format that is transmitted by the STA1-3that makes up the BSS that the AP1itself makes up is received, because the BSS ID in the received frame is consistent with the BSS that the AP1itself makes up, the demodulation can be continued in the processing in each of Steps S21and S22. Third Embodiment A feature of the third embodiment is that each type of the receive frame in the AP1is controlled. At this point, a frame type is read when receiving the frame, and is received and demodulated as is. However, the demodulation is stopped, and thus, it is selected whether or not the simultaneous transmissions are set to be possible. For example, if a data frame is received, the simultaneous transmissions are positively performed. Although a frame of another BSS is present, if a management frame is present such as a beacon frame of the AP or an association request frame of the STA, the simultaneous transmissions are kept from being performed, and the reception and the demodulation are preferentially performed. It is noted that because a control frame, such as an RTS, a CTS, or an ACK, has a short frame time length, the advantage of switching the control to the simultaneous transmissions is so small that the control frame may be received and demodulated as is and may be utilized for information collection. FIG.8illustrates an example of the procedure for the AP1to perform the receiving processing in the third embodiment of the present invention. It is noted that this holds true for another AP and STA. InFIG.8, processing in each of Steps S0to S15are the same as those in the first example of the procedure for the AP1to perform the receiving processing in the second example, which is illustrated inFIG.2. In Step S5, if the receive frame is not in the HE format (No in S5), the AP1checks the frame type, determines whether or not a frame type or a frame subtype, for example, the management frame, which is necessary for communication control by each wireless station, is present (S31), continues the demodulation if the management frame is present (S32), and defers the simultaneous transmissions. On the other hand, if the data frame is present, as in the second embodiment that is illustrated inFIG.2, the setting to the CCA threshold (−76 dBm) for the Non-HE format takes place, and the channel state is determined (S10). At this point, if the channel is busy (Yes in S11), the demodulation of the data frame is continued (S12) and the simultaneous transmissions are deferred. On the other hand, if the channel is idle (No in S11), the demodulation of the data frame is stopped (S13), and the state where the simultaneous transmissions are possible is set to be entered. That is, the third embodiment results from adding the processing that preferentially continues the demodulation when the frame in the Non-HE format is present and the management frame, such as the beacon frame, is present, to the second embodiment. FIG.9illustrates an operational example of Steps S10to S13, S31and S32. An example of an operation by the AP1that is to be performed when the data frame in the Non-HE format and the beacon frame that are transmitted by the AP4are received is described here. InFIG.9, the AP1detects the RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity and starts to receive the frame, at time t20, normally receives the preamble of the receive frame and checks that the Non-HE format is present, at time21, and checks that the frame type within the MAC header is data, at time t22. Because of the checking at times t21and t22, the AP1causes the CCA threshold of −76 dBm for the Non-HE format to take place in the processing in Step S10. In the present example of the operation, the AP1stops the demodulation when receiving the data frame from the AP4, but because the RSSI falls below the CCA threshold for the Non-HE format, it is determined that the channel is idle, and the simultaneous transmissions are possible. If the channel is idle until time t23at which a fixed time+a random time have elapsed, the AP1transmits the frame that is destined for the STA1-1. The STA1-1also stops the demodulation, detects the RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity, and starts to receive the frame. The AP1detects the RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity and starts to receive the frame, at time t24, and normally receives the preamble of the receive frame, checks that the Non-HE format is present and checks the frame type at time t25. Because it is checked at time t26that the frame type within the MAC header is the management frame, the demodulation is continued in the processing in Step S32and the frame demodulation is completed at time t27. If the frame is the beacon frame, the RSSI can be recorded, or BSS information of a transmission source AP, or the like can be acquired from information within the frame and the acquired information or the like can be recorded. In this manner, in the AP1, when the simultaneous transmissions are performed on the beacon frame or an association frame, and thus receiver quality is degraded, because this exerts an influence on a connection to the wireless LAN itself, the management frame is preferentially received and the simultaneous transmissions are kept from being performed. Furthermore, because the beacon frame or the like does not normally use MIMO, the beacon frame or the like is suitable for measurement of the RSSI of the frame that is transmitted from the AP4. Moreover, the BSS information (capabilities or the like) of the AP4can be acquired from information within the beacon frame. Fourth Embodiment A feature of the fourth embodiment is that transmission of each of the standard of the destination station and transmission of each of the supported functionalities of the destination station are controlled in the AP1. At this point, because a condition for determining whether or not the frame reception is successful varies according to the standard and supported functionalities of the destination station, as in the embodiments described above, it is selected whether or not to perform the simultaneous transmissions based on information on the standard and supported functionalities of the destination station to which the transmission will be made, as well as a state of the receive frame. For example, if the destination station is the HE station, although the frame that causes interference is received from another BSS, as in the STA1-1that is illustrated inFIG.4, the BSSID is identified and thus the demodulation can be early stopped. For this reason, in the destination station, although an asynchronous interference frame is received preferentially over a desired frame, the demodulation of the interference frame is stopped and the desired frame is possibly received normally. On the other hand, even if the Non-HE station that does not have this functionality is the destination station, when the CCA threshold is controlled to be high and is positively transmitted simultaneously, the desired frame arrives while the demodulation of the interference frame is in progress. As a result, the reception fails. FIG.10illustrates an example of the procedure for the AP1to perform transmitting processing in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. It is noted that it is assumed that, in the AP and the STA, the procedure to perform the receiving processing, which is illustrated inFIGS.2,6, and8, is executed. InFIG.10, the AP1starts to prepare for the transmission (S40) and checks a destination of a frame that is scheduled for transmission (S41). At this point, the standard and supported functionalities of the frame that are supportable by the destination station are checked (S42), and it is determined whether or not the demodulation of the interference frame is possibly stopped (S43). For example, if the destination station is the HE station, when the frame in the HE format is recognized, the BSSID is further recognized in the preamble, and thus it is recognized that a frame from another BSS is present, it can be determined that the demodulation of what follows a preamble of the interference frame is possibly stopped. If the demodulation of the interference frame is possibly stopped in the destination station, CCA threshold control is performed (S44) and the channel state is determined (S46). For example, as is the case with the CCA threshold control in Steps S10, S14, and S23in the procedure to perform the receiving processing in each of the embodiments described above, control is performed in such a manner that a value which is higher than the default CCA threshold is obtained, an opportunity for the channel to be idle is increased, and thus, the simultaneous transmissions are performed. On the other hand, if the destination station is the Non-HE station, because the demodulation of the interference frame is impossible to stop, the AP1does not perform the CCA threshold control (S45), and determines the channel state (S46). For example, without performing the CCA threshold control in Steps S10, S14, and S23in the procedure to perform the receiving processing in each of the embodiments described above, the default CCA threshold may be employed as is, or control may be performed to employ the CCA threshold at which the interference frame is detectable. FIG.11illustrates an example of operations in Steps S44and S45. An example is described here in which control is performed if the STA1-1that is the HE station is assumed to be a destination and if the STA1-3that is the Non-HE station is assumed to be a destination, when it is determined in the AP1whether or not the simultaneous transmissions are performed while the frame in the HE format is being received from the AP2. In (1) ofFIG.11, the AP1and the STA1-1that are the HE stations detect the RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity, and start to receive the frame, at time t28. Furthermore, the AP1and the STA1-1normally receive the preamble of the receive frame, check that the HE format is present, check that the BSSID indicates another BSS, and cause to the setting to the CCA threshold of −66 dBm for the HE format, at time t29. In the present example of the operation, the receive frame from the AP2is present. Furthermore, because the RSSI falls below the CCA threshold, it is determined that the channel is idle, the demodulation is stopped, and thus, the simultaneous transmissions are set to be possible. On the other hand, the STA1-3that is the Non-HE station detects the RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity and starts to receive the frame, at time t28, and normally receives the preamble of the receive frame, but cannot check that the HE format is present, at time t29. Therefore, when the default CCA threshold (−82 dBm) is employed as is, because the RSSI exceeds the CCA threshold, the STA1-3determines that the channel is busy, and the demodulation is continued. If the channel is idle until time t30at which a fixed time+a random time have elapsed, the AP1transmits the frame that is destined for the STA1-1. The STA1-1stops the demodulation at time t29, and detects the RSSI that is stronger than the receiver sensitivity and starts to receive the frame, at time t30. It is noted that the STA1-3which is the Non-HE station continues the demodulation of the frame from the AP2, but although the demodulation cannot be performed because the frame is in the HE format and the frame in the HE format that is destined for the STA1-1is further received, this does not exert any influence. Situations at times t28and t29in (2) ofFIG.11are the same as those in (1) ofFIG.11. The AP1and the STA1-1receive the preamble of the frame from the AP2, and then stop the demodulation, but the STA1-3continues the demodulation of the frame from the AP2. At this point, if the AP1transmits the frame in the Non-HE format that is destined for the STA1-3which is the Non-HE station, although the CCA threshold is controlled in such a manner that the channel is set to be idle and the transmission is performed at time t30as illustrated in (1) ofFIG.11, the modulation cannot be performed in the STA1-3that continues the demodulation of the frame from the AP2. Therefore, when the AP1sets the CCA threshold to be the default CCA threshold as is without controlling the CCA threshold, or performs control in such a manner that the CCA threshold at which the frame from the AP2is detectable is employed, because the channel is busy in the AP1, the AP waits to perform the transmission until time t31at which the AP2ends the transmission and the channel is idle. Accordingly, the normal reception is possible in the STA1-3. Fifth Embodiment A feature of the fifth embodiment is that transmission of each format or type of a transmit frame is controlled in the AP1. In the fourth embodiment, with the standard and supported functionalities of the destination station for which a frame that is transmitted by the AP1is destined, it is selected whether or not the simultaneous transmission are possible, depending on whether or not the demodulation of the interference frame is possibly stopped. However, if the frame that is transmitted by the AP1is in the HE format, or is the beacon frame, the management frame, or the like, the feature of the fifth embodiment, like those of the fourth embodiment, is that the CCA threshold is controlled and thus that it is selected whether or not the simultaneous transmissions are set to be possible. FIG.12illustrates a first example of a procedure for the AP1to perform the transmitting processing in the fifth embodiment of the present invention. InFIG.12, the AP1starts to prepare for the transmission (S50), checks the format of the frame that is scheduled for the transmission (S51), and determines whether or not the HE format is present (S52). At this point, if the frame that is scheduled for the transmission is the HE format, because the frame that is destined for the HE station which possibly stops the demodulation of the interference frame is present, the CCA threshold control is performed (S53) and the channel state is determined (S55). For example, as is the case with the CCA threshold control in Steps S10, S14, and S23in the procedure to perform the receiving processing in each of the embodiments described above, control is performed in such a manner that a value which is higher than the default CCA threshold is obtained, an opportunity for the channel to be idle is increased, and thus, the simultaneous transmissions are performed. On the other hand, if the frame that is scheduled for the transmission is in the Non-HE format, because there is a likelihood that the frame scheduled for the transmission will be the Non-He station that cannot stop the demodulation of the interference frame, the AP1does not perform the CCA threshold control (S54), and the channel state is determined (S55). For example, without performing the CCA threshold control in Steps S10, S14, and S23in the procedure to perform the receiving processing in each of the embodiments described above, the default CCA threshold may be employed as is, or control may be performed to employ the CCA threshold at which the interference frame is detectable. That is, if the transmit frame is in the HE format, as is the case with the transmit frame that is destined for the STA1-1that is the HE station which is illustrated in (1) ofFIG.11, the CCA threshold control is performed, and thus, the simultaneous transmissions are set to be possible. On the other hand, if the transmit frame is in the Non-HE format, as is the case with the transmit frame that is destined for the STA1-3that is the Non-HE station which is illustrated in (2) ofFIG.11, the transmission by the AP2is ended and the channel is idle, and then the transmission is performed. FIG.13illustrates a second example of the procedure for the AP1to perform the transmitting processing in the fifth embodiment of the present invention. InFIG.13, the AP1starts to prepare for the transmission (S50), checks the type of the frame that is scheduled for the transmission (S56), and determines whether or not a frame type or a frame subtype, which is necessary for the communication control by each wireless station, for example, the management frame is present (S57). If the management frame is not present and for example, the data frame is present, the CCA threshold control is performed (S53) and the channel state is determined (S55). For example, as is the case with the CCA threshold control in Steps S10, S14, and S23in the procedure to perform the receiving processing in each of the embodiments described above, control is performed in such a manner that a value which is higher than the default CCA threshold is obtained, an opportunity for the channel to be idle is increased, and thus, the simultaneous transmissions are performed. On the other hand, if the management frame is present, because even the Non-HE station that cannot stop the demodulation of the interference frame needs to perform the reception, the AP1does not perform the CCA threshold control (S54), and determines the channel state (S55). For example, without performing the CCA threshold control in Steps S10, S14, and S23in the procedure to perform the receiving processing in each of the embodiments described above, the default CCA threshold may be employed as is, or control may be performed to employ the CCA threshold at which the interference frame is detectable. That is, if the transmit frame is the data frame, as is the case where the transmit frame that is destined for the STA1-1which is the HE station that is illustrated in (1) ofFIG.11, the CCA threshold control is performed and the simultaneous transmissions are set to be possible. On the other hand, if the transmit frame is the management frame, as is the case with the transmit frame that is destined for the STA1-3that is the Non-HE station which is illustrated in (2) ofFIG.11, the transmission by the AP2is ended and the channel is idle, and then the transmission is performed. The many features and advantages of the embodiments are apparent from the detailed specification and, thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantage of the embodiments that fall within the true spirit and scope thereof. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the inventive embodiments to exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope thereof. | 40,335 |
11943811 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS The following describes embodiments of this application with reference to the accompanying drawings in embodiments of this application. The following describes several basic concepts in this application. Multi-Link Device (MLD) A multi-link device may simultaneously perform communication on the bands such as 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz, or simultaneously perform communication on different channels of a same band. This increases a communication rate between devices. The multi-link device usually includes a plurality of stations (STAs). Each STA operates on a specific frequency band or channel.FIG.2is a schematic diagram of a multi-link device. The multi-link device may be an AP MLD100, or may be a non-AP MLD200. If the device is an AP MLD, the device includes one or more APs (for example, an AP 1 to an AP n in the figure), and each STA in the AP MLD is an AP. If the device is a non-AP MLD, the device includes one or more non-AP STAs (for example, a STA 1 to a STA n in the figure), and each STA in the non-AP MLD is a non-AP STA. The one or more non-AP STAs in the non-AP MLD and the one or more APs in the AP MLD may communicate after establishing an association relationship. In an implementation, each non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD may include a processing unit/processor and a transceiver unit/transceiver. The processing unit/processor may perform processing operations in this application, for example, operations such as generation and determining. The transceiver unit/transceiver is configured to communicate with the AP MLD or an AP that is in the AP MLD and that is associated with the non-AP STA. Therefore, the non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD may perform the processing and receiving and sending operations in this application. In another implementation, each non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD includes only a transceiver unit/transceiver, the non-AP MLD includes a processing unit/processor, and all non-AP STAs in the non-AP MLD may share the processing unit/processor. Therefore, the non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD may perform the receiving and sending operations in this application, and the non-AP MLD may perform the processing operations in this application. In another implementation, the non-AP MLD may include a processing unit/processor and a transceiver unit/transceiver. The processing unit/processor may perform processing operations in this application, for example, operations such as generation and determining. The transceiver unit/transceiver is configured to communicate with the AP MLD. Therefore, the non-AP MLD may perform the processing and receiving and sending operations in this application. For clear and brief description, this application is described by using an example in which the non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD performs the processing and receiving and sending operations in this application. In an implementation, each AP in the AP MLD may include a processing unit/processor and a transceiver unit/transceiver. The processing unit/processor may perform processing operations in this application, for example, operations such as determining. The transceiver unit/transceiver is configured to communicate with the non-AP MLD or the non-AP STA that is in the non-AP MLD and that is associated with the AP. Therefore, the AP in the AP MLD may perform the processing and receiving and sending operations in this application. In another implementation, each AP in the AP MLD includes only a transceiver unit/transceiver, the AP MLD includes a processing unit/processor, and all APs in the AP MLD may share the processing unit/processor. Therefore, the AP in the AP MLD may perform the receiving and sending operations in this application, and the AP MLD may perform the processing operations in this application. In another implementation, the AP MLD may include a processing unit/processor and a transceiver unit/transceiver. The processing unit/processor may perform processing operations in this application, for example, operations such as determining. The transceiver unit/transceiver is configured to communicate with the non-AP MLD. Therefore, the AP MLD may perform the processing and receiving and sending operations in this application. For clear and brief description, this application is described by using an example in which the AP in the AP MLD performs the processing and receiving and sending operations in this application. Enhanced Multi-Link Operation In the enhanced multi-link operation, the non-AP MLD may monitor multiple links. After an initial control frame sent to the non-AP MLD is received on a link, a receive channel on another link may be switched to the link, so that after the initial control frame is received, a data frame may be received at a higher rate. The enhanced multi-link operation includes an enhanced multi-link single-radio (EMISR) operation and an enhanced multi-link multi-radio (EMLMR) operation. In the EMISR operation, the non-AP MLD can monitor multiple links, but can perform data communication only on one link. In the EMLMR operation, the non-AP MLD can monitor multiple links, and can also perform data communication on multiple links. The common point is that a quantity of receive channels is A during monitoring, and a quantity of receive channels is B during data transmission, where B is greater than A. The solutions of this application are mainly applied to a wireless local area network. As shown inFIG.1, the communication system in this application includes the AP MLD100and the non-AP MLD200. The one or more non-AP STAs in the non-AP MLD200and the one or more APs in the AP MLD may communicate after establishing an association relationship. It should be noted that the terms “system” and “network” may be used interchangeably in embodiments of this application. “A plurality of” means two or more. In view of this, “a plurality of” may also be understood as “at least two” in embodiments of this application. The term “and/or” describes an association relationship for describing associated objects and represents that three relationships may exist. For example, A and/or B may represent the following three cases: Only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists. In addition, the character “/” generally indicates an “or” relationship between the associated objects. As shown inFIG.1, time in which the non-AP MLD can switch transmission channels includes: padding duration of an initial control frame, a first inter-frame space between the initial control frame and a control response frame, duration occupied by the control response frame, and a second inter-frame space between the control response frame and a data frame. However, the duration occupied by the control response frame depends on a transmission rate of the initial control frame. Therefore, before receiving the initial control frame, the STA cannot determine the duration occupied by the control response frame, and therefore cannot determine the padding duration of the initial control frame. An embodiment of this application provides an information indication solution. A first STA in a non-AP MLD generates a first frame. The first frame includes indication information. The indication information indicates padding duration required for a channel switch delay in an initial control frame, the padding duration is determined based on duration of a control response frame, or the indication information indicates a delay required for switching a quantity of transmission channels from a first quantity of channels to a second quantity of channels, or the indication information indicates a delay required for switching a quantity of transmission channels of the first STA from a first value to a second value. The non-AP MLD or the first STA or another STA in the non-AP MLD transmits the first frame. An AP MLD or a first AP or another AP in the AP MLD receives the first frame, and determines the padding duration of the initial control frame based on the indication information. Based on the foregoing solution, the padding duration of the initial control frame may be accurately determined, so that the first STA can complete switching of a corresponding quantity of transmission channels before a subsequent data frame arrives. FIG.3is a schematic flowchart of an information indication method according to an embodiment of this application. The method includes the following steps. S101: A first STA generates a first frame. As shown inFIG.1, for example, a quantity of transmission channels is switched from one to two. Before the switching, both a non-AP STA 1 on a link 1 and a non-AP STA 2 on a link 2 have a capability of receiving one spatial stream, or both the non-AP STA 1 and the non-AP STA 2 have one transmission channel. In this application, the transmission channel may also be referred to as a transmit channel, a transmission module, a spatial stream, or the like. An AP 1 on the link 1 transmits an initial control frame to the non-AP STA 1. The initial control frame includes a content portion and a padding portion (namely, padding bits). After receiving the content portion of the initial control frame sent by the AP 1, the non-AP STA 1 may start to perform switching, as long as the switching is completed before a subsequent data frame arrives. The non-AP STA 1 starts switching. In this case, the non-AP STA 2 switches the transmission module to the link 1, and the link 2 loses a transmission capability. Certainly, this is for EMLSR. For the EMIMR, the non-AP STA 2 may have a plurality of transmission modules. After one transmission module is switched to the non-AP STA 1, the non-AP STA 2 may further perform data communication by using another transmission module. After receiving the content portion of the initial control frame sent by the AP 1, the non-AP STA 1 may start to perform switching. Therefore, time in which the non-AP STA 1 can switch transmission channels includes: padding duration of the initial control frame sent by the AP 1, a first inter-frame space between the initial control frame and a control response frame, a second inter-frame space between the control response frame and the data frame, and duration in which the non-AP STA 1 transmits the control response frame. The first inter-frame space and the second inter-frame space are a short inter-frame space (short inter-frame space, SIFS). The short inter-frame space is generally 16 μs. Therefore, the key to determining the padding duration of the initial control frame is to determine the duration of the control response frame. The determining the duration of the control response frame includes: determining a rate of the control response frame, and determining the duration of the control response frame based on the rate of the control response frame and a length of the control response frame. Therefore, the padding duration of the initial control frame=switch delay−first inter-frame space−duration of the control response frame−second inter-frame space. The switch delay may be set on the first STA before factory delivery. Optionally, the time that can be used to switch transmission channels further includes a specific margin Δ. Therefore, the padding duration of the initial control frame=switch delay−first inter-frame space−duration of the control response frame−second inter-frame space−Δ. The margin Δ may be, for example, a preamble portion of the data frame. Further, to maximize the switch delay, a maximum value of the padding duration may be determined. The maximum value of the padding duration is determined based on a minimum value of the duration of the control response frame. The minimum value of the duration of the control response frame may also be referred to as minimum duration of the control response frame. Specifically, that the first STA determines the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame includes: determining a maximum value of the rate of the control response frame, and determining the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame based on the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame and the length of the control response frame. Therefore, the maximum value of the padding duration of the initial control frame=switch delay−first inter-frame space−minimum value of the duration of the control response frame−second inter-frame space. The maximum value of the padding duration of the initial control frame is padding duration of the initial control frame when a first AP transmits the initial control frame at a maximum rate. Optionally, the time that can be used to switch transmission channels further includes a specific margin Δ. Therefore, the maximum value of the padding duration of the initial control frame=switch delay−first inter-frame space−minimum value of the duration of the control response frame−second inter-frame space−Δ. With respect to the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame, in an implementation, the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is a highest rate that is in a basic service set basic rate set (BSSBasicRateSet) and that is less than or equal to the maximum rate of the initial control frame. BSSBasicRateSet is a parameter broadcast by an AP MLD before a link is established. The AP MLD notifies, by broadcasting, a non-AP MLD that wants to establish a link with the AP MLD. If the non-AP MLD has a capability of receiving data when the AP MLD sends data at any rate in the BSSBasicRateSet, the non-AP MLD may establish a link with the AP MLD. The rate included in the BSSBasicRateSet may be, for example, {6, 12, 24, 48}. The maximum rate of the initial control frame may be a variable. The maximum rate of the initial control frame does not exceed the highest rate in the BSSBasicRateSet. For example, if the maximum rate of the initial control frame is 24, the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is 24. For another example, if the maximum rate of the initial control frame is 12, the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is 12. In another implementation, the maximum rate of the initial control frame is a fixed value, for example, 24 Mbps. Therefore, the maximum rate of the control response frame=min {24 Mbps, the highest rate in BSSBasicRateSet parameters}. For example, if the highest rate in the BSSBasicRateSet parameters is 48, the maximum rate of the control response frame=min {24 Mbps, 48 Mbps}. In other words, the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is 24 Mbps. In addition, the duration of the control response frame is further associated with a format of the control response frame. Therefore, the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame may be determined based on the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame, the format of the control response frame, and the length of the control response frame. In an implementation, if the initial control frame is an MU-RTS frame, the control response frame is a CIS frame. The MU-RTS frame is a type of trigger frame. When a value of a trigger type in the trigger frame is 3, it indicates that the trigger frame is an MU-RTS frame. A format of the MU-RTS frame is shown inFIG.4. The MU-RTS frame includes the following fields: frame control, duration, receiver address (RA), transmitter address (TA), common information, user information list (user info list), padding, and frame check sequence (FCS). The common information field further includes a plurality of fields. The user information list field includes one or more pieces of user information. In the common information field, the following fields are reserved fields (not used for the MU-RTS frame): uplink length (UL length), guard interval and long training field type (GI and LTF type), multi-user multi-input multi-output long training field mode (MU-MIMO LTF mode), number of high efficiency long training field symbols and midamble periodicity (number of HE-LTF symbols and midamble periodicity), uplink space-time block code (UL STBC), low-density parity-check code extra symbol segment (LDPC extra symbol segment), access point transmit power (AP TX power), pre-forward error correction padding factor (pre-FEC padding factor), packet extension disambiguity (PE disambiguity), uplink spatial reuse (UL spatial reuse), Doppler, and uplink high efficiency signal field A2 reserved (UL HE-SIG-A2 reserved). In the user information field, the following fields are reserved fields: uplink high efficiency modulation and coding scheme (UL HE-MCS), uplink FEC coding type (UL FEC coding type), uplink dual-carrier modulation (UL DCM), synchronization offset allocation/random access RU information (SS allocation/RA-RU information), and uplink target received signal strength indicator (UL target RSSI). The initial control frame includes a content portion and padding bits. After a non-AP STA receives user information in an initial control frame sent by an AP and content of previous fields (including fields such as frame control, duration, receiver address, transmitter address, and common information), it is considered that the non-AP STA receives a content portion of the initial control frame. The padding bits of the initial control frame include another user information portion and a padding field in the initial control frame. In particular, the FCS field may be considered as a content portion of the initial control frame, or may be considered as a padding bit of the initial control frame. If the initial control frame is an MU-RTS frame, the control response frame is a CTS frame. A format of the sent CTS frame may be a non-HT or non-HT duplicate format. A frame format of a non-HT PPDU is shown inFIG.5. The CTS frame includes the following fields: physical layer preamble (PHY preamble), signal, and data. The physical layer preamble occupies 12 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, the signal occupies one OFDM symbol, and the OFDM symbol occupied by the data is variable. It takes 20 μs to transmit the physical layer preamble field and the signal field. The data field includes a 16-bit service field, a 112-bit (namely, 14-byte) PSDU field, and a 6-bit tail field, and is 16+112+6=134 bits in total. A frame structure of the CTS frame is shown inFIG.6. A physical layer service data unit (PSDU) includes a frame control field, a duration field, a receiver address (RA) field, and an FCS field. The four fields separately occupy 2 bytes, 2 bytes, 6 bytes, and 4 bytes, and a total of 14 bytes are occupied. For example, when the rate of the control response frame is 24 Mbps, the duration required for transmitting 134 bits is 134/24=5.583 μs. Because the length of the data portion (namely, the data field) needs to be an integer multiple of 4 μs, the length of the data field is actually 8 μs. During specific implementation, bits are added to a pad bits field to reach 8 μs. Therefore, the duration of the control response frame is 20+8=28 μs. For another example, when the rate of the control response frame is 6 Mbps, the duration required for transmitting 134 bits is 134/6=22.33 μs, and needs to be aligned to 24 μs. Therefore, the total duration is 20+24=44 μs. In another implementation, if the initial control frame is a BSRP frame, the control response frame is a QoS-Null frame. A frame structure of the BSRP frame is the same as that of the MU-RTS frame. Refer toFIG.4. When a value of a trigger type in the trigger frame is 4, it indicates that the trigger frame is a BSRP frame. In addition, a field reserved in the MU-RTS frame is used in the BSRP frame, and is no longer a reserved field. A format of the QoS-Null frame is shown inFIG.7. The QoS-Null frame includes the following fields: frame control, duration, address 1, address 2, address 3, sequence control, address 4, quality of service control (QoS control), high throughput control (HT control), and frame check sequence (FCS). The QoS-Null frame needs to be transmitted in an HE TB PPDU format or an EHT TB PPDU format. Preambles in the two formats are long, and a preamble portion exceeds 50 μs. Therefore, when the control response frame is a QoS-Null frame, duration of the QoS-Null frame is greater than the duration of the control response frame being the CTS frame, and a requirement for the padding duration of the initial control frame is lower. Therefore, in this embodiment, the padding duration of the initial control frame may be reported by using an example in which the control response frame is the CTS frame. After determining the padding duration of the initial control frame, the first STA may generate the first frame. In an implementation, the first frame includes indication information. The indication information indicates the padding duration for the channel switch delay in the initial control frame. Optionally, the padding duration is padding duration required when the initial control frame is transmitted at the maximum rate, or the padding duration is determined based on the maximum rate of the initial control frame, or the padding duration is padding duration required when the initial control frame is transmitted at 24 Mbps, or the padding duration is padding duration required when the initial control frame is transmitted at any rate, or the padding duration is a maximum value of padding duration required when the initial control frame is transmitted at all rates. Specifically, in an example, a relationship between one or more padding durations and the indication information may be predefined or pre-negotiated by the first STA and the first AP. The relationship is described in the following Table 1: TABLE 1Padding duration requiredIndication informationfor a switch delayFirst value (for example, 0)0μsSecond value (for example, 1)32μsThird value (for example, 2)64μsFourth value (for example, 3)96μsFifth value (for example, 4)128μsSixth value (for example, 5)160μsSeventh value (for example, 6)192μsEighth value (for example, 7)224μs. . .. . . According to Table 1, when the indication information is the first value, it indicates that the padding duration is 0 μs; when the indication information is the second value, it indicates that the padding duration is less than or equal to 32 μs; when the indication information is the third value, it indicates that the padding duration is less than or equal to 64 μs. The rest may be deduced by analogy. In another example, a relationship between one or more padding duration and the indication information may be predefined or pre-negotiated by the first STA and the first AP. The relationship is described in the following Table 2: TABLE 2Padding duration requiredIndication informationfor a switch delayFirst value (for example, 0)0μsSecond value (for example, 1)32μsThird value (for example, 2)64μsFourth value (for example, 3)128μsFifth value (for example, 4)256μs. . .. . . In another implementation, the first frame includes a plurality of pieces of indication information. Each of the plurality of pieces of indication information indicates padding duration of the initial control frame corresponding to a transmission rate of the initial control frame. For example, the first STA transmits the first frame to the first AP. The first frame includes the plurality of pieces of indication information. A first piece of indication information indicates padding duration of the initial control frame corresponding to a transmission rate of the initial control frame being 6 Mbps. A second piece of indication information indicates padding duration of the initial control frame corresponding to a transmission rate of the initial control frame being 12 Mbps. A third piece of indication information indicates padding duration of the initial control frame corresponding to a transmission rate of the initial control frame being 24 Mbps. The first STA may determine, based on Table 1, which indication information indicates padding duration of different initial control frames. For example, if the padding duration of the initial control frame corresponding to the transmission rate of the initial control frame being 6 Mbps is greater than 0 μs and less than or equal to 32 μs, it indicates the first piece of indication information. If the padding duration of the initial control frame corresponding to the transmission rate of the initial control frame being 12 Mbps is greater than 32 μs and less than or equal to 64 μs, it indicates the second piece of indication information. If the padding duration of the initial control frame corresponding to the transmission rate of the initial control frame being 24 Mbps is greater than 64 μs and less than or equal to 96 μs, it indicates the third piece of indication information. S102: The first STA transmits the first frame. Correspondingly, the first AP associated with the first STA receives the first frame. The first frame includes the indication information.FIG.8is a schematic diagram of an example format of the first frame. The first frame includes the following fields: frame control, duration, receiver address, transmitter address, frame body, and frame check sequence. The frame body further includes fields such as multi-link element. The multi-link element field further includes the following fields: element identifier (element ID), length, element identifier extension (element ID extension), multi-link control, common information, and user information. The common information field further includes fields such as enhanced multi-link single-radio delay (EMISR delay) and/or enhanced multi-link multi-radio delay (EMLMR delay). The indication information may be carried in the EMISR delay field and/or the EMLMR delay field. If the first frame includes the plurality of pieces of indication information, the plurality of pieces of indication information may alternatively be carried in a field other than the EMLSR delay field and/or the EMLMR delay field. S103: The first AP determines the padding duration of the initial control frame based on the indication information. The first AP receives the first frame, and parses out the indication information from the first frame. The padding duration of the initial control frame may be determined based on the indication information. In the foregoing implementation, the first frame includes the indication information. The indication information indicates the padding duration for the channel switch delay in the initial control frame. In this case, the first AP may determine, based on a pre-stored relationship between one or more padding duration and the indication information shown in Table 1, the padding duration indicated by the indication information. For example, if the indication information is the second value, the first AP may determine, according to Table 1, that the maximum value of the padding duration indicated by the indication information is 32 μs. In the foregoing another implementation, the first frame includes a plurality of pieces of indication information. Each of the plurality of pieces of indication information indicates padding duration of the initial control frame corresponding to a transmission rate of the initial control frame. In this case, after receiving the plurality of pieces of indication information, the first AP may determine the padding duration based on the transmission rate of the initial control frame. For example, assuming that a rate of the initial control frame actually used by the first AP is 12 Mbps, it may be determined that a maximum value of the padding duration corresponding to the rate is 64 μs. Further, after determining the padding duration of the initial control frame, the first AP may fill the initial control frame with a corresponding bit, and transmit the initial control frame. Further, after the second inter-frame space after the first STA receives the initial control frame sent at the maximum rate, and replies the control response frame, the first STA has a capability of receiving a data frame through a second quantity of transmission channels; or after the SIFS after the first STA receives the initial control frame sent at any rate, and replies the control response frame, the first STA needs to have a capability of performing communication through a second quantity of transmission channels. Because the padding duration is determined based on the duration of the control response frame, when the first AP transmits the initial control frame, regardless of which rate is used, the first STA can complete switching of a quantity of transmission channels before a subsequent data frame arrives. Further, after receiving the data frame, the first STA transmits an acknowledgment (ACK)/block acknowledgment (block-ACK) frame to the first AP. After the first STA determines that the transmission opportunity (TXOP) on the link 1 ends, a second STA may switch the transmission module back to restore the transmission capability. According to the information indication method provided in this embodiment of this application, the non-AP STA generates the first frame. The first frame includes the indication information for indicating the padding duration required for the channel switch delay in the initial control frame. The padding duration is determined based on the duration of the control response frame and/or the maximum rate of the initial control frame. The non-AP STA transmits the first frame. The AP receives the first frame. The first AP determines the padding duration of the initial control frame based on the indication information. Therefore, the padding duration of the initial control frame may be accurately determined, so that the first STA can complete switching of a corresponding quantity of transmission channels before a subsequent data frame arrives. FIG.9is a schematic flowchart of another information indication method according to an embodiment of this application. The method may include the following steps. S201: A first STA generates a first frame. The first frame includes first indication information. In an implementation, the first indication information indicates a first delay required for switching a quantity of transmission channels of the first STA from a first value to a second value. For example, inFIG.1, a quantity of first channels is 1, a quantity of second channels is 2, and the first indication information indicates a delay required for switching a quantity of transmission channels from 1 to 2. The first delay may be a value preset on the first STA before factory delivery. A correspondence between one or more switch delays and the first indication information may be predefined. The correspondence may be described in Table 1 or Table 2. For example, if the delay required for switching the quantity of transmission channels of the first STA from the first value to the second value is 32 μs, the corresponding first indication information is the second value. If the delay required for switching the quantity of transmission channels of the first STA from the first value to the second value is 64 μs, the corresponding first indication information is the third value. The first STA generates the first frame. The first frame includes the first indication information. Specifically, a format of the first frame may be shown inFIG.8. The first indication information may be carried in an EMISR delay field and/or an EMLMR delay field. In another implementation, the first frame includes first indication information and second indication information. The first indication information indicates a first delay required for switching a quantity of transmission channels of the first STA from a first value to a second value. The second indication information indicates a second delay required for switching a quantity of transmission channels from a second quantity of channels to a first quantity of channels, namely, a delay required for switching the quantity of transmission channels back to the first quantity of channels after the first STA completes receiving the data frame. In still another implementation, the first frame includes third indication information. The third indication information indicates a larger value between the first delay and the second delay, namely, max {the first delay, the second delay}. S202: The first STA transmits the first frame. Correspondingly, a first AP receives the first frame. The first AP receives the first frame, and parses the foregoing fields in the first frame to obtain the first delay. S203: The first AP determines padding duration of an initial control frame, where the padding duration of the initial control frame is determined based on the first delay. After obtaining the first indication information, the first AP may determine the padding duration based on the first delay. Specifically, if the initial control frame is an MU-RTS frame, the determined padding duration includes: the padding duration=first delay−2×SIFS−duration of the control response frame. The duration of the control response frame is determined based on a rate of the control response frame. The rate of the control response frame is determined based on a rate of the initial control frame and BSSBasicRateSet parameters. Specifically, the rate of the control response frame is a highest rate that is in a BSSBasicRateSet and that is less than or equal to the rate of the initial control frame, namely, min {the rate of the initial control frame, the highest rate in the BSSBasicRateSet parameters}. After the rate of the control response frame is determined, the duration of the control response frame is duration required for transmitting the control response frame at the rate of the control response frame. FIG.10is a schematic diagram of a relationship between the padding duration and a processing delay of a trigger frame. If the initial control frame is a BSRP frame, the padding duration is determined, and a sum of the padding duration and the first inter-frame space should be greater than the processing delay of the trigger frame (the initial control frame herein). The padding duration=max {the processing delay of the trigger frame, the switch delay−2×SIFS−the duration of the control response frame}. Further, after receiving the data frame, the first STA transmits an acknowledgment (ACK)/block acknowledgment (block-ACK) frame to the first AP. After the first STA determines that a transmission opportunity on a link 1 ends, a second STA may switch a transmission module back to restore a transmission capability. After the second delay ends, a second AP transmits a frame, for example, the initial control frame, to the second STA on a link 2, to initiate next transmission. In other words, before the second delay ends, the second AP cannot transmit the frame to the second STA on the link 2. According to the information indication method provided in this embodiment of this application, the first STA generates the first frame. The first frame includes the indication information. The indication information indicates the delay required for switching the quantity of transmission channels of the first STA from the first value to the second value. The first STA transmits the first frame. The first AP receives the first frame, and can accurately determine the padding duration of the initial control frame, so that the first STA can complete switching of the corresponding quantity of transmission channels before the subsequent data frame arrives. For the problem raised in the background of this application, embodiments of this application further provides another method and apparatus for determining padding duration. First, two types of initial control frames are described. When an initial control frame sent by an AP MLD or an AP in an AP MLD is a second initial control frame, for example, an MU-RTS, a non-AP MLD or a STA in a non-AP MLD replies a CTS frame, and transmits the CTS frame in a non-HT or non-HT duplicate format. The CTS frame in the two formats is used. The non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD is not required to complete channel quantity switching. In other words, the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD may switch the channel quantity in transmission time of a control response frame (the CTS frame herein). When an initial control frame is a first initial control frame, for example, a trigger frame, a non-AP MLD or a STA in a non-AP MLD replies with an HE TB PPDU or an EHT TB PPDU. There is a high requirement for a capability of transmitting the PPDU in the two formats. The non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD needs to complete channel quantity switching before transmitting a control response frame (the HE TB PPDU or the EHT TB PPDU herein). It may be learned that when the initial control frames are different (or when the frame formats of the control response frames are different), the required padding duration of the initial control frame is also different. In an implementation, the first initial control frame is a BSRP trigger frame. Therefore, an embodiment of this application provides a method for determining padding duration. Method 1: S1001: A non-AP MLD or a STA in a non-AP MLD reports first duration, where the first duration is padding duration that needs to be included in a first initial control frame (or the first duration is a larger value or a smaller value between the padding duration that needs to be included in the first initial control frame and padding duration that needs to be included in a second initial control frame). S1002: If an AP MLD or an AP in an AP MLD transmits the first initial control frame to the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD, include a padding bit in the first initial control frame, where the padding duration is the first duration reported in S1001. S1003: If the AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD transmits the second initial control frame to the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD, include a padding bit in the second initial control frame, where padding duration is second duration, and the second duration is determined based on the first duration. For example, the second duration is the first duration minus (or plus) fixed time. For example, the fixed time may be 60 μs, or the fixed time may be another value specified in a standard, or the fixed time may be sent by the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD to the AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD. In this method, alternatively, the first duration is padding duration that needs to be added to the initial control frame when the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD replies a first frame format, and the second duration is padding duration that needs to be added to the initial control frame when the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD replies a second frame format. The second frame format may be a non-HT format or a non-HT duplicate format. The first frame format may be an HE TB format or an EHT TB format. Method 2: S2001: A non-AP MLD or a STA in a non-AP MLD reports first duration and second duration, where the first duration is padding duration that needs to be included in a first initial control frame, and the second duration is padding duration that needs to be included in a second initial control frame. S2002: If an AP MLD or an AP in an AP MLD transmits the first initial control frame to the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD, include a padding bit in the first initial control frame, where the padding duration is the first duration reported in S2001. S2003: If the AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD transmits the second initial control frame to the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD, include a padding bit in the second initial control frame, where the padding duration is the second duration reported in S2001. Method 3: S3001: A non-AP MLD or a STA in a non-AP MLD reports a switch delay, where the switch delay is a switch delay required for switching the STA from a first quantity of channels to a second quantity of channels. S3002: An AP MLD or an AP in an AP MLD determines, based on a type of an initial control frame, a length of a padding bit that needs to be added to the initial control frame. S3003: The AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD transmits the initial control frame to the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD, where the length of the padding bit added to the initial control frame is determined in S3002. A possible implementation of S3002includes: In a case of the first initial control frame, the duration of the padding bit=switch delay−16 μs. In a case of the second initial control frame, the duration of the padding bit=switch delay−76 μs. The first initial control frame may be a BSRP trigger frame, and the second initial control frame may be an MU-RTS frame. Alternatively, S3002may be replaced with the following: The AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD determines, based on a frame format that is of a control response frame and with which the STA expects to reply, the length of the padding bit that needs to be added to the initial control frame. If the AP transmits the first frame format to the STA, the padding duration=switch delay−76 μs. If the AP transmits the second frame format to the STA, the padding duration=switch delay−16 μs. The first frame format may be a non-HT format or a non-HT duplicate format. The second frame format may be an HE TB format or an EHT TB format. Correspondingly, an embodiment of this application further provides an apparatus that can implement the foregoing method. The apparatus is configured to implement any one of the foregoing methods. The apparatus may have a plurality of product forms. For a specific product form, refer to a type described below in this application. Details are not described herein again. The method provided in embodiments of this application is described above. It may be understood that, to implement the method, a communication apparatus (for example, an AP, a non-AP STA, an AP MLD, or a non-AP MLD) includes a corresponding hardware structure and/or software module for performing the method. A person skilled in the art may be aware that this application can be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The communication apparatus provided in this embodiment of this application may be divided into functional modules based on the foregoing method. For example, the communication apparatus may correspond to a functional module of each step in the method, or two or more steps may be integrated into one functional module. The foregoing functional modules may be implemented by using hardware, or may be implemented by using software, or may be implemented by using software in combination with hardware. It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application, division into the functional modules is an example, and is merely logical function division. During actual implementation, another division manner may be used. The following uses an example in which each step corresponds to one functional module for description. FIG.11is a possible schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus. The communication apparatus1000includes a processing unit11and a transceiver unit12. In an embodiment, the communication apparatus may be a non-AP MLD or a non-AP STA in a non-AP MLD. The processing unit11is configured to generate a first frame. The first frame includes indication information. The indication information indicates padding duration required for a channel switch delay in an initial control frame. The padding duration is determined based on duration of a control response frame. The transceiver unit12is configured to transmit the first frame. Optionally, the processing unit11is further configured to determine the duration of the control response frame. Optionally, the processing unit11is further configured to determine a minimum value of the duration of the control response frame. Optionally, the processing unit11is further configured to determine a rate of the control response frame, and determine the duration of the control response frame based on the rate of the control response frame and a length of the control response frame. Optionally, the processing unit11is further configured to determine a maximum value of the rate of the control response frame, and determine the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame based on the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame and the length of the control response frame. In another embodiment, the communication apparatus may be an AP MLD or an AP in an AP MLD. The transceiver unit12is configured to receive a first frame. The first frame includes indication information. The indication information indicates padding duration required for a channel switch delay in an initial control frame. The padding duration is determined based on duration of a control response frame. The processing unit11is configured to determine the padding duration of the initial control frame based on the indication information. Optionally, the first frame includes a plurality of pieces of indication information. Each of the plurality of pieces of indication information indicates padding duration of the initial control frame corresponding to a transmission rate of the initial control frame. The processing unit11is further configured to determine, based on the first frame, the padding duration of the initial control frame corresponding to the transmission rate of the initial control frame. In another embodiment, the communication apparatus may be a non-AP MLD or a non-AP STA in a non-AP MLD. The processing unit11is configured to generate a first frame. The first frame includes indication information. The indication information indicates a delay required for switching a quantity of transmission channels of a station from a first value to a second value. The transceiver unit12is configured to transmit the first frame. In another embodiment, the communication apparatus may be an AP MLD or an AP in an AP MLD. The transceiver unit12is configured to receive a first frame. The first frame includes indication information. The indication information indicates a delay required for switching a quantity of transmission channels of a station from a first value to a second value. The processing unit11is configured to determine padding duration of an initial control frame. The padding duration of the initial control frame is determined based on the delay. FIG.12is a possible schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus. The communication apparatus2000may be a non-AP MLD. The communication apparatus2000includes a first STA and a processing unit22. The communication apparatus2000may further include more non-AP STAs. The first STA includes a transceiver unit21. In an embodiment, the processing unit22in the non-AP MLD is configured to: generate a first frame, where the first frame includes indication information, the indication information indicates padding duration required for a channel switch delay in an initial control frame, and the padding duration is determined based on duration of a control response frame; and transmit the first frame to the transceiver unit21of the first STA. The transceiver unit21is configured to transmit the first frame. In another embodiment, the processing unit22in the non-AP MLD is configured to: generate a first frame, where the first frame includes indication information, and the indication information indicates a delay required for switching a quantity of transmission channels of a station from a first value to a second value; and transmit the first frame to the transceiver unit21of the first STA. The transceiver unit21is configured to transmit the first frame. FIG.13is a possible schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus. The communication apparatus3000may be an AP MLD. The communication apparatus3000includes a first AP and a processing unit32. The first AP includes a transceiver unit31. The communication apparatus300may further include more APs. In an embodiment, the transceiver unit31is configured to receive a first frame. The first frame includes indication information. The indication information indicates padding duration required for a channel switch delay in an initial control frame. The padding duration is determined based on duration of a control response frame. The transceiver unit31is further configured to transmit the first frame to the AP MLD. Therefore, the processing unit32in the AP MLD is configured to determine the padding duration of the initial control frame based on the indication information. In another embodiment, the transceiver unit31is configured to receive a first frame. The first frame includes indication information. The indication information indicates a delay required for switching a quantity of transmission channels of a station from a first value to a second value. The transceiver unit31is further configured to transmit the first frame to the AP MLD. Therefore, the processing unit32in the AP MLD determines padding duration of an initial control frame. The padding duration of the initial control frame is determined based on the delay. For example, when a transmit end is in the structure shown inFIG.12, correspondingly a receive end may be in the structure shown inFIG.11orFIG.13. When a receive end is in the structure shown inFIG.13, correspondingly a transmit end may be in the structure shown inFIG.11orFIG.12. FIG.14is a structural diagram of a possible product form of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of this application.FIG.14is a specific form of the communication apparatus shown inFIG.11. In a possible product form, the communication apparatus may be an information transmission device/an information transmission board. The communication apparatus includes a processor and a transceiver. Optionally, the communication apparatus may further include a memory. The processor is configured to perform the method steps performed by the processing unit11inFIG.11. The transceiver is configured to perform the method steps performed by the transceiver unit12inFIG.11. In another possible product form, the communication apparatus may be a chip. The communication apparatus includes a processing circuit and a communication interface. Optionally, the communication apparatus may further include a storage medium. The processing circuit is configured to perform the method steps performed by the processing unit11inFIG.11. The communication interface is configured to perform the method steps performed by the transceiver unit12inFIG.11. FIG.15is a structural diagram of a possible product form of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of this application.FIG.15is a specific form of the communication apparatus shown inFIG.12orFIG.13. In a possible product form, the communication apparatus may be an information transmission device/an information transmission board. The communication apparatus includes a processor and a transceiver. Optionally, the communication apparatus may further include a memory. The processor is configured to perform the method steps performed by the processing unit22inFIG.12, and the transceiver is configured to perform the method steps performed by the transceiver unit21inFIG.12. Alternatively, the processor is configured to perform the method steps performed by the processing unit32inFIG.13, and the transceiver is configured to perform the method steps performed by the transceiver unit31inFIG.13. In another possible product form, the communication apparatus may be a chip. The communication apparatus includes a processing circuit and a communication interface. Optionally, the communication apparatus may further include a storage medium. The processing circuit is configured to perform the method steps performed by the processing unit22inFIG.12, and the communication interface is configured to perform the method steps performed by the transceiver unit21inFIG.12. Alternatively, the processing circuit is configured to perform the method steps performed by the processing unit32inFIG.13, and the communication interface is configured to perform the method steps performed by the transceiver unit31inFIG.13. In another possible product form of the foregoing embodiment, the communication apparatus may alternatively be implemented by using the following: one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a controller, a state machine, a logic gate, a discrete hardware component, any other proper circuit, or any combination of circuits that can perform various functions described in this application. The processor may be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or another programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. The processor may implement or execute various example logical blocks, modules, and circuits described with reference to content disclosed in this application. Alternatively, the processor may be a combination of processors implementing a computing function, for example, a combination of one or more microprocessors, or a combination of the digital signal processor and a microprocessor. The bus may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus may be classified into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of representation, only one bold line is used to represent the bus inFIG.14orFIG.15, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus. A person of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or some of the steps of the method embodiments may be implemented by hardware relevant to program instructions. The program instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the program instructions are run, the steps of the method embodiments are performed. The foregoing storage medium includes any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disc. According to one aspect, an embodiment of this application further provides a readable storage medium. The readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions. When the computer-executable instructions are run, a device (which may be a single-chip microcomputer, a chip, a controller, or the like) or a processor is enabled to perform the steps in the service indication method provided in this application. According to one aspect, an embodiment of this application further provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions are stored in a computer-readable storage medium. At least one processor of a device may read the computer-executable instructions from the computer-readable storage medium. The at least one processor executes the computer-executable instructions, so that the device performs the steps in the service indication method provided in this application. It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that, for the purpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed working process of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, refer to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments. Details are not described herein again. In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, division into the units is merely logical function division and may be another division during actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed. The displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented through some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms. The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, in other words, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on actual requirements to achieve the objective of the solutions of embodiments. All or some of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the embodiments, all or a part of the embodiments may be implemented in a form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the procedures or functions according to embodiments of this application are all or partially generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatuses. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted by using the computer-readable storage medium. The computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired (for example, a coaxial cable, an optical fiber, or a digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, radio, or microwave) manner. The computer-readable storage medium may be any usable medium accessible by a computer, or a data storage device, such as a server or a data center, integrating one or more usable media. The usable medium may be a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), or a magnetic medium, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, or an optical medium, for example, a digital versatile disc (DVD), or a semiconductor medium, for example, a solid state disk (SSD). | 58,434 |
11943812 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION It will be readily understood that the components of certain example embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following detailed description of some example embodiments of systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for determining RACH resources or parameters based on network slice-based RACs is not intended to limit the scope of certain embodiments but is representative of selected example embodiments. The features, structures, or characteristics of example embodiments described throughout this specification may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments. For example, the usage of the phrases “certain embodiments,” “some embodiments,” or other similar language, throughout this specification refers to the fact that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in certain embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” “in other embodiments,” or other similar language, throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same group of embodiments, and the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments. In addition, the phrase “set of” refers to a set that includes one or more of the referenced set members. As such, the phrases “set of,” “one or more of,” and “at least one of,” or equivalent phrases, may be used interchangeably. Further, “or” is intended to mean “and/or,” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Additionally, if desired, the different functions or operations discussed below may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the described functions or operations may be optional or may be combined. As such, the following description should be considered as merely illustrative of the principles and teachings of certain example embodiments, and not in limitation thereof. NR may support network slicing and may enable a UE fast access to a cell supporting an intended network slice. A network slice-based RACH configuration may be applied to an idle or an inactive UE. Additionally, or alternatively, the association between network slices and/or network slice-specific RACH resources may be configured and provided to the UE in a system information block (SIB) or dedicated signaling. However, a single UE may use multiple network slices and a paging message may be network slice agnostic. When there is paging due to MT data, the UE may have to be able to determine the network slice or network slice group that triggered the paging to be able to use a network slice or network slice group-specific RACH configuration to establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection. After paging message reception, the UE may trigger initial access and a RACH procedure, but may not be able to determine which network slice-specific resources to use, since there may not be a way for the UE to determine the network slice or network slice group. As can be understood, there may be a need for a UE to determine resources to use for a network slice. Some embodiments described herein may provide for determining RACH resources or parameters based on network slice-based RACs. Certain embodiments may perform a two-stage mapping between network slices and specific RACH configurations, such as RACH resources or parameters. A mapping between network slices and a set of RACs may be determined by a core network (CN) based on stored information stored in a network node, such as in an access and mobility management function (AMF). Mapping between RACs and RACH resources or parameters may be determined by a radio access network (RAN) (e.g., on a local basis, such as on a per gNB or cell basis). The CN may determine the mapping between the network slices (e.g., single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI)) and a set of RACs. The CN may send this mapping to the UE, e.g., via the non-access stratum (NAS) in a register accept message during a registration procedure. In this way, the UE may select RACH resources or parameters for the network slice that is associated with RRC connection establishment. In certain embodiments, the RAN may determine the mapping between the RACs and the RACH resources or parameters (e.g., on a local basis). Different RACH resources or parameters may be used for different localities and/or a different number of resource or parameter sets may be available for the different localities. The number of RACs may be higher than the number of RACH resource or parameter sets that are available in cell. The available RACH resource or parameter sets and their numbers may be different in different cells (e.g., a macro cell may have totally different parameters than a micro cell). This type of cell-specific RAN parameters may normally be hidden from the CN. Each gNB cell may broadcast the mapping between the RACH resources or parameters to be used and the RACs. Each gNB may also indicate, via the NG interface in a setup request message, whether it supports RACs or not. In some embodiments, this information may be included by the RAN in a setup message and may be further updated by update messages (the RAN may be provisioned with the RACs and RACH pools and may also be provisioned with the S-NSSAIs per RAC, and the RAN may provide this latter information to the CN when the NG interface is established). For MT calls when the UE is idle, the CN may send a paging message including the relevant RAC based on a network slice. The gNB may include the RAC in a radio paging message. The UE may determine, from the cell broadcast, the corresponding RACH resources or parameters to be used. In a variant for MT calls, the CN may allocate different UE identities depending on the RAC to be used. The CN may send the mapping between the UE identity and the RAC to the UE, e.g., in a NAS register accept message. When paging, the CN may include the relevant UE identity in the paging message, and the gNB may use that UE identity to page the UE over the air interface. The UE may determine, from the NAS register accept message, which RAC corresponds to that UE identity and, from the cell broadcast, which corresponding RACH resources or parameters are to be used. For MT calls when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, the CN may indicate the RAC associated with a protocol data unit (PDU) session resource in, e.g., a PDU session resource setup message, according to the network slice with which the PDU session is associated. This information may be stored by the gNB. Whenever a paging trigger (e.g., downlink data) arrives at the gNB associated with a PDU session resource, the gNB may include the earlier received RAC into the radio paging message. The UE may then determine, from the cell broadcast, the corresponding RACH resources or parameters to be used. In a variant for MT calls, the gNB may allocate different inactive radio network temporary identifiers (I-RNTIs) to the UE, depending on RACs to be used. The gNB may send the mapping between I-RNTIs and RACs to the UE in, e.g., an RRC release message, such as when sending the UE to an RRC inactive mode. When the gNB determines to page the UE for a RAC, it may include the mapped I-RNTI in the radio paging message towards the UE. The UE may determine, from the previous RRC release information, which RAC corresponds to that I-RNTI, and then may determine, from the cell broadcast, which corresponding RACH resources or parameters are to be used. In a variant, for MT calls, the CN may provide the gNB, e.g., in the NG setup response message, a mapping between network slices (e.g., S-NSSAI) and RACs. When a PDU session resource setup is received by the gNB, the gNB may determine, from the included S-NSSAI, an associated RAC. For MO calls, when the UE performs a MO call for a particular network slice, the UE may determine the corresponding RAC from the mapping information received in a NAS register accept message. The UE may then determine, from the cell broadcast, which corresponding RACH resources or parameters are to be used. In a variant for MO calls, unified access classes (UAC) may be used rather than RACs, e.g., the mapping between network slices and operator-defined unified access classes may be provided to the UE in a NAS register accept message, and the cell may broadcast the mapping between unified access classes and RACH resources or parameters to be used. FIG.1illustrates an example signal diagram100for determining RACH resources or parameters for a MT call based on network slice-based RACs, according to some embodiments. As illustrated inFIG.1, the signal diagram100may include a UE, an access network node (e.g., a gNB), and a core network (e.g., a 5G core (5GC)) that includes one or more network nodes. As illustrated at102, the access network node may determine a mapping between RACs and RACH resources or parameters (e.g., mapping information). For example, the access network node may determine which RACH resources or parameters are associated with certain RACs. As illustrated at104, the core network may determine a mapping between network slices and RACs (network slice mapping information). For example, the core network may determine which network slices are associated with certain RACs. As illustrated at106, the access network node may transmit, and the core network may receive, an NG setup request message. The setup request message may include information that identifies RACs that are supported by the access network node or information that the access network node supports operation with RACs. As illustrated at108, the core network may transmit, and the access network node may receive, an NG setup response. As illustrated at110, the access network node may transmit, and the UE may receive, information (e.g., system information) that includes the mapping between the RACs and the RACH resources or parameters determined by the access network node. As illustrated inFIG.1, operations112,114,116,118,120, and122may include MT call-related operations. As illustrated at112, the UE may be operating in idle mode. As illustrated at114, the core network may detect a trigger for paging the UE for a certain network slice. As illustrated at116, the core network may select a RAC based on this network slice (e.g., using the mapping determined at104). For example, the core network may determine a network slice to be used by the UE, and may determine a RAC associated with the network slice. As illustrated at118, the core network may transmit, and the access network node may receive, an NG paging message. The NG paging may include the selected RAC. As illustrated at120, the access network node may transmit, and the UE may receive, a radio paging message that includes the selected RAC. As illustrated at122, the UE may transmit, and the access network node may receive, signaling for starting an RRC connection setup. The signaling may use RACH resources or parameters selected based on the RAC received in the radio paging message. For example, the UE may determine the RAC from the radio paging message signaling and, using the mapping received at110, may determine the RACH resources or parameters associated with the RAC. As described above,FIG.1is provided as an example. Other examples are possible, according to some embodiments. FIG.2illustrates an example signal diagram200for determining RACH resources or parameters for a MO call based on network slice-based RACs, according to some embodiments. As illustrated inFIG.2, the signal diagram200includes a UE, an access network node, and a core network. Operations202,204,206,208, and210may be similar to operations102,104,106,108, and110, respectively, illustrated inFIG.1. As illustrated inFIG.2, operations212,214,216, and218may include MO call-related operations. As illustrated at212, the UE may transmit, and the core network may receive, a register request. The register request may include one or more requested network slices. As illustrated at214, the core network may transmit, and the UE may receive, a register accept response. The register accept response may include a RAC for one or more allowed network slices (e.g., the requested network slices that the core network may allow, e.g., based on subscription information stored in the core network). For example, the register accept response may include a mapping between RACs and allowed network slices. As illustrated at216, the UE may select a RAC for an MO call session based on the received mapping between network slices and RACs. For example, the UE may determine to trigger an MO call associated with one of the previously received allowed network slices, and may then determine a RAC to use based on the mapping between RACs and network slices. The UE may additionally select RACH resources or parameters based on the selected RAC. For example, the UE may use the mapping received at210to determine which RACH resources or parameters to use based on the RAC selected at216. As illustrated at218, the UE may transmit, and the access network node may receive, signaling to start an MO call session using the RACH resources or parameters selected based on the RAC. As indicated above,FIG.2is provided as an example. Other examples are possible, according to some embodiments. FIG.3illustrates an example signal diagram300for determining RACH resources or parameters for a MT call based on network slice-based RACs, according to some embodiments. For example,FIG.3illustrates an example where a RAN may assign and use multiple, e.g., I-RNTIs to indicate the RAC in paging. As illustrated inFIG.3, the example signal diagram300includes a UE, a radio access network (RAN), and a core network. As illustrated at302, the UE and the RAN may establish PDU session resources for different network slices. As illustrated at304, the core network may transmit, and the RAN may receive, RACs for the PDU session resources. For example, the core network may provide information related to the active PDU session resources and the RACs associated with those PDU session resources. As illustrated at306, the RAN may determine I-RNTIs for active RACs associated with the UE. As illustrated at308, the RAN may transmit, and the UE may receive, an RRC release message to cause the UE to operate in an RRC inactive state. The RRC release message may include a suspend configuration for the RRC connection, I-RNTIs, e.g., for non-high priority scenarios, I-RNTIs for high priority scenarios, and mapping information between RACs and these I-RNTI(s). For example, certain embodiments may use two RACs as two different priorities for call setup, e.g., voice calls or emergency calls may be prioritized as high priority scenarios. As illustrated at310, the RAN may transmit, and the UE may receive, information (e.g., system information). The information may include a mapping of RACH configuration for various RACs associated with the UE. As illustrated at312, the UE may monitor paging for I-RNTIs received from the RAN at308. As illustrated at314, the core network may transmit, and the RAN may receive, downlink data for a PDU session resource. As illustrated at316, the RAN may select an I-RNTI based on the RAC of the PDU session resource associated with the downlink data. For example, the RAN may select an appropriate I-RNTI for the UE based on the trigger received from the core network. In the example illustrated inFIG.3, assume that the RAN selects a I-RNTI for high priority. As illustrated at318, the RAN may transmit, and the UE may receive, radio paging message signaling. For example, the RAN may include the I-RNTI for high priority scenarios in the radio paging message signaling based on having selected the I-RNTI for high priority scenarios. As illustrated at320, the UE may activate a connected mode selecting RACH resources or parameters for a random access procedure based on the I-RNTI for high priority but still using the (different) I-RNTI as a UE identifier. For example, the UE may trigger an RRC resume procedure, and then the UE may select the RACH resources or parameters based on the high priority I-RNTI received in the radio paging message signaling. The UE may use a default I-RNTI or a short I-RNTI during the random access procedure to identify itself, in some embodiments. As described above,FIG.3is provided as an example. Other examples are possible, according to some embodiments. As described elsewhere herein, certain embodiments may utilize a suspend configuration (e.g., a SuspendConfig message). The SuspendConfig message may include information for full I-RNTI values for various RACs. For example, the sequence of additional I-RNTIs may have a size from 1 to, e.g., 8 values. The information for the additional I-RNTIs may include full I-RNTI values, and an ra-Class sequence with a size from 1 to the 8 values. Certain example embodiments may provide detailed information related to RACs. For example, certain embodiments may provide a mapping RAC for the network slice configured in the UE at registration time, but then a particular PDU session resource in the network slice may have a PDU session-specific RAC based on a rule stored at the session management function (SMF). The PDU session-specific RAC may be sent to the UE in a PDU session establishment accept message. The usage of such RACH may follow the same approach as for a network slice-specific RAC. FIG.4illustrates an example flow diagram of a method400, according to some embodiments. For example,FIG.4may illustrate example operations of a UE (e.g., apparatus20illustrated in, and described with respect to,FIG.4b). Some of the operations illustrated inFIG.4may be similar to some operations shown in, and described with respect to,FIGS.1-3. In an embodiment, the method400may include, at402, receiving signaling including mapping information that includes a mapping between one or more resource allocation classes and one or more random access channel resources or parameters, e.g., in a manner similar to that at110ofFIG.1and/or210ofFIG.2. The signaling at402may be received from a RAN node. The method400may include, at404, receiving signaling including network slice mapping information that includes a mapping between the one or more resource allocation classes and one or more network slices (e.g., one or more S-NSSAIs). The signaling at404may be received from a core network node. If a radio resource control request is to be transmitted, the method400may include, at406, transmitting signaling using, for a mobile terminated call, random access channel resources or parameters corresponding, based on the received mapping information, to a resource allocation class. In some embodiments, for the mobile terminated call, the resource allocation class may have been received in a radio paging message initiating the mobile terminated call. If a radio resource control request is to be transmitted, the method may include, at408, transmitting signaling using, for a mobile originated call, random access channel resources or parameters corresponding, based on the mapping information, to the resource allocation class corresponding, based on the network slice mapping information, to a requested network slice associated with the mobile originated call. In some embodiments, the radio resource control request may include at least one of a radio resource control setup request or a radio resource control resume request. The method400illustrated inFIG.4may include one or more additional aspects described below or elsewhere herein. In some embodiments, the receiving at402may include receiving the signaling from a radio access network node. In some embodiments, the signaling may include system information broadcast in a cell associated with the radio access network node. In some embodiments, the receiving at404may include receiving the signaling from a core network node, where the signaling may include a non-access stratum message. In some embodiments, the non-access stratum message may include a non-access stratum register accept message received during a registration procedure. In some embodiments, the receiving at404may include receiving the network slice mapping information from a radio access network node. In some embodiments, the receiving at404may include receiving the network slice mapping information from the radio access network node in a radio resource control (RRC) message. I In some embodiments, the receiving at404may include receiving the network slice mapping information from the radio access network node in a radio resource control (RRC) message releasing the UE to RRC idle mode or RRC inactive mode. In some embodiments, for the mobile originated call or the mobile terminated call, the resource allocation class may include an operator-defined unified access class. In some embodiments, for the mobile terminated call, the resource allocation class included in the radio paging message may be encoded using a dedicated user equipment identity earlier allocated to the user equipment by a core network node or a radio access network node. As described above,FIG.4is provided as an example. Other examples are possible according to some embodiments. FIG.5illustrates an example flow diagram of a method500, according to some embodiments. For example,FIG.5may illustrate example operations of a network node (e.g., apparatus10illustrated in, and described with respect to,FIG.4a). Specifically,FIG.5may illustrate example operations of a gNB. Some of the operations illustrated inFIG.5may be similar to some operations shown in, and described with respect to,FIGS.1-3. In an embodiment, the method500may include, at502, determining mapping information that includes a mapping between one or more resource allocation classes and one or more random access channel resources or parameters, e.g., in a manner similar to that at102ofFIG.1and/or202ofFIG.2. The method500may include, at504, transmitting signaling including the mapping information, e.g., in a manner similar to that at110ofFIG.1and/or210ofFIG.2. The method500may include, at506, transmitting a paging radio signaling message including, for a mobile terminated call where the paging radio signaling message is triggered by receiving a paging message (e.g., an NG paging message), a resource allocation class received in the triggering paging message, e.g., in a manner similar to that at120ofFIG.1. The method500may include, at508, transmitting a paging radio signaling message including, for a mobile terminated call where the paging radio signaling message is triggered by incoming data for an inactive user equipment (e.g., an RRC inactive user equipment), a resource allocation class corresponding to a protocol data unit session resource associated with the incoming data. The method illustrated inFIG.5may include one or more additional aspects described below or elsewhere herein. In some embodiments, for the including for the mobile terminated call where the paging radio signaling message is triggered by receiving the paging message, the resource allocation class may be determined from a network slice (S-NSSAI) received in the triggering paging message based on a data structure that includes a mapping between resource allocation classes and network slices (S-NSSAIs). In some embodiments, the transmitting at504may include transmitting, in a cell associated with the apparatus, the signaling including the mapping information. In some embodiments, the signaling may include system information. In some embodiments, for the transmitting at508, the resource allocation class may correspond to a protocol data unit session resource and is received when the protocol data unit session resource is setup or modified in at least one of: a protocol data unit session resource setup request message (e.g., an NG PDU session resource setup request message), a protocol data unit session resource modify request message, an initial context setup request message, or a handover request message. In some embodiments, for the transmitting at508, the resource allocation class may be determined using the network slice (e.g., S-NSSAI) associated with the protocol data unit session resource and a data structure that includes network slice mapping information including a mapping between one or more network slices (e.g., S-NSSAIs) and the one or more resource allocation classes. In some embodiments, the method500may further include transmitting, to a core network node, an indication of whether the apparatus supports the one or more resource allocation classes. In some embodiments, the method500may further include transmitting, to the core network node in association with transmitting the indication, network slice mapping information that includes a mapping between the one or more resource allocation classes and one or more network slices. In some embodiments, the method500may further include receiving, from the core network node in association with transmitting the indication, network slice mapping information that includes a mapping between the one or more resource allocation classes and one or more network slices. In some embodiments, the method500may further include transmitting, to the user equipment, network slice mapping information that includes a mapping between the one or more resource allocation classes and one or more network slices. In some embodiments, the transmitting the network slice mapping information may include transmitting the network slice mapping information to the user equipment using a radio resource control (RRC) message. In some embodiments, the transmitting the network slice mapping information may include transmitting the network slice mapping information to the user equipment using a radio resource control (RRC) release message. In some embodiments, the resource allocation class may be encoded using a dedicated user equipment paging identity earlier allocated to the user equipment. In some embodiments, the resource allocation class may include an operator-defined unified access class. As described above,FIG.5is provided as an example. Other examples are possible according to some embodiments. FIG.6illustrates an example flow diagram of a method600, according to some embodiments. For example,FIG.6may illustrate example operations of a network node (e.g., apparatus10illustrated in, and described with respect to,FIG.4a). Specifically,FIG.6may illustrate example operations of a core network node (e.g., a 5G core network node (5GC)). Some of the operations illustrated inFIG.6may be similar to some operations shown in, and described with respect to,FIGS.1-3. In an embodiment, the method600may include, at602, determining network slice mapping information that includes a mapping between one or more resource allocation classes and one or more network slices (e.g., S-NSSAIs), e.g., in a manner similar to that at104ofFIG.1and/or204ofFIG.2. The method600may include, at604, transmitting, to a user equipment, signaling including the network slice mapping information. The method600may include, at606, if a paging message (e.g., an NG paging message) is transmitted towards the user equipment, for a mobile terminated call associated with a network slice (S-NSSAI), including, in the paging message, a resource allocation class corresponding to the network slice based on the network slice mapping information. In some embodiments, the received paging message may include information identifying the network slice (e.g., S-NSSAI), and the access network node may determine a resource allocation class from the received information based on a data structure that maps the S-NSSAI to the resource allocation class. The method illustrated inFIG.6may include one or more additional aspects described below or elsewhere herein. In some embodiments, the signaling transmitted at604may include a non-access stratum signaling message. In some embodiments, the method600may include receiving the network slice mapping information from a radio access network node in a non-user equipment-associated message. In some embodiments, the method600may include transmitting, to a radio access network node, a next generation application protocol message associated with setting up or modifying a protocol data unit session resource. In some embodiments, the next generation application protocol message may include the resource allocation class. In some embodiments, when transmitting the next generation application protocol message, the resource allocation class included in the next generation application protocol message may correspond to the network slice associated with the protocol data unit session resource based on the network slice mapping information. In some embodiments, the method600may include transmitting the paging message including the resource allocation class based on receiving, in a non-user equipment-associated message, an indication that a radio access network node supports the resource allocation class. In some embodiments, the method600may include, for the mobile terminated call, allocating different user equipment identities based on the resource allocation class to be used. In some embodiments, the resource allocation class may include an operator-defined unified access class. As described above,FIG.6is provided as an example. Other examples are possible according to some embodiments. FIG.7aillustrates an example of an apparatus10according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, apparatus10may be a node, host, or server in a communications network or serving such a network. For example, apparatus10may be a network node, satellite, base station, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), 5G Node B or access point, next generation Node B (NG-NB or gNB), and/or a WLAN access point, associated with a radio access network, such as a LTE network, 5G or NR. In some example embodiments, apparatus10may be an eNB in LTE or gNB in 5G. It should be understood that, in some example embodiments, apparatus10may be comprised of an edge cloud server as a distributed computing system where the server and the radio node may be stand-alone apparatuses communicating with each other via a radio path or via a wired connection, or they may be located in a same entity communicating via a wired connection. For instance, in certain example embodiments where apparatus10represents a gNB, it may be configured in a central unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU) architecture that divides the gNB functionality. In such an architecture, the CU may be a logical node that includes gNB functions such as transfer of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, and/or session management, etc. The CU may control the operation of DU(s) over a front-haul interface. The DU may be a logical node that includes a subset of the gNB functions, depending on the functional split option. It should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that apparatus10may include components or features not shown inFIG.7a. As illustrated in the example ofFIG.7a, apparatus10may include a processor12for processing information and executing instructions or operations. Processor12may be any type of general or specific purpose processor. In fact, processor12may include one or more of general-purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as examples. While a single processor12is shown inFIG.7a, multiple processors may be utilized according to other embodiments. For example, it should be understood that, in certain embodiments, apparatus10may include two or more processors that may form a multiprocessor system (e.g., in this case processor12may represent a multiprocessor) that may support multiprocessing. In certain embodiments, the multiprocessor system may be tightly coupled or loosely coupled (e.g., to form a computer cluster). Processor12may perform functions associated with the operation of apparatus10, which may include, for example, precoding of antenna gain/phase parameters, encoding and decoding of individual bits forming a communication message, formatting of information, and overall control of the apparatus10, including processes related to management of communication or communication resources. Apparatus10may further include or be coupled to a memory14(internal or external), which may be coupled to processor12, for storing information and instructions that may be executed by processor12. Memory14may be one or more memories and of any type suitable to the local application environment, and may be implemented using any suitable volatile or nonvolatile data storage technology such as a semiconductor-based memory device, a magnetic memory device and system, an optical memory device and system, fixed memory, and/or removable memory. For example, memory14can be comprised of any combination of random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), static storage such as a magnetic or optical disk, hard disk drive (HDD), or any other type of non-transitory machine or computer readable media. The instructions stored in memory14may include program instructions or computer program code that, when executed by processor12, enable the apparatus10to perform tasks as described herein. In an embodiment, apparatus10may further include or be coupled to (internal or external) a drive or port that is configured to accept and read an external computer readable storage medium, such as an optical disc, USB drive, flash drive, or any other storage medium. For example, the external computer readable storage medium may store a computer program or software for execution by processor12and/or apparatus10. In some embodiments, apparatus10may also include or be coupled to one or more antennas15for transmitting and receiving signals and/or data to and from apparatus10. Apparatus10may further include or be coupled to a transceiver18configured to transmit and receive information. The transceiver18may include, for example, a plurality of radio interfaces that may be coupled to the antenna(s)15. The radio interfaces may correspond to a plurality of radio access technologies including one or more of GSM, NB-IoT, LTE, 5G, WLAN, Bluetooth, BT-LE, NFC, radio frequency identifier (RFID), ultrawideband (UWB), MulteFire, and the like. The radio interface may include components, such as filters, converters (for example, digital-to-analog converters and the like), mappers, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) module, and the like, to generate symbols for a transmission via one or more downlinks and to receive symbols (for example, via an uplink). As such, transceiver18may be configured to modulate information on to a carrier waveform for transmission by the antenna(s)15and demodulate information received via the antenna(s)15for further processing by other elements of apparatus10. In other embodiments, transceiver18may be capable of transmitting and receiving signals or data directly. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, apparatus10may include an input and/or output device (I/O device). In an embodiment, memory14may store software modules that provide functionality when executed by processor12. The modules may include, for example, an operating system that provides operating system functionality for apparatus10. The memory may also store one or more functional modules, such as an application or program, to provide additional functionality for apparatus10. The components of apparatus10may be implemented in hardware, or as any suitable combination of hardware and software. According to some embodiments, processor12and memory14may be included in or may form a part of processing circuitry or control circuitry. In addition, in some embodiments, transceiver18may be included in or may form a part of transceiver circuitry. As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to hardware-only circuitry implementations (e.g., analog and/or digital circuitry), combinations of hardware circuits and software, combinations of analog and/or digital hardware circuits with software/firmware, any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processors) that work together to cause an apparatus (e.g., apparatus10) to perform various functions, and/or hardware circuit(s) and/or processor(s), or portions thereof, that use software for operation but where the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. As a further example, as used herein, the term “circuitry” may also cover an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors), or portion of a hardware circuit or processor, and its accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry may also cover, for example, a baseband integrated circuit in a server, cellular network node or device, or other computing or network device. As introduced above, in certain embodiments, apparatus10may be a network node or RAN node, such as a base station, access point, Node B, eNB, gNB, WLAN access point, or the like. According to certain embodiments, apparatus10may be controlled by memory14and processor12to perform the functions associated with any of the embodiments described herein, such as some operations illustrated in, or described with respect to,FIGS.1-3,5, and6. For instance, apparatus10may be controlled by memory14and processor12to perform the methods ofFIGS.5and6. FIG.7billustrates an example of an apparatus20according to another embodiment. In an embodiment, apparatus20may be a node or element in a communications network or associated with such a network, such as a UE, mobile equipment (ME), mobile station, mobile device, stationary device, IoT device, or other device. As described herein, a UE may alternatively be referred to as, for example, a mobile station, mobile equipment, mobile unit, mobile device, user device, subscriber station, wireless terminal, tablet, smart phone, IoT device, sensor or NB-IoT device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications thereof (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications thereof (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain context), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, or the like. As one example, apparatus20may be implemented in, for instance, a wireless handheld device, a wireless plug-in accessory, or the like. In some example embodiments, apparatus20may include one or more processors, one or more computer-readable storage medium (for example, memory, storage, or the like), one or more radio access components (for example, a modem, a transceiver, or the like), and/or a user interface. In some embodiments, apparatus20may be configured to operate using one or more radio access technologies, such as GSM, LTE, LTE-A, NR, 5G, WLAN, WiFi, NB-IoT, Bluetooth, NFC, MulteFire, and/or any other radio access technologies. It should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that apparatus20may include components or features not shown inFIG.7b. As illustrated in the example ofFIG.7b, apparatus20may include or be coupled to a processor22for processing information and executing instructions or operations. Processor22may be any type of general or specific purpose processor. In fact, processor22may include one or more of general-purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as examples. While a single processor22is shown inFIG.7b, multiple processors may be utilized according to other embodiments. For example, it should be understood that, in certain embodiments, apparatus20may include two or more processors that may form a multiprocessor system (e.g., in this case processor22may represent a multiprocessor) that may support multiprocessing. In certain embodiments, the multiprocessor system may be tightly coupled or loosely coupled (e.g., to form a computer cluster). Processor22may perform functions associated with the operation of apparatus20including, as some examples, precoding of antenna gain/phase parameters, encoding and decoding of individual bits forming a communication message, formatting of information, and overall control of the apparatus20, including processes related to management of communication resources. Apparatus20may further include or be coupled to a memory24(internal or external), which may be coupled to processor22, for storing information and instructions that may be executed by processor22. Memory24may be one or more memories and of any type suitable to the local application environment, and may be implemented using any suitable volatile or nonvolatile data storage technology such as a semiconductor-based memory device, a magnetic memory device and system, an optical memory device and system, fixed memory, and/or removable memory. For example, memory24can be comprised of any combination of random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), static storage such as a magnetic or optical disk, hard disk drive (HDD), or any other type of non-transitory machine or computer readable media. The instructions stored in memory24may include program instructions or computer program code that, when executed by processor22, enable the apparatus20to perform tasks as described herein. In an embodiment, apparatus20may further include or be coupled to (internal or external) a drive or port that is configured to accept and read an external computer readable storage medium, such as an optical disc, USB drive, flash drive, or any other storage medium. For example, the external computer readable storage medium may store a computer program or software for execution by processor22and/or apparatus20. In some embodiments, apparatus20may also include or be coupled to one or more antennas25for receiving a downlink signal and for transmitting via an uplink from apparatus20. Apparatus20may further include a transceiver28configured to transmit and receive information. The transceiver28may also include a radio interface (e.g., a modem) coupled to the antenna25. The radio interface may correspond to a plurality of radio access technologies including one or more of GSM, LTE, LTE-A, 5G, NR, WLAN, NB-IoT, Bluetooth, BT-LE, NFC, RFID, UWB, and the like. The radio interface may include other components, such as filters, converters (for example, digital-to-analog converters and the like), symbol demappers, signal shaping components, an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) module, and the like, to process symbols, such as OFDMA symbols, carried by a downlink or an uplink. For instance, transceiver28may be configured to modulate information on to a carrier waveform for transmission by the antenna(s)25and demodulate information received via the antenna(s)25for further processing by other elements of apparatus20. In other embodiments, transceiver28may be capable of transmitting and receiving signals or data directly. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, apparatus20may include an input and/or output device (I/O device). In certain embodiments, apparatus20may further include a user interface, such as a graphical user interface or touchscreen. In an embodiment, memory24stores software modules that provide functionality when executed by processor22. The modules may include, for example, an operating system that provides operating system functionality for apparatus20. The memory may also store one or more functional modules, such as an application or program, to provide additional functionality for apparatus20. The components of apparatus20may be implemented in hardware, or as any suitable combination of hardware and software. According to an example embodiment, apparatus20may optionally be configured to communicate with apparatus10via a wireless or wired communications link70according to any radio access technology, such as NR. According to some embodiments, processor22and memory24may be included in or may form a part of processing circuitry or control circuitry. In addition, in some embodiments, transceiver28may be included in or may form a part of transceiving circuitry. As discussed above, according to some embodiments, apparatus20may be a UE, mobile device, mobile station, ME, IoT device and/or NB-IoT device, for example. According to certain embodiments, apparatus20may be controlled by memory24and processor22to perform the functions associated with any of the embodiments described herein, such as some operations illustrated in, or described with respect to,FIGS.1-4. For instance, in one embodiment, apparatus20may be controlled by memory24and processor22to perform the method ofFIG.4. In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., apparatus10and/or apparatus20) may include means for performing a method or any of the variants discussed herein, e.g., a method described with reference toFIGS.4-6. Examples of the means may include one or more processors, memory, and/or computer program code for causing the performance of the operation. Therefore, certain example embodiments provide several technological improvements, enhancements, and/or advantages over existing technological processes. For example, one benefit of some example embodiments is reduction or elimination of device operating issues that may occur as a result of a UE being unaware of which network slice paged the UE, thereby reducing or eliminating consumption of network and/or computing resources that would otherwise occur as a result of such operating issues. Accordingly, the use of some example embodiments results in improved functioning of communications networks and their nodes and, therefore constitute an improvement at least to the technological field of mobile terminated or mobile originated calls, among others. In some example embodiments, the functionality of any of the methods, processes, signaling diagrams, algorithms or flow charts described herein may be implemented by software and/or computer program code or portions of code stored in memory or other computer readable or tangible media, and executed by a processor. In some example embodiments, an apparatus may be included or be associated with at least one software application, module, unit or entity configured as arithmetic operation(s), or as a program or portions of it (including an added or updated software routine), executed by at least one operation processor. Programs, also called program products or computer programs, including software routines, applets and macros, may be stored in any apparatus-readable data storage medium and may include program instructions to perform particular tasks. A computer program product may include one or more computer-executable components which, when the program is run, are configured to carry out some example embodiments. The one or more computer-executable components may be at least one software code or portions of code. Modifications and configurations used for implementing functionality of an example embodiment may be performed as routine(s), which may be implemented as added or updated software routine(s). In one example, software routine(s) may be downloaded into the apparatus. As an example, software or a computer program code or portions of code may be in a source code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form, and it may be stored in some sort of carrier, distribution medium, or computer readable medium, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. Such carriers may include a record medium, computer memory, read-only memory, photoelectrical and/or electrical carrier signal, telecommunications signal, and/or software distribution package, for example. Depending on the processing power needed, the computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital computer or it may be distributed amongst a number of computers. The computer readable medium or computer readable storage medium may be a non-transitory medium. In other example embodiments, the functionality may be performed by hardware or circuitry included in an apparatus (e.g., apparatus10or apparatus20), for example through the use of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable gate array (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or any other combination of hardware and software. In yet another example embodiment, the functionality may be implemented as a signal, such as a non-tangible means that can be carried by an electromagnetic signal downloaded from the Internet or other network. According to an example embodiment, an apparatus, such as a node, device, or a corresponding component, may be configured as circuitry, a computer or a microprocessor, such as single-chip computer element, or as a chipset, which may include at least a memory for providing storage capacity used for arithmetic operation(s) and/or an operation processor for executing the arithmetic operation(s). Example embodiments described herein apply equally to both singular and plural implementations, regardless of whether singular or plural language is used in connection with describing certain embodiments. For example, an embodiment that describes operations of a single network node equally applies to embodiments that include multiple instances of the network node, and vice versa. One having ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the example embodiments as discussed above may be practiced with operations in a different order, and/or with hardware elements in configurations which are different than those which are disclosed. Therefore, although some embodiments have been described based upon these example embodiments, it would be apparent to those of skill in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternative constructions would be apparent, while remaining within the spirit and scope of example embodiments. Partial Glossary I-RNTI Inactive Radio Network Temporary IdentifierMO Mobile OriginatedMT Mobile TerminatedPDU Protocol Data UnitRAC Resource Allocation ClassRAN Radio Access Network | 50,811 |
11943813 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Example embodiments of the present invention enable operation of multiple timing advance groups. Embodiments of the technology disclosed herein may be employed in the technical field of multicarrier communication systems. More particularly, the embodiments of the technology disclosed herein may relate to operation of multiple timing advance groups. Example embodiments of the invention may be implemented using various physical layer modulation and transmission mechanisms. Example transmission mechanisms may include, but are not limited to: CDMA (code division multiple access), OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing), TDMA (time division multiple access), Wavelet technologies, and/or the like. Hybrid transmission mechanisms such as TDMA/CDMA, and OFDM/CDMA may also be employed. Various modulation schemes may be applied for signal transmission in the physical layer. Examples of modulation schemes include, but are not limited to: phase, amplitude, code, a combination of these, and/or the like. An example radio transmission method may implement QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) using BPSK (binary phase shift keying), QPSK (quadrature phase shift keying), 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, and/or the like. Physical radio transmission may be enhanced by dynamically or semi-dynamically changing the modulation and coding scheme depending on transmission requirements and radio conditions. FIG.1is a diagram depicting example sets of OFDM subcarriers as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in this example, arrow(s) in the diagram may depict a subcarrier in a multicarrier OFDM system. The OFDM system may use technology such as OFDM technology, SC-OFDM (single carrier-OFDM) technology, or the like. For example, arrow101shows a subcarrier transmitting information symbols.FIG.1is for illustration purposes, and a typical multicarrier OFDM system may include more subcarriers in a carrier. For example, the number of subcarriers in a carrier may be in the range of 10 to 10,000 subcarriers.FIG.1shows two guard bands106and107in a transmission band. As illustrated inFIG.1, guard band106is between subcarriers103and subcarriers104. The example set of subcarriers A102includes subcarriers103and subcarriers104.FIG.1also illustrates an example set of subcarriers B105. As illustrated, there is no guard band between any two subcarriers in the example set of subcarriers B105. Carriers in a multicarrier OFDM communication system may be contiguous carriers, non-contiguous carriers, or a combination of both contiguous and non-contiguous carriers. FIG.2is a diagram depicting an example transmission time and reception time for two carriers as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. A multicarrier OFDM communication system may include one or more carriers, for example, ranging from 1 to 10 carriers. Carrier A204and carrier B205may have the same or different timing structures. AlthoughFIG.2shows two synchronized carriers, carrier A204and carrier B205may or may not be synchronized with each other. Different radio frame structures may be supported for FDD (frequency division duplex) and TDD (time division duplex) duplex mechanisms.FIG.2shows an example FDD frame timing. Downlink and uplink transmissions may be organized into radio frames201. In this example, radio frame duration is 10 msec. Other frame durations, for example, in the range of 1 to 100 msec may also be supported. In this example, each 10 msec radio frame201may be divided into ten equally sized sub-frames202. Other subframe durations such as including 0.5 msec, 1 msec, 2 msec, and 5 msec may also be supported. Sub-frame(s) may consist of two or more slots206. For the example of FDD, 10 subframes may be available for downlink transmission and 10 subframes may be available for uplink transmissions in each 10 msec interval. Uplink and downlink transmissions may be separated in the frequency domain. Slot(s) may include a plurality of OFDM symbols203. The number of OFDM symbols203in a slot206may depend on the cyclic prefix length and subcarrier spacing. FIG.3is a diagram depicting OFDM radio resources as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. The resource grid structure in time304and frequency305is illustrated inFIG.3. The quantity of downlink subcarriers or resource blocks (RB) (in this example 6 to 100 RBs) may depend, at least in part, on the downlink transmission bandwidth306configured in the cell. The smallest radio resource unit may be called a resource element (e.g. 301). Resource elements may be grouped into resource blocks (e.g. 302). Resource blocks may be grouped into larger radio resources called Resource Block Groups (RBG) (e.g. 303). The transmitted signal in slot206may be described by one or several resource grids of a plurality of subcarriers and a plurality of OFDM symbols. Resource blocks may be used to describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Other pre-defined groupings of physical resource elements may be implemented in the system depending on the radio technology. For example, 24 subcarriers may be grouped as a radio block for a duration of 5 msec. In an illustrative example, a resource block may correspond to one slot in the time domain and 180 kHz in the frequency domain (for 15 kHz subcarrier bandwidth and 12 subcarriers). FIG.4is an example block diagram of a base station401and a wireless device406, as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. A communication network400may include at least one base station401and at least one wireless device406. The base station401may include at least one communication interface402, at least one processor403, and at least one set of program code instructions405stored in non-transitory memory404and executable by the at least one processor403. The wireless device406may include at least one communication interface407, at least one processor408, and at least one set of program code instructions410stored in non-transitory memory409and executable by the at least one processor408. Communication interface402in base station401may be configured to engage in communication with communication interface407in wireless device406via a communication path that includes at least one wireless link411. Wireless link411may be a bi-directional link. Communication interface407in wireless device406may also be configured to engage in a communication with communication interface402in base station401. Base station401and wireless device406may be configured to send and receive data over wireless link411using multiple frequency carriers. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, transceiver(s) may be employed. A transceiver is a device that includes both a transmitter and receiver. Transceivers may be employed in devices such as wireless devices, base stations, relay nodes, and/or the like. Example embodiments for radio technology implemented in communication interface402,407and wireless link411are illustrated inFIG.1,FIG.2, andFIG.3, and associated text. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, an LTE network may include many base stations, providing a user plane (PDCP: packet data convergence protocol/RLC: radio link control/MAC: media access control/PHY: physical) and control plane (RRC: radio resource control) protocol terminations towards the wireless device. The base station(s) may be interconnected with other base station(s) by means of an X2 interface. The base stations may also be connected by means of an S1 interface to an EPC (Evolved Packet Core). For example, the base stations may be interconnected to the MME (Mobility Management Entity) by means of the S1-MME interface and to the Serving Gateway (S-GW) by means of the S1-U interface. The S1 interface may support a many-to-many relation between MMEs/Serving Gateways and base stations. A base station may include many sectors for example: 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6 sectors. A base station may include many cells, for example, ranging from 1 to 50 cells or more. A cell may be categorized, for example, as a primary cell or secondary cell. When carrier aggregation is configured, a wireless device may have one RRC connection with the network. At RRC connection establishment/re-establishment/handover, one serving cell may provide the NAS (non-access stratum) mobility information (e.g. TAI-tracking area identifier), and at RRC connection re-establishment/handover, one serving cell may provide the security input. This cell may be referred to as the Primary Cell (PCell). In the downlink, the carrier corresponding to the PCell may be the Downlink Primary Component Carrier (DL PCC), while in the uplink, it may be the Uplink Primary Component Carrier (UL PCC). Depending on wireless device capabilities, Secondary Cells (SCells) may be configured to form together with the PCell a set of serving cells. In the downlink, the carrier corresponding to an SCell may be a Downlink Secondary Component Carrier (DL SCC), while in the uplink, it may be an Uplink Secondary Component Carrier (UL SCC). An SCell may or may not have an uplink carrier. A cell, comprising a downlink carrier and optionally an uplink carrier, is assigned a physical cell ID and a cell index. A carrier (downlink or uplink) belongs to only one cell, the cell ID or Cell index may also identify the downlink carrier or uplink carrier of the cell (depending on the context it is used). In the specification, cell ID may be equally referred to a carrier ID, and cell index may be referred to carrier index. In implementation, the physical cell ID or cell index may be assigned to a cell. Cell ID may be determined using the synchronization signal transmitted on a downlink carrier. Cell index may be determined using RRC messages. For example, when the specification refers to a first physical cell ID for a first downlink carrier, it may mean the first physical cell ID is for a cell comprising the first downlink carrier. The same concept may apply to, for example, carrier activation. When the specification indicates that a first carrier is activated, it equally means that the cell comprising the first carrier is activated. Embodiments may be configured to operate as needed. The disclosed mechanism may be performed when certain criteria are met, for example, in wireless device, base station, radio environment, network, a combination of the above, and/or the like. Example criteria may be based, at least in part, on for example, traffic load, initial system set up, packet sizes, traffic characteristics, a combination of the above, and/or the like. When the one or more criteria are met, the example embodiments may be applied. Therefore, it may be possible to implement example embodiments that selectively implement disclosed protocols. Example embodiments of the invention may enable operation of multiple timing advance groups. Other example embodiments may comprise a non-transitory tangible computer readable media comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to cause operation of multiple timing advance groups. Yet other example embodiments may comprise an article of manufacture that comprises a non-transitory tangible computer readable machine-accessible medium having instructions encoded thereon for enabling programmable hardware to cause a device (e.g. wireless communicator, UE, base station, etc.) to enable operation of multiple timing advance groups. The device may include processors, memory, interfaces, and/or the like. Other example embodiments may comprise communication networks comprising devices such as base stations, wireless devices (or user equipment: UE), servers, switches, antennas, and/or the like. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, serving cells having an uplink to which the same time alignment (TA) applies may be grouped in a TA group (TAG). Serving cells in one TAG may use the same timing reference. For a given TAG, a user equipment (UE) may use one downlink carrier as the timing reference at a given time. The UE may use a downlink carrier in a TAG as the timing reference for that TAG. For a given TAG, a UE may synchronize uplink subframe and frame transmission timing of the uplink carriers belonging to the same TAG. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, serving cells having an uplink to which the same TA applies may correspond to the serving cells hosted by the same receiver. A TA group may comprise at least one serving cell with a configured uplink. A UE supporting multiple TAs may support two or more TA groups. One TA group may contain the PCell and may be called a primary TAG (pTAG). In a multiple TAG configuration, at least one TA group may not contain the PCell and may be called a secondary TAG (sTAG). Carriers within the same TA group may use the same TA value and the same timing reference. FIG.5is a diagram depicting uplink transmission timing of one or more cells in a first timing advance group (TAG1) and a second TAG (TAG2) as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. TAG1 may include one or more cells, TAG2 may also include one or more cells. TAG timing difference inFIG.5may be the difference in UE uplink transmission timing for uplink carriers in TAG1 and TAG2. The timing difference may range between, for example, sub micro-seconds to about 30 micro-seconds. FIG.7shows example TAG configurations as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. In Example 1, pTAG include PCell, and sTAG includes SCell1. In Example 2, pTAG includes PCell and SCell1, and sTAG includes SCell2 and SCell3. In Example 3, pTAG includes PCell and SCell1, and sTAG1 includes SCell2 and SCell3, and sTAG2 includes SCell4. Up to four TAGs may be supported and other example TAG configurations may also be provided. In many examples of this disclosure, example mechanisms are described for a pTAG and an sTAG. The operation with one example sTAG is described, and the same operation may be applicable to other sTAGs. The example mechanisms may be applied to configurations with multiple sTAGs. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, TA maintenance, pathloss reference handling and the timing reference for pTAG may follow LTE release 10 principles. The UE may need to measure downlink pathloss to calculate the uplink transmit power. The pathloss reference may be used for uplink power control and/or transmission of random access preamble(s). A UE may measure downlink pathloss using the signals received on the pathloss reference cell. For SCell(s) in a pTAG, the choice of pathloss reference for cells may be selected from and be limited to the following two options: a) the downlink SCell linked to an uplink SCell using the system information block 2 (SIB2), and b) the downlink PCell. The pathloss reference for SCells in pTAG may be configurable using RRC message(s) as a part of SCell initial configuration and/or reconfiguration. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, PhysicalConfigDedicatedSCell information element (IE) of an SCell configuration may include the pathloss reference SCell (downlink carrier) for an SCell in pTAG. The downlink SCell linked to an uplink SCell using the system information block 2 (SIB2) may be referred to as the SIB2 linked downlink of the SCell. Different TAGs may operate in different bands. For an uplink carrier in an sTAG, the pathloss reference may be only configurable to the downlink SCell linked to an uplink SCell using the system information block 2 (SIB2) of the SCell. To obtain initial uplink (UL) time alignment for an sTAG, eNB may initiate an RA procedure. In an sTAG, a UE may use one of any activated SCells from this sTAG as a timing reference cell. In an example embodiment, the timing reference for SCells in an sTAG may be the SIB2 linked downlink of the SCell on which the preamble for the latest RA procedure was sent. There may be one timing reference and one time alignment timer (TAT) per TA group. TAT for TAGs may be configured with different values. When the TAT associated with the pTAG expires: all TATs may be considered as expired, the UE may flush all HARQ buffers of all serving cells, the UE may clear any configured downlink assignment/uplink grants, and the RRC in the UE may release PUCCH/SRS for all configured serving cells. When the pTAG TAT is not running, an sTAG TAT may not be running. When the TAT associated with sTAG expires: a) SRS transmissions may be stopped on the corresponding SCells, b) SRS RRC configuration may be released, c) CSI reporting configuration for the corresponding SCells may be maintained, and/or d) the MAC in the UE may flush the uplink HARQ buffers of the corresponding SCells. Upon deactivation of the last SCell in an sTAG, the UE may not stop TAT of the sTAG. In an implementation, upon removal of the last SCell in an sTAG, TAT of the TA group may not be running. RA procedures in parallel may not be supported for a UE. If a new RA procedure is requested (either by UE or network) while another RA procedure is already ongoing, it may be up to the UE implementation whether to continue with the ongoing procedure or start with the new procedure. The eNB may initiate the RA procedure via a PDCCH order for an activated SCell. This PDCCH order may be sent on the scheduling cell of this SCell. When cross carrier scheduling is configured for a cell, the scheduling cell may be different than the cell that is employed for preamble transmission, and the PDCCH order may include the SCell index. At least a non-contention based RA procedure may be supported for SCell(s) assigned to sTAG(s). FIG.6is an example message flow in a random access process in a secondary TAG as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. eNB transmits an activation command600to activate an SCell. A preamble602(Msg1) may be sent by a UE in response to the PDCCH order601on an SCell belonging to an sTAG. In an example embodiment, preamble transmission for SCells may be controlled by the network using PDCCH format 1A. Msg2 message603(RAR: random access response) in response to the preamble transmission on SCell may be addressed to RA-RNTI in PCell common search space (CSS). Uplink packets604may be transmitted on the SCell, in which the preamble was transmitted. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, initial timing alignment may be achieved through a random access procedure. This may involve the UE transmitting a random access preamble and the eNB responding with an initial TA command NTA (amount of timing advance) within the random access response window. The start of the random access preamble may be aligned with the start of the corresponding uplink subframe at the UE assuming NTA=0. The eNB may estimate the uplink timing from the random access preamble transmitted by the UE. The TA command may be derived by the eNB based on the estimation of the difference between the desired UL timing and the actual UL timing. The UE may determine the initial uplink transmission timing relative to the corresponding downlink of the sTAG on which the preamble is transmitted. A base station may communicate with a mix of wireless devices. Wireless devices may support multiple technologies, or multiple releases of the same technology, have some specific capability depending on the wireless device category and/or capability. A base station may comprise multiple sectors. When this disclosure refers to a base station communicating with a plurality of wireless devices, this disclosure may refer to a subset of the total wireless devices in the coverage area. This disclosure may refer to, for example, a plurality of wireless devices of a given LTE release with a given capability and in a given sector of the base station. The plurality of wireless devices in this disclosure may refer to a selected plurality of wireless devices, and/or a subset of total wireless devices in the coverage area, which perform according to the disclosed methods, and/or the like. There may be many wireless devices in the coverage area that may not comply with the disclosed methods, for example, because those wireless devices perform based on older releases of LTE technology. A time alignment command MAC control element may be a unicast MAC command transmitted to a wireless device. According to some of the various aspects of various embodiments, the base station or wireless device may group cells into a plurality of cell groups. The term “cell group” may refer to a timing advance group (TAG) or a timing alignment group or a time alignment group. Time alignment command may also be referred to timing advance command. A cell group may include at least one cell. A MAC TA command may correspond to a TAG. A cell group may explicitly or implicitly be identified by a TAG index. Cells in the same band may belong to the same cell group. A first cell's frame timing may be tied to a second cell's frame timing in a TAG. When a time alignment command is received for the TAG, the frame timing of both first cell and second cell may be adjusted. Base station(s) may provide TAG configuration information to the wireless device(s) by RRC configuration message(s). The mapping of a serving cell to a TAG may be configured by the serving eNB with RRC signaling. The mechanism for TAG configuration and reconfiguration may be based on RRC signaling. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, when an eNB performs SCell addition configuration, the related TAG configuration may be configured for the SCell. In an example embodiment, eNB may modify the TAG configuration of an SCell by removing (releasing) the SCell and adding (configuring) a new SCell (with the same physical cell ID and frequency) with an updated TAG ID. The new SCell with the updated TAG ID may be initially inactive subsequent to being assigned the updated TAG ID. eNB may activate the updated new SCell and then start scheduling packets on the activated SCell. In an example implementation, it may not be possible to change the TAG associated with an SCell, but rather, the SCell may need to be removed and a new SCell may need to be added with another TAG. For example if there is a need to move an SCell from an sTAG to a pTAG, at least one RRC message, for example, at least one RRC reconfiguration message, may be send to the UE to reconfigure TAG configurations by releasing the SCell and then configuring the SCell as a part of pTAG (when an SCell is added/configured without a TAG index, the SCell is explicitly assigned to pTAG). The PCell may not change its TA group and may always be a member of the pTAG. An eNB may perform initial configuration based on initial configuration parameters received from a network node (for example a management platform), an initial eNB configuration, a UE location, a UE type, UE CSI feedback, UE uplink transmissions (for example, data, SRS, and/or the like), a combination of the above, and/or the like. For example, initial configuration may be based on UE channel state measurements or received signal timing. For example, depending on the signal strength received from a UE on various SCells downlink carrier or by determination of UE being in a repeater coverage area, or a combination of both, an eNB may determine the initial configuration of sTAGs and membership of SCells to sTAGs. In an example implementation, the TA value of a serving cell may change, for example due to UE's mobility from a macro-cell to a repeater or an RRH (remote radio head) coverage area. The signal delay for that SCell may become different from the original value and different from other serving cells in the same TAG. In this scenario, eNB may reconfigure this TA-changed serving cell to another existing TAG. Or alternatively, the eNB may create a new TAG for the SCell based on the updated TA value. The TA value may be derived, for example, through eNB measurement(s) of signal reception timing, a RA mechanism, or other standard or proprietary processes. An eNB may realize that the TA value of a serving cell is no longer consistent with its current TAG. There may be many other scenarios which require eNB to reconfigure TAGs. During reconfiguration, the eNB may need to move the reference SCell belonging to an sTAG to another TAG. In this scenario, the sTAG would require a new reference SCell. In an example embodiment, the UE may select an active SCell in the sTAG as the reference timing SCell. eNB may consider UE's capability in configuring multiple TAGs for a UE. UE may be configured with a configuration that is compatible with UE capability. Multiple TAG capability may be an optional feature and per band combination Multiple TAG capability may be introduced. UE may transmit its multiple TAG capability to eNB via an RRC message and eNB may consider UE capability in configuring TAG configuration(s). The purpose of an RRC connection reconfiguration procedure may be to modify an RRC connection, (e.g. to establish, modify and/or release RBs, to perform handover, to setup, modify, and/or release measurements, to add, modify, and/or release SCells). If the received RRC Connection Reconfiguration message includes the sCellToReleaseList, the UE may perform an SCell release. If the received RRC Connection Reconfiguration message includes the sCellToAddModList, the UE may perform SCell additions or modification. The parameters related to SCell random access channel may be common to all UEs. For example PRACH configuration (RACH resources, configuration parameters, RAR window) for the SCell may be common to UEs. RACH resource parameters may include prach-configuration index, and/or prach-frequency offset. SCell RACH common configuration parameters may also include power: power ramping parameter(s) for preamble transmission; and max number of preamble transmission parameter. It is more efficient to use common parameters for RACH configuration, since different UEs will share the same random access channel. eNB may transmit at least one RRC message to configure PCell, SCell(s) and RACH, and TAG configuration parameters. MAC-MainConfig may include a timeAlignmentTimerDedicated IE to indicate time alignment timer value for the pTAG. MAC-MainConfig may further include an IE including a sequence of at least one (sTAG ID, and TAT value) to configure time alignment timer values for sTAGs. In an example, a first RRC message may configure TAT value for pTAG, a second RRC message may configure TAT value for sTAG1, and a third RRC message may configure TAT value for sTAG2. There is no need to include all the TAT configurations in a single RRC message. In an example embodiment they may be included in one or two RRC messages. The IE including a sequence of at least one (sTAG ID, and TAT) value may also be used to update the TAT value of an existing sTAG to an updated TAT value. The at least one RRC message may also include sCellToAddModList including at least one SCell configuration parameters. The radioResourceConfigDedicatedSCell (dedicated radio configuration IEs) in sCellToAddModList may include an SCell MAC configuration comprising TAG ID for the corresponding SCell added or modified. The radioResourceConfigDedicatedSCell may also include pathloss reference configuration for an SCell. If TAG ID is not included in SCell configuration, the SCell is assigned to the pTAG. In other words, a TAG ID may not be included in radioResourceConfigDedicatedSCell for SCells assigned to pTAG. The radioResourceConfigCommonSCell (common radio configuration IEs) in sCellToAddModList may include RACH resource configuration parameters, preamble transmission power control parameters, and other preamble transmission parameter(s). At the least one RRC message configures PCell, SCell, RACH resources, and/or SRS transmissions and may assign each SCell to a TAG (implicitly for pTAG or explicitly for sTAG). PCell is always assigned to the pTAG. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a base station may transmit at least one control message to a wireless device in a plurality of wireless devices. The at least one control message is for example, RRC connection reconfiguration message, RRC connection establishment message, RRC connection re-establishment message, and/or other control messages configuring or reconfiguring radio interface, and/or the like. The at least one control message may be configured to cause, in the wireless device, configuration of at least: I) a plurality of cells. Each cell may comprise a downlink carrier and zero or one uplink carrier. The configuration may assign a cell group index to a cell in the plurality of cells. The cell group index may identify one of a plurality of cell groups. A cell group in the plurality of cell groups may comprise a subset of the plurality of cells. The subset may comprise a reference cell with a reference downlink carrier and a reference uplink carrier. Uplink transmissions by the wireless device in the cell group may employ the reference cell (the primary cell in pTAG and a secondary cell in an sTAG). The wireless device may employ a synchronization signal transmitted on the reference downlink carrier as timing reference to determine a timing of the uplink transmissions. The synchronization signal for example may be a) primary/secondary synchronization signal, b) reference signal(s), and/or c) a combination of a) and b). II) a time alignment timer for each cell group in the plurality of cell groups; and/or III) an activation timer for each configured secondary cell. The base station may transmit a plurality of timing advance commands. Each timing advance command may comprise: a time adjustment value, and a cell group index. A time alignment timer may start or may restart when the wireless device receives a timing advance command to adjust uplink transmission timing on a cell group identified by the cell group index. A cell group may be considered out-of-sync, by the wireless device, when the associated time alignment timer expires or is not running. The cell group may be considered in-sync when the associated time alignment timer is running. The timing advance command may causes substantial alignment of reception timing of uplink signals in frames and subframes of all activated uplink carriers in the cell group at the base station. The time alignment timer value may be configured as one of a finite set of predetermined values. For example, the finite set of predetermined values may be eight. Each time alignment timer value may be encoded employing three bits. TAG TAT may be a dedicated time alignment timer value and is transmitted by the base station to the wireless device. TAG TAT may be configured to cause configuration of time alignment timer value for each time alignment group. The IE TAG TAT may be used to control how long the UE is considered uplink time aligned. It corresponds to the timer for time alignment for each cell group. Its value may be in number of sub-frames. For example, value sf500 corresponds to 500 sub-frames, sf750 corresponds to 750 sub-frames and so on. An uplink time alignment is common for all serving cells belonging to the same cell group. In an example embodiment, the IE TAG TAT may be defined as: TAG TAT::=SEQUENCE{TAG ID, ENUMERATED {sf500, sf750, sf1280, sf1920, sf2560, sf5120, sf10240, infinity}}. Time alignment timer for pTAG may be indicated in a separate IE and may not be included in the sequence. In an example, TimeAlignmentTimerDedicated IE may be sf500, and then TAG TAT may be {1, sf500; 2, sf2560; 3, sf500}. In the example, time alignment timer for the pTAG is configured separately and is not included in the sequence. In the examples, TAG0 (pTAG) time alignment timer value is 500 subframes (500 m-sec), TAG1 (sTAG) time alignment timer value is 500 subframes, TAG2 time alignment timer value is 2560 subframes, and TAGS time alignment timer value is 500 subframes. This is for example purposes only. In this example a TAG may take one of 8 predefined values. In a different embodiment, the enumerated values could take other values. FIG.6is an example message flow in a random access process in a TAG as per an aspect of an embodiment. A preamble602may be sent by a UE in response to the PDCCH order601on an SCell belonging to an sTAG. Preamble transmission for SCells may be controlled by the network using PDCCH format 1A (control command). Msg2 message603(also called a random access response: RAR) in response to the preamble transmission on SCell may be addressed to RA-RNTI in PCell common search space (CSS). Uplink packets604may be transmitted on the SCell in which the preamble was transmitted. In one of the various implementations, RAR may include an uplink grant. In LTE release 10, a RAR uplink grant may be for the primary cell by default. In order to allow more flexibility, the uplink grant in RAR in multiple TAG configuration may need to allow transmission of an uplink grant for a secondary cell. In one embodiment, this could be accomplished by including a cell index in the RAR uplink grant. In order to allow more flexibility in the uplink grant, and at the same time reduce overhead, a new mechanism may be implemented. Including an SCell index in a RAR uplink grant may increase signaling overhead. The SCell index in the uplink grant may not be transmitted in the uplink grant in RAR and the uplink grant contained in the RAR may be applicable to the cell where the preamble was sent by default. This may reduce the signaling overhead. In LTE release 10, the timing advance command (TAC) in a RAR is applied to the PCell and to the SCells synchronized with the PCell. In order to allow more flexibility, the TAC in a RAR in a multiple TAG configuration may need to be applied to secondary cell groups. In one embodiment, this could be accomplished by including a cell group index in the RAR TAC. In order to allow more flexibility in TAC, and at the same time reduce overhead, a new mechanism may be implemented. Including a cell group index in a RAR TAC may increase signaling overhead. The cell group index in the TAC may not be transmitted in the TAC in a RAR. The TAC contained in the RAR may be applicable to the cell group where the preamble was sent by default. This may reduce the signaling overhead. For example, if the random access preamble is sent on a first secondary cell of a first secondary cell group. The TAC in a RAR may be applicable to the first secondary cell group. The wireless device may apply the TAC in a RAR to all activated secondary cells in the first secondary cell group. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a RAPID may be included in Msg2603to address possible preamble misdetection by the eNB. UE may compare the RAPID in Msg2603with the transmitted preamble ID to verify the validity of the Msg2603and to verify possible preamble misdetection by the eNB. A RAR may always be transmitted on a PCell independent of the cell used for preamble transmission (SCell or PCell). UE may monitor and receive a RAR with a specific RA-RNTI associated with the random access channel used for random access preamble transmission. The specific RA-RNTI may be defined based on the subframe (t_id) and frequency index of the physical random access channel (f_id) that is used for random access preamble transmission. If no Random Access Response is received within the RA Response window, or if none of all received Random Access Responses contain a Random Access Preamble identifier corresponding to the transmitted Random Access Preamble, the Random Access Response reception may be considered not successful and the UE may increment the PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER by 1. If the PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER=preambleTransMax+1 and if the Random Access Preamble is transmitted on the PCell, the UE may indicate a Random Access problem to upper layers. If the PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER=preambleTransMax+1 and if the Random Access Preamble is transmitted on an SCell, the UE may consider the Random Access procedure unsuccessfully completed. FIG.8is an example flow diagram illustrating a wireless device random access process as per an aspect of an embodiment. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a wireless device may be configured to communicate employing a plurality of cells. The wireless device may receive at least one control message from a base station at block800. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device: configuration of a primary cell and at least one secondary cell, and/or assignment of each of the at least one secondary cell to a cell group. The assignment may be done implicitly or explicitly as described in this disclosure. A cell group may be in a plurality of cell groups. The plurality of cell groups may comprise a primary cell group and at least one secondary cell group. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the primary cell group may comprise a first subset of the plurality of cells. The first subset may comprise the primary cell. Uplink transmissions by the wireless device in the primary cell group may employ the primary cell as a primary timing reference cell. Uplink transmissions by the wireless device in the primary cell group may employ a first synchronization signal transmitted on the primary cell as a primary timing reference. A secondary cell group in the at least one secondary cell group may comprise a second subset of the at least one secondary cell. Uplink transmissions in the secondary cell group may employ an activated secondary cell as a secondary timing reference cell. Uplink transmissions in the secondary cell group may employ a second synchronization signal on the activated secondary cell in the secondary cell group as a secondary timing reference. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the wireless device may transmit a random access preamble on random access resources of a first secondary cell in the at least one secondary cell at block802. The wireless device may transmit the random access preamble in response to receiving a control command (PDCCH order) from the base station. The first secondary cell may be the same as the activated secondary cell or may be a different secondary cell in the secondary cell group. The wireless device may receive a random access response (at block805) on the primary cell of the primary cell group in response to the random access preamble transmission. The random access response may comprise: a timing advance command, an uplink grant, and/or a preamble identifier identifying the random access preamble. The wireless device may apply the timing advance command only to uplink transmission timing of a first secondary cell group comprising the first secondary cell at block807. The random access response does not comprise an index identifying the first secondary cell group. The wireless device applies the TAC to the cell group comprising the cell that was employed for preamble transmission. This may reduce signaling overhead by eliminating inclusion of cell group index in random access response. Legacy random access response message format may be employed for when multiple cell groups are configured. The wireless device may transmit uplink data on the first secondary cell in radio resources identified in the uplink grant at block809. The random access response does not comprise an index identifying the first secondary cell. The wireless device applies the uplink grant to the cell that was employed for preamble transmission. This may reduce signaling overhead by eliminating inclusion of a cell index in the random access response. Legacy random access response message format may be employed for when multiple cell groups are configured. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, after random access preamble transmission, the wireless device may monitor a downlink control channel on the primary cell for random access responses identified by an identifier (RA-RNTI). The monitoring may performed within a time frame. The time frame may start at a subframe that contains the end of transmission of the random access preamble plus k subframes (k an integer greater than one, for example k=3). The time frame may have a duration smaller than or equal to a random access response window. The identifier of the random access response (RA-RNTI) may depend, at least in part, on: a subframe index (t_id) associated with a subframe in which the random access preamble is transmitted, and a frequency index (f_id) associated with a frequency offset in the random access resources employed for the random access preamble transmission. For example, RA-RNTI may be calculated using RA-RNTI=1+t_id+10*f_id. The random access response corresponds to the random access preamble transmission employing an identifier of the random access response and a preamble identifier identifying the random access preamble. The wireless device may receive an activation command to activate the first secondary cell in the wireless device prior to receiving the control command. The control command may comprise an index identifying the first secondary cell only if the control command is not transmitted on the first secondary cell. The wireless device may transmit the random access preamble in the random access resources of the first secondary cell. The control command may be received on a scheduling cell of the first secondary cell. The control command may comprise a mask index and a preamble identifier identifying the random access preamble. The wireless device may be assigned, by the configuration, a plurality of media access control dedicated parameters. The plurality of media access control dedicated parameters may comprise a plurality of time alignment timer values. Each time alignment timer value may be associated with a unique cell group in the wireless device. FIG.9is an example flow diagram illustrating a base station random access process as per an aspect of an embodiment. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a base station may comprise one or more communication interfaces, one or more processors, and memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the base station to perform certain tasks. The base station may transmit at least one control message to a wireless device at block900. The at least one control message may be configured to cause in the wireless device configuration of a plurality of cells and assignment of each of the at least one secondary cell to a cell group in a plurality of cell groups. The plurality of cells may comprise a primary cell and at least one secondary cell. The at least one control message may be configured to further cause in the wireless device configuration of a time alignment timer for each of the plurality of cell groups. The time alignment timer may start or restart in response to the wireless device receiving a timing advance command to adjust uplink transmission timing of a commanded cell group in the plurality of cell groups. The at least one control message may comprise a plurality of common parameters for the first secondary cell. The plurality of common parameters may comprise: a plurality of random access resource parameters identifying the random access resources, and a plurality of power control parameters. The plurality of cell groups may comprise a primary cell group and at least one secondary cell group. The primary cell group may comprise a first subset of the plurality of cells. The first subset may comprise the primary cell. A secondary cell group in the at least one secondary cell group may comprise a second subset of the at least one secondary cell. The base station may transmit a control command configured to cause transmission of a random access preamble on random access resources of a first secondary cell in the at least one secondary cell. The base station may receive the random access preamble from the wireless device at block902. The base station may transmit a random access response corresponding to the random access preamble reception on the primary cell of the primary cell group at block905. The random access response may comprise a timing advance command and an uplink grant. The base station may receive uplink data from the wireless device on the first secondary cell in radio resources identified in the uplink grant at block909. The base station may intend the uplink grant for the first secondary cell without including the first secondary cell index in the random access response. The timing advance command transmitted by the base station may be configured to cause substantial alignment of reception timing of uplink signals in frames and subframes of a first secondary cell group comprising the first secondary cell. The base station may intend the timing advance command for the first secondary cell group comprising the first secondary cell without including the first secondary cell group index in the random access response. The random access response may not comprise an index identifying the first secondary cell group. The random access response may not comprise an index identifying the first secondary cell. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, upon receiving UE's preamble, the eNB may transmit Msg2603RAR in the Msg2603window. The UE may receive a Msg2603RAR during the Msg2603window; if the UE receives the RAR successfully, the UE may consider RA successful, otherwise the UE may retransmit a preamble (if preamble retransmission is allowed). If preamble retransmission is not allowed or a maximum number of retransmissions is received, the UE may not retransmit the preamble. The retransmission window size may be configured by radio resource control messages. The retransmission window size may be configured for a PCell. A RAR window size for a random access process on secondary cells may employ the window size configured for the primary cell. This process may reduce flexibility in configuring different random access window sizes for random access processes of a primary cell and secondary cell(s). This may reduce signaling overhead. With this configuration, a UE may not need to store and/or maintain multiple random access window size values, and the same value may apply to all random access processes. A RAR window size may be configured as a common parameter. Common parameters for a PCell may have the same value for the primary cell of different wireless devices. Various RAR window sizes may be supported. RAR window sizes of (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 10 ms) may be configured. A single RAR window size may be supported by the UE and eNB, and the same RAR may be used regardless of which cell is employed for carrying a random access process. This may reduce flexibility in configuring multiple RAR window times for different cells in sTAG and pTAG. The RAR window may be configured considering the maximum allowed number of retransmissions for the random access message. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, random access channel common configuration parameters for a PCell may comprise the following parameters: power ramping step, preamble initial received target power, maximum preamble transmission, random access response window size, and/or the like. Random access channel common configuration parameters for an SCell may comprise the following parameters: power ramping step, preamble initial received target power, maximum preamble transmission, and/or the like. Other parameters may be included in common configuration parameters. As shown in the example, secondary cells may not be configured with a random access response window size. The value of a random access response window size configured for the PCell may apply for random access processes for all cells with a configured random access resource. The associated functionality in the random access process may be performed independently for each cell, but all random access functionalities may employ the same window value. In an example embodiment, random access processes on an SCell may employ the random access response window size configured for the primary cell. FIG.10is an example flow diagram illustrating a random access process in a wireless device as per an aspect of an embodiment. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a wireless device may be configured to communicate employing a plurality of cells. The wireless device may receive at least one control message from a base station at block1000. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device configuration of a primary cell and at least one secondary cell in the plurality of cells. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device assignment of each of the at least one secondary cell to a cell group in a plurality of cell groups. The plurality of cell groups may comprise a primary cell group and a secondary cell group. The primary cell group may comprise a first subset of the plurality of cells. The first subset may comprise the primary cell. The secondary cell group may comprise a second subset of the at least one secondary cell. The at least one control message may comprise a primary random access response window parameter for the primary cell and/or a power ramping step value for each cell in a first plurality of cells having configured random access resources. The at least one control message may not comprise a random access response window for secondary cells with configured random access resources. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the wireless device may transmit a random access preamble with an initial transmission power on random access resources of a cell in the first plurality of cells at block1002. The random access preamble transmission may be in response to receiving a control command (PDCCH order) from the base station. The wireless device may monitor a downlink control channel (PDCCH) on the primary cell for the corresponding random access response at block1005. The wireless device may monitor the PDCCH common search space for a PDCCH packet identified by a RA-RNTI corresponding to the random access preamble transmission. PDCCH packet with RA-RNTI comprises scheduling information of random access response(s) transmitted in PDSCH. Random access response(s) with the RA-RATI are received and decoded by the wireless device. The wireless device then looks for a corresponding random access response comprising the transmitted random access preamble. If the wireless device does not find the corresponding random access response, the wireless device continues monitoring the PDCCH common search space. The monitoring for the corresponding random access response may be performed within a time frame. The time frame may start at a subframe that contains the end of transmission of the random access preamble plus k subframes. k may be an integer greater than one (for example, k=3) and have the same value regardless of which cell in the first plurality of cells is employed for transmission of the random access preamble. The time frame may have duration smaller than or equal to the primary random access response window regardless of which cell in the first plurality of cells is employed for transmission of the random access preamble. The wireless device may retransmit, with an increased transmission power, the random access preamble on the random access resources if no corresponding random access response is received within the time frame at block1007. The increased transmission power may depend, at least in part, on the power ramping step value corresponding to the cell in the first plurality of cells. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, uplink transmissions by the wireless device in the primary cell group may employ the primary cell as a primary timing reference cell. Uplink transmissions by the wireless device in the primary cell group may employ a first synchronization signal transmitted on the primary cell as a primary timing reference. Uplink transmissions in the secondary cell group may employ an activated secondary cell in the secondary cell group as a secondary timing reference cell. Uplink transmissions in the secondary cell group may employ a second synchronization signal on an activated secondary cell in the secondary cell group as a secondary timing reference. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the corresponding random access response may comprise a timing advance command, an uplink grant, and a preamble identifier identifying the random access preamble. The wireless device may apply the timing advance command to uplink transmission timing of a cell group comprising the cell. The wireless device may transmit uplink data on the cell in radio resources identified in the uplink grant. The random access response may not comprise an index identifying a cell group comprising the cell. The random access response may not comprise may not comprise an index identifying the cell. An identifier of the random access response (RA-RNTI) may depend, at least in part, on a subframe index associated with a subframe in which the random access preamble is transmitted (t_id) and a frequency index associated with a frequency offset in the random access resources employed for transmission of the random access preamble (f_id). According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the random access preamble may be transmitted only one time if the corresponding random access response is received after the first transmission of the random access preamble. In a random access process in a secondary cell group, the wireless device may repeatedly transmit the random access preamble until the corresponding random access response is received, or a first predetermined number of transmissions is reached. If the first predetermined number of transmissions is reached without receiving the corresponding random access response and if the cell is in the secondary cell group, the wireless device may stop transmission of the random access preamble, and may keep a connection with the base station active. Keeping the connection with the base station active implies that the device may remain in RRC connected state. In a random access process in the primary cell group the wireless device may repeatedly transmit the random access preamble until the corresponding random access response is received, or a second predetermined number of transmissions is reached. If the second predetermined number of transmissions is reached without receiving the corresponding random access response and if the cell is in the primary cell group, the wireless device may indicate a random access problem to a radio resource control layer in the wireless device, and the radio resource control layer may determine a radio link failure. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the at least one control message may comprise a plurality of media access control dedicated parameters. The plurality of media access control dedicated parameters may comprise a plurality of time alignment timer values. Each time alignment timer value may be associated with a unique cell group in the wireless device. The at least one control message may further cause in the wireless device configuration of a time alignment timer for each of the plurality of cell groups. The time alignment timer may start or restart in response to the wireless device receiving a timing advance command to adjust uplink transmission timing of a commanded cell group in the plurality of cell groups. The at least one control message may comprise a plurality of common parameters for the cell. The plurality of common parameters may comprise a plurality of random access resource parameters identifying the random access resources. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, an eNB in release 11 or above may support configurations including multiple TAGs. In example embodiments, different methods for updating TAG configurations may be presented. A UE may not be required to provide additional assistant information for managing TAGs. An eNB may detect the need for an SCell TAG change and determine the correct TAG for an SCell based on the UE uplink transmissions (for example PUSCH and/or SRS) or RACH preamble transmissions. In some scenarios, an eNB may need to initiate a random access procedure to detect the need for a TAG change or determine the proper TAG for a given SCell. This scenario may happen, for example, when a new SCell is being configured or due to UE mobility to a repeater coverage area. In some other scenarios, an eNB may realize the proper TAG for a given SCell based on normal uplink transmissions (for example PUSCH and/or SRS). RRC signaling may be used to associate an SCell with a TAG. The sTAG change procedure may require special attention, because some implementations may require a random access process to determine a proper TAG for an SCell. In some other scenarios, an eNB may desire to change a TAG configuration for one or more TAGs. These processes are new to R.11 LTE, since prior releases did not support multiple TAGs in the network. An efficient method should be introduced for TAG reconfiguration and timing reference SCell modifications. Disclosed methods may reduce or eliminate unintended consequences and reduce possible unknown situations and reduce interference due to timing misalignment. There are many possible scenarios which might lead to a TAG change. An eNB may detect the need for an SCell TAG change and determine the correct TAG based on the normal UL transmission. In an example embodiment, an eNB may detect the need for an SCell TAG change by initiating an RA process on the concerned SCell. An eNB may also determine an SCell TAG change according to many other parameters, for example, UE location, repeater related signaling, and/or the like. An SCell may be re-grouped to an existing TAG with a valid TA value (TAG in-sync) or the SCell may be included in a newly configured TAG. In some other scenarios, when a new SCell is configured, RRC configuration messages may configure a new TAG for the new SCell. In another example, when the UE moves out of the coverage area of a repeater, the SCell(s) belonging to sTAG may be moved to the pTAG. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a scenario may be considered wherein no new TAG is configured and the configuration of TAGs is modified. For example, on detecting that an SCell is no longer suitable for the current TAG, based on the normal UL transmission (PUSCH, SRS) or preamble transmission, the eNB may initiate the TAG change procedure. Then the eNB may change the concerned SCell TAG via RRC signaling. An eNB may first release the SCell and then add the concerned SCell to an existing TAG. This may be performed via one or more RRC signaling messages. The SCell may be initially deactivated when it is configured with an existing TAG. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a scenario may be considered wherein an eNB may not know the TA value for the concerned SCell and an eNB may not be able to determine if the concerned SCell may be assigned to an existing TAG or a new TAG. This might be, for example, because the concerned SCell is a newly configured SCell or is an existing SCell for which a TA may not be determined based on uplink transmissions. When timing alignment of the concerned SCell does not match its existing sTAG, the concerned SCell may require TAG reconfiguration. An eNB may configure a new sTAG for the concerned SCell, and then trigger an RA on the concerned SCell to determine its timing alignment value. The eNB may determine which TAG is the most suitable TAG for the concerned SCell. The eNB may reconfigure the concerned SCell and move the concerned SCell to a different TAG based on its TA value or keep the concerned SCell and newly added sTAG configuration. The eNB may need to detect the need for a TAG change and determine the correct TAG based on the TA value of the concerned SCell by triggering an RA procedure on the SCell. The eNB may not transmit a RAR if the eNB desires to change the TAG of the SCell. This process of TAG reconfiguration may require transmitting at least one RRC reconfiguration message. If an eNB suspects that the concerned SCell is no longer suitable for the current TAG based on the received signal timing of UE UL transmissions (for example PUSCH, and/or SRS transmission), the eNB may initiate the TAG change procedure. The eNB may trigger an RA procedure on the concerned SCell to obtain the TA value of this concerned SCell and may change its TAG (if needed) via the RRC signaling. The eNB may release the concerned SCell and add it to a suitable or new TAG. In this case, UL data and SRS transmission may be initially stopped on the concerned SCell where a TA group is set to the new TAG because the SCell is deactivated when the SCell is added to the new TAG. In an example scenario, a TA timer of the new TA group may not be running. An RA procedure may be implemented to acquire a new TA value and to start a new TA timer for the usage of concerned UL SCell in the new TA group. If the concerned SCell was a reference SCell in a current sTAG and is moved out of a current sTAG, then the UE may select another active SCell in the current sTAG as the timing reference in the current sTAG. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a cell group index may be configured as a dedicated radio resource configuration parameter for an SCell. The dedicated radio resource configuration parameters for an SCell may be configured as a part of an SCell-To-Add-Modify parameter. If the dedicated radio resource configuration parameters of an SCell comprise a cell group index for a first secondary cell, the secondary cell may be assigned to a secondary cell group identified by the cell group index. Otherwise, the first secondary cell may be assigned to a primary cell group. According to an example embodiment, the dedicated radio resource configuration parameters of an SCell may not modify the cell group index of an already configured cell. The cell group index may be configured only when the SCell is added (configured). If an eNB needs to change the cell group index of an already configured SCell, the eNB may need to release (remove) the SCell and configure (add) the SCell with a new updated cell group index (pTAG index or sTAG index). The added SCell may have the same physical cell identifier and downlink frequency. The added SCell may be assigned the same SCell index. In an example embodiment, the added SCell may be assigned a different SCell index. This process may be applicable, when there is no handover. A different process may be applicable when the RRC message includes a handover configuration. FIG.11is an example flow diagram illustrating a change in timing advance group configuration as per an aspect of an embodiment. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a base station may be configured to communicate employing a plurality of cells. The base station may transmit at least one first radio resource control message to a wireless device at block1100. The at least one first radio resource control message may be configured to cause in the wireless device configuration of a primary cell and at least one secondary cell in the plurality of cells. The at least one first radio resource control message may be configured to cause assignment of each of the at least one secondary cell to one cell group in at least one cell group. A cell group in the at least one cell group may comprise a subset of the plurality of cells. Uplink transmissions of the wireless device in the cell group may employ a reference timing cell. Uplink transmissions of the wireless device in the cell group may employ a synchronization signal on an activated cell in the cell group as a timing reference. The base station may detect a change in timing of signals received from the wireless device in a first secondary cell in a first cell group at block1102. The timing of signals received from the wireless device may change due to wireless device mobility or due to changes in the propagation environment. For example, the wireless device may move in the coverage area of a repeater or may move out of the coverage area of a repeater. The base station may transmit one or more timing advance command to align uplink timing of the wireless device. The at least one cell group may comprise a primary cell group and a secondary cell group. The primary cell group may comprise a first subset of the plurality of cells. The first subset may comprise the primary cell. Uplink transmissions by the wireless device in the primary cell group may employ a first synchronization signal transmitted on the primary cell as a primary timing reference. The secondary cell group may comprise a second subset of the at least one secondary cell. Uplink transmissions in the secondary cell group may employ a second synchronization signal on an activated secondary cell in the secondary cell group as a secondary timing reference. The at least one first radio resource control message may comprise a plurality of media access control dedicated parameters. The plurality of media access control dedicated parameters may comprise a deactivation timer value. The at least one third radio resource control message may comprise a plurality of dedicated parameters for the first secondary cell. The plurality of dedicated parameters may be specific to the wireless device. If the plurality of dedicated parameters comprise a cell group index for the first secondary cell, the first secondary cell may be assigned to a secondary cell group identified by the cell group index. Otherwise, the first secondary cell is assigned to a primary cell group. Basically, RRC messages causing configuration of secondary cell(s) assigned to a primary cell group may not include a cell index and those secondary cells without a cell index may be implicitly assigned to the primary timing advance group. The RRC message configuration parameters that causes configuration of secondary cell(s) assigned to the primary cell group may not explicitly comprise a cell group index. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the change in the timing of signals received in the first secondary cell may be detected by a comparison of the received signal timings with a reference frame timing in the base station. The change in the timing of signals received in the first secondary cell may be detected by a comparison of the received signal timing with timing of another cell in the first cell group. The change in the timing of signals received in the first secondary cell may be detected by a comparison with timing of signals received in the primary cell. The base station may detect that the uplink signal timing change employing other similar or different implementation specific mechanisms. The base station may selectively, and depending on the characteristics of the change in timing, transmit one or more timing advance commands to align uplink timing of the cells. In some scenarios, the timing may not be align-able employing one or more timing advance commands. For example, the wireless device may transmit on a primary cell in a first band and on a secondary cell on a second band. The wireless device may move in the coverage area of a single band repeater for the second band. The single band (second band) repeater may cause additional delay in uplink signals of a secondary cell received by a base station (but may not affect the signals of a primary cell). The delay caused by the repeater may not be align-able by the base station if the primary cell and the secondary cells are in the same timing advance group. Other scenarios may also be possible depending on the mobility of the wireless device and network settings and configuration. The base station may determine that the change in timing may be aligned employing one or more timing advance commands. In another scenario, the base station may determine that the first secondary cell needs to be assigned to a different cell group than the first cell group as shown at block1105. In an example embodiment, the base station may determine that the first secondary cell needs to be assigned to a different cell group if the timing of signals is aligned with a timing of signals received in the primary cell. In another example embodiment, the base station may determine that the first secondary cell needs to be assigned to the different cell group if the timing of signals with the change cannot be aligned employing at least one timing advance command. Other example scenarios on how the base station determines that the cell group needs to changed or does not need to be changed may be provided as implementation options. The first secondary cell may have a downlink carrier frequency and a physical cell identifier. The downlink carrier frequency and physical identifier of the first secondary cell does not change due to timing advance group re-configuration. The downlink carrier frequency and physical identifier are physical characteristics of the cell and may not change when the cell is configured. Other example physical parameters that may not be reconfigured may include bandwidth, common reference signals, and/or the like. In an example implementation the first cell group may be a primary cell group. The second cell group may be a secondary cell group. In another example embodiment, the first cell group may be a secondary cell group, and the second cell group may be a primary cell group. The at least one first radio resource control message may be configured to cause assignment of a first cell index to the first secondary cell. If the base station determines that the cell group configuration needs to be changed, the base station may start a timing advance group configuration change process by transmitting one or more RRC messages to the wireless device. Such a signaling process is not applicable to release 10 or earlier releases of LTE technology. Signaling mechanisms may be developed to address this TAG configuration change, when a base station detects/decides that TAG configuration should be changed. Different embodiments may be implemented to change timing advance group configurations. In this disclosure, different embodiments are presented to change a current timing advance configuration of a wireless device. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the base station may transmit at least one second radio resource control (RRC) message configured to cause in the wireless device release of the first secondary cell at block1107. The cell that requires a cell group change may be released employing an SCellToReleaseList-r10 information element employing the SCell index. If TAG configuration of more than one SCell needs to be changed, SCellToReleaseList-r10 may include a list of more than one SCell index. The base station may transmit at least one third radio resource control message configured to cause in the wireless device configuration of the first secondary cell at block1107. The configuration may assign the first secondary cell to a second cell group different from the first cell group. The SCell may be deactivated in the wireless device when it is configured. The at least one third radio resource control message may be configured to cause assignment of the same the first cell index to the first secondary cell. Physical parameters such as physical cell ID and downlink frequency of the first secondary cell may not change when it is released and configured again. The base station may transmit an activation command to activate the first secondary cell in the wireless device. In another embodiment, the cell index of the first secondary cell may be changed after it is released and then configured employing at least one third radio resource control message. There are a limited number of cell index available for the base station and base station may assign SCell indexes to secondary cells when a secondary cell is configured. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the base station may transmit at least one second control message configured to cause in the wireless device: release of the first secondary cell having a first cell index and configuration of the first secondary cell with a second cell index different from the first cell index at block1107. The same radio resource message may release the first secondary cell and then configure the first secondary cell. The cell that requires a cell group change may be released employing an SCellToReleaseList-r10 information element employing the first SCell index. If TAG configuration of more than one SCell needs to be changed, SCellToReleaseList-r10 may include a list of more than one SCell index. The same radio resource control message may configure the first secondary cell in a different cell group. The first secondary cell may be configured employing the SCellToAddMod-r10 in the at least one second control message. The same first secondary cell that is released in a radio resource control message may be added (configured) employing the same radio resource control message. SCellToAddMod-r10 may cause configuration of the first secondary cell. The configuration of the first secondary cell may cause assignment of the first secondary cell to a second cell group different from the first cell group. The same RRC message releases and adds the first secondary cell. The first secondary cell may assign a different SCell index before it is released and after it is added. The RRC message may use SCellToReleaseList-r10 for the first index of the first secondary cell. And then the RRC message may use SCellToAddMod-r10 and add the same first secondary cell with a different SCell index than the first index. They physical Cell ID and downlink frequency of the first secondary cell remains the same. The first secondary cell may be deactivated after it is added (configured). The base station may transmit an activation command to activate the first secondary cell in the wireless device. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the base station may transmit at least one second control message configured to cause in the wireless device: release of the first secondary cell having a first cell index and configuration of the first secondary cell with a same first cell index at block1107. The same radio resource message may release the first secondary cell and then configure the first secondary cell with the same cell index. The cell that requires a cell group change may be released employing an SCellToReleaseList-r10 information element employing the first SCell index. If TAG configuration of more than one SCell needs to be changed, SCellToReleaseList-r10 may include a list of more than one SCell index. The same radio resource control message may configure the first secondary cell in a different cell group. The first secondary cell may be configured employing the SCellToAddMod-r10 in the at least one second control message. The same first secondary cell that is released in a radio resource control message may be added (configured) employing the same radio resource control message. SCellToAddMod-r10 may cause configuration of the first secondary cell. The configuration of the first secondary cell may cause assignment of the first secondary cell to a second cell group different from the first cell group. The same RRC message releases and adds the first secondary cell. The first secondary cell may be assigned the same SCell index before it is released and after it is added. The RRC message may use SCellToReleaseList-r10 for the first index of the first secondary cell. And then the RRC message may use SCellToAddMod-r10 and add the same first secondary cell with the same SCell index as the first index. In order to maintain the same SCell index, the information elements in an RRC message content may be ordered in a way that SCellToReleaseList-r10 is processed before SCellToAddMod-r10. The wireless device may process SCellToReleaseList-r10 with the first SCell index, and then add (configure) the first secondary cell by processing SCellToAddMod-r10 that adds the first secondary cell with the same SCell index. This process for SCell configuration enhances the overall efficiency and reduces overhead, because not only it requires one RRC message for release and addition of the same first secondary cell, it also employs the same SCell index for the first secondary cell before SCell release and after SCell addition. The proper order of information elements in RRC message in this embodiment enables release and addition of the same SCell without changing the SCell index. The order may be defined according to a pre-defined processing order rule in the base station and wireless device. The order may be based on sequential order, or may be according to any order rule on how to process information elements in an RRC message as they are arrange in the RRC message and as they are processed by the wireless device. SCellToReleaseList-r10 may be processed before SCellToAddMod-r10, otherwise the processing of the RRC message may result in an error scenario. If SCellToAddMod-r10 adds an SCell with the same cell index and then SCellToReleaseList-r10 release the SCell, at least one or both of the processes may result in error an scenario. They physical Cell ID and downlink frequency of the first secondary cell may also remain the same. The first secondary cell may be deactivated after it is added (configured). The base station may transmit an activation command to activate the first secondary cell in the wireless device. A cell index may remain the same before the at least one second control message is transmitted and after the at least one second control message is processed. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, multiple random access procedures may not be processed in parallel in the UE. In other words, only one RA process may run at a time. An eNB may not start parallel RA processes and the UE may not have the capability of parallel transmission of preambles on multiple cells. A UE may start a random access process on a second cell when a random access process on a first cell has terminated. The termination may be due to, for example: a successful RA process, a failure in an RA process, or an aborted ongoing random access process. In some situations, error cases may occur, for example, an eNB may detect that the random access process has been terminated, while a UE may still be in an on-going RA process. This may be for various reasons including signal loss or misdetection in a radio interface, other reasons such as processing errors in the UE or eNB, and/or the like. For many unpredicted causes, an eNB may improperly assume that a random access process is terminated while a UE is still continuing a random access process. Examples of unpredictable reasons may include: the UE still waiting for a RAR or the UE planning to send a preamble in the uplink. When the UE is in a poor coverage area, the probability of such an error scenario may increase. An eNB may transmit a PDCCH order to a UE for preamble transmission on a Cell while a UE is still in a random access process in the same or a different cell. In an example embodiment, such a condition may be considered an error scenario. If the UE receives a PDCCH order while there is an ongoing RA process in the UE, the UE may abort the ongoing RA procedure. The UE may stop the existing RA process and clear its parameters. The UE may process the received PDCCH order. The UE may transmit a random access preamble based on the new PDCCH order and may restart associated timers and may configure random access parameters according to the new PDCCH order. In this example implementation, the UE may have the same state with the eNB on the SCell where the RA procedure is running. By following a BS order, the UE may reset the error scenario and UE state and parameters may become compatible with the random access state and parameters in the eNB. For example, the preamble usage and RA resource usage parameters may be the same in the UE and eNB after the new PDCCH order is processed. An RA process may be considered running, for example, if the corresponding timers are still running. Examples of corresponding times include a RAR window timer, and/or the like. A RA process may be considered running if the maximum number of allowed preamble transmissions has not been achieved yet. A random access response may be considered terminated, for example, when a valid RAR is received from an eNB or when a UE transmits a packet in response to RAR. In another example embodiment, an eNB may intend for a PDCCH order to be received while an RA is running. An eNB may purposefully transmit a PDCCH order while a UE is in an ongoing random access process. This may be used as a tool to terminate an existing random access process and start a new one. An eNB may transmit a PDCCH order when there is an ongoing RA process in the UE. This may be for example: because an eNB has decided that the SCell is not the proper SCell for the timing reference, or because the eNB detected a new SCell in the sTAG which may be a better candidate to be the reference timing SCell. In the example embodiments, the UE may not ignore a received PDCCH order when it is in an ongoing RA procedure. When a UE receives a PDDCH order for preamble transmission, the UE may abort the ongoing RA procedure and then start a new RA procedure based on the newly received PDCCH order. In another example embodiment, RA processes may be assigned different priorities. For example, an RA process on a PCell may be assigned a higher priority than an RA process on an SCell. When a PDCCH order is received for a preamble transmission when an RA process with the same or lower priority is running, the running random access process may be aborted and a new RA process according to the PDCCH order may be started. But, if a PDCCH order has been received for starting an RA on an SCell while the UE is running an RA process on a PCell, then the UE may ignore the PDCCH order and continue its ongoing RA on the PCell. An RA on a PCell may be more important than an RA on an SCell. A successful RA process on a PCell may prevent a radio link failure in some example scenarios, for example, when a UE has determined that it has lost (or is close to losing) the pTAG timing and the UE (or eNB) has started a RA to gain uplink pTAG timing. In another example embodiment, a similar process may be applied in the eNB when the eNB receives a preamble on a PCell while the eNB is in an ongoing RA process with an sTAG. In this scenario, the eNB may abort the ongoing RA process on the sTAG and may start the RA process on the pTAG. The eNB may assume that the UE has aborted the RA process in the sTAG and that the UE has started an RA process on the pTAG. FIG.12is an example flow diagram illustrating random access process(s) as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a wireless device may be configured to communicate employing a plurality of cells. The wireless device may receive at least one control message from a base station at block1200. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device configuration of a primary cell and at least one secondary cell in the plurality of cells. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device assignment of each of the at least one secondary cell to a cell group in a plurality of cell groups. The plurality of cell groups may comprise a primary cell group and a secondary cell group. The primary cell group may comprise a first subset of the plurality of cells. The first subset may comprise the primary cell. The secondary cell group may comprise a second subset of the at least one secondary cell. Uplink transmissions by the wireless device in the primary cell group may employ a first synchronization signal transmitted on the primary cell as a primary timing reference. Uplink transmissions in the secondary cell group may employ a second synchronization signal on an activated secondary cell of the secondary cell group as a secondary timing reference. The wireless device may initiate a first random access process on a first uplink carrier of a first cell in the plurality of cells in response to receiving a first control command at block1202. The wireless device may receive a second control command for transmission of a second random access preamble on a second uplink carrier of a second cell in the plurality of cells while the first random access process is on-going at block1205. In an example embodiment, the second cell may be different from the first cell. The wireless device may determine employing a pre-defined rule: to continue with the first random access process and ignore the second control command, or to abort the first random access process and to transmit the second random access preamble at block1207. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, pre-defined rules may be defined in the wireless device. In one example implementation, the pre-defined rule may determine to continue with the first random access process if: the first cell is the primary cell, and the second cell is a secondary cell in the secondary cell group. In another example embodiment, the pre-defined rule may determine to continue with the first random access process if: the first cell is a secondary cell in the secondary cell group, and the second cell is the primary cell. In another example embodiment, the pre-defined rule may determine to continue with the first random access process and ignore the second control command. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the at least one control message may be configured to further cause in the wireless device configuration of a time alignment timer for each of the plurality of cell groups. The time alignment timer may start or restart in response to the wireless device receiving a timing advance command to adjust uplink transmission timing of a commanded cell group in the plurality of cell groups. The first control command may comprise: a mask index and a preamble identifier of a random access preamble. The first control command may further comprise an index identifying the first cell only if the control command is not transmitted on the first cell. The first control command may further comprise an index identifying the first cell only if the control command is not transmitted on the first cell. The at least one control message may further cause in the wireless device configuration of random access resources for the first cell and the second cell. The at least one control message may comprise a plurality of common parameters for the first cell and the second cell. The plurality of common parameters may comprise a first plurality of random access resource parameters and a second plurality of random access resource parameters. The first plurality of random access resource parameters may identify first random access resources for the first cell. The second plurality of random access resource parameters may identify second random access resources for the second cell. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a wireless device may receive at least one control message from a base station at block1200. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device configuration of a primary cell and at least one secondary cell in the plurality of cells. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device assignment of each of the at least one secondary cell to a cell group in a plurality of cell groups. The plurality of cell groups may comprise a primary cell group and a secondary cell group. The wireless device may initiate a first random access process on a first uplink carrier of a first cell in the plurality of cells in response to receiving a first control command at block1202. The wireless device may receive a second control command for transmission of a second random access preamble on a second uplink carrier of a second cell in the plurality of cells while the first random access process is on-going at block1205. The wireless device may determine employing a pre-defined rule: to continue with the first random access process and ignore the second control command, or to abort the first random access process and to transmit the second random access preamble at block1207. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, pre-defined rules may be defined in the wireless device. In one example implementation, the pre-defined rule may determine to abort the first random access process if: the first cell is the primary cell, and the second cell is a secondary cell in the secondary cell group. In another example implementation, the pre-defined rule determines to abort the first random access process if: the first cell is a secondary cell in the secondary cell group; and the second cell is the primary cell. In an example embodiment, the pre-defined rule may determine to abort the first random access process and to transmit the second random access preamble. In an example embodiment, the pre-defined rule determines to continue with the first random access process if the first random access preamble is transmitted before reception of the second control command; and to abort the first random access process if the second control command is received before transmission of the first random access preamble. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the second cell may be the same as the first cell. The wireless device may receive a second control command for transmission of a second random access preamble on an uplink carrier of a cell in the plurality of cells (at block1205) while the first random access process is on-going on the same cell. The wireless device determines to continue with the first random access process if: the first cell is the primary cell; and the second cell is the primary cell. For example, the wireless device may determine to abort the first random access process if: the first cell is the primary cell; and the second cell is the primary cell. In another example, the wireless device may determine to continue with the first random access process if: the first cell is a secondary cell in the secondary cell group; and the second cell is also the secondary cell. In another example, the wireless device determines to abort the first random access process if: the first cell is a secondary cell in the secondary cell group; and the second cell is also the secondary cell. Embodiments may determine UE behavior when a downlink timing reference SCell and/or pathloss reference SCell of an SCell or sTAG are not properly detected/decoded by a UE. For the case of a PCell, such a scenario may result in a radio link failure. Such a scenario for an SCell or sTAG may not result in a UE initiating a radio link failure procedure. A UE may lose its timing because it is no longer obtaining its timing from a timing reference SCell. A UE may lose its timing because its pathloss reference is no longer obtaining a pathloss reference downlink carrier. This may be for various reasons, such as: a poor signal level, poor coverage quality due to high interference levels, deactivation of a reference SCell, a downlink timing jump on a reference SCell or another SCell, a combination of these reasons, and/or the like. In another example, a UE may move to the coverage area of a repeater, and some of the carriers (passing through the repeater) may experience a sudden delay in the downlink signal. A UE may not be able to use an SCell as the path loss reference when the signal quality of the SCell is poor. When a UE does not have a proper timing reference for an uplink transmission, its uplink transmission may cause unwanted interference. When a UE cannot detect the proper pathloss, the UE may not be able to properly calculate its transmission power, and the UE may transmit signals with extra power creating unwanted interference in the network. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a UE may suspend uplink transmissions in affected SCells when the UE detects that it does not have a proper uplink timing reference or when it is not able to properly calculate the pathloss. An eNB may not be initially aware of such a situation, and may schedule a UE for uplink transmission on that sTAG or SCell. But, the UE may not execute eNB PDCCH commands and may suspend uplink transmissions. In an example embodiment, a UE may transmit a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) of zero for cells that do not have a valid timing reference or a valid pathloss reference. If a timing reference of a reference secondary cell is lost by a UE, the UE may autonomously select another activated SCell in the secondary cell group as the timing reference (if there is another activated SCell in the secondary cell). In an example embodiment, an sTAG may have one timing reference SCell at a given time for uplink PUSCH and SRS transmission. All SCells in an sTAG may use the same SCell timing reference. When a timing reference cannot be properly detected and there are no other active SCell in the secondary cell group, the uplink transmission in uplink SCells in the sTAG may be suspended. In another example embodiment, a UE may suspend uplink transmissions after a time alignment timer associated with the sTAG expires. In an sTAG, a pathloss reference may be configured explicitly or implicitly on a per SCell basis. For example, the SIB2 (system information block 2) downlink carrier associated with an uplink carrier may be used as the pathloss reference. Therefore, an SCell may have its own pathloss reference. When a UE cannot properly detect a pathloss reference of an SCell, the UE may suspend uplink transmission on that SCell. The UE may continue uplink transmission on other SCells belonging to the same sTAG if a pathloss reference for other SCells is properly detected. This process may reduce unwanted interference in the network. A pathloss reference may be configured on a per cell basis. A timing reference may be configured on a per sTAG basis. In an example embodiment, a UE may transmit CQI zero for active cells without a valid timing reference or pathloss reference. In an example scenario, an eNB may detect an insufficient signal quality by: receiving CSI feedback, an SRS signal from a UE, by observing a higher than desired bit error rate in the uplink signals of an SCell of the UE, and/or the like. An eNB may then take actions such as: de-configuring or deactivating the SCell, not scheduling any uplink transmission on that SCell for the UE, and/or the like. But if eNB does not take such an action, and if the UE does not detect its timing reference or pathloss reference, the UE may stop uplink transmissions autonomously. An eNB may detect that an unexpected UL timing loss and/or pathloss reference loss has occurred, for example, when the eNB assigns UL grants to the UE but does not receive uplink packets from the UE. In an example, an eNB may receive a CQI of zero for a given SCell. This may lead to unwanted wasted uplink resources until the eNB detects that the UE has lost its uplink timing. In an example embodiment, a UE may inform the eNB that it has lost timing or a pathloss reference for a given SCell or sTAG. A UE may indicate to the eNB of the occurrence of the uplink timing loss and/or pathloss reference loss, for example, by sending an RRC or MAC level indication to the eNB. The eNB may take an action such as not scheduling uplink packets in the sTAG or SCell, stopping SRS in that sTAG or SCell, starting an RA process on that sTAG, and/or the like. In another example embodiment, a UE may not inform the network about the autonomously stopping uplink transmission. An eNB may detect that the UE stopped uplink transmission, for example, by not receiving any signal in the uplink of a given SCell. The UE may not explicitly inform the eNB by sending a message to a UE informing the eNB about the autonomous suspension. When a UE loses its timing reference in an sTAG, the UE may not initiate a random access process. The eNB may detect that regular UL activities of the UE (e.g. SRS) are stopped and may send a PDCCH order to establish a timing reference and uplink timing of the sTAG. In an example embodiment, when a UE is unable to detect the downlink reference timing for an sTAG or when there is a sudden timing jump in the downlink timing of an SCell, the UE may inform the eNB that a change in timing has occurred or may inform the eNB that the timing is invalid or the UE has lost timing of an SCell or an sTAG. In another example, a UE may inform the eNB that the timing of an sTAG is invalid. In another example, when the pathloss reference for an SCell is invalid, the UE may inform the eNB that the pathloss reference is invalid. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a wireless device may be configured to communicate employing a plurality of cells. The wireless device may receive at least one control message from a base station. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device configuration of a primary cell and at least one secondary cell in the plurality of cells. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device assignment of each of the at least one secondary cell to a cell group (implicitly or explicitly) in a plurality of cell groups. The plurality of cell groups may comprise a primary cell group and a secondary cell group. The primary cell group may comprise a first subset of the plurality of cells. The first subset may comprise the primary cell. The secondary cell group may comprise a second subset of the at least one secondary cell. Uplink transmissions by the wireless device in the primary cell group may employ a first synchronization signal transmitted on the primary cell as a primary timing reference. Uplink transmissions in the secondary cell group may employ a second synchronization signal on an activated secondary cell of the secondary cell group as a secondary timing reference. The at least one control message may comprise a pathloss reference for each secondary cell in the at least one secondary cell. The pathloss reference may be only configurable as a downlink of the secondary cell if the secondary cell is in the secondary cell group. The pathloss reference may be configurable as a downlink of the secondary cell or as a downlink of the primary cell if the secondary cell is in the primary cell group. The wireless device may transmit uplink signals to the base station in a first secondary cell in the secondary cell group. Transmission power of the uplink signals may be determined, at least in part, employing a received power of the pathloss reference assigned to the first secondary cell. Timing of the uplink signals in the secondary cell group may employ a second synchronization signal on an activated secondary cell in the secondary cell group as a secondary timing reference. In an example implementation, the activated secondary cell may be a first secondary cell. The activated secondary cell is different from the first secondary cell. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the wireless device may stop, by the wireless device, transmission of uplink transport blocks in the secondary cell group if the following conditions are satisfied: the wireless device is unable to acquire timing of the second synchronization signal; and the secondary cell group does not comprise any other active cells. This may be done regardless of if time alignment timer is running or not running. In an embodiment, the wireless device may stop transmission of uplink transport blocks in the secondary cell group if the following conditions are satisfied: the wireless device is unable to acquire timing of the second synchronization signal; the secondary cell group does not comprise any other active cells; and a time alignment timer corresponding to the secondary cell group being expired. The wireless device may allow uplink transmission of at least one random access preamble in the secondary cell group if the conditions are satisfied. The wireless device may continue transmission of channel state information for the first secondary cell on an uplink carrier not belonging to the secondary cell group if the conditions are satisfied. The wireless device may continue transmission of HARQ feedback for transport blocks received on a downlink of the first secondary cell if the conditions are satisfied. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the wireless device may initiate a radio link failure if the wireless device is unable to acquire timing of the first synchronization signal regardless of whether the wireless device acquires timing of the second synchronization signal. The wireless device may keep the connection with the base station active if the wireless device is able to acquire timing of the first synchronization signal regardless of whether the wireless device acquires timing of the second synchronization signal. The wireless device may stop transmission of uplink transport blocks on the first secondary cell if the wireless device is unable to measure a received power of the pathloss reference for a period of time. The transmission power of the uplink signals may be determined, at least in part, employing measurements of a received power of the pathloss reference assigned to the first secondary cell. The transmission power of the uplink signals may be determined, at least in part, further employing at least one power control parameter received in the at least one control message. The transmission power of the uplink signals may be determined, at least in part, further employing at least one power control command transmitted by the base station. The wireless device may receive at least one control packet comprising one or more power control commands. Transmission power of a plurality of packets transmitted by the wireless device may be calculated employing, at least in part: the received power of the pathloss reference assigned to the first secondary cell; and the one or more power control commands. In an example embodiment, the wireless device may selecting, autonomously and without informing the base station, a new activated secondary cell in the secondary cell group as the secondary timing reference if the following conditions are satisfied: the wireless device is unable to acquire timing of the second synchronization signal; and at least one secondary cell, different from the active secondary cell, in the secondary cell group is active in the wireless device. The wireless device may continue transmission of uplink signals in the secondary cell group. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, when a TAT associated with the pTAG expires, all TATs may be considered as expired and the UE may: flush all HARQ buffers of all serving cells, clear any configured downlink assignment/uplink grants, and/or the RRC may release PUCCH/SRS for all configured serving cells. If the TAT associated with the PCell expires, the TAT of all sTAGs may be stopped and/or deconfigured. UE behavior may be further defined when a TAT associated with the pTAG expires, or when TAT has already expired, and/or when the pTAG is out-of-sync. For example, a PHY/MAC process may need to be specified when the UE: receives a PDCCH order for starting an RA process on an sTAG, is running an ongoing RA process on an sTAG, or receives a PDCCH order on SCell PDCCH resources. A UE may avoid initiating and/or performing processes that requires battery power consumption in these situations. A PHY/MAC process may increase battery power consumption. This may be especially important when the UE is in a poor coverage environment. If the PCell TAT expires during an on-going sTAG RA procedure. The UE may abort the on-going SCell RA procedure. The RA process may take a relatively long time, for example, when the UE is in poor coverage environment. For example, a UE may transmit the preamble multiple times while ramping up power in re-transmissions. Every time a preamble is transmitted, a UE may wait until a RAR window expires, and may retransmit a RA preamble until a maximum number of transmissions have been reached. In another example embodiment, an eNB may need to transmit RAR commands multiple times until a MAC RAR is successfully received. The UE may abort the random access procedure on an SCell if the TAT for the PCell expires (and/or the pTAG becomes out-of-sync) during the procedure. This may prevent or reduce the possibility of being in a state where an sTAG TAT is running while the pTAG TAT is not running. An RA process may take a relatively long time, for example, 5, 10, 20, or 50 msec when a subframe duration is approximately 1 msec. A UE may not start or re-start the TAT of an SCell when the TAT of the pTAG is not running. If the pTAG TAT expires during an on-going sTAG RA procedure, the UE may stop the RA process on the sTAG. In an example embodiment, a UE may autonomously start an RA process on the PCell when the pTAG TAT is expired to obtain uplink synchronization for the pTAG. In another example embodiment, a UE may receive a PDCCH order to initiate an RA process on an sTAG while its pTAG TAT is not running and/or when the pTAG is out-of-sync. In this situation, the UE may ignore the received PDCCH order and may not start preamble transmission on the sTAG. In another example embodiment, a UE may receive a TA command for an sTAG, when its pTAG TAT is not running. The UE may not start or re-start the TAT of the SCell when the TAT of the pTAG is not running. In another example embodiment, the UE may stop monitoring the PDCCH for all SCells when: the TAT associated with the pTAG expires, the TAT has already expired, and/or the pTAG is out-of-sync. This includes scenarios when cross-carrier scheduling is enabled or not enabled. This process may reduce battery power consumption when the TAT for a pTAG is not running. In another example embodiment, when the pTAG is out-of-sync, even if the UE monitors the PDCCH for activated SCells, a UE may not take any action when a PDCCH on an SCell or for an SCell (in case of cross carrier scheduling) is received. No downlink transmissions or uplink transmissions on SCells may be allowed when a TAT for the pTAG expires and/or the pTAG is out-of-sync. There may be no need to monitor PDCCH for an SCell when a TAT for the pTAG is not running. FIG.13is an example flow diagram illustrating random access process(s) as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a wireless device may be configured to communicate employing a plurality of cells. The wireless device may receive at least one control message from a base station at block1300. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device configuration of a primary cell and at least one secondary cell in the plurality of cells. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device assignment of each of the at least one secondary cell to a cell group (implicitly or explicitly) in a plurality of cell groups. The plurality of cell groups may comprise a primary cell group and a secondary cell group. The primary cell group may comprise a first subset of the plurality of cells. The first subset may comprise the primary cell. The secondary cell group may comprise a second subset of the at least one secondary cell. Uplink transmissions by the wireless device in the primary cell group may employ a first synchronization signal transmitted on the primary cell as a primary timing reference. Uplink transmissions in the secondary cell group may employ a second synchronization signal on an activated secondary cell of the secondary cell group as a secondary timing reference. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device configuration of a time alignment timer for each of the plurality of cell groups. The time alignment timer may start or restart in response to the wireless device receiving a timing advance command to adjust uplink transmission timing of a commanded cell group in the plurality of cell groups. The commanded cell group may be considered: out-of-sync in response to the time alignment timer being expired or not running; and in-sync in response to the time alignment timer running. The wireless device may configure the random access resources in response receiving the at least one control message. The at least one control message may comprise a plurality of random access resource parameters for the secondary cell. The plurality of random access resource parameters may comprise an index, a frequency offset, and a plurality of sequence parameters. The wireless device may initiate a random access process for a secondary cell in the secondary cell group in response to receiving a control command at block1302. The control command may comprise a mask index and a preamble identifier of a random access preamble. The control command may further comprise an index identifying the secondary cell if the control command is not transmitted on the secondary cell. The wireless device may transmit a first random access preamble on random access resources of the secondary cell in response to the control command. The wireless device may abort the random access process on the secondary cell if the primary cell group becomes out-of-sync at block1305. The wireless device may transmit, autonomously, a second random access preamble on the primary cell group to obtain uplink transmission timing of the primary cell group if the primary cell group becomes out-of-sync. The wireless device may receive a random access response on the primary cell from the base station. The wireless device may release the at least one secondary cell if the primary cell group becomes out-of-sync. The wireless device may ignore any message received in downlink control channels of each of the at least one secondary cell if the primary cell group becomes out-of-sync. The wireless device may stop monitoring downlink control channels of each of the at least one secondary cell if the primary cell group becomes out-of-sync. The wireless device may ignore any timing advance command for the secondary cell group if the primary cell group becomes out-of-sync. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a wireless device may be configured to communicate employing a plurality of cells. The wireless device may receive at least one control message from a base station at block1300. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device configuration of a primary cell and at least one secondary cell in the plurality of cells. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device assignment of each of the at least one secondary cell to a cell group (implicitly or explicitly) in a plurality of cell groups. The plurality of cell groups may comprise a primary cell group and a secondary cell group. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device configuration of a time alignment timer for each of the plurality of cell groups. The time alignment timer may start or restart in response to the wireless device receiving a timing advance command to adjust uplink transmission timing of a commanded cell group in the plurality of cell groups. The wireless device may receive a control command initiating a random access process for a secondary cell in the secondary cell group. The wireless device may abort the random access process on the secondary cell if a first time alignment timer of the primary cell group expires. The aborting, by the wireless device, of the random access process causes the wireless device: a) to stop transmission of a random access preamble for the random access process, if the random access preamble has not yet been transmitted; and/or b) to stop monitoring for random access responses corresponding to the random access preamble, if the random access preamble has been transmitted. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a base station may be configured to communicate employing a plurality of cells. The base station may transmit at least one control message to a wireless device. The at least one control message may be configured to cause in the wireless device configuration of a primary cell and at least one secondary cell in the plurality of cells. The at least one control message may be configured to cause assignment of a cell group index to a secondary cell. The cell group index may identify a cell group in a plurality of cell groups. The plurality of cell groups may comprise a primary cell group and at least one secondary cell group. The primary cell group may comprise a first subset of the plurality of cells. The first subset may comprise the primary cell. A secondary cell group in the at least one secondary cell group may comprise a second subset of the at least one secondary cell. The at least one control message may be configured to cause configuration of a time alignment timer for each cell group in the plurality of cell groups. Uplink signals transmitted by the wireless device in the primary cell group may employ a first synchronization signal transmitted on the primary cell as a first timing reference. Uplink signals transmitted by the wireless device in the secondary cell group may employ a second synchronization signal transmitted on one of at least one activated cell in the secondary cell group as a second timing reference. The at least one control message may comprise a plurality of radio dedicated parameters for each one of the at least one secondary cell. The one secondary cell is assigned to one of the at least one secondary cell group identified by a second cell group index if the plurality of radio dedicated parameters comprise the second cell group index for the one secondary cell. Otherwise, the one secondary cell assigned to the primary cell group. The at least one control message comprises at least one radio resource control message. The at least one control message is further configured to add or modify a radio bearer. The at least one control message may comprise a plurality of media access control dedicated parameters. The plurality of media access control dedicated parameters may comprise: a time alignment timer value for the primary cell group and a sequence of at least one element. Each element may comprise one time alignment timer value and one cell group index. The one time alignment timer value may be associated with a cell group identified by the one cell group index. Each time alignment timer value may be selected, by the base station, from a finite set of predetermined values. The plurality of media access control dedicated parameters may be wireless device specific. The plurality of media access control dedicated parameters may comprise a deactivation parameter for the at least one secondary cell. The finite set of predetermined values may be eight. Each time alignment timer value may be encoded employing three bits. The base station may transmit a timing advance command. The timing advance command may comprise a time adjustment value and a first cell group index. A first time alignment timer may correspond to a first cell group identified by the first cell group index starts or restarts in response to the base station successfully transmitting the timing advance command to the wireless device. The timing advance command may cause substantial alignment of reception timing of uplink signals in frames and subframes of all one or more activated uplink carriers in the first cell group at the base station. The uplink signals are transmitted by the wireless device. The first cell group may be considered out-of-sync in response to the first time alignment timer being expired or not running. The first cell group may be considered in-sync in response to the first time alignment timer running. The base station may transmit a control command configured to cause transmission of a random access preamble on random access resources of a first secondary cell in the first cell group. The base station may transmit a random access response on the primary cell. The random access response may comprise a second timing advance command, an uplink grant, and an index identifying the random access preamble. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, PDCCH order may be used to trigger RACH for an activated SCell. For a newly configured SCell or a configured but deactivated SCell, eNB may need to firstly activate the corresponding SCell and then trigger RACH on it. In an example embodiment, with no retransmission of activation/deactivation command, activation of an SCell may need at least 8 ms, which may be an extra delay for UE to acquire the valid TA value on SCell compared to the procedure on an already activated SCell. For a newly configured SCell or a deactivated SCell, 8 ms may be required for SCell activation, and at least 6 ms may be required for preamble transmission, and at least 4 ms may be required to receive the random access response. At least 18 ms may be required for a UE to get a valid TA. The possible delay caused by retransmission or other configured parameters may need to be considered, e.g. the possible retransmission of activation/deactivation command, the time gap between when a RACH is triggered and when a preamble is transmitted (equal or larger than 6 ms). The RAR may be transmitted within the RAR window (for example, 2 ms, 10 ms, 50 ms), and possible retransmission of preamble may be considered. The delay for such a case may be more than 20 ms or even 30 ms if retransmissions are considered. The delay values provided in this paragraph are for an example scenario, and other values may apply to an implementation of random access process. When time alignment timer of a secondary cell group expires, a PDCCH order may initiate a random access process for the secondary cell to synchronize the uplink timing of the active cells in the secondary cell group. This process may cause a relatively long delay until the secondary cell group is synchronized. An embodiment may be required to reduce the time required to synchronize uplink of an out-of-sync secondary cell group. In other word, a faster process may be needed to change the state of a secondary cell group from out-of-sync to in-sync. FIG.14is an example flow diagram illustrating uplink signal timing advance processing as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a wireless device may be configured to communicate employing a plurality of cells. The wireless device may receive at least one control message from a base station at block1400. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device configuration of a primary cell and at least one secondary cell in the plurality of cells. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device assignment of each of the at least one secondary cell to a cell group (implicitly or explicitly) in a plurality of cell groups. The plurality of cell groups may comprise a primary cell group and a secondary cell group. The primary cell group may comprise a first subset of the plurality of cells. The first subset may comprise the primary cell. The secondary cell group may comprise a second subset of the at least one secondary cell. In an example implementation, uplink transmissions by the wireless device in the primary cell group may employ a first synchronization signal transmitted on the primary cell as a primary timing reference. Uplink transmissions in the secondary cell group may employ a second synchronization signal on an activated secondary cell of the secondary cell group as a secondary timing reference. The at least one control message may comprise a plurality of media access control dedicated parameters. The plurality of media access control dedicated parameters may comprise a time alignment timer value for the primary cell group and a sequence of at least one element. Each element may comprise a time alignment timer value and a cell group index. The time alignment timer value may be associated with a cell group identified by a cell group index. Each time alignment timer value may be selected from a finite set of predetermined values. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device configuration of a time alignment timer for each of the plurality of cell groups. The time alignment timer may start or restart in response to the wireless device receiving a timing advance command to adjust a timing advance of a commanded cell group in the plurality of cell groups. Timing advance refers to uplink transmission timing advance in a cell group. When a secondary cell group is configured, it is initially in an out-of-sync state and its time alignment timer may not be running. Uplink transmission timing advance may be initialized as zero. A base station may start a random access process to synchronize uplink timing of the wireless device for the secondary cell group. The base station may transmit a PDCCH order, and receive a random access preamble. The base station may then transmit a random access response including a timing advance command for the secondary cell group. The time alignment timer of the secondary cell group starts running and the secondary cell group may become in-sync after the wireless device receives and processes the random access response. In an example embodiment, a method to initially synchronize the uplink transmission of a secondary cell group is initiating a random access process on the secondary cell group. The secondary cell group may move to out-of-sync state, when the time alignment timer of the secondary cell group expires. To reduce the time required for changing the state of the secondary cell group from out-of-state to in-sync, the wireless device may store the updated timing advance of the secondary cell group when the secondary cell group becomes out-of-sync. The stored value of the timing advance may not be a proper value of the uplink transmission timing advance when the secondary cell group becomes in-sync again. Specially, when the wireless device moves around, the propagation delay may change, for example, wireless devices may move to the coverage area of a repeater, and/or the like. The value of the stored timing advance may be close the actual value of the timing advance for in-sync transmission of the wireless device, especially when the cell radius is small and/or the wireless device does not move, or moves slowly. In an example embodiment, the stored value of the timing advance may be employed in order to change the state of the secondary cell group from out-of-sync to in-sync relatively quickly and without initiating a random access process. This process may apply to the primary cell group, because when the primary cell becomes out-of-sync, the RRC layer in wireless device may initiate a radio link failure process. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the wireless device may generate a first updated timing advance by updating a first timing advance of the secondary cell group employing at least one first timing advance command for the secondary cell group at block1402. The first timing advance value is set to zero when the secondary cell group is configured. The first timing advance value may be initiated by a timing advance value in a random access response for a random access preamble transmitted in the secondary cell group. The first timing advance may be equal to a difference between received timing of the secondary timing reference and transmission timing of the uplink signals in the secondary cell group. The updating of the first timing advance may further employ changes in a received downlink timing if the received downlink timing changes are not compensated or are partly compensated by the at least one timing advance command. A timing advance command in the at least one first timing advance command may comprise a timing advance command value and an index of the secondary cell group. The wireless device maintains the value of the timing advance of the secondary cell group by applying the received timing advance commands and by autonomously changing the timing advance when required. The wireless device may store the first updated timing advance upon expiry of an associated time alignment timer of the secondary cell group at block1405. When the secondary cell group becomes out-of-sync, the wireless device may not change the timing advance value of the secondary cell group. The stored value of the first updated timing advance may remain the same until the secondary cell group in wireless device becomes in-sync again. The stored value may be employed in order to move the wireless device back to in-sync state again without initiating a random access process. In an example embodiment, the stored value of the first timing advance may be released in the wireless device when the secondary cell group is released. The wireless device may receive a second timing advance command for the secondary cell group with a timing advance value of zero at block1407. The second timing advance command may cause starting the associated time alignment timer. The wireless device may change the secondary cell group from an out-of-sync state to an in-sync state in response to the second timing advance command having a timing advance value of zero. In an example embodiment, the wireless device may transmit a sounding reference signal in a cell in the secondary cell group in response to receiving the second timing advance command if the at least one control message configures regular transmission of the sounding reference signal on the cell. The base station may not have an accurate estimate of the required uplink timing advance of the wireless device when the wireless device is out-of-sync. Specially, if the wireless device moves from one area to another area, its required timing advance may change. The base station therefore, may transmit a timing advance command for the secondary cell group with a timing advance value of zero. This may quickly change the state of the secondary cell group to in-sync, without initiating a random access process. The wireless device may receive an uplink grant for an activated cell of the secondary cell group. The secondary cell group may be in in-sync state now and the wireless device may be able to transmit uplink signals. The wireless device may transmit uplink signals in radio resources identified in the uplink grant with a timing advance equal to the stored first updated timing advance at block1409. The base station then may receive uplink signals from the wireless device. Then if the uplink signal timing in the secondary cell requires adjustment, the base station may transmit a timing advance command with a non-zero value to adjust uplink transmission timing in the secondary cell group and align its timing with a reference timing in the base station. The wireless device may receive a third timing advance command for the secondary cell group subsequent to reception of the second timing advance command when the associated time alignment timer is running. The base station may be able to measure received signal timing in the secondary cell group and calculate the required time adjustment for the uplink signals in the secondary cell group. The third timing advance command may have a non-zero timing advance value. The third timing advance command may restart the associated time alignment timer. In an example embodiment, the wireless device may receive a timing advance command for the secondary cell group subsequent to reception of said second timing advance command and when the associated time alignment timer is running. In an example embodiment, the base station may transmit timing advance command(s) for the secondary cell group with a timing advance value of zero when the time alignment is running. For example, when the uplink signal timing in the secondary cell group is synchronized and does not require adjustment, and the time alignment timer of the secondary cell group is close to expiry. The base station may transmit a timing advance command for the secondary cell group with a timing advance value of zero. This may cause the wireless device and base station restart the time alignment timer of the secondary cell group, and delay or prevent expiry of the associated time alignment timer. A timing advance command for a cell group may restart the associated time alignment timer of the cell group. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, an SCell without an uplink may be assigned to a TAG (sTAG or pTAG). An eNB may assign a TAG to the SCell without an uplink based on cell configuration parameters such as: cell downlink frequency, network deployment configurations, and/or the like. For example, an SCell without an uplink may be grouped with other SCells in the same band. A TAG may have at least one SCell with a configured uplink. Therefore, an SCell without an uplink may not be the only cell in a TAG. This may impose certain requirements in network configuration, for example, an SCell without an uplink may not be the only cell in a band. In another example, an SCell without an uplink may not be the only cell that is going through a single band repeater (therefore, may experience its own unique delay). It may be possible that an SCell without a configured uplink be selected as the timing reference for the sTAG comprising the SCell. In another example implementation, the requirement for a reference cell may be changed in a way that only active SCells with a configured uplink may be selected as a timing reference. For an SCell without an uplink, the eNB may not have timing information about the propagation delay for that SCell. An SCell without an uplink may not have any uplink transmission, such as a PUSCH, a preamble, an SRS, and/or the like. An eNB may rely on one of the following to select a TAG for the SCell: the configuration parameters of the SCell, network deployment parameters, CSI feedback, a combination of these parameters, and/or the like. In an example embodiment, an sTAG may comprise at least one cell with a configured downlink and configured uplink. The SCell without an uplink may be the only active SCell in a TAG, and therefore may be the timing reference of the TAG. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the UE transceiver may use the reference cell of the sTAG to receive the SCell downlink signal. Grouping an SCell without an uplink with a cell group, may allow the UE to employ the synchronization signal of the sTAG of the SCell for downlink subframe and frame reception. In an example embodiment, the TAG ID may not be a part of uplink parameters of an SCell configuration because SCells without an uplink do not comprise uplink parameters. SCells without an uplink may not include a RACH. Since the SCells without an uplink do not include other uplink channels such as an SRS or a PUSCH, the eNB may not be able to detect and monitor the timing delay for the SCell without an uplink. The eNB may receive uplink channel state information (CSI) and an ACK/NACK for an SCell without an uplink in the PCell PUCCH or UCI of other uplink packets transmitted on PUSCH of other carriers. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a wireless device may be configured to communicate employing a plurality of cells. The wireless device may at least one control message from a base station. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device configuration of a primary cell and a plurality of secondary cells in the plurality of cells. The plurality of cells consisting of: a plurality of downlink-uplink cells and at least one downlink-only cell. Each of the plurality of downlink-uplink cells may have a configured uplink and a configured downlink. Each of the at least one downlink-only cell may have a configured downlink with no configured uplink. The at least one control message may cause in the wireless device assignment of each of the plurality of secondary cells to a cell group in a plurality of cell groups. The assignment may be done implicitly or explicitly as described in this disclosure. The plurality of cell groups may comprise a primary cell group and at least one secondary cell group. A primary cell group may comprise a first subset of the plurality of cells. The first subset may comprise the primary cell. A secondary cell group in the at least one secondary cell group may comprise a second subset of the plurality of secondary cells. Uplink signals transmitted by the wireless device in the primary cell group may employ a first synchronization signal transmitted on the primary cell as a first timing reference. Uplink signals transmitted by the wireless device in the secondary cell group may employ a second synchronization signal transmitted on one of at least one activated cell in the secondary cell group as a second timing reference. The primary cell may be a downlink-uplink cell. The at least one control message may comprise a plurality of radio dedicated parameters for each one of the plurality of secondary cells. One secondary cell assigned to one of the at least one secondary cell group identified by a second cell group index if the plurality of radio dedicated parameters comprise the second cell group index for the one secondary cell. Otherwise, the one secondary cell is assigned to the primary cell group. The at least one control message may further cause in the wireless device configuration of a time alignment timer for each cell group in the plurality of cell groups. The at least one control message may comprise at least one radio resource control message. The at least one control message may be further configured to add or modify a radio bearer. The at least one control message may comprise a time alignment timer parameter for each cell group in the plurality of cell groups. The wireless device may receive at least one timing advance command from the base station. The timing advance command may comprise a time adjustment value, and an index identifying a first cell group in the plurality of cell groups. The wireless device may apply the timing advance command to uplink transmission timing of at least one downlink-uplink cell in the first cell group. The timing advance command may cause substantial alignment of reception timing of uplink signals transmitted by the wireless device in frames and subframes of one or more activated downlink-uplink cells in the first cell group at the base station. Each cell group in the plurality of cell groups may comprise one or more of the plurality of downlink-uplink cells. At least one of the one or more downlink-uplink cells may be configured with a random access channel. Each of the at least one downlink-only cell may be assigned to a cell group comprising at least one of the plurality of downlink-uplink cells in the same frequency band as the downlink-only cell. A frequency band may comprise a plurality of frequency channels (carriers). The wireless device may start or restart a first time alignment timer corresponding to the first cell group in response to the wireless device receiving the timing advance command. The first cell group may be considered out-of-sync in response to the first time alignment timer being expired or not running. The first cell group may be considered in-sync in response to the first time alignment timer running. The wireless device may receive a control command causing transmission of a random access preamble on random access resources of a first secondary cell in the secondary cell group. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the random access procedure may be initiated by a PDCCH order or by the MAC sublayer itself. Random access procedure on an SCell may be initiated by a PDCCH order. If a UE receives a PDCCH transmission consistent with a PDCCH order masked with its C-RNTI (radio network temporary identifier), and for a specific serving cell, the UE may initiate a random access procedure on this serving cell. For random access on the PCell a PDCCH order or RRC optionally indicate the ra-PreambleIndex and the ra-PRACH-MaskIndex; and for random access on an SCell, the PDCCH order indicates the ra-PreambleIndex with a value different from zero and the ra-PRACH-MaskIndex. For the pTAG preamble transmission on PRACH and reception of a PDCCH order may only be supported for PCell. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the procedure may use some of the following information: a) the available set of PRACH resources for the transmission of the random access preamble, prach-ConfigIndex, b) for PCell, the groups of random access preambles and/or the set of available random access preambles in each group, c) for PCell, the preambles that are contained in random access preambles group A and Random Access Preambles group B are calculated, d) the RA response window size ra-ResponseWindowSize, e) the power-ramping factor powerRampingStep, f) the maximum number of preamble transmission preambleTransMax, g) the initial preamble power preambleInitialReceivedTargetPower, h) the preamble format based offset DELTA_PREAMBLE, i) for PCell, the maximum number of Msg3 HARQ transmissions maxHARQ-Msg3Tx, j) for PCell, the Contention Resolution Timer mac-ContentionResolutionTimer. These parameters may be updated from upper layers before each Random Access procedure is initiated. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the Random Access procedure may be performed as follows: Flush the Msg3 buffer; set the PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER to 1; set the backoff parameter value in the UE to 0 ms; for the RN (relay node), suspend any RN subframe configuration; proceed to the selection of the Random Access Resource. There may be one Random Access procedure ongoing at any point in time. If the UE receives a request for a new Random Access procedure while another is already ongoing, it may be up to UE implementation whether to continue with the ongoing procedure or start with the new procedure. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the Random Access Resource selection procedure may be performed as follows. If ra-PreambleIndex (Random Access Preamble) and ra-PRACH-MaskIndex (PRACH Mask Index) have been explicitly signalled and ra-PreambleIndex is not zero, then the Random Access Preamble and the PRACH Mask Index may be those explicitly signalled. Otherwise, the Random Access Preamble may be selected by the UE. The UE may determine the next available subframe containing PRACH permitted by the restrictions given by the prach-ConfigIndex, the PRACH Mask Index and physical layer timing requirements (a UE may take into account the possible occurrence of measurement gaps when determining the next available PRACH subframe). If the transmission mode is TDD and the PRACH Mask Index is equal to zero, then if ra-PreambleIndex was explicitly signalled and it was not 0 (i.e., not selected by MAC), then randomly select, with equal probability, one PRACH from the PRACHs available in the determined subframe. Else, the UE may randomly select, with equal probability, one PRACH from the PRACHs available in the determined subframe and the next two consecutive subframes. If the transmission mode is not TDD or the PRACH Mask Index is not equal to zero, a UE may determine a PRACH within the determined subframe in accordance with the requirements of the PRACH Mask Index. Then the UE may proceed to the transmission of the Random Access Preamble. PRACH mask index values may range for example from 0 to 16. PRACH mask index value may determine the allowed PRACH resource index that may be used for transmission. For example, PRACH mask index 0 may mean that all PRACH resource indexes are allowed; or PRACH mask index 1 may mean that PRACH resource index 0 may be used. PRACH mask index may have different meaning in TDD and FDD systems. The random-access procedure may be performed by UE setting PREAMBLE_RECEIVED_TARGET_POWER to preambleInitialReceivedTargetPower+DELTA_PREAMBLE+(PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER−1)*powerRampingStep. The UE may instruct the physical layer to transmit a preamble using the selected PRACH, corresponding RA-RNTI, preamble index and PREAMBLE_RECEIVED_TARGET_POWER. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, once the random access preamble is transmitted and regardless of the possible occurrence of a measurement gap, the UE may monitor the PDCCH of the PCell for random access response(s) identified by the RA-RNTI (random access radio network identifier) a specific RA-RNTI defined below, in the random access response (RAR) window which may start at the subframe that contains the end of the preamble transmission plus three subframes and has length ra-ResponseWindowSize subframes. The specific RA-RNTI associated with the PRACH in which the Random Access Preamble is transmitted, is computed as: RA-RNTI=1+t_id+10*f_id. Where t_id may be the index of the first subframe of the specified PRACH (0≤t_id<10), and f_id is the index of the specified PRACH within that subframe, in ascending order of frequency domain (0≤f_id<6). The UE may stop monitoring for RAR(s) after successful reception of a RAR containing random access preamble identifiers that matches the transmitted random access preamble. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, if a downlink assignment for this TTI (transmission time interval) has been received on the PDCCH for the RA-RNTI and the received TB (transport block) is successfully decoded, the UE may regardless of the possible occurrence of a measurement gap: if the RAR contains a backoff indicator (BI) subheader, set the backoff parameter value in the UE employing the BI field of the backoff indicator subheader, else, set the backoff parameter value in the UE to zero ms. If the RAR contains a random access preamble identifier corresponding to the transmitted random access preamble, the UE may consider this RAR reception successful and apply the following actions for the serving cell where the random access preamble was transmitted: process the received riming advance command for the cell group in which the preamble was transmitted, indicate the preambleInitialReceivedTargetPower and the amount of power ramping applied to the latest preamble transmission to lower layers (i.e., (PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER−1)*powerRampingStep); process the received uplink grant value and indicate it to the lower layers; the uplink grant is applicable to uplink of the cell in which the preamble was transmitted. If ra-PreambleIndex was explicitly signalled and it was not zero (e.g., not selected by MAC), consider the random access procedure successfully completed. Otherwise, if the Random Access Preamble was selected by UE MAC, set the Temporary C-RNTI to the value received in the RAR message. When an uplink transmission is required, e.g., for contention resolution, the eNB may not provide a grant smaller than 56 bits in the Random Access Response. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, if no RAR is received within the RAR window, or if none of all received RAR contains a random access preamble identifier corresponding to the transmitted random access preamble, the random access response reception may considered not successful. If RAR is not received, UE may increment PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER by 1. If PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER=preambleTransMax+1 and random access preamble is transmitted on the PCell, then UE may indicate a random access problem to upper layers (RRC). This may result in radio link failure. If PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER=preambleTransMax+1 and the random access preamble is transmitted on an SCell, then UE may consider the random access procedure unsuccessfully completed. UE may stay in RRC connected mode and keep the RRC connection active even though a random access procedure unsuccessfully completed on a secondary TAG. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, at completion of the random access procedure, the UE may discard explicitly signalled ra-PreambleIndex and ra-PRACH-MaskIndex, if any; and flush the HARQ buffer used for transmission of the MAC PDU in the Msg3 buffer. In addition, the RN may resume the suspended RN subframe configuration, if any. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a UE may have a configurable timer timeAlignmentTimer per TAG. The timeAlignmentTimer is used to control how long the UE considers the Serving Cells belonging to the associated TAG to be uplink time aligned (in-sync). When a Timing Advance Command MAC control element is received, the UE may apply the riming advance command for the indicated TAG, and start or restart the timeAlignmentTimer associated with the indicated TAG. When a timing advance command is received in a RAR message for a serving cell belonging to a TAG and if the random access preamble was not selected by UE MAC, the UE may apply the timing advance command for this TAG, and may start or restart the timeAlignmentTimer associated with this TAG. When a timeAlignmentTimer associated with the pTAG expires, the UE may: flush all HARQ buffers for all serving cells; notify RRC to release PUCCH/SRS for all serving cells; clear any configured downlink assignments and uplink grants; and consider all running timeAlignmentTimers as expired. When a timeAlignmentTimer associated with an sTAG expires, then for all Serving Cells belonging to this TAG, the UE may flush all HARQ buffers; and notify RRC to release SRS. The UE may not perform any uplink transmission on a serving Cell except the random access preamble transmission when the timeAlignmentTimer associated with the TAG to which this serving cell belongs is not running. When the timeAlignmentTimer associated with the pTAG is not running, the UE may not perform any uplink transmission on any serving cell except the random access preamble transmission on the PCell. A UE stores or maintains N_TA (current timing advance value of an sTAG) upon expiry of associated timeAlignmentTimer. The UE may apply a received timing advance command MAC control element and starts associated timeAlignmentTimer. Transmission of the uplink radio frame number i from the UE may start (NTA+NTA offset)×Tsseconds before the start of the corresponding downlink radio frame at the UE, where 0≤NTA≤20512. In an example implementation, NTA offset=0 for frame structure type 1 (FDD) and NTA offset=624 for frame structure type 2 (TDD). According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, upon reception of a timing advance command for a TAG containing the primary cell, the UE may adjust uplink transmission timing for PUCCH/PUSCH/SRS of the primary cell based on the received timing advance command. The UL transmission timing for PUSCH/SRS of a secondary cell may be the same as the primary cell if the secondary cell and the primary cell belong to the same TAG. Upon reception of a timing advance command for a TAG not containing the primary cell, the UE may adjust uplink transmission timing for PUSCH/SRS of secondary cells in the TAG based on the received timing advance command where the UL transmission timing for PUSCH/SRS is the same for all the secondary cells in the TAG. The timing advance command for a TAG may indicates the change of the uplink timing relative to the current uplink timing for the TAG as multiples of 16Ts(Ts: sampling time unit). The start timing of the random access preamble may obtained employing a downlink synchronization time in the same TAG. In case of random access response, an 11-bit timing advance command, TA, for a TAG may indicate NTAvalues by index values of TA=0, 1, 2, . . . , 1282, where an amount of the time alignment for the TAG may be given by NTA=TA×16. In other cases, a 6-bit timing advance command, TA, for a TAG may indicate adjustment of the current NTAvalue, NTA,old, to the new NTAvalue, NTA,new, by index values of TA=0, 1, 2, . . . , 63, where NTA,new=NTA,old+(TA−31)×16. Here, adjustment of NTAvalue by a positive or a negative amount indicates advancing or delaying the uplink transmission timing for the TAG by a given amount respectively. For a timing advance command received on subframe n, the corresponding adjustment of the uplink transmission timing may apply from the beginning of subframe n+6. For serving cells in the same TAG, when the UE's uplink PUCCH/PUSCH/SRS transmissions in subframe n and subframe n+1 are overlapped due to the timing adjustment, the UE may complete transmission of subframe n and not transmit the overlapped part of subframe n+1. If the received downlink timing changes and is not compensated or is only partly compensated by the uplink timing adjustment without timing advance command, the UE may change NTAaccordingly. Downlink frames and subframes of downlink carriers may be time aligned (by the base station) in carrier aggregation and multiple TAG configuration. Time alignment errors may be tolerated to some extent. For example, for intra-band contiguous carrier aggregation, time alignment error may not exceed 130 ns. In another example, for intra-band non-contiguous carrier aggregation, time alignment error may not exceed 260 ns. In another example, for inter-band carrier aggregation, time alignment error may not exceed 1.3 μs. The UE may have capability to follow the frame timing change of the connected base station. The uplink frame transmission may take place (NTANTA offset)×Tsbefore the reception of the first detected path (in time) of the corresponding downlink frame from the reference cell. The UE may be configured with a pTAG containing the PCell. The pTAG may also contain one or more SCells, if configured. The UE may also be configured with one or more sTAGs, in which case the pTAG may contain one PCell and the sTAG may contain at least one SCell with configured uplink. In pTAG, UE may use the PCell as the reference cell for deriving the UE transmit timing for cells in the pTAG. The UE may employ a synchronization signal on the reference cell to drive downlink timing. When a UE is configured with an sTAG, the UE may use an activated SCell from the sTAG for deriving the UE transmit timing for cell in the sTAG. In at least one of the various embodiments, uplink physical channel(s) may correspond to a set of resource elements carrying information originating from higher layers. The following example uplink physical channel(s) may be defined for uplink: a) Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), b) Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), c) Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), and/or the like. Uplink physical signal(s) may be used by the physical layer and may not carry information originating from higher layers. For example, reference signal(s) may be considered as uplink physical signal(s). Transmitted signal(s) in slot(s) may be described by one or several resource grids including, for example, subcarriers and SC-FDMA or OFDMA symbols. Antenna port(s) may be defined such that the channel over which symbol(s) on antenna port(s) may be conveyed and/or inferred from the channel over which other symbol(s) on the same antenna port(s) is/are conveyed. There may be one resource grid per antenna port. The antenna port(s) used for transmission of physical channel(s) or signal(s) may depend on the number of antenna port(s) configured for the physical channel(s) or signal(s). According to some of the various embodiments, physical downlink control channel(s) may carry transport format, scheduling assignments, uplink power control, and other control information. PDCCH may support multiple formats. Multiple PDCCH packets may be transmitted in a subframe. According to some of the various embodiments, scheduling control packet(s) may be transmitted for packet(s) or group(s) of packets transmitted in downlink shared channel(s). Scheduling control packet(s) may include information about subcarriers used for packet transmission(s). PDCCH may also provide power control commands for uplink channels. PDCCH channel(s) may carry a plurality of downlink control packets in subframe(s). Enhance PDCCH may be implemented in a cell as an option to carrier control information. According to some of the various embodiments, PHICH may carry the hybrid-ARQ (automatic repeat request) ACK/NACK. Other arrangements for PCFICH, PHICH, PDCCH, enhanced PDCCH, and/or PDSCH may be supported. The configurations presented here are for example purposes. In another example, resources PCFICH, PHICH, and/or PDCCH radio resources may be transmitted in radio resources including a subset of subcarriers and pre-defined time duration in each or some of the subframes. In an example, PUSCH resource(s) may start from the first symbol. In another example embodiment, radio resource configuration(s) for PUSCH, PUCCH, and/or PRACH (physical random access channel) may use a different configuration. For example, channels may be time multiplexed, or time/frequency multiplexed when mapped to uplink radio resources. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the physical layer random access preamble may comprise a cyclic prefix of length Tcp and a sequence part of length Tseq. The parameter values may be pre-defined and depend on the frame structure and a random access configuration. In an example embodiment, Tcp may be 0.1 msec, and Tseq may be 0.9 msec. Higher layers may control the preamble format. The transmission of a random access preamble, if triggered by the MAC layer, may be restricted to certain time and frequency resources. The start of a random access preamble may be aligned with the start of the corresponding uplink subframe at a wireless device with N_TA=0. According to an example embodiment, random access preambles may be generated from Zadoff-Chu sequences with a zero correlation zone, generated from one or several root Zadoff-Chu sequences. In another example embodiment, the preambles may also be generated using other random sequences such as Gold sequences. The network may configure the set of preamble sequences a wireless device may be allowed to use. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, there may be a multitude of preambles (e.g. 64) available in cell(s). From the physical layer perspective, the physical layer random access procedure may include the transmission of random access preamble(s) and random access response(s). Remaining message(s) may be scheduled for transmission by a higher layer on the shared data channel and may not be considered part of the physical layer random access procedure. For example, a random access channel may occupy 6 resource blocks in a subframe or set of consecutive subframes reserved for random access preamble transmissions. According to some of the various embodiments, the following actions may be followed for a physical random access procedure: 1) layer 1 procedure may be triggered upon request of a preamble transmission by higher layers; 2) a preamble index, a target preamble received power, a corresponding RA-RNTI (random access-radio network temporary identifier) and/or a PRACH resource may be indicated by higher layers as part of a request; 3) a preamble transmission power P_PRACH may be determined; 4) a preamble sequence may be selected from the preamble sequence set using the preamble index; 5) a single preamble may be transmitted using selected preamble sequence(s) with transmission power P_PRACH on the indicated PRACH resource; 6) detection of a PDCCH with the indicated RAR may be attempted during a window controlled by higher layers; and/or the like. If detected, the corresponding downlink shared channel transport block may be passed to higher layers. The higher layers may parse transport block(s) and/or indicate an uplink grant to the physical layer(s). Before a wireless device initiates transmission of a random access preamble, it may access one or many of the following types of information: a) available set(s) of PRACH resources for the transmission of a random access preamble; b) group(s) of random access preambles and set(s) of available random access preambles in group(s); c) random access response window size(s); d) power-ramping factor(s); e) maximum number(s) of preamble transmission(s); f) initial preamble power; g) preamble format based offset(s); h) contention resolution timer(s); and/or the like. These parameters may be updated from upper layers or may be received from the base station before random access procedure(s) may be initiated. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a wireless device may select a random access preamble using available information. The preamble may be signaled by a base station or the preamble may be randomly selected by the wireless device. The wireless device may determine the next available subframe containing PRACH permitted by restrictions given by the base station and the physical layer timing requirements for TDD or FDD. Subframe timing and the timing of transmitting the random access preamble may be determined based, at least in part, on synchronization signals received from the base station and/or the information received from the base station. The wireless device may proceed to the transmission of the random access preamble when it has determined the timing. The random access preamble may be transmitted on a second plurality of subcarriers on the first uplink carrier. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, once a random access preamble is transmitted, a wireless device may monitor the PDCCH of a primary carrier for random access response(s), in a random access response window. There may be a pre-known identifier in PDCCH that identifies a random access response. The wireless device may stop monitoring for random access response(s) after successful reception of a random access response containing random access preamble identifiers that matches the transmitted random access preamble and/or a random access response address to a wireless device identifier. A base station random access response may include a time alignment command. The wireless device may process the received time alignment command and may adjust its uplink transmission timing according the time alignment value in the command. For example, in a random access response, a time alignment command may be coded using 11 bits, where an amount of the time alignment may be based on the value in the command. In an example embodiment, when an uplink transmission is required, the base station may provide the wireless device a grant for uplink transmission. If no random access response is received within the random access response window, and/or if none of the received random access responses contains a random access preamble identifier corresponding to the transmitted random access preamble, the random access response reception may be considered unsuccessful and the wireless device may, based on the backoff parameter in the wireless device, select a random backoff time and delay the subsequent random access transmission by the backoff time, and may retransmit another random access preamble. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a wireless device may transmit packets on an uplink carrier. Uplink packet transmission timing may be calculated in the wireless device using the timing of synchronization signal(s) received in a downlink. Upon reception of a timing alignment command by the wireless device, the wireless device may adjust its uplink transmission timing. The timing alignment command may indicate the change of the uplink timing relative to the current uplink timing. The uplink transmission timing for an uplink carrier may be determined using time alignment commands and/or downlink reference signals. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a time alignment command may indicate timing adjustment for transmission of signals on uplink carriers. For example, a time alignment command may use 6 bits. Adjustment of the uplink timing by a positive or a negative amount indicates advancing or delaying the uplink transmission timing by a given amount respectively. For a timing alignment command received on subframe n, the corresponding adjustment of the timing may be applied with some delay, for example, it may be applied from the beginning of subframe n+6. When the wireless device's uplink transmissions in subframe n and subframe n+1 are overlapped due to the timing adjustment, the wireless device may transmit complete subframe n and may not transmit the overlapped part of subframe n+1. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a wireless device may be preconfigured with one or more carriers. When the wireless device is configured with more than one carrier, the base station and/or wireless device may activate and/or deactivate the configured carriers. One of the carriers (the primary carrier) may always be activated. Other carriers may be deactivated by default and/or may be activated by a base station when needed. A base station may activate and deactivate carriers by sending an activation/deactivation MAC control element. Furthermore, the UE may maintain a carrier deactivation timer per configured carrier and deactivate the associated carrier upon its expiry. The same initial timer value may apply to instance(s) of the carrier deactivation timer. The initial value of the timer may be configured by a network. The configured carriers (unless the primary carrier) may be initially deactivated upon addition and after a handover. According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, if a wireless device receives an activation/deactivation MAC control element activating the carrier, the wireless device may activate the carrier, and/or may apply normal carrier operation including: sounding reference signal transmissions on the carrier (if the carrier is uplink time aligned), CQI (channel quality indicator)/PMI (precoding matrix indicator)/RI (ranking indicator) reporting for the carrier, PDCCH monitoring on the carrier, PDCCH monitoring for the carrier, start or restart the carrier deactivation timer associated with the carrier, and/or the like. If the device receives an activation/deactivation MAC control element deactivating the carrier, and/or if the carrier deactivation timer associated with the activated carrier expires, the base station or device may deactivate the carrier, and may stop the carrier deactivation timer associated with the carrier, and/or may flush HARQ buffers associated with the carrier. If PDCCH on a carrier scheduling the activated carrier indicates an uplink grant or a downlink assignment for the activated carrier, the device may restart the carrier deactivation timer associated with the carrier. When a carrier is deactivated, the wireless device may not transmit SRS (sounding reference signal) for the carrier, may not report CQI/PMI/RI for the carrier, may not transmit on UL-SCH for the carrier, may not monitor the PDCCH on the carrier, and/or may not monitor the PDCCH for the carrier. In this specification, “a” and “an” and similar phrases are to be interpreted as “at least one” and “one or more.” In this specification, the term “may” is to be interpreted as “may, for example,” In other words, the term “may” is indicative that the phrase following the term “may” is an example of one of a multitude of suitable possibilities that may, or may not, be employed to one or more of the various embodiments. If A and B are sets and every element of A is also an element of B, A is called a subset of B. In this specification, only non-empty sets and subsets are considered. For example, possible subsets of B={cell1, cell2} are: {cell1}, {cell2}, and {cell1, cell2}. In this specification, parameters (Information elements: IEs) may comprise one or more objects, and each of those objects may comprise one or more other objects. For example, if parameter (IE) N comprises parameter (IE) M, and parameter (IE) M comprises parameter (IE) K, and parameter (IE) K comprises parameter (information element) J, then, for example, N comprises K, and N comprises J. Many of the elements described in the disclosed embodiments may be implemented as modules. A module is defined here as an isolatable element that performs a defined function and has a defined interface to other elements. The modules described in this disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software in combination with hardware, firmware, wetware (i.e. hardware with a biological element) or a combination thereof, all of which are behaviorally equivalent. For example, modules may be implemented as a software routine written in a computer language configured to be executed by a hardware machine (such as C, C++, Fortran, Java, Basic, Matlab or the like) or a modeling/simulation program such as Simulink, Stateflow, GNU Octave, or Lab VIEWMathScript. Additionally, it may be possible to implement modules using physical hardware that incorporates discrete or programmable analog, digital and/or quantum hardware. Examples of programmable hardware comprise: computers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs); field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs); and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs). Computers, microcontrollers and microprocessors are programmed using languages such as assembly, C, C++ or the like. FPGAs, ASICs and CPLDs are often programmed using hardware description languages (HDL) such as VHSIC hardware description language (VHDL) or Verilog that configure connections between internal hardware modules with lesser functionality on a programmable device. Finally, it needs to be emphasized that the above mentioned technologies are often used in combination to achieve the result of a functional module. The disclosure of this patent document incorporates material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, for the limited purposes required by law, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope. In fact, after reading the above description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement alternative embodiments. Thus, the present embodiments should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments. In particular, it should be noted that, for example purposes, the above explanation has focused on the example(s) using FDD communication systems. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments of the invention may also be implemented in TDD communication systems. The disclosed methods and systems may be implemented in wireless or wireline systems. The features of various embodiments presented in this invention may be combined. One or many features (method or system) of one embodiment may be implemented in other embodiments. Only a limited number of example combinations are shown to indicate to one skilled in the art the possibility of features that may be combined in various embodiments to create enhanced transmission and reception systems and methods. In addition, it should be understood that any figures which highlight the functionality and advantages, are presented for example purposes only. The disclosed architecture is sufficiently flexible and configurable, such that it may be utilized in ways other than that shown. For example, the actions listed in any flowchart may be re-ordered or only optionally used in some embodiments. Further, the purpose of the Abstract of the Disclosure is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract of the Disclosure is not intended to be limiting as to the scope in any way. Finally, it is the applicant's intent that only claims that include the express language “means for” or “step for” be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112, paragraph 6. Claims that do not expressly include the phrase “means for” or “step for” are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112, paragraph 6. | 169,863 |
11943814 | MODE FOR INVENTION Some embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. A detailed description to be disclosed along with the accompanying drawings are intended to describe some embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to describe a sole embodiment of the present invention. The following detailed description includes more details in order to provide full understanding of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention may be implemented without such more details. In some cases, in order to avoid that the concept of the present invention becomes vague, known structures and devices are omitted or may be shown in a block diagram form based on the core functions of each structure and device. In this specification, a base station has the meaning of a terminal node of a network over which the base station directly communicates with a device. In this document, a specific operation that is described to be performed by a base station may be performed by an upper node of the base station according to circumstances. That is, it is evident that in a network including a plurality of network nodes including a base station, various operations performed for communication with a device may be performed by the base station or other network nodes other than the base station. The base station (BS) may be substituted with another term, such as a fixed station, a Node B, an eNB (evolved-NodeB), a Base Transceiver System (BTS), or an access point (AP). Furthermore, the device may be fixed or may have mobility and may be substituted with another term, such as User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a User Terminal (UT), a Mobile Subscriber Station (MSS), a Subscriber Station (SS), an Advanced Mobile Station (AMS), a Wireless Terminal (WT), a Machine-Type Communication (MTC) device, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device, or a Device-to-Device (D2D) device. Hereinafter, downlink (DL) means communication from an eNB to UE, and uplink (UL) means communication from UE to an eNB. In DL, a transmitter may be part of an eNB, and a receiver may be part of UE. In UL, a transmitter may be part of UE, and a receiver may be part of an eNB. Specific terms used in the following description have been provided to help understanding of the present invention, and the use of such specific terms may be changed in various forms without departing from the technical sprit of the present invention. The following technologies may be used in a variety of wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), and Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA). CDMA may be implemented using a radio technology, such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) or CDMA2000. TDMA may be implemented using a radio technology, such as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)/Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE). OFDMA may be implemented using a radio technology, such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, or Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA). UTRA is part of a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) is part of an Evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) using evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), and it adopts OFDMA in downlink and adopts SC-FDMA in uplink. LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) is the evolution of 3GPP LTE. Embodiments of the present invention may be supported by the standard documents disclosed in at least one of IEEE 802, 3GPP, and 3GPP2, that is, radio access systems. That is, steps or portions that belong to the embodiments of the present invention and that are not described in order to clearly expose the technical spirit of the present invention may be supported by the documents. Furthermore, all terms disclosed in this document may be described by the standard documents. In order to more clarify a description, 3GPP LTE/LTE-A is chiefly described, but the technical characteristics of the present invention are not limited thereto. General System to which the Present Invention May be Applied FIGS.1A and1Bshow the structure of a radio frame in a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present invention may be applied. 3GPP LTE/LTE-A support a radio frame structure type 1 which may be applicable to Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and a radio frame structure which may be applicable to Time Division Duplex (TDD). The size of a radio frame in the time domain is represented as a multiple of a time unit of T_s=1/(15000*2048). A UL and DL transmission includes the radio frame having a duration of T_f=307200*T_s=10 ms. FIG.1Aexemplifies a radio frame structure type 1. The type 1 radio frame may be applied to both of full duplex FDD and half duplex FDD. A radio frame includes 10 subframes. A radio frame includes 20 slots of T_slot=15360*T_s=0.5 ms length, and 0 to 19 indexes are given to each of the slots. One subframe includes contiguous two slots in the time domain, and subframe i includes slot 2i and slot 2i+1. The time required for transmitting a subframe is referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). For example, the length of the subframe i may be 1 ms and the length of a slot may be 0.5 ms. A UL transmission and a DL transmission I the FDD are distinguished in the frequency domain. Whereas there is no restriction in the full duplex FDD, a UE may not transmit and receive simultaneously in the half duplex FDD operation. One slot includes a plurality of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in the time domain and includes a plurality of Resource Blocks (RBs) in a frequency domain. In 3GPP LTE, OFDM symbols are used to represent one symbol period because OFDMA is used in downlink. An OFDM symbol may be called one SC-FDMA symbol or symbol period. An RB is a resource allocation unit and includes a plurality of contiguous subcarriers in one slot. FIG.1Bshows frame structure type 2. A type 2 radio frame includes two half frame of 153600*T_s=5 ms length each. Each half frame includes 5 subframes of 30720*T_s=1 ms length. In the frame structure type 2 of a TDD system, an uplink-downlink configuration is a rule indicating whether uplink and downlink are allocated (or reserved) to all subframes. Table 1 shows the uplink-downlink configuration. TABLE 1Uplink-Downlink-Downlinkto-Uplinkconfig-Switch-pointSubframe numberurationperiodicity012345678905 msDSUUUDSUUU15 msDSUUDDSUUD25 msDSUDDDSUDD310 msDSUUUDDDDD410 msDSUUDDDDDD510 msDSUDDDDDDD65 msDSUUUDSUUD Referring to Table 1, in each subframe of the radio frame, ‘D’ represents a subframe for a DL transmission, ‘U’ represents a subframe for UL transmission, and ‘S’ represents a special subframe including three types of fields including a Downlink Pilot Time Slot (DwPTS), a Guard Period (GP), and an Uplink Pilot Time Slot (UpPTS). A DwPTS is used for an initial cell search, synchronization or channel estimation in a UE. A UpPTS is used for channel estimation in an eNB and for synchronizing a UL transmission synchronization of a UE. A GP is duration for removing interference occurred in a UL owing to multi-path delay of a DL signal between a UL and a DL. Each subframe i includes slot 2i and slot 2i+1 of T_slot=15360*T_s=0.5 ms. The UL-DL configuration may be classified into 7 types, and the position and/or the number of a DL subframe, a special subframe and a UL subframe are different for each configuration. A point of time at which a change is performed from downlink to uplink or a point of time at which a change is performed from uplink to downlink is called a switching point. The periodicity of the switching point means a cycle in which an uplink subframe and a downlink subframe are changed is identically repeated. Both 5 ms and 10 ms are supported in the periodicity of a switching point. If the periodicity of a switching point has a cycle of a 5 ms downlink-uplink switching point, the special subframe S is present in each half frame. If the periodicity of a switching point has a cycle of a 5 ms downlink-uplink switching point, the special subframe S is present in the first half frame only. In all the configurations, 0 and 5 subframes and a DwPTS are used for only downlink transmission. An UpPTS and a subframe subsequent to a subframe are always used for uplink transmission. Such uplink-downlink configurations may be known to both an eNB and UE as system information. An eNB may notify UE of a change of the uplink-downlink allocation state of a radio frame by transmitting only the index of uplink-downlink configuration information to the UE whenever the uplink-downlink configuration information is changed. Furthermore, configuration information is kind of downlink control information and may be transmitted through a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) like other scheduling information. Configuration information may be transmitted to all UEs within a cell through a broadcast channel as broadcasting information. Table 2 represents configuration (length of DwPTS/GP/UpPTS) of a special subframe. TABLE 2Normal cyclic prefix in downlinkExtended cyclic prefix in downlinkUpPTSUpPTSSpecialNormalExtendedNormalExtendedsubframecyclic prefixcyclic prefixcyclic prefixcyclic prefixconfigurationDwPTSin uplinkin uplinkDwPTSin uplinkin uplink06592 · Ts2192 · Ts2560 · Ts7680 · Ts2192 · Ts2560 · Ts119760 · Ts20480 · Ts221952 · Ts23040 · Ts324144 · Ts25600 · Ts426336 · Ts7680 · Ts4384 · Ts5120 · Ts56592 · Ts4384 · Ts5120 · Ts20480 · Ts619760 · Ts23040 · Ts721952 · Ts———824144 · Ts——— The structure of a radio subframe according to the example ofFIGS.1A and1Bis just an example, and the number of subcarriers included in a radio frame, the number of slots included in a subframe and the number of OFDM symbols included in a slot may be changed in various manners. FIG.2is a diagram illustrating a resource grid for one downlink slot in a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present invention may be applied. Referring toFIG.2, one downlink slot includes a plurality of OFDM symbols in a time domain. It is described herein that one downlink slot includes 7 OFDMA symbols and one resource block includes 12 subcarriers for exemplary purposes only, and the present invention is not limited thereto. Each element on the resource grid is referred to as a resource element, and one resource block (RB) includes 12□7 resource elements. The number of RBs N{circumflex over ( )}DL included in a downlink slot depends on a downlink transmission bandwidth. The structure of an uplink slot may be the same as that of a downlink slot. FIG.3shows the structure of a downlink subframe in a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present invention may be applied. Referring toFIG.3, a maximum of three OFDM symbols located in a front portion of a first slot of a subframe correspond to a control region in which control channels are allocated, and the remaining OFDM symbols correspond to a data region in which a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) is allocated. Downlink control channels used in 3GPP LTE include, for example, a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and a physical hybrid-ARQ indicator channel (PHICH). A PCFICH is transmitted in the first OFDM symbol of a subframe and carries information about the number of OFDM symbols (i.e., the size of a control region) which is used to transmit control channels within the subframe. A PHICH is a response channel for uplink and carries an acknowledgement (ACK)/not-acknowledgement (NACK) signal for a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ). Control information transmitted in a PDCCH is called Downlink Control Information (DCI). DCI includes uplink resource allocation information, downlink resource allocation information, or an uplink transmission (Tx) power control command for a specific UE group. A PDCCH may carry information about the resource v and transport format of a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) (this is also called an “downlink grant”), resource allocation information about an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) (this is also called a “uplink grant”), paging information on a PCH, system information on a DL-SCH, the resource allocation of a higher layer control message, such as a random access response transmitted on a PDSCH, a set of transmission power control commands for individual UE within specific UE group, and the activation of a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), etc. A plurality of PDCCHs may be transmitted within the control region, and UE may monitor a plurality of PDCCHs. A PDCCH is transmitted on a single Control Channel Element (CCE) or an aggregation of some contiguous CCEs. A CCE is a logical allocation unit that is used to provide a PDCCH with a coding rate according to the state of a radio channel. A CCE corresponds to a plurality of resource element groups. The format of a PDCCH and the number of available bits of a PDCCH are determined by an association relationship between the number of CCEs and a coding rate provided by CCEs. An eNB determines the format of a PDCCH based on DCI to be transmitted to UE and attaches a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) to control information. A unique identifier (a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI)) is masked to the CRC depending on the owner or use of a PDCCH. If the PDCCH is a PDCCH for specific UE, an identifier unique to the UE, for example, a Cell-RNTI (C-RNTI) may be masked to the CRC. If the PDCCH is a PDCCH for a paging message, a paging indication identifier, for example, a Paging-RNTI (P-RNTI) may be masked to the CRC. If the PDCCH is a PDCCH for system information, more specifically, a System Information Block (SIB), a system information identifier, for example, a System Information-RNTI (SI-RNTI) may be masked to the CRC. A Random Access-RNTI (RA-RNTI) may be masked to the CRC in order to indicate a random access response which is a response to the transmission of a random access preamble by UE. FIG.4shows the structure of an uplink subframe in a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present invention may be applied. Referring toFIG.4, the uplink subframe may be divided into a control region and a data region in a frequency domain. A physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying uplink control information is allocated to the control region. A physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) carrying user data is allocated to the data region. In order to maintain single carrier characteristic, one UE does not send a PUCCH and a PUSCH at the same time. A Resource Block (RB) pair is allocated to a PUCCH for one UE within a subframe. RBs belonging to an RB pair occupy different subcarriers in each of 2 slots. This is called that an RB pair allocated to a PUCCH is frequency-hopped in a slot boundary. General Carrier Aggregation A communication environment considered in embodiments of the present invention includes multi-carrier supporting environments. That is, a multi-carrier system or a carrier aggregation system used in the present invention means a system that aggregates and uses one or more component carriers (CCs) having a smaller bandwidth smaller than a target band at the time of configuring a target wideband in order to support a wideband. In the present invention, multi-carriers mean aggregation of (alternatively, carrier aggregation) of carriers and in this case, the aggregation of the carriers means both aggregation between continuous carriers and aggregation between non-contiguous carriers. Further, the number of component carriers aggregated between the downlink and the uplink may be differently set. A case in which the number of downlink component carriers (hereinafter, referred to as ‘DL CC’) and the number of uplink component carriers (hereinafter, referred to as ‘UL CC’) are the same as each other is referred to as symmetric aggregation and a case in which the number of downlink component carriers and the number of uplink component carriers are different from each other is referred to as asymmetric aggregation. The carrier aggregation may be used mixedly with a term such as the carrier aggregation, the bandwidth aggregation, spectrum aggregation, or the like. The carrier aggregation configured by combining two or more component carriers aims at supporting up to a bandwidth of 100 MHz in the LTE-A system. When one or more carriers having the bandwidth than the target band are combined, the bandwidth of the carriers to be combined may be limited to a bandwidth used in the existing system in order to maintain backward compatibility with the existing IMT system. For example, the existing 3GPP LTE system supports bandwidths of 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz and a 3GPP LTE-advanced system (that is, LTE-A) may be configured to support a bandwidth larger than 20 MHz by using on the bandwidth for compatibility with the existing system. Further, the carrier aggregation system used in the preset invention may be configured to support the carrier aggregation by defining a new bandwidth regardless of the bandwidth used in the existing system. The LTE-A system uses a concept of the cell in order to manage a radio resource. The carrier aggregation environment may be called a multi-cell environment. The cell is defined as a combination of a pair of a downlink resource (DL CC) and an uplink resource (UL CC), but the uplink resource is not required. Therefore, the cell may be constituted by only the downlink resource or both the downlink resource and the uplink resource. When a specific terminal has only one configured serving cell, the cell may have one DL CC and one UL CC, but when the specific terminal has two or more configured serving cells, the cell has DL CCs as many as the cells and the number of UL CCs may be equal to or smaller than the number of DL CCs. Alternatively, contrary to this, the DL CC and the UL CC may be configured. That is, when the specific terminal has multiple configured serving cells, a carrier aggregation environment having UL CCs more than DL CCs may also be supported. That is, the carrier aggregation may be appreciated as aggregation of two or more cells having different carrier frequencies (center frequencies). Herein, the described ‘cell’ needs to be distinguished from a cell as an area covered by the base station which is generally used. The cell used in the LTE-A system includes a primary cell (PCell) and a secondary cell (SCell. The P cell and the S cell may be used as the serving cell. In a terminal which is in an RRC_CONNECTED state, but does not have the configured carrier aggregation or does not support the carrier aggregation, only one serving constituted by only the P cell is present. On the contrary, in a terminal which is in the RRC_CONNECTED state and has the configured carrier aggregation, one or more serving cells may be present and the P cell and one or more S cells are included in all serving cells. The serving cell (P cell and S cell) may be configured through an RRC parameter. PhysCellId as a physical layer identifier of the cell has integer values of 0 to 503. SCellIndex as a short identifier used to identify the S cell has integer values of 1 to 7. ServCellIndex as a short identifier used to identify the serving cell (P cell or S cell) has the integer values of 0 to 7. The value of 0 is applied to the P cell and SCellIndex is previously granted for application to the S cell. That is, a cell having a smallest cell ID (alternatively, cell index) in ServCellIndex becomes the P cell. The P cell means a cell that operates on a primary frequency (alternatively, primary CC). The terminal may be used to perform an initial connection establishment process or a connection re-establishment process and may be designated as a cell indicated during a handover process. Further, the P cell means a cell which becomes the center of control associated communication among serving cells configured in the carrier aggregation environment. That is, the terminal may be allocated with and transmit the PUCCH only in the P cell thereof and use only the P cell to acquire the system information or change a monitoring procedure. An evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRAN) may change only the P cell for the handover procedure to the terminal supporting the carrier aggregation environment by using an RRC connection reconfiguration message (RRCConnectionReconfigutaion) message of an upper layer including mobile control information (mobilityControlInfo). The S cell means a cell that operates on a secondary frequency (alternatively, secondary CC). Only one P cell may be allocated to a specific terminal and one or more S cells may be allocated to the specific terminal. The S cell may be configured after RRC connection establishment is achieved and used for providing an additional radio resource. The PUCCH is not present in residual cells other than the P cell, that is, the S cells among the serving cells configured in the carrier aggregation environment. The E-UTRAN may provide all system information associated with a related cell which is in an RRC_CONNECTED state through a dedicated signal at the time of adding the S cells to the terminal that supports the carrier aggregation environment. A change of the system information may be controlled by releasing and adding the related S cell and in this case, the RRC connection reconfiguration (RRCConnectionReconfigutaion) message of the upper layer may be used. The E-UTRAN may perform having different parameters for each terminal rather than broadcasting in the related S cell. After an initial security activation process starts, the E-UTRAN adds the S cells to the P cell initially configured during the connection establishment process to configure a network including one or more S cells. In the carrier aggregation environment, the P cell and the S cell may operate as the respective component carriers. In an embodiment described below, the primary component carrier (PCC) may be used as the same meaning as the P cell and the secondary component carrier (SCC) may be used as the same meaning as the S cell. FIGS.5A and5Billustrate examples of a component carrier and carrier aggregation in the wireless communication system to which the present invention can be applied. FIG.5Aillustrates a single carrier structure used in an LTE system. The component carrier includes the DL CC and the UL CC. One component carrier may have a frequency range of 20 MHz. FIG.5Billustrates a carrier aggregation structure used in the LTE system. In the case ofFIG.9, a case is illustrated, in which three component carriers having a frequency magnitude of 20 MHz are combined. Each of three DL CCs and three UL CCs is provided, but the number of DL CCs and the number of UL CCs are not limited. In the case of carrier aggregation, the terminal may simultaneously monitor three CCs, and receive downlink signal/data and transmit uplink signal/data. When N DL CCs are managed in a specific cell, the network may allocate M (M≤N) DL CCs to the terminal. In this case, the terminal may monitor only M limited DL CCs and receive the DL signal. Further, the network gives L DL CCs to allocate a primary DL CC to the terminal and in this case, UE needs to particularly monitor L DL CCs. Such a scheme may be similarly applied even to uplink transmission. A linkage between a carrier frequency (alternatively, DL CC) of the downlink resource and a carrier frequency (alternatively, UL CC) of the uplink resource may be indicated by an upper-layer message such as the RRC message or the system information. For example, a combination of the DL resource and the UL resource may be configured by a linkage defined by system information block type 2 (SIB2). In detail, the linkage may mean a mapping relationship between the DL CC in which the PDCCH transporting a UL grant and a UL CC using the UL grant and mean a mapping relationship between the DL CC (alternatively, UL CC) in which data for the HARQ is transmitted and the UL CC (alternatively, DL CC) in which the HARQ ACK/NACK signal is transmitted. FIG.6is a diagram illustrating division of cells in a system that supports the carrier aggregation. Referring toFIG.6, a configured cell as a cell that may perform carrier aggregation based on a measurement report among cells of a base station as illustrated inFIGS.5A and5Bmay be configured for each UE. The configured cell may reserve resources for ack/nack transmission for PDSCH transmission in advance. An activated cell as a cell configured to transmit a PDSCH/PUSCH among the configured cells performs Channel State Information (CSI) reporting and (Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission for PDSCH/PUSCH transmission. A de-activated cell as a cell that prevents PDSCH/PUSCH transmission due to a command of the base station or a timer operation may also stop the CSI reporting and the SRS transmission. Hereinafter, a narrowband physical random access channel will be described. A physical layer random access preamble is based on single-subcarrier frequency hopping symbol groups. The symbol group is illustrated inFIG.7and includes a cyclic prefix (CP) having a length of TCPand a sequence of five identical symbols having an overall length of TSEQ. Parameters of the physical layer random access preamble are listed in Table 3 below. That is,FIG.7is a diagram illustrating an example of a symbol group of the NPRACH preamble and Table 3 illustrates an example of random access preamble parameters. TABLE 3Preamble formatTCPTSEQ02048Ts5 · 8192 Ts18192Ts5 · 8192 Ts An NPRACH preamble including four symbol groups transmitted without gaps is transmitted NrepNPRACHtimes. The transmission of the random access preamble, when triggered by an MAC layer, is restricted to specific time and frequency resources. An NPRACH configuration provided by a higher layer includes the following parameters.NPRACH resource periodicity, NperiodNPRACH(nprach-Periodicity),Frequency location of a first subcarrier allocated to NPRACH, NscoffsetNPRACH(nprach-SubcarrierOffset),The number of subcarriers allocated to NPRACH, NscNPRACH(nprach-NumSubcarriers),The number of starting sub-carriers allocated to contention based NPRACH random access, Nsc_contNPRACH(nprach-NumCBRA-StartSubcarriers),The number of NPRACH repetitions per attempt, NrepNPRACH(numRepetitionsPerPreambleAttempt),NPRACH starting time, NstartNPRACH(nprach-StartTime),Ratio for calculating a starting subcarrier index for an NPRACH subcarrier range reserved for indication of UE support for multi-tone msg3 transmission, NMSG3NPRACH(nprach-SubcarrierMSG3-RangeStart). The NPRACH transmission may start only in a time unit of NstartNPRACH·30720 Tssince the start of a radio frame satisfying nfmod(NperiodNPRACH/10)=0. 4·64(TCP+TSEQ) After transmission of the time unit, a gap of a time unit of 40·30720Tsis inserted. NPRACH configurations which are NscoffsetNPRACH+NscNPRACH>NscULare invalid. {0, 1, . . . , Nsc_contNPRACHNMSG3NPRACH−1} and {Nsc_contNPRACHNMSG3NPRACH, . . . , Nsc_contNPRACH−1}. Here, when there is a second set, the second set indicates UE support for the multi-tone msg3 transmission. The frequency location of the NPRACH transmission is restricted within the subcarriers. Frequency hopping is used in 12 subcarriers, and the frequency location of an i-th symbol group is given by nscRA(i)=nstart+ñSCRA(i), nstart=NscoffsetNPRACH+└ninit/NscRA┘·NscRAand follows Equation 1. n~scRA(i)={(n~scRA(0)+f(i/4))modNscRAimod4=0andi>0n~scRA(i-1)+1imod4=1,3andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=0n~scRA(i-1)-1imod4=1,3andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=1n~scRA(i-1)+6imod4=2andn~scRA(i-1)<6n~scRA(i-1)-6imod4=2andn~scRA(i-1)≥6f(t)=(f(t-1)+(∑n=10t+110t+9c(n)2n-(10t+1))mod(NscRA-1)+1)modNscRAf(-1)=0[Equation1] Here, ninitrepresents a subcarrier selected from {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1} by the MAC layer. In addition, the pseudo random generator is initialized to cinit=NIDNcell. Baseband Signal Generation A time-continuous random access signal si(t) for a symbol group i is defined by Equation 2 below. si(t)=βNPRACHej2π(nSCRA(i)+Kk01/2)ΔfRA(t-TCP)[Equation 2] Here, 0≤t<TSEQ+TCP, βNPRACHrepresents an amplitude scaling factor for following transmission power PNPRACH, k0=−NscUL/2, and K=Δf/ΔfRArepresents a difference in a subcarrier interval between transmissions of the random access preamble and uplink data. In addition, a position in a frequency domain is controlled by a parameter nSCRA(i). A variable ΔfRAis given by Table 4 below. That is, Table 4 shows one example of random access baseband parameters. TABLE 4Preamble formatΔfRA0, 13.75 kHz PUSCH-Config IE PUSCH-ConfigCommon is used to designate a common PUSCH configuration and a reference signal configuration for PUSCH and PUCCH. IE PUSCH-ConfigDedicated is used to designate a UE-specific PUSCH configuration. TABLE 5--ASN1STARTTDD-PUSCH-UpPTS-r14 ::=CHOICE {releaseNULL,setupSEQUENCE {symPUSCH-UpPTS-r14ENUMERATED {sym1, sym2, sym3, sym4, sym5, sym6}OPTIONAL,-- Need ONdmrs-LessUpPTS-r14ENUMERATED {true}OPTIONAL-- Need OR}}--ASN1STOP In Table 5, symPUSCH-UpPTS indicates the number of data symbols set for PUSCH transmission in UpPTS. sym2, sym3, sym4, sym5, and sym6 values may be used for a normal cyclic prefix and sym1, sym2, sym3, sym4, and sym5 values may be used for an extended cyclic prefix. Mapping to Physical Resources For UpPTS, when dmrsLess-UpPts is set to ‘true’, then the physical resource mapping starts at l=NsymbUL−symPUSCH_pUPts a symbol of a second slot of a special subframe, otherwise the physical resource mapping starts at l=NsymbUL−symPUSCH_pUPts−1 of the second slot of the special subframe. Hereinafter, when supporting Time Division Duplexing (TDD) in a Narrowband (NB)-IoT system supporting cellular Internet of Things (IoT) proposed in this specification (i.e., when supporting frame structure type 2), a method for designing the random access preamble will be described. As described above, the random access preamble used in the NB-IoT system may be referred to as a Narrowband Random Access Channel (NRACH) preamble. First, narrowband (NB)-LTE may mean a system for supporting low complexity and low power consumption, which has a system bandwidth corresponding to one Physical Resource Block (PRB) of an LTE system. This may be primarily used as a communication scheme for implementing Internet of things (IoT) by supporting a device such as machine-type communication (MTC) in a cellular system. The NB-IoT system uses the same OFDM parameters such as subcarrier spacing and the like as in an existing system (i.e., LTE system) to allocate 1 PRB to a legacy LTE band for NB-LTE without additional band allocation, thereby efficiently using a frequency. Hereinafter, the NB-IoT system will be described with reference to the LTE system, but the methods proposed in this specification may be extended and applied to a next generation communication system (e.g., a new RAT (NR) system), of course. The physical channel of the NB-LTE may be defined as NPSS/NSSS, NPBCH, NPDCCH/NEPDCCH, NPDSCH, etc. in the case of downlink and may be named by adding N in order to distinguish the NB-LTE from the existing system (i.e., LTE system). The NPRACH preamble used in Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) NB-IoT up to the existing system (e.g. 3GPP Rel.14) has two formats and a specific may be illustrated inFIG.8. FIG.8illustrates an example of an NPRACH preamble format in an NB-IoT system. Referring toFIG.8, the NPRACH preamble is used for single tone transmission and has a subcarrier spacing of 3.75 kHz. In addition, five symbols and one cyclic prefix (CP) are combined to constitute one symbol group. In this case, NPRACH preamble format 0 may be constituted by a CP of 66.66 us and five contiguous symbols of 266.66 us and NPRACH preamble format 1 may be constituted by a CP of 266.66 us and five contiguous symbols of 266.66 us. In this case, the length of the symbol group of the NPRACH preamble format 0 may be 1.4 ms and the length of the symbol group of the NPRACH preamble format 1 may be 1.6 ms. In addition, a basic unit for repetition (i.e., repetitive transmission) may be constituted by four symbol groups. That is, four symbol groups may be used to perform (or form) one repetition. Accordingly, the length of four contiguous symbol groups constituting one repetition may be 5.6 ms for the NPRACH preamble format 0 and 6.4 ms for the NPRACH preamble format 1. Further, as illustrated inFIG.9, the NPRACH preamble may be configured to perform first hopping with a spacing equal to the subcarrier spacing and second hopping with a spacing equal to six times the subcarrier spacing. FIG.9is a diagram illustrating an example of repetition and a random hopping method of the NPRACH preamble. However, in TDD (i.e., frame structure type 2 described above) considered in the next generation NB-IoT system (e.g., NB-IoT in 3GPP Rel.15), it may be difficult to directly use the NPRACH preamble format in existing NB-IoT (e.g., legacy NB-IoT in 3GPP Rel. 14) by considering the UL/DL configuration of the existing LTE system. However, although a TDD standalone mode may be configured to use the NPRACH preamble format of the existing NB-IoT by introducing a new UL/DL configuration, an in-band mode and/or a guard band mode may not be easy to use the NPRACH preamble format of the existing NB-IoT as it is. Hereinafter, this specification proposes an NPRACH configuration method and a preamble repetition rule when frame structure type 2 (i.e., TDD or unpaired spectrum) is applied to an NB-IoT system and new NRACH preamble formats are introduced. Hereinafter, embodiments and/or methods (i.e., the spirit of the present invention) proposed by this specification may be extensively applied even to other channels except for a random access channel (PRACH) and extended to a multi-tone transmission scheme even in a single-tone transmission scheme. Further, as mentioned above, the embodiments and/or methods proposed by this specification may be extensively applied to a next-generation communication system (e.g., NR system) as well as an LTE system. Further, the embodiments and/or methods proposed by this specification are described based on an in-band mode or a guard band mode in TDD, but the method proposed by this specification may be applied even in a standalone mode. Further, the embodiments and/or methods proposed by this specification are just distinguished for convenience of description and some configurations or features of any embodiment and/or method may be included in another embodiment and/or method or replaced with configurations or features corresponding to another embodiment and/or method. NPRACH Configuration and Preamble Repetition Rule First, an NPRACH configuration and a preamble repetition rule proposed by this specification will be described. A ‘consecutive transmission time (TC)’ used in this specification may mean a total time duration including a specific number of symbol groups which are consecutively transmitted and a guard time and may be defined differently according to two following cases (case 1 and case 2). First, one NPRACH preamble includes at least one symbol group as illustrated inFIG.7and one symbol group includes a cyclic prefix having a length of TCPand a sequence of N same symbols having a total length of TSEQ. In addition, the number of all symbols groups is expressed as P in one NPRACH preamble (repetition unit) and the number of symbol groups which are consecutive in a time is expressed as G. Characteristically, as shown in Table 1 above, TC may have one of 1 ms, 2 ms, or 3 ms. Additionally, if the TC uses up to a UpPTS symbol, xms (a real number of 0<x<1, e.g., x is approximately 142.695 us in a preamble format using UpPTS 2 symbols) may be added to the TC above. (Case 1) When P=G, TC may be defined as a time duration including P symbol groups (i.e., P CPs and P SEQs) and GT. (Case 2) When P>G, TC may be defined as a time duration including G symbol groups (i.e., G CPs and G SEQs) and GT. Here, P represents the total number of symbol groups constituting the preamble and P symbol groups are collected to represent one preamble transmission. That is, in respect to one preamble transmission, a time when all of P symbol groups are transmitted is defined as one time. Further, G represents the total number of symbol groups transmitted back-to-back within consecutive UL SFs (i.e., a maximum of three UL SFs). Characteristically, Case 2 above, P becomes a multiple of G (e.g., P=2G). Further, SEQ as the number of symbols belonging to one symbol group is expressed as N. Next, the NPRACH configuration and the repetition rule will be described in more detail through Methods 1 and 2. (Method 1) Method 1 relates to a method similar to a PRACH configuration method in Legacy LTE/e-MTC. First, a combination of UL SFs which may be transmitted for TC and UL/DL configuration, respectively, is previously set as several sets having different values. In addition, the eNB is configured to carry the combination to the UE with an NPRACH configuration index through system information (e.g., SIB2-NB). In this case, it may be described as below that the combination may be transmitted to the UE. For example, when the TC is 1 ms and the UL/DL configuration is ‘1’, all of 4 UL SFs which exist within 10 ms may be designated as a starting UL SF. However, when the TC is 3 ms, only a first UL SF among 3 consecutive UL SFs of the UL/DL configuration (i.e., UL/DL configuration #0, #3, #6) in which 3 consecutive UL SFs exist may be designated as the starting UL SF. Meanwhile, a UL SF in which an actual preamble may be transmitted for each NPRACH configuration index mentioned above may be predetermined and predefined as a table in a standard document (see Table 7). In this specification, the preamble may refer to the NPRACH preamble unless otherwise mentioned. Additionally, for preamble repetition (in this case, the repetition number may be configured through system information (e.g., SIB2-NB), the eNB may configure to carry the starting UL SF information for preamble transmission among UL SFs capable of transmitting the actual preamble defined above through the system information (e.g., SIB2-NB). Additionally, the eNB may also be configured to carry a period between the starting UL SFs to the UE through the system information (e.g., SIB2-NB). A specific method for carrying the starting UL SF information is described below as an example. When the UE lists subframe(s) allowed to transmit the preamble during a radio frame interval of 10 ms through the NPRACH configuration index value and the UL/DL configuration information, the eNB may grant numbers of 0 up to 5 to each subframe in an order (i.e., in ascending order) in which the absolute subframe number increases from a subframe (i.e., a subframe which exists temporally earlier) having a smaller absolute subframe number. Here, the granting of the number may mean performing indexing. In addition, the eNB may select one among the numbers of 0 to up to 5 and designate the selected number as the starting UL SF to the UE. That is, the eNB may inform the UE one of UL SFs indexed as 0 up to 5. In this case, it may be preferable in terms of preamble decoding that the eNB is configured for multiple UEs included in the same CE level to transmit the NPRACH preamble to the same subframe. When two or more starting subframes are configured in the same radio frame for multiple UEs included in the same CE level, it may be difficult for the eNB to decode preambles transmitted at different starting points. However, exceptionally, when even though the repetition number included in the NPRACH configuration is so small that multiple UEs transmit the preambles at different starting points, which does not affect mutual preambles, two or more starting subframes may be configured. In this case, in respect to the absolute subframe number, in ‘(radio) frame nf, subframe i has absolute subframe number nsfabs=10nf+i. Here, it may be determined that (radio) frame nfis a system frame number. The above method is characterized in that the preamble may always be transmitted to the same UL SF for each specific period as described above and the preamble may not always be transmitted to the same UL SF. Further, the UE may be configured to transmit the preamble as much as the configured repetition number by using a UL SF (i.e., this may be known through the NPRACH configuration by the UE) capable of transmitting the actual preamble by starting the preamble transmission from the starting UL SF mentioned above. In this case, it is characterized in that whether to consecutively transmit the preambles within UL SFs capable of consecutively transmitting the preambles is not a problem. Accordingly, an eNB that desires for the UEs to consecutively transmit the preambles in the UL SFs capable of consecutively transmitting needs to configure an NPRACH configuration index in which the UL SF capable of transmitting the actual preamble is consecutively configured in the UE through the NPRACH configuration. In order to take an example for a table for the NPRACH configuration, it may be assumed in this specification that 4 preamble formats are defined as a TDD NPRACH preamble format as shown in Table 6. In this case, N represents the number of symbols in the symbol group, G represents the number of symbol groups transmitted back-to-back in the UL SF(s), P represents the number of symbol groups in the preamble, and TS represents 1/30.72 (us). Table 6 is a table showing examples of TDD NPRACH preamble formats. TABLE 6SEQCellPreambleCPlengthGuardcoverageparameterlength(N*8192 TS)GPperiodTC(km)Format 01572 TS1 * 8192 TS331428 TS1 * 30720 TS6.97Format 14827 TS1 * 8192 TS244682 TS1 * 30720 TS22.86Format 28192 TS2 * 8192 TS2412288 TS2 * 30720 TS39.30Format 38192 TS4 * 8192 TS2410240 TS3 * 30720 TS39.30 Preamble formats 0, 1, 2, and 3 of Table 6 above may be expressed asFIGS.10(a),10(b),10(c), and10(d), respectively. FIG.10is a diagram illustrating an example of a TDD NPRACH preamble format proposed by this specification. When it is assumed that the preamble format is defined as illustrated inFIG.10, Table 7 shows an example of the NPRACH configuration table according to each preamble format and UL/DL configuration. In this case, it is apparent that all states of Table 7 are for illustrative purposes and may have different values. Each triple (tRA(0), tRA(1), tRA(2)) of the format indicates a location of a specific random access resource. Here, tRA(0)=0, 1, 2 indicate whether the resource is regenerated in all radio frames, in even radio frames, and odd radio frames, respectively. tRA(1)=0, 1 indicates whether the random access resource is positioned in a first half frame or a second half frame, respectively. Here, tRA(2)represents an uplink subframe number in which the preamble starts and is counted from 0 in a first uplink subframe between two consecutive downlink-to-uplink switch points. Table 7 is a table showing an example of the NPRACH configuration. TABLE 7NPRACHconfigurationPreambleUL/DL configurationIndexFormat012345600(1, 0, 2)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)(1, 0, 2)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)(1, 0, 2)1120(2, 0, 2)(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)(2, 0, 2)(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)(2, 0, 2)3140(1, 1, 2)(1, 1, 1)(1, 1, 0)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 1, 1)5160(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 2)7180(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 1, 1)91100(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 1)111120(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 2)131(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 1)140(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 1)151(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)160(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)171(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 1)180(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 1)191(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 1)200(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 1)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)211(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)220(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)231(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 2)240(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)251(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 1)260(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)271(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 1)280(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)291(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 2)300(0, 0, 1)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)311(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)320(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A331(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 2)340(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A351(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 2)362(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 0, 1)372(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)N/A(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)N/A(2, 0, 1)382(1, 1, 1)(1, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(1, 1, 0)392(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 1)402(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 1, 0)412(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)(0, 1, 0)422(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)432(0, 0, 1)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)443(1, 0, 0)N/AN/A(1, 0, 0)N/AN/A(1, 0, 0)453(2, 0, 0)N/AN/A(2, 0, 0)N/AN/A(2, 0, 0)463(1, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A473(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)483(0, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A493(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 1, 0)50N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A51N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A52N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A53N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A54N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A55N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A56N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A57N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A58N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A59N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A60N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A61N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A62N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A63N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A A method for transmitting the preamble when the UE receives NPRACH configuration index, available UL SF, preamble repetition number, NPRACH periodicity, UL/DL configuration, and the like from the eNB through SIB will be described as an example. When the UE is configured with the NPRACH configuration index as ‘24’ (see Table 7), configured with the starting UL SF (using a method for selecting and transmitting one of 0 to 5 mentioned above) as ‘2’, configured with the preamble repetition number as ‘8’, configured with the NPRACH periodicity as ‘80 ms’, and configured with the UL/DL configuration as ‘#1’, the UE may transmit the preamble as illustrated inFIG.11.FIG.11is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for transmitting a preamble proposed by this specification. Here, since the NPRACH configuration index is 24, the preamble format is 0 and a UL subframe capable of transmitting the preamble becomes all UL subframes which exist in UL/DL configuration #1. Further, the preamble starting point may be 1110 when the configured starting UL SF is 2 and the start frame rule and the NPRACH periodicity are considered. In addition, since the repetition number is 8, it can be seen that a single preamble (i.e., 3 consecutive symbol groups) is repeatedly transmitted through 8 UL SFs. Additionally, a case where other UEs may not transmit the UL data due to transmission of a preamble occupying the UL SF for a long time may occur. Accordingly, a UL SF gap for UL data transmission of other UEs may be defined in the middle of transmission of the NPRACH preamble. The UL SF gap may be configured to be configurably transmitted to the UE by the eNB through the system information (e.g., SIB2-NB). A method that may inform the UL SF gap will be described below in detail. (Alternative 1) The UL SF gap is defined as the number of UL SFs which the UE needs to skip and the eNB transmits the corresponding information to the UE through the system information (e.g., SIB2-NB) together with the NPRACH configuration. For example, the UL SF gap may be previously designated or defined in a standard document as a specific set such as {1SF, 2SF, 3SF, 4SF, 5SF, 6SF, 8SF, 16SF, 325F}, etc. Characteristically, only when the configured preamble repetition value is equal to or more than a specific value NConsecutive_TX (e.g., NConsecutive_TX=16) (or first specific value), the eNB may be configured to configure the UL SF gap. Additionally, after a preamble repetition as large as a specific value MConsecutive_TX (e.g., 32) (or second specific value) is completed, the UL SF gap may be configurably configured so as to be defined. Characteristically, when the eNB does not transmit MConsecutive_TX, the MConsecutive_TX may become NConsecutive_TX defined above. In this case, NConsecutive_TX MConsecutive_TX may be preferable. (Alternative 2) The UL SF gap is defined as the NPRACH preamble transmission period and the eNB may transmit the corresponding information to the UE through the system information (e.g., SIB2-NB) together with the NPRACH configuration. For example, the UL SF gap may be previously designated or defined in the standard document like {5 ms, 10 ms}. Characteristically, Alternative 2 may be applied when the eNB configures a preamble format that needs to use the UpPTS symbol. Here, when the preamble repetition is larger than 1, the preamble transmission period is set to 5 ms or 10 ms so that the preamble may be configured to be continuously transmitted in the UpPTS symbol+the UL SF. (Alternative 3) Alternative 3 is a method that may prevent long occupation for NPRACH preamble transmission on a specific carrier by transmitting a hopping flag. The aforementioned alternatives may be simultaneously applied and used. That is, a combination of alternatives 1 and 3 or a combination of alternatives 2 and 3 may be possible. When the eNB does not transmit UL SF gap related parameters (e.g., UL SF gap or NPRACH preamble transmission period) or the eNB transmits the UL SF gap related parameters, but the UE does not receive the UL SF gap related parameters, the UL SF gap related parameters may be configured to be transmitted as large as the repetition number configured through the UL SF (i.e., the UE may know the corresponding UL SF through the NPRACH configuration) capable of transmitting the actual preamble by starting preamble transmission from the preconfigured starting UL SF. In addition, when a situation is considered in which a preamble format (e.g., a preamble format whose TC is slightly larger than 1 ms, where the TC is desired to be smaller than 2 ms) needs to use the UpPTS symbol (where the number of UpPTS symbols is configurable) and the repetition number which is not yet transmitted remains, if the eNB does not transmit the UL SF gap related parameters to the UE (i.e., when the preamble repetition transmission may be performed by using the UL SFs capable of transmitting the actual preamble by starting from the configured starting UL SF), the UE may operate in one of the following methods. That is, the UE may be configured to repeat one of the following methods until the remaining repetition number is lost. Further, when the eNB uses the preamble format that needs to use the UpPTS symbol, an NPRACH configuration index table is preferably configured so as to include a UL SF (i.e., a first UL SF among the consecutive UL SFs) positioned immediately after a special SF. (Alternative A) (the number of UpPTS symbols configured)×(the number of consecutive UL SFs among the UL SFs capable of transmitting the actual preamble) is regarded as the number of UpPTS symbols that may be used for preamble transmission. In addition, a point advanced by the calculated number of UpPTS symbols is regarded as a starting point of the preamble transmission and the preamble (or mini-preamble) corresponding to the TC is repeatedly transmitted as large as the number of consecutive UL SFs. In this case, the mini-preamble is a subset of the preamble and a structure in which the mini-preambles are collected to form one preamble may be considered. (Alternative B) A point advanced by the number of configured UpPTS symbols is regarded as the starting point and the preamble (or mini-preamble) corresponding to the TC may be repeatedly transmitted as large as the number of consecutive UL SFs among the UL SFs capable of transmitting the actual preamble. In this case, since ends of the repeatedly transmitted symbol groups invade a region of the UL SF or DL SF which is not capable of transmitting the actual preamble, it may be configured such that a symbol(s) which invade the region of the UL SF or DL SF which is not capable of transmitting the actual preamble among symbols of a last symbol group is dropped and the corresponding time duration is included in the GT. However, when the number of symbols constituting the symbol group is N and the number of symbols to be dropped is N, it may be preferable that alternative B above is not used. The reason is that dropping the N symbols may mean dropping all except for only the CP of the symbol group. The reason is that the eNB may not use a frequency gap (e.g., 3.75 kHz, 22.5 kHz, etc.) from the immediately preceding symbol group. Since alternative B uses UpPTS symbols less than those of alternative A, alternative B may less influence legacy LTE. However, since the UE needs to drop a specific symbol(s) constituting the symbol group, damage may occur in terms of MCL. (Alternative C) The point advanced by the number of configured UpPTS symbols is regarded as the starting point and the preamble (or mini-preamble) corresponding to the TC may be repeatedly transmitted as large as the number of consecutive UL SFs among the UL SFs capable of transmitting the actual preamble. In this case, since the ends of the repeatedly transmitted symbol groups invade a UL SF or DL SF which may not transmit the actual preamble, a preamble (or mini-preamble) corresponding to the last TC may be configured to be postponed differently from alternative B described above and the corresponding time duration may be configured to be included in the GT. In this case, in the case of postpone, when a UL SF which is not consecutive with the last transmitted preamble and is positioned immediately next to the special SF is the UL SF capable of transmitting the actual preamble, the UE may regard the transmission point advanced by the number of configured UpPTS symbols from the corresponding UL SF as a transmission point and transmit the preamble (or mini-preamble) corresponding to the TC which is not transmitted above. Additionally, format 0 of Table 6 is changed from Case 1 to Case 2 and additionally, when the TC is 2 ms, 5 formats may be finally defined as shown in Table 8 below by considering format 2A of G=3 and P=6. In format 0 considered in the example described above, G=3 and P=3, but in the case of Table 8, G=3 and P=6 are considered. Accordingly, it may be considered that a case of repetition 2 of G=3 and P=3 may be the same as a case of repetition 1 of G=3 and P=6. Table 8 is a table showing examples of TDD NPRACH preamble formats. TABLE 8SEQCellPreambleCPlengthGuardcoverageparameterlength(N × 8192 TS)GPperiodTC(km)Format 01572 TS1 × 8192 TS361428 TS1 × 30720 TS6.97Format 14827 TS1 × 8192 TS244682 TS1 × 30720 TS22.86Format 2A3072 TS2 × 8192 TS363072 TS2 × 30720 TS15Format 28192 TS2 × 8192 TS2412288 TS2 × 30720 TS39.30Format 38192 TS4 × 8192 TS2410240 TS3 × 30720 TS39.30 Preamble formats 0, 1, 2A, 2, and 3 of Table 8 may be expressed asFIGS.12(a),12(b),12(c),12(d), and10(e), respectively. That is,FIG.12is a diagram illustrating an example of a TDD NPRACH preamble format proposed by this specification. When such a case is considered, Table 7 above may be applied as shown in Table 9 below. It is apparent that Table 9 is an example and all states of the table are also examples and may have different values. Characteristically, Table 9 includes all cases other than a case in which the resource is allocated to several carriers among values of a table used in the existing LTE TDD. It is apparent that Table 9 may be applied in the example described above. Table 9 is a table showing an example of the NPRACH configuration. TABLE 9NPRACHconfigurationPreambleUL/DL configurationIndexFormat012345600(1, 0, 2)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)(1, 0, 2)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)(1, 0, 2)1120(2, 0, 2)(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)(2, 0, 2)(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)(2, 0, 2)3140(1, 1, 2)(1, 1, 1)(1, 1, 0)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 1, 1)5160(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 2)7180(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 1, 1)91100(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 1)111120(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 2)131(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 1)140(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 1)151(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)160(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)171(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 1)180(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 1)191(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 1)200(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 1)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)211(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)220N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)231(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)240(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)251(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 1)260(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)271(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)280(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)291(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 1)300(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)311(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)320(0, 0, 1)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A331(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 2)340(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A351(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 2)360(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A371(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 2)382A(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 0, 1)392402A(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)N/A(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)N/A(2, 0, 1)412422A(1, 1, 1)(1, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(1, 1, 0)432442A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 1)452462A(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 1, 0)472482A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)492(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)503(1, 0, 0)N/AN/A(1, 0, 0)N/AN/A(1, 0, 0)513(2, 0, 0)N/AN/A(2, 0, 0)N/AN/A(2, 0, 0)523(1, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A533(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)543(0, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A553(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 1, 0)56-63N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A Additionally, the eNB may be configured to separate preamble format information and available UL SF information (i.e., the NPRACH configuration table) and configure the separated preamble format information and available UL SF information through the SIB (e.g., SIB2-NB and SIB22-NB) by separately making Table 9 above into three tables (i.e., 1 ms, 2 ms, and 3 ms) according to the TC value of each preamble format. In this case, the preamble format may be similarly configured for each CE level and a basis therefor will be described below. When an initial UE selects a carrier to transmit the preamble, the initial UE is configured to select one carrier through a probability that the preamble format will be configured among a plurality of carriers at the same CE level. However, the reason is that in a case where the UEs at the same CE level may transmit different preamble formats even though the initial UE selects a different carrier, the case becomes an undesirable operation. The table indicating the preamble format may be configured by using information of 3 bits as shown in Table 10 below. Table 10 is a table showing an example of a TDD NPRACH preamble format. TABLE 10PreambleSEQ lengthCell coverageIndexparameterCP length(N × 8192 TS)GPTC(km)0Format 01572 TS1 × 8192 TS361 × 30720 TS6.971Format 14827 TS1 × 8192 TS241 × 30720 TS22.862Format 2A3072 TS2 × 8192 TS362 × 30720 TS153Format 28192 TS2 × 8192 TS242 × 30720 TS39.304Format 38192 TS4 × 8192 TS243 × 30720 TS39.305-8Reserved Additionally, since the UL/DL configuration information is transmitted to SIB1-NB, the UE may know the UL/DL configuration by reporting the SIB1-NB and know how many consecutive UL SFs exist. In addition, when the preamble format which may be used is predesignated according to the number of consecutive UL SFs, the UE may be configured to be configured with the preamble format through the SIB (e.g., SIB2-NB) by referring to table predefined according to the UL/DL configuration. Characteristically, in the case of UL/DL configurations #2 and #5, since the number of consecutive UL SFs is 1, only preamble formats (i.e., preamble format 0 and preamble format 1) in which the TC is 1×30720 TS may be configured to be configured. Therefore, in the case of UL/DL configurations #2 and #5, the UE may be configured with the NPRACH preamble format by using only 1 bit by referring to Table 11 instead of referring to Table 10. Additionally, in the case of UL/DL configurations #1 and #4 (including up to #6 when #6 is also used), since the (minimum) number of consecutive UL SFs is 2, only preamble formats (i.e., preamble format 0, preamble format 1, preamble format 2A, and preamble format 2) in which the TC is 1×30720 TS and 2×30720 TS may be configured to be configured. Therefore, in the case of UL/DL configurations #1 and #4 (including even #6 when #6 is also used), the UE may be configured with the NPRACH preamble format by using only 2 bits by referring to Table 12 instead of referring to Table 10. Additionally, in the case of UL/DL configuration #3 (including even #6 when #6 is also used), since the (maximum) number of consecutive UL SFs is 3, even preamble formats (i.e., preamble format 0, preamble format 1, preamble format 2A, preamble format 2, and preamble format 3) in which the TC is 1×30720 TS, 2×30720 TS, and 3×30720 TS may be configured to be configured. Therefore, in the case of UL/DL configuration #3 (including even #6 when #6 is also used), the UE may be configured with the NPRACH preamble format by using 3 bits by referring to Table 10. Table 11 is a table showing an example of a TDD NPRACH preamble format. TABLE 11PreambleSEQ lengthCell coverageIndexparameterCP length(N × 8192 TS)GPTC(km)0Format 01572 TS1 × 8192 TS361 × 30720 TS6.971Format 14827 TS1 × 8192 TS241 × 30720 TS22.86 Table 12 is a table showing an example of the TDD NPRACH preamble format. TABLE 12PreambleSEQ lengthCell coverageIndexparameterCP length(N × 8192 TS)GPTC(km)0Format 01572 TS1 × 8192 TS361 × 30720 TS6.971Format 14827 TS1 × 8192 TS241 × 30720 TS22.862Format 2A3072 TS2 × 8192 TS362 × 30720 TS153Format 28192 TS2 × 8192 TS242 × 30720 TS39.30 Meanwhile, the table for the available UL SF which may be applied may be configured to be predetermined according to the TC value of the preamble format. That is, a table for available UL SF to be referred to according to the preamble format or a length of the preamble format configured by the UE may be configured to be determined. For example, considering Table 8 above, UEs configured to use formats 0 and 1 may find out available UL SF information by referring to Table 13, UEs configured to use formats 2A and2may find out available UL SF information by referring to Table 14, and UE configured to use format 3 may find out the available UL SF information by referring to Table 15. In respect to an advantage when separating and transmitting the information, an amount of information to be transmitted through the SIB may be reduced as compared with a case where a value of 6 bits (i.e., 64 states) is continuously independently transmitted for all NPRACH configurations (for each CE level and for each carrier). Specifically, for example, since the number of NPRACH configurations which one eNB may maximally set is 3 (max CE level)×16 (1+max non-carrier number)=48 and 6 bits are required per resource, a total of maximum 48×6=288 bits are required. However, since the preamble format (i.e., 0, 1, 2A, 2, and 3) is determined by using 3 bits for each CE level and a maximum of 5 bits (i.e., since Table 8 shows 32 states) are required per resource, 3 (max CE level)×3 (max preamble format)+3 (max CE level)×16 (1+max non-anchor carrier number)×5=249 bits are required. When preamble format 3 is used in all CE levels, since 3 bits are required per resource, 3 (max CE level)×3 (max preamble format)+3 (max CE level)×16 (1+max non-anchor carrier number)×3=153 bits are required. Therefore, a maximum of 135 bits (approximately 46%) may be reduced. Additionally, when it is assumed that the number of preamble formats which may be configured may be changed depending on the UL/DL configuration proposed above, a maximum of 141 bits (approximately 49%) may be reduced. Table 13 is a table showing an example of the NPRACH configuration table for TC=1 ms (formats 0 and 1 in Table 6). TABLE 13NPRACHconfigurationUL/DL configurationIndex01234560(1, 0, 2)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)(1, 0, 2)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)(1, 0, 2)1(2, 0, 2)(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)(2, 0, 2)(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)(2, 0, 2)2(1, 1, 2)(1, 1, 1)(1, 1, 0)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 1, 1)3(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 2)4(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 1, 1)5(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 1)6(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 1)7(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)8(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 1)9(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 1)10(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 1)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)11N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)12(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 1)13(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)14(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 1)15(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)16(0, 0, 1)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 2)17(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 2)18(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 2)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 2)19-31N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A Table 14 is a table showing an example of the NPRACH configuration table for TC=2 ms (formats 2A and 2 in Table 6). TABLE 14NPRACHconfigurationUL/DL configurationIndex01234560(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 0, 1)1(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)N/A(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)N/A(2, 0, 1)2(1, 1, 1)(1, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(1, 1, 0)3(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 1)4(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 1, 0)5(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 0)6-7N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A Table 15 is a table showing an example of the NPRACH configuration table for TC=3 ms (format 3 in Table 6). TABLE 15NPRACHconfigurationUL/DL configurationIndex01234560(1, 0, 0)N/AN/A(1, 0, 0)N/AN/A(1, 0, 0)1(2, 0, 0)N/AN/A(2, 0, 0)N/AN/A(2, 0, 0)2(1, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A3(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)4(0, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A5(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 1, 0)6-7N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A Additionally, since it is predicted that the existing UL/DL configurations #0 and #6 are not used in TDD NB-IoT, when this is reflected, Tables 9, 13, 14, and 15 may be changed and used as in Tables 16, 17, 18, and 19 below. In this case, the advantage mentioned above becomes more prominent. That is, when a total of 48×6=288 bits are required in the related art, the preamble format (i.e., 0, 1, 2A, 2, and 3) is determined by using 3 bits for each CE level and a maximum of 4 bits (i.e., since Table 17 shows 16 states) are required per resource, and as a result, 3 (max CE level)×3 (max preamble format)+3 (max CE level)×16(1+max non-anchor carrier number)×4=201 bits are required. When preamble format 3 is used in all CE levels, since 2 bits are required per resource, 3 (max CE level)×3 (max preamble format)+3 (max CE level)×16 (1+max non-anchor carrier number)×2=105 bits are required. That is, a maximum of 183 bits (approximately 64%) may be reduced. Additionally, when it is assumed that the number of preamble formats which may be configured may be changed depending on the UL/DL configuration proposed above, a maximum of 189 bits (approximately 66%) may be reduced. Table 16 is a table showing an example of the NPRACH configuration without UL/DL configurations #0 and #6. TABLE 16NPRACHconfigurationPreambleUL/DL configurationIndexFormat1234500(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)(1, 0, 2)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)1120(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)(2, 0, 2)(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)3140(1, 1, 1)(1, 1, 0)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A5160(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)7180(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A91100(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A111120(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A131(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)140(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A151(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)160N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A171(0, 0, 1)180(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 0)191(0, 0, 1)N/A(0, 0, 1)N/AN/A(0, 1, 1)(0, 0, 2)200(0, 0, 1)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)211220(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 0)231240(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)251262A(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A272282A(2, 0, 0)N/A(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)N/A292302A(1, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A312322A(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A332342A(0, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A352362A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 1, 0)372383N/AN/A(1, 0, 0)N/AN/A393N/AN/A(2, 0, 0)N/AN/A403N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A41-63N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A Table 17 is a table showing an example of the NPRACH configuration for TC=1 ms (formats 0 and 1 in Table 6) without UL/DL configurations #0 and #6. TABLE 17NPRACHconfigurationUL/DL configurationIndex123450(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)(1, 0, 2)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)1(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)(2, 0, 2)(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)2(1, 1, 1)(1, 1, 0)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A3(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)4(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A5(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A6(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)7(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 2)8N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 1)9(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 1)(0, 0, 2)10(0, 0, 1)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)11(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 0)12(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 1, 1)13-15N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A Table 18 is a table showing an example of the NPRACH configuration for TC=2 ms (formats 2A and 2 in Table 6) without UL/DL configurations #0 and #6. TABLE 18NPRACHconfigurationUL/DL configurationIndex123450(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A1(2, 0, 0)N/A(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)N/A2(1, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A3(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A4(0, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A5(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 1, 0)6-7N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A Table 19 is a table showing an example of the NPRACH configuration for TC=1 ms (format 3 in Table 6) without UL/DL configurations #0 and #6. TABLE 19NPRACHconfigurationUL/DL configurationIndex123450N/AN/A(1, 0, 0)N/AN/A1N/AN/A(2, 0, 0)N/AN/A2N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A3N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A Additionally, common information such as the preamble format configured to be used at the same CE level may be configured to be configured via SIB (e.g., SIB2-NB). Characteristically, the corresponding common information may be configured to be continuously applied in all carriers (anchor+non-anchor(s)) constituting the NPRACH configuration regardless of an operation mode. Additionally, since the information is configured independently (configured in the SIB22-NB because of a non-anchor configuration) by using an additional field according to each carrier (non-carriers other than the anchor), the information may be configured to be changeable. That is, when there is no corresponding additional field, the common information carried through the SIB (e.g., SIB2-NB) may be configured to be applied. Characteristically, such an additional operation may be introduced in a standalone mode. Furthermore, even in the available UL SF to be defined at the same CE level, the transmitted common information may be configured to be used through the SIB (e.g., SIB2-NB). Characteristically, the corresponding common information may be configured to be continuously applied in all carriers (anchor+non-anchor(s)) constituting the NPRACH configuration regardless of an operation mode. Additionally, since the information is configured independently (configured in the SIB22-NB because of a non-anchor configuration) by using an additional field according to each carrier (non-carriers other than the anchor), the information may be configured to be changeable. That is, when there is no corresponding additional field, the common information carried to the SIB (e.g., SIB2-NB) may be configured to be applied. Characteristically, such an additional operation may be introduced in a standalone mode. When such a scheme is introduced, there is an advantage that more bits may be reduced, but since the position of the available UL SF is the same regardless of the carrier, a quantity of UL resources of the anchor carrier probably becomes a bottleneck so that the resource of the non-anchor carrier may not be efficiently used. However, such a method may be considered due to an advantage that the amount of information to be transmitted through the SIB is small. Additionally, even in the preamble format and/or available UL SF to be used regardless of the CE level and the carrier type, the transmitted common information may be configured to be used through the SIB (e.g., SIB2-NB). This configuration has an advantage that the amount of configured information is remarkably reduced, but a disadvantage that factors for supporting different MCL for each CE level are restricted to only the repetition number and/or a disadvantage in terms of resource utilization. Additionally, the eNB may configure whether to use repetition number 1 according to a specific NPRACH preamble format to the UE through the SIB (e.g., SIB2-NB). Characteristically, the corresponding information may be common information having the same value regardless of the CE level and/or carrier type. Specifically, when a specific eNB configures format 1, format 2, and format 3 in which G=2 and P=4 among five formats defined in Table 6 above to the UEs, whether to use repetition number 1 may be configured to be selected and notified. In this case, it is apparent that a repetition number to be actually used also needs to be configured. In a method for notifying the contents, first, (1) a repetition number set may be defined as the same value (i.e., {n1, n2, n4, n8, n16, n32, n64, n128}) as FDD in the standard document in advance, and whether to use repetition #1 may be indicated as on or off by using a 1-bit flag through the SIB. Such a method has an advantage that the corresponding information may be notified by only additional 1 bit. Second, (2) in the other method, one of two different repetition number sets including or not including repetition #1 may be configured to the UE through the SIB (e.g., SIB2-NB). For example, two different repetition number sets may be constituted by {n1, n2, n4, n8, n16, n32, n64, n128} and {n2, n4, n8, n16, n24, n32, n64, n128}. Such a method has an advantage that the eNB may more efficiently use the UL resource by further including one intermediate value such as n24 instead of not using repetition #1. As described above, a reason for selectively selecting the repetition number by the eNB is that performance may be guaranteed even though the eNB uses repetition #1 according to implementation (e.g., ML type receiver) or the performance may not be guaranteed in the case of using repetition #1 (e.g., Differential type receiver). It is apparent that the proposals, method, and alternatives described above may be applied even in method 2 to be described below and methods therethan. (Method 2) Method 2 relates to a method in which a starting UL SF that may be transmitted is first configured according to the TC and the UL/DL configuration and the eNB then transmits the starting UL SF to the UE with the NPRACH configuration index through the system information (e.g., SIB2-NB). In this case, characteristically, it is preferable that there is one starting UL SF (although a plurality of starting UL SF is possible) for each NPRACH configuration index. The reason is that it is advantageous that a starting SF of a preamble to be transmitted to NPRACH resources configured by the same CE level is unified into one in terms of eNB reception and decoding. Additionally, for preamble repetition (in this case, the repetition number is configured via the system information (e.g., SIB2-NB)), the period between the starting UL SFs may be configured to be transmitted through the system information (e.g., SIB2-NB). In this method, when the starting SF is defined differently from method 2 and the UE decides to start transmission of the preamble to the corresponding starting SF, the UE may be configured to transmit the preamble as large as the configured repetition number by using UL SFs which exist after starting from the starting UL SF. In other words, although method 2 may be considered as a special case of method 1 described above, it is advantageous that the NPRACH configuration index may be configured to be smaller than method 1. That is, in method 2, overload of the SIB is reduced. For example, a table for the above configuration may be the same as shown in Table 20, and when Table 20 is compared with Table 7, it can be seen that Table 20 is configured only by less states than Table 7. Table 20 is a table showing an example of the NPRACH configuration. TABLE 20NPRACHconfigurationPreambleUL/DL configurationIndexFormat012345600(1, 0, 2)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)(1, 0, 2)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)(1, 0, 2)1120(2, 0, 2)(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)(2, 0, 2)(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)(2, 0, 2)3140(1, 1, 2)(1, 1, 1)(1, 1, 0)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 1, 1)5160(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 2)7180(0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 1, 1)91100(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 1)111120(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 1, 0)131140(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)151160(0, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A171182(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 0, 1)192(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)N/A(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)N/A(2, 0, 1)202(1, 1, 1)(1, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A(1, 1, 0)212(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 1)222(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 1, 0)232(0, 0, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A(0, 0, 0)242(0, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A253(1, 0, 0)N/AN/A(1, 0, 0)N/AN/A(1, 0, 0)263(2, 0, 0)N/AN/A(2, 0, 0)N/AN/A(2, 0, 0)273(1, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A283(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)293(0, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A30N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A31N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A A case where the UE receives the NPRACH configuration index, the available UL SF, the preamble repetition number, the NPRACH periodicity, the UL/DL configuration, and the like from the eNB through the SIB will be described as an example. When the UE is configured with the NPRACH configuration index as ‘8’ (see Table 20), is configured with the preamble repetition number as ‘8’, is configured with the NPRACH periodicity as ‘80 ms’, and is configured with the UL/DL configuration as ‘#1’, the UE may transmit the preamble as illustrated inFIG.13. Here, since the NPRACH configuration index is 8, the preamble format is 0 and a starting UL subframe becomes a second UL subframe of a second half frame. For reference, in method 2, it is configured that the preamble may be transmitted in all UL subframes unless there is a special restriction. Further, the preamble starting point may be1310when a start radio frame rule and the NPRACH periodicity are considered. In addition, since the repetition number is 8, it can be seen that a single preamble (i.e., 3 consecutive symbol groups) is repeatedly transmitted through 8 UL SFs. Characteristically, when positive hopping and negative hopping are configured to coexist during preamble repetition transmission, the following rules may be configured to be used. (Rule I) An initial preamble may be configured to be transmitted by the positive hopping or the negative hopping according to an arbitrarily selected subcarrier index (similarly in FDD). (Rule II-1) When the UE transmits the preamble to the previous UL SF and there is a UL SF capable of transmitting the preamble immediately after the transmission of the preamble, the preamble may be configured to be transmitted by randomly selecting one of subcarriers which may be transmitted hopping in an opposite direction (in the case of the previous positive hopping, negative hopping at this time and in the case of the previous negative hopping, positive hopping at this time) to the previously transmitted hopping. (Rule II-2) When the UE transmits the preamble to the previous UL SF and there is no UL SF capable of transmitting the preamble immediately after the transmission of the preamble (i.e., when a next SF is a downlink subframe), the preamble may be configured to be transmitted by using the positive hopping or negative hopping according to the arbitrarily selected subcarrier index in a first UL SF capable of transmitting the preamble which exists thereafter. Such a rule may be applied to a preamble format defined so that the single preamble is within 1 ms and applied even when the single preamble is configured by the sum of G symbol groups which may be separated and transmitted. FIG.13is a diagram illustrating an example of transmission of a preamble proposed by this specification. Additionally, a case where other UEs may not transmit the UL data due to transmission of a preamble occupying the UL SF for a long time may occur. Accordingly, a UL SF gap for UL data transmission of other UEs may be defined in the middle of transmission of the NPRACH preamble. The eNB may be configured to configurably transmit the UL SF gap through the system information (e.g., SIB2-NB). Hereinafter, a method that may inform the UL SF gap will be described in more detail. (Alternative 1) Alternative 1 relates to a method in which the UL SF gap is defined as the number of UL SFs which the UE needs to skip and the eNB transmits the corresponding information to the UE through the system information (e.g., SIB2-NB) together with the NPRACH configuration. For example, the UL SF gap may be previously designated or defined in a standard document as a specific set such as {1SF, 2SF, 3SF, 4SF, 5SF, 6SF, 8SF, 16SF, 32SF}, etc. Characteristically, only when the configured preamble repetition value is equal to or more than a specific value NConsecutive_TX (e.g., NConsecutive_TX=16) (or first specific value), the eNB may be configured to configure the UL SF gap. Additionally, after a preamble repetition as large as a specific value MConsecutive_TX (e.g., 32) (or second specific value) is completed, the UL SF gap may be configurably configured so as to be defined. Characteristically, when the eNB does not transmit the MConsecutive_TX value, the MConsecutive_TX value may become the NConsecutive_TX value defined above. In this case, defining NConsecutive_TX MConsecutive_TX may be preferable. (Alternative 2) The UL SF gap is defined as the NPRACH preamble transmission period and the eNB may transmit the corresponding information to the UE through the system information (e.g., SIB2-NB) together with the NPRACH configuration. For example, the UL SF gap may be previously designated or defined in the standard document like {5 ms, 10 ms}. Characteristically, Alternative 2 may be applied when the eNB configures a preamble format that needs to use the UpPTS symbol. Here, when the preamble repetition is larger than 1, the preamble transmission period is set to 5 ms or 10 ms so that the preamble may be configured to be continuously transmitted in the UpPTS symbol+the UL SF. (Alternative 3) Alternative 3 is a method that may prevent long occupation for NPRACH preamble transmission on a specific carrier by transmitting a hopping flag. The aforementioned alternatives may be simultaneously applied and used. That is, a combination of alternatives 1 and 3 or a combination of alternatives 2 and 3 may be possible. When the eNB does not transmit UL SF gap related parameters (e.g., UL SF gap or NPRACH preamble transmission period) or the eNB transmits the UL SF gap related parameters, but the UE does not receive the UL SF gap related parameters, the UL SF gap related parameters may be configured to be transmitted as large as the repetition number configured through the UL SF (i.e., the UE may know the corresponding UL SF through the NPRACH configuration) capable of transmitting the actual preamble by starting preamble transmission from the preconfigured starting UL SF. In addition, when a situation is considered in which a preamble format (e.g., a preamble format whose TC is slightly larger than 1 ms, where the TC is desired to be smaller than 2 ms) needs to use the UpPTS symbol (where the number of UpPTS symbols is configurable) and the repetition number which is not yet transmitted remains, if the eNB does not transmit the UL SF gap related parameters to the UE (i.e., when the preamble repetition transmission may be performed by using the UL SFs capable of transmitting the actual preamble by starting from the configured starting UL SF), the UE may operate in one of the following methods. That is, the UE may be configured to repeat one of the following methods until the remaining repetition number is lost. (Alternative A) (the number of UpPTS symbols configured)×(the number of consecutive UL SFs among the UL SFs capable of transmitting the actual preamble) is regarded as the number of UpPTS symbols that may be used for preamble transmission. In addition, a point advanced by the calculated number of UpPTS symbols is regarded as a starting point of the preamble transmission and the preamble (or mini-preamble) corresponding to the TC is repeatedly transmitted as large as the number of consecutive UL SFs. In this case, the mini-preamble is a subset of the preamble and a structure in which the mini-preambles are collected to form one preamble may be considered. (Alternative B) The point advanced by the number of configured UpPTS symbols is regarded as the starting point and the preamble (or mini-preamble) corresponding to the TC may be repeatedly transmitted as large as the number of consecutive UL SFs among the UL SFs capable of transmitting the actual preamble. In this case, since ends of the repeatedly transmitted symbol groups invade a region of the UL SF or DL SF which is not capable of transmitting the actual preamble, it may be configured such that a symbol(s) which invade the region of the UL SF or DL SF which is not capable of transmitting the actual preamble among symbols of a last symbol group is dropped and the corresponding time duration is included in the GT. However, when the number of symbols constituting the symbol group is N and the number of symbols to be dropped is N, it may be preferable that alternative B above is not used. The reason is that dropping the N symbols may mean dropping all except for only the CP of the symbol group. The reason is that the eNB may not use a frequency gap (e.g., 3.75 kHz, 22.5 kHz, etc.) from the immediately preceding symbol group. Since alternative B uses UpPTS symbols less than those of alternative A, alternative B may less influence legacy LTE. However, since the UE needs to drop a specific symbol(s) constituting the symbol group, damage may occur in terms of MCL. (Alternative C) The point advanced by the number of configured UpPTS symbols is regarded as the starting point and the preamble (or mini-preamble) corresponding to the TC may be repeatedly transmitted as large as the number of consecutive UL SFs among the UL SFs capable of transmitting the actual preamble. In this case, since the ends of the repeatedly transmitted symbol groups invade a UL SF or DL SF which may not transmit the actual preamble, a preamble (or mini-preamble) corresponding to the last TC may be configured to be postponed differently from alternative B described above and the corresponding time duration may be configured to be included in the GT. In this case, in the case of postpone, when a UL SF which is not consecutive with the last transmitted preamble and is positioned immediately next to the special SF is the UL SF capable of transmitting the actual preamble, the UE may regard the transmission point advanced by the number of configured UpPTS symbols from the corresponding UL SF as a transmission point and transmit the preamble (or mini-preamble) corresponding to the TC which is not transmitted above. As in method 1, even in method 2, when a case where 5 preamble formats of Table 6 are defined is reflected, Table 20 may be replaced with Table 21 and applied. In this case, in Table 21, it is assumed that UL/DL configurations #0 and #6 are not used. Table 21 is a table showing an example of the NPRACH configuration without UL/DL configurations #0 and #6. TABLE 21NPRACHconfigurationPreambleUL/DL configurationIndexFormat1234500(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)(1, 0, 2)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)1120(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)(2, 0, 2)(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)3140(1, 1, 1)(1, 1, 0)(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A5160(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)(0, 0, 2)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)7180(0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0)(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A91100(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A111120(0, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A131142A(1, 0, 0)N/A(1, 0, 1)(1, 0, 0)N/A152162A(2, 0, 0)N/A(2, 0, 1)(2, 0, 0)N/A172182A(1, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A192202A(0, 0, 0)N/A(0, 0, 1)(0, 0, 0)N/A212222A(0, 1, 0)N/AN/AN/AN/A232243N/AN/A(1, 0, 0)N/AN/A253N/AN/A(2, 0, 0)N/AN/A263N/AN/A(0, 0, 0)N/AN/A27-313N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A Configurable Details in Enhancement for NB-IoT Next, configurable details in enhancement for NB-IoT will be described. In the case of NB-IoT of Rel. 15, reliability/range enhancement for a legacy NPRACH format used in FDD is underway. In the meantime, symbol level scrambling and symbol group level scrambling are presented as the resolutions for the reliability enhancement. Hereinafter, a method in which when the symbol level scrambling is additionally applied to the existing preamble format for NPRACH enhancement, the eNB configures the number of symbols to be scrambled by the UE will be described. That is, when the eNB transmits the NPRACH preamble to the UE through the SIB (e.g., SIB2, SIB22, etc.), the number of symbols to scramble the same value may be configured to be configured at the time of supporting the symbol level scrambling. Characteristically, the number (e.g., X) of configurable symbols needs to be equal to or smaller than the maximum number (i.e., 6) of symbols which a single symbol group may have. For example, X may become 1, 2, 3, 6, etc. Here, 4 and 5 may be considered, but preferably, it is preferable to consider divisors for the maximum number of symbols which the single symbol group may have. The reason is that the divisors are values which may be obtained by dividing the maximum number of symbols equally. For example, when 6 symbols are scrambled as the same value, it may be considered that this may be equivalent to the symbol group level scrambling. When such a method is applied, the NPRACH reliability between adjacent cells may be enhanced. Characteristically, it may be preferable that several cells installed at adjacent places use the same value for each same provider in terms of reducing inter-cell interference. Additionally, when there are many cases that may be X, it is possible to set a value to be used mainly in advance and make a table for the set value and for the eNB to indicate the value. Additionally, the eNB may be configured to configure the number of symbols to scramble the same value, but may be configured to select and indicate one of the symbol level and the symbol group level. This method may have the same result as selecting X between 1 and 6 among the methods mentioned above. This method also has an advantage of enhancing the NPRACH reliability between the adjacent cells. Characteristically, it may be preferable that several cells installed at adjacent places use the same value for each same provider in terms of reducing inter-cell interference. Additionally, the eNB may explicitly (e.g., 1 bit additional field) indicate to the UE whether the enhanced preamble may be used with the legacy NPRACH resource configuration via the SIB (e.g., SIB2 and/or SIB22). Further, the eNB may indicate a region for the enhanced preamble through resource partitioning of the corresponding legacy NPRACH resource. The corresponding information may be transmitted to be cell specific and/or CE level specific, but it may be preferable that the corresponding information is transmitted to be NPRACH resource specific (i.e., independently). The reason is that there is no guarantee that a size of the NPRACH resource is continuously the same because each NPRACH resource may be independently configured. Further, when the eNB configures the NPRACH resource for the enhanced preamble, an enhanced UE may transmit only the enhanced preamble according to a specific condition, transmit only a legacy preamble, or transmit any one of the enhanced preamble and a legacy preamble. For example, only a specific preamble (e.g., enhanced preamble and/or legacy preamble) may be transmitted according to a reference signal received power (RSRP) value measured by the UE or according to a CE level value determined through the RSRP value measured by the UE and a threshold value configured from the eNB. Since the reliability enhancement is to reduce the inter-cell interference, performance of a UE (i.e., a UE having a good RSRP value or a UE at a low CE level) positioned at a cell center may be guaranteed even only by the legacy preamble, and as a result, there is no problem even though either the legacy preamble or the enhanced preamble is used. On the contrary, it may be preferable that a UE (i.e., a UE having a bad RSRP value or a UE at a high CE level) positioned at a cell edge uses the enhanced preamble for the reliability enhancement. Additionally, for the enhanced preamble that shares the legacy NPRACH resource, the eNB may be configured to independently configure a resource region for the enhanced preamble for each CE level and/or each carrier. The corresponding method may be preferable because the eNB efficiently manages the resource and a related legacy configuration is independently configured for each CE level and each carrier. In this case, a UE that desires to transmit the enhanced preamble may be configured to select one of carriers to which the resource for the enhanced preamble is allocated and transmit MSG1 by reporting NPRACH resources configured in multiple carriers in the same CE level. Here, MSG1 means the preamble. More specifically, a carrier for transmitting MSG1 at the same CE level is determined through a probability at present and in this case, a probability for selecting the anchor carrier is configured through the SIB and a probability for selecting one of one or more multiple non-anchor carriers is determined like (1−nprach-ProbabilityAnchor)/(the number of non-anchor NPRACH resources). Expression of nprach-ProbabilityAnchor/the number of non-anchor NPRACH resources means dividing an nprach-ProbabilityAnchor value by the number of non-anchor NPRACH resources. When the carrier is selected in the related art, since the UE that desires to transmit the enhanced preamble selects the carrier through a predetermined probability and then, a resource for the corresponding NPRACH resource to transmit the enhanced preamble may not be allocated as a verification result, this is not a preferable operation. Accordingly, the UE that desires to transmit the enhanced preamble may change values of parameters which enter an equation of a probability for selecting one of the non-anchor carriers as follows. When the NPRACH resources configured in multiple carriers are verified in the same CE level and the resource for the enhanced preamble is not allocated to the anchor carrier, the UE regards the nprach-ProbabilityAnchor as 0 and determines the probability for selecting the non-anchor carrier. In addition/alternatively, a value for the number of non-anchor NPRACH resources of the above equation may be configured to determine the probability for selecting the non-anchor carrier by using the number of non-anchor carriers to which the resource for the enhanced preamble is allocated. When the UE operates as described above, the UE that desires to transmit the enhanced preamble may continuously select the carrier to which the resource for transmitting the enhanced preamble is allocated. Additionally, in the proposed method, the UEs that desires to transmit the enhanced preamble verify the NPRACH resources configured in multiple carriers in the same CE level, and select one of the carriers to which the resource for the enhanced preamble is allocated and transmit MSG1, but the UE may be configured to operate in one of methods (1) and (2) presented below when there is no carrier to which the resource for the enhanced preamble is allocated. (1) Since there is no carrier to which the resource for the enhanced preamble is allocated, one of carriers to which a resource for the legacy preamble is allocated may be configured to be selected through a probability configured similarly to a legacy operation to transmit the legacy preamble. This method is preferable in that a UE that intends to transmit the enhanced preamble selects one carrier and transmits the preamble even though there is no carrier in which the resource for the enhanced preamble is configured in following a legacy RACH procedure. That is, since there is no carrier that constitutes the NPRACH resource for transmitting the enhanced preamble, the legacy preamble is transmitted to the carrier constituting the legacy NPRARCH resource, but when a random access response (RAR) is not received at a predetermined number of attempts, the UE may be configured to shift to a next CE level and then, select one of the carriers constituting the NPRACH resource for the enhanced preamble in the corresponding CE level to transmit the enhanced preamble like the proposed method. Similarly even in this case, when there is no carrier constituting the NPRACH resource for the enhanced preamble in the corresponding CE level, one of the carriers constituting the legacy NPRACH resource may be selected to transmit the legacy preamble. A flow for the aforementioned method may be expressed by a flowchart as illustrated inFIG.14. FIG.14is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for transmitting an enhanced preamble proposed by this specification. (2) Since there is no carrier to which the resource for the enhanced preamble is allocated, the UE may be configured to shift to the next CE level, verify the NPRACH resources configured in the multiple carriers in the corresponding CE level, and select one of the carriers to which the resource for the enhanced preamble is allocated to transmit the enhanced preamble. The corresponding method has an advantage in that the UE that intends to transmit the enhanced preamble may continuously prioritize the transmission of the enhanced preamble. When there is no carrier in which the NPRACH resource capable of transmitting the enhanced preamble in the corresponding CE level even though the UE shifts to a final CE level, the UE may be configured to start an RACH procedure for transmitting the legacy preamble by returning to an initial CE level. The following method may operate similarly to the legacy RACH procedure. A flow when method (2) is applied is expressed by the flowchart as illustrated inFIG.15. FIG.15is a flowchart illustrating another example of the method for transmitting an enhanced preamble proposed by this specification. As illustrated inFIGS.14and15, a UE that intends to transmit enhanced MSG1 may represent a UE that is configured to transmit the enhanced MSG1 from a higher layer (e.g., NPDCCH order) or mean a UE that is capable of transmitting the enhanced MSG1. The enhanced preamble may mean an FDD enhancement preamble and mean a preamble for an EDT request. Additionally, a region for transmitting the enhanced preamble may be configured in a specific NPRACH resource and the corresponding region may be configured to be used as a region for notifying an MSG3 multi-tone capability. However, since it is considered that the region for transmitting the enhanced preamble is already configured in a contention free region, it may be preferable that a region for notifying an MSG multi-tone capability is not separately configured because the corresponding resource region is narrow. Therefore, a UE that transmits MSG1 to the region for transmitting the enhanced preamble may be configured to expect that MSG3 continuously transmits the single tone. Here, the MSG3 may mean UL transmission in which the UE performs transmission to the eNB in response to RAR (or MSG2). In this case, the UE that transmits the enhanced preamble may be configured to interpret the RAR differently from the legacy UE. A concrete method for this may be configured to use a 1-bit uplink subcarrier spacing field in an RAR UL grant to additionally represent a pre-allocated RAPID for the enhanced preamble. The corresponding RAR may be used for an enhanced preamble flag for confirmation that the eNB that receives the enhanced preamble transmits the RAR. In this case, characteristically, it may be configured that a subcarrier spacing is included in a 6-bit subcarrier indication field to be applied as shown in Table 22. The UE may know an allocated subcarrier and an uplink subcarrier spacing by receiving 6-bit information. Table 22 shows example of subcarrier indication and UL subcarrier spacing fields (6 bits). TABLE 22SubcarrierUplinkAllocatedindicationSubcarriersubcarriersfield (Isc)spacing (Δf)(nsc)0-473.75 kHzIsc48-5915 kHzIsc− 4860-63ReservedReserved Furthermore, when the MSG3 is configured to continuously expect transmission of the single tone, in a case where a region capable of notifying the Msg3 multi-tone capability while transmitting the legacy preamble to a specific NPRACH resource and the region for transmitting the enhanced preamble coexist, the UE that transmits the MSG1 to the region for transmitting the enhanced preamble may be configured to transmit the legacy preamble to the region capable of notifying the Msg3 multi-tone capability. In this case, a case where the region capable of notifying the Msg3 multi-tone capability is configured in the corresponding NPRACH resource itself indicates that the RSRP of the UE selecting the corresponding NPRACH resource is good and this may mean there is a high probability that the corresponding UE will be positioned at a cell center. Therefore, since the UE need not transmit the enhanced preamble required for inter cell interference or cell range enhancement, transmitting the legacy preamble to the region capable of notifying the Msg3 multi-tone capability may be a desirable operation. Invalid Subframe Handling for TDD NB-IoT Next, an invalid subframe handling method for TDD NB-IoT will be described. In the TDD NB-IoT, when the UE transmits the NPRACH preamble to the NPRACH resource configured by the eNB, there may be various methods that the UE may take for the corresponding invalid subframe by receiving invalid UL subframe bitmap information for a specific interval, which are summarized as follows. (Method 1) Method 1 relates to a method for repetitively transmitting the NPRACH format configured in a preconfigured NPRACH resource by the repetition number configured, regardless of the invalid UL subframe bitmap information. Method 1 may have an advantage in that method 1 is simple, but may have a disadvantage that when the corresponding subframe is a DL valid SF, the NPRACH preamble transmitted to the corresponding subframe may strongly interfere with downlink reception of UEs around the corresponding UE. (Method 1-1) Method 1-1 is similar to method 1 described above, but may be slightly different from method 1. More specifically, method 1-1 relates to a method for repeatedly transmitting the NPRACH format configured in the pre-configured NPRACH resource by the configured repetition number regardless of the invalid UL subframe bitmap information, but transmitting a preamble (i.e., symbol or symbol group(s) or single repetition unit) transmitted to an invalid UL subframe by setting transmission power to a specific value or less and has an advantage that method 1-1 may reduce strong interference to adjacent UEs. (Method 2) Method 2 may be configured to select and apply one of the following methods by comparing the pre-configured NPRACH resource by verifying the invalid UL subframe bitmap information. (Method 2-1) In method 2-1, the pre-configured NPRACH format is repeatedly transmitted to a region other than the invalid UL subframe by the pre-configured repetition number. (Method 2-2) In method 2-2, when all or some symbol groups need to be transmitted to a region including the invalid UL subframe, the configured NPRACH format is repeatedly transmitted by the pre-configured repetition number except for a part corresponding to the symbol group(s). (Method 2-3) In method 2-3, when all or some symbol groups need to be transmitted to the region including the invalid UL subframe, the pre-configured NPRACH format is repeatedly transmitted to a region other than a plurality of back-to-back transmitted symbol groups including the corresponding symbol group(s) by the pre-configured repetition number. (Method 2-4) In method 2-4, when all or some symbol groups need to be transmitted to the region including the invalid UL subframe, the pre-configured NPRACH format is repeatedly transmitted to a region other than the single preamble (i.e., single repetition unit) including the corresponding symbol group(s) by the pre-configured repetition number. (Method 2-5) In method 2-5, when all or some symbol groups need to be transmitted to the region including the invalid UL subframe, the pre-configured NPRACH format is repeatedly transmitted to a region other than a radio frame including the corresponding symbol group(s) by the pre-configured repetition number. A meaning of a phrase “specific region is excluded” mentioned in the method may be applied in different schemes as follows. (a) A preamble transmission number which corresponds to the specific region may also be configured to be included in a total repetition number. The corresponding method has a characteristic that a starting point and an ending point of the pre-configured NPRACH resource are continuously constant irrespective of the presence or absence of the invalid UL subframe. When the corresponding method is used, it is advantageous in that the NPRACH resource temporally occupied by the NPRACH preamble is constant irrespective of the number of invalid UL subframes which exist in the NPRACH resource. This is, in other words, advantageous that transmission of the preamble is not delayed irrespective of the number of invalid UL subframes. (b) The preamble transmission number which corresponds to the specific region may be configured not to be included in the total repetition number. In the corresponding method, the starting point and the ending point of the pre-configured NPRACH resource may be configured differently according to the presence or absence of the invalid UL subframe. When the corresponding method is used, it is advantageous in that since the preamble is continuously repeatedly transmitted by the pre-configured repetition number regardless of the number of invalid UL subframes which exist in the NPRACH resource, initially anticipated performance is maintained in terms of the NPRACH reliability. Characteristically, when such a method is applied to (method 2-1) to (method 2-3) above, the UE may be configured to transmit the preamble, but transmit symbol groups transmitted back-to-back, which includes a hopping pattern of a preamble which is not transmitted or is only partially transmitted to a valid UL subframe which exists immediately next. In such a configuration, when a differential algorithm is considered, it is advantageous in that hopping distances which are paired are not omitted, but transmitted as close as possible. Characteristically, one or more of the consecutive UL subframes become the invalid UL subframes, and when it is impossible to transmit back-to-back the symbol groups which need to be transmitted back-to-back by using the preamble format configured through the SIB, even though some of the consecutive UL subframes are the valid UL subframes, the UE may be configured not to immediately transmit the symbol groups to the corresponding region, but transmit the symbol groups to consecutive valid UL subframes which exist thereafter. In this case, for the number of consecutive valid UL subframes, a time domain which is as much as back-to-back transmission is possible by using the configured preamble format needs to be secured, of course. Characteristically, the proposed methods may be configured differently according to a type of preamble format. For example, in the case of preamble format 0 or preamble format 1 considered to be transmitted within 1 ms, one of (method 2-3), (method 2-4), and (method 2-5) may be configured to be applied. In addition, the other preamble formats (i.e., format 2, 2A, and 3) may be configured to apply one of (method 2-1), (method 2-2), (method 2-3), (method 2-4), and (method 2-5). In addition, an independent method may be configured to be applied for each preamble format. The proposed methods will be described with reference to related drawings. As a first example, a situation in which preamble format 2A (i.e., preamble format 1-a to be described below) of Table 8 is configured in UL/DL configuration #1 and the repetition number is configured as 4 is considered as illustrated inFIG.16. FIG.16is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for transmitting an NPRACH preamble without an invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. In a situation in which transmission illustrated inFIG.16is anticipated, when the invalid SF exists in the corresponding NPRACH resource, if method (a) of (method 2-5) among the proposed methods is applied and methods of (method 2-1) to (method 2-5) are applied in detail as illustrated inFIGS.17to20. FIG.17is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for transmitting an NPRACH preamble with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. FIG.17illustrates an example of NPRACH preamble transmission for (a) of (method 2-5) and (method 2-1). FIG.18is a diagram illustrating still yet another example of the method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. FIG.18illustrates an example of NPRACH preamble transmission for (a) of (method 2-5) and (method 2-2). FIG.19is a diagram illustrating still yet another example of the method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. FIG.19illustrates an example of NPRACH preamble transmission for (a) of (method 2-5) and (method 2-3). FIG.20is a diagram illustrating still yet another example of the method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. FIG.20illustrates an example of NPRACH preamble transmission for (a) of (method 2-5) and (method 2-4) or (method 2-5). Additionally, in the situation in which the transmission illustrated inFIG.16is anticipated, when the invalid SF exists in the corresponding NPRACH resource, if method (a) of (method 2-5) among the proposed methods is applied and the methods of (method 2-1) to (method 2-5) are applied in detail as illustrated inFIGS.21and22. FIG.21is a diagram illustrating still yet another example of the method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. FIG.21illustrates an example of NPRACH preamble transmission for (b) of (method 2-5) and (method 2-1) or (method 2-2) or (method 2-3). FIG.22is a diagram illustrating still yet another example of the method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. FIG.22illustrates an example of NPRACH preamble transmission for (b) of (method 2-5) and (method 2-4) or (method 2-5). As a second example, a situation in which preamble format 0 (i.e., preamble format 0-a on an agreement to be described below) of Table 8 is configured in UL/DL configuration #1 and the repetition number is configured as 8 is considered as illustrated inFIG.23. FIG.23is a diagram illustrating another example of the method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble without the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. In a situation in which transmission illustrated inFIG.23is anticipated, when the invalid SF exists in the corresponding NPRACH resource, if method (a) of (method 2-5) among the proposed methods is applied and methods of (method 2-1) to (method 2-5) are applied in detail as illustrated inFIGS.24to26. FIG.24is a diagram illustrating still yet another example of the method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. FIG.24illustrates an example of NPRACH preamble transmission for (a) of (method 2-5) and (method 2-1) or (method 2-2) or (method 2-3). FIG.25is a diagram illustrating still yet another example of the method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. FIG.25illustrates an example of NPRACH preamble transmission for (a) of (method 2-5) and (method 2-4). FIG.26is a diagram illustrating still yet another example of the method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. FIG.26illustrates an example of NPRACH preamble transmission for (a) of (method 2-5) and (method 2-5). Additionally, in the situation in which the transmission illustrated inFIG.23is anticipated, when the invalid SF exists in the corresponding NPRACH resource, if method (a) of (method 2-5) among the proposed methods is applied and the methods of (method 2-1) to (method 2-5) are applied in detail as illustrated inFIGS.27to29. FIG.27is a diagram illustrating still yet another example of the method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. FIG.27illustrates an example of NPRACH preamble transmission for (b) of (method 2-5) and (method 2-1) or (method 2-2) or (method 2-3). FIG.28is a diagram illustrating still yet another example of the method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. FIG.28illustrates an example of NPRACH preamble transmission for (b) of (method 2-5) and (method 2-4). FIG.29is a diagram illustrating still yet another example of the method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. FIG.29illustrates an example of NPRACH preamble transmission for (b) of (method 2-5) and (method 2-5). Additionally, it may also be considered that the proposed methods are combined conditionally according to a specific preamble repetition number, the number of retransmissions of specific MSG1, and the number of specific effective symbols. For example, when the preamble repetition number configured from the SIB is less than Nrep (e.g., Nrep=64), it may be configured that method (b) of (method 2-5) among the proposed methods is used. When the preamble repetition number is equal to or more than Nrep, it may be configured that method (a) of (method 2-5) among the proposed methods is used. As a basis for the above configuration, when the repetition number is sufficiently large, the preamble is not transmitted throughout the invalid UL subframe or even though some preambles transmitted with low transmission power exist, similar performance may be guaranteed. However, the reason is that when the repetition number is not sufficient, the preamble is not transmitted throughout the invalid UL subframe or the performance may not be guaranteed due to some preambles transmitted with low transmission power. As yet another example, when the number of retransmissions of the MSG1 is less than Nmsg1 (e.g., Nmsg1=10), method (a) of (method 2-5) among the proposed methods may be configured to be used and when the number of retransmissions of the MSG1 is equal to or more than Nmsg1, method (b) of (method 2-5) among the proposed methods may be configured to be used. As a basis for the above configuration, when the number of retransmissions of the MSG1 is small, the preamble is not transmitted throughout the invalid UL subframe or some preambles transmitted with low transmission power may be configured to exist. However, the reason is that when the number of retransmissions of the MSG1 is large, only by transmitting more effective symbols than before, a decoding success probability for the preamble may increase. Additionally, when the UE basically transmits the preamble format configured from the SIB and then, meets the invalid UL subframe, the UE may be configured to use and transmit another predetermined preamble format. For example, when the UE is configured to transmit preamble format 2A (preamble format 1-a of the agreement to be described below) from the SIB by the eNB, but one of the two consecutive UL SFs becomes the invalid UL SF, the UE may be configured to transmit preamble format 0 (i.e., preamble format 0-a of the agreement to be described below) to the remaining one valid UL SF. As described above, in some cases, which preamble format is to be transmitted may be predefined in the standard document and may be configured to be notified to the UE through the SIB configuration. Characteristically, it is preferable that in the preamble formats chosen because of the invalid UL subframe, the number of effective symbols is small (i.e., N should be reduced) as compared to the preamble format transmitted by default. Here, a value of G, a value of P, and the like may be configured to be equal to each other. For such a basis, since a single hopping pattern may be used with respect to the same G and P, it is advantageous that the hopping pattern may be maintained even though actually transmitted preamble formats are different. Characteristically, when the consecutive UL SFs are applied to the irregular UL/DL configuration in the standalone mode, the method may be applied. The corresponding method may be expressed by the drawing as illustrated inFIG.30. FIG.30is a diagram illustrating still yet another example of the method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. Additionally, when the number of invalid UL subframes in the NPRACH resource configured from the SIB is larger than a specific number, the UE may be configured to use and transmit another predetermined preamble format without using the configured preamble format. Characteristically, the number of specific invalid UL subframes may be determined as a specific ratio of the UL subframe corresponding to the NPRACH resource and determined as a specific number. Characteristically, since a CP length may be changed in the above scheme, whether to apply this method may also be notified to the UE through the SIB. In addition, the eNB may be configured to operate even by using a preamble format having small cell coverage supported by using the corresponding method when the RSRP of the UE is good. In addition, transmission of TDD NPRACH starts in a first valid UL subframe which is a NstartNPRACH·30720 Tstime unit after starting a radio frame achieving nfmod(NperiodNPRACH/10)=0. When consecutive valid UL subframes to transmit G symbol groups back-to-back do not sufficiently exist, G symbol groups of the NPRACH preamble are dropped. Here, ‘drop’ may mean that a signal is not transmitted by puncturing or rate matching the signal at a transmitter. In other words, in a TDD system, when transmission of the invalid UL subframe and transmission of G symbol groups overlap with each other, the G symbol groups are dropped. According to the above two sentences, the valid UL subframe that exists first after a radio frame meeting a predetermined equation becomes a transmission start point of the NPRACH preamble. In addition, when valid UL subframes do not exist as many as G consecutive symbol groups to be transmitted, the G symbol groups are dropped. When the NPRACH repetition number is large enough, the above method may operate without a problem, but when the repetition number is as small as 1 and 2, a half of transmission of all preambles may be dropped according to the presence of the invalid UL subframe or transmission of all preambles may be dropped. For example, in a situation in which the eNB using UL/DL configuration #1 is configured to use NPRACH preamble format 1-a, when the repetition number is in a case where the NPRACH starting UL SF and the invalid UL SF exist as illustrated inFIG.31A, only a half of all preambles are transmitted. Furthermore, when the NPRACH starting UL SF and the invalid UL SF exist as illustrated inFIG.31Bin the same situation, all preambles are not transmitted. Even in such a situation, the UE will monitor the corresponding search space in order to receive the RAR and this causes an unnecessary energy waste phenomenon. FIGS.31A and31Bare diagrams illustrating an example of NPRACH preamble format 1-a with the invalid UL SF. Accordingly, in order to solve such a problem, the following methods may be considered. (Solving Method 1) Solving method 1 is configured so that only when a sufficient number of valid UL SFs to transmit a minimum of G symbol groups are consecutively present, a first valid UL SF among the valid UL SFs may become a TDD NPRACH starting SF. That is, even if there is only one valid UL SF, transmission of the NPRACH preamble may be started, but in order to solve the above problem at least, first G symbol groups of the first preamble are continuously transmitted. To this end, only when a sufficient number of valid UL SFs to transmit a minimum of G symbol groups are consecutively present, the first valid UL SF among the valid UL SFs may become the TDD NPRACH starting SF. In the above configuration, it is advantageous that even when the repetition number is small, it may be guaranteed that a minimum of symbol groups are transmitted. (Solving Method 2) Solving method 2 is configured so that a search space (i.e., Type2-NPDCCH common search space) in which DCI for scheduling NPDSCH that carries related RAR according to a drop ratio by the invalid UL SF may be transmitted is not monitored during transmission of all preambles, but the preamble is retransmitted to a subsequent NPRACH resource. In this method, energy is not unnecessarily wasted according to a drop ratio during the transmission of all preambles. For example, in a case where the drop ratio during the transmission of all preambles is equal to or more than 50%, that is, in a case illustrated inFIG.31A, it may be configured that the UE regards that the eNB does not naturally receive the corresponding preamble and does not monitor the search space in which the DCI for scheduling the NPDSCH containing the related RAR may be transmitted and retransmit the preamble to the subsequent NPRACH resource. In this case, a retransmission procedure may be configured to follow the method defined in the standard document in the existing NB-IoT. Characteristically, in the case of the above configuration, the eNB may also be configured not to transmit the RAR. When this method is used, it is advantageous that the UE may not monitor an unnecessary search space, so it is effective in terms of battery saving. Additionally, more specifically than solving method 2 proposed above, it may be configured that when the drop ratio by the invalid UL SF during the transmission of all preambles is extremely large (e.g., when the drop ratio is 100%), the search space (i.e., Type2-NPDCCH common search space) in which the DCI for scheduling the NPDSCH that carries the related RAR may be transmitted is not monitored, but the preamble is retransmitted to the subsequent NPRACH resource without power lamping. Characteristically, when retransmitting the preamble without the power lamping, a method that does not increase a PREAMBLE TRANSMISSION COUNTER may be considered. This may be appreciated as a concept that since it may be determined that the preamble is not almost substantially transmitted, an opportunity is given once more without the power lamping. Through the second sentence (when consecutive valid UL subframes to transmit G symbol groups back-to-back are not sufficient, G symbol groups of the NPRACH are dropped), when G symbols groups among the NPRACH preambles are dropped because the invalid UL subframe exists in the NPRACH resource, a specific valid UL subframe may not be used as anything such as NPRACH, NPUSCH, etc., and may be discarded. Therefore, in order to solve such a waste phenomenon of the resource, it may be configured that the NPUSCH, etc., is used for the valid UL subframe generated by dropping the G symbol groups among the NPRACH resources. Characteristically, NPRACH preamble formats to be used at this time may be NPRACH preamble formats that occupy 2 ms or more, such as NPRACH preamble formats 1, 2, and 1-a. That is,FIG.32illustrates an example of the above situation. WhenFIG.32is more specifically described, it is configured that the eNB using UL/DL configuration #1 uses NPRACH preamble format 1-a and when it is assumed that the NPRACH repetition number is 4, if a preceding UL SF of two consecutive UL SFs in an interval configured as the NPRACH resource is then valid and the subsequent UL SF is invalid, two symbol groups are dropped and the NPRACH resource region (square-indicated SF3210ofFIG.32) in the preceding valid UL SF is not used as anything, but discarded. Therefore, it may be configured that the NPUSCH is transmitted to the corresponding region. That is, since other UEs that are scheduled with the NPUSCH may also know the invalid SF configuration and the NPRACH resource configuration, it may be known in advance which valid UL SF in the NPRACH resource is discarded and the discarded valid UL SF may be used when the NPUSCH is transmitted. FIG.32is a diagram illustrating an example of an NPRACH preamble format with the invalid UL SF proposed by this specification. Characteristically, the above method may not be applied to all NPUSCH scheduling and the UE may determine whether the NPUSCH may be transmitted to the corresponding valid UL SF by determining NPUSCH scheduling information, the NPRACH resource configuration, the number of discarded valid UL SFs, and the like. In other words, the UE that desires to use the discarded valid UL SF may be configured to transmit the NPUSCH to the corresponding valid UL SF only when a frequency domain which is to be occupied by the NPRACH resource confirmed through the NPRACH resource configuration includes a frequency domain of the NPUSCH scheduled by the corresponding UE. That is, when the frequency domain of the NPUSCH scheduled by the UE is larger than the frequency domain to be occupied by the NPRACH resource confirmed through the NPRACH resource configuration or deviates from the frequency domain to be occupied by the NPRACH resource, the UE does not transmit the NPUSCH to the corresponding valid UL SF. The reason for the above configuration is that the eNB may already schedule the NPUSCH for another UE in a region other than the region for the NPRACH resource. By the above configuration, the number of discarded valid UL SFs is reduced, and as a result, the resource may be efficiently used and latency of NPUSCH transmission may be slightly improved. Characteristically, the aforementioned invalid UL SF may be interpreted as a UL SF which is not designated as the valid UL SF, but may be interpreted as the DL SF and may be interpreted as the special SF. That is, a case where UL/DL configuration #6 is introduced into TDD NB-IoT later may be considered as below. In UL/DL configuration #6, DSUUU and DSUUD are not equal to each other in that the number of UL SFs is 3 and 2 every 5 ms. When G symbol groups in UL/DL configuration #6 determine to use a format similar to TDD NPRACH format 2 occupying 3 ms, even though two consecutive UL SFs corresponding to SF #7 and SF #8 are continuously valid UL SFs, the format similar to TDD NPRACH format 2 may not be used due to the subsequent DL SF and the corresponding UL SFs are discarded. Even in this case, it may be configured that the NPUSCH is transmitted by applying the proposed method. Characteristically, when G symbol groups use the TDD NPRACH format occupying 3 ms in UL/DL configuration #6, the NPRACH resource may be constituted only by three consecutive UL SFs. That is, two consecutive UL SFs may be configured to be excluded from the NPRACH resource from the beginning. The UL SFs excluded from the NPRACH resource may be used for NPUSCH transmission. Additionally, when G symbol groups in UL/DL configuration #6 determine to use a format similar to TDD NPRACH format 1 or format 1-a that occupies 2 ms, whether transmission of the symbol group is to be started in UL SF #2 or UL SF #3 needs to be determined. When it is configured that the transmission of the symbol group is started in UL SF #2, even though UL SF #4 is the valid UL SF, UL SF #4 may not be continuously used for the NPRACH, so that the corresponding UL SF may also be configured to be used for the NPUSCH. As an advantage when it is configured that the transmission of the symbol group is started in UL SF #2, since there is, in general, a tendency that the UL SF just before the DL SF is first changed to the invalid UL SF, when first two UL SFs among three UL SFs are used, thereby decreasing a drop probability of the corresponding preamble. When it is configured that the transmission of the symbol group is started in UL SF #3, even though UL SF #2 is the valid UL SF, UL SF #2 may not be continuously used for the NPRACH, so that the corresponding UL SF may also be configured to be used for the NPUSCH. An advantage when it is configured that the transmission of the symbol group is started in UL SF #3 is that both the UpPTS and UL SF #2 may be used for NPUSCH transmission. Characteristically, when G symbol groups use the TDD NPRACH format occupying 2 ms in UL/DL configuration #6, the NPRACH resource may be constituted only by two consecutive UL SFs immediately following the special SF and only by two consecutive UL SFs which exist immediately before the DL SF. Here, the UL SFs excluded from the NPRACH resource may be used for the NPUSCH transmission. Methods of Starting Subcarrier Selection for TDD NB-IoT Preamble Formats Next, methods of starting subcarrier selection for TDD NB-IoT preamble formats will be described. In Table 8 described above, the following hopping pattern may be described for preamble formats 1, 2, and 3 (i.e., preamble formats 0, 1, and 2 of agreement to be described below) with G=2 and P=4. That is, when the repetition number configured by the SIB is ‘1’, the hopping pattern configured in Table 23 may be followed. In this case, the hopping pattern within a single preamble unit may be determined according to a starting subcarrier index selected by a predetermined random method. Characteristically, the predetermined random method may be the same as that used in FDD NB-IoT. Table 23 is a table showing examples of starting subcarrier indexes and hopping patterns for a NPRACH preamble format with G=2 and P=4. TABLE 23Starting subcarrier indexHopping patterns within a repetition unit0, 2, 4{+3.75 kHz, 0, +22.5 kHz}1, 3, 5{−3.75 kHz, 0, +22.5 kHz}6, 8, 10{+3.75 kHz, 0, −22.5 kHz}7, 9, 11{−3.75 kHz, 0, −22.5 kHz} Furthermore, when the repetition number configured by the SIB is 2 or more, it may be configured that different rules are applied to odd-numbered preamble units and even-numbered preamble units. In the case of the odd-numbered preamble units, the hopping pattern within the single preamble unit may be determined according to the starting subcarrier index selected by the predetermined random method. Characteristically, the predetermined random method may be the same as that used in FDD NB-IoT. Next, in the case of the even-numbered preamble unit (e.g., in the case of the Nth preamble unit, N is an even number), it may be configured that a subcarrier index set which may be selected may be determined according to the starting subcarrier index selected by an immediately preceding transmitted odd-numbered preamble unit (e.g., N−1th preamble unit) and this may be configured as shown in Table 24. By such a configuration, the hopping pattern of the even-numbered preamble unit and the hopping pattern of the odd-numbered preamble unit are symmetric to each other, and as a result, it is advantageous that better performance may be obtained when using a differential receiver. Table 24 is a table showing examples of candidate starting subcarrier indices for even-numbered preamble repetition units for the NPRACH preamble format with G=2 and P=4. TABLE 24Starting subcarrierCandidate starting subcarrierindex of odd-numberedindices for even-numberedpreamble repetition unitpreamble repetition unit0, 2, 47, 9, 111, 3, 56, 8, 106, 8, 101, 3, 57, 9, 110, 2, 4 In addition, a method for determining a starting subcarrier to be actually transmitted among the starting subcarrier candidates selected by the even-numbered (i.e., Nth) preamble unit may be summarized as follows. When the subcarrier index is determined through the following proposed methods, it may be configured that the hopping pattern is finally determined through Table 24. (Proposed Method 1) It may be configured that the starting subcarrier candidates that may be selected by the Nth preamble unit are predetermined according to the starting subcarrier index value selected by the N−1th preamble unit and the Nth preamble unit is selected among the starting subcarrier candidates by the predetermined random method. Characteristically, the predetermined random method may be applied to be the same as that used in FDD NB-IoT and may introduce an additional operation. For example, when one value of 0 to 11 is selected through the method used in the NPRACH of the FDD NB-IoT, the UE may be configured to select one among three predetermined values by using a specific method such as modular 3 or the remainder of division 3 by default. In a specific embodiment, a method for selecting one of the three predetermined values using the modular 3 by default may be expressed by Equation 3, which may be expressed as a table as shown in Table 25. SCsel in Equation 3 below may be configured as a starting subcarrier index for an even-numbered preamble repetition unit, SCtmp may be configured as a value selected from 0 to 11 through the method used in the FDD NB-IoT NPRACH, and SCoffset may be configured as a predetermined value according to the starting subcarrier index value of the odd-numbered preamble repetition unit. Characteristically, in this case, SCoffset may be configured as a smallest index among the starting subcarrier indexes (SCsel) for the even-numbered preamble repetition unit. When this method is used, it is advantageous to reduce inter-cell interference because the starting subcarrier index may be selected by randomization. SCsel=2×(SCtmp mod 3)+SCoffset [Equation 3] Table 25 is a table showing examples of starting subcarrier indices for an even-numbered preamble repetition unit for the NPRACH preamble format with G=2 and P=4. TABLE 25Starting subcarrierindex(SCsel) for even-numberedStarting subcarrierpreamble repetition unitindex of odd-numberedSCtmppreamble repetition unitSCoffsetmod 30120, 2, 4779111, 3, 5668106, 8, 1011357, 9, 110024 (Proposed Method 2) The starting subcarrier candidates that may be selected by the Nth preamble unit are predetermined according to the starting subcarrier index value selected by the N-lth preamble unit. In addition, it may be configured that the Nth preamble unit is determined through a predetermined method among the starting subcarrier candidates to be selected and the corresponding index is selected. Characteristically, it may be configured that the predetermined method is determined based on the starting subcarrier index value selected by the N-lth preamble unit and/or a Cell ID and/or an RA-RNTI value and/or the subframe index to transmit the corresponding NPRACH preamble unit. For example, this will be described below in detail. A method for configuring the starting subcarrier index to be selected by the Nth preamble unit by using both the starting subcarrier index value selected by the N−1th preamble unit and the Cell ID may be configured as shown in Tables 26 to 28. Characteristically, up to 64=1296 different tables may be configured, but this example indicates that three different tables are selected via Cell ID mod 3. Table 26 is a table showing examples of starting subcarrier indices for an even-numbered preamble repetition unit for the NPRACH preamble format with G=2 and P=4 when Cell ID mod 3=0. TABLE 26Starting subcarrier index (SCselected) of odd-numberedpreamble repetition unit → Starting subcarrierindex(SCsel) for even-numbered preamble repetition unit0 → 72 → 94 → 111 → 63 → 85 → 106 → 18 → 310 → 57 → 09 → 211 → 4 Table 27 is a table showing examples of starting subcarrier indices for an even-numbered preamble repetition unit for the NPRACH preamble format with G=2 and P=4 when Cell ID mod 3=1. TABLE 27Starting subcarrier index (SCselected) of odd-numberedpreamble repetition unit → Starting subcarrierindex(SCsel) for even-numbered preamble repetition unit0 → 92 → 114 → 71 → 83 → 105 → 66 → 38 → 510 → 17 → 29 → 411 → 0 Table 28 is a table showing examples of starting subcarrier indices for an even-numbered preamble repetition unit for the NPRACH preamble format with G=2 and P=4 when Cell ID mod 3=2. TABLE 28Starting subcarrier index (SCselected) of odd-numberedpreamble repetition unit → Starting subcarrierindex(SCsel) for even-numbered preamble repetition unit0 → 112 → 74 → 91 → 103 → 65 → 86 → 58 → 110 → 37 → 49 → 011 → 2 When proposed method 2 is used, since the starting subcarrier index may be randomly selected for each starting subcarrier index value selected by the N-lth preamble unit and/or for each specific cell ID and/or for each RA-RNTI value, it is advantageous that the inter-cell interference is reduced. Further, since subcarriers in which the even-numbered preamble units may be selected are predetermined according to according to the starting subcarrier value selected by the odd-numbered preamble unit in the same cell, it is advantageous that a probability that preambles randomly transmitted by different UEs will collide with each other within a resource configured by the same cell decreases. (Proposed Method 3) In proposed method 3, it may be configured that the starting subcarrier index which may be selected by the Nth preamble unit is predetermined according to the starting subcarrier index value selected by the N-lth preamble unit. A specific example thereof will be described below. The starting subcarrier index to be selected by the Nth preamble unit may be predetermined according to the starting subcarrier index value selected by the N−1th preamble unit and this may be configured by the equation as shown in Equations 4 and 5 and this may be expressed by the table as shown in Table 30. SCsel=(SCselected mod 6)+SCoffset, ifSCselected mod 2=0 [Equation 4] SCsel={(SCselected−1)mod 6}+SCoffset, ifSCselected mod 2=1 [Equation 5] Table 30 is a table showing examples of starting subcarrier indices for an even-numbered preamble repetition unit for the NPRACH preamble format with G=2 and P=4. TABLE 29Starting subcarrierindex(SCselected) of odd-numberedpreamble repetition unitSCoffset0, 2, 471, 3, 566, 8, 1017, 9, 110 TABLE 30Starting subcarrier index (SCselected) of odd-numberedpreamble repetition unit → Starting subcarrierindex(SCsel) for even-numbered preamble repetition unit0 → 72 → 94 → 111 → 63 → 85 → 106 → 18 → 310 → 57 → 09 → 211 → 4 As described above, in the method for selecting the starting subcarrier index for each starting subcarrier index selected by the specific N−1th preamble unit, since the subcarriers which may be selected by the even-numbered preamble units may be are predetermined according to the starting subcarrier value selected by the odd-numbered preamble unit in the same cell, it is advantageous that a probability that the preambles randomly transmitted by different UEs will collide with each other within the resource configured by the same cell decreases. As described above, in the method for selecting the starting subcarrier index for each starting subcarrier index selected by the specific N−1th preamble unit, since the subcarriers which may be selected by the even-numbered preamble units may be are predetermined according to the starting subcarrier value selected by the odd-numbered preamble unit in the same cell, it is advantageous that a probability that the preambles randomly transmitted by different UEs will collide with each other within the resource configured by the same cell decreases. The specific examples of the proposed methods described above are only for convenience of description and the technical spirit proposed by this specification is not limited to the specific values which are exemplified, of course. In Table 8 described above, the following hopping pattern may be described for preamble formats 1, 2, and 3 (i.e., preamble formats 0, 1, and 2 of agreement to be described below) with G=2 and P=4. The following agreement is for (format 0, 1, 2) G=2 and P=4 when repetition number=1. Tone indexes of first and third symbol groups are selected by (SFN and cell specific pseudo-random sequence) in the preamble repetition unit. An initial tone index for hopping pattern mapping is shown in Table 31 below. TABLE 31Index of the tone usedDeterministic hopping length forby the 1st symbol groupthe 2nd within a repetition unit0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10+3.75 kHz1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11−3.75 kHzIndex of the tone usedDeterministic hopping length forby the 3rd symbol groupthe 4th within a repetition unit0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5+22.5 kHz6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11−22.5 kHz The initial tone index for the hopping pattern mapping follows Table 31. Tone indexes of first symbol groups are selected by (SFN and cell specific pseudo-random sequence) in the odd-numbered preamble repetition unit. For odd preambles transmitted with the tone indexes given for the first and third symbol groups, candidate tone indexes for the first and third symbol groups in the even preamble, with a goal of eliminating phase errors, are selected by the (SFN and) cell specific pseudo-random sequence and the candidate tone indexes are limited to one of the tone indexes in an opposite half of a bandwidth as shown in Table 32. TABLE 32Odd Preamble Repetition UnitEven Preamble Repetition UnitIndex of the tone usedCandidate Indexes for the tone toby the 1st symbol groupbe used by the 1st symbol group0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 101, 3, 5, 7, 9, 111, 3, 5, 7, 9, 110, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10Index of the tone usedCandidate Indexes for the tone toby the 3rd symbol groupbe used by the 3rd symbol group0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 56, 7, 8, 9, 10, 116, 7, 8, 9, 10, 110, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 In the case of FDD, a similar hopping pattern is expressed by the equation of 3GPP standard document 36.211, so that the hopping pattern may be expressed in a similar equation even in TDD. In FDD (frame structure type 1), the equation for expressing the hopping pattern may be shown in Equations 6 and 7. Specifically, Equation 6 shows a hopping pattern for G=4 and P=4 for preamble formats 0 and 1 and Equation 7 shows a hopping pattern for G=6 and P=6 for preamble format 2. n~scRA(i)={(n~scRA(0)+f(i/4))modNscRAimod4=0andi>0n~scRA(i-1)+1imod4=1,3andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=0n~scRA(i-1)-1imod4=1,3andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=1n~scRA(i-1)+6imod4=2andn~scRA(i-1)<6n~scRA(i-1)-6imod4=2andn~scRA(i-1)≥6f(t)=(f(t-1)+(∑n=10t+110t+9c(n)2n-(10t+1))mod(NscRA-1)+1)modNscRAf(-1)=0[Equation6] In Equation 6, ñSCRA(0)=ninitmod NscRAhaving ninitis a subcarrier selected by the MAC layer from {0, 1, . . . , NscPRACH−1} and c(i) is defined as shown in Equation 8 below. In addition, a pseudo random sequence generator will be initialized to cinit=NIDNcell. n~SCRA(i)={(n~SCRA(0)+f(i/6))modNscRAimod6=0andi>0n~SCRA(i-1)+1imod6=1,5andn~SCRA(i-1)mod2=0n~SCRA(i-1)-1imod6=1,5andn~SCRA(i-1)mod2=1n~SCRA(i-1)+3imod6=2,4and⌊n~SCRA(i-1)/3⌋mod2=0n~SCRA(i-1)-3imod6=2,4and⌊n~SCRA(i-1)/3⌋mod2=1n~SCRA(i-1)+18imod6=3andn~SCRA(i-1)<18n~SCRA(i-1)-18imod6=3andn~SCRA(i-1)≥18f(t)=(f(t-1)+(∑n=10t+110t+9c(n)2n-(10t+1))mod(NscRA-1)+1)modNscRA[Equation7] Here, f(−1)=0 and ñSCRA(0)=ninitmod NscRAhaving ninitis a subcarrier selected by the MAC layer from {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1} and c(i) is defined as shown in Equation 8 below. In addition, the pseudo random sequence generator will be initialized to cinit=NIDNcell. c(n)=(x1(n+NC)+x2(n+NC))mod 2 x1(n+31)=(x1(n+3)+x1(n))mod 2 x2(n+31)=(x2(n+3)+x2(n+2)+x2(n+1)+x2(n))mod 2 [Equation 8] Here, n=0, 1, . . . , MPN−1 and n=0, 1, . . . , MPN−1. Of the parts of the hopping pattern in the TDD (frame structure type 2) to be described below, the same parts as those of the hopping pattern in the FDD will be referred to the meaning of the contents, symbols, and the like described above. Characteristically, pseudo random hopping may be a form that is called (or generated) sequentially 2N times in total when the preamble repetition number is N and may be represented by one equation according to the symbol group index (i.e., i). In this case, ‘sequential’ means that when a subcarrier index of each symbol group that requires the pseudo random hopping is selected, the pseudo random sequence is sequentially generated according to an order (or ascending order) of increasing the symbol group index. Since P=4, one preamble includes four symbol groups, while the subcarrier index of the even-numbered preamble depends on the subcarrier index of the odd-numbered preamble. For example, when the subcarrier index of the odd-numbered preamble (of the first symbol group) is an even number, the subcarrier index of the even-numbered preamble (of the first symbol group) needs to be an odd number, and when the subcarrier index of the odd-numbered preamble is an odd number, the subcarrier index of the even-numbered preamble needs to be an even number. As described above, only when the subcarrier index of the odd-numbered preamble and the subcarrier index of the even-numbered preamble are different from each other, the collision between the NPRACH preambles does not occur, so that the performance at the receiver is enhanced. However, when a frequency hopping rule in FDD is applied to repeated transmission of the NPRACH preamble with G=2 and P=4, the rule may not be satisfied between the subcarrier index of the odd-numbered preamble (or the subcarrier index of the odd-numbered preamble) and the subcarrier index of the even-numbered preamble (or the subcarrier index of the even-numbered preamble). Therefore, the repeated transmission method of the NPRACH preamble with G=2 and P=4 in the TDD system will be described in more detail. When P=4, since the hopping pattern of each of the 8 symbol groups has a repetitive form, modular 8 is considered as shown in Equation 9 below. The above method is defined by referring to an FDD form disclosed in the standard document TS 36.211 as shown in Equation 9 below. In Equation 9 below, ñSCRA(i) and ñSCRA(i) are modified or added parts and the remaining parts are the same as the FDD form defined in the standard document TS 36.211. [Equation9]n~scRA(i)={n≈scRA(i)imod8=0,2andi>0n~scRA(i-1)+1imod8=1,5andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=0n~scRA(i-1)-1imod8=1,5andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=1n~scRA(i-1)+6imod8=3,7andn~scRA(i-1)<6n~scRA(i-1)-6imod8=3,7andn~scRA(i-1)≥6n≈scRA(i)+1imod8=4andn~scRA(i-4)mod2=0andn≈scRA(i)mod2=0n≈scRA(i)imod8=4andn~scRA(i-4)mod2=0andn≈scRA(i)mod2=1n≈scRA(i)imod8=4andn~scRA(i-4)mod2=1andn≈scRA(i)mod2=0n≈scRA(i)-1imod8=4andn~scRA(i-4)mod2=1andn≈scRA(i)mod2=1n≈scRA(i)+6imod8=6andn~scRA(i-4)<6andn≈scRA(i)<6n≈scRA(i)imod8=6andn~scRA(i-4)<6andn≈scRA(i)≥6n≈scRA(i)imod8=6andn~scRA(i-4)≥6andn≈scRA(i)<6n≈scRA(i)-6imod8=6andn~scRA(i-4)≥6andn≈scRA(i)≥6n≈scRA(i)=(n~scRA(0)+f(i/2))modNscRAf(t)=(f(t-1)+(∑n=10t+110t+9c(n)2n-(10t+1))mod(NscRA-1)+1)modNscRAf(-1)=0 The frequency location of the NPRACH transmission is limited to NscRA=12 subcarriers. Frequency hopping is used in 12 subcarriers. Here, the frequency location of an ith symbol group may be given as nscRA(i)=nstart+ñSCRA(i) and defined as nstart=NscoffsetNPRACH+└ninit/NscRA┘·NscRA. A quantity ñscRA(i) depends on a frame structure. In addition, ñSCRA(0)=ninitmod NscRAhaving ninitis the subcarrier selected by the MAC layer from {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1} and the pseudo random sequence c(i) is defined as shown in Equation 8 above and the pseudo random sequence generator will be initialized to cinit=NIDNcell. Characteristically, the method used in Equation 9 above will now be described below in a situation where not one of 12 subcarrier indexes of the even-numbered preamble but one of 6 subcarrier indexes needs to be selected. The ith symbol group satisfying i mod 8=4 is selected in a scheme shown in Table 34. When such a scheme is used, the value selected through the pseudo random sequence shifts by ±1 subcarrier, and thus it is advantageous that expression of the equation becomes simple. Table 34 shows an example of the subcarrier index when i mod 8=4. TABLE 34Subcarrier index chosen by pseudo random sequence01234567891011Selected002244668811subcarrierindex forup hopSelected11335577991111subcarrierindex fordown hop Additionally, when a scheme of selecting one of 6 subcarrier indexes instead of one of 12 subcarrier indexes is actually applied in the situation where not one of 12 subcarrier indexes of the even-numbered preamble but one of 6 subcarrier indexes needs to be selected, a method shown in Table 35 may be considered. Table 35 shows an example of the subcarrier index when i mod 8=4. TABLE 35Subcarrier index chosen by pseudo random sequence012345Selected subcarrier0246810index for up hopSelected subcarrier1357911index for down hop When Equation 9 above is modified by using the above scheme, Equation 9 may be expressed as shown in Equation 10 below. That is, the above scheme corresponding to Equation 10 has an advantage that the expression of the equation is simpler than the scheme corresponding to Equation 9 above. Further, a meaning of selecting one of 6 subcarrier indexes is clearly represented in the equation. In Equation 10 below, ñSCRA(i) is the modified/added part and the remaining parts are the same as the FDD form defined in the standard document TS 36.211. [Equation10]n~scRA(i)={(n~scRA(0)+f(i/2))modNscRAimod8=0,2andi>0n~scRA(i-1)+1imod8=1,5andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=0n~scRA(i-1)-1imod8=1,5andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=1n~scRA(i-1)+6imod8=3,7andn~scRA(i-1)<6n~scRA(i-1)-6imod8=3,7andn~scRA(i-1)≥6((n~scRA(0)+f(i/2))mod(NscRA/2))×2+1imod8=4andn~scRA(i-4)mod2=0((n~scRA(0)+f(i/2))mod(NscRA/2))×2imod8=4andn~scRA(i-4)mod2=1(n~scRA(0)+f(i/2))mod(NscRA/2)+6imod8=6andn~scRA(i-4)<6(n~scRA(0)+f(i)/2))mod(NscRA/2)imod8=6andn~scRA(i-4)≥6f(t)=(f(t-1)+(∑n=10t+110t+9c(n)2n-(10t+1))mod(NscRA-1)+1)modNscRAf(-1)=0 The frequency locating of the NPRACH transmission is limited to NscRA=12 subcarriers. The frequency hopping is used in 12 subcarriers. Here, the frequency location of an ith symbol group may be given as nscRA(i)=nstart+ñSCRA(i) and nstart=NscoffsetNPRACH+└ninit/NscRA┘·NscRA. In addition, ñSCRA(0)=ninitmod NscRAhaving ninitis the subcarrier selected by the MAC layer from {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1} and c(i) is defined as shown in Equation 8 above. Further, the pseudo random sequence generator will be initialized to cinit=NIDNcell. Preamble format 1 (i.e. preamble format 0 of agreement) is used based on the proposed equation and an example of the case where the repetition number is 4 is shown inFIG.33. Referring toFIG.33, a 1st symbol group (i.e., i mod 8=0) and a 3rd symbol group (i.e., i mod 8=2) of the odd-numbered preamble (i.e., 1st and 3rd) indicates that one of 12 subcarriers may be selected. In addition, the 1st symbol group (i.e., i mod 8=4) and the 3rd symbol group (i.e., i mod 8=6) of the even-numbered preamble (i.e., 2nd and 4th) indicates that one of 6 subcarrier indexes may be selected according to the subcarrier indexes of the 1st symbol group and the 3rd symbol group of the odd-numbered preamble which is transmitted immediately before. FIG.33is a diagram illustrating an example of an NPRACH hopping pattern having NPRACH preamble format 1 and repetition number=4 proposed by this specification. Additionally, a method for selecting two initial values in the MAC layer and using two pseudo random sequence generators is expressed as the equation as shown in Equation 11 below. Characteristically, initialization values of two pseudo random sequence generators may be generated based on physical cell ID (PCID), and one may be NIDNcelllike the related art and the other one may be (NIDNcell+1) mod 504. In the above method, it may be configured that since two initial values need to be selected in the MAC layer, a first value of two initial values is determined as the RAPID. [Equation11]n~scRA(i)={(n~scRA(0)+f(i/4))modNscRAimod8=0andi>0(n~scRA(0)+g((i-2)/4))modNscRAimod8=2andi>2n~scRA(i-1)+1imod8=1,5andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=0n~scRA(i-1)-1imod8=1,5andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=1n~scRA(i-1)+6imod8=3,7andn~scRA(i-1)<6n~scRA(i-1)-6imod8=3,7andn~scRA(i-1)≥6((n~scRA(0)+f(i/4))mod(NscRA/2))×2+1imod8=4andn~scRA(i-4)mod2=0((n~scRA(0)+f(i/4))mod(NscRA/2))×2imod8=4andn~scRA(i-4)mod2=1(n~scRA(0)+g((i-2)/4))mod(NscRA/2)+6imod8=6andn~scRA(i-4)<6(n~scRA(0)+g((i-2)/4))mod(NscRA/2)imod8=6andn~scRA(i-4)≥6f(t)=(f(t-1)+(∑n=10t+110t+9c(n)2n-(10t+1))mod(NscRA-1)+1)modNscRAf(-1)=0g(t)=(g(t-1)+(∑n=10t+110t+9c′(n)2n-(10t+1))mod(NscRA-1)+1)modNscRAg(-1)=0 The frequency location of the NPRACH transmission is limited to NscRA=12 subcarriers. The frequency hopping is used in 12 subcarriers. Here, the frequency location of the ith symbol group may be given as nscRA(i)=nstart+ñSCRA(i) and nstart=NscoffsetNPRACH+└ninit/NscRA┘·NscRA. In addition, ñSCRA(0)=ninitmod NscRAhaving ninitis the subcarrier selected by the MAC layer from {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1}, ñSCRA(2)=n′initmod NscRAhaving n′initis a second subcarrier selected by the MAC layer from {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1}, and c(i) is defined as shown in Equation 8 above. In addition, the pseudo random sequence generator will be initialized to ciint=NIDNcell. Further, pseudo random sequence c′(n) is defined as shown in Equation 8 above and the pseudo random sequence generator will be initialized to cinit=(NIDNcell+1)mod 504. Additionally, a method for selecting two initial values in the MAC layer, but using one pseudo random sequence generators is expressed as the equation as shown in Equation 12 below. In this method, it may be configured that since two initial values need to be selected in the MAC layer, the first value of two initial values is determined as the RAPID. [Equation12]n~scRA(i)={(n~scRA(0)+f(i/2))modNscRAimod8=0,2andi>2n~scRA(i-1)+1imod8=1,5andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=0n~scRA(i-1)-1imod8=1,5andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=1n~scRA(i-1)+6imod8=3,7andn~scRA(i-1)<6n~scRA(i-1)-6imod8=3,7andn~scRA(i-1)≥6((n~scRA(0)+f(i/2))mod(NscRA/2))×2+1imod8=4andn~scRA(i-4)mod2=0((n~scRA(0)+f(i/2))mod(NscRA/2))×2imod8=4andn~scRA(i-4)mod2=1(n~scRA(0)+f(i/2))mod(NscRA/2)+6imod8=6andn~scRA(i-4)<6(n~scRA(0)+f(i)/2))mod(NscRA/2)imod8=6andn~scRA(i-4)≥6f(t)=(f(t-1)+(∑n=10t+110t+9c(n)2n-(10t+1))mod(NscRA-1)+1)modNscRAf(-1)=0 The frequency location of the NPRACH transmission is limited to Nr=12subcarriers. The frequency hopping is used in 12 subcarriers. Here, the frequency location of the ith symbol group may be given as nscRA(i)=nstart+ñSCRA(i) and nstart=NscoffsetNPRACH+└ninit/NscRA┘·NscRA. In addition, ñSCRA(0)=ninitmod NscRAhaving ninitis a first subcarrier selected by the MAC layer from {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1}, ñSCRA(2)=n′initmod NscRAhaving n′initis a second subcarrier selected by the MAC layer from {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1}, and c(i) is defined as shown in Equation 8 above. In addition, the pseudo random sequence generator will be initialized to cinit=NIDNcell. Further, in Table 8 above, the following hopping pattern may be described for preamble formats 0, 2A (i.e., preamble formats 0-a, 1-a of agreement) with G=3 and P=6. The following agreement is for (format 0-a, 1-a) G=3 and P=6. Tone indexes of first and fourth symbol groups are selected by (SFN and cell specific pseudo-random sequence) in the preamble repetition unit. Initial tone indexes of first and fourth symbol groups for the hopping pattern mapping are shown in Tables 36 and 37 below. Table 36 below shows examples of hopping patterns for second and third symbol groups in the repetition unit. TABLE 36Index of the tone usedHopping pattern for the 2nd and 3rdby the 1st symbol groupsymbol group within a repetition unit0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10+3.75 kHz, −3.75 kHz1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11−3.75 kHz, +3.75 kHz Table 37 below shows examples of hopping patterns for fifth and sixth symbol groups in the repetition unit. TABLE 37Index of the tone usedHopping pattern for the 5th and 6thby the 4th symbol groupsymbol group within a repetition unit0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5+22.5 kHz, −22.5 kHz6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11−22.5 kHz, +22.5 kHz, Similarly to the above description, since the similar hopping pattern is defined in the standard document TS 36.211 in the case of FDD, the hopping pattern may be defined in the similar equation even in TDD. Characteristically, pseudo random hopping may be a form that is called (or generated) sequentially 2N times in total when the preamble repetition number is N and may be represented by one equation according to the symbol group index (i.e., i). In this case, ‘sequential’ means that when a subcarrier index of each symbol group that requires the pseudo random hopping is selected, the pseudo random sequence is sequentially generated according to an order in which the symbol group index becomes larger. Characteristically, since P=6, one preamble has 6 symbol groups, so that the hopping pattern is repeated every 6 symbol groups, and as a result, modular 6 is considered. The hopping pattern is prepared as below by referring to the form defined in the standard document TS 36.211. In the equation below, ñSCRA(i) is the modified/added part and the remaining part is the same as the FDD form defined in the standard document TS 36.211. n~scRA(i)={(n~scRA(0)+f(i/3))modNscRAimod6=0,3andi>0n~scRA(i-1)+1imod6=1,2andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=0n~scRA(i-1)-1imod6=1,2andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=1n~scRA(i-1)+6imod6=4,5andn~scRA(i-1)<6n~scRA(i-1)-6imod6=4,5andn~scRA(i-1)≥6f(t)=(f(t-1)+(∑n=10t+110t+9c(n)2n-(10t+1))mod(NscRA-1)+1)modNscRAf(-1)=0[Equation13] The frequency location of the NPRACH transmission is limited to NscRA=12 subcarriers. The frequency hopping is used in 12 subcarriers. Here, the frequency location of the ith symbol group may be given as nscRA(i)=nstart+ñSCRA(i) and nstart=NscoffsetNPRACH+└ninit/NscRA┘·NscRA. In addition, ñSCRA(0)=ninitmod NscRAhaving ninitis a first subcarrier selected by the MAC layer from {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1} and c(i) is defined as shown in Equation 8 above. In addition, the pseudo random sequence generator will be initialized to cinit=NIDNcell. Preamble format 0 (i.e. preamble format 0-a of agreement) is used based on Equation 13 proposed above and an example of the case where the repetition number is 4 is shown inFIG.34. Referring toFIG.34, a 1st symbol group (i.e., i mod 6=0) and a 3rd symbol group (i.e., i mod 6=3) of each preamble indicate that one of 12 subcarrier indexes may be selected. Characteristically, in the case of G=3 and P=6, it can be seen that there is no ‘not available subcarrier candidate’ as compared with the case of G=2 and P=4 described above. FIG.34is a diagram illustrating an example of an NPRACH hopping pattern having NPRACH preamble format 0 and repetition number=4 proposed by this specification. Both CID and SFN may be considered in cinitof Equation 13, which is advantageous in terms of reducing the inter-cell interference. For example, cinit=CID+SFN may be configured. Here, a difference between Equation 15 above and the equation defined in FDD is a function related to determining the frequency location (or subcarrier index) of the first symbol group among three consecutive symbol groups. That is, in TDD, f(i/3) is used as shown in Equation 15 and in FDD, f(i/4) is used. A technical reason for using f(i/3) in TDD is that (i) the number of consecutive symbol groups at 1 ms may be limited to three by the UL/DL configuration and f(i/3) is used for applying the pseudo random sequence in order to minimize the collision between the first symbol groups in each of the first consecutive symbol groups and the second consecutive symbol groups and (ii) the pseudo random sequence may be used in the ascending order without interruption only by applying f(i/3). Additionally, the method for selecting two initial values in the MAC layer and using two pseudo random sequence generators is expressed as the equation as shown in Equation 14. Characteristically, the initialization values of two pseudo random sequence generators may be generated based on the PCID, and one may be NIDNcelllike the related art and the other one may be (NIDNcell+1) mod 504. In this method, it may be configured that since two initial values need to be selected by the MAC layer, the first value of two initial values is determined as the RAPID. [Equation14]n~scRA(i)={(n~scRA(0)+f(i/3))modNscRAimod6=0andi>0(n~scRA(0)+g((i-3)/3))modNscRAimod6=3andi>3n~scRA(i-1)+1imod6=1,2andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=0n~scRA(i-1)-1imod6=1,2andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=1n~scRA(i-1)+6imod6=4,5andn~scRA(i-1)<6n~scRA(i-1)-6imod6=4,5andn~scRA(i-1)≥6f(t)=(f(t-1)+(∑n=10t+110t+9c(n)2n-(10t+1))mod(NscRA-1)+1)modNscRAf(-1)=0g(t)=(g(t-1)+(∑n=10t+110t+9c′(n)2n-(10t+1))mod(NscRA-1)+1)modNscRAg(-1)=0 The frequency location of the NPRACH transmission is limited to Nr=12subcarriers. Frequency hopping is used in 12 subcarriers. Here, the frequency location of an ith symbol group may be given as nscRA(i)=nstart+ñSCRA(i) and defined as nstart=NscoffsetNPRACH+└ninit/NscRA┘·NscRA. A quantity ñscRA(i) depends on a frame structure. In addition, ñSCRA(0)=ninitmod NscRAhaving ninitis the first subcarrier selected by the MAC layer from {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1} and ñSCRA(2)=n′initmod NscRAhaving n′initis the second subcarrier selected by the MAC layer from {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1}, and the pseudo random sequence c(i) is defined as shown in Equation 8 above and the pseudo random sequence generator will be initialized to cinit=NIDNcell. Further, pseudo random sequence c′(n) is defined as shown in Equation 8 above and the pseudo random sequence generator will be initialized to cinit=(NIDNcell+1)mod 504. Additionally, a method for selecting two initial values in the MAC layer, but using one pseudo random sequence generators is expressed as the equation as shown in Equation 15 below. In this method, it may be configured that since two initial values need to be selected in the MAC layer, a first value of two initial values is determined as the RAPID. n~scRA(i)={(n~scRA(0)+f(i/3))modNscRAimod6=0,3andi>3n~scRA(i-1)+1imod6=1,2andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=0n~scRA(i-1)-1imod6=1,2andn~scRA(i-1)mod2=1n~scRA(i-1)+6imod6=4,5andn~scRA(i-1)<6n~scRA(i-1)-6imod6=4,5andn~scRA(i-1)≥6f(t)=(f(t-1)+(∑n=10t+110t+9c(n)2n-(10t+1))mod(NscRA-1)+1)modNscRAf(-1)=0[Equation15] The frequency location of the NPRACH transmission is limited to NscRA=12 subcarriers. The frequency hopping is used in 12 subcarriers. Here, the frequency location of the ith symbol group may be given as nscRA(i)=nstart+ñSCRA(i) and defined as nstart=NscoffsetNPRACH+└ninit/NscRA┘·NscRA. In addition, ñSCRA(0)=ninitmod NscRAhaving ninitis the first subcarrier selected by the MAC layer from {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1} and ñSCRA(2)=n′initmod NscRAhaving n′initis a second subcarrier selected by the MAC layer from {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1}, and the pseudo random sequence c(i) is defined as shown in Equation 8 above. In addition, the pseudo random sequence generator will be initialized to cinit=NIDNcell. Additionally, when two independent values are selected in the MAC layer, it may be configured that the RAPID is determined according to a combination of two independent tone indexes. That is, in the related art, one value is selected in the MAC layer, and a system in which the value is RAPID is provided, but in the method proposed by this specification, it may be configured that the RAPID is generated through a specific equation using two independent values. For example, when a first selected value is N in the MAC layer and a second selected value is M, the RAPID value may be configured as (N*NscNPRACH)+(M mod NscRA). In this case, characteristically, NscRAmay become 12. In this case, NscNPRACHmay represent the total number of subcarriers allocated to the corresponding NPRACH resource, and N and M may be configured to be selected as one of {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1, NscNPRACH}. When the same result is expressed, but the result is slightly differently expressed, the RAPID value may be configured as (N*NscNPRACH)+M. Here, it may be configured that as N, one among {0, 1, . . . , NscNPRACH−1, NscNPRACH} is selected and as M, one among {0, 1, . . . , NscRA−1, NscRA} is selected. In this case, characteristically, NscRAmay become 12. For convenience of appreciation, when a specific value (or number) is substituted, if NscNPRACHis 12, the total RAPID value may become 12*12=144 and if NscNPRACHis 24, the total RAPID value may become 24*12=288. In a case where NscNPRACHis 36 and in a case where NscNPRACHis 48, the total RAPID values may be 36*12=432, and 48*12=576, respectively. In the case of the above configuration, the total RAPID value becomes larger than the existing 64 RAPIDs (i.e., since a largest value is 576, a total of 10 bits are required), and as a result, it may be configured that the RAPID value is expressed by a combination of a field (i.e., 6 bits) indicating the existing RAPID value in the RAR and a new field (e.g., 4 bits) using reserved bits. When this method is used, it is advantageous that the maximum RAPID value may be larger than 48 which is the maximum RAPID value of the existing FDD NPRACH and it is advantageous that the UE may have a higher degree of freedom in performing the RACH procedure. FIG.35is a diagram illustrating an example of an operating method of a UE for transmitting an NPRACH preamble proposed by this specification. Specifically,FIG.35illustrates an operating method of a UE for transmitting a narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH) preamble in a wireless communication system that supports time division duplexing (TDD). First, the UE receives NPRACH configuration information including control information for the number of repeated NPRACH preambles including symbol groups from the eNB through upper layer signaling (S3510). The upper layer signaling may be RRC signaling. Then, the UE repeatedly transmits to the eNB the NPRACH preamble through the frequency hopping of the symbol group on the basis of the NPRACH configuration information (S3520). The NPRACH preamble may include two consecutive symbol groups and four consecutive symbol groups. A preamble format of the NPRACH preamble may be 0, 1 or 2. The frequency location of the symbol group may be determined based on a first parameter associated with a starting subcarrier and a second parameter associated with the frequency hopping. Specifically, the frequency location NSCRA(i) of the symbol group may be expressed as nscRA(i)=nstart+ñSCRA(i). The first parameter represents nstartand the second parameter represents ñSCRA(i). If the NPRACH preamble is repeated N times, the NPRACH preamble may be expressed as a first NPRACH preamble, a second NPRACH preamble, a third NPRACH preamble, . . . , and an Nth NPRACH preamble in sequence. The second parameter for the first symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble may be determined by an MAC layer. In addition, the second parameter for the symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be defined by the second parameter for the symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble, and a third parameter generated based on a pseudo random sequence and a symbol group index of the second NPRACH preamble. The second parameter may represent a subcarrier index corresponding to any one of 0 to 11, subcarriers 0 to 11. A method of positioning a frequency to which the frequency hopping for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble is applied will be described in more detail. Here, the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble refers to a first symbol group to a fifth symbol group and may refer to a symbol group in which a symbol group index i is 4. The second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble is determined based on a first value and a second value. The first value may be a value of the second parameter for the first symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble and the second value may be a value generated based on a pseudo random sequence and an index of the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble. A rule of determining the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble will be described in more detail. First, when the first value is an even number, the value of the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be defined as an odd number based on the first value and the second value. For example, when the first value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 and the second value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by adding 1 to the second value. In addition, when the first value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 and the second value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the second value. Alternatively, when the first value is an odd number, the value of the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be defined as an even number based on the first value and the second value. In addition, when the first value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11 and the second value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the second value. In addition, when the first value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11 and the second value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by subtracting 1 from the second value. The equation for the above description is represented by Equation 9 described above. Next, a rule of determining a second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble will be described in more detail. The second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble is determined based on a third value and a fourth value. The third value may be a value of the second parameter for the third symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble and the fourth value may be a value generated based on a pseudo random sequence and an index of the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble. For example, when the third value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the fourth value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by adding 6 to the fourth value. In addition, when the third value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the fourth value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the fourth value. When the third value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 and the fourth value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the fourth value. In addition, when the third value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 and the fourth value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by subtracting 6 from the fourth value. The third parameter may be defined by (ñSCRA(0)+f(i/2))mod NscRAand the ñSCRA(0) may be the second parameter for the first symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble. As described above, the second parameter for each of the symbol groups included in the first NPRACH preamble and the second NPRACH preamble may be defined by Equation 9 described above. Additionally, the UE may receive configuration information related to an uplink-downlink configuration from the eNB. In addition, in the case where there is no valid uplink subframe to transmit the consecutive symbol groups on the basis of the configuration information, the method may further include dropping the consecutive symbol groups by the UE. The parameters described above may be parameters determined by the UE or also parameters predefined or implemented in a chip of the UE (or a processor of the UE). The parameters predefined or implemented in the chip of the UE may be interpreted to mean that the UE does not perform an operation for calculating or determining the corresponding parameter to perform a specific value or a specific procedure. The contents in which the method for repeatedly transmitting the NPRACH preamble is implemented by the UE will be described in more detail with reference toFIGS.35,37, and38. In a wireless communication system supporting the time division duplexing (TDD), the UE for transmitting the narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH) preamble may include a transmitter for transmitting a radio signal, a receiver for receiving the radio signal, and a processor functionally connected with the transmitter and the receiver. The processor of the UE controls the receiver to receive NPRACH configuration information including control information for the number of repeated NPRACH preambles including symbol groups from the eNB through upper layer signaling. The upper layer signaling may be RRC signaling. Then, the processor of the UE controls the transmitter to repeatedly transmit to the eNB the NPRACH preamble through the frequency hopping of the symbol group on the basis of the NPRACH configuration information. The NPRACH preamble may include two consecutive symbol groups and four consecutive symbol groups. A preamble format of the NPRACH preamble may be 0, 1 or 2. The frequency location of the symbol group may be determined based on a first parameter associated with a starting subcarrier and a second parameter associated with the frequency hopping. Specifically, the frequency location NSCRA(i) of the symbol group may be expressed as nscRA(i)=nstart+ñSCRA(i). The first parameter represents nstartand the second parameter represents ñSCRA(i). If the NPRACH preamble is repeated N times, the NPRACH preamble may be expressed as a first NPRACH preamble, a second NPRACH preamble, a third NPRACH preamble, . . . , and an Nth NPRACH preamble in sequence. The second parameter for the first symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble may be determined by an MAC layer. In addition, the second parameter for the symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be defined by the second parameter for the symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble, and a third parameter generated based on a pseudo random sequence and a symbol group index of the second NPRACH preamble. Here, the third parameter may be a parameter determined by the UE or also a parameter predefined or implemented in a chip of the UE (or a processor of the UE). The parameter predefined or implemented in the chip of the UE may be interpreted to mean that the UE does not perform an operation for calculating or determining the corresponding parameter to perform a specific value or a specific procedure. The second parameter may represent a subcarrier index corresponding to any one of 0 to 11, subcarriers 0 to 11. A method of positioning a frequency to which the frequency hopping for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble is applied will be described in more detail. Here, the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble refers to a first symbol group to a fifth symbol group and may refer to a symbol group in which a symbol group index i is 4. The second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble is determined based on a first value and a second value. The first value may be a value of the second parameter for the first symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble and the second value may be a value generated based on a pseudo random sequence and an index of the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble. A rule of determining the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble will be described in more detail. First, when the first value is an even number, the value of the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be defined as an odd number based on the first value and the second value. For example, when the first value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 and the second value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by adding 1 to the second value. In addition, when the first value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 and the second value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the second value. Alternatively, when the first value is an odd number, the value of the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be defined as an even number based on the first value and the second value. In addition, when the first value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11 and the second value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the second value. In addition, when the first value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11 and the second value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by subtracting 1 from the second value. The equation for the above description is represented by Equation 9 described above. Next, a rule of determining a second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble will be described in more detail. The second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble is determined based on a third value and a fourth value. The third value may be a value of the second parameter for the third symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble and the fourth value may be a value generated based on a pseudo random sequence and an index of the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble. For example, when the third value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the fourth value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by adding 6 to the fourth value. In addition, when the third value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the fourth value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the fourth value. When the third value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 and the fourth value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the fourth value. In addition, when the third value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 and the fourth value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by subtracting 6 from the fourth value. The third parameter may be defined by (ñSCRA(0)+f(i/2))mod NscRAand the ñSCRA(0) may be the second parameter for the first symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble. As described above, the second parameter for each of the symbol groups included in the first NPRACH preamble and the second NPRACH preamble may be defined by Equation 9 described above. Additionally, the processor of the UE may control the receiver to receive configuration information related to an uplink-downlink configuration from the eNB and control to drop the consecutive symbol groups when there is no valid uplink subframe to transmit the consecutive symbol groups based on the configuration information. A method for transmitting the NPRACH preamble when G=3 and P=6 will be described with reference toFIG.35. First, the UE receives NPRACH configuration information including first control information for the number of repeated NPRACH preambles including symbol groups from the eNB through upper layer signaling. Then, the UE repeatedly transmits to the eNB the NPRACH preamble through the frequency hopping between the symbol groups on the basis of the NPRACH configuration information. Here, the frequency location of the symbol group is determined based on a first parameter associated with a starting subcarrier and a second parameter associated with the frequency hopping, and more detailed contents thereof will be described with reference toFIG.35. The NPRACH preamble may include first three consecutive symbol groups and second three consecutive symbol groups. A first symbol group of the first three consecutive symbol groups and a first symbol group of the second three consecutive symbol groups may be defined by an MAC layer, and a parameter generated based on a pseudo random sequence and a symbol group index, respectively. The second parameter for each symbol group included in the NPRACH preamble may be defined by Equation 13 described above. Additionally, the UE may receive configuration information related to an uplink-downlink configuration from the eNB. In addition, when there is no valid uplink subframe to transmit the consecutive symbol groups on the basis of the configuration information, the method may further include dropping the consecutive symbol groups by the UE. FIG.36is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operating method of an eNB for repeatedly receiving an NPRACH preamble proposed by this specification. Specifically,FIG.36illustrates an operating method of an eNB for receiving a narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH) preamble in a wireless communication system that supports time division duplexing (TDD). First, the eNB transmits NPRACH configuration information including control information for the number of repeated NPRACH preambles including symbol groups to the UE through upper layer signaling (S3610). The upper layer signaling may be RRC signaling. In addition, the eNB repeatedly receives the NPRACH preamble from the UE through the frequency hopping of the symbol group (S3620). The NPRACH preamble may include two consecutive symbol groups and four consecutive symbol groups. A preamble format of the NPRACH preamble may be 0, 1 or 2. The frequency location of the symbol group may be determined based on a first parameter associated with a starting subcarrier and a second parameter associated with the frequency hopping. Specifically, the frequency location NSCRA(i) of the symbol group may be expressed as nscRA(i)=nstart+ñSCRA(i). The first parameter represents nstartand the second parameter represents nSCRA(i). If the NPRACH preamble is repeated N times, the NPRACH preamble may be expressed as a first NPRACH preamble, a second NPRACH preamble, a third NPRACH preamble, . . . , and an Nth NPRACH preamble in sequence. The second parameter for the first symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble may be determined by an MAC layer. In addition, the second parameter for the symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be defined by the second parameter for the symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble, and a third parameter generated based on a pseudo random sequence and a symbol group index of the second NPRACH preamble. The second parameter may represent a subcarrier index corresponding to any one of 0 to 11, subcarriers 0 to 11. A method of positioning a frequency to which the frequency hopping for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble is applied will be described in more detail. Here, the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble refers to a first symbol group to a fifth symbol group and may refer to a symbol group in which a symbol group index i is 4. The second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble is determined based on a first value and a second value. The first value may be a value of the second parameter for the first symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble and the second value may be a value generated based on a pseudo random sequence and an index of the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble. A rule of determining the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble will be described in more detail. First, when the first value is an even number, the value of the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be defined as an odd number based on the first value and the second value. For example, when the first value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 and the second value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by adding 1 to the second value. In addition, when the first value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 and the second value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the second value. Alternatively, when the first value is an odd number, the value of the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be defined as an even number based on the first value and the second value. In addition, when the first value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11 and the second value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the second value. In addition, when the first value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11 and the second value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by subtracting 1 from the second value. The equation for the above description is represented by Equation 9 described above. Next, a rule of determining a second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble will be described in more detail. The second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble is determined based on a third value and a fourth value. The third value may be a value of the second parameter for the third symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble and the fourth value may be a value generated based on a pseudo random sequence and an index of the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble. For example, when the third value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the fourth value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by adding 6 to the fourth value. In addition, when the third value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the fourth value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the fourth value. When the third value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 and the fourth value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the fourth value. In addition, when the third value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 and the fourth value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by subtracting 6 from the fourth value. The third parameter may be defined by (ñSCRA(0)+f(i/2))mod NscRAand the ñSCRA(0) may be the second parameter for the first symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble. As described above, the second parameter for each of the symbol groups included in the first NPRACH preamble and the second NPRACH preamble may be defined by Equation 9 described above. Additionally, the eNB may transmit configuration information related to an uplink-downlink configuration to the UE. Here, when there is no valid uplink subframe to transmit the consecutive symbol groups, the consecutive symbol groups may be dropped. The parameters described above may be parameters determined by the eNB or also parameters predefined or implemented in a chip of the eNB (or a processor of the eNB). The parameter predefined or implemented in the chip of the eNB may be interpreted to mean that the eNB does not perform an operation for calculating or determining the corresponding parameter to perform a specific value or a specific procedure. The contents in which the method for repeatedly receiving the NPRACH preamble is implemented by the eNB will be described in more detail with reference toFIGS.36to38. In a wireless communication system supporting the time division duplexing (TDD), the eNB for receiving the narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH) preamble may include a transmitter for transmitting a radio signal, a receiver for receiving the radio signal, and a processor functionally connected with the transmitter and the receiver. The processor of the eNB controls the transmitter to transmit NPRACH configuration information including control information for the number of repeated NPRACH preambles including symbol groups to the UE through upper layer signaling. The upper layer signaling may be RRC signaling. In addition, the processor of the eNB controls the receiver to repeatedly receive the NPRACH preamble from the UE through the frequency hopping of the symbol group. The NPRACH preamble may include two consecutive symbol groups and four consecutive symbol groups. A preamble format of the NPRACH preamble may be 0, 1 or 2. The frequency location of the symbol group may be determined based on a first parameter associated with a starting subcarrier and a second parameter associated with the frequency hopping. Specifically, the frequency location NSCRA(i) of the symbol group may be expressed as nscRA(i)=nstart+ñSCRA(i). The first parameter represents nstartand the second parameter represents nSCRA(i). If the NPRACH preamble is repeated N times, the NPRACH preamble may be expressed as a first NPRACH preamble, a second NPRACH preamble, a third NPRACH preamble, . . . , and an Nth NPRACH preamble in sequence. The second parameter for the first symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble may be determined by an MAC layer. In addition, the second parameter for the symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be defined by the second parameter for the symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble, and a third parameter generated based on a pseudo random sequence and a symbol group index of the second NPRACH preamble. The second parameter may represent a subcarrier index corresponding to any one of 0 to 11, subcarriers 0 to 11. A method of positioning a frequency to which the frequency hopping for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble is applied will be described in more detail. Here, the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble refers to a first symbol group to a fifth symbol group and may refer to a symbol group in which a symbol group index i is 4. The second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble is determined based on a first value and a second value. The first value may be a value of the second parameter for the first symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble and the second value may be a value generated based on a pseudo random sequence and an index of the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble. A rule of determining the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble will be described in more detail. First, when the first value is an even number, the value of the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be defined as an odd number based on the first value and the second value. For example, when the first value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 and the second value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by adding 1 to the second value. In addition, when the first value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 and the second value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the second value. Alternatively, when the first value is an odd number, the value of the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be defined as an even number based on the first value and the second value. In addition, when the first value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11 and the second value is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the second value. In addition, when the first value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11 and the second value is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11, the second parameter for the first symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by subtracting 1 from the second value. The equation for the above description is represented by Equation 9 described above. Next, a rule of determining a second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble will be described in more detail. The second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble is determined based on a third value and a fourth value. The third value may be a value of the second parameter for the third symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble and the fourth value may be a value generated based on a pseudo random sequence and an index of the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble. For example, when the third value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the fourth value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by adding 6 to the fourth value. In addition, when the third value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the fourth value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the fourth value. When the third value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 and the fourth value is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be the fourth value. In addition, when the third value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 and the fourth value is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11, the second parameter for the third symbol group of the second NPRACH preamble may be a value obtained by subtracting 6 from the fourth value. The third parameter may be defined by (ñSCRA(0)+f(i/2))mod NscRAand the ñSCRA(0) may be the second parameter for the first symbol group of the first NPRACH preamble. As described above, the second parameter for each of the respective symbol groups included in the first NPRACH preamble and the second NPRACH preamble may be defined by Equation 9 described above. Additionally, the processor of the eNB controls the transmitter to transmit configuration information related to an uplink-downlink configuration to the UE. Here, when there is no valid uplink subframe to transmit the consecutive symbol groups, the consecutive symbol groups may be dropped. The parameters described above may be parameters determined by the eNB or also parameters predefined or implemented in a chip of the eNB (or a processor of the eNB). The parameter predefined or implemented in the chip of the eNB may be interpreted to mean that the eNB does not perform an operation for calculating or determining the corresponding parameter to perform a specific value or a specific procedure. A method for receiving the NPRACH preamble when G=3 and P=6 will be described with reference toFIG.36. First, the eNB transmits NPRACH configuration information including first control information for the number of repeated NPRACH preambles including symbol groups to the UE through upper layer signaling. In addition, the eNB repeatedly receives the NPRACH preamble from the UE through the frequency hopping between the symbol groups. Here, the frequency location of the symbol group is determined based on a first parameter associated with a starting subcarrier and a second parameter associated with the frequency hopping, and more detailed contents thereof will be described with reference toFIG.36. The NPRACH preamble may include first three consecutive symbol groups and second three consecutive symbol groups. A first symbol group of the first three consecutive symbol groups and a first symbol group of the second three consecutive symbol groups may be defined by an MAC layer, and a parameter generated based on a pseudo random sequence and a symbol group index, respectively. The second parameter for each symbol group included in the NPRACH preamble may be defined by Equation 13 described above. Additionally, the eNB may transmit configuration information related to an uplink-downlink configuration to the UE. Then, when there is no valid uplink subframe to transmit the consecutive symbol groups, the eNB may drop the consecutive symbol groups. Overview of Devices to which Present Invention is Applicable FIG.37illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communication device to which methods proposed by this specification may be applied. Referring toFIG.37, a wireless communication system includes an eNB3710and multiple user equipments3720positioned within an area of the base station. Each of the eNB and the UE may be expressed as a wireless device. The eNB includes a processor3711, a memory3712, and a radio frequency (RF) module3713. The processor3711implements a function, a process, and/or a method which are proposed inFIGS.1to16above. Layers of a radio interface protocol may be implemented by the processor. The memory is connected with the processor to store various information for driving the processor. The RF module is connected with the processor to transmit and/or receive a radio signal. The UE includes a processor3721, a memory3722, and an RF module3723. The processor implements a function, a process, and/or a method which are proposed inFIGS.1to36above. Layers of a radio interface protocol may be implemented by the processor. The memory is connected with the processor to store various information for driving the processor. The RF module is connected with the processor to transmit and/or receive a radio signal. The memories3712and3722may be positioned inside or outside the processors3711and3721and connected with the processor by various well-known means. Further, the eNB and/or the UE may have a single antenna or multiple antennas. The antennas3714and3724serve to transmit and receive the radio signals. FIG.38illustrates another example of the block diagram of the wireless communication device to which methods proposed in this specification may be applied. Referring toFIG.38, a wireless communication system includes an eNB3810and multiple user equipments3820positioned within an area of the base station. The eNB may be represented by a transmitting apparatus and the UE may be represented by a receiving apparatus, or vice versa. The eNB and the UE include processors3811.3821and3814.3824, memories3815.3825and3812.3822, one or more Tx/Rx radio frequency (RF) modules3813.3823and3816.3826, Tx processors2112and2122, Rx processors2113and2123, and antennas2116and2126. The processor implements a function, a process, and/or a method which are described above. More specifically, a higher layer packet from a core network is provided to the processor3811in DL (communication from the eNB to the UE). The processor implements a function of an L2 layer. In the DL, the processor provides multiplexing between a logical channel and a transmission channel and allocation of radio resources to the UE3820, and takes charge of signaling to the UE. The transmit (TX) processor3812implement various signal processing functions for an L1 layer (i.e., physical layer). The signal processing functions facilitate forward error correction (FEC) at the UE and include coding and interleaving. Encoded and modulated symbols are divided into parallel streams, each stream is mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (RS) in a time and/or frequency domain, and combined together by using inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to create a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDMA symbol stream. An OFDM stream is spatially precoded in order to create multiple spatial streams. Respective spatial streams may be provided to different antennas3816via individual Tx/Rx modules (or transceivers,3815). Each Tx/Rx module may modulate an RF carrier into each spatial stream for transmission. In the UE, each Tx/Rx module (or transceiver,3825) receives a signal through each antenna3826of each Tx/Rx module. Each Tx/Rx module reconstructs information modulated with the RF carrier and provides the reconstructed information to the receive (RX) processor3823. The RX processor implement various signal processing functions of layer1. The RX processor may perform spatial processing on information in order to reconstruct an arbitrary spatial stream which is directed for the UE. When multiple spatial streams are directed to the UE, the multiple spatial streams may be combined into a single OFDMA symbol stream by multiple RX processors. The RX processor transforms the OFDMA symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain by using fast Fourier transform (FFT). A frequency domain signal includes individual OFDMA symbol streams for respective subcarriers of the OFDM signal. Symbols on the respective subcarriers and the reference signal are reconstructed and demodulated by determining most likely signal arrangement points transmitted by the base station. The soft decisions may be based on channel estimation values. The soft decisions are decoded and deinterleaved to reconstruct data and control signals originally transmitted by the eNB on the physical channel. The corresponding data and control signals are provided to the processor3821. UL (communication from the UE to the base station) is processed by the eNB3810in a scheme similar to a scheme described in association with a receiver function in the UE3820. Each Tx/Rx module3825receives the signal through each antenna3826. Each Tx/Rx module provides the RF carrier and information to the RX processor3823. The processor3821may be associated with the memory3824storing a program code and data. The memory may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the embodiments described above, the components and the features of the present invention are combined in a predetermined form. Each component or feature should be considered as an option unless otherwise expressly stated. Each component or feature may be implemented not to be associated with other components or features. Further, the embodiment of the present invention may be configured by associating some components and/or features. The order of the operations described in the embodiments of the present invention may be changed. Some components or features of any embodiment may be included in another embodiment or replaced with the component and the feature corresponding to another embodiment. It is apparent that the claims that are not expressly cited in the claims are combined to form an embodiment or be included in a new claim by an amendment after the application. The embodiments of the present invention may be implemented by hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. In the case of implementation by hardware, according to hardware implementation, the exemplary embodiment described herein may be implemented by using one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, and the like. In the case of implementation by firmware or software, the embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a module, a procedure, a function, and the like to perform the functions or operations described above. A software code may be stored in the memory and executed by the processor. The memory may be positioned inside or outside the processor and may transmit and receive data to/from the processor by already various means. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from essential characteristics of the present invention. Accordingly, the aforementioned detailed description should not be construed as restrictive in all terms and should be exemplarily considered. The scope of the present invention should be determined by rational construing of the appended claims and all modifications within an equivalent scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY An example in which the present invention is applied to the 3GPP LTE/LTE-A system is described primarily, but the present invention can be applied to various wireless communication systems including NR, etc., in addition to the 3GPP LTE/LTE-A system. | 207,708 |
11943815 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS The following describes the embodiments of the presented principles with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments. FIG.2is a schematic diagram of a communications system according to an embodiment. The communications system may include at least one network device100(only one is shown) and one or more terminal devices200connected to the network device100. The network device100may be a device that can communicate with the terminal device200. The network device100may be any device with a wireless transmitting/receiving function. The network device100includes but is limited to a base station (for example, a NodeB NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a base station in a fifth-generation (5G) communications system, a base station or a network device in a future communications system, an access node in a WiFi system, a radio relay node, or a wireless backhaul node) and the like. The network device100may be alternatively a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The network device100may be alternatively a network device in a 5G network or a network device in a future evolved network, or may be a wearable device, an in-vehicle device, or the like. The network device100may be alternatively a small cell, a transmission reference point (TRP), or the like. Certainly, this is not limited in this application. The terminal device200is a device that has a wireless transmitting/receiving function and may be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld, wearable, or in-vehicle, or may be deployed on a water surface (such as a ship), or may be deployed in the air (for example, a plane, a balloon, or a satellite). The terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with a wireless transmitting/receiving function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine (remote medical), a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, or the like. An application scenario is not limited in this embodiment of this application. The terminal device may sometimes be referred to as user equipment (UE), an access terminal device, a UE unit, a UE station, a mobile station, a mobile console, a remote station, a remote terminal device, a mobile device, a UE terminal device, a terminal device, a terminal (terminal), a wireless communications device, a UE agent, a UE apparatus, or the like. It should be noted that the terms “system” and “network” in the embodiments may be used interchangeably. “A plurality of” means two or more, and in view of this, “a plurality of” may also be understood as “at least two” in the embodiments. The term “and/or” describes an association relationship for describing associated objects and represents that three relationships may exist. For example, A and/or B may represent the following three cases: Only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists. In addition, the character “/” generally indicates an “or” relationship between the associated objects. In addition, for ease of clearly describing the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, in the embodiments of this application, words such as “first” and “second” are used to distinguish between same items or similar items whose functions and functions are basically the same. A person skilled in the art may understand that the words such as “first” and “second” do not limit a quantity and an execution sequence, and the words such as “first” and “second” are not necessarily different. FIG.3is a schematic interaction flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment. The method may include the following steps. S301. A terminal device sends a random access request to a network device. S302. The network device receives the random access request sent by the terminal device, and sends a random access response to the terminal device. S303. The terminal device receives the random access response sent by the network device, and performs a state transition AND/OR operation corresponding to a message format of the random access response. The terminal device sends a request to the network device. The request is used to initiate random access, and the request may be referred to as a random access request, a random access request message, a message 1 (msg1), a random access preamble (preamble), or another user-defined name. This is not limited herein. In this embodiment, the random access request is used as an example for description. In S302, the response is used to respond to the foregoing request, and may be referred to as a random access response, a random access response message, a message 2 (msg2), or another user-defined name. This is not limited herein. In this embodiment, the random access response is used as an example for description. In this embodiment, when sending the random access request, the terminal device is in an inactive state. When the terminal device switches from a connected state to the inactive state, the terminal device stores related content in the connected state, and this part of content is referred to as access stratum context information of an RRC connection. The terminal device sends the random access request. As shown in Table 1, the random access request includes a random access preamble, control information, and user data. Optionally, if the terminal device has kept uplink synchronization when sending the random access request, for example, in a case, when the network device successfully decodes the control information and the user data that are sent by the terminal device in the inactive state, and the network device feeds back an uplink timing advance (TA) in the random access response, uplink synchronization of the terminal device is completed and may be kept for a period of time, but the terminal device is still in the inactive state, and when transmitting data again and still keeping uplink synchronization, the terminal device may not send the preamble, and a format of the random access request of the terminal device is shown in Table 2, and in another case, after the terminal device switches from the connected state to the inactive state, if a previously synchronized TA is still valid and the terminal device needs to be send user data to the network device, the terminal device may also send a random access request in a message format shown in Table 2. TABLE 1Random access preambleControl informationUser data TABLE 2Control informationUser data The preamble is selected by the terminal device from a set of available preambles. The network device determines the TA by detecting the preamble. The control information includes at least a connection identifier and an authentication identifier. The connection identifier is used to identify an RRC connection before the terminal device switches from the connected state to the inactive state, or the connection identifier is used to identify access stratum context information that is of an RRC connection and that is stored when the terminal device switches from the connected state to the inactive state. Specifically, when instructing the terminal device to switch from the connected state to the inactive state, the network device allocates an identifier to the terminal device, and the identifier is used to restore a radio resource control (RRC) connection. Generally, the connection identifier may be specifically an RRC identifier (ID) or an RRC resume identity, in other words, the connection identifier is used to identify the RRC connection before the terminal device switches from the connected state to the inactive state, or the connection identifier may be specifically an AS context ID, in other words, the connection identifier is used to identify the access stratum context information that is of the RRC connection and that is stored when the terminal device switches from the connected state to the inactive state. In other words, when receiving the random access request, the network device may obtain the access stratum context information of the RRC connection based on the control information. The authentication identifier is used by the network device to perform identity authentication on the terminal device. Specifically, the authentication identifier is separately calculated by the terminal device and the network device. A calculation is completed by using a specified algorithm and using an RRC-related key (for example, K_RRCint), a counter, and some known parameters (for example, a cell identifier) as input parameters. After the terminal device sends the authentication identifier to the network device, the network device compares the received authentication identifier with an authentication identifier calculated by the network device. If the authentication identifiers match, a subsequent procedure is performed. Otherwise, it is considered that the user data is invalid and the user data is discarded. Optionally, the control information may further include at least one of the following information: a data transmission reason and a switch-to-the-connected-state request. A data transmission reason field is used to notify the network device of a trigger factor of current transmission. The switch-to-the-connected-state request is used by the terminal device to suggest whether to switch to the connected state subsequently. When the terminal device expects to switch to the connected state after the current transmission is completed, the terminal device provides a suggestion for the network device by setting a connection request to a specific value. The network device may determine, based on this field, whether to switch the terminal device to the connected state. It should be noted that a preamble sequence may also be divided. The terminal device may select a sequence to indicate whether to switch to the connected state subsequently, so that signaling overheads are small. Further, the control information and the user data may be transmitted as a same transport block (TB). The control information may be transmitted as control information of a layer 2, such as, a media access control control element (MAC CE) or a MAC sub-header, or may be transmitted as control information of a layer 3, such as, an RRC message. Uplink user data may be a data unit encapsulated by using an upper layer, and the upper layer means a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) sublayer and a radio link control (radio link control, RLC) sublayer. A bearer parameter required for transmitting the control information and the user data may be predefined (for example, specified by a standard protocol) or may be a preset value, and a bearer includes a radio bearer and a core network bearer. The network device detects a received signal, detects a preamble, and decodes and parses control information and user data. First, if the network device detects a preamble sequence of the random access preamble (the random access preamble may be a preamble sequence) in the random access request or some sequences in the random access preamble (the random access preamble may include a plurality of sequences or a plurality of repetitions of one sequence), the network device generates the random access response corresponding to the random access request. The random access response may be carried by a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The network device further sends downlink control information (DCI) corresponding to the random access response. The DCI is used to indicate information such as a time-frequency resource of the PDSCH that carries the random access response and an MCS corresponding to the PDSCH. The DCI may be identified by a random access-radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI), and an identification manner is that cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the DCI is scrambled by using the RA-RNTI. The DCI may be carried by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). If the terminal device correctly descrambles the DCI by using the RA-RNTI, the terminal device may determine that the DCI is used for the random access response. If the network device fails to detect the preamble, the network device makes no response. Then, the network device decodes the control information and the user data, and performs parsing based on the control information obtained after successfully performing decoding, to obtain the connection identifier and the authentication identifier through parsing. Further, the network device obtains the connection identifier through decoding, and restores, based on the connection identifier, the access stratum context information of the RRC connection that is associated with the connection identifier. The context information includes a parameter of a bearer associated with the RRC connection and a parameter used to calculate the authentication identifier (for example, MAC-I) of the terminal device. Then, the network device authenticates a user identity, in other words, matches the authentication identifier obtained through decoding with an authentication identifier calculated based on the parameter that is included in the context information and that is used to calculate the authentication identifier. If the authentication identifiers match, a subsequent procedure is performed. Otherwise, it is considered that the user data is invalid, and the user data is discarded. The network device needs to indicate a state transition and/or operation of the terminal device based on one or more of a detection result of the preamble, a decoding and parsing result of the control information and the user data, and a current network status. Therefore, in this embodiment, the random access response has at least two message formats, and each message format corresponds to one state transition AND/OR operation. Specifically, each message format includes one or more fields. The terminal device may perform a corresponding state transition AND/OR operation based on content of the field. For example, a schematic diagram of a message format of a random access response shown inFIG.4shows random access responses in six message formats. Certainly, this is not limited thereto. Fields included in the random access responses in the six message formats are respectively a first message format (Format 1), a second message format (Format 2), a third message format (Format 3), a fourth message format (Format 4), a fifth message format (Format 5), and a sixth message format (Format 6). A random access response in the first message format includes at least one of the following fields: a connection identifier (connection identifier/identification, Connection ID), a TA, a cell-radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI). Optionally, the random access response in the first message format may further include an RRC message (RRC Msg), a message format field (Format), and/or downlink data (DL Data). The RRC message includes configuration information of some signaling bearers (for example, a signaling bearer 2) and a data bearer, and specifically includes a related parameter (for example, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink control channel (physical uplink control channel, PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a channel sounding reference signal (SRS), antenna relevancy, or a scheduling request (SR)) of a corresponding physical layer, a media access control (MAC) layer parameter (for example, a shared channel (SCH), discontinuous reception (DRX), or a transmit power headroom (PHR)), a radio link control (RLC) layer parameter, a packet data convergence protocol (packet data convergence protocol, PDCP) layer parameter, and the like. Optionally, the random access response in the first message format may further include a format field and/or a downlink data (DL Data) field, the format field is used to indicate that a message format of the random access response in which the format field is located is the first message format, and the DL data field is used to carry downlink user data that is sent by the network device to the terminal device. A random access response in the second message format includes at least one of the following fields: a connection identifier and a TA. Optionally, the random access response in the second message format may further include a format field and/or a DL data field. The format field in the random access response in the second message format is used to indicate that a message format of the random access response in which the format field is located is the second message format. A random access response in the third message format includes at least a connection identifier. Optionally, the random access response in the third message format may further include a format field and/or a DL data field. The format field in the random access response in the third message format is used to indicate that a message format of the random access response in which the format field is located is the third message format. A random access response in the fourth message format includes at least one of the following fields: a connection identifier and a radio resource control connection reject indication (RRC reject). Optionally, the random access response in the fourth message format may further include a format field. The format field in the random access response in the fourth message format is used to indicate that a message format of the random access response in which the format field is located is the fourth message format. A random access response in the fifth message format includes at least one of the following fields: a random access preamble identity (RAPID), a TA, uplink scheduling information, a temporary cell-radio network temporary identifier (temporary C-RNTI), and a backoff indication. Optionally, the random access response in the fifth message format may further include a format field. The format field in the random access response in the fifth message format is used to indicate that a message format of the random access response in which the format field is located is the fifth message format. A random access response in the sixth message format includes at least one of the following fields: an RAPID and a backoff indication. Optionally, the random access response in the sixth message format may further include a format field. The format field in the random access response in the sixth message format is used to indicate that a message format of the random access response in which the format field is located is the sixth message format. Meanings of the fields in the foregoing message formats are as follows. The TA is a timing advance. After receiving this field, the terminal device adjusts/updates an uplink signal sending occasion based on a value in the field, to complete uplink synchronization. The terminal may further set a timer, and uplink synchronization is valid before the timer expires. C-RNTI: This identifier is an air interface identifier of a terminal device in the connected state. The terminal identifies, based on the identifier, a physical layer control signal sent by the network device to the terminal. Temporary C-RNTI: This identifier is an identifier temporarily allocated in a random access procedure. The temporary C-RNTI is used by the terminal device and the network device to receive and send Msg3 and Msg4 in the random access procedure. Backoff indication (BI): After the terminal device receives this indication, if random access fails this time, the terminal device first backs off for a period of time and then initiates next random access, and a backoff time is randomly selected within a specific range. A maximum value of the range is indicated by the BI or determined based on the BI. UL-Grant: Uplink scheduling information. The network device schedules an uplink resource for the terminal device to send a Msg3 message in an existing random access procedure, and configures a related parameter used for uplink sending. The Msg3 message includes fields such as a user identity, an authentication identifier, and an access reason. The parameter used for uplink sending includes an MCS, uplink pilot parameter configuration, and the like. The RAPID is used to identify a random access preamble sequence. Various field information in the foregoing message formats and optional downlink user data may be transmitted as a same transport block (transport block, TB). The foregoing field information may be transmitted as control information of the layer 2, such as, a media access control control element (MAC CE) or a MAC sub-header, or may be transmitted as control information of the layer 3, such as, an RRC message, or some field information may be transmitted as control information of the layer 2, and the other field information may be transmitted as control information of the layer 3. The downlink user data may be a data unit encapsulated by using an upper layer, and the upper layer means a PDCP sublayer and an RLC sublayer. The network device sends the random access response to the terminal device in a determined message format. After sending a random access request, the terminal device needs to wait to receive a random access response of the network device. Specifically, in a time window specified by downlink control information of the network device, the terminal device monitors a downlink physical control channel by using a corresponding RA-RNTI. If the terminal device receives DCI identified by the RA-RNTI, the terminal device decodes a random access response at a time-frequency location indicated by the DCI, in other words, receives the random access response, and then continues a subsequent process. The physical downlink control channel may include a plurality of pieces of DCI. If a specific piece of DCI that the random access response is for needs to be found, the terminal device descrambles decoded DCI by using the RA-RNTI. If the descrambling succeeds, it is considered that the current DCI is for the random access response, and a random access response corresponding to the current DCI is received based on the DCI. After receiving the random access response, the terminal device may determine, based on the message format of the random access response, a to-be-performed state transition AND/OR operation corresponding to the message format, and perform the state transition AND/OR operation corresponding to the message format. For example, for the six message formats in the foregoing example, the terminal device correspondingly performs the following state transition AND/OR operations separately. The terminal device switches to the connected state based on the random access response in the first message format, and data corresponding to the random access response in the first message format is successfully sent. The terminal device maintains the inactive state and adjusts uplink timing based on the random access response in the second message format, and data corresponding to the random access response in the second message format is successfully sent. The terminal device maintains the inactive state based on the random access response in the third message format, and data corresponding to the random access response in the third message format is successfully sent. The terminal device maintains the inactive state or switches to the idle state based on the random access response in the fourth message format, and data corresponding to the random access response in the fourth message format fails to be sent. The terminal device sends a radio resource control RRC connection request to the network device based on the random access response in the fifth message format, and data corresponding to the random access response in the fifth message format fails to be sent, where the RRC connection request may be an RRC connection request sent in a third step in a random access procedure in the prior art. The terminal device resends the random access request to the network device based on the random access response in the sixth message format, and data corresponding to the random access response in the sixth message format fails to be sent. It can be learned from the foregoing descriptions that after receiving random access responses in some message formats, the terminal device may switch to the connected state, or maintain the inactive state, but may continue to send the user data, or maintains the inactive state or re-initiates a random access request. Compared with the prior art, processing time of a subsequent procedure is performed in advance, thereby shortening duration occupied by an entire random access procedure and data sending. In an embodiment, processing performed after the terminal device receives the random access responses in the various formats further includes the following. a. For the random access response in the first message format the terminal device determines whether a received connection identifier matches the connection identifier in the random access request sent by the terminal device, and if the connection identifiers match, the terminal device determines that this message is sent to the terminal device, or otherwise, the terminal device discards this message. The terminal device adjusts an uplink signal sending occasion based on the TA, to complete uplink synchronization. If the random access response in the first message format includes an RRC message, the terminal device configures a data radio bearer based on the RRC message. The terminal device monitors, based on the C-RNTI in the random access response, control information (scheduling information) sent by the network device to the terminal device. Further, the terminal device maintains the connected state. b. For the random access response in the second message format the terminal device determines whether a received connection identifier matches the connection identifier in the random access request sent by the terminal device, and if the connection identifiers match, the terminal device determines that this message is sent to the terminal device, or otherwise, the terminal device discards this message. The terminal device adjusts an uplink signal sending occasion based on the TA, to complete uplink synchronization. c. For the random access response in the third message format the terminal device determines whether a received connection identifier matches the connection identifier in the random access request sent by the terminal device, and if the connection identifiers match, the terminal device determines that this message is sent to the terminal device, or otherwise, the terminal device discards this message. d. For the random access response in the fourth message format the terminal device determines whether a received connection identifier matches the connection identifier in the random access request sent by the terminal device, and if the connection identifiers match, the terminal device determines that this message is sent to the terminal device, or otherwise, the terminal device discards this message. The terminal device maintains the inactive state or switches to the idle state based on an indication of the RRC reject field. e. For the random access response in the fifth message format the terminal device determines whether a received RAPID matches the RAPID in the random access request sent by the terminal device, and if the RAPIDs match, the terminal device determines that this message is sent to the terminal device, or otherwise, the terminal device discards this message. The terminal device adjusts an uplink signal sending occasion based on the TA, to complete uplink synchronization. The terminal device sends a Msg3 message based on an uplink resource allocated by the UL-Grant, where the Msg3 includes a field such as the user identifier or the authentication identifier. f. For the random access response in the sixth message format the terminal device determines whether a received RAPID matches the RAPID in the random access request sent by the terminal device, and if the RAPIDs match, the terminal device determines that this message is sent to the terminal device, or otherwise, the terminal device discards this message. In the prior art, a process of sending msg1 to msg4 between the terminal device and the network device may be referred to as a four-step random access procedure (4-step random access procedure, 4-Step RA Procedure), and a process of sending the random access request and the random access response in this application between the terminal device and the network device may be referred to as a two-step random access procedure (2-step RA Procedure). In LTE, a random access request carries only a preamble, and random access can be completed only after a 4-step RA procedure, to obtain a random access parameter for setting up an RRC connection. The random access request in this application carries the preamble, the control information, and the user data, and the control information includes the connection identifier and the authentication identifier. A signaling bearer may be set up based on the connection identifier and the authentication identifier, thereby ensuring implementation of data communication between the terminal device and a network side. According to the communication method provided in this embodiment, the terminal device in the inactive state adds the connection identifier and the authentication identifier to the random access request, so that implementation of data communication between the terminal device and the network side is ensured. If the network device does not obtain the connection identifier or the authentication identifier, the network device cannot know a sender of the user data in the random access request, and discards the user data. In this case, current data communication initiated by the terminal device in the inactive state is invalid data communication, in other words, data communication between the terminal device and the network device fails. FIG.5is a schematic interaction flowchart of another communication method according to an embodiment. The method may include the following steps.S501. A terminal device obtains a transmission parameter and a random access parameter.S502. The terminal device sends a random access request to a network device.S503. The network device receives the random access request sent by the terminal device, and determines a message format of a random access response.S504. The network device sends the random access response to the terminal device.S505. The terminal device receives the random access response sent by the network device, and determines the message format of the random access response.S506. The terminal device performs a state transition AND/OR operation corresponding to the message format of the random access response. In this application, the network device may further configure, for a terminal device in an inactive state, a parameter used to perform a random access procedure (2-step RA procedure and/or 4-step RA procedure). For example, the network device configures, for the terminal device, a parameter used to send/receive msg1 to msg4. Specifically, a transmission parameter used to transmit the control information and the user data needs to be preconfigured, and a random access parameter may also need to be preconfigured. The transmission parameter includes at least one of the following parameters: a time-frequency resource used to transmit the control information and the user data, a modulation and coding scheme parameter, an encryption parameter, a cyclic prefix length, and a reference signal parameter. The random access parameter includes at least one of the following parameters: a random access preamble sequence generation parameter and a corresponding time-frequency resource, a random access response receive window parameter, a beam-related parameter, a random access preamble sequence subset division manner, and a backoff parameter. Certainly, another parameter may also be included. The reference signal parameter may be a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) parameter or a terminal device-specific reference signal (UE-specific RS) parameter. Specifically, before the terminal device sends/receives the msg1 to the msg4, the parameter for sending/receiving the msg1 to the msg4 needs to be configured. Parameter content that needs to be preconfigured includes but is not limited to the following. (1) A preamble sequence generation parameter in a random access procedure and a time-frequency resource occupied by the preamble are configured. In an implementation, the random access procedure may be divided into a 2-step RA procedure and a 4-step RA procedure, and a preamble sequence generation parameter (or sequence) used in the 2-step RA procedure and the 4-step RA procedure and an occupied time-frequency resource may be configured. Herein, the time-frequency resource occupied by the preamble may be divided into a time-frequency resource occupied by a preamble in the 2-step RA procedure and a time-frequency resource occupied by a preamble in the 4-step RA procedure. When the preamble sequence generation parameter and the occupied time-frequency resource are configured, the time-frequency resource occupied by the preamble in the 2-step RA procedure and the time-frequency resource occupied by the preamble in the 4-step RA procedure may or may not share a time-frequency resource. The following three configuration manners are included. Manner 1: A time-frequency resource is shared, and preamble sequences of two RA procedure types are distinguished. Different preamble sequence sets are configured for the 2-step RA procedure and the 4-step RA procedure. The network device determines, based on a preamble sequence, a type of RA procedure initiated by the terminal device. Manner 2: A time-frequency resource is shared, and preamble sequences of two RA procedure types are not distinguished. A same preamble sequence set is configured for the 2-step RA procedure and the 4-step RA procedure. The network device determines, based on whether the user data can be decoded, whether the terminal device initiates the 2-step RA procedure. Manner 3: A time-frequency resource is not shared. In this manner, the time-frequency resource occupied by the preamble in the 2-step RA procedure is different from the time-frequency resource occupied by the preamble in the 4-step RA procedure. The network device may determine, based on a time-frequency resource location of the preamble, a type of RA procedure initiated by the terminal device. In this manner, the 2-step RA procedure and the 4-step RA procedure may use a same preamble sequence set, or may use different preamble sequence sets. In this manner, the preamble in the 2-step RA procedure is not interfered with by the preamble in the 4-step RA procedure, and the preamble in the 4-step RA procedure is not interfered with by the preamble in the 2-step RA procedure. Therefore, access reliability can be improved, and accuracy of channel estimation performed by using the preamble can also be improved. The network device parses the currently received random access request based on the type of the random access procedure identified in the foregoing manner. For example, when the identified type of the random access procedure is the 2-step RA procedure, the random access request is parsed based on the format shown in Table 1, and then a subsequent procedure in the 2-step RA procedure is performed. When the identified type of the random access procedure is the 4-step RA procedure, the current random access request is parsed based on a format of msg1 in the prior art, and then a subsequent procedure in the 4-step RA procedure is performed. (2) A time-frequency resource used to transmit the control information and the user data is configured. (3) If the terminal device implicitly includes indication information by selecting a preamble sequence subset (for example, implicitly indicates, by selecting a sequence, whether to switch to the connected state), a preamble sequence subset division manner may be further configured. Specifically, the network device configures a preamble sequence resource of an RA procedure through broadcasting. For example, there are 64 available preamble sequences p1 to p64 in total in a current cell. The 64 preamble sequences are divided into two subsets, where a subset 1 includes p1 to p32, and a subset 2 includes p33 to p64. When the terminal device is in the inactive state, and the terminal device expects to switch to the connected state after current sending (for example, the terminal device further needs to send data subsequently), a preamble sequence in the subset 1 is selected for sending. After detecting that a current preamble sequence is a sequence in the subset 1 and successfully decoding current data, the network device performs determining based on a load status of a current network. If a relatively small quantity of users are connected to the current network, the terminal device is allowed to switch to the connected state after current transmission ends, in other words, the terminal device feeds back a format 1. When the terminal device is in the inactive state, and the terminal device expects to maintain the inactive state after current sending (for example, the terminal device does not need to send data subsequently, and expects to maintain low power consumption), a preamble sequence in the subset 2 is selected for sending. After detecting that a current preamble sequence is a preamble sequence in the subset 2 and successfully decoding current data, the network device feeds back a random access response whose message format is a format 2 or a random access response whose message format is a format 3. (4) A parameter related to backoff is configured. After access fails, the terminal device does not immediately re-initiate an RA procedure, but waits for a period of time. The time is randomly selected from 0 to backoff. (5) A modulation and coding scheme parameter is configured. For example, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) is configured. In a case of non-orthogonal transmission, information such as a codebook may be further configured. If data can be repeatedly sent, a repetition quantity K is further included. (6) A random access response window (RAR Window) parameter is configured. After the terminal device sends the random access request, the network device sends the random access response within a specific time. The time is referred to as an RA response window. Correspondingly, the terminal device monitors msg2 only in the time window. (7) Related parameters of a plurality of beams are configured. For a transmission parameter used to transmit the user data (and/or the control information), particularly, parameter content that needs to be preconfigured includes but is not limited to the following. (8) A cyclic prefix (CP) used for transmitting the user data is configured. The terminal device may be configured to use an extended cyclic prefix (CP) (if the terminal device uses the extended CP, the network device may use any receiver to receive the random access request). The terminal device may also be configured to use a normal CP (if the terminal device uses the normal CP, the network device receives the random access request by using an SIC receiver). (9) A time-frequency resource used to transmit the user data is configured to be adjacent to a time-frequency resource occupied by the preamble (in this way, the preamble may be used to assist channel estimation) or to be not adjacent to a time-frequency resource occupied by the preamble (in this way, configuration is flexible). When the time-frequency resource used to transmit the user data and the time-frequency resource occupied by the preamble are configured at adjacent time-frequency resource locations, the preamble may be used as a DMRS, so that the terminal device may be configured to not send the DMRS when sending the user data to the network device. (10) An encryption parameter of the user data is configured. The encryption parameter may be configured when the terminal device switches from the connected state to the inactive state. For example, the parameter is configured when the terminal device completes tracking area update (tracking area update, TAU) or radio access network-based area update (RAN based area update). Specifically, the parameter may be configured by using a radio resource control connection suspend (RRC connection suspend) message or a radio resource control connection release (RRC connection release) message. The encryption parameter may be an NCC (nextHopChainingCount). (11) A quantity of times of repeatedly transmitting the control information and the user data as a whole is configured. (12) A scrambling parameter of the user data is configured. For example, a generation parameter of a scrambling sequence of a user data part may include a sequence number of the preamble. The foregoing parameters are mainly preconfigured in the following three manners, but are not limited thereto. (1) The network device configures the parameters for the terminal device through broadcasting. After entering the inactive state, the terminal device needs to monitor a radio access network-based paging (RAN-initiated paging) message and a core network-based paging (CN-based paging) message based on a preset period. Therefore, the terminal device can monitor a broadcast message of the network device. The network device adds the foregoing preconfigured parameters to the broadcast message. (2) When the terminal device switches from the connected state to the inactive state, the network device configures the parameters by using an RRC message, for example, an RRC connection suspend message or an RRC connection release message. (3) A system preconfigures the parameters, for example, specifications in a related standard or protocol may be followed. In an implementation, parameters for transmitting the preamble sequence generation parameter and the occupied time-frequency resource may be configured in the manner (1), and a transmission parameter for transmitting the control information and the user data and the random access parameter may be configured in the manner (2). When the transmission parameter and the random access parameter are configured, all the parameters listed above may be configured, or some of the parameters may be configured. It should be noted that, in S501, the terminal device may obtain the transmission parameter and the random access parameter at a same time, or the terminal device may separately obtain the transmission parameter and the random access parameter. After the terminal device obtains the transmission parameter and the random access parameter, S502is specifically that the terminal device sends the control information and the user data in the random access request by using the transmission parameter, or S502is specifically that the terminal device sends the random access request by using the transmission parameter and the random access parameter. The terminal device may send the random access request by using one or more beams, and content of random access requests sent by using all the beams may be the same. Different beams correspond to different time-frequency resources. After receiving the random access request sent by the terminal device, the network device detects the preamble in the random access request, and decodes and/or parses the control information and the user data. The network device needs to indicate a state transition and/or operation of the terminal device based on one or more of a detection result of the preamble, a decoding and parsing result of the control information and the user data, and a current network status. Therefore, the network device needs to determine the message format of the random access response. Specifically, the network device determines the message format of the random access response based on at least one of the following factors: the detection result of the random access preamble, the decoding and parsing result of the control information and the user data, and the current network status. If the network device successfully detects the preamble and successfully decodes and parses the control information and the user data, the network device determines, based on whether the random access request includes information indicating a switch-to-the-connected-state request, the current network status, and/or whether the network device has a downlink data transmission requirement for the terminal device, whether the terminal device switches to the connected state, and sends a random access response in a corresponding message format. When a value of a switch-to-the-connected-state request field in the control information indicates that the terminal device requests to switch to the connected state, or a switch-to-the-connected-state request field in the control information (if the control information does not include the “switch-to-the-connected-state request field”, it is considered that the terminal device does not request to switch to the connected state) or a preamble sequence implicitly indicates that the terminal device requests to switch to the connected state, it is considered that the terminal device requests to switch to the connected state. If a value of a switch-to-the-connected-state request field in the control information does not indicate that the terminal device requests to switch to the connected state, and the preamble sequence does not indicate that the terminal device requests to switch to the connected state, it is considered that the terminal device does not need to switch to the connected state. If the random access request does not include a switch-to-the-connected-state request field, and the preamble sequence does not indicate that the terminal device requests to switch to the connected state, it is also considered that the terminal device does not need to switch to the connected state. In this embodiment, when the terminal device requests to switch to the connected state, it may be considered that the terminal device may still need to send uplink user data. When the terminal device does not need to switch to the connected state, it may be considered that the terminal device does not need to transmit uplink data subsequently. When the network device considers that the terminal device still needs to send uplink user data and/or that the network device has a downlink data transmission requirement for the terminal device, the network device may send the random access response in the first message format, so that the terminal device switches to the connected state to complete subsequent data transmission. In an embodiment, for whether to send the random access response in the first message format, further refer to the current network status to determine whether to send the random access response in the first message format. For example, the random access response in the first message format is sent to the terminal device only when a network status is good (for example, a relatively small quantity of terminal devices access a network currently, or a current network load status is low, or there are still sufficient available resources in a network). In another embodiment, the network device may directly send the random access response in the first message format to the terminal device provided that a current network status is good. In this application, in addition to indicating that the network device instructs (or allows) the terminal device to switch to the connected state, the random access response in the first message format may further indicate that the user data in the random access request has been correctly received by the network device. If the network device successfully detects the preamble and successfully decodes and parses the control information and the user data, and the network device considers that the terminal device may still need to transmit uplink user data, but due to a network resource shortage, the network device sends the random access response in the second message format to instruct the terminal device to maintain the inactive state and adjust uplink timing. In this application, the random access response in the second message format may further indicate that the user data in the random access request has been correctly received by the network device. If the network device successfully detects the preamble and successfully decodes and parses the control information and the user data, and the network device considers that the terminal device subsequently has no to-be-transmitted user data, the network device sends the random access response in the third message format to instruct the terminal device to maintain the inactive state. In this application, the random access response in the third message format may further indicate that the user data in the random access request has been correctly received by the network device. If the network device successfully detects the preamble and successfully decodes and parses the control information, and the network device forbids access of the terminal device out of consideration of a current network status (for example, a quantity of terminal devices that currently access a network, a load, or a network resource), or the network device fails to obtain context information of the terminal device based on the connection identifier, the network device sends the random access response in the fourth message format, to instruct the terminal device to maintain the inactive state or switch to the idle state. In this application, the random access response in the fourth message format may further indicate that the user data fails to be transmitted. If the network device successfully detects the preamble but fails to perform decoding, the network device sends the random access response in the fifth message format, to instruct the terminal device to send an RRC connection request to the network device. In this application, the random access response in the fifth message format may further indicate that the user data fails to be transmitted. If the network device successfully detects the preamble but fails to perform decoding, the network device sends the random access response in the sixth message format, to instruct the terminal device to resend the random access request to the network device. In this application, the random access response in the sixth message format may further indicate that the user data fails to be transmitted. Then, the network device sends the random access response to the terminal device in the determined message format, and the network device indicates the message format of the random access response in at least one of the following manners. Specifically, in an implementation, the random access response includes a message format field, and the message format field is used to indicate the message format of the random access response, and the terminal device determines the message format of the random access response based on the message format field in the random access response. As shown in a message format of the random access response shown inFIG.6a, a random access response in each message format includes a format field, and the field indicates the message format of the random access response. In this manner, the message format of the random access response may be clearly indicated. Specifically, for a location of the format field, in an implementation, the format field is located in a first field in the random access response, and the first field is a first field that is read in the random access response, and in another implementation, the format field is located at a predetermined location of the random access response. In another implementation, the network device further sends downlink control information DCI corresponding to the random access response, where the downlink control information includes a time-frequency resource and a modulation and coding scheme that are corresponding to the random access response, the time-frequency resource and the modulation and coding scheme are used to determine a transport block size (TBS) corresponding to the random access response, and each transport block size corresponds to one message format, the terminal device obtains the transport block size corresponding to the random access response, and the terminal device determines the message format of the random access response based on the transport block size, where each message format of the random access response corresponds to one transport block size, and different message formats correspond to different transport block sizes.FIG.6bis a schematic diagram of another message format of the random access response. InFIG.6b, none of message formats includes a format field, and the message format of the random access response is indicated by using a transport block size of the random access response. Specifically, CRC of DCI corresponding to the random access response is scrambled by using an RA-RNTI, and the RA-RNTI may be calculated by using a time-frequency resource occupied by a preamble of msg1. The DCI includes information about a time-frequency resource used to transmit the random access response, and a corresponding MCS. The terminal device may calculate, based on the time-frequency resource and the MCS, a TBS corresponding to the random access response. The TBS has a one-to-one correspondence with various formats. Therefore, a format of the random access response may be indicated by using the DCI. In this manner, the DCI does not need to be changed, and a quantity of blind detection times of the DCI does not need to be increased. In still another implementation, the DCI includes message format information of the random access response. The terminal device receives DCI corresponding to the random access response, where the DCI carries the message format information of the random access response, and the terminal device determines the message format of the random access response based on the DCI.FIG.6cshows still another message format of the random access response. A field of the random access response does not include a format field, but DCI includes a format field. In this manner, the message format of the random access response may be clearly indicated. In this implementation, as described inFIG.6c, the random access response may include downlink data. In still another implementation, the terminal device determines the message format of the random access response based on a RAR response window in which the terminal device receives the random access response, where each message format of the random access response corresponds to one RAR response window, and different message formats correspond to different RAR response windows. Specifically, the network device sends the random access response in different RAR response windows (or timeslots), and different RAR response windows correspond to different message formats. In this manner, signaling overheads are small. The terminal device receives the random access response sent by the network device, and determines the message format of the random access response in any one of the foregoing manners. Each message format corresponds to one state transition AND/OR operation. The following describes in detail the random access procedure and the state transition AND/OR operation of the terminal device by using a specific example. In an implementation, the terminal device sends the random access request on one set of time-frequency resources.FIG.7ais a schematic interaction flowchart of a random access procedure in a specific example. The network device preconfigures the transmission parameter and the random access parameter. The terminal device is in the inactive state. When the terminal device needs to send data, the terminal device sends the random access request on one set of time-frequency resources. The random access request includes a preamble, a connection identifier, an authentication identifier, and user data, and may further include a switch-to-the-connected-state request and a data transmission reason. The one set of time-frequency resources is a time-frequency resource for sending the preamble, and a time-frequency resource for sending the control information and the user data. The network device detects the preamble on a time-frequency resource of the random access request, and the network device decodes and/or parses the control information and the user data. The network device may determine, based on whether the random access request includes a switch-to-the-connected-state request field, a value of the switch-to-the-connected-state request field, an implicit indication of the preamble sequence, or a current network status, that the network device needs to instruct the terminal device to switch to the connected state, and the network device predicts, based on at least one piece of information in the switch-to-the-connected-state request, whether the terminal device has a downlink service requirement, and the current network load status, that the terminal device still needs to transmit the user data, and the network device determines that the message format of the random access response is the format 1. The network device sends a random access response in the format 1 by using a PDSCH, in other words, sends a random access response that includes fields such as a connection identifier, a TA, a C-RNTI, and an RRC message. CRC of corresponding DCI is scrambled by using an RA-RNTI, and the RA-RNTI is calculated based on a time-frequency resource of the random access request. In the random access response, the connection identifier is the same as the connection identifier included in the random access request received by the network device. If the terminal device receives the DCI identified by the RA-RNTI, the terminal device decodes the random access response at a time-frequency resource location indicated by the DCI, in other words, receives the random access response. The terminal device identifies the message format of the received random access response in any one of the foregoing indication manners of the message format of the random access response, and performs a state transition AND/OR operation corresponding to the identified message format. Further, the random access response is parsed based on the identified message format, to obtain content included in the random access response. For example, if it is identified that the message format of the received random access response is the format 1, the terminal device switches to the connected state. If the terminal device does not receive the random access response in the RA response window, the terminal device maintains the inactive state, and re-initiates a random access procedure to perform data retransmission. In another implementation, the terminal device sends a plurality of random access requests. Different from the foregoing implementation, the terminal device sends the random access requests on a plurality of sets of time-frequency resources, in other words, sends the plurality of random access requests on a plurality of beams, and each beam corresponds to one set of time-frequency resources. The network device detects the preamble on the plurality of sets of time-frequency resources. If the preamble is detected on the plurality of sets of time-frequency resources, the network device separately decodes subsequent user data. If decoding succeeds on the plurality of sets of time-frequency resources and corresponding connection identifiers are the same, only user data on a time-frequency resource with a strongest signal is reserved, and the user data is sent to a higher layer of a protocol stack. In other words, the receiving, by a network device, a random access request sent by a terminal device includes receiving, by the network device, a plurality of random access requests separately sent by the terminal device by using a plurality of beams. The method further includes selecting, by the network device, one random access request from the plurality of random access requests based on a specified signal quality condition. The sending, by the network device, the random access response to the terminal device includes sending, by the network device, the random access response corresponding to the selected random access request. In another implementation,FIG.7bis a schematic interaction flowchart of a random access procedure in another specific example. The network device predicts, based on at least one piece of information in the switch-to-the-connected-state request, whether the terminal device has a downlink service requirement, and a current network load status, that the terminal device still needs to transmit user data, but due to a resource shortage, the network device does not want the terminal device to switch to the connected state. The network device sends a random access response in a format 2 by using a PDSCH, where the random access response includes fields such as a connection identifier and a TA. In the random access response, the connection identifier is the same as the connection identifier included in the random access request received by the network device. After determining, in any one of the foregoing indication manners of the message format of the random access response, that the message format of the received random access response is the format 2, the terminal device maintains the inactive state. Further, the TA may be adjusted based on a TA indicated by a TA field in the format 2, and a valid timer of the TA is set. Within a validity period of the TA, if the terminal device still needs to send user data, the terminal device may directly send the random access request in the format shown in Table 2, and does not need to send the preamble again. The network device also sets a corresponding TA valid timer. Within a validity period of the TA, the network device also detects, in a time-frequency resource area that is preconfigured for the terminal device and that is used to transmit the random access request in the format shown in Table 2, the random access request sent by the terminal device, and performs demodulation and decoding. In still another implementation,FIG.7cis a schematic interaction flowchart of a random access procedure in still another specific example. If the network device predicts, based on at least one piece of information in the switch-to-the-connected-state request, whether the terminal device has a downlink service requirement, and a current network load status, that the terminal device subsequently does not have to-be-transmitted user data, the network device sends a random access response in a format 3, where the random access response includes a field such as a connection identifier. In the random access response, the connection identifier is the same as the connection identifier included in the random access request received by the network device. After determining, in any one of the foregoing indication manners of the message format of the random access response, that the message format of the received random access response is the format 3, the terminal device maintains the inactive state. When the terminal device determines that the message format of the random access response received by the terminal device is any one of the format 1, the format 2, and the format 3, the terminal device considers that uplink user data sent by the terminal device is successfully received by the network device, so that uplink user data (the uplink user data is user data sent by using the random access request) in a cache may be cleared. In still another implementation,FIG.7dis a schematic interaction flowchart of a random access procedure in still another specific example. The network device detects the preamble, but decoding fails (if a same preamble is detected on a plurality of time-frequency resources, and decoding fails, user data and control information on a time-frequency resource with a strongest signal are decoded), the network device feeds back a random access response in a format 5. The random access response includes field information such as an RAPID, a TA, uplink scheduling information, a TC-RNTI, and a backoff indication (optional). In the random access response, the RAPID is the same as an RAPID included in the random access request received by the network device. After determining, in any one of the foregoing indication manners of the message format of the random access response, that the message format of the received random access response is the format 5, the terminal device proceeds to a third step in an existing 4-step RA procedure of sending an RRC connection request (msg3). In still another implementation,FIG.7eis a schematic interaction flowchart of a random access procedure in still another specific example. The network device detects the preamble, but decoding fails (if a same preamble is detected on a plurality of time-frequency resources, and decoding fails, user data and control information on a time-frequency resource with a strongest signal are decoded), the network device feeds back a random access response in a format 6. The random access response includes fields such as an RAPID and a backoff indication (optional). In the random access response, the RAPID is the same as an RAPID included in the random access request received by the network device. After determining, in any one of the foregoing indication manners of the message format of the random access response, that the message format of the received random access response is the format 6, the terminal device starts a new random access procedure after performing backoff, and tries to transmit data. When the terminal device determines that the message format of the random access response received by the terminal device is any one of the format 4, the format 5, and the format 6, the terminal device considers that uplink user data sent by the terminal device fails to be transmitted, so that uplink user data (the uplink user data is user data sent by using the random access request) in a cache may be still kept. According to the communication method provided in this embodiment, the terminal device in the inactive state adds the connection identifier and the authentication identifier to the random access request, so that a data bearer can be set up in the random access procedure, thereby implementing data communication between the terminal device and a network side. In addition, different message formats of the random access response correspond to different state transition AND/OR operations, to instruct the terminal device to perform various state transition AND/OR operations. The foregoing describes the methods in the embodiments in detail, and the following provides apparatuses in the embodiments. The methods in the embodiments are described above in detail, and the apparatuses in the embodiments are provided below. The embodiments further provide a communications apparatus. The communications apparatus may be applied to the foregoing communication method.FIG.8is a schematic diagram of modules of a communications apparatus8000according to an embodiment. The communications apparatus8000includes a sending unit801, configured to send a random access request to a network device, where the random access request includes a random access preamble, control information, and user data, the communications apparatus is in an inactive state, and the control information includes at least a connection identifier and an authentication identifier, a receiving unit802, configured to receive a random access response sent by the network device, and a processing unit803, configured to perform a state transition AND/OR operation corresponding to a message format of the random access response. The communications apparatus may be specifically the terminal device in the foregoing embodiments. FIG.9shows a simplified schematic structural diagram of a terminal device in an implementation. For ease of understanding and convenience of figure illustration, an example in which the terminal device is a mobile phone is used inFIG.9. As shown inFIG.9, the terminal device includes a processor, a memory, a radio frequency circuit, an antenna, and an input/output apparatus. The processor is mainly configured to process a communication protocol and communication data, control the terminal device, execute a software program, process data of the software program, and the like. The memory is mainly configured to store the software program and the data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly configured to perform conversion between a baseband signal and a radio frequency signal, and process the radio frequency signal. The antenna is mainly configured to receive and send a radio frequency signal in a form of an electromagnetic wave. The input/output apparatus such as a touchscreen, a display screen, or a keyboard is mainly configured to receive data entered by a user, and output data to the user. It should be noted that some types of terminal devices may have no input/output apparatus. When needing to send data, after performing baseband processing on to-be-sent data, the processor outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit, and the radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then sends the radio frequency signal to outside in a form of an electromagnetic wave by using the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal by using the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data, and processes the data. For ease of description,FIG.9shows only one memory and processor. In an actual terminal device product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium, a storage device, or the like. The memory may be disposed independent of the processor, or may be integrated with the processor. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application. In this embodiment of this application, the antenna and the radio frequency circuit that have a receiving and sending function may be considered as a receiving unit and a sending unit of the terminal device (or may be collectively referred to as a transceiver unit), and the processor having a processing function may be considered as a processing unit of the terminal device. As shown inFIG.9, the terminal device includes a receiving unit901, a processing unit902, and a sending unit903. The receiving unit901may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving device, a receiving circuit, and the like. The sending unit903may also be referred to as a sender, a transmitter, a transmitting device, a transmitting circuit, and the like. The processing unit903may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing apparatus, or the like. For example, in an embodiment, the sending unit903is configured to perform step S301in the embodiment shown inFIG.3. The receiving unit901is configured to perform step S302in the embodiment shown inFIG.3. The processing unit902is configured to perform step S303in the embodiment shown inFIG.3. For another example, in another embodiment, the sending unit903is configured to perform step S502in the embodiment shown inFIG.5. The receiving unit901is configured to perform step S504in the embodiment shown inFIG.5. The processing unit902is configured to perform step S501, S505, and S506in the embodiment shown inFIG.5. In another implementation, all or some functions of the communications apparatus may be implemented by using a system-on-chip (SoC) technology, for example, implemented by one chip. The chip integrates a kernel, an input/output interface, and the like. The input/output interface may implement functions of the sending unit and the receiving unit, for example, send a random access request in a form of a baseband signal and receive a random access response in a form of a baseband signal. The kernel may implement a function of the processing unit, for example, perform a state transition AND/OR operation corresponding to a message format of the random access response. The functions of the kernel and the input/output interface may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or the software includes one or more modules corresponding to the foregoing functions. In another embodiment, the input/output interface may also be an interface that is of the chip and that is connected to a circuit, a component, or a device other than the chip, and is configured to output a random access request generated by the chip to the circuit, the component, or the device connected to the chip, receive a random access response provided by the circuit, the component, or the device connected to the terminal. The embodiments further provide a communications apparatus. The communications apparatus may be applied to the foregoing communication method.FIG.10is a schematic diagram of modules of a communications apparatus according to an embodiment. The communications apparatus1000includes a receiving unit101, configured to receive a random access request sent by a terminal device, where the random access request includes a random access preamble, control information, and user data, the terminal device is in an inactive state, and the control information includes at least a connection identifier and an authentication identifier, and a sending unit102, configured to send a random access response to the terminal device, where the random access response has at least two message formats, and each message format corresponds to one state transition and/or operation. The communications apparatus may be specifically the network device in the foregoing embodiments. FIG.11shows a simplified schematic structural diagram of a network device in an implementation. The network device includes a part1102and a part for radio frequency signal receiving/sending and conversion. The part for radio frequency signal receiving and sending and conversion further includes a receiving unit1101and a sending unit1103(which may also be collectively referred to as a transceiver unit). The part for radio frequency signal receiving/sending and conversion is mainly configured to send/receive a radio frequency signal and perform conversion between a radio frequency signal and a baseband signal. The part112is mainly configured to perform baseband processing, control the network device, and the like. The receiving unit in may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving device, a receiving circuit, and the like. The sending unit113may also be referred to as a sender, a transmitter, a transmitting device, a transmitting circuit, and the like. The112part is usually a control center of the network device, or may be usually referred to as a processing unit, configured to control the network device to perform the steps performed by a second communications apparatus inFIG.5orFIG.9. For details, refer to the foregoing descriptions of the related parts. The part112may include one or more boards. Each board may include one or more processors and one or more memories. The processor is configured to read and execute a program in the memory to implement a baseband processing function and control the network device. If there are a plurality of boards, the boards may be interconnected to enhance a processing capability. In an optional implementation, alternatively, the plurality of boards may share one or more processors, or the plurality of boards share one or more memories. For example, in an embodiment, the receiving unit in is configured to perform step S301inFIG.3, and the sending unit112is configured to perform step S302inFIG.3. For another example, in another embodiment, the receiving unit111is configured to perform step S502inFIG.5, the processing unit112is configured to perform step S503inFIG.5, and the sending unit113is configured to perform step S504inFIG.5. In another implementation, all or some functions of the communications apparatus may be implemented by using a SoC technology, for example, implemented by one chip. The chip integrates a kernel, an input/output interface, and the like. The input/output interface may implement functions of the sending unit and the receiving unit, for example, receive a random access request in a form of a baseband signal and send a random access response in a form of a baseband signal. The kernel may implement a function of the processing unit, for example, perform a state transition AND/OR operation corresponding to a message format of the random access response. The functions of the kernel and the input/output interface may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or the software includes one or more modules corresponding to the foregoing functions. In another embodiment, the input/output interface may also be an interface that is of the chip and that is connected to a circuit, a component, or a device other than the chip, and is configured to output a random access request generated by the chip to the circuit, the component, or the device connected to the chip, receive a random access response provided by the circuit, the component, or the device connected to the terminal. Whether these functions of the A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification, units and algorithm steps may be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed by hardware or software depends on a specific application and an implementation constraint of the technical solution. A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of this application. It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that, for the purpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed working process of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, refer to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again. In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the described apparatus embodiment is merely an example. For example, the unit division is merely logical function division and may be other division in actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented by using some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms. The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments. In addition, functional units in the embodiments of this application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. All or some of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the embodiments, the embodiments may be implemented completely or partially in a form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on the computer, the procedure or functions according to the embodiments are all or partially generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatuses. The computer instruction may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, or may be transmitted by using the computer readable storage medium. The computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired (for example, a coaxial cable, an optical fiber, or a digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, radio, or microwave) manner. The computer-readable storage medium may be any usable medium accessible by a computer, or a data storage device, such as a server or a data center, integrating one or more usable media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a digital versatile disc (DVD), a semiconductor medium (for example, a solid-state drive (SSD)), or the like. A person of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or some of the processes of the methods in the embodiments may be implemented by a computer program instructing relevant hardware. The program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. When the program runs, the processes of the methods in the embodiments are performed. The foregoing storage medium includes any medium that can store program code, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc. | 82,723 |
11943816 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION In some wireless communications systems, a user equipment (UE) may be configured to transmit a signal to a base station in a random access channel (RACH) occasion. In some cases, the UE may be configured with an indication of a number of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) per RACH occasion and a number of preambles per SSB. The UE may select a preamble and indicate the selected preamble in the signal that is transmitted to the base station in a RACH occasion and according to an SSB. The UE may receive a random access response (RAR) message from the base station in response to the transmitted preamble, and the RAR message may indicate an uplink resources for the UE and a random access preamble identifier (RAPID). In some cases, multiple UEs may transmit the same preamble in a RACH occasion. However, multiple UEs transmitting the same preamble in a RACH occasion may result in a preamble collision, which may increase system latency. For example, the UEs may perform additional signaling to the base station as part of a collision resolution procedure. Various aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for handling uplink transmissions in the context of preamble collisions, spatially separated beams, or RACH occasions. For example, a first UE may transmit a message that includes a preamble to a base station in a RACH occasion, and a second UE may transmit a message that includes the same preamble to the base station in the same RACH occasion. The base station may resolve the preamble collision and identify the first UE and the second UE based on spatially separating the received messages. The base station may transmit a first RAR message to the first UE and a second RAR message to the second UE. In some cases, the base station may transmit the first and second RAR messages simultaneously, while in some other cases, the base station may transmit the first RAR message to the first UE before transmitting the second RAR message to the second UE. Such techniques may include selecting a random access preamble of a plurality of random access preambles. In such cases, a UE may receive a configuration from a base station, and the configuration may indicate a quantity of a plurality of random access preambles (e.g., totalNumberOfRA-Preambles), a quantity of a plurality of SSBs per random access occasion and a quantity of random access preambles per SSB (e.g., ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB). The UE may select a random access preamble of the plurality of random access preambles per SSB and transmit a message indicating the selected preamble to the base station according to the SSB. The base station may receive the message and determine the direction from which the message was transmitted. For example, the base station may use techniques for spatial resolution of received signals to determine the direction from which the message was transmitted. In some implementations, these techniques may use a lens antenna or Butler matrix, but any suitable technique that spatially resolves the received signals may be used consistent with the techniques described herein. The base station may transmit a RAR message to the UE based on the direction from which the message was transmitted. Such techniques may improve preamble collision resolution procedures, thereby reducing system latency and the number of resources needed for random access procedures. For example, the described techniques may support the suitability of every RACH occasion for all UEs in a coverage area regardless of their spatial location and reduce RACH overhead by resolving RACH preamble collisions based on the spatial resolution of receive beams, thereby reducing RACH latency and decreasing RACH overhead. Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of wireless communications systems. Aspects of the disclosure are then described in the context of collision resolution techniques and a process flow. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to random access preamble spatial overloading. FIG.1illustrates an example of a wireless communications system100that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system100may include one or more base stations105, one or more UEs115, and a core network130. In some examples, the wireless communications system100may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wireless communications system100may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, communications with low-cost and low-complexity devices, or any combination thereof. The base stations105may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communications system100and may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. The base stations105and the UEs115may wirelessly communicate via one or more communication links125. Each base station105may provide a coverage area110over which the UEs115and the base station105may establish one or more communication links125. The coverage area110may be an example of a geographic area over which a base station105and a UE115may support the communication of signals according to one or more radio access technologies. The UEs115may be dispersed throughout a coverage area110of the wireless communications system100, and each UE115may be stationary, or mobile, or both at different times. The UEs115may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some example UEs115are illustrated inFIG.1. The UEs115described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs115, the base stations105, or network equipment (e.g., core network nodes, relay devices, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network equipment), as shown inFIG.1. The base stations105may communicate with the core network130, or with one another, or both. For example, the base stations105may interface with the core network130through one or more backhaul links120(e.g., via an S1, N2, N3, or other interface). The base stations105may communicate with one another over the backhaul links120(e.g., via an X2, Xn, or other interface) either directly (e.g., directly between base stations105), or indirectly (e.g., via core network130), or both. In some examples, the backhaul links120may be or include one or more wireless links. One or more of the base stations105described herein may include or may be referred to by a person having ordinary skill in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB or a giga-NodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB), a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology. A UE115may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. A UE115may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE115may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communications (MTC) device, among other examples, which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances, or vehicles, meters, among other examples. The UEs115described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs115that may sometimes act as relays as well as the base stations105and the network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, among other examples, as shown inFIG.1. The UEs115and the base stations105may wirelessly communicate with one another via one or more communication links125over one or more carriers. The term “carrier” may refer to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting the communication links125. For example, a carrier used for a communication link125may include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP)) that is operated according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communications system100may support communication with a UE115using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE115may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) component carriers. In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates operations for other carriers. A carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an evolved universal mobile telecommunication system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN)) and may be positioned according to a channel raster for discovery by the UEs115. A carrier may be operated in a standalone mode where initial acquisition and connection may be conducted by the UEs115via the carrier, or the carrier may be operated in a non-standalone mode where a connection is anchored using a different carrier (e.g., of the same or a different radio access technology). The communication links125shown in the wireless communications system100may include uplink transmissions from a UE115to a base station105, or downlink transmissions from a base station105to a UE115. Carriers may carry downlink or uplink communications (e.g., in an FDD mode) or may be configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode). A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a “system bandwidth” of the carrier or the wireless communications system100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of a number of determined bandwidths for carriers of a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 megahertz (MHz)). Devices of the wireless communications system100(e.g., the base stations105, the UEs115, or both) may have hardware configurations that support communications over a particular carrier bandwidth or may be configurable to support communications over one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communications system100may include base stations105or UEs115that support simultaneous communications via carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each served UE115may be configured for operating over portions (e.g., a sub-band, a BWP) or all of a carrier bandwidth. Signal waveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may consist of one symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both). Thus, the more resource elements that a UE115receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate may be for the UE115. A wireless communications resource may refer to a combination of a radio frequency spectrum resource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate or data integrity for communications with a UE115. One or more numerologies for a carrier may be supported, where a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing (Δf) and a cyclic prefix. A carrier may be divided into one or more BWPs having the same or different numerologies. In some examples, a UE115may be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP for a carrier may be active at a given time and communications for the UE115may be restricted to one or more active BWPs. The time intervals for the base stations105or the UEs115may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of Ts=1/(Δfmax·Nf) seconds, where Δfmaxmay represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing, and Nfmay represent the maximum supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size. Time intervals of a communications resource may be organized according to radio frames each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023). Each frame may include multiple consecutively numbered subframes or slots, and each subframe or slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a number of slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of slots, and the number of slots may depend on subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a number of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period). In some wireless communications systems100, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots containing one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., Nf) sampling periods. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation. A subframe, a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communications system100and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system100may be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs)). Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) for a physical control channel may be defined by a number of symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of the carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of the UEs115. For example, one or more of the UEs115may monitor or search control regions for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or multiple control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. An aggregation level for a control channel candidate may refer to a number of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with encoded information for a control information format having a given payload size. Search space sets may include common search space sets configured for sending control information to multiple UEs115and UE-specific search space sets for sending control information to a specific UE115. Each base station105may provide communication coverage via one or more cells, for example a macro cell, a small cell, a hot spot, or other types of cells, or any combination thereof. The term “cell” may refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station105(e.g., over a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier for distinguishing neighboring cells (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID), or others). In some examples, a cell may also refer to a geographic coverage area110or a portion of a geographic coverage area110(e.g., a sector) over which the logical communication entity operates. Such cells may range from smaller areas (e.g., a structure, a subset of structure) to larger areas depending on various factors such as the capabilities of the base station105. For example, a cell may be or include a building, a subset of a building, or exterior spaces between or overlapping with geographic coverage areas110, among other examples. A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by the UEs115with service subscriptions with the network provider supporting the macro cell. A small cell may be associated with a lower-powered base station105, as compared with a macro cell, and a small cell may operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cells may provide unrestricted access to the UEs115with service subscriptions with the network provider or may provide restricted access to the UEs115having an association with the small cell (e.g., the UEs115in a closed subscriber group (CSG), the UEs115associated with users in a home or office). A base station105may support one or multiple cells and may also support communications over the one or more cells using one or multiple component carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., MTC, narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)) that may provide access for different types of devices. In some examples, a base station105may be movable and therefore provide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas110associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas110may be supported by the same base station105. In other examples, the overlapping geographic coverage areas110associated with different technologies may be supported by different base stations105. The wireless communications system100may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of the base stations105provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas110using the same or different radio access technologies. The wireless communications system100may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations105may have similar frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations105may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations105may have different frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations105may, in some examples, not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operations. Some UEs115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or low complexity devices and may provide for automated communication between machines (e.g., via Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with one another or a base station105without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay such information to a central server or application program that makes use of the information or presents the information to humans interacting with the application program. Some UEs115may be designed to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines or other devices. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging. Some UEs115may be configured to employ operating modes that reduce power consumption, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., a mode that supports one-way communication via transmission or reception, but not transmission and reception simultaneously). In some examples, half-duplex communications may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power conservation techniques for the UEs115include entering a power saving deep sleep mode when not engaging in active communications, operating over a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications), or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs115may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., set of subcarriers or resource blocks (RBs)) within a carrier, within a guard-band of a carrier, or outside of a carrier. The wireless communications system100may be configured to support ultra-reliable communications or low-latency communications, or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communications system100may be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) or mission critical communications. The UEs115may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions). Ultra-reliable communications may include private communication or group communication and may be supported by one or more mission critical services such as mission critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission critical video (MCVideo), or mission critical data (MCData). Support for mission critical functions may include prioritization of services, and mission critical services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission critical, and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein. In some examples, a UE115may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs115over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link135(e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D protocol). One or more UEs115utilizing D2D communications may be within the geographic coverage area110of a base station105. Other UEs115in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area110of a base station105or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station105. In some examples, groups of the UEs115communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE115transmits to every other UE115in the group. In some examples, a base station105facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications are carried out between the UEs115without the involvement of a base station105. In some systems, the D2D communication link135may be an example of a communication channel, such as a sidelink communication channel, between vehicles (e.g., UEs115). In some examples, vehicles may communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, or some combination of these. A vehicle may signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergencies, or any other information relevant to a V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system may communicate with roadside infrastructure, such as roadside units, or with the network via one or more network nodes (e.g., base stations105) using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, or with both. The core network130may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network130may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC), which may include at least one control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) and at least one user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)). The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for the UEs115served by the base stations105associated with the core network130. User IP packets may be transferred through the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to IP services150for one or more network operators. The IP services150may include access to the Internet, Intranet(s), an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or a Packet-Switched Streaming Service. Some of the network devices, such as a base station105, may include subcomponents such as an access network entity140, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entity140may communicate with the UEs115through one or more other access network transmission entities145, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission/reception points (TRPs). Each access network transmission entity145may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, various functions of each access network entity140or base station105may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., a base station105). The wireless communications system100may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. The UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, but the waves may penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to the UEs115located indoors. The transmission of UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) compared to transmission using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz. The wireless communications system100may also operate in a super high frequency (SHF) region using frequency bands from 3 GHz to 30 GHz, also known as the centimeter band, or in an extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz), also known as the millimeter band. In some examples, the wireless communications system100may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between the UEs115and the base stations105, and EHF antennas of the respective devices may be smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some examples, this may facilitate use of antenna arrays within a device. The propagation of EHF transmissions, however, may be subject to even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions that use one or more different frequency regions, and designated use of bands across these frequency regions may differ by country or regulating body. The wireless communications system100may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communications system100may employ License Assisted Access (LAA), LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. When operating in unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, devices such as the base stations105and the UEs115may employ carrier sensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among other examples. A base station105or a UE115may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of a base station105or a UE115may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a base station105may be located in diverse geographic locations. A base station105may have an antenna array with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station105may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE115. Likewise, a UE115may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, an antenna panel may support radio frequency beamforming for a signal transmitted via an antenna port. The base stations105or the UEs115may use MIMO communications to exploit multipath signal propagation and increase the spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers. Such techniques may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. The multiple signals may, for example, be transmitted by the transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, the multiple signals may be received by the receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords). Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports used for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO), where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices. Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station105, a UE115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagating at particular orientations with respect to an antenna array experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antenna elements may include a transmitting device or a receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation). A base station105or a UE115may use beam sweeping techniques as part of beam forming operations. For example, a base station105may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to conduct beamforming operations for directional communications with a UE115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted by a base station105multiple times in different directions. For example, the base station105may transmit a signal according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different directions of transmission. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by a transmitting device, such as a base station105, or by a receiving device, such as a UE115) a beam direction for later transmission or reception by the base station105. Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by a base station105in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device, such as a UE115). In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based on a signal that was transmitted in one or more beam directions. For example, a UE115may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by the base station105in different directions and may report to the base station105an indication of the signal that the UE115received with a highest signal quality or an otherwise acceptable signal quality. In some examples, transmissions by a device (e.g., by a base station105or a UE115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital precoding or radio frequency beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from a base station105to a UE115). The UE115may report feedback that indicates precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a configured number of beams across a system bandwidth or one or more sub-bands. The base station105may transmit a reference signal (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)), which may be precoded or unprecoded. The UE115may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel type codebook, a linear combination type codebook, a port selection type codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted in one or more directions by a base station105, a UE115may employ similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by the UE115) or for transmitting a signal in a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device). A receiving device (e.g., a UE115) may try multiple receive configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals from the base station105, such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals. For example, a receiving device may try multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets (e.g., different directional listening weight sets) applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing received signals according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as “listening” according to different receive configurations or receive directions. In some examples, a receiving device may use a single receive configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal). The single receive configuration may be aligned in a beam direction determined based on listening according to different receive configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have a highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or otherwise acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions). The wireless communications system100may be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. A Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also use error detection techniques, error correction techniques, or both to support retransmissions at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a UE115and a base station105or a core network130supporting radio bearers for user plane data. At the physical layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels. The UEs115and the base stations105may support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is one technique for increasing the likelihood that data is received correctly over a communication link125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise conditions). In some examples, a device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval. A UE115may receive a configuration of random access resources from a base station105. The configuration may indicate a quantity of a plurality of random access preambles, a quantity of a plurality of SSBs, and a quantity of random access preambles per SSB. The received configuration may indicate that each random access preamble of the plurality of random access preambles is available to the UE115in the random access occasion for each SSB of a plurality of SSBs transmitted by the base station105. The UE115may select a random access preamble of the plurality of random access preambles based at least in part on the received configuration and transmit the selected random access preamble to the base station105in the random access occasion FIG.2illustrates an example of a wireless communications system200that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the wireless communications system200may implement aspects of wireless communication system100. Wireless communications system200may include base station105-a, UE115-a, and UE115-b, which may be examples of a base station105and a UE115as described with reference toFIG.1. Base station105-amay be associated with a number of coverage area110, and UE115-aand UE115-bmay communicate with one or more base stations105. For example, UE115-amay transmit random access preamble205-ato base station105-avia the beams210, and UE115-bmay transmit random access preamble205-bto base station105-avia the beams215. Base station105-amay transmit a configuration of random access resources to UE115-aand UE115-b. In some cases, the configuration may include one or more options that include a multiple SSBs per RACH occasion and multiple preambles per SSB. For example, a single RACH occasion may include 32 or 64 SSBs, and each SSB may be associated with 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, or 64 preambles. An example field format is provided below in Example Field Format 1. RACH-ConfigConnnnon ::= SEQUENCE {rach-ConfigGeneric RACH-ConfigGeneric,totalNunnberOfRA-Preambles INTEGER (1..63) OPTIONAL,ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB CHOICE {oneEighth ENUMERATED{n4,n8,n12,n16,n20,n24,n28,n32,n36,n40,n44,n48,n52,n56,n60,n64},oneFourth ENUMERATED{n4,n8,n12,n16,n20,n24,n28,n32,n36,n40,n44,n48,n52,n56,n60,n64},oneHalf ENUMERATED{n4,n8,n12,n16,n20,n24,n28,n32,n36,n40,n44,n48,n52,n56,n60,n64},one ENUMERATED{n4,n8,n12,n16,n20,n24,n28,n32,n36,n40,n44,n48,n52,n56,n60,n64},two ENUMERATED {n4,n8,n12,n16,n20,n24,n28,n32},four INTEGER (1..16),eight INTEGER (1..8),sixteen INTEGER (1..4),thirtyTwo ENUMERATED{n4,n8,n12,n16,n20,n24,n28,n32,n36,n40,n44,n48,n52,n56,n60,n64},sixtyFour ENUMERATED{n4,n8,n12,n16,n20,n24,n28,n32,n36,n40,n44,n48,n52,n56,n60,n64},}} Example Field Format 1 The UEs115may select the random access preambles205based on an indicated configuration. For example, base station105-amay signal a first configuration to UE115-aand a second configuration to UE115-b. UE115-amay select random access preamble205-abased on the first configuration and in accordance with the field format, and UE115-bmay select random access preamble205-bbased on the second configuration and in accordance with the field format. UE115-amay transmit random access preamble205-aon an uplink beam (e.g., a single wise uplink beam) and base station105-amay receive random access preamble205-aon receive beams (e.g., multiple narrow receive beams). Base station105-amay receive random access preamble205-aon receive beam210-a, receive beam210-b, and receive beam210-c, and base station105-amay determine the direction from which UE115-atransmitted random access preamble205-abased on the receive beams210. Base station105-amay receive random access preamble205-bon receive beam215-a, receive beam215-b, and receive beam215-c, and base station105-amay determine the direction from which UE115-btransmitted random access preamble205-bbased on the receive beams215. In some cases, random access preamble205-amay be the same as preamble205-bmay be transmitted to base station105-ain a single random access occasion. Base station105-amay identify a preamble collision and resolve the preamble collision based on the receive beams210, the receive beams215, spatial separation, or any combination thereof. Resolving the preamble collision may avoid additional signaling with the UEs115, which may reduce latency and system resource use. The use of technologies to spatially resolve signals received by base station105-amay overcome the single beam per base station limitation associated with phased array based base stations. A lens antenna may be one example of an implementation to translate the position of a radiating element at the focal plane to an angle at which a beam is transmitted, or from which the beam is received. In some cases, multiple radiating elements may be operated simultaneously, without the need to control the phases of multiple elements to form a beam, to support transmitting or receiving multiple beams in parallel. A Butler matrix may be another example of an implementation to translate the position of a radiating element at the focal plane to an angle at which a beam is transmitted, or from which the beam is received. In some cases, each port of the Butler matrix may be translated to a set of directional beams (e.g., directional discrete Fourier transform (DFT) beams). Using such technologies may support base station105-ain sensing or determining the direction from which a UE115is transmitting and associating or identifying a serving beam of the UE115. Such technologies may reduce the beam sweeping performed by base station105-a, thereby reducing system latency. Base station105-amay transmit a first RAR message to UE115-abased on receiving random access preamble205-aand a second RAR message to UE115-bbased on receiving random access preamble205-b. The first RAR message may indicate a first uplink grant, a first timing advance, and a first RAPID, while the second RAR message may indicate a second uplink grant, a second timing advance, and a second RAPID. The first RAPID may be the same as the second RAPID, but the first uplink grant may be different from the second uplink grant and the first timing advance may be different from the second timing advance. Base station105-amay transmit the first RAR and the second RAR simultaneously on narrow beams with high spatial separation. In some cases, base station105-amay transmit RAR messages to multiple UEs115in both a spatial division multiplexing (SDM) manner and a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner (e.g., using multiple slots during a RAR window period, each slot corresponding to a different UE group). In some cases, wireless communications system200may support up to 64 RACH sequences (e.g., preambles) per SSB, which may support an increased number of users and/or UEs115. FIG.3illustrates an example of a preamble collision resolution technique300that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the preamble collision resolution technique300may implement aspects of wireless communication system100or200. The preamble collision resolution technique300may illustrate a preamble collision resolution technique for scenarios with spatial separation. Base station105-bmay be include or be otherwise associated with an antenna (e.g., a lens antenna)305, and the antenna may indicate first receive beam310-aand second receive beam310-b. In some cases, first receive beam310-amay correspond to a first UE115, and second receive beam310-bmay correspond to a second UE115. In some cases, UE115-c, UE115-e, and UE115-gmay correspond to the same UE (e.g., the first UE), and UE115-d, UE115-f, and UE115-hmay correspond to the same UE (e.g., the second UE). Base station105-bmay determine that multiple UEs correspond to the receive beams310and that the receive beams310correspond to spatially separated beams. Base station105-bmay transmit a number of SSBs320(e.g., SSB320-a, SSB320-b, SSB320-c, and SSB320-d) to a number of UEs115(e.g., UE115-cand UE115-d). For example, base station105-bmay transmit SSB320-ato UE115-c(e.g., the first UE) via beam315-aand SSB320-cto UE115-d(e.g., the second UE) via beam315-b. UE115-e(e.g., the first UE) may select a random access preamble based on the SSB320-aand transmit the random access preamble to base station105-bvia beam315-cin the RACH occasion325. UE115-f(e.g., the second UE) may select the same random access preamble based on the SSB320-cand transmit the random access preamble to base station105-bvia beam315-din the RACH occasion325. Base station105-amay transmit multiple RAR messages during the RAR window335. In some examples, base station105-bmay transmit RAR message330-ato UE115-gvia beam315-eand RAR message330-bto UE115-hvia beam315-f. Beams315-eand315-fmay be spatially separated beams, MU-MIMO beams, or the like. In some cases, RAR message330-aand RAR message330-bmay indicate the same RAPID. For example, the MAC subheader of RAR message330-amay indicate a RAPID that is the same as the RAPID indicated in the MAC subheader of RAR message330-b. The RAPID indicated in a RAR message330may be based on a received random access preamble, and a base station105may transmit multiple RAR messages to multiple corresponding UEs115using spatially separated beams. The RAR message330-amay indicate a first timing advance and a first uplink grant, and the RAR message330-bmay indicate a second timing advance different from the first time response and a second uplink grant different from the first uplink grant. Base station105-bmay transmit the RAR message330messages in simultaneously (e.g., in parallel), which may improve system efficiency and reduce latency. FIG.4illustrates an example of a preamble collision resolution technique400that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the preamble collision resolution technique400may implement aspects of wireless communication system100or200. The preamble collision resolution technique400may illustrate a preamble collision resolution technique for scenarios with partial spatial separation. Base station105-cmay be include or be otherwise associated with an antenna (e.g., a lens antenna)405, and the antenna may indicate first receive beam410-aand second receive beam410-b. In some cases, first receive beam410-amay correspond to a first UE115, and second receive beam410-bmay correspond to a second UE115. In some cases, UE115-i, UE115-k, and UE115-mmay correspond to the same UE (e.g., the first UE), and UE115-j, UE115-l, and UE115-nmay correspond to the same UE (e.g., the second UE). Base station105-cmay determine that multiple UEs correspond to the receive beams410and that the receive beams410correspond to partially spatially separated beams. Base station105-cmay transmit a number of SSBs420(e.g., SSB420-a, SSB420-b, SSB420-c, and SSB420-d) to a number of UEs115(e.g., UE115-iand UE115-j). For example, base station105-cmay transmit SSB420-ato UE115-i(e.g., the first UE) via beam415-aand SSB420-cto UE115-j(e.g., the second UE) via beam415-b. UE115-k(e.g., the first UE) may select a random access preamble based on the SSB420-aand transmit the random access preamble to base station105-cvia beam415-cin the RACH occasion425. UE115-l(e.g., the second UE) may select the same random access preamble based on the SSB420-cand transmit the random access preamble to base station105-cvia beam415-din the RACH occasion425. In some cases, base station105-cmay transmit multiple RAR messages during the RAR window435. For example, base station105-cmay transmit RAR message430-ato UE115-mvia beam415-ewhile simultaneously transmitting interfering signal440-ato UE115-n. The interfering signal440-amay prevent UE115-nfrom decoding RAR message430-a, which may improve system performance, as the RAR message430-ais intended for UE115-m. Base station105-cmay transmit RAR message430-bto UE115-pvia beam415-fwhile simultaneously transmitting interfering signal440-bto UE115-o. The interfering signal440-bmay prevent UE115-ofrom decoding RAR message430-b, which may improve system performance, as the RAR message430-bis intended for UE115-p. Beam415-emay be spatially aimed at UE115-m, beam415-fmay be spatially aimed at UE115-p, interfering signal440-amay be spatially aimed at UE115-n, and interfering signal440-bmay be spatially aimed at UE115-o. In some cases, an interfering signal440may be transmitted only on CCEs of an RA-RNTI PDDCH, which may prevent unintended UE1 from successfully decoding the RAR PDCCH. FIG.5illustrates an example of a preamble collision resolution technique500that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the preamble collision resolution technique500may implement aspects of wireless communication system100or200. The preamble collision resolution technique500may illustrate a preamble collision resolution technique for scenarios without spatial separation. Base station105-dmay be include or be otherwise associated with an antenna (e.g., a lens antenna)505, and the antenna may indicate first receive beam510-aand second receive beam510-b. In some cases, first receive beam510-amay correspond to a first UE115, and second receive beam510-bmay correspond to a second UE115. In some cases, UE115-0, UE115-q, and UE115-smay correspond to the same UE (e.g., the first UE), and UE115-p, UE115-r, and UE115-tmay correspond to the same UE (e.g., the second UE). Base station105-dmay determine that base station105-dcannot produce fully separated beams or fail to identify that multiple UEs correspond to the receive beams510. Base station105-dmay transmit a number of SSBs520(e.g., SSB520-a, SSB520-b, SSB520-c, and SSB520-d) to a number of UEs115(e.g., UE115-oand UE115-p). For example, base station105-dmay transmit SSB520-cto UE115-o(e.g., the first UE) and UE115-pvia beam515-a. UE115-q(e.g., the first UE) may select a random access preamble based on the SSB520-aand transmit the random access preamble to base station105-dvia beam515-bin the RACH occasion525. UE115-r(e.g., the second UE) may select the same random access preamble based on the SSB520-cand transmit the random access preamble to base station105-dvia beam515-bin the RACH occasion525. Base station105-dmay transmit a RAR message during the RAR window535. In some examples, base station105-dmay transmit RAR message530to UE115-sand UE115-tvia beam515-c. UE115-sand/or UE115-tmay transmit an additional random access message to base station105-das part of a preamble collision resolution procedure. For example, a UE115may transmit a collision resolution message (e.g., Msg 4 of a RACH procedure, a UE contention resolution identity MAC-CE, etc.) to base station105-das part of a preamble collision resolution procedure. FIG.6illustrates an example of a process flow600that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, process flow600may implement aspects of wireless communication system100or200. The process flow600includes UE115-u, UE115-v, and base station105-e, which may be examples of the corresponding devices as described with reference toFIGS.1through5. Base station105-emay resolve random access preamble collisions through the spatial analysis of receive beams. Alternative examples of the following may be implemented, where some steps are performed in a different order than described or are not performed at all. In some cases, steps may include additional features not mentioned below, or further steps may be added. At605, base station105-emay transmit an indication of an SSB to UE115-uand an indication of an SSB to UE115-v. At610, base station105-emay receive a random access preamble from UE115-uand UE115-v. At615, base station105-emay determine whether the random access preamble received from UE115-ucollides (e.g., is the same as) the random access preamble received from UE115-v. In some cases, at615, base station105-emay identify that the random access preamble received from UE115-udoes collide with the random access preamble received from UE115-v. In some cases, at615, base station105-emay determine whether the random access preamble can be resolved with spatial separation. In some examples, UE105-emay perform620based on determining that there is sufficient spatial separation between the receive been corresponding to UE115-uand the receive beam corresponding to UE115-v, while in some additional or alternative examples, base station105-emay perform625and630based on determining that there is partial spatial separation between the receive beam corresponding to UE115-uand the receive beam corresponding to UE115-v. At620, base station105-emay transmit a first RAR message to UE115-uvia a first beam while simultaneously transmitting a second RAR to UE115-vvia a second beam. The first RAR message may include the preamble (e.g., a RAPID), a first timing advance, and a first uplink grant. The second RAR message may include the preamble (e.g., a RAPID), a second timing advance different from the first timing advance, and a second uplink grant different from the first uplink grant. At625, base station may transmit a first RAR to UE115-uwhile simultaneously transmitting an interference signal to UE115-v. The interference signal prevent UE115-vfrom decoding the first RAR. At630, base station may transmit an interference signal to UE115-uwhile simultaneously transmitting a second RAR to UE115-v. The interference signal prevent UE115-ufrom decoding the second RAR. FIG.7shows a block diagram700of a device705that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device705may be an example of aspects of a UE115as described herein. The device705may include a receiver710, a communications manager715, and a transmitter720. The device705may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver710may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to random access preamble spatial overloading, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device705. The receiver710may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1020described with reference toFIG.10. The receiver710may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. The communications manager715may receive, from a base station, a configuration of random access resources indicating a quantity of a set of random access preambles, a quantity of a set of synchronization signal blocks per random access occasion, and a quantity of random access preambles per synchronization signal block, the received configuration indicating that each random access preamble of the set of random access preambles is available to the UE in the random access occasion for each synchronization signal block of a set of synchronization signal blocks transmitted by the base station, select a random access preamble of the set of random access preambles based on the received configuration, and transmit the selected random access preamble to the base station in the random access occasion. The communications manager715may be an example of aspects of the communications manager1010described herein. The communications manager715, or its sub-components, may be implemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communications manager715, or its sub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure. The communications manager715, or its sub-components, may be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations by one or more physical components. In some examples, the communications manager715, or its sub-components, may be a separate and distinct component in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communications manager715, or its sub-components, may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The transmitter720may transmit signals generated by other components of the device705. In some examples, the transmitter720may be collocated with a receiver710in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter720may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1020described with reference toFIG.10. The transmitter720may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. FIG.8shows a block diagram800of a device805that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device805may be an example of aspects of a device705, or a UE115as described herein. The device805may include a receiver810, a communications manager815, and a transmitter835. The device805may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver810may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to random access preamble spatial overloading, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device805. The receiver810may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1020described with reference toFIG.10. The receiver810may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. The communications manager815may be an example of aspects of the communications manager715as described herein. The communications manager815may include a configuration manager820, a preamble manager825, and a random access manager830. The communications manager815may be an example of aspects of the communications manager1010described herein. The configuration manager820may receive, from a base station, a configuration of random access resources indicating a quantity of a set of random access preambles, a quantity of a set of synchronization signal blocks per random access occasion, and a quantity of random access preambles per synchronization signal block, the received configuration indicating that each random access preamble of the set of random access preambles is available to the UE in the random access occasion for each synchronization signal block of a set of synchronization signal blocks transmitted by the base station. The preamble manager825may select a random access preamble of the set of random access preambles based on the received configuration. The random access manager830may transmit the selected random access preamble to the base station in the random access occasion. The transmitter835may transmit signals generated by other components of the device805. In some examples, the transmitter835may be collocated with a receiver810in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter835may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1020described with reference toFIG.10. The transmitter835may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. FIG.9shows a block diagram900of a communications manager905that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager905may be an example of aspects of a communications manager715, a communications manager815, or a communications manager1010described herein. The communications manager905may include a configuration manager910, a preamble manager915, a random access manager920, and a response message manager925. Each of these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The configuration manager910may receive, from a base station, a configuration of random access resources indicating a quantity of a set of random access preambles, a quantity of a set of synchronization signal blocks per random access occasion, and a quantity of random access preambles per synchronization signal block, the received configuration indicating that each random access preamble of the set of random access preambles is available to the UE in the random access occasion for each synchronization signal block of a set of synchronization signal blocks transmitted by the base station. In some examples, the configuration manager910may receive the configuration via radio resource control signaling from the base station. In some cases, the received configuration is a random access configuration common to a cell of the base station. The preamble manager915may select a random access preamble of the set of random access preambles based on the received configuration. In some examples, the preamble manager915may receive a synchronization signal block from the base station, where the random access preamble of the set of random access preambles is selected regardless of an index of the received synchronization signal block. The random access manager920may transmit the selected random access preamble to the base station in the random access occasion. In some cases, the random access occasion is one random access occasion and the quantity of the set of synchronization signal blocks associated with the one random access occasion is thirty two. In some cases, the random access occasion is one random access occasion and the quantity of the set of synchronization signal blocks associated with the one random access occasion is sixty four. In some cases, a product of the quantity of the set of synchronization signal blocks per random access occasion and the quantity of random access preambles per synchronization signal block is greater than sixty four. The response message manager925may receive, from the base station based on the received synchronization signal block, a random access response message in response to transmitting the selected random access preamble. FIG.10shows a diagram of a system1000including a device1005that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device1005may be an example of or include the components of device705, device805, or a UE115as described herein. The device1005may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communications manager1010, an I/O controller1015, a transceiver1020, an antenna1025, memory1030, and a processor1040. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus1045). The communications manager1010may receive, from a base station, a configuration of random access resources indicating a quantity of a set of random access preambles, a quantity of a set of synchronization signal blocks per random access occasion, and a quantity of random access preambles per synchronization signal block, the received configuration indicating that each random access preamble of the set of random access preambles is available to the UE in the random access occasion for each synchronization signal block of a set of synchronization signal blocks transmitted by the base station, select a random access preamble of the set of random access preambles based on the received configuration, and transmit the selected random access preamble to the base station in the random access occasion. The I/O controller1015may manage input and output signals for the device1005. The I/O controller1015may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device1005. In some cases, the I/O controller1015may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some cases, the I/O controller1015may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS/2®, UNIX®, LINUX®, or another known operating system. In other cases, the I/O controller1015may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I/O controller1015may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with the device1005via the I/O controller1015or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller1015. The transceiver1020may communicate bi-directionally, via one or more antennas, wired, or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver1020may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver1020may also include a modem to modulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antennas. In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna1025. However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna1025, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The memory1030may include RAM and ROM. The memory1030may store computer-readable, computer-executable code1035including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory1030may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices. The processor1040may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor1040may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor1040. The processor1040may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory1030) to cause the device1005to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting random access preamble spatial overloading). The code1035may include instructions to implement aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. The code1035may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code1035may not be directly executable by the processor1040but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. FIG.11shows a block diagram1100of a device1105that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device1105may be an example of aspects of a base station105as described herein. The device1105may include a receiver1110, a communications manager1115, and a transmitter1120. The device1105may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver1110may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to random access preamble spatial overloading, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device1105. The receiver1110may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1420described with reference toFIG.14. The receiver1110may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. The communications manager1115may transmit, to a UE, a configuration of random access resources indicating a quantity of a set of random access preambles, a quantity of a set of synchronization signal blocks per random access occasion, and a quantity of random access preambles per synchronization signal block, the transmitted configuration indicating that each random access preamble of the set of random access preambles is available to the UE in the random access occasion for each synchronization signal block of a set of synchronization signal blocks transmitted by the base station and receive, from the UE in the random access occasion, a random access preamble of the set of random access preambles. The communications manager1115may be an example of aspects of the communications manager1410described herein. The communications manager1115, or its sub-components, may be implemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communications manager1115, or its sub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure. The communications manager1115, or its sub-components, may be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations by one or more physical components. In some examples, the communications manager1115, or its sub-components, may be a separate and distinct component in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communications manager1115, or its sub-components, may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The transmitter1120may transmit signals generated by other components of the device1105. In some examples, the transmitter1120may be collocated with a receiver1110in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter1120may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1420described with reference toFIG.14. The transmitter1120may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. FIG.12shows a block diagram1200of a device1205that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device1205may be an example of aspects of a device1105, or a base station105as described herein. The device1205may include a receiver1210, a communications manager1215, and a transmitter1230. The device1205may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver1210may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to random access preamble spatial overloading, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device1205. The receiver1210may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1420described with reference toFIG.14. The receiver1210may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. The communications manager1215may be an example of aspects of the communications manager1115as described herein. The communications manager1215may include a configuration component1220and a preamble component1225. The communications manager1215may be an example of aspects of the communications manager1410described herein. The configuration component1220may transmit, to a UE, a configuration of random access resources indicating a quantity of a set of random access preambles, a quantity of a set of synchronization signal blocks per random access occasion, and a quantity of random access preambles per synchronization signal block, the transmitted configuration indicating that each random access preamble of the set of random access preambles is available to the UE in the random access occasion for each synchronization signal block of a set of synchronization signal blocks transmitted by the base station. The preamble component1225may receive, from the UE in the random access occasion, a random access preamble of the set of random access preambles. The transmitter1230may transmit signals generated by other components of the device1205. In some examples, the transmitter1230may be collocated with a receiver1210in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter1230may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1420described with reference toFIG.14. The transmitter1230may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. FIG.13shows a block diagram1300of a communications manager1305that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager1305may be an example of aspects of a communications manager1115, a communications manager1215, or a communications manager1410described herein. The communications manager1305may include a configuration component1310, a preamble component1315, a monitoring component1320, a response message component1325, and an UE identifying component1330. Each of these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The configuration component1310may transmit, to a UE, a configuration of random access resources indicating a quantity of a set of random access preambles, a quantity of a set of synchronization signal blocks per random access occasion, and a quantity of random access preambles per synchronization signal block, the transmitted configuration indicating that each random access preamble of the set of random access preambles is available to the UE in the random access occasion for each synchronization signal block of a set of synchronization signal blocks transmitted by the base station. In some examples, the configuration component1310may transmit the configuration via radio resource control signaling. In some cases, a product of the quantity of the set of synchronization signal blocks per random access occasion and the quantity of random access preambles per synchronization signal block is greater than sixty four. In some cases, the transmitted configuration is a random access configuration common to a cell of the base station. In some cases, the random access occasion is one random access occasion and the quantity of the set of synchronization signal blocks associated with the one random access occasion is thirty two. In some cases, the random access occasion is one random access occasion and the quantity of the set of synchronization signal blocks associated with the one random access occasion is sixty four. The preamble component1315may receive, from the UE in the random access occasion, a random access preamble of the set of random access preambles. In some examples, the preamble component1315may receive, from a second UE in the random access occasion and on a second receive beam corresponding to a second synchronization signal block of the set of synchronization signal blocks, the random access preamble that was also received from the UE in the random access occasion, where the second synchronization signal block is the same as a first synchronization block corresponding to a first receive beam, or the second synchronization signal block is different from the first synchronization block. The monitoring component1320may monitor concurrently, during the random access occasion, for the set of random access preambles using a set of receive beams corresponding to the set of synchronization signal blocks, where one or more receive beams correspond to one synchronization signal block of the set of synchronization signal blocks. The response message component1325may transmit, based on receiving the random access preamble on the first receive beam, a first random access response message to the UE on a first transmit beam corresponding to the first synchronization signal block. In some examples, the response message component1325may transmit, based on receiving the random access preamble on the second receive beam, a second random access response message to the second UE on a second transmit beam corresponding to the second synchronization signal block, where the second synchronization signal block is the same as the first synchronization block, or the second synchronization signal block is different from the first synchronization block. In some examples, the response message component1325may determine a potential beam collision based on the first random access response message and the second random access response message. In some examples, the response message component1325may transmit, based on determining the beam collision, a message to the second UE that is configured to prevent the second UE from decoding the first random access response message, where the message is transmitted to the second UE concurrent with the transmission of the first random access response message to the UE. The UE identifying component1330may identify the UE and the second UE based on a spatial separation of the first receive beam and the second receive beam. FIG.14shows a diagram of a system1400including a device1405that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device1405may be an example of or include the components of device1105, device1205, or a base station105as described herein. The device1405may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communications manager1410, a network communications manager1415, a transceiver1420, an antenna1425, memory1430, a processor1440, and an inter-station communications manager1445. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus1450). The communications manager1410may transmit, to a UE, a configuration of random access resources indicating a quantity of a set of random access preambles, a quantity of a set of synchronization signal blocks per random access occasion, and a quantity of random access preambles per synchronization signal block, the transmitted configuration indicating that each random access preamble of the set of random access preambles is available to the UE in the random access occasion for each synchronization signal block of a set of synchronization signal blocks transmitted by the base station and receive, from the UE in the random access occasion, a random access preamble of the set of random access preambles. The network communications manager1415may manage communications with the core network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communications manager1415may manage the transfer of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs115. The transceiver1420may communicate bi-directionally, via one or more antennas, wired, or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver1420may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver1420may also include a modem to modulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antennas. In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna1425. However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna1425, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The memory1430may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. The memory1430may store computer-readable code1435including instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., the processor1440) cause the device to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory1430may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices. The processor1440may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor1440may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some cases, a memory controller may be integrated into processor1440. The processor1440may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory1430) to cause the device1405to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting random access preamble spatial overloading). The inter-station communications manager1445may manage communications with other base station105, and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UEs115in cooperation with other base stations105. For example, the inter-station communications manager1445may coordinate scheduling for transmissions to UEs115for various interference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-station communications manager1445may provide an X2 interface within an LTE/LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communication between base stations105. The code1435may include instructions to implement aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. The code1435may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code1435may not be directly executable by the processor1440but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. FIG.15shows a flowchart illustrating a method1500that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method1500may be implemented by a UE115or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method1500may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware. At1505, the UE may receive, from a base station, a configuration of random access resources indicating a quantity of a set of random access preambles, a quantity of a set of synchronization signal blocks per random access occasion, and a quantity of random access preambles per synchronization signal block, the received configuration indicating that each random access preamble of the set of random access preambles is available to the UE in the random access occasion for each synchronization signal block of a set of synchronization signal blocks transmitted by the base station. The operations of1505may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1505may be performed by a configuration manager as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1510, the UE may select a random access preamble of the set of random access preambles based on the received configuration. The operations of1510may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1510may be performed by a preamble manager as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1515, the UE may transmit the selected random access preamble to the base station in the random access occasion. The operations of1515may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1515may be performed by a random access manager as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. FIG.16shows a flowchart illustrating a method1600that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method1600may be implemented by a UE115or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method1600may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware. At1605, the UE may receive, from a base station, a configuration of random access resources indicating a quantity of a set of random access preambles, a quantity of a set of synchronization signal blocks per random access occasion, and a quantity of random access preambles per synchronization signal block, the received configuration indicating that each random access preamble of the set of random access preambles is available to the UE in the random access occasion for each synchronization signal block of a set of synchronization signal blocks transmitted by the base station. The operations of1605may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1605may be performed by a configuration manager as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1610, the UE may select a random access preamble of the set of random access preambles based on the received configuration. The operations of1610may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1610may be performed by a preamble manager as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1615, the UE may transmit the selected random access preamble to the base station in the random access occasion. The operations of1615may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1615may be performed by a random access manager as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1620, the UE may receive a synchronization signal block from the base station, where the random access preamble of the set of random access preambles is selected regardless of an index of the received synchronization signal block. The operations of1620may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1620may be performed by a preamble manager as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. FIG.17shows a flowchart illustrating a method1700that supports random access preamble spatial overloading in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method1700may be implemented by a base station105or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method1700may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference toFIGS.11through14. In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a base station may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware. At1705, the base station may transmit, to a UE, a configuration of random access resources indicating a quantity of a set of random access preambles, a quantity of a set of synchronization signal blocks per random access occasion, and a quantity of random access preambles per synchronization signal block, the transmitted configuration indicating that each random access preamble of the set of random access preambles is available to the UE in the random access occasion for each synchronization signal block of a set of synchronization signal blocks transmitted by the base station. The operations of1705may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1705may be performed by a configuration component as described with reference toFIGS.11through14. At1710, the base station may receive, from the UE in the random access occasion, a random access preamble of the set of random access preambles. The operations of1710may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1710may be performed by a preamble component as described with reference toFIGS.11through14. It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined. Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the described techniques may be applicable to various other wireless communications systems such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, as well as other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein. Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof. The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration). The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations. Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media. As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on.” In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label, or other subsequent reference label. The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “example” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples. The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. | 99,234 |
11943817 | MODE FOR DISCLOSURE Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The detailed description to be disclosed below with the accompanying drawings is intended to describe exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, and is not intended to represent only embodiments in which the present disclosure may be practiced. The detailed description below includes specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art appreciate that the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, in order to avoid obscuring the concept of the present disclosure, well-known structures and devices may be omitted, or may be illustrated in a block diagram form centering on core capabilities of each structure and device. In the disclosure, a base station means a terminal node of a network directly performing communication with a terminal. In the present document, specific operations described to be performed by the base station may be performed by an upper node of the base station in some cases. That is, it is apparent that in the network constituted by multiple network nodes including the base station, various operations performed for communication with the terminal may be performed by the base station or other network nodes other than the base station. A base station (BS) may be generally substituted with terms such as a fixed station, Node B, evolved-NodeB (eNB), a base transceiver system (BTS), an access point (AP), and the like. Further, a ‘terminal’ may be fixed or movable and be substituted with terms such as user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a user terminal (UT), a mobile subscriber station (MSS), a subscriber station (SS), an advanced mobile station (AMS), a wireless terminal (WT), a Machine-Type Communication (MTC) device, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device, a Device-to-Device (D2D) device, and the like. Hereinafter, a downlink means communication from the base station to the terminal and an uplink means communication from the terminal to the base station. In the downlink, a transmitter may be a part of the base station and a receiver may be a part of the terminal. In the uplink, the transmitter may be a part of the terminal and the receiver may be a part of the base station. Specific terms used in the following description are provided to help appreciating the disclosure and the use of the specific terms may be modified into other forms within the scope without departing from the technical spirit of the disclosure. The following technology may be used in various wireless access systems, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier-FDMA (SC-FDMA), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and the like. The CDMA may be implemented by radio technology universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA) or CDMA2000. The TDMA may be implemented by radio technology such as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)/Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE). The OFDMA may be implemented as radio technology such as IEEE 802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802-20, E-UTRA (Evolved UTRA), and the like. The UTRA is a part of a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) as a part of an evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) using evolved-UMTS terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) adopts the OFDMA in a downlink and the SC-FDMA in an uplink. LTE-advanced (A) is an evolution of the 3GPP LTE. 5G new radio (5G NR) defines enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) according to a usage scenario. In addition, the 5G NR standard is classified into standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) according to co-existence between the NR system and the LTE system. In addition, the 5G NR supports various subcarrier spacings, and supports CP-OFDM in downlink and CP-OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM (SC-OFDM) in uplink. The embodiments of the disclosure may be based on standard documents disclosed in at least one of IEEE 802, 3GPP, and 3GPP2 which are the wireless access systems. That is, steps or parts which are not described to definitely show the technical spirit of the disclosure among the embodiments of the disclosure may be based on the documents. Further, all terms disclosed in the document may be described by the standard document. 3GPP LTE/LTE-A/NR is primarily described for clear description, but technical features of the disclosure are not limited thereto. LTE refers to technology after 3GPP TS 36.xxx Release 8. In detail, LTE technology after 3GPP TS 36.xxx Release 10 is referred to as LTE-A, and LTE technology after 3GPP TS 36.xxx Release 13 is referred to as LTE-A pro. 3GPP NR refers to technology after TS 38.xxx Release 15. LTE/NR may be referred to as a 3GPP system. “xxx” stands for standard document detail number. LTE/NR may be collectively referred to as a 3GPP system. For backgrounds, terms, abbreviations, etc. used in the description of the present disclosure, reference may be made to matters described in standard documents published before the present disclosure. For example, the following documents may be referred: 3GPP LTE36.211: Physical channels and modulation36.212: Multiplexing and channel coding36.213: Physical layer procedures36.300: Overall description36.331: Radio Resource Control (RRC) 3GPP NR38.211: Physical channels and modulation38.212: Multiplexing and channel coding38.213: Physical layer procedures for control38.214: Physical layer procedures for data38.300: NR and NG-RAN Overall Description36.331: Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification System General LTE System Structure FIG.1illustrates an example of a network structure of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) to which the present disclosure can be applied. E-UTRAN system is a system evolved from the existing UTRAN system, for example, may be a 3GPP LTE/LTE-A system. The E-UTRAN is composed of base stations (eNBs) that provide a control plane and a user plane protocol to a terminal, and the base stations are connected through an X2 interface. An X2 user plane interface (X2-U) is defined between the base stations. The X2-U interface provides non-guaranteed delivery of a user plane packet data unit (PDU). An X2 control plane interface (X2-CP) is defined between two neighboring base stations. X2-CP performs functions such as context transfer between base stations, control of a user plane tunnel between a source base station and a target base station, handover-related message delivery, and uplink load management. The base station is connected to the terminal through a wireless interface and is connected to an evolved packet core (EPC) through the S1 interface. An S1 user plane interface (S1-U) is defined between a base station and a serving gateway (S-GW). The S1 control plane interface (S1-MME) is defined between the base station and a mobility management entity (MME). The S1 interface performs an evolved packet system (EPS) bearer service management function, a non-access stratum (NAS) signaling transport function, network sharing, an MME load balancing function, and the like. The S1 interface supports many-to-many-relation between the base station and the MME/S-GW. NR System Structure FIG.2illustrates an example of an overall structure of a new radio (NR) system to which a method proposed by the present disclosure is applicable. Referring toFIG.8, an NG-RAN consists of gNBs that provide an NG-RA user plane (new AS sublayer/PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY) and control plane (RRC) protocol terminations for a user equipment (UE). The gNBs are interconnected with each other by means of an Xn interface. The gNBs are also connected to an NGC by means of an NG interface. More specifically, the gNBs are connected to an access and mobility management function (AMF) by means of an N2 interface and to a user plane function (UPF) by means of an N3 interface. Frame Structure LTE Frame Structure A frame structure in LTE will be described. Unless otherwise mentioned in the LTE standard, sizes of various fields in the time domain are expressed as a number of a time unit Ts=1/(15000×2048) seconds. DL and UL transmission is organized with radio frames having a duration of Tf=307200×Ts=10 ms. Two radio frame structures are supported.Type 1 is applicable to FDDType 2 is applicable to TDD (1) Frame Structure Type 1 FIG.3illustrates an example of frame structure type 1. Frame structure type 1 may be applied to both full duplex and half duplex FDDs. Each radio frame has a length of Tf=308200*Ts=10 ms, and is constituted by 20 slots in which Tf=308200*Ts=10 ms, which are numbered with 0 to 19. The subframe is defined as two consecutive slots, and subframe i is constituted by slots 2i and 2i−1. In the case of the FDD, 10 subframes are available for downlink transmission and 10 subframes are available for uplink transmission at every 10 ms interval. The uplink and downlink transmission is separated from the frequency domain. In a half duplex FDD operation, the UE may not simultaneously perform transmission and reception, while there is no such limitation in the full duplex FDD. Frame Structure Type 2 FIG.4illustrates an example of frame structure type 2. Frame structure type 2 is applicable to the FDD. Each radio frame having the length of Tf=307200*Ts=10 ms is constituted by two half-frames each having a length of 15360*Ts=0.5 ms. Each half-frame is constituted by 5 subframes having a length of 30720*Ts=1 ms. Supported uplink-downlink components are listed in Table 2, and here, for each subframe in the radio frame, “D” represents that the subframe is reserved for the downlink transmission, “U” represents that the subframe is reserved for the uplink transmission, and “S” represents a special subframe having three fields constituted by a downlink pilot time slot (DwPTS), a guard period (GP), and an uplink pilot time slot (UpPTS). Under a premise of a DwPTS, a GP, and a UpPTS having a length which is the same as a total length Tf=307200*Ts=10 ms, the lengths of the DwPTS and the UpPTS are provided by Table 1. Each subframe i is defined as two slots 2i and 2i+1 in which a length in each subframe is 15360*Ts=0.5 ms. An uplink-downlink component having a switch-point periodicity from downlink to uplink of both 5 ms and 10 ms is supported. In the case of the switch-point periodicity from the downlink to the uplink of 5 ms, the special subframe exists in both two half-frames. In the case of the switch-point periodicity from the downlink to the uplink of 10 ms, the special subframe exists only in a first half-frame. Subframes 0 and 5, and DwPTS are continuously reserved for the downlink transmission. The UpPTS, and a subframe immediately subsequent to the special subframe are continuously reserved for the uplink transmission. NR Frame Structure Next, the frame structure in NR will be described. FIG.5is a diagram showing an example of a frame structure in NR. In the NR system, multiple numerologies may be supported. The numerologies may be defined by subcarrier spacing and a cyclic prefix (CP) overhead. Spacing between the plurality of subcarriers may be derived by scaling basic subcarrier spacing into an integer N (or μ). In addition, although a very low subcarrier spacing is assumed not to be used at a very high subcarrier frequency, a numerology to be used may be selected independent of a frequency band. In addition, in the NR system, a variety of frame structures according to the multiple numerologies may be supported. Hereinafter, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) numerology and a frame structure, which may be considered in the NR system, will be described. A plurality of OFDM numerologies supported in the NR system may be defined as in Table 1. TABLE 1Δƒ = 2μ· 15μ[kHz]Cyclic prefix015Normal130Normal260Normal, Extended3120Normal4240Normal NR supports a number of numerology (or subcarrier spacing (SCS)) to support various 5G services. For example, when SCS is 15 kHz, it supports wide area in traditional cellular bands, and when SCS is 30 kHz/60 kHz, dense-urban, lower latency and a wider carrier bandwidth, and when the SCS is 60 kHz or higher, a bandwidth greater than 24.25 GHz to overcome phase noise. The NR frequency band is defined as a frequency range of two types (FR1, FR2). FR1 is the sub 6 GHz range, and FR2 is the above 6 GHz range, which may mean a millimeter wave (mmW). Table 2 below shows the definition of the NR frequency band. TABLE 2FrequencyRangeCorrespondingSubcarrierdesignationfrequency rangeSpacingFR1410 MHz-7125 MHz15, 30, 60 kHzFR224250 MHz-52600 MHz60, 120, 240 kHz Regarding a frame structure in the NR system, a size of various fields in the time domain is expressed as a multiple of a time unit of Ts=1/(Δfmax·Nf), where Δfmax=480·103, and Nf=4096. Downlink and uplink transmissions are organized into radio frames with a duration of Tf=(ΔfmaxNf/100)·Ts=10 ms. The radio frame consists of ten subframes each having a section of Tsf=(ΔfmaxNf/1000)·Ts=1 ms. In this case, there may be a set of frames in the uplink and a set of frames in the downlink. FIG.2illustrates a relation between a UL frame and a DL frame in a wireless communication system to which a method proposed by the disclosure is applicable. As illustrated inFIG.2, a UL frame number i for transmission from a user equipment (UE) shall start TTA=NTATsbefore the start of a corresponding downlink frame at the corresponding UE. Regarding the numerology μ, slots are numbered in increasing order of nsμ∈{0, . . . , Nsubframeslots,μ−1} within a subframe, and are numbered in increasing order of ns,fμ∈{0, . . . , Nframeslots,μ−1} within a radio frame. One slot consists of consecutive OFDM symbols of Nsymbμ, and Nsymbμis determined depending on a numerology in use and slot configuration. The start of slots n in a subframe is aligned in time with the start of OFDM symbols nsμNsymbμin the same subframe. Not all UEs are able to transmit and receive at the same time, and this means that not all OFDM symbols in a DL slot or an UL slot are available to be used. Table 3 shows the number of OFDM symbols per slot (Nsymbslot), the number of slots per radio frame (Nslotframe,μ), and the number of slots per subframe (Nslotsubframe,μ) in a normal CP, and Table 3 shows the number of OFDM symbols per slot, the number of OFDM symbols per slot and the number of slots per radio frame, and the number of slots per subframe in an extended CP. TABLE 3μNsymbslotNslotframe,μNslotsubframe,μ01410111420221440431480841416016 TABLE 4μNsymbslotNslotframe,μNslotsubframe,μ212404 FIG.3shows an example of a frame structure in an NR system. 3 is only for convenience of description, and does not limit the scope of the present disclosure. In the case of Table 4, if μ=2, that is, as an example of a case where the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 60 kHz, referring to Table 3, 1 subframe (or frame) includes 4 slots 1 subframe={1,2,4} slots shown inFIG.3is an example, and the number of slot(s) that can be included in one subframe may be defined as shown in Table 2. In addition, a mini-slot (mini-slot) may consist of 2, 4 or 7 symbols (symbol), may be composed of more or fewer symbols. Physical Resource LTE Physical Resource FIG.6is a diagram showing an example of a resource grid for a downlink slot. InFIG.6, a downlink slot includes a plurality of OFDM symbols in time domain. It is described herein that one downlink slot includes 7 OFDM symbols, and one resource block (RB) includes 12 subcarriers in frequency domain as an example. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Each element on the resource grid is referred to as a resource element (RE). One RB includes 12×7 REs. The number NDL of RBs included in the downlink slot depends on a downlink transmit bandwidth. The structure of an uplink slot may be same as that of the downlink slot. FIG.7shows an example of a downlink subframe structure. InFIG.7, a maximum of three OFDM symbols located in a front portion of a first slot within a subframe correspond to a control region to be assigned with a control channel. The remaining OFDM symbols correspond to a data region to be assigned with a physical downlink shared chancel (PDSCH). Examples of downlink control channels used in the 3GPP LTE includes a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH), etc. The PCFICH is transmitted at a first OFDM symbol of a subframe and carries information regarding the number of OFDM symbols used for transmission of control channels within the subframe. The PHICH is a response of uplink transmission and carries an HARQ acknowledgment (ACK)/not-acknowledgment (NACK) signal. Control information transmitted through the PDCCH is referred to as downlink control information (DCI). The DCI includes uplink or downlink scheduling information or includes an uplink transmit (Tx) power control command for arbitrary UE groups. The PDCCH may carry a transport format and a resource allocation of a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH), resource allocation information of an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH), paging information on a paging channel (PCH), system information on the DL-SCH, a resource allocation of an upper-layer control message such as a random access response transmitted on the PDSCH, a set of Tx power control commands on individual UEs within an arbitrary UE group, a Tx power control command, activation of a voice over IP (VoIP), etc. A plurality of PDCCHs can be transmitted within a control region. The UE can monitor the plurality of PDCCHs. The PDCCH is transmitted on an aggregation of one or several consecutive control channel elements (CCEs). The CCE is a logical allocation unit used to provide the PDCCH with a coding rate based on a state of a radio channel. The CCE corresponds to a plurality of resource element groups (REGs). A format of the PDCCH and the number of bits of the available PDCCH are determined according to a correlation between the number of CCEs and the coding rate provided by the CCEs. The BS determines a PDCCH format according to a DCI to be transmitted to the UE, and attaches a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) to control information. The CRC is masked with a unique identifier (referred to as a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI)) according to an owner or usage of the PDCCH. If the PDCCH is for a specific UE, a unique identifier (e.g., cell-RNTI (C-RNTI)) of the UE may be masked to the CRC. Alternatively, if the PDCCH is for a paging message, a paging indicator identifier (e.g., paging-RNTI (P-RNTI)) may be masked to the CRC. If the PDCCH is for system information (more specifically, a system information block (SIB) to be described below), a system information identifier and a system information RNTI (SI-RNTI) may be masked to the CRC. To indicate a random access response that is a response for transmission of a random access preamble of the UE, a random access-RNTI (RA-RNTI) may be masked to the CRC. FIG.8shows an example of an uplink subframe structure. InFIG.8, an uplink subframe can be divided in a frequency domain into a control region and a data region. The control region is allocated with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for carrying uplink control information. The data region is allocated with a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for carrying user data. To maintain a single carrier property, one UE does not simultaneously transmit the PUCCH and the PUSCH. The PUCCH for one UE is allocated to an RB pair in a subframe. RBs belonging to the RB pair occupy different subcarriers in respective two slots. This is called that the RB pair allocated to the PUCCH is frequency-hopped in a slot boundary. NR Physical Resource In connection with the physical resource in the NR system, antenna port, resource grid, resource element, resource block, and carrier part may be taken into consideration. Hereinafter, the physical resources that may be considered in the NR system are described in detail. First, in connection with antenna port, the antenna port is defined so that the channel carrying a symbol on the antenna port may be inferred from the channel carrying another symbol on the same antenna port. Where the large-scale property of the channel carrying a symbol on one antenna port may be inferred from the channel carrying a symbol on a different antenna port, the two antenna ports may be said to have a QC/QCL (quasi co-located or quasi co-location) relationship. Here, the large-scale properties include one or more of delay spread, Doppler spread, frequency shift, average received power, and received timing. FIG.9illustrates an example resource grid supported in a wireless communication system to which a method as proposed in the disclosure may apply. Referring toFIG.9, although an example is described in which the resource grid is constituted of NRBμNscRBsubcarriers in the frequency domain, and one subframe includes 14·2μ OFDM symbols, embodiments of the disclosure are not limited thereto. In the NR system, the transmitted signal is described with one or more resource grids constituted of NRBμNscRBsubcarriers and 2μNsymb(μ)OFDM symbols. Here, NRBμ≤NRBmax,μ. NRBmax,μrefers to the maximum transmission bandwidth, and this may be varied between uplink and downlink as well as numerologies. In this case, as shown inFIG.10, one resource grid may be configured per numerology μ and antenna port p. FIG.10illustrates examples of per-antenna port and numerology resource grids to which a method as proposed in the disclosure may apply. Each element of the resource grid for numerology μ and antenna port p is denoted a resource element and is uniquely identified by index pair (k,l). Here, k=0, . . . , NRBμNscRB−1 is the index in the frequency domain, andl=0, . . . , 2μNsymb(μ)−1 denotes the position of symbol in the subframe. Upon denoting the resource element in slot, index pair (k,l) is used. Here, l=0, . . . , Nsymbμ−1. For numerology μ and antenna port, resource element (k,l) corresponds to complex value ak,l(p,μ). Where there is no risk of confusion or where a specific antenna port or numerology is not specified, indexes p and μ may be dropped and, as a result, the complex value may become ak,l(p)or ak,l. The physical resource block is defined with NscRB=12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. Point A may serve as a common reference point of a resource block grid and may be acquired as follows.OffsetToPointA for PCell downlink indicates the frequency offset between the lowest subcarrier of the lowest resource block superposed with the SS/PBCH block used by the UE for initial cell selection and point A, and is expressed by resource block units assuming a 15 kHz subcarrier spacing for FR1 and a 60 kHz subcarrier spacing for FR2; andabsoluteFrequencyPointA indicates the frequency-position of point A expressed as in an absolute radio-frequency channel number (ARFCN). Common resource blocks are numbered upwards from 0 in the frequency domain for a subcarrier spacing setting μ. A center of subcarrier 0 for common resource block 0 for the subcarrier spacing setting μ coincides with ‘point A’. The resource element (k,l) for common resource block number nCRBμand the subcarrier spacing setting μ in the frequency domain is given as in Equation 1 below. nCRBμ=⌊kNscRB⌋[Equation1] Here, k may be relatively defined in point A so that k=0 corresponds to a subcarrier centering on point A. Physical resource blocks are numbered with 0 to NBWPjsize−1 in a bandwidth part (BWP) and i represents the number of the BWP. A relationship between the physical resource block nPRBand the common resource block nCRBin BWP i is given by Equation 2 below. nCRB=nPRB+NBWP,istart[Equation 2] Here, NBWPjstartmay be a common resource block in which the BWP relatively starts to common resource block 0. FIG.11is a diagram illustrating an example of a physical resource block in NR. FIG.12illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communication device to which the methods proposed in the present disclosure can be applied. Referring toFIG.12, the wireless communication system includes a base station910and a plurality of terminals920located within the base station area. A base station may be expressed as a transmitting device, a terminal as a receiving device, and vice versa. The base station and the terminal are a processor (processor,911,921), a memory (memory,914,924), one or more Tx/Rx RF module (radio frequency module,915,925), Tx processor (912,922), Rx processor (913,923), antenna (916,926) include A processor implements the functions, processes and/or methods salpinned above. More specifically, in DL (base station to terminal communication), higher layer packets from the core network are provided to the processor911. The processor implements the functions of the L2 layer. In DL, the processor provides multiplexing between a logical channel and a transport channel and radio resource allocation to the terminal920, and is responsible for signaling to the terminal. A transmit (TX) processor912implements various signal processing functions for the L1 layer (ie, the physical layer). The signal processing function facilitates forward error correction (FEC) in the terminal, and includes coding and interleaving. The coded and modulated symbols are divided into parallel streams, each stream mapped to OFDM subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (RS) in the time and/or frequency domain, and using Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) are combined together to create a physical channel carrying a stream of time domain OFDMA symbols. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Each spatial stream may be provided to a different antenna916via a separate Tx/Rx module (or transceiver)915. Each Tx/Rx module may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission. In the terminal, each Tx/Rx module (or transceiver)925receives a signal through each antenna926of each Tx/Rx module. Each Tx/Rx module recovers information modulated with an RF carrier and provides it to a receive (RX) processor923. The RX processor implements the various signal processing functions of layer1. The RX processor may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream directed to the terminal. If multiple spatial streams are directed to a terminal, they may be combined into a single OFDMA symbol stream by multiple RX processors. The RX processor uses a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to transform the OFDMA symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDMA symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signal on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most probable signal placement points transmitted by the base station. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimate values. The soft decisions are decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signal originally transmitted by the base station on the physical channel. Corresponding data and control signals are provided to the processor921. UL (from terminal to base station communication) is processed in the base station910in a manner similar to that described in relation to the receiver function in the terminal920. Each Tx/Rx module925receives a signal via a respective antenna926. Each Tx/Rx module provides an RF carrier and information to the RX processor923. The processor921may be associated with a memory924that stores program code and data. Memory may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. RRC Protocol States and State Transitions RRC uses the following states. RRC Idle State (RRC IDLE)PLMN selectionDRXDRX configured by NASBroadcast of system informationPagingCell re-selection mobilityThe UE shall have been allocated an id which uniquely identifies the UE in a tracking area.No RRC context stored in the eNB (except for a UE that supports User Plane CIoT EPS optimizations where a context may be stored for the resume procedure)Sidelink communication transmission and receptionSidelink discovery announcement and monitoringV2X sidelink communication transmission and receptionEDT. RRC connected state (RRC_CONNECTED)The UE has an E-UTRAN-RRC connection.The UE has a context in E-UTRAN.E-UTRAN knows the cell which the UE belongs to.Network can transmit and/or receive data to/from UE.Network controlled mobility (handover and inter-RAT cell change order to GERAN with NACC)Neighbour cell measurementsSidelink communication transmission and receptionSidelink discovery announcement and monitoringV2X sidelink communication transmission and receptionAt PDCP/RLC/MAC level:The UE can transmit and/or receive data to/from the network.The UE monitors control signaling channel for shared data channel to see if any transmission over the shared data channel has been allocated to the UE.The UE also reports channel quality information and feedback information to eNB.A DRX cycle can be configured according to UE activity level for UE power saving and efficient resource utilization. This is under control of the eNB. E-UTRA connected to 5GC additionally supports RRC_INACTIVE state which can be characterized as follows: RRC INACTIVE:PLMN selectionBroadcast of system informationCell re-selection mobilityMonitors a Paging channel for CN paging and RAN pagingRAN-based notification area (RNA) is configured by NG-RAN.DRX for RAN paging configured by NG-RAN.5GC-NG-RAN connection (both C/U-planes) is established for UE.The UE AS context is stored in NG-RAN and the UE.NG-RAN knows the RNA which the UE belongs to. RRC State Management FIGS.13A to13Eare diagrams illustrating examples of an RFC connection establishment procedure. FIG.13Aillustrates a case where RRC connection establishment is successful. The UE transmits an RRC connection request message to the E-UTRAN. Next, the UE receives an RRC connection configuration message from the E-UTRAN. Next, the UE transmits an RRC connection configuration complete message to the E-UTRAN. FIG.13Billustrates a case where the RRC connection establishment is unsuccessful by the reject of the base station. The UE transmits the RRC connection request message to the E-UTRAN. Next, the UE receives an RRC connection reject message from the E-UTRAN. FIG.13Cillustrates a case where RRC connection resume is successful. The UE transmits an RRC connection resume request message to the E-UTRAN. Next, the UE receives the RRC connection resume message from the E-UTRAN. Last, the UE transmits an RRC connection resume success message to the E-UTRAN. FIG.13Dillustrates a case where an RRC connection resume procedure falls back to an RRC connection establishment procedure. The UE transmits the RRC connection resume message to the E-UTRAN. Next, the UE receives the RRC connection configuration message from the E-UTRAN. Last, the UE transmits an RRC connection configuration success message to the E-UTRAN. FIG.13Eillustrates a case where the RRC connection resume is unsuccessful by the reject of the base station. The UE transmits the RRC connection resume request message to the E-UTRAN. Next, the UE receives the RRC connection reject message from the E-UTRAN. FIGS.14A and14Bare diagrams illustrating examples of an RFC connection re-configuration procedure. FIG.14Aillustrates a case where an RRC connection reconfiguration procedure is successful. The UE receives the RRC connection configuration message from the EUTRAN. Next, the UE transmits an RRC connection reconfiguration complete message to the EUTRAN. FIG.14Billustrates a case where the RRC connection reconfiguration procedure is unsuccessful. The UE receives the RRC connection configuration message from the EUTRAN. Although receiving the RRC connection reconfiguration message, the UE cannot transmit the RRC connection reconfiguration complete message. Next, the UE reperforms the RRC connection reconfiguration procedure with the EUTRAN. A purpose of such a procedure is to modify the RRC connection. As an example, the RRC connection reconfiguration procedure may be performed for (i) RB configuration/modification/release, (ii) handover performing, (iii) measurement configuration/modification/release, (iv) SCell addition, modification/release, etc. As a part of the RRC reconfiguration procedure, NAS dedicated information may be transmitted from the E-UTRAN to the UE. FIG.15is a diagram illustrating an example of an RRC connection release procedure. The UE receives the RRC connection release message from the EUTRAN. A purpose of the RRC connection release procedure is as follows.To release the RRC connection, which includes the release of the established radio bearers as well as all radio resources, orTo suspend the RRC connection, which includes the suspension of the established radio bearers. Further, the RRC connection release may also be performed by a request of a higher layer. A purpose of the RRC connection release procedure requested by the higher layer is to release to the RRC connection. As a result of performing such a procedure, an access to current CELL may be rejected. The higher layer causes such a procedure, and for example, when it is determined that the network fails in authentication, such a procedure may be caused. When the higher layer requests of the release of the RRC connection, the UE may initiate such a procedure. The UE does not initiate such a procedure for a purpose of power saving. The UE:1> when the higher layer represents blocking of PCell:2> handles that PCell used before entering the RRC_IDLE state is prevented.1> If a release reason is ‘other’, the UE performs a specific operation when terminating the RRC_connected state. MTC (Machine Type Communication) MTC (Machine Type Communication) is an application that does not require a lot of throughput that may be applied to M2M (Machine-to-Machine) or IoT (Internet-of-Things), and refers to a communication technology adopted to meet the requirements of IoT services in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). MTC may be implemented to satisfy the criteria of (i) low cost and low complexity, (ii) enhanced coverage, and (iii) low power consumption. In 3GPP, MTC has been applied from release 10, and briefly looks at the features of MTC added for each release of 3GPP. First, the MTC described in 3GPP release 10 and release 11 relates to a load control method. The load control method is to prevent IoT (or M2M) devices from suddenly putting a load on the base station in advance. More specifically, release 10 relates to a method of controlling, by a base station, the load by disconnecting the connection to the connected IoT devices when a load occurs, and release 11 relates to a method of blocking access to the terminal in advance by notifying a terminal in advance that the base station will access later through broadcasting such as SIB14. In the case of Release 12, a feature for low cost MTC was added, and for this purpose, UE category 0 was newly defined. UE category is an indicator of how much data a terminal can process in a communication modem. That is, UE category 0 UEs reduce the baseband and RF complexity of UEs by using a half duplex operation with a reduced peak data rate, relaxed RF requirements, and a single receiving antenna. In Release 13, a technology called eMTC (enhanced MTC) was introduced, and by operating only at 1.08 MHz, which is the minimum frequency bandwidth supported by legacy LTE, the price and power consumption may be further lowered. The contents described below are mainly features related to eMTC, but may be equally applied to MTC, eMTC, and MTC applied to 5G (or NR) unless otherwise specified. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, it will be collectively referred to as MTC. Therefore, the MTC to be described later may be referred to in other terms such as eMTC (enhanced MTC), LTE-M1/M2, BL (Bandwidth reduced low complexity)/CE (coverage enhanced), non-BL UE (in enhanced coverage), NR MTC, and enhanced BL/CE. That is, the term MTC may be replaced with a term to be defined in the future 3GPP standard. General MTC Feature (1) MTC operates only in a specific system bandwidth (or channel bandwidth). The specific system bandwidth may use 6RB of legacy LTE as shown in Table 5 below, and may be defined in consideration of the frequency range and subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the NR defined in Tables 6 to 8. The specific system bandwidth may be expressed as a narrowband (NB). For reference, Legacy LTE refers to a part described in 3GPP standards other than MTC. Preferably, in the NR, the MTC may operate using RBs corresponding to the lowest system bandwidth of Tables 7 and 8 below, as in legacy LTE. Alternatively, in NR, the MTC may operate in at least one bandwidth part (BWP) or may operate in a specific band of the BWP. TABLE 5Channel bandwidth1.435101520BWChannel [MHz]Transmission615255075100bandwidthconfiguration NRB Table 6 is a table showing the frequency range (FR) defined in NR. TABLE 6FrequencyrangeCorrespondingdesignationfrequency rangeFR1450 MHz-6000 MHzFR224250 MHz-52600 MHz Table 7 is a table showing an example of the maximum transmission bandwidth configuration (NRB) for the channel bandwidth and SCS in FR 1 of NR. TABLE 7510152025304050608090100SCSMHzMHzMHzMHzMHzMHzMHzMHzMHzMHzMHzMHz(kHz)NRBNRBNRBNRBNRBNRBNRBNRBNRBNRBNRBNRB15255279106133160216270N/AN/AN/AN/A3011243851657810613316221724527360N/A1118243138516579107121135 Table 8 is a table showing an example of the maximum transmission bandwidth configuration (NRB) for the channel bandwidth and SCS in FR 2 of NR. TABLE 8SCS50 MHz100 MHz200 MHz400 MHz(kHz)NRBNRBNRBNRB6066132264N.A1203266132264 The MTC narrowband (NB) will be described in more detail. MTC follows narrowband operation to transmit and receive physical channels and signals, and the maximum channel bandwidth is reduced to 1.08 MHz or 6 (LTE) RBs. The narrowband may be used as a reference unit for resource allocation units of some channels of downlink and uplink, and the physical location of each narrowband in the frequency domain may be defined differently according to system bandwidth. The bandwidth of 1.08 MHz defined in MTC is defined in order for the MTC terminal to follow the same cell search and random access procedures as the legacy terminal. MTC may be supported by cells with a much larger bandwidth (eg 10 MHz) than 1.08 MHz, but physical channels and signals transmitted/received by MTC are always limited to 1.08 MHz. The system having the much larger bandwidth may be a legacy LTE, an NR system, a 5G system, and the like. Narrowband is defined as six non-overlapping consecutive physical resource blocks in the frequency domain. If NNBUL≥4, the wideband is defined as 4 non-overlapping narrowbands in the frequency domain. If NNBUL<4, NWBUL=1 and a single wideband are composed of a NNBULnon-overlapping narrowband(s). For example, in the case of a 10 MHz channel (50 RBs), 8 non-overlapping narrowbands are defined. FIG.16is a diagram illustrating an example of a narrowband operation and frequency diversity. FIG.16(a)is a diagram showing an example of a narrowband operation, andFIG.16(b)is a diagram showing an example of repetition with RF retuning. Referring toFIG.16(b), frequency diversity by RF retuning will be described. Due to narrowband RF, single antenna and limited mobility, MTC supports limited frequency, spatial and temporal diversity. To reduce the effects of fading and outage, frequency hopping is supported between different narrowbands by RF retuning. This frequency hopping is applied to different uplink and downlink physical channels when repetition is possible. For example, when 32 subframes are used for PDSCH transmission, the first 16 subframes may be transmitted on the first narrowband. At this time, the RF front-end is retuned to another narrowband, and the remaining 16 subframes are transmitted on the second narrowband. The narrowband of the MTC may be configured by system information or downlink control information (DCI). (2) MTC operates in a half duplex mode and uses a limited (or reduced) maximum transmit power. (3) MTC does not use a channel (defined in legacy LTE or NR) that should be distributed over the entire system bandwidth of legacy LTE or NR. As an example, legacy LTE channels not used for MTC are PCFICH, PHICH, and PDCCH. Accordingly, the MTC cannot monitor the above channels and thus defines a new control channel MPDCCH (MTC PDCCH). The MPDCCH spans up to 6RBs in the frequency domain and one subframe in the time domain. MPDCCH is similar to EPDCCH, and additionally supports common search space for paging and random access. The MPDCCH is similar to the concept of E-PDCCH used in legacy LTE. (4) MTC uses a newly defined DCI format, and may be DCI formats 6-0A, 6-0B, 6-1A, 6-1B, 6-2, etc. as an example. (5) MTC may repeatedly transmit PBCH (physical broadcast channel), PRACH (physical random access channel), M-PDCCH (MTC physical downlink control channel), PDSCH (physical downlink shared channel), PUCCH (physical uplink control channel), and PUSCH (physical Uplink shared channel). Such MTC repetitive transmission may decode the MTC channel even when the signal quality or power is very poor, such as in a poor environment such as a basement, thereby increasing a cell radius and effecting signal penetration. The MTC can support only a limited number of transmission modes (TM) that can operate in a single layer (or single antenna), or can support a channel or a reference signal (RS) that can operate in a single layer. For example, the transmission mode in which the MTC can operate may be TM 1, 2, 6 or 9. (6) HARQ retransmission of MTC is adaptive and asynchronous, and is based on a new scheduling assignment received on the MPDCCH. (7) In MTC, PDSCH scheduling (DCI) and PDSCH transmission occur in different subframes (cross subframe scheduling). (8) All resource allocation information (subframe, transport block size (TBS), subband index) for SIB1 decoding is determined by parameters of MIB, and no control channel is used for SIB1 decoding of MTC. (9) All resource allocation information (subframe, TBS, subband index) for SIB2 decoding is determined by several SIB1 parameters, and no control channel for SIB2 decoding of MTC is used. (10) MTC supports extended paging (DRX) cycle. (11) MTC may use the same primary synchronization signal (PSS)/secondary synchronization signal (SSS)/common reference signal (CRS) used in legacy LTE or NR. In the case of NR, PSS/SSS is transmitted in units of an SS block (or SS/PBCH block or SSB), and a tracking RS (TRS) may be used for the same purpose as a CRS. That is, TRS is a cell-specific RS and may be used for frequency/time tracking. MTC Operation Mode and Level Next, an MTC operation mode and level will be described. MTC is classified into two operation modes (first mode and second mode) and four different levels for coverage enhancement, and may be as shown in Table 9 below. The MTC operation mode is referred to as CE Mode. In this case, the first mode may be referred to as CE Mode A and the second mode may be referred to as CE Mode B. TABLE 9ModeLevelDescriptionMode ALevel 1No repetition for PRACHLevel 2Small Number of Repetition for PRACHMode BLevel 3Medium Number of Repetition for PRACHLevel 4Large Number of Repetition for PRACH The first mode is defined to improve small coverage in which complete mobility and channel state information (CSI) feedback are supported, and thus there is no repetition or a mode with a small number of repetitions. The operation of the first mode may be the same as the operation range of UE category 1. The second mode is defined for UEs with extremely poor coverage conditions supporting CSI feedback and limited mobility, and a large number of repetitive transmissions are defined. The second mode provides up to 15 dB of coverage enhancement based on the range of UE category 1. Each level of MTC is defined differently in RACH and paging procedure. The method of determining an MTC operation mode and each level will be described. The MTC operation mode is determined by the base station, and each level is determined by the MTC terminal. Specifically, the base station transmits RRC signaling including information on the MTC operation mode to the terminal. Here, RRC signaling may be an RRC connection setup message, an RRC connection reconfiguration message, or an RRC connection reestablishment message. Here, the term of the message may be expressed as an information element (IE). Thereafter, the MTC terminal determines a level within each operation mode and transmits the determined level to the base station. Specifically, the MTC terminal determines the level in the operation mode based on the measured channel quality (e.g. RSRP, RSRQ or SINR), and notifies the determined level to the base station using PRACH resources (frequency, time, preamble) corresponding to the determined level. MTC Guard Period As described above, MTC operates in the narrowband. The position of the narrowband may be different for each specific time unit (e.g. subframe or slot). The MTC terminal tunes to different frequencies in all time units. Therefore, a certain time is required for all frequency retuning, and this certain time is defined as the guard period of the MTC. That is, when switching from one time unit to the next time unit, the guard period is required, and the transmission and reception do not occur during the period. The guard period is defined differently depending on whether it is a downlink or an uplink, and is defined differently according to a downlink or uplink situation. First, the guard period defined in the uplink is defined differently according to the characteristics of data carried by the first time unit (time unit N) and the second time unit (time unit N+1). Next, the guard period of the downlink requires a condition that (1) the first downlink narrowband center frequency and the second narrowband center frequency are different, and (2) in TDD, the first uplink narrowband center frequency and the second downlink center frequency are different. Referring to the MTC guard period defined in Legacy LTE, the guard period of NsymbretuneeSC-FDMA symbols are generated at most for Tx-Tx frequency retuning between two contiguous subframes. When the higher layer parameter ce-RetuningSymbols is set, then Nsymbretuneis equal to ce-RetuningSymbols, otherwise Nsymbretune=2. In addition, for the MTC terminal configured with the higher layer parameter srs-UpPtsAdd, a guard period of the maximum SC-FDMA symbol is generated for Tx-Tx frequency retuning between the first special subframe for frame structure type 2 and the second uplink subframe. FIG.17is a diagram illustrating physical channels that may be used for MTC and a general signal transmission method using the physical channels. The MTC terminal, which is powered on again while the power is turned off, or that newly enters the cell, performs an initial cell search operation such as synchronizing with the base station in step S1101. To this end, the MTC terminal receives a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) from the base station, synchronizes with the base station, and acquires information such as a cell identifier (ID). The PSS/SSS used for the initial cell search operation of the MTC may be a legacy LTE PSS/SSS, a Resynchronization signal (RSS), or the like. Thereafter, the MTC terminal may receive a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) signal from the base station to obtain intra-cell broadcast information. Meanwhile, the MTC terminal may check a downlink channel state by receiving a downlink reference signal (DL RS) in the initial cell search step. Broadcast information transmitted through the PBCH is MIB (Master Information Block), and in MTC, the MIB is repeated in a subframe (subframe #9 for FDD, subframe #5 for TDD) different from the first slot of subframe #0 of the radio frame. PBCH repetition is performed by repeating exactly the same constellation (constellation) point in different OFDM symbols so that it may be used for initial frequency error estimation even before attempting PBCH decoding. FIG.18is a diagram an example of system information transmission of an MTC. FIG.18(a)is a diagram showing an example of a frequency error estimation method of a repetition pattern for subframe #0, a general CP, and repeated symbols in FDD, andFIG.18(b)illustrates an example of the transmission of the SIB-BR on the wideband LTE channel. In MIB, five reserved bits are used in MTC to transmit scheduling information for a new system information block for bandwidth reduced device (SIB1-BR) including a time/frequency location and a transmission block size. The SIB-BR is transmitted directly on the PDSCH without any control channel associated with it. The SIB-BR remains unchanged in 512 radio frames (5120 ms) to allow multiple subframes to be combined. Table 10 is a table showing an example of the MIB. TABLE 10-- ASN1STARTMasterInformationBlock ::=SEQUENCE {dl-BandwidthENUMERATED {n6, n15, n25, n50, n75, n100},phich-ConfigPHICH-Config,systemFrameNumberBIT STRING (SIZE (8)),schedulingInfoSIB1-BR-r13INTEGER (0..31),systemInfoUnchanged-BR-r15BOOLEAN,spareBIT STRING (SIZE (4))}-- ASN1STOP In Table 10, the schedulingInfoSIB1-BR field represents an index for a table defining SystemInformationBlockType1-BR scheduling information, and value 0 means that SystemInformationBlockType1-BR is not scheduled. Overall functions and information carried by SystemInformationBlockType1-BR (or SIB1-BR) are similar to SIB1 of legacy LTE. The contents of SIB1-BR may be classified into (1) PLMN, (2) cell selection criteria, and (3) scheduling information for SIB2 and other SIBs. After completing the initial cell search, the MTC terminal may acquire more detailed system information by receiving the MPDCCH and the PDSCH according to the MPDCCH information in step S1002. MPDCCH is (1) very similar to EPDCCH, carries common and UE specific signaling, (2) may be transmitted only once or may be transmitted repeatedly (the number of repetitions is configured by higher layer signaling), (3) A number of MPDCCHs are supported and the UE monitors the set of MPDCCHs, (4) is formed by combining an enhanced control channel element (eCCE), each eCCE includes a set of resource elements, (5) RA-RNTI (Radio Network Temporary Identifier), SI-RNTI, P-RNTI, C-RNTI, temporary C-RNTI, and semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) C-RNTI. Thereafter, the MTC terminal may perform a random access procedure such as steps S1003to S1006in order to complete access to the base station. The basic configuration related to the RACH procedure is transmitted by SIB2. In addition, SIB2 includes parameters related to paging. Paging Occasion (PO) is a subframe in which P-RNTI may be transmitted on MPCCH. When the P-RNTI PDCCH is repeatedly transmitted, PO refers to the start subframe of the MPDCCH repetition. The paging frame (PF) is one radio frame and may include one or a plurality of POs. When DRX is used, the MTC terminal monitors only one PO per DRX cycle. Paging NarrowBand (PNB) is one narrowband, and the MTC terminal performs paging message reception. To this end, the MTC terminal may transmit a preamble through a physical random access channel (PRACH) (S1003), and receive a response message (RAR) to the preamble through an MPDCCH and a corresponding PDSCH (S1004). In the case of contention-based random access, the MTC terminal may perform a contention resolution procedure such as transmission of an additional PRACH signal (S1005) and reception of an MPDCCH signal and a PDSCH signal corresponding thereto (S1006). Signals and/or messages (Msg 1, Msg 2, Msg 3, Msg 4) transmitted in the RACH procedure in the MTC may be repeatedly transmitted, and this repetition pattern is set differently according to the CE level. Msg 1 means PRACH preamble, Msg 2 means RAR (random access response), Msg 3 means UL transmission of the MTC terminal for RAR, and Msg 4 means DL transmission of the base station for Msg 3. For random access, signaling for different PRACH resources and different CE levels is supported. This provides the same control of the near-far effect for the PRACH by grouping together UEs experiencing similar path loss. Up to four different PRACH resources may be signaled to the MTC terminal. The MTC terminal estimates the RSRP using a downlink RS (e.g. CRS, CSI-RS, TRS, etc.), and selects one of the resources for random access based on the measurement result. Each of the four resources for random access has a relationship with the number of repetitions for the PRACH and the number of repetitions for the random access response (RAR). Therefore, the MTC terminal with bad coverage needs a large number of repetitions to be successfully detected by the base station, and needs to receive an RAR having a corresponding repetition number to satisfy their coverage level. Search spaces for RAR and contention resolution messages are also defined in the system information and are independent for each coverage level. The PRACH waveform used in MTC is the same as the PRACH waveform used in legacy LTE (e.g. OFDM and Zadof-Chu sequence). After performing the above-described procedure, the MTC terminal receives MPDCCH signal and/or PDSCH signal (S1007) and transmits physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) signal and/or physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) signal (S1008) as a general uplink/downlink signal transmission procedure. Control information transmitted from the MTC terminal to the base station is collectively referred to as uplink control information (UCI). UCI may include HARQ-ACK/NACK, scheduling request (SR), channel quality indicator (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indication (RI) information, etc. When the RRC connection to the MTC terminal is established, the MTC terminal blind-decodes the MPDCCH in a search space configured to obtain uplink and downlink data allocation. MTC uses all OFDM symbols available in a subframe to transmit DCI. Therefore, time domain multiplexing between the control channel and the data channel is impossible in the same subframe. That is, as described above, cross-subframe scheduling between the control channel and the data channel is possible. The MPDCCH having the last repetition in subframe #N schedules PDSCH allocation in subframe #N+2. The DCI transmitted by the MPDCCH provides information on how many times the MPDCCH is repeated so that the MTC terminal knows when PDSCH transmission starts. PDSCH allocation may be performed in different narrowbands. Therefore, the MTC terminal needs to retune before decoding the PDSCH allocation. For uplink data transmission, scheduling follows the same timing as legacy LTE. Here, the last MPDCCH in subframe #N schedules PUSCH transmission starting in subframe #N+4. FIG.19is a diagram illustrating an example of scheduling for each of the MTC and legacy LTE. Legacy LTE allocation is scheduled using the PDCCH, which uses the first OFDM symbols in each subframe, and the PDSCH is scheduled in the same subframe as the subframe in which the PDCCH is received. In contrast, the MTC PDSCH is scheduled to cross-subframe, and one subframe is defined between the MPDCCH and the PDSCH to allow MPDCCH decoding and RF retuning. The MTC control channel and data channels may be repeated through a large number of subframes having a maximum of 256 subframes for the MPDCCH and a maximum of 2048 subframes for the PDSCH so as to be decoded under extreme coverage conditions. Cell Search of MTC The cell search is a procedure in which the UE obtains time and frequency synchronization with a cell and detects a cell ID of the cell. An E-UTRA cell search supports an entire extensible transmission bandwidth corresponding to 6 RBs or more. PSS and SSS are transmitted to a downlink in order to facilitate the cell search. When a re-synchronization signal is transmitted in the downlink, the re-synchronization signal may be used for obtaining the time and frequency synchronization with the cell again. A physical layer provides 504 unique cell IDs by using the synchronization signal. The UE searches the PSS/SSS in center 6 PRBs to obtain subframe timing information, duplexing mode (time division duplex (TDD) or frequency division duplex (FDD)), and a cyclic prefix (CP) length. The PSS uses a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence. In the case of frame structure type 1 (i.e., FDD), the PSS should be mapped to last orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol in slots 0 and 10. In the case of frame structure type 2 (i.e., TDD), the PSS should be mapped to a third OFDM symbol in subframes 1 and 6. The SSS uses interleave concatenation of two binary sequences having a length of 31. The concatenated sequence is scrambled with a scrambling sequence given by the PSS. In the case of the FDD, the SSS should be mapped to OFDM symbol number NsymbDL-2 in slots 0 and 10, and here, NsymbDL represents the number of OFDM symbols in a downlink slot. In the case of the TDD, the SSS should be mapped to OFDM symbol number NsymbDL-1 in slots 1 and 11, and here, NsymbDL represents the number of OFDM symbols in the downlink slot. System Information Acquisition of MTC Hereinafter, a system information acquisition procedure of the MTC described in step S1002ofFIG.17will be described in more detail. When searching the cell by using the PSS/SSS, the UE acquires system information (SI).FIG.20illustrates a general system information acquisition procedure. The UE acquires access stratum (AS) and non-access stratum (NAS) system information broadcasted by the E-UTRAN by applying the system information acquisition procedure. This procedure is applied to an RRC_IDLE UE and an RRC_CONNECTED UE. The system information is divided into a MasterInformationBlock (MIB) and several System Information Blocks (SIBs). The MIB most requisite physical layer information of the cell, which is required for receiving additional system information. The MIB is transmitted through PBCH. In addition to SystemInformationBlockType1 (SIB1), the SIB is delivered as an SI message, and mapping SI information to the SI message may be configured by SchedulingInfoList included in SIB1, and there is a following limitation. 1) Each SIB is included only in a single SI message, and included in the corresponding message at most once. 2) Only an SIB having the same scheduling request (period) may be mapped to the same SI message. 3) SIB1 (SystemInformationBlockType2 (SIB2)) is continuously mapped to an SI message corresponding to a first item in an SI message list of a scheduling information list. Several SI messages may be transmitted at the same period. SystemInformationBlockType1 and all SI messages are transmitted through DL-SCH. A BL UE and a UE of CE applies a BR version of the SIB or SI message (e.g., there is SystemInformationBlockType1-BR.). The MIB uses a fixed schedule in which the period is 40 ms and a repetition is within 40 ms. First transmission of the MIB is scheduled in subframe #0 of a radio frame with SFN mod 4=0, and the repetition is scheduled in subframe #0 of all other radio frames. In the case of a TDD/FDD system having a larger bandwidth than 1.4 MHz, which supports the BL UE or UE in the CE, MIB transmission may be additionally repeated (i) in subframe #0 of the same radio frame and (ii) in subframe #9 of a previous radio frame for the FDD and in subframe #5 of the same radio frame for the TDD may be additionally repeated. SystemInformationBlockType1 includes information related to a case of evaluating whether the UE may access the cell, and defines scheduling of another system information block. SystemInformationBlockType1 uses a fixed schedule in which the period is 80 ms and the repetition is within 80 ms. First transmission of SystemInformationBlockType1 is scheduled in subframe #5 of a radio frame with SFN mod 8=0, and the repetition is scheduled in subframe #5 of all other radio frames with SFN mod 2=0. In the case of the BL UE or UEs in CE, an MIB in which additional repetition may be provided is applied. On the contrary, in the case of SIB1 and the additional SI message, separate messages which may be independently scheduled and may have different contents are used. A separate instance of SIB1 is named as SystemInformationBlockType1-BR. SystemInformationBlockType1-BR includes information such as valid downlink and uplink subframes, maximum support of coverage enhancement, and scheduling information for other SIB. SystemInformationBlockType1-BR is directly transmitted through the PDSCH without an associated control channel. In SystemInformationBlockType1-BR, a schedule in which the period is 80 ms is used. A transport block size (TBS) and repetition within 80 ms for SystemInformationBlockType1-BR are displayed in an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message including MobilityControlInfo through scheduling information SIB1-BR or selectively in the MIB. In particular, in the MIB, 5 reserved bits is used by eMTC in order to schedulinginformation for SystemInformationBlockType1-BR, which includes time and frequency locations, and the transport block size. SIB-BR is maintained in a state not to be changed in 512 radio frames (5120 ms) to combine a lot of subframes. The SI message is transmitted within a time domain window (referred to as an SI window) periodically generated by using dynamic scheduling. Each SI message is associated with the SI window, and an SI window of another SI message does not overlap. That is, only a corresponding SI is transmitted within one SI window. A length of the SI window may be common to and configured in all SI messages. Within the SI window, the corresponding SI message may be transmitted several times in a multimedia broadcast multicast service single frequency network (MBSFN) subframe, an uplink subframe in the TDD, and a random subframe other than subframe #5 of a radio frame with the SFN mode. The UE decodes system information radio network temporary identity (SI-RNTI) on the PDCCH to acquire detailed time domain scheduling (and other information, e.g., frequency domain scheduling and a used transmission format). In the case of the BL UE or the UE of the CE, the detailed time/frequency domain scheduling information for the SI message is provided by SystemInformationBlockType1-BR. SystemInformationBlockType2 includes a parameter required for a basic configuration of a random access channel (RACH) to include common and shared channel information. After decoding all required SIBs, the UE may access the cell by starting the random access procedure. Random Access Procedure of MTC Hereinafter, the random access procedure of the MTC described in steps S1003to S1006ofFIG.17will be described in more detail. The random access procedure is performed with respect to the following events.Initial access in RRC_IDLE;RRC connection re-establishment procedure;Handover;DL data arrival during RRC_CONNECTED requiring random access procedure;UL data arrival during RRC_CONNECTED requiring random access procedure; andLocation designation purpose during RRC_CONNECTED requiring random access procedure. A legacy random access procedure and a random access procedure for eMTC are the same in terms of a general large figure and an entire protocol sequence. That is, a main purpose of the random access procedure is to achieve uplink synchronization and obtain a permission to an initial connection. The entire protocol sequence of the random access procedure is constituted by four messages, i.e., Msg1, Msg2, Msg3, and Msg4. Basic information for the random access procedure is notified to the UE through SIB2. Meanwhile, the radon access procedure for the eMTC supports different PRACH resources and different CE level signaling. This groups UEs which experience a similar path loss to provide control of some of local effects for the PRACH. Up to 4 different PRACH resources may be signaled, and each PRACH resource has a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold. The UE estimates RSRP by using a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), and selects one of resource for a random access based on a measurement result. Each of the four resources has the number of repetition times for the PRACH and the number of repetition times for the random access response (RAR). Accordingly, in order for a UE in which coverage is bad to be successfully detected by the eNB, more repetitions are required, and in order to satisfy CE levels thereof, the RAR needs to be received by a corresponding number of repetitions. A search space for the RAR and a contention resolution message is defined separately for each CE level. The UE may be configured to be in CE mode A or CE mode B having a UE-specific search space in order to receive an uplink grant and a downlink allocation. Hereinafter, the random access procedure of the eMTC will be described in detail. The random access procedure is initiated by a PDCCH order, a media access control (MAC) sub layer itself, or a radio resource control (RRC) sub layer. A random access procedure in Secondary Cell (SCell) should be started only by the PDCCH order. An MAC entity receives PDCCH transmission which matches a PDCCH order masked with cell-RNTI (C-RNTI), and for a specific serving cell, the MAC entity should initiate the random access procedure in this serving cell. For a random access for a special cell (SpCell), the PDCCH order or RRC selectively represents ra-PreambleIndex and ra-PRACH-MaskIndex, and for a random access in the SCell, the PDCCH order displays ra-PreambleIndex and ra-PRACH-MaskIndex with a different value from 000000. In a primary timing advance group (pTAG), preamble transmission and reception of the PDCCH order through the PRACH are supported only for the SpCell. It is assumed that the following information for a related serving cell is available before the procedure starts for the BL UE or the UE in the CE.Available PRACH resource set related to each enhanced coverage level supported in the serving cell for transmission of random access preamble prach-ConfigIndex.Random access preamble group and available random access preamble set in each group (corresponding only to SpCell):Case where sizeOfRA-PreamblesGroupA is not the same as numberOfRA-Preambles:Random access preamble groups A and B exist, and are calculated as above,Otherwise: A preamble (if exists) included the random access preamble group for each enhanced coverage level is preamble firstPreamble to lastPreamble.Criterion of selecting the PRACH resource based on RSRP measurement per CE level supported in serving cell rsrp-ThresholdsPrachInfoList.The maximum number of preamble transmission attempt times per CE level supported in serving cell maxNumPreambleAttemptCE.The number of repetition times required for the preamble transmission per attempt for each CE level supported in serving cell mnumRepetitionPerPreambleAttempt.A configured UE transmits power of the serving cell that performs the random access procedure, PCMAC,C.RA response window size ra-ResponseWindowSize per CE level supported in the serving cell and contention resolution timer) mac-ContentionResolutionTimer (SpCell only).Power amplification coefficient powerRampingStep and selective powerRampingStepCE1.The maximum number of preamble transmission preambles TransMax-CE.Initial preamble power preambleInitialReceivedTargetPower and selective preambleInitialReceivedTargetPowerCE1.Preamble format based offset DELTA_PREAMBLE. The random access procedure should be performed as follows. 1> Flush Msg3 buffer. 1> Configure PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER to 1. 1> Case where the UE is the BL UE or the UE of the CE: 2> Configure PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER_CE to 2. 2> Case where a start CE level is displayed in a PDCCH sequence to start the random access procedure or the start CE level is provided by a higher layer: 3> The MAC entity is regarded to be at the CE level regardless of the measured RSRP. 2> Others: 3> Case where an RSRP threshold value of CE level 3 is configured by the higher layer of rsrp-ThresholdsPrachInfoList, the measured RSRP value is smaller than an RSRP threshold of CE level 3, and the UE may perform CE level 3: 4> The MAC entity is regarded to be at CE level 3. 3> Otherwise, case where CE level 3 is configured by the higher layer of rsrp-ThresholdsPrachInfoList, RSRP in which a measured RSRP value of CE level 2 is measured is smaller than an RSRP threshold of CE level 2, and the UE may perform CE level 2: 4> The MAC entity is regarded to be at CE level 2. 3> Otherwise, case where the measured RSRP is smaller than an RSRP threshold of CE level 1 configured by the higher layer of rsrp-ThresholdsPrachInfoList: 4> The MAC entity is regarded to be at CE level 1. 3> Others: 4> The MAC entity is regarded to be at CE level 0. 1> A backoff parameter value is configured to 0 ms. 1> Selection of a random access resource is performed. FIG.21illustrates a contention based random access procedure. 1. The random access preamble (may be referred to as “Msg1”) is transmitted through the PRACH. The UE randomly selects one random access preamble from a random access preamble set indicated by system information or a handover order, and selects a PRACH resource capable of transmitting the random access preamble and transmits the selected PRACH resource. A physical layer random access preamble is constituted by a cyclic prefix having a length of TCP and a sequence part having a length of TSEQ. Parameter values are listed in Table 11 below, and vary depending on a fame structure and a random access configuration. The higher layer controls a preamble format. TABLE 11PreambleformatTCPTSEQ03168 · Ts24576 · Ts121024 · Ts24576 · Ts26240 · Ts2 · 24576 · Ts321024 · Ts2 · 24576 · Ts4448 · Ts4096 · Ts When transmission of the random access preamble is triggered by the MAC layer, the transmission of the random access preamble is limited to specific time and frequency resources. The resources increase in an order of PRB in which index 0 is a lowest number in the radio frame and PRB of a subframe number and a frequency domain in the radio frame to correspond to the subframe. The PRACH resource in the radio frame is represented by a PRACH configuration index. In the case of the BL/CE UE, PRACH configuration index (prach-ConfigurationIndex), PRACH frequency offsetnPRBoffsetRA(prach-FrequencyOffset), the number of PRACH repetition times per attempt NrepPRACH(numRepetitionPerPreambleAttempt) and, selectively, PRACH starting subframe period NstartPRACH(prach-StartingSubframe). PRACHs of preamble format 0 to 3 are transmitted NrepPRACH≥1 times, and PRACH of preamble format 4 is transmitted only once. In the case of the BL/CE UE and each PRACH CEL level, when PRACH configuration frequency hopping is available by a higher layer parameter prach-HoppingConfig, a value of a parameter nPRB offsetRAdepends on system frame number (SFN) and the PRACH configuration index, and given as follows.When the PRACH configuration index allows the PRACH resource to be generated in all radio frames, the following equation is satisfied. nPRBoffsetRA={n_PRBoffsetRAifnfmod2=0(n_PRBoffsetRA+fPRB,hopPRACH)modNRBULifnfmod2=1[Equation3]In other cases, the following equation is satisfied. nPRBoffsetRA={n_PRBoffsetRAif⌊nfmod42⌋=0(n_PRBoffsetRA+fPRB,hopPRACH)modNRBULif⌊nfmod42⌋=1[Equation4] Here, nfrepresents a system frame number corresponding to a first subframe for each PRACH repetition, and fPRB,hopPRACHcorresponds to a cell-specific higher layer parameter prach-HoppingOffset. When frequency hopping is not supported for the PRACH configuration, nPRB offsetRA=nPRB offsetRAis satisfied. For the BL/CE UE, in only a subset of a subframe in which only preamble transmission is permitted, NrepPRACHrepetitions are permitted as a starting subframe. The starting subframe permitted for the PRACH configuration is determined as follows.A subframe in which the preamble transmission for the PRACH configuration is permitted is as in nsfRA=0, . . . NsfRA−1. Here, nsfRA=0nsfRA=NsfRA−1 correspond to two subframes permitted for preamble transmission for smallest and largest absolute subframe numbers nsfabs, respectively.When a PRACH starting subframe period NstartPRACHis not provided by the higher layer, a periodicity of starting subframes permitted for subframes permitted for the preamble transmission is NrepPRACH. Permitted starting subframes defined throughout nsfRA=0, . . . NsfRA−1 are given as in jNrepPRACH, and here, j=0, 1, 2, . . . .When the PRACH starting subframe period NstartPRACHis provided by the higher layer, this represents the periodicity of the starting subframes permitted for the subframes permitted for the preamble transmission. Permitted starting subframes defined throughout nsfRA=0, . . . NsfRA−1 are given as in jNstartPRACH+NrepPRACH, and here, j−0, 1, 2, . . . .When the starting subframe is not defined throughout nsfRA=0, . . . NsfRA−1, NsfRA>NsfRA−NrepPRACHis permitted. The random access preamble is generated from a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence without a correlation zone generated from one or multiple root Zadoff-Chu sequence. The network configures a series of preamble sequences which may be used by the UE. Up to two 64 preamble sets which may be used in the cell exist in the cell, and set 1 corresponds to a higher layer PRACH configuration using prach-ConfigurationIndex and prach-FrequencyOffset, and when set 2 is configured, set 2 corresponds to a higher layer PRACH configuration using ConfigurationIndexHighSpeed and prach-FrequencyOffsetHighSpeed. 64 preamble sequence sets in the cell may be first obtained when all available cyclic shifts of the root index ZaSeoff-Chu sequence are included in a logic index rootSequenceIndexHighSpeed (if configured, in the case of set 2) or a logic index RACH_ROOT_SEQUENCE (in the case of set 1) in a sequence of increasing the cyclic shift. Here, both rootSequenceIndexHighSpeed (if configured) and RACH_ROOT_SEQUENCE are broadcasted as some of the system information. When 64 preambles may not be generated from a single root Zadoff-Chu sequence, additional preamble sequences are obtained from a root sequence having consecutive logic indices until a total of 64 sequences are discovered. 2. After the random access preamble is transmitted, the UE attempts to receive a random access response (may be referred to as “Msg2”) or a handover order generated by the MAC on the DL-SCH within a random access response reception window displayed by the system information. Random access response information is transmitted in a form of MAC PDCU, and the MAC PDU is transmitted through a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). Specifically, the random access response information is transmitted in the form of the MAC PDCU, and the MAC PDU is transmitted through the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). In order for the UE to appropriately receive the information transmitted through the PDSCH, a PDCCH is also transmitted jointly. In the case of the eMTC, the MPDCCH is newly introduced. The MPDCCH transports downlink control information and is transmitted through consecutive BL/CE DL subframes of NrepMPDCCH≥1. Within each NrepMPDCCH, BL/CE DL subframes MPDCCH are transmitted by using a set of one or several consecutive enhanced control channel elements (ECCEs) in which each ECCE is constituted by multiple enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). Further, a narrowband for the MPDCCH is determined by an SIB2 parameter mpdcch-NarrowbandsToMonitor. The MPDCCH includes information on a UE which is to receive the PDSCH, frequency and time information of the radio resource of the PDSCH, a transmission format of the PDSCH, and the like. When the UE successfully receives the MPDCCH headed to a destination, the UE appropriately receives the random access response transmitted through the PDSCH according to an information item of the MPDCCH. The random access response includes a random access preamble identifier (ID), a UL grant (uplink radio resource), C-RNTI, and a time alignment command (TAC). In the above description, a reason for requiring the random access preamble identifier is that since a single random access response may include random access response information for one or more UEs, the random access preamble identifier informs any UE of whether the UL grant is temporary. The C-RNTI and the TAC are valid. The random access preamble identifier is the same as the random access preamble selected by the UE in step 1. The UL grant included in the random access response depends on a CE mode. 3. When the UE receives a random access response valid therefor, the UE processes the information included in the random access response. That is, the UE applies the TAC and stores temporary C-RNTI. Further, the UE transmits, to the base station, scheduled data (referred to as “Msg3”) stored a buffer thereof or newly generated data by using the UL grant for the UL-SCH. In this case, the data included in the UL grant should include an identifier of the UE. The reason is that since the BS may not determine the UE performing the random access procedure in the contention based random access procedure, the BS should then identify the UE in order to solve a collision. Further, there are two types of methods including the identifier of the UE. A first method is that when the UE has a valid cell identifier already allocated to the corresponding cell before the random access procedure, the UE transmits a cell identifier thereof through the UL grant. Meanwhile, when the UE may not be allocated with the valid cell identifier before the random access procedure, the UE transmits a unique identifier thereof (e.g., SAE-temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (S-TMSI) or random ID) included in the data. In general, the unique identifier is longer than the cell identifier. When the UE transmits the data through the UL grant, the UE starts a contention resolution timer. 4. After the UE transmits the data including the identifier thereof through the UL grant included in the random access response, the UE waits for a command from the BS for contention resolution (may be referred to as “Msg4”). That is, the UE attempts to receive the MPDCCH in order to receive a specific message. There are two types of methods for receiving the MPDCCH. As described above, when the identifier of the UE transmitted through the UL grant is the cell identifier, the UE attempts to receive the MPDCCH by using the cell identifier thereof and when the identifier is the unique identifier, the UE attempts to receive the MPDCCH by using the temporary C-RNTI included in the random access response. Thereafter, in a former case, when the MPDCCH is received through the cell identifier before the contention resolution timer expires, the UE determines that the random access procedure is normally performed and terminates the random access procedure. In a latter case, when the UE receives the MPDCCH through the temporary cell identifier before the contention resolution timer expires, the UE examines data transmitted by the PDSCH indicated by the MPDCCH. When data contents include the unique identifier, the UE determines that the random access procedure is normally performed and terminates the random access procedure. When the random access procedure is completed, the MAC entity should perform the followings.Explicitly signaled ra-PreambleIndex and ra-PRACH-MaskIndex are discarded.In an Msg3 buffer, an HARQ buffer used for transmission of the MAC PDU is flushed. Discontinuous Reception Procedure of MTC Hereinafter, the MTC DRX procedure described inFIG.17will be described in more detail. While performing the general signal transmission/reception procedure of the MTC, the MTC UE may be switched from an idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE state) and/or an inactive state (e.g., RRC_INACTIVE state) in order to reduce power consumption. In this case, the MTC UE which is switched to a valid state and/or the inactive state may be configured by using the DRX scheme. As an example, the MTC UE which is switched to the idle state and/or the inactive state may be configured to perform monitoring of the MPDCCH related to paging only in a specific subframe (or a frame or a slot) according to a DRX cycle configured by the BS. Here, the MPDCCH related to the paging may mean MPDCCH scrambled to paging access-RNTI (P-RNTI). FIG.22illustrates an example of a DRX scheme in an idle state and/or an inactive state. As illustrated inFIG.22, the MTC UE in the RRC_IDLE state monitors only a partial subframe (SF) in relation to paging (i.e., paging occasion (PO)) within a subset (i.e., paging frame (PF)) of the radio frame. The paging is used to trigger RRC connection and change system information for the UE in the RRC_IDLE mode. Further, a DRX configuration and a DRX indication for the MTC UE may be performed as illustrated inFIG.22.FIG.23illustrates an example of a DRX configuration and indication procedure for an MTC UE. Further,FIG.23is just for convenience of the description and does not limit the method proposed in the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.23, the MTC UE may receive, from a base station (e.g., NodeB, eNodeB, eNB, gNB, etc.), DRX configuration information (S210). In this case, the MTC UE may receive, from the BS, such information through higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling). Here, the DRX configuration information may include DRX cycle information, a DRX offset, configuration information for timers related to DRX, etc. Thereafter, the MTC UE may receive, from the BS, a DRX command (S220). In this case, the UE may receive, from the BS, the DRX command through higher layer signaling (e.g., MAC-CE signaling). The MTC UE that receives the DRX command may monitor the MPDCCH in a specific time unit (e.g., the subframe or the slot) according to the DRX cycle (S230). Here, monitoring the MPDCCH may mean that the corresponding CRC is scrambled with a predetermined specific RNTI value after decoding the MPDCCH of a specific area according to the DCI format to be received through the search space to check whether the corresponding value matches (i.e., coincides with) a desired value. When the corresponding MTC UE receives information indicating a change of a paging ID and/or system information in the MPDCCH through the procedure illustrated inFIG.23, the corresponding MTC UE may be configured to initialize (or reconfigure) a connection (e.g., RRC connection) with the BS (e.g., a cell search procedure ofFIG.17) or receive (or acquire) new system information from the BS (e.g., a system acquisition procedure ofFIG.17, etc.). As an example, when the MTC UE detects the MPDCCH with Paging Access Radio Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI) in the PO, the MTC UE decodes a corresponding PDSCH. A paging message may be transmitted through the PDSCH, and may include information including a list of MTC UEs to be paged, and whether the paging is for a connection configuration or whether the system information is changed. Each MTC UE which searches an ID thereof in this list may deliver the ID to a higher layer to which the ID is paged and receive a command to initialize the RRC connection in sequence. When the system information is changed, the MTC UE may start reading SIB1-BR and acquire information used for reading the SIB from there again. When coverage enhancement repetition is applied, the PO refers to first transmission in repetition. The PF and the PO are determined from the DRX periodicity provided from the SIB2-BR and the IMSI provided from the USIM card. DRX is discontinuous reception of a DL control channel used for saving a battery life. 128, 256, 512 and 1024 radio frame periodicities corresponding to time intervals between 1.28 seconds and 10.24 seconds are supported. Since an algorithm for determining the PF and the PO also depends on the IMSI, different UEs have different paging occasions, which are temporally evenly distributed. It is enough for the MTC UE to monitor one paging occasion within the DRX cycle and when there are various multiple paging occasions therein, the paging is repeated in each of the various paging occasions. The concept of Extended DRX (eDRX) may be applied even to the MTC. This is performed by using a hyper frame. When the eDRX is supported, a time period in which the UE does not monitor the paging message may be significantly extended up to a maximum of 3 hours. In response thereto, the MTC UE should know which HFN and which time interval within the HFN a paging time window (PTW), and monitor the paging. The PTW is defined as start and stop of SFN. Within the PTW, the PF and the PO are determined in the same scheme as non-extended DRX. FIG.24illustrates a DRX cycle. As illustrated inFIG.24, inFIG.24, the DRX cycle designates periodic repetition of ‘On Duration’ according to a possible period of inactivity. The MAC entity may be configured by RRC having a DRX function controlling a PDCCH monitoring activity of the UE for RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI) of the MAC entity. Accordingly, the MTC UE may monitor the PDCCH during a short period (e.g., ‘On Duration’), and stop PDCCH monitoring for a long period (e.g., an occasion for the DRX). If the DRX is configured when the MAC entity is in RRC_CONNECTED (i.e., connection mode DRX, CDRX), the MAC entity may discontinuously monitor the PDCCH by using a DRX operation designated below. Otherwise, the MAC entity may continuously monitor the PDCCH. In the case of the MTC, the PDCCH may refer to the MPDCCH. In the case of the MTC, an extended DRX cycle of 10.24(s) is supported in the RRC connection. The RRC controls the DRX operation by configuring DurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer, drx-RetransmissionTimerShortTTI (one per DL HARQ process in the case of an HARQ process reserved by using short TTI), drx-ULRetransmissionTimer (one per asynchronous UL HARQ process in the case of the HARQ process reserved by using 1 ms TTI), drx-ULRetransmissionTimerShortTTI (in the case of the HARQ process reserved by using short TTI), longDRX-Cycle, drxStartOffset value, and selectively drxShortCycleTimer and shortDRX-Cycle values. An HARQ RTT timer (except for a broadcast process) for the DL HARQ process and a UL HARQ RTT timer for the asynchronous UL HARQ process are defined. Paging in Extended DRX The UE may be configured by higher layers having an extended DRX (eDRX) cycle TeDRX. Except for NB-IOT, the UE may operate in the extended DRX only when the UE is configured by the higher layer and the cell represents supporting for the eDRX in the system information. In the case of the NB-IOT, the UE may operate in the extended DRX only when the UE is configured by the higher layers. When the UE is configured by TeDRXcycle of 512 radio frames, the UE monitors the PO as defined in the paging in the DRX by using parameter T=512. Otherwise, the UE which is configured by the eDRX monitors the PO defined in the paging in the DRX during a periodic paging time window (PTW) configured for the UE or until receiving a paging message an NAS identifier of the UE for the UE during the PTW. In this case, the UE may stop monitoring the PO when receiving the paging message including the NAS identifier even before the PTW lapsed. The PTW may be UE specific, and may be determined by a Paging Hyperframe (PH), and a start position (PTW_start) and an end position (PTW_end) in the PH. The PH, the PTW_start, and the PTW_end may be given by the following equation. The PH is an H-SFN satisfying the following equation. H-SFN mod TeDRX,H=(UE_ID_Hmod TeDRX,H) [Equation 5] In the equation, each parameter is as follows.UE_ID_H: When P-RNTI is monitored on the PDCCH or the MPDCCH, 10 most significant bits of hashed ID. When the P-RNTI is monitored on the NPDCCH, 12 most significant bits of the hashed ID.TeDRX,H: eDRX cycle of the UE in the hyperframe (ΓeDRX,H=1, 2, . . . , 256 Hyper-frames) (for the NB-IOT, TeDRX,H=2, . . . , 1024 Hyper-frames), configured by the higher layer. The PTW_start represents a first radio frame of PH which is a part of the PTW, and has an SFN satisfying the following equation. SFN=256*ieDRX, where ieDRX=floor(UE_ID_H/TeDRX,H)mod 4 [Equation 6] The PTW_end is a last radio frame of the PTW, and the SFN satisfies the following equation. SFN=(PTW_start+L*100−1)mod 1024 [Equation 7] In the equation, L represents a length (seconds) of the PTW configured by the higher layer. Hashed_ID represents a frame check sequence (FCS) for bits b31, b30,, b0of S-TMSI, and the S-TMSI has a value of <b39, b38, . . . , b0>. 32-bit FCS should be a complement of 1 of a sum (modulo 2) of Y1 and Y2 below.Y1: Y1 is a remainder of (modulo 2) xk(x31+x30+x29+x28+x27+x26+x25+x24+x23+x22+x21+x20+x19+x18+x17+x16+x15+x14+x13+x12+x11+x10+x9+x8+x7+x6+x5+x4+x3+x2+x1+1) divided by generator polynomial x32+x26+x23+x22+x16+x12+x11+x10+x8+x7+x5+x4+x2+x+1.Y2: Y2 is a remainder of (modulo 2) Y3 divided by generator polynomial x32+x26+x23+x22+x16+x12+x11+x10+x8+x7+x5+x4+x2+x+1. Here, Y3 is generator polynomial x32 (b31*x31+b30*x30++b0*1). Discontinuous Reception (DRX) for Paging The UE may use discontinuous reception (DRX) in an idle mode in order to reduce power consumption. One paging occasion (PO) is a subframe in which there is P-RNTI transmitted to Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), narrowband PDCCH (NPDCCH) or MTC PDCCH (MPDCCH) or a control channel scheduling the paging message may be transmitted. When the P-RNTI is transmitted on the MPDCCH, the PO represents a start subframe of MPDCCH repetition. When the P-RNTI is transmitted on the NPDCCH, if the subframe determined by the PO is not an invalid NB-IOT downlink subframe, the PO represents the start subframe of the NPDCCH repetition and a first valid NB-IOT downlink subframe after the PO is a start subframe of NPDCCH repetitions. Paging messages for initiation of RAN and CN are the same as each other. When the UE receives a RAN paging, the UE start an RRC connection resume procedure. If the UE receives a CN initiation paging in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE moves to the RRC_IDLE state and informs the NAS. One paging frame (PF) is one radio frame which may include one or multiple paging occasions. When the DRX is used, the UE needs to monitor only one PO per DRX cycle. One paging narrowband (PNB) is one narrowband in which the UE receives the paging message. The PF, the PO, and the PNB are determined by the following equation by using the DRX parameter provided in the system information. The PF is given by the following equation. SFN modT=(TdivN)*(UE_ID modN) [Equation 8] i_S indicated from a subframe pattern is derived by the following equation. i_s=floor(UE_ID/N)modNs[Equation 9] When the P-RNTI is monitored on the PDCCH, the PNB is determined by the following equation. PNB=floor(UE_ID/(N*Ns))modNn[Equation 10] When the P-RNTI is monitored on the NPDCCH and the UE supports the paging in a non-anchor carrier, if a paging configuration for the non-anchor carrier is provided in the system information, a paging carrier is determined by a paging carrier having a smallest index n (n(0≤n≤Nn−1)) satisfying the following equation. floor(UE_ID/(N*Ns))modW<W(0)+W(1)+ . . . +W(n) [Equation 11] System information DRX parameters stored in the UE should be locally updated in the UE whenever the DRX parameter values are changed in the SI. When the UE does not have USIM, e.g., when the UE makes an emergency call without the USIM, the UE should use UE_ID=0 as a default identity in the equation of PF, i_s, and PNB above. The following parameters are used for calculating PF, i_s, PNB, and NB-IOT paging carriers.T: DRX cycle of UE. Except for the NB-IOT, if a UE specific extended DRX value of 512 radio frames is configured by the higher layer, T=512. Otherwise, if the UE specific extended DRX value is allocated by the higher layer, and a default DRX value is broadcasted as the system information, T is determined as a shortest value among the UE specific DRX values. If the UE specific DRX is not configured by the higher layer, a default value is applied. The UE specific DRX is not applicable to the NB-IOT. If the UE specific DRX is allocated by the higher layer in the RRC_INACTIVE state, T is determined by a shortest time of a RAN paging cycle, a UE specific paging cycle, and a default paging cycle.NB: 4T, 2T, T, T/2, T/4, T/8, T/16, T/32, T/64, T/128, and T/256, and NB-IOT are also 512 and T/1024.N: min(T, nB)Ns: max(1, nB/T)Nn: The number of paging narrowbands (in the case of P-RNTI monitored in the MPDCCH) or paging carrier (in the case of P-RNTI monitored in the NPDCCH) provided to the system informationUE_ID: IMSI mod 1024, when the P-RNTI is monitored in the PDCCH. IMSI mod 4096, when the P-RNTI is monitored in the NPDCCH. IMSI mod 16384, when the P-RNTI is monitored on the MPDCCH or the P-RNTI is monitored on the NPDCCH, and the UE supports the paging in the non-anchor carrier, and the paging configuration for the non-anchor carrier is provided in the system information.W(i): Weight i for NB-IoT paging carrier.W: Total weight of all NB-IoT paging carriers, i.e., W=W (0)+W (1)+ . . . +W (Nn−1). IMSI is given as Integer(0 . . . 9) type digits, the IMSI should be construed as a decimal, and a first number given in a sequence represents a highest digit. For example, the IMSI may be given as in the following equation. IMSI=12(digit1=1,digit2=2) [Equation 12] In the above equation, the IMSI should be construed as a decimal integer ‘12’ other than “1×16+2=18”. Paging with Wake Up Signal When the UE supports Wake Up Signal (WUS) and a WUS configuration is provided in the system information, the UE should monitor the WUS by using WUS parameters provided in the system information. When discontinuous reception (DRX) is used and the UE detects the WUS, the UE should monitor a subsequent paging occasion (PO). When extended DRX is used and the UE detects the WUS, the UE should perform earlier monitoring of monitoring numPOs following subsequent POs or performing monitoring until the paging message including the NAS identifier of the UE is received. If the UE does not detect the WUS, the UE need not monitor the subsequent PO.numPOs: The number of consecutive Pos mapped to one WUS provided in the system information (numPOs>0). The WUS configuration provided in the system information includes a time offset between an end of the WUS and a start of a first PO of numPOs POs. A time offset in a subframe used for calculating a start of subframe g0 is defined as follows.In the case of a UE using the DRX, the time offset is signaled timeoffsetDRX.In the case of a UE using the eDRX, if timeoffset-eDRX-Long is not broadcasted, the time offset is signaled timeoffset-eDRX-Short.In the case of the UE using the eDRX, if timeoffset-eDRX-Long is broadcasted, the time offset is a value determined according to a table below. TABLE 12timeoffset-eDRX-Long1000 ms2000 msUE Reported0 mstimeoffset-eDRX-timeoffset-eDRX-wakeUpSignalMinGap-ShortShorteDRX40 mstimeoffset-eDRX-timeoffset-eDRX-ShortShort000 mstimeoffset-eDRX-timeoffset-eDRX-LongLong000 mstimeoffset-eDRX-timeoffset-eDRX-ShortLong The time offset is used for determine actual subframe g0 as in the equation below. g0=P0−timeoffset [Equation 13] In the UE using the eDRX, the same time offset for generation of all WUSs for the PTW is applied between the end of the WUS and a first associated PO of numPOs POs. In the above equation, the time offset g0 may be used for calculating the start of the WUS. Wake-Up Signal of MTC (MWUS) A BL/CE UE using the MWUS may assume an actual duration of the MWUS which starts in subframe w0 as one of sets disclosed in the following table, which correspond to a maximum duration LMWUSmax′of the MWUS. TABLE 13LMWUS_maxActual MWUS durations set1{1}2{1, 2}4(1, 2, 4}8{1, 2, 4, 8}16{1, 2, 4, 8, 16}32{1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32}64{1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64} The maximum duration of the MWUS starts in subframe w0 and ends in subframe (g0−1). w0 represents a most recent subframe in which LMWUSmax′BL/CE DL subframes exist in the maximum duration. The UE may assume that first associated paging occasion subframes associated with the MWUS and the paging occasion exist in the same narrowband. Sequence Generation In the subframe, an MWUS sequence w(m) may be defined as in the following equation. w(m)=θnf,ns(m′)ejun(n+1)131m=0,1,...,131m′=m+132xn=mmod132θnf,ns(m′)={1,ifcnf,ns(2m′)=0andcnf,ns(2m′+1)=0-1,ifcnf,ns(2m′)=0andcnf,ns(2m′+1)=1j,ifcnf,ns(2m′)=1andcnf,ns(2m′+1)=0-j,ifcnf,ns(2m′)=1andcnf,ns(2m′+1)=1u=(NIDcellmod126)+3[Equation14] In the equation, M means the actual duration of the MWUS described above. A scrambling sequence cnfns(i), i=0, 1, . . . , 2·132M−1 is given by a Pseudo-random sequence and initialized as in the following equation at the start of the MWUS. cinit_WUS=(NIDcell+1)((10nf_start_PO+⌊ns_start_PO2⌋)mod2048+1)29+NIDcell[Equation15] In the equation, nf_start_P0′means a first subframe of the first PO associated with the MWUS and ns_start_P0means a first slot of the first PO associated with the MWUS. Mapping to Resource Elements The same antenna port should be used for all symbols of the MWUS in the subframe. The MWUS may not be transmitted on the same antenna port as one of a downlink reference signal or a synchronization signal, and the UE should not assume that the MWUS is transmitted through the same antenna port as one of the downlink reference signal or the synchronization signal. If only one CRS port is configured by the eNB, the UE may assume that transmission of all NWUS subframes is performed by using the same antenna port. Otherwise, the UE may assume that the same antenna port is used for transmission of the MWUS in downlink subframes w0+2n and w0+2n+1. Here, w0 may represent the first downlink subframe of the MWUS as described above, and n may have values of 0 and 1. An MWUS bandwidth is two consecutive PRBs, and a frequency location of a lowest PRB is signaled by the higher layer. For two PRB pairs in a frequency domain in which the NWUS is defined, the MWUS sequence w(m) is mapped to resource elements starting at w(0) in an order of an index k=0, 1, . . . , NscRB−1 for 12 allocated subcarriers, and the subsequent index l=3, 4, . . . , 2NsymbDL−1 is transmitted in each subframe in which the MWUS is transmitted. In the MWUS sequence, the MWUS PRB pairs are mapped to the set of the subframes at the actual MWUS duration described above. Here, Here, when the MWUS PRB pair is transmitted in a subframe in which the MWUS PRB pair overlaps with a random PRB pair transporting PDSCH associated with the PSS, the SSS, the RSS, the PBCH, or the SI-RNTI, the subframe is counted in MWUS mapping, but is not used for transmitting the MWUS. A resource element (k,l) which overlaps with the resource element in which the cell-specific reference signal is transmitted is not used for the MWUS transmission, but counted in a mapping procedure. NB-IoT (Narrowband-Internet of Things) NB-IoT may mean a system to support low complexity and low power consumption through system bandwidth (system BW) corresponding to 1 Physical Resource Block (PRB) of a wireless communication system (e.g. LTE system, NR system, etc.). Here, NB-IoT may be referred to as other terms such as NB-LTE, NB-IoT enhancement, enhanced NB-IoT, further enhanced NB-IoT, and NB-NR. That is, NB-IoT may be defined or replaced by a term to be defined in the 3GPP standard, and hereinafter, it will be collectively expressed as “NB-IoT” for convenience of description. NB-IoT may be mainly used as a communication method of implementing IoT (i.e. Internet of Things) by supporting a device (or terminal) such as machine-type communication (MTC) in a cellular system. In addition, the NB-IoT system uses the same OFDM parameters as the existing system, such as subcarrier spacing (SCS), used in the existing wireless communication system (eg, 3GPP system, LTE system, NR system). —There is no need to allocate an additional band for the IoT system. In this case, by allocating 1 PRB of the existing system band for NB-IoT, there is an advantage in that the frequency may be efficiently used. In addition, in the case of NB-IoT, since each terminal recognizes a single PRB (single PRB) as a respective carrier, the PRB and the carrier referred to in the present disclosure may be interpreted as having the same meaning. Hereinafter, the frame structure, physical channel, multi-carrier operation, operation mode, general signal transmission/reception, etc. related to NB-IoT in the present disclosure will be described in consideration of the case of the existing LTE system, but it goes without saying that it may be extended and applied even in the case of a next-generation system (e.g. NR system, etc.). In addition, the contents related to NB-IoT in the present disclosure may be extended and applied to MTC (Machine Type Communication) aiming for similar technical purposes (e.g. low-power, low-cost, coverage improvement, etc.). NB-IoT Frame Structure and Physical Resource First, the NB-IoT frame structure may be set differently according to subcarrier spacing. Specifically,FIG.26illustrates an example of a frame structure when the subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz, andFIG.25illustrates an example of a frame structure when the subcarrier spacing is 3.75 kHz. However, the NB-IoT frame structure is not limited thereto, and of course, NB-IoT for other subcarrier spacing (e.g. 30 kHz, etc.) may be considered in different time/frequency units. In addition, in the present disclosure, the NB-IoT frame structure based on the LTE system frame structure has been described as an example, but this is for convenience of description and is not limited thereto, and it goes without saying that the method described in the present disclosure may be extended and applied to NB-IoT based on the frame structure of a next-generation system (eg NR system). FIG.26illustrate examples of an NB-IoT frame structure (subcarrier spacing: 15 kHz). Referring toFIG.26, the NB-IoT frame structure for 15 kHz subcarrier spacing may be set the same as the frame structure of the legacy system (i.e. LTE system) described above. That is, a 10 ms NB-IoT frame may include 10 1 ms NB-IoT subframes, and a 1 ms NB-IoT subframe may include 2 0.5 ms NB-IoT slots. In addition, each 0.5 ms NB-IoT may include 7 OFDM symbols. FIG.26illustrate examples of an NB-IoT frame structure (subcarrier spacing: 3.75 kHz). In contrast toFIG.26, referring toFIG.25, a 10 ms NB-IoT frame includes 5 2 ms NB-IoT subframes, and a 2 ms NB-IoT subframe includes 7 OFDM symbols and one guard period (GP). In addition, the 2 ms NB-IoT subframe may be expressed as an NB-IoT slot or an NB-IoT resource unit (RU). Next, the physical resources of the NB-IoT for each of the downlink and uplink will be described. First, the physical resources of the NB-IoT downlink may be set with reference to physical resources of other wireless communication systems (e.g. an LTE system, an NR system, or the like) except that the system bandwidth is a specific number of RBs (e.g. one RB, that is, 180 kHz). As an example, as described above, when the NB-IoT downlink supports only 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, the physical resource of the NB-IoT downlink may be set to a resource region in which the resource grid of the LTE system shown inFIG.6described above is limited to 1 RB (i.e. 1 PRB) in the frequency domain. Next, even in the case of the physical resource of the NB-IoT uplink, as in the case of the downlink, the system bandwidth may be limited to one RB.FIG.27illustrates an example of NB-IoT resource grid on an uplink. As described above, when the NB-IoT uplink supports 15 kHz and 3.75 kHz subcarrier spacing, the resource grid for the NB-IoT uplink may be expressed as shown inFIG.27. TABLE 14SubcarrierspacingNscULTslotΔƒ = 3.75 kHz4861440 · TsΔƒ = 15 kHz1215360 · Ts In addition, the resource unit (RU) of the NB-IoT uplink may be composed of SC-FDMA symbols in the time domain and NsymbULNslotsULcontiguous subcarriers in the frequency domain. For example, NscRUand NsymbULmay be given by Table 15 below in case of frame structure type 1 (i.e. FDD), and may be given by Table 16 in case of frame structure type 2 (i.e. TDD). TABLE 13NPUSCHformatΔƒNscRUNslotsULNsymbUL13.75 kHz116715 kHz116386412223.75 kHz1415 kHz14 TABLE 14Supporteduplink-NPUSCHdownlinkformatΔƒconfigurationsNscRUNslotsULNsymbUL13.75 kHz1, 4116715 kHz1, 2, 3, 4, 5116386412223.75 kHz1, 41415 Khz1, 2, 3, 4, 514 Physical Channel of NB-IoT A base station and/or a terminal supporting NB-IoT may be configured to transmit and receive a physical channel and/or a physical signal separately set from the existing system. Hereinafter, detailed contents related to a physical channel and/or a physical signal supported by NB-IoT will be described. First, the downlink of the NB-IoT system will be described. An Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) scheme may be applied to the NB-IoT downlink based on subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz. Through this, orthogonality between subcarriers may be provided so that co-existence with an existing system (e.g. an LTE system, an NR system) may be efficiently supported. The physical channel of the NB-IoT system may be expressed in a form in which “N (Narrowband)” is added to be distinguished from the existing system. For example, the downlink physical channel is defined as a Narrowband Physical Broadcast Channel (NPBCH), a Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel (NPDCCH), /NEPDCCH (Narrowband Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel), a Narrowband Physical Downlink Shared Channel (NPDSCH), and the like, and the downlink physical signal is a Narrowband Primary Synchronization Signal (NPSS), a Narrowband Secondary Synchronization Signal (NSSS), a Narrowband Reference Signal (NRS), a Narrowband Positioning Reference Signal (NPRS), a Narrowband Wake Up Signal (NWUS), and the like. In general, the downlink physical channel and physical signal of the NB-IoT described above may be set to be transmitted based on a time domain multiplexing scheme and/or a frequency domain multiplexing scheme. In addition, characteristically, in the case of NPBCH, NPDCCH, and NPDSCH, which are downlink channels of the NB-IoT system, repetition transmission may be performed for coverage enhancement. In addition, the NB-IoT uses a newly defined DCI format, and as an example, a DCI format for NB-IoT may be defined as DCI format NO, DCI format N1, DCI format N2, or the like. Next, the uplink of the NB-IoT system will be described. A single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) scheme may be applied to the NB-IoT uplink based on subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz or 3.75 kHz. In the uplink of NB-IoT, multi-tone transmission and single-tone transmission may be supported. For example, the multi-tone transmission is supported only in subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, and the single-tone transmission may be supported for subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz and 3.75 kHz. As described in the downlink part, the physical channel of the NB-IoT system may be expressed in a form in which “N (Narrowband)” is added to be distinguished from the existing system. For example, the uplink physical channel may be defined as a narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH) and a narrowband physical uplink shared channel (NPUSCH), and the uplink physical signal may be defined as a narrowband de-modulation reference signal (NDMRS). Here, the NPUSCH may be composed of NPUSCH format 1 and NPUSCH format 2, and the like. For example, the NPUSCH format 1 may be used for UL-SCH transmission (or transport), and the NPUSCH format 2 may be used for uplink control information transmission such as HARQ ACK signaling. In addition, characteristically, in the case of NPRACH, which is a downlink channel of the NB-IoT system, repetition transmission may be performed for coverage enhancement. In this case, the repetitive transmission may be performed by applying frequency hopping. Multi-Carrier Operation of NB-IoT Next, a multi-carrier operation of NB-IoT will be described. The multi-carrier operation may mean that a plurality of carriers having different uses (i.e. different types) are used when the base station and/or the terminal transmit and receive channels and/or signals to and from each other in the NB-IoT. In general, the NB-IoT can operate in a multi-carrier mode as described above. At this time, in the NB-IoT, the carrier may be defined as an anchor type carrier (i.e. anchor carrier, anchor PRB) and a non-anchor type carrier (i.e. non-anchor carrier, a non-anchor PRB). The anchor carrier may mean a carrier that transmits NPSS, NSSS, NPBCH, NPDSCH for system information block (N-SIB), and the like for initial access from the viewpoint of the base station. That is, in the NB-IoT, a carrier for initial access may be referred to as an anchor carrier, and other(s) may be referred to as a non-anchor carrier. In this case, only one anchor carrier may exist on the system, or a plurality of anchor carriers may exist. Operation Mode of NB-IoT Next, an operation mode of NB-IoT will be described. In the NB-IoT system, three operation modes may be supported.FIG.28illustrates an example of operation modes supported in the NB-IoT system. In the present disclosure, the operation mode of the NB-IoT is described based on the LTE band, but this is only for convenience of description, and it goes without saying that it may be extended and applied to a band of another system (e.g. NR system band). Specifically,FIG.28(a)illustrates an example of an in-band system,FIG.28(b)illustrates an example of a guard-band system, andFIG.28(c)illustrates an example of a stand-alone system. In this case, the in-band system may be expressed in an in-band mode, the guard-band system may be expressed in an guard-band mode, and the stand-alone system may be expressed in a stand-alone mode. The in-band system may refer to a system or mode in which a specific 1 RB (i.e. PRB) in the (legacy) LTE band is used for NB-IoT. The in-band system may be operated by allocating some resource blocks of an LTE system carrier. The guard-band system may refer to a system or mode using NB-IoT in a space reserved for the (legacy) LTE band guard-band. The guard-band system may be operated by allocating a guard-band of an LTE carrier that is not used as a resource block in the LTE system. As an example, the (legacy) LTE band may be configured to have a guard-band of at least 100 kHz at the end of each LTE band. To use 200 kHz, two non-contiguous guard-bands may be used. As described above, the in-band system and the guard-band system may be operated in a structure in which the NB-IoT coexists in the (legacy) LTE band. In contrast, the stand-alone system may mean a system or mode independently configured from the (legacy) LTE band. The stand-alone system may be operated by separately allocating a frequency band (e.g. a GSM carrier reallocated in the future) used in GERAN (GSM EDGE Radio Access Network). Each of the three operation modes described above may be independently operated, or two or more operation modes may be combined and operated. General Signal Transmission/Reception Procedure of NB-IoT FIG.29is a diagram illustrating an example of physical channels that may be used for NB-IoT and a general signal transmission method using the physical channels. In a wireless communication system, the NB-IoT terminal may receive information from the base station through downlink (DL), and the NB-IoT terminal may transmit information to the base station through uplink (UL). In other words, in the wireless communication system, the base station may transmit information to the NB-IoT terminal through downlink, and the base station may receive information from the NB-IoT terminal through uplink. The information transmitted and received by the base station and the NB-IoT terminal includes data and various control information, and various physical channels may exist according to the type/use of the information transmitted and received by the base station and the NB-IoT terminal. In addition, the method of transmitting and receiving a signal of the NB-IoT described with reference toFIG.29may be performed by the wireless communication device (ex: the base station and the UE ofFIG.12). When a power supply is turned on again while the power supply is turned off, the NB-IoT terminal newly entering a cell may perform an initial cell search operation such as an operation of synchronizing the terminal and the base station (S11). To this end, the NB-IoT terminal may receive NPSS and NSSS from the base station, perform synchronization with the base station, and obtain information such as cell identity. In addition, the NB-IoT terminal may obtain intra-cell broadcast information by receiving the NPBCH from the base station. In addition, the NB-IoT terminal may check the downlink channel state by receiving a DL RS (Downlink Reference Signal) in the initial cell search step. In other words, when there is an NB-IoT terminal that has newly entered the cell, the base station may perform the initial cell search operation such as synchronizing with the corresponding terminal. The base station may transmit NPSS and NSSS to the NB-IoT terminal to perform synchronization with the corresponding terminal and transmit information such as cell identity. In addition, the base station may transmit (or broadcast) the NPBCH to the NB-IoT terminal to transmit the broadcast information in the cell. In addition, the base station may check the downlink channel state by transmitting a DL RS to the NB-IoT terminal in the initial cell search step. After completing the initial cell search, the NB-IoT terminal may receive the NPDCCH and the corresponding NPDSCH to obtain more detailed system information (S12). In other words, the base station may transmit more specific system information by transmitting the NPDCCH and the corresponding NPDSCH to the NB-IoT terminal that has finished the initial cell search. Thereafter, the NB-IoT terminal may perform a random access procedure to complete access to the base station (S13to S16). Specifically, the NB-IoT terminal may transmit a preamble to the base station through the NPRACH (S13), and as described above, the NPRACH may be configured to be repeatedly transmitted based on frequency hopping or the like for coverage enhancement. In other words, the base station may (repeatedly) receive the preamble through the NPRACH from the NB-IoT terminal. Thereafter, the NB-IoT terminal may receive a random access response (RAR) for the preamble from the base station through the NPDCCH and the corresponding NPDSCH (S14). In other words, the base station may transmit the random access response (RAR) for the preamble to the NB-IoT terminal through the NPDCCH and the corresponding NPDSCH. Thereafter, the NB-IoT terminal transmits the NPUSCH to the base station using the scheduling information in the RAR (S15), and may perform a contention resolution procedure such as NPDCCH and corresponding NPDSCH (S16). In other words, the base station may receive the NPUSCH from the terminal by using the scheduling information in the NB-IoT RAR and perform the collision resolution procedure. After performing the above-described procedure, the NB-IoT terminal may perform NPDCCH/NPDSCH reception (S17) and NPUSCH transmission (S18) as a general uplink/downlink signal transmission procedure. In other words, after performing the above-described procedures, the base station may perform NPDCCH/NPDSCH transmission and NPUSCH reception as a general signal transmission/reception procedure to the NB-IoT terminal. In the case of the NB-IoT, as described above, the NPBCH, NPDCCH, NPDSCH, etc. may be repeatedly transmitted for coverage enhancement. In addition, in the case of the NB-IoT, instead of separate uplink control channel, the UL-SCH (i.e. general uplink data), and the uplink control information may be transmitted through the NPUSCH. In this case, the UL-SCH and the uplink control information may be set to be transmitted through different NPUSCH formats (e.g. NPUSCH format 1, NPUSCH format 2, etc.). In addition, the control information transmitted from the terminal to the base station may be referred to as UCI (Uplink Control Information). The UCI may include hybrid automatic repeat and reQuest acknowledgement/negative-ACK (HARQ ACK/NACK), scheduling request (SR), channel state information (CSI), and the like. The CSI includes a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indication (RI), and the like. As described above, in the NB-IoT, the UCI may be generally transmitted through NPUSCH. In addition, according to a request/instruction of a network (e.g. a base station), the terminal may transmit UCI through the NPUSCH in a perdiodic, aperdiodic, or semi-persistent manner. Initial Access Procedure of NB-IoT In a general signal transmission/reception procedure of NB-IoT, an initial access procedure to the base station by the NB-IoT UE is briefly described. Specifically, the initial access procedure to the base station by the NB-IoT UE may be constituted by a procedure of searching an initial cell and a procedure of acquiring the system information by the NB-IoT UE. In this regard, a specific signaling procedure between a UE and a base station (e.g., NodeB, eNodeB, eNB, gNB, etc.) related to the initial access of NB-IoT may be illustrated as inFIG.30. Hereinafter, detailed contents of the initial access procedure of general NB-IoT, the configuration of NPSS/NSSS, acquisition of the system information (e.g., MIB, SIB, etc.), etc., will be described through description ofFIG.30. FIG.30illustrates an example for the initial access procedure of the NB-IoT, and a name(s) of each physical channel and/or physical signal may be set or named differently according to the wireless communication system to which the NB-IoT is applied. As an example, basically,FIG.30is described, but the NB-IoT based on the LTE system is considered, but this is only for convenience of description, and contents thereof may be extensively applied even to the NB-IoT based on the NR system, of course. The NB-IOT is based on the following signals transmitted in the downlink: primary and secondary narrowband synchronization signals NPSS and NSSS. The NPSS is transmitted through 11 subcarriers from the first subcarrier to the 11thsubcarrier in the 6thsubframe of each frame (S110) and the NSSS is transmitted through 12 subcarriers on an NB-IOT carrier in the first subframe of every even frame in the 10thsubframe for FDD of each frame and 12 subcarriers on an NB-IOT carrier in the first subframe for TDD (S120). NB-IoT UE may receive MIB-NB (MasterInformationBlock-NB) on NPBCH (NB Physical Broadcast Channel)(S130). The MIB-NB uses a fixed schedule in which the period is 640 ms and a repetition is within 640 ms. First transmission of the MIB-NB is scheduled in subframe #0 of a radio frame with SFN mod 64=0, and the repetition is scheduled in subframe #0 of all other radio frames. The transmissions are arranged in eight independently decodable blocks with a time duration of 80 ms. Thereafter, the NB-IoT UE may receive a SystemInformationBlockType1-NB (SIB1-NB) through the PDSCH (S140). The SIB1-NB uses a fixed schedule with a period of 2560 ms. SIB1-NB transmission occurs in subframe #4 of all different frames in 16 consecutive frames. A start frame for first transmission of SIB1-NB is derived by cell PCID and the number of repetitions within the period of 2560 ms, and is repeated at the same interval within the period of 2560 ms. The TBS for the SystemInformationBlockType1-NB and the repetitions made within 2560 ms are indicated by a field scheduleInfoSIB1 of the MIB-NB. An SI message is transmitted within time domain windows (referred to as SI windows) which occur periodically by using scheduling information provided by the SystemInformationBlockType1-NB. Each SI message is associated with the SI window, and an SI window of another SI message does not overlap. That is, only a corresponding SI is transmitted within one SI window. A length of the SI window may be common to and configured in all SI messages. In the SI window, the corresponding SI message may be transmitted multiple times through 2 or 8 consecutive NB-IoT downlink subframes according to the TBS. The UE uses a transmission format of the SI message in detailed time/frequency domain scheduling information and other information, e.g., a scheduling information list field of SystemInformationBlockType1-NB. The UE need not accumulate multiple SI messages in parallel, but may need to accumulate the SI messages over multiple SI windows depending on a coverage condition. The SystemInformationBlockType1-NB configures the length and the transmission period of the SI window for all SI messages. Further, the NB-IoT UE may receive a SystemInformationBlockType2-NB (SIB2-NB) on the PDSCH (S150). Meanwhile, an NRS (S160) ofFIG.30represents a narrowband reference signal. Random Access Procedure of NB-IoT In the general signal transmission/reception procedure of the NB-IoT, a random access procedure to the base station by the NB-IoT UE is briefly described. Specifically, the random access procedure to the base station by the NB-IoT UE may be performed through a procedure of transmitting the preamble to the base station and receiving a response thereto. In this regard, a specific signaling procedure between a UE and a base station (e.g., NodeB, eNodeB, eNB, gNB, etc.) related to the random access of the NB-IoT may be illustrated as inFIG.31. Hereinafter, specific contents of a random access procedure based on messages (e.g., msg1, msg2, msg3, and msg4) used for the random access procedure of the general NB-IoT will be described through description ofFIG.31. FIG.31illustrates an example for the random access procedure of the NB-IoT, and a name(s) of each physical channel, physical signal, and/or message may be set or named differently according to the wireless communication system to which the NB-IoT is applied. As an example, basically,FIG.31is described, but the NB-IoT based on the LTE system is considered, but this is only for convenience of description, and contents thereof may be extensively applied even to the NB-IoT based on the NR system, of course. As illustrated inFIG.31, in the case of the NB-IOT, the RACH procedure has the same message flow as LTE having different parameters. The NB-IoT supports only a contention-based random access and a PDCCH order when downlink data arrives. The NB-IoT reuses the eMTC PRACH resource classification according to a coverage level. A PRACH resource is provided for each application coverage level configured with the system information (SI). The NB-IoT UE selects the PRACH resource based on a coverage level determined by NB-IoT UE downlink measurement such as RSB, and transmits a random access preamble (just preamble) (message 1, msg1). In selected PRACH resource NB-IoT, the PRACH may mean narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH). The random access procedure is performed in either an anchor carrier or a non-anchor carrier in which the PRACH resource is configured in the SI. The preamble transmission may be repeated up to {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128} times in order to enhance coverage. When transmitting the preamble, the NB-IoT UE first calculates a Random Access Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RA-RNTI) thereof from a preamble transmission time. RA-RNTI is given by RA-RNTI=1+floor (SFN_id/4), and SFN_id represents an index (i.e., preamble) of a first radio frame of a specific PRACH. Subsequently, the NB-IoT UE monitors the PDCCH within the time window in order to find the PDCCH for DCI format N1 scrambled with the RA-RNTI, and a random access response (RAR) (message 2, msg2) is displayed. The time window (or RAR window) starts 3 subframe (SF) after a last preamble and has a CE dependent length given in the system information block type 2-narrowband (SIB2-NB). When the preamble transmission is unsuccessful, for example, when the associated RAR message is not received, the NB-IoT UE transmits another preamble. This may be achieved up to a maximum number, and may vary depending on a CE level. When the maximum number is unsuccessful, if the CE level is configured, the NB-IoT UE proceeds to a next (i.e., higher) CE level. When the total number of access attempt times is reached, an associated failure is reported to the RRC. Jointly with the RAR, the NB-IoT UE obtains a temporary C-RNTI, a timing advance order, etc. Consequently, next msg3 is temporally aligned and this is required for transmission through the NPUSCH. Further, the RAR provides a UL grant for msg3 including all related data for msg3 transmission. A scheduling resolution message (message 3, msg3) is transmitted for starting the contention resolution process. An associated contention resolution message (message 4, msg4) is finally transmitted to the UE in order to indicate successful completion of the RACH procedure. The contention resolution process is basically the same as that in the LTE. That is, the UE transmits identification through the msg3, and when the UE receives the contention resolution msg4 indicating the identification, the random access procedure is successfully completed. Due to a specific uplink transmission scheme in the NB-IoT, tone information is further included in the RAR message, and an equation for deriving the Random Access Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RA-RNTI) is newly defined. In order to support transmission repetition, corresponding parameters including an RAR window size and a medium access control (MAC) contention resolution timer are extended. Hereafter, in regard to the random access procedure of the NB-IOT, the NPRACH which the NB-IoT UE transmits to the base station will be described in detail. A physical layer random access preamble (i.e., PRACH) is based on single subcarrier/tone transmission having frequency hopping for a single user. The PRACH uses a subcarrier spacing of 3.75 kHz (i.e., a symbol length of 266.7 us), and two cyclic prefix lengths are provided to support different cell sizes. 66.7 s (10 km) and 266.7 s (35 km). The frequency hopping is performed between random access symbols groups (just symbol group) including five Pseudo-random hopping symbols and a cyclic prefix between repetitions of respective symbol groups. The physical layer random access preamble is based on a single subcarrier frequency hopping symbol group.FIG.32illustrates a structure of a random access symbol group. As illustrated inFIG.32, a random access symbol group is constituted by a cyclic prefix having a length (TCP) and a sequence of N identical symbols having a total length (TSEQ). The total number of symbol groups in units of preamble repetition is represented by P. The number of time-continuous symbol groups is given as G. Parameter values of frame structures 1 and 2 are listed in Tables 17 and 18, respectively. TABLE 17PreambleformatGPNTCPTSEQ04452048Ts5 · 8127Ts14458192Ts5 · 8192Ts266324576Ts3 · 24576Ts TABLE 18Supporteduplink-PreambledownlinkformatconfigurationsGPNTCPTSEQ01, 2, 3, 4, 52414778Ts1 · 8192Ts11, 42428192Ts2 · 8192Ts232448192Ts4 · 8192Ts0-a1, 2, 3, 4, 53611536Ts1 · 8192Ts1-a1, 43623072Ts2 · 8192Ts When transmission of the random access preamble is triggered by the MAC layer, the transmission of the random access preamble is limited to specific time and frequency resources. Up to 3 NPRACH resource configurations may be configured by using respective NPRACH resource configurations corresponding to different application range levels in the cell. The NPRACH resource configuration is given by periodicity, the repetition number, a starting time, a frequency location, and the number of subcarriers. For example, an NPRACH configuration provided by a higher layer (e.g., RRC) may include the following.NPRACH periodicity (nprach-Periodicity): NperiodNPRACHFrequency location of first subcarrier allocated to NPRACH (nprach-SubcarrierOffset): NscoffsetNPRACHThe number of subcarriers allocated NPRACH (nprach-NumSubcarriers): NscNPRACHThe number of start subframes allocated to UE in which random access is initiated (nprach-NumCBRA-StartSubcarriers): Nsc_contNPRACHThe number of NPRACH repetitions for attempt (numRepetitionsPerPreambleAttempt): NrepNPRACHNPRACH start time (nprach-StartTime): NstartNPRACHFraction for calculating start subcarrier index for a range of NPRACH subcarrier reserved for indicating UE supporting for multi-tone msg3 transmission (nprach-SubcarrierMSG3-RangeStart): NMSG3NPRACH After starting a radio frame satisfying nfmod(NperiodNPRACH/10)=0, the NPRACH transmission may start only in a time unit of NstartNPRACH·30720Ts. For frame structure type 1, after transmission of a 4·64(TCP+TSEQ) time unit for preamble formats 0 and 1 or transmission of a 16·6(TCP+TSEQ) time unit for preamble format 2, a gap of a 40·30720Tstime unit may be inserted. An NPRACH configuration with NscoffsetNPRACH+NscNPRACH>NscULis invalid. An NPRACH start subcarrier allocated to the UE in which the random access is initiated is divided into two sets of the subcarriers. That is, the NPRACH start subcarrier is divided into {0, 1, . . . , └Nsc_contNPRACHNMSG3NPRACH┘−1} and {└Nsc_contNPRACHNMSG3NPRACH┘, . . . , Nsc_contNPRACH−1}, and here, if exists, a second set represents UE support for multi-tone msg3 transmission. The frequency location of the NPRACH transmission is limited within NscRA+12 subcarriers, and when preamble format 2 is configured, the frequency location of the NPRACH transmission is limited within NscRA=36 subcarriers. The frequency hopping is used within 12 subcarriers, and when preamble format 2 is configured, the frequency hopping is used within 36 subcarriers. Here, a frequency location of an i-th symbol group is given as in nstart=NscoffsetNPRACH+└ninit/NscRA┘·NscRA. Here, nstart+NscoffsetNPRACH+└ninit/NscRA┘·NscRAis satisfied. ñscRA(i) depends on the frame structure. In each NPRACH generation, {12, 24, 36, 48} subcarriers may be supported. Further, the random access preamble transmission (i.e., PRACH) may be repeated up to {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128} times to enhance coverage. Discontinuous Reception (DRX) Procedure of NB-IoT While performing the general signal transmission/reception procedure of the NB-IoT, the NB-IoT UE may be switched from an idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE state) and/or an inactive state (e.g., RRC_INACTIVE state) in order to reduce power consumption. In this case, the NB-IoT UE which is switched to a valid state and/or the inactive state may be configured by using the DRX scheme. As an example, the NB-IoT UE which is switched to the idle state and/or the inactive state may be configured to perform monitoring of the NPDCCH related to paging only in a specific subframe (or a frame or a slot) according to a DRX cycle configured by the BS. Here, the NPDCCH related to the paging may mean NPDCCH scrambled to paging access-RNTI (P-RNTI). FIG.33illustrates an example of a DRX scheme in an idle state and/or an inactive state. As illustrated inFIG.33, in F9, the NB-IoT UE in the RRC_IDLE state monitors only a partial subframe (SF) in relation to paging (i.e., paging occasion (PO)) within a subset (i.e., paging frame (PF)) of the radio frame. The paging is used to trigger RRC connection and change system information for the UE in the RRC_IDLE mode. Further, a DRX configuration and a DRX indication for the NB-IoT UE may be performed as illustrated inFIG.34.FIG.34illustrates an example of a DRX configuration and indication procedure for an NB-IoT UE. Further,FIG.34is just for convenience of the description and does not limit the method proposed in the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.34, the NB-IoT UE may receive, from a base station (e.g., NodeB, eNodeB, eNB, gNB, etc.), DRX configuration information (S310). In this case, the UE may receive, from the BS, such information through higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling). Here, the DRX configuration information may include DRX cycle information, a DRX offset, configuration information for timers related to DRX, etc. Thereafter, the NB-IoT UE may receive, from the BS, a DRX command (S320). In this case, the UE may receive, from the BS, the DRX command through higher layer signaling (e.g., MAC-CE signaling). The NB-IoT UE that receives the DRX command may monitor the NPDCCH in a specific time unit (e.g., the subframe or the slot) according to the DRX cycle (S330). Here, monitoring the NPDCCH may mean that the corresponding CRC is scrambled with a predetermined specific RNTI value after decoding the NPDCCH of a specific area according to the DCI format to be received through the search space to check whether the corresponding value matches (i.e., coincides with) a desired value. When the corresponding NB-IoT UE receives information indicating a change of a paging ID and/or system information in the NPDCCH through the procedure illustrated inFIG.34, the corresponding NB-IoT UE may be configured to initialize (or reconfigure) a connection (e.g., RRC connection) with the BS (e.g., a cell search procedure ofFIG.29) or receive (or acquire) new system information from the BS (e.g., a system acquisition procedure ofFIG.29, etc.). When the NB-IoT UE detects the MPDCCH with Paging Access Radio Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI) in the PO, the MTC UE decodes a corresponding PDSCH. A paging message may be transmitted through the PDSCH, and may include information including a list of NB-IoT UEs to be paged, and whether the paging is for a connection configuration or whether the system information is changed. Each NB-IoT UE which searches an ID thereof in this list may deliver the ID to a higher layer to which the ID is paged and receive a command to initialize the RRC connection in sequence. When the system information is changed, the NB-IoT UE may start reading SIB1-BR and acquire information used for reading the SIB from there again. When coverage enhancement repetition is applied, the PO refers to first transmission in repetition. The PF and the PO are determined from the DRX periodicity provided from the SIB2-BR and the IMSI provided from the USIM card. DRX is discontinuous reception of a DL control channel used for saving a battery life. 128, 256, 512 and 1024 radio frame periodicities corresponding to time intervals between 1.28 seconds and 10.24 seconds are supported. Since an algorithm for determining the PF and the PO also depends on the IMSI, different UEs have different paging occasions, which are temporally evenly distributed. It is enough for the NB-IoT UE to monitor one paging occasion within the DRX cycle and when there are various multiple paging occasions therein, the paging is repeated in each of the various paging occasions. The concept of Extended DRX (eDRX) may be applied even to the NB-IoT. This is performed by using a hyper frame. When the eDRX is supported, a time period in which the NB-IoT UE does not monitor the paging message may be significantly extended up to a maximum of 3 hours. In response thereto, the NB-IoT UE should know which HFN and which time interval within the HFN a paging time window (PTW), and monitor the paging. The PTW is defined as start and stop of SFN. Within the PTW, the PF and the PO are determined in the same scheme as non-extended DRX. FIG.35illustrates a DRX cycle. As illustrated inFIG.35, inFIG.35, the DRX cycle designates periodic repetition of ‘On Duration’ according to a possible period of inactivity. The MAC entity may be configured by RRC having a DRX function controlling a PDCCH monitoring activity of the UE for RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI) of the MAC entity. Accordingly, the NB-IoT UE may monitor the PDCCH during a short period (e.g., ‘On Duration’), and stop PDCCH monitoring for a long period (e.g., an occasion for the DRX). If the DRX is configured when the MAC entity is in RRC_CONNECTED (i.e., connection mode DRX, CDRX), the MAC entity may discontinuously monitor the PDCCH by using a DRX operation designated below. Otherwise, the MAC entity may continuously monitor the PDCCH. In the case of the NB-IoT, the PDCCH may refer to the MPDCCH. In the case of the NB-IoT, an extended DRX cycle of 10.24(s) is supported in the RRC connection. The RRC controls the DRX operation by configuring DurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer, drx-RetransmissionTimerShortTTI (one per DL HARQ process in the case of an HARQ process reserved by using short TTI), drx-ULRetransmissionTimer (one per asynchronous UL HARQ process in the case of the HARQ process reserved by using 1 ms TTI), drx-ULRetransmissionTimerShortTTI (in the case of the HARQ process reserved by using short TTI), longDRX-Cycle, drxStartOffset value, and selectively drxShortCycleTimer and shortDRX-Cycle values. An HARQ RTT timer (except for a broadcast process) for the DL HARQ process and a UL HARQ RTT timer for the asynchronous UL HARQ process are defined. Paging in Extended DRX The UE may be configured by higher layers having an extended DRX (eDRX) cycle TeDRX. Except for NB-IOT, the UE may operate in the extended DRX only when the UE is configured by the higher layer and the cell represents supporting for the eDRX in the system information. In the case of the NB-IOT, the UE may operate in the extended DRX only when the UE is configured by the higher layers. When the UE is configured by TeDRXcycle of 512 radio frames, the UE monitors the PO as defined in the paging in the DRX by using parameter T=512. Otherwise, the UE which is configured by the eDRX monitors the PO defined in the paging in the DRX during a periodic paging time window (PTW) configured for the UE or until receiving a paging message an NAS identifier of the UE for the UE during the PTW. In this case, the UE may stop monitoring the PO when receiving the paging message including the NAS identifier even before the PTW lapsed. The PTW may be UE specific, and may be determined by a Paging Hyperframe (PH), and a start position (PTW_start) and an end position (PTW end) in the PH. The PH, the PTW_start, and the PTW_end may be given by the following equation. The PH is an H-SFN satisfying the following equation. H-SFN mod TeDRX,H=(UE_ID_Hmod TeDRX,H) [Equation 16] In the equation, each parameter is as follows.UE_ID_H: When P-RNTI is monitored on the PDCCH or the MPDCCH, 10 most significant bits of hashed ID. When the P-RNTI is monitored on the NPDCCH, 12 most significant bits of the hashed ID.TeDRX,H: eDRX cycle of the UE in the hyperframe (TeDRX,H=1, 2, . . . , 256 Hyper-frames) (for the NB-IOT, TeDRX,H=2, . . . , 1024 Hyper-frames), configured by the higher layer. The PTW_start represents a first radio frame of PH which is a part of the PTW, and has an SFN satisfying the following equation. SFN=256*ieDRX, where ieDRX=floor(UE_ID_H/TeDRX,H)mod 4 [Equation 17] The PTW_end is a last radio frame of the PTW, and the SFN satisfies the following equation. SFN=(PTW_start+L*100−1)mod 1024 [Equation 18] In the equation, L represents a length (seconds) of the PTW configured by the higher layer. Hashed_ID represents a frame check sequence (FCS) for bits b31, b30, b0of S-TMSI, and the S-TMSI has a value of <b39, b38, . . . , b0>. 32-bit FCS should be a complement of 1 of a sum (modulo 2) of Y1 and Y2 below.Y1: Y1 is a remainder of (modulo 2) xk(x31+x30+x29+x28+x27+x26+x25+x24+x23+x22+x21+x20+x19+x18+x17+x16+x15+x14+x13+x12+x11+x10+x9+x8+x7+x6+x5+x4+x3+x2+x1+1) divided by generator polynomial x32+x26+x23+x22+x16+x12+x11+x10+x8+x7+x5+x4+x2+x+1.Y2: Y2 is a remainder of (modulo 2) Y3 divided by generator polynomial x32+x26+x23+x22+x16+x12+x11+x10+x8+x7+x5+x4+x2+x+1. Here, Y3 is generator polynomial x32 (b31*x31+b30*x30++b0*1). Paging with Wake Up Signal When the UE supports Wake Up Signal (WUS) and a WUS configuration is provided in the system information, the UE should monitor the WUS by using WUS parameters provided in the system information. When discontinuous reception (DRX) is used and the UE detects the WUS, the UE should monitor a subsequent paging occasion (PO). When extended DRX is used and the UE detects the WUS, the UE should perform earlier monitoring of monitoring numPOs following subsequent POs or performing monitoring until the paging message including the NAS identifier of the UE is received. If the UE does not detect the WUS, the UE need not monitor the subsequent PO.numPOs: The number of consecutive Pos mapped to one WUS provided in the system information (numPOs>0). The WUS configuration provided in the system information includes a time offset between an end of the WUS and a start of a first PO of numPOs POs. A time offset in a subframe used for calculating a start of subframe g0 is defined as follows.In the case of a UE using the DRX, the time offset is signaled timeoffsetDRX.In the case of a UE using the eDRX, if timeoffset-eDRX-Long is not broadcasted, the time offset is signaled timeoffset-eDRX-Short.In the case of the UE using the eDRX, if timeoffset-eDRX-Long is broadcasted, the time offset is a value determined according to a table below. TABLE 19timeoffset-eDRX-Long1000 ms2000 msUE Reported40 mstimeoffset-eDRX-timeoffset-eDRX-wakeupSignalMinGap-ShortShorteDRX240 mstimeoffset-eDRX-timeoffset-eDRXShortShort1000 mstimeoffset-eDRX-timeoffset-eDRX-LongLong2000 mstimeoffset-eDRX-timeoffset-eDRX-ShortLong The time offset is used for determine actual subframe g0 as in the equation below. g0=PO−timeoffset [Equation 19] In the UE using the eDRX, the same time offset for generation of all WUSs for the PTW is applied between the end of the WUS and a first associated PO of numPOs POs. In the above equation, the time offset g0 may be used for calculating the start of the WUS. Narrowband Wake-Up Signal (NWUS) The NB-IOT UE using the NWUS may assume an actual duration of the NWUS starting at subframe w0 as one of sets listed in the following table corresponding to a maximum duration LNWUSmaxof the NWUS configured by the higher layer. TABLE 20LNMUS_maxActual NWUS durations set1{1}2{1, 2}4{1, 2, 4}8{1, 2, 4, 8}16{1, 2, 4, 8, 16}32{1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32}64{1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64}128{1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}256{1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256}512{1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512}1024{1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024} The maximum duration of the MWUS starts in subframe w0 and ends in subframe (g0−1). Here, w0 means a most latest subframe of subframe #4 transporting SystemInformationBlockType1-NB during LNWUSmaxNB-IoT DL subframes and the maximum duration. The UE may assume that the NWUS and NB-IoT paging occasion subframes associated therewith exist on the same NB-IOT carrier. Sequence Generation An NWUS sequence w(m) may be defined as in the following equation. w(m)=θnf,ns(m′)·e-jun(n+1)131m=0,1,...,131m′=m+132xn=mmod132θnf,ns(m′)={1,ifcnf,ns(2m′)=0andcnf,ns(2m′+1)=0-1,ifcnf,ns(2m′)=0andcnf,ns(2m′+1)=1j,ifcnf,ns(2m′)=1andcnf,ns(2m′+1)=0-j,ifcnf,ns(2m′)=1andcnf,ns(2m′+1)=1u=(NIDcellmod126)+3[Equation20] Here, M represents the actual duration of the NWUS. A scrambling sequence cnf,ns(i), i=0, 1, . . . , 2·132M−1 is given by the Pseudo-random sequence, and initialized as in the following equation at the start of the NWUS. cinit_WUS=(NIDNcell+1)((10nf_start_PO+⌊ns_start_PO2⌋)mod2048+1)29+NIDNcell[Equation21] In the equation, nf_start_POrepresents a first frame of a first PO associated with the NWUS and ns_start_POrepresents a first slot of the first PO associated with the NWUS. Mapping to Resource Elements The same antenna port should be used for all symbols of the NWUS in the subframe. The NWUS may not be transmitted on the same antenna port as one of a downlink reference signal or a synchronization signal, and the UE should not assume that the NWUS is transmitted through the same antenna port as one of the downlink reference signal or the synchronization signal. If only one NRS port is configured by the eNB, the UE may assume that transmission of all NWUS subframes is performed by using the same antenna port. Otherwise, the UE may assume that the same antenna port is used for transmission of the NWUS in downlink subframes w0+2n and w0+2n+1. Here, w0 may represent the first downlink subframe of the NWUS as described above, and n may have values of 0 and 1. The NWUS sequence is mapped to a subframe set of the actual NWUS duration in subframe #4 in which SystemInformationBlockType1-NB is transmitted or a subframe in which the SI message is transmitted, and the subframe is counted in NWUS mapping, but is not used for transmission of the NWUS. On an NB-IoT carrier in which the UE receives a higher layer parameter operationModeInfo indicating inband-SamePCI, inband-DifferentPCI, guardband, or standalone or an NB-IOT carrier in which DL-CarrierConfigCommon-NB exists, an NWUS sequence w(m) is mapped to a resource element (k,l) in order starting at w(0) in an order of an index k=0, 1, . . . , NscRB−1 for 12 allocated subcarriers, and a subsequent index l=3, 4, . . . , 2NsymbDL−1 is transmitted in each subframe in which the NWUS is transmitted. Additionally, on an NB-IoT carrier in which the UE receives a higher layer parameter guardband or standalone indicating guardband or standalone or an NB-IoT carrier in which DL-CarrierConfigCommon-NB exists and inbandCarrierInfo does not exist, resource mapping for first three OFDM symbols is performed as follows.A resource element (k, 7) is mapped to a resource element (k, 0) of all indices throughout 12 allocated subcarriers. Symbols, abbreviations, and terms used in the present disclosure are defined as below.IoT mode: means a communication scheme or a communication operation mode that supports different levels of combinations for a coupling loss compensation level, a UE complexity (an operation bandwidth of the UE, etc.), a battery consumption level, etc. The IoT mode may be expressed as an operation mode of the UE. As an example, in the 3GPP LTE system, a general non-BL operation, a non-BL CE mode operation (CE mode A/B), an eMTC operation, an NB-IoT operation, and the like may be different as different IoT modes. Hereinafter, in the present disclosure, a case where the UE operates in a specific IoT mode means that physical channels corresponding to an (N/M)PDCCH/PDSCH/PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH structure specialized to the specific IoT mode and the number of repetitions (CE level) of the corresponding channel are transmitted and received in a bandwidth supported in the specific IoT mode. The case where ‘the UE operates in the specific IoT mode’ may also be expressed as a case where ‘the UE operates in a specific operation mode’.non-BL mode: means a mode in which a UE in a general category operates in the LTE system. For example, the UE in the general category may mean a UE that supports category 0 or category 1 or more, and a bandwidth of 20 MHz.non-BL CE mode: means a mode in which a UE without a bandwidth limitation (e.g., a UE that supports the bandwidth of 20 MHz) operates to receive the MPDCCH and support large repetition/CE as in CE mode A/B of the eMTC in order to compensate larger coupling loss in the LTE system. In particular, CE mode B supports larger repetition/CE than CE mode A.eMTC mode: means an operation mode of a UE which follows an eMTC standard of the LTE system.NB-IoT mode: means an operation mode of a UE which follows an NB-IoT standard of the LTE system. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the ‘base station’ may be used as a concept including all of eNB, gNB, etc. In recent years, a demand for various wireless communication services has increased as compared with the existing human to human communication. As a result, various communication schemes for efficiently supporting communication such as machine to human, machine to machine, etc., widely referred to as Internet of Things (IoT) are being developed. As a representative example, a cellular wireless communication scheme, there is a 3GPP LTE system, and the LTE system includes eMTC which has low complexity and low power, and compensates large coupling loss in addition to a basic communication scheme (a scheme supporting communication in a bandwidth of up to 20 MHz through UE category of category 0 or category 1 or more in the related art). Further, the LTE system supports NB-IoT which has even simpler complexity (lower complexity) and lower power, and compensates larger coupling loss than the eMTC mode and a mode which the UE in the existing category operates in CE mode A/B of the eMTC for compensating large coupling loss. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the non-BL mode, the eMTC mode, the NB-IoT mode, the non-BL CE mode, etc., will be referred to as different IoT modes (or operation modes). In the present disclosure, for convenience, the IoT mode is described based on the LTE system, but when one UE supports an operation scheme supporting different levels of power consumption (e.g., wake-up/sleeping cycle), different levels of UE complexities (e.g., supported bandwidth), and different levels of coupling loss compensations (e.g., the number of transmission repetitions) even in 3GPP NR or 3GPP other systems other than the LTE system, respective operation schemes may be expressed as the IoT mode (or operation mode). It may be appropriate to apply different data transmission rates, coupling losses, and power consumptions to one device according to a communication situation or a service of the device. Therefore, when one device supports a plurality of IoT modes, it may be efficient that the device switches the operation mode to an appropriate IoT mode of different IoT modes. For example, when a vehicle is in a parking standby state in an underground parking lot, the vehicle may perform only least communication with the base station in an NB-IoT mode in which low power and large coupling loss compensation are possible. On the contrary, when a driver boards the vehicle, it may be efficient to perform mass data communication for smoothly receiving a user data service in the non-BL mode. In such a case, when the vehicle is regarded as one UE, there may be a scenario in which the UE switches between two modes while supporting both the NB-IoT mode and the non-BL mode. In this case, hardware supporting the two modes may be implemented through one integrated chip or two chips mounted on one device. Alternatively, the hardware supporting the two modes may be a form in which respectively physically separated devices are mounted on different locations in the vehicle, and a communication path for switching the IoT mode is between two devices. In a current LTE system, in the case of a UE that supports a plurality of different IoT modes, for switching from a current IoT mode to the other one IoT mode, the UE should release a connection with a cell and connect to a new cell, or the UE should perform a procedure corresponding to handover. This makes the UE bear significantly large delay and data loss. For seamless communication of the user, it may be required to minimize the delay and the data loss. In particular, in the IoT mode or the eMTC mode for the UE to compensate large coupling loss, a delay required for initially accessing the base station may require even to several tens of sec from several hundreds of msec. Therefore, when it is considered that a long time is required for the UE in the IoT mode or the eMTC mode to perform an initial access to the base station, it may be very important to reduce a delay required for a UE supporting a plurality of IoT modes according to various service changes to switch the IoT mode. The present disclosure proposes a scheme in which the UE supporting the plurality of IoT modes switches a data transmission/reception operation to different IoT modes while maintaining a state of accessing the base station (RRC_CONNECTED). In particular, when the method proposed in the present disclosure is applied to a 3GPP LTE UE, the method may be applied to a UE operation in each mode or switching between the eMTC mode and the non-BL CE mode (A or B) or the BL CE mode which is not relatively large in difference of implementation. Hereinafter, the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may mean MPDCCH in an eMTC mode and a BL CE mode. Further, a physical random access channel (PRACH), the PDCCH, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and a physical downlink control channel (PUCCH) may mean a narrowband PRACH (NPRACH), a narrowband PDCCH (NPDCCH), a narrowband PDSCH (NPDSCH), a narrowband PUSCH (NPUSCH), and a narrowband PUCCH (NPUCCH), respectively in the NB-IoT mode. Hereinafter, the method in which the UE supporting one or more IoT modes switches the IoT mode will be described in detail. A method (method 1) for switching the IoT mode according to the request of the UE and a method (method 2) for switching the IoT mode according to the indication of the base station will be described in order. Method for Switching IoT Mode According to Request of UE—Method (1) The present method relates to a method for switching the IoT mode of the UE according to the request of the UE. Hereinafter, the IoT mode may also be expressed as an IoT operation mode. When the vehicle with the UE is in a state in which large-capacity communication with the base station is not required, such as the parking state, the UE may be required to switch to the IoT mode of a scheme capable of compensating larger coupling loss (i) in order to reduce power consumption of the UE or (ii) against a case where a surrounding environment is to be changed to an environment in which coupling loss is large, such as the underground parking lot in a standby mode. As an example, the UE which is under maintaining the access to the base station and communicates in the non-BL mode may switch an operation state to the non-BL CE mode or the eMTC mode in order to reduce the power consumption. As another example, the UE which is RRC-connected to and communicates with the base station in the eMTC mode or the non-BL CE mode may switch the operation state to the non-BL mode for transmission/reception of data having a larger capacity. As such, (i) when the UE senses a change a received signal sensitivity of a specific level or higher from a serving cell being accessed thereby, and as a result, a coverage enhancement level of change is required or (ii) when a required data transmission/reception capability is changed or a required battery consumption degree is changed, the UE may request the switch of the IoT mode to the base station through a specific physical channel according to a need. Here, the specific physical channel in which the UE requests switching of the IoT mode may be channels including PRACH, PUCCH, PUSCH, etc. The base station may transmit, to the UE, a response to the IoT mode switching request of the UE. In this case, the response of the base station may be accepting or rejecting the request of the UE. A response channel through which the base station transmits the response may become a channel such as PDCCH, PDSCH, etc. In particular, when the UE makes the IoT mode switching request through a random access channel (PRACH), the base station may transmit the corresponding response through the PDCCH/PDSCH through which a random access response (RAR) which is a response to a random access. When the UE receives the acceptance of the IoT mode switching from the base station, the UE may continue data transmission/reception by a target IoT mode requested by the UE. That is, the UE may perform data transmission/reception by applying data transmission/reception parameters (PDCCH search space, the number of repetitions of PDCCH/PDSCH/PUSCH, and a resource allocation bandwidth) corresponding to the target IoT mode. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, when the UE switches the IoT mode, an IoT mode before switching the IoT mode will be referred to as a source IoT mode. That is, the source IoT mode may mean a current operation mode of the UE. Further, the IoT mode which the UE intends to switch will be referred to as a target IoT mode. That is, the UE may operate in the target IoT mode after switching the operation mode. A method (proposal 1-1) in which the UE uses a channel corresponding to a source IoT mode in order to request the switching of the IoT mode and a method (proposal 1-2) in which the UE uses a channel corresponding to a target IoT mode in order to request the switching of the IoT mode will be described below. (Proposal 1-1) Mode Switching Request Through Channel Corresponding to Source IoT Mode The present proposal relates to a method in which the UE requests the mode switching to the base station through the channel corresponding to the source IoT mode. The channel corresponding to the source IoT mode may mean a physical channel (PRACH, PUCCH, PUSCH, etc.) to which a data transmission/reception parameter corresponding to the source IoT mode is applied. The data transmission/reception parameter corresponding to the source IoT mode may mean a parameter used for transmitting/receiving data in the source IoT mode. In particular, the present proposal may be effective if coupling loss supported by the source IoT mode is larger than that in the target IoT mode. That is, if the coupling loss supported by the source IoT mode is larger than that in the target IoT mode, when the UE transmits the IoT mode switching request to the base station through the physical channel of the source IoT mode, the base station may stably receive the IoT mode switching request. Further, when the UE switches the IoT mode, it may be safer that the UE performs a confirmation procedure with the base station in the source IoT mode than a case where the UE immediately applies the target IoT mode in a state in which the confirmation (or authentication) procedure between the base station and the UE is not made, and as a result, the present method may be effective. The UE requests switching from the source IoT mode to the target IoT mode through transmission of the physical channel corresponding to the source IoT mode. Here, the switching of the IoT mode may be performed through an RRC reconfiguration procedure which goes through a handshaking procedure of the request of the UE through the PUSCH and the accept/reject of the base station through the PDSCH. Alternatively, the switching of the IoT mode may be performed through an MAC layer procedure through transmission of the request of the UE through the PUSCH and implicit/explicit ACK/NACK of the base station for the corresponding request or performed through an MAC layer or physical layer request procedure through PUCCH transmission of the UE. Further, the switching of the IoT mode may be performed through a random access procedure following the request through the PRACH transmission of the UE and subsequent RAR transmission of the base station. Additionally, before the UE transmits the IoT mode switching request to the base station, the UE may determine whether to transmit the IoT mode switching request based on a specific criterion. More specifically, the UE may determine whether to transmit th IoT mode switching request based on at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), or signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) received from the base station. As an example of the criterion for determining whether to transmit the IoT mode switching request, the RSRP, the RSRQ, the SINR, the SNR, etc., may be equally applied even in a method or proposal to be described below. For example, when the UE operates in an operation mode supporting large coverage and the UE senses that measured RSRP and RSRQ values increase to specific thresholds or more, the UE may determine that the switching of the IoT mode is required. Thereafter, the UE may transmit the IoT mode switching request to the base station based on a determination result. Further, the UE may determine a specific IoT mode determined to be most appropriate among the IoT modes supported by the UE based on a specific criterion. The specific criterion may be to determine a threshold for the RSRP, a pathloss estimation value, etc., and select a specific IoT mode when the RSRP, the pathloss estimation value, etc., are equal to or more/less than a predetermined threshold. The base station may provide, to the UE, the threshold or a parameter for determining the threshold. In this case, the IoT mode switching request transmitted by the UE may include information for requesting operation mode switching to the specific IoT mode. As an example, the UE may determine the specific IoT mode determined to be most appropriate among the IoT modes supported by the UE based on whether the measured RSRP value is a specific threshold or more or less. In this case, the IoT mode switching request transmitted by the UE may include information for requesting operation mode switching to the specific IoT mode. The operation in which the UE determines the specific IoT mode based on the specific criterion may be equally or similarly applied even to embodiments described below. The base station may preconfigure, to the UE, a PUCCH or PRACH resource (time/frequency/code resource) separately configured for the IoT mode switching request in order to support the IoT mode switching request using the PUCCH or PRACH of the UE. The UE may request the IoT mode switching to the base station through the preconfigured PUCCH or PRACH resource. If the UE requests the IoT mode switching through the physical channel corresponding to the source IoT mode, when the UE receives an IoT mode switching accept signal from the base station, the UE may perform data transmission/reception to/from the base station by applying parameters corresponding to the target IoT mode after a specific time. The data transmission/reception parameter corresponding to the target IoT mode may mean a parameter used for transmitting/receiving data in the target IoT mode. In a process in which the UE requests the IoT mode switching to the base station and the base station responds to the request, the base station may perform a selection process for determining the target IoT mode suitable for the UE. As an example, when the UE requests the IoT mode switching through the PUCCH/PUSCH/PRACH, the base station may determine the IoT mode suitable for the UE based on a received strength of the PUCCH/PUSCH/PRACH received from the UE. Further, since the base station should operate multiple UEs accessing itself, the base station may select the IoT mode configured to the UE by considering a spare state of a time/frequency resource which may be distributed to the UEs, emergency of a service to be provide to each UE, etc. Thereafter, the base station may indicate to switch to the specific IoT mode in response to the request of the UE based on the determination result. Here, even though the IoT mode indicated by the base station is different from the target IoT mode requested by the UE, the UE may switch the operation mode to the IoT mode indicated by the base station. Further, the UE does not request the switch to the specific target IoT mode, but the UE may request the switching to a random IoT mode supporting a larger (or smaller) CE level to the base station. Thereafter, the UE may determine the target IoT mode according to the response of the base station. FIG.36is a flowchart showing an example of a method for switching IoT operation modes in a connected state in a wireless communication system proposed in the present disclosure. More specifically,FIG.36illustrates an example of a method in which the UE requests the IoT mode switching to the base station through the channel corresponding to the source IoT mode. The UE transmits, to the base station, the IoT mode switching request through the physical channel corresponding to the source IoT mode in the source IoT mode (S3610). The IoT mode switching request may include indication information for the target IoT mode requested by the UE. Next, the UE receives, from the base station, an IoT mode switching response which is a response to the IoT mode switching request (S3720). Here, the IoT mode switching response may indicate accept of the IoT mode switching or reject of the IoT mode switching. Based on the IoT mode switching response, the UE switches the IoT mode from the source IoT mode to the target IoT mode after a specific time (S3630). More specifically, when the IoT mode switching response accepts the UE to switch the IoT mode, the UE may switch the IoT mode from the source IoT mode to the target IoT mode after the specific time. Thereafter, the UE may perform data transmission/reception to/from the base station by applying parameters corresponding to the target IoT mode. On the contrary, when the IoT mode switching response indicates switching reject of the IoT mode, the UE may continue to operate in the source IoT mode without switching the IoT mode. (Proposal 1-2) Mode Switching Request Through Channel Corresponding to Target IoT Mode The present proposal relates to a method in which the UE requests the mode switching to the base station through the channel corresponding to the target IoT mode. The channel corresponding to the target IoT mode may mean a physical channel (PRACH, PUCCH, PUSCH, etc.) to which data transmission/reception parameter corresponding to the target IoT mode is applied. The data transmission/reception parameter corresponding to the target IoT mode may mean a parameter used for transmitting/receiving data in the target IoT mode. In particular, the present proposal may be effective when the UE senses a change of a communication environment late. For example, the UE operates in CE mode A in a specific communication environment and the communication environment is changed to a communication environment suitable for CE mode B, but the UE may sense the change of the communication environment after the communication environment is already changed. In this case, it may be more advantageous that the UE requests the IoT mode switching through the channel of CE mode B suitable for the changed communication environment than a case where the UE transmits the IoT mode switching request through the channel of CE mode A. That is, the reason is that the case of transmitting the IoT mode switching request through the channel of CE mode B has a higher IoT mode switching request receiving possibility of the base station than the case of transmitting the IoT mode switching request through the channel of CE mode A. For convenience of description, the method is described with an example of CE mode A/B, but the method proposed in the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The UE requests switching from the source IoT mode to the target IoT mode through transmission of the physical channel corresponding to the target IoT mode. Here, the switching of the IoT mode may be performed through an RRC reconfiguration procedure which goes through a handshaking procedure of the request of the UE through the PUSCH and the accept/reject of the base station through the PDSCH. Alternatively, the switching of the IoT mode may be performed through an MAC layer procedure through transmission of the request of the UE through the PUSCH and implicit/explicit ACK/NACK of the base station for the corresponding request or performed through an MAC layer or physical layer request procedure through PUCCH transmission of the UE. Further, the switching of the IoT mode may be performed through a random access procedure following the request through the PRACH transmission of the UE and subsequent RAR transmission of the base station. Additionally, before the UE transmits the IoT mode switching request to the base station, the UE may determine whether to transmit the IoT mode switching request based on a specific criterion. More specifically, the UE may determine whether to transmit th IoT mode switching request based on at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP) or reference signal received quality (RSRQ) received from the base station. For example, when the UE operates in an operation mode supporting large coverage and the UE senses that measured RSRP and RSRQ values increase to specific thresholds or more, the UE may determine that the switching of the IoT mode is required. Thereafter, the UE may transmit the IoT mode switching request to the base station based on a determination result. Further, the UE may determine a specific IoT mode determined to be most appropriate among the IoT modes supported by the UE based on the measured RSRP and RSRQ values. In this case, the IoT mode switching request transmitted by the UE may include information for requesting operation mode switching to the specific IoT mode. In the present proposal, the UE performs data transmission/reception to/from the base station by applying a parameter based on the source IoT mode before the IoT mode switching request. Therefore, the base station may separately configure, to the UE, a parameter and a resource corresponding to the target IoT mode of the physical channel which the UE is to use for the IOT mode switching request. Here, using the physical channel corresponding to the target IoT mode may be temporally limited as compared with the physical channel to which the source IoT mode is applied. Further, when the UE transmits the physical channel for requesting the IoT mode switching through the resource separately configured for the IoT mode switching request, the physical channel may have a higher priority than the transmission of the physical channel in the source IoT mode. That is, when the UE requests, to the base station, the IoT mode switching through the physical channel transmission in the target IoT mode on a specific resource, the UE may drop the physical channel transmission in the source IoT mode in a resource that is temporally overlapping with the specific resource or adjacent to the specific resource. As an example, the UE may request, to the base station, switching between CE modes by using a PRACH resource corresponding to a target CE mode. Here, the switching between the CE modes may be switching from the non-BL mode to the non-BL CE mode. Further, even though the UE requests the IoT mode switching through the PRACH resource, the UE is in a state of maintaining the access to the base station without losing UL time sync with the base station. Therefore, when the UE requests the IoT mode switching through the PRACH resource, a timing advance (TA) value applied to PRACH transmission of the UE may be generally not 0 which is a value when transmitting the PRACH, but a TA value applied when transmitting other physical channels in the related art. The other physical channels may mean a physical channel of the source IoT mode, and may be the PUSCH or PUCCH. That is, when the UE transmits the IoT mode switching request, the TA value applied to the physical channel transmission of the source IoT mode may be applied to the transmission of the IoT mode switching request. In the present proposal, when the UE requests the IoT mode switching to the base station through the physical channel corresponding to the target IoT mode, the UE receives the response to the IoT mode switching request from the base station through the PDCCH/PDSCH, and in this case, the UE may assume the PDCCH/PDSCH corresponding to the target IoT mode and attempt to receive the response of the base station. That is, the UE may request the IoT mode switching to the base station through the physical channel corresponding to the target IoT mode and the UE may attempt to receive the response of the base station through the physical channel corresponding to the target IoT mode. In other words, in order to receive the response of the base station, the UE may monitor the physical channel of the target IoT mode. The UE may receive the response of the base station through the physical channel corresponding to the target IoT mode requested by the UE regardless of the type of target IoT mode indicated by the response of the base station. As another example, since the target IoT mode indicated by the response of the base station and the target IoT mode requested by the UE may be different (that is, since the base station may transmit the response through a channel of a mode different from the target IoT mode requested by the UE), the UE may perform blind decoding for receiving the response of the base station for all channels corresponding to the IoT mode supportable thereby. As in the present proposal (Proposal 1-1), in the process in which the UE requests the IoT mode switching to the base station and the base station responds to the request, the base station may perform a selection process for determining the target IoT mode suitable for the UE. As an example, when the UE requests the IoT mode switching through the PUCCH/PUSCH/PRACH, the base station may determine the IoT mode suitable for the UE based on a received strength of the PUCCH/PUSCH/PRACH received from the UE. Further, since the base station should operate multiple UEs accessing itself, the base station may select the IoT mode configured to the UE by considering a spare state of a time/frequency resource which may be distributed to the UEs, emergency of a service to be provide to each UE, etc. Thereafter, the base station may indicate to switch to the specific IoT mode in response to the request of the UE based on the determination result. Here, even though the IoT mode indicated by the base station is different from the target IoT mode requested by the UE, the UE may switch the operation mode to the IoT mode indicated by the base station. FIG.37is a flowchart showing an example of a method for switching IoT operation modes in a connected state in a wireless communication system proposed in the present disclosure. More specifically,FIG.37illustrates an example of a method in which the UE requests the IoT mode switching to the base station through the channel corresponding to the target IoT mode. The UE transmits, to the base station, the IoT mode switching request through the physical channel corresponding to the target IoT mode in the source IoT mode (S3710). Next, the UE receives, from the base station, an IoT mode switching response which is a response to the IoT mode switching request (S3720). Here, the IoT mode switching response may indicate accept of the IoT mode switching or reject of the IoT mode switching. More specifically, when the IoT mode switching response accepts the UE to switch the IoT mode, the UE may perform the data transmission/reception and/from the base station by switching the IoT mode from the source IoT mode to the target IoT mode. On the contrary, when the IoT mode switching response rejects the switching of the IoT mode, the UE may continue to perform the data transmission/reception and/from the base station in the source IoT mode. Further, when the IoT mode switching response indicate a specific target IoT mode determined by the determination of the base station, the UE may perform the data transmission/reception and/from the base station by switching the IoT operation mode to the specific target IoT mode determined by the determination of the base station other than the target IoT mode requested thereby. Method for Switching IoT Mode According to Indication of Base Station—Method (2) The present method relates to a method for switching the IoT mode of the UE according to the indication of the base station. For a UE that establishes a connection with the base station (i.e., in the RRC connected state) and performs the data transmission/reception and/from the base station, the base station may detect that uplink received power from the UE is significantly lowered. Alternatively, the UE may report, to the base station, that the downlink received power from the base station is significantly lowered. In this case, the base station may indicate the UE to switch the IoT operation mode of the UE in a mode suitable for larger coupling loss. On the contrary, when the base station detects that uplink received power from the UE is significantly raised or the UE reports, to the base station, that the downlink received power from the base station is significantly raised, the base station may indicate the UE to switch the IoT operation mode in a mode suitable for smaller coupling loss. The base station may indicate the UE to switch the IoT mode through the PDCCH/PDSCH. The base station may indicate the UE to switch the IoT mode through an RRC reconfiguration procedure. Further, the base station may indicate the UE to follow which IoT mode through MAC or PDCCH signaling among a plurality of preconfigured IoT modes and parameters for the plurality of IoT modes. The base station may use two schemes for PDCCH/PDSCH transmission for indicating the IoT mode switching. That is, the base station may indicate the UE to switch the IoT mode through a method (proposal 2-1) for using the channel corresponding to the source IoT mode or a method (proposal 2-2) for using the channel corresponding to the target IoT mode. First, the method for indicating the UE to switch the IoT mode by using the channel corresponding to the source IoT mode will be described. (Proposal 2-1) Indicating IoT Mode Switching Based on Source IoT Mode The base station informs the UE of the target IoT mode through transmission of the PDCCH/PDSCH corresponding to the parameter of the source IoT mode in which a current UE operates to indicate the IoT mode switching. That is, the base station may indicate the UE which currently operates in the source IoT mode to switch the IoT mode to the target IoT mode through the PDCCH/PDSCH to which a parameter required for operating in the source IoT mode is applied. The base station may inform the UE of parameters required for operating in the target IoT mode of the UE, such as (i) the number of repetitions to be applied to PDCCH/PDSCH reception and PUCCH/PUSCH transmission of the UE and (ii) a coverage enhancement (CE) level. In order to inform the UE of the parameters required for operating in the target IoT mode of the UE, the base station may directly configure, to the UE, the parameters through the IoT mode switching indication. Further, the base station may inform the UE of which parameter set is to be applied in the target IoT mode among parameter sets preconfigured to the UE through an RRC configuration message. The UE that receives the IoT mode switching indication from the base station may transmit, to the base station, a response through the RACH/PUCCH/PUSCH. The response may also be expressed as an ‘IoT mode switching response’. The response of the UE may be transmitted to the base station based on the parameter of the source IoT mode. Thereafter, when the base station transmits, to the UE, (i) a message for confirming that the response of the UE is received or (ii) a physical channel, the UE may start operating in the target IoT mode after receiving the (i) message or (ii) physical channel. Further, the response of the UE which receives the IoT mode switching indication from the base station may be transmitted to the base station based on the parameter of the target IoT mode. The physical channel in which the response is transmitted may be configured to the UE through an RRC configuration, etc., in advance or included in an IoT mode switching indication message of the base station and transmitted to the UE. FIG.38is a flowchart showing an example of a method for switching IoT operation modes in a connected state in a wireless communication system proposed in the present disclosure. More specifically,FIG.38illustrates an example of a method in which the base station indicates, to the UE, the IoT mode switching through the channel corresponding to the source IoT mode. The channel corresponding to the source IoT mode may mean a channel to which the parameter required for operating in the source IoT mode is applied. The UE receives, from the base station, the IoT mode switching indication through the physical channel corresponding to the source IoT mode in the source IoT mode (S3810). The IoT mode switching indication may include indication information for the target IoT mode. Next, the UE transmits, to the base station, an IoT mode switching response which is a response to the IoT mode switching indication (S3820). The IoT mode switching response may be transmitted to the base station based on the parameter of the source IoT mode. Further, the IoT mode switching response may be transmitted to the base station based on the parameter of the target IoT mode. FIG.39is a flowchart showing another example of a method for switching IoT operation modes in a connected state in a wireless communication system proposed in the present disclosure. More specifically,FIG.39illustrates another example of a method in which the base station indicates, to the UE, the IoT mode switching through the channel corresponding to the source IoT mode. The UE receives, from the base station, the IoT mode switching indication through the physical channel corresponding to the source IoT mode in the source IoT mode (S3910). The IoT mode switching indication may include indication information for the target IoT mode. Next, the UE transmits, to the base station, an IoT mode switching response which is a response to the IoT mode switching indication (S3920). The IoT mode switching response may be transmitted to the base station based on the parameter of the source IoT mode. Further, the IoT mode switching response may be transmitted to the base station based on the parameter of the target IoT mode. Thereafter, the UE receives, from the base station, an IoT switching response confirmation for confirming that the base station receives the response of the UE (S3930). The IoT switching response indication may be (i) a message for confirming that the base station receives the response of the UE or (ii) a physical channel. Next, the UE switches the IoT operation mode from the source IoT mode to the target IoT mode after receiving the (i) message or (ii) physical channel (S3940). When the UE does not receive the IoT switching response confirmation from the base station, the UE may not switch the IoT mode. (Proposal 2-2) eNB Indicates IoT Mode Switching Based on Target IoT Mode The base station informs the UE of the target IoT mode through transmission of the PDCCH/PDSCH corresponding to the parameter of the target IoT mode to which the IoT mode of the UE is to be switched to indicate the IoT mode switching. That is, the base station may indicate the UE which currently operates in the source IoT mode to switch the IoT mode to the target IoT mode through the PDCCH/PDSCH to which a parameter required for operating in the target IoT mode is applied. The base station may inform the UE of a parameter to be applied to a physical channel indicating the IoT mode switching, and a time/frequency/code resource in advance through the RRC configuration, etc. Accordingly, the UE may monitor the PDCCH/PDSCH resource corresponding to the source IoT mode in which the UE currently operates, and additionally periodically monitor the PDCCH/PDSCH resource corresponding to the target IoT mode. In this case, it may be difficult that the UE simultaneously receives PDCCH/PDSCH based on different IoT modes. Accordingly, the UE may configure a time gap interval of not receiving the physical channel of the source IoT mode and monitor the physical channel of the target IoT mode in the gap interval. The base station may inform the UE of parameters required for operating in the target IoT mode of the UE, such as (i) the number of repetitions to be applied to PDCCH/PDSCH reception and PUCCH/PUSCH transmission of the UE and (ii) a coverage enhancement (CE) level. In order to inform the UE of the parameters required for operating in the target IoT mode of the UE, the base station may directly configure, to the UE, the parameters through the IoT mode switching indication. Further, the base station may inform the UE of which parameter set is to be applied in the target IoT mode among parameter sets preconfigured to the UE through an RRC configuration message. The UE that receives the IoT mode switching indication from the base station may transmit, to the base station, the response through the RACH/PUCCH/PUSCH. The response may also be expressed as an ‘IoT mode switching response’. The response of the UE may be transmitted to the base station based on the parameter of the source IoT mode. Thereafter, when the base station transmits, to the UE, (i) a message for confirming that the response of the UE is received or (ii) a physical channel, the UE may start operating in the target IoT mode after receiving the (i) message or (ii) physical channel. Further, the response of the UE which receives the IoT mode switching indication from the base station may be transmitted to the base station based on the parameter of the target IoT mode. The physical channel in which the response is transmitted may be configured to the UE through an RRC configuration, etc., in advance or included in an IoT mode switching indication message of the base station and transmitted to the UE. FIG.40is a flowchart showing an example of a method for switching IoT operation modes in a connected state in a wireless communication system proposed in the present disclosure. More specifically,FIG.40illustrates an example of a method in which the base station indicates, to the UE, the IoT mode switching through the channel corresponding to the target IoT mode. The channel corresponding to the target IoT mode may mean a channel to which the parameter required for operating in the target IoT mode is applied. The UE receives, from the base station, the IoT mode switching indication through the physical channel corresponding to the target IoT mode in the source IoT mode (S4010). The IoT mode switching indication may include indication information for the target IoT mode. Next, the UE transmits, to the base station, an IoT mode switching response which is a response to the IoT mode switching indication (S4020). The IoT mode switching response may be transmitted to the base station based on the parameter of the source IoT mode. Further, the IoT mode switching response may be transmitted to the base station based on the parameter of the target IoT mode. FIG.41is a flowchart showing another example of a method for switching IoT operation modes in a connected state in a wireless communication system proposed in the present disclosure. More specifically,FIG.41illustrates another example of a method in which the base station indicates, to the UE, the IoT mode switching through the channel corresponding to the target IoT mode. The UE receives, from the base station, the IoT mode switching indication through the physical channel corresponding to the target IoT mode in the source IoT mode (S4110). The IoT mode switching indication may include indication information for the target IoT mode. Next, the UE transmits, to the base station, an IoT mode switching response which is a response to the IoT mode switching indication (S4120). The IoT mode switching response may be transmitted to the base station based on the parameter of the source IoT mode. Further, the IoT mode switching response may be transmitted to the base station based on the parameter of the target IoT mode. Thereafter, the UE receives, from the base station, an IoT switching response confirmation for confirming that the base station receives the response of the UE (S4130). The IoT switching response indication may be (i) a message for confirming that the base station receives the response of the UE or (ii) a physical channel. Next, the UE switches the IoT operation mode from the source IoT mode to the target IoT mode after receiving the (i) message or (ii) physical channel (S4140). When the UE does not receive the IoT switching response confirmation from the base station, the UE may not switch the IoT mode. FIG.42is a flowchart showing an example an operation implemented in a UE for performing a method for switching IoT operation modes in a connected state in a wireless communication system proposed in the present disclosure. More specifically, in the method in which the UE switches the Internet of things (IoT) mode in the wireless communication system, the UE transmits, to the base station, an operation mode switching request for requesting switching of a source IoT mode which is a current operation mode of the UE through a specific physical channel in a radio resource control (RRC) connected state (S4210). Here, the specific physical channel may be one of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and physical random access channel (PRACH). Further, the operation mode switching request may include indication information indicating switching from the source IoT mode to a first target IoT mode. Further, the specific physical channel is a channel to which a parameter for data transmission/reception in the source IoT mode is applied. In this case, when the specific physical channel is one of the PUCCH and the PRACH, the specific physical channel may be scheduled on a specific resource which is separately configured for transmission of the operation mode switching request. Additionally, Further, the specific physical channel is a channel to which a parameter for data transmission/reception in the first target IoT mode is applied. In this case, the specific physical channel may be scheduled on a specific resource of the first target IoT mode which is configured separately for transmission of the operation mode switch request, and transmission through an uplink physical channel of the source IoT mode which is scheduled on a resource that is temporally overlapping with the specific resource or adjacent to the specific resource may be dropped. Further, when the specific physical channel is the PRACH, a timing advance (TA) value applied to transmission of the operation mode switch request may be the same as a TA value applied to an uplink physical channel of the source IoT mode. Further, the TA value applied to the uplink physical channel of the source IoT mode may be a value greater than or less than 0. Further, the operation mode switching response may be received through a downlink physical channel scheduled on a resource of the first target IoT mode, and the operation mode switching response may include indication information instructing for instructing a switch from the operation mode to a target IoT mode different from the first target IoT mode. Next, the UE receives, from the base station, an IoT mode switching response to the operation mode switching request (S4220). Here, when the operation mode switching response includes accept information indicating accept for the indication information, the specific target IoT mode may be the first target IoT mode. Further, when the operation mode switching response includes indication information indicating switching from the source IoT mode to a second target IoT mode, the second target IoT mode may be determined based on a received signal strength of the operation mode switching request. In this case, when the first target IoT mode and the second target IoT mode are different from each other, the specific target mode may be the second target mode. Last, the UE switches from the source IoT mode to a specific target IoT mode based on the operation mode switching response (S4230). Additionally, the UE may further perform an operation of receiving a reference signal from the base station, and determining whether to transmit the operation mode switching request based on the reference signal. The additional operation of the UE may be performed before step S4210, between steps4210and4230, after step S4230. FIG.43is a flowchart showing an example an operation implemented in a base station for performing a method for switching IoT operation modes in a connected state in a wireless communication system proposed in the present disclosure. More specifically, in the method in which the UE switches the Internet of things (IoT) mode in the wireless communication system, the base station receives, from the UE, an operation mode switching request for requesting switching of a source IoT mode which is a current operation mode of the UE through a specific physical channel in a radio resource control (RRC) connected state (S4310). Here, the specific physical channel may be one of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and physical random access channel (PRACH). Further, the operation mode switching request may include indication information indicating switching the source IoT mode to a first target IoT mode. Further, the specific physical channel is a channel to which a parameter for data transmission/reception in the source IoT mode is applied. In this case, when the specific physical channel is one of the PUCCH and the PRACH, the specific physical channel is scheduled on a specific resource which is separately configured for transmission of the operation mode switching request. Additionally, Further, the specific physical channel is a channel to which a parameter for data transmission/reception in the first target IoT mode is applied. In this case, the specific physical channel may be scheduled on a specific resource of the first target IoT mode which is configured separately for transmission of the operation mode switch request, and transmission through an uplink physical channel of the source IoT mode which is scheduled on a resource that is temporally overlapping with the specific resource or adjacent to the specific resource may be dropped. Further, when the specific physical channel is the PRACH, a timing advance (TA) value applied to transmission of the operation mode switch request may be the same as a TA value applied to an uplink physical channel of the source IoT mode. Further, the TA value applied to the uplink physical channel of the source IoT mode may be a value greater than or less than 0. Further, the operation mode switching response may be received through a downlink physical channel scheduled on a resource of the first target IoT mode, and the operation mode switching response may include indication information instructing for instructing a switch from the operation mode to a target IoT mode different from the first target IoT mode. Next, the base station transmits, from the UE, an IoT mode switching response to the operation mode switching request (S4320). Here, when the operation mode switching response includes accept information indicating accept for the indication information, the specific target IoT mode may be the first target IoT mode. Further, when the operation mode switching response includes indication information indicating switching the source IoT mode to a second target IoT mode, the second target IoT mode may be determined based on a received signal strength of the operation mode switching request. In this case, when the first target IoT mode and the second target IoT mode are different from each other, the specific target mode may be the second target mode. The UE may switch from the source IoT mode to a specific target IoT mode based on the operation mode switching response. Additionally, the base station may transmit the reference signal to the UE, and the UE may determine whether to transmit the operation mode switching request based on the reference signal. The additional operation of the base station may be performed before step S4310, between steps4310and4330, after step S4330. The aforementioned embodiments are achieved by combination of structural elements and features of the present disclosure in a predetermined manner. Each of the structural elements or features should be considered selectively unless specified separately. Each of the structural elements or features may be carried out without being combined with other structural elements or features. In addition, some structural elements and/or features may be combined with one another to constitute the embodiments of the present disclosure. The order of operations described in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be changed. Some structural elements or features of one embodiment may be included in another embodiment, or may be replaced with corresponding structural elements or features of another embodiment. Moreover, it is apparent that some claims referring to specific claims may be combined with another claims referring to the other claims other than the specific claims to constitute the embodiment or add new claims by means of amendment after the application is filed. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be achieved by various means, for example, hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. In a hardware configuration, the methods according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may be achieved by one or more ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), DSPs (Digital Signal Processors), DSPDs (Digital Signal Processing Devices), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, etc. In a firmware or software configuration, the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of a module, a procedure, a function, etc. Software code may be stored in the memory and executed by the processor. The memory may be located at the interior or exterior of the processor and may transmit data to and receive data from the processor via various known means. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The method for transmitting the uplink data with high reliability n the wireless communication system of the present disclosure is described based on an example in which the method is applied to the 3GPP NR system, but may be applied to various wireless communication systems in addition to the 3GPP NR system. | 200,223 |
11943818 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which illustrative embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Further, the singular forms and the articles “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms: includes, comprises, including and/or comprising, when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Further, it will be understood that when an element, including component or subsystem, is referred to and/or shown as being connected or coupled to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. A system100illustrated inFIG.1Ashows an aggregation node (AN)102and a plurality of high frequency network endpoint nodes (EN)104, e.g.,104-1,104-2, . . . , and104-n. The aggregation node102utilizes a phased array antenna system103to communicate with the endpoint nodes104-1-104-m. The antenna system preferably covers an azimuthal arc of between about 90 degrees and 180 degrees; with about 120 degrees currently being used. The operation of the phased array antenna system103then divides the antenna's area of coverage into multiple subsectors S1, S2, . . . , Sn. In the illustrated example, the subsectors are distributed in an azimuthal fan, with the subsectors adjoining one another. There are at least two subsectors; with some embodiments having four, eight or more subsectors. As a result, in typical implementations, each subsector covers an azimuthal arc of between possibly 8 degrees and 60 degrees. Currently, the subsector arc is between about 10 degrees and 25 degrees. The phased array antenna system103forms transmit and receive beams B1-Bn that correspond to each of the subsectors. In this way, the aggregation node102reduces interference between endpoint nodes, conserves power on the downlinks and reduces transmit power requirements by the endpoint nodes on the uplinks. The endpoint nodes EN are distributed within and thereby associated with different subsectors. For example, subscriber nodes104-1-104-3are associated with subsector S1, subscriber nodes104-4-104-6are associated with subsector S2, subscriber nodes104-7-104-8are associated with subsector S3, and subscriber nodes104-9to104-nare associated with subsector S4. In some embodiments, the phased array antenna system103produces a number of beams for the subscriber node/group of subscriber nodes in each subsector S1, S2, . . . , Sn. The phased array antenna system103typically includes one or more transmit phased array antennas T for transmitting data streams to the endpoint nodes104and one or more receive phased array antennas R for receiving data streams from the endpoint nodes104. Each endpoint node104communicates with the aggregation node102by means of an electronic assembly or system that provides a wireless ISP (internet service provider) handoff at the premises where the endpoint node104is installed. The endpoint node104is a residential or business fixed wireless endpoint that communicates with the aggregation node102via high frequency network (i.e., using high frequency communication links/radios). In some embodiments, the high frequency network operates between 10 and 300 GHz, or more commonly between about 20 and 60 GHz. Locally the endpoint node104, in a typical residential implementation, communicates with a modem/router or access point over possibly a WiFi tunnel (in the 2.4 or 5 GHz bands or the WiGig tri-band in the 2.4, 5 and 60 GHz bands, or IEEE 802.11 ac IEEE 802.11ad-2012) or via a wired connection (e.g., 1000BASE-T). This modem/router or access point then maintains the local area network at the subscriber's premises. In other cases, the endpoint node104itself maintains the wired and/or wireless LAN at the premises. It provides typical functions associated with LAN routers, such as Network Address Translation (NAT), guest networks, Parental Controls and other Access Restrictions, VPN Server and Client Support, Port Forwarding and UPnP, and DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server that automatically assigns IP addresses to network devices on the LAN. According to a preferred embodiment, the aggregation node includes multiple WiFi chipsets. These are commercially available systems of one or more chips that implement the IEEE 802.11 standard. These chipsets are capable of maintaining multiple spatial streams such as provided by the IEEE 802.11n or 802.11ac versions and follow-on versions of the standard. Each of these WiFi chipsets produce WiFi signals, which are signals that have been encoded according to the IEEE 802.11 standard. These WiFi signals are then upconverted and transmitted to the endpoint nodes104. In turn, the endpoint nodes transmit high frequency signals back, which signals are downconverted to WiFi signals at the conventional frequencies such as 2.4 or 5 GHz. These WiFi chipsets are allocated to their own, one or more, subsectors. Further, their WiFi signals are also preferably up and down converted to different carrier frequencies to minimize inter-chipset interference. Thus, for example, WiFi chipset “a” might communicate with nodes in subsectors S1and S2at frequency F1, whereas WiFi chipset “b” might communicate with nodes in subsectors S3and S4at frequency F2. FIG.1Billustrates the system100including the aggregation node102with its phased array antenna system103providing access to a plurality of multiple dwelling units (MDU)106(e.g.,106-1,106-2, . . .106-n). In this deployment example, the aggregation node102provides a wireless ISP handoff to the multiple dwelling units106-1,106-2,106-n. Each of these multiple dwelling units106in turn includes multiple housing units120such as apartments or condominiums (e.g.,120-1,120-2, . . . ,120-6) which typically separately subscribe to the Internet service. In general, MDU is a classification of housing where multiple separate housing units for residential inhabitants are contained within one building or several buildings within one complex (e.g., an apartment building). In the illustrated exemplary system100, each multiple dwelling unit MDU106(e.g.,106-1,106-2) has one or more endpoint nodes, called multiple dwelling unit nodes (MDNs). For example, multiple dwelling unit106-1has two MDNs, MDNa-1, MDNb-1. Likewise multiple dwelling unit106-2has two MDNs, MDNa-2, MDNb-2. The advantage of having a number of multiple dwelling nodes for each multiple dwelling unit is primarily redundancy. If one of the MDNs fails, then the second MDN can take over and provide the link to the aggregation node102. In the illustrated example, routers/switches SW-1, SW-2, SW-n are located between the MDNs for a particular multiple dwelling unit106-1,106-nand the cabling that provides the wired connections to each of the separate housing units120, for example. In general, the switches SW-1, SW-2, SW-n monitor the health of the MDNs for the MDU106and will switch off to a backup MDN in the case of the failure of the primary MDN. In other cases, the switches SW-1, SW-2, SW-n load balance bandwidth between the MDNs in a situation where the MDNs connect to different aggregation nodes102to provide increased data throughput. FIG.1Cshows another implementation of the system100, where MDNs (e.g., MDNa-1, MDNb-1) for the respective MDU106-1connect to different aggregation nodes102(e.g.,102-1,102-2) via separate high frequency links115. This can provide at least two advantages. Firstly, this arrangement provides redundancy against the failure of a particular aggregation node102. Secondly, throughput to and from the particular multiple dwelling unit106-1can also be improved. Here, a router/switch SW-1is located between the MDNs (MDNa-1, MDNb-1) and the cabling118-1. . .118-6that provides wired connections to each of the housing units120-1,120-2, . . . ,120-6. In some implementations, the MDNs (MDNa-1, MDNb-1) couple to the switch SW-1via Category 6 (cat 6) cabling116with Power over Ethernet (POE) or high power POE. As a result, the MDN are powered using a common cabling system with data transmission. Other mechanisms for coupling the MDNs to the SW-1can be deployed without departing from the scope of the invention. Each floor in the MDU106-1will typically have a telephone (wiring) closet (i.e., three closets125-1,125-2, and125-3for the three floors). In one implementation, Category 5e/category 6 cables117run between the telephone closets125-1,125-2, and125-3, although other cabling/coupling means can be utilized. In one example, a G.hn switch (e.g.,126-1,126-2,126-3) is installed in each telephone closet. G.hn is a specification for home networking that operates over three types of legacy wires: telephone wiring, coaxial cables, and power lines. The G.hn specification allows data rates of up to 1 Gbit/s. The G.hn switches126-1,126-2,126-3network over any of the supported wire types. In one implementation, the G.hn switches126-1,126-2,126-3network over telephone line pairs or Category 3 (cat 3) cable, or Category 5 (cat) cable that serves as the final cabling runs118-1. . .118-6to each unit120-1. . .120-6, although other networking means can be utilized. In the illustrated example, the LAN for each unit120-1. . .120-6is maintained by a wireless premises networking device/router110-1. . .110-6. FIG.2Ashows an example of the endpoint node104mounted at a window of a subscriber's premise, such as a residence. This illustrated subscriber endpoint node104is designed for installation in a window of the residence. It has an outdoor unit (ODU)202coupled to an indoor unit (IDU)204by a bridge unit206. This exemplary subscriber node104is mounted in the manner of a window air-conditioning unit. Specifically, with the illustrated double hung window200, the subscriber node104is placed on the windowsill and then the lower light of the double hung window200is closed against a sealing member208. In particular, a bottom rail210of the lower sash of the window200clamps the sealing member208against the window's sill. This leaves the IDU204on the inside of the subscriber's premises and the ODU202exposed on the outside of the subscriber's premises (i.e., outside the window200). The bridge unit206extends through the sealing member208and mechanically supports both the ODU202and the IDU204on the windowsill205. The bridge unit206provides structural support for the assembly, as well as acts as a conduit for electrical cables between the ODU202and the IDU204. In other embodiments, the IDU204and ODU202are connected by one or more cables, such as ribbon cables that extend under the closed window, but are otherwise physically separated, and can be detached from each other. The ODU202is configured for high frequency communications with the aggregation node102, and the IDU204is configured for WiFi communications (or wired connections or communications over another unlicensed band) with one or more devices inside the subscriber's premise. In some embodiments, the IDU204can communicate with a router access point or directly with one or more user devices at the subscriber's premise. The bridge unit206includes one or more interconnection cables for coupling the ODU202with the IDU204, and a DC power module, e.g., one that can be powered by a wall outlet. On the other hand, in still other embodiments, the subscriber nodes104are not separated into IDU204, ODU202, and bridge units206. Instead, in one case, all of the necessary electronics are contained within a single housing that is installed on an outer wall or window of the premises. In one specific example, the electronics of the ODU202and IDU204are contained in weatherproof case, which then magnetically mounts to the glass or glazing of a window. FIG.2Bshows the ODU202supported by the bridge unit206from a vantage point outside of the subscriber's premises. The ODU202is supported by the bridge unit206, which extends through the sealing member208. In other examples, the IDU204is located inside the subscriber's premises on the interior side of an outer wall or near an outer wall of the premises. The ODU202is located on an exterior side of the outer wall. For example, in some implementations, a hole is drilled through the outer wall such as in the attic of the premises. In other examples, a hole is drilled through the roof. Then, the ODU202is mounted on the outside. The IDU204is mounted on an adjacent interior surface of the roof or wall, such as mounted between rafters or studs. FIG.2Cis a diagram of the subscriber node104, in which the enclosure components of the subscriber node104are shown in phantom. The IDU204coupled to the ODU202via the bridge unit206that projects through the sealing member208. The IDU204includes a local wireless and/or wired module210that maintains a wireless or wired local area network for the subscriber's premises. In this case, the local wireless module210directly transmits and receives information with network devices at the subscriber's premise. In other cases, the local wireless module210transmits and receives information with a local wireless access point/router that then maintains the wireless local area network. The ODU202includes an extremely high frequency (EHF) communication module220(referred to hereinafter as an EHF module220) that has one or more integrated patch array antennas with transceivers. The EHF module220transmits and receives information in high frequency signals to and from the aggregation node102. A servo controlled motor unit222supports and mechanically steers the EHF module220(i.e., steers the patch array antennas of the EHF module220). A weather hardened enclosure (referred to as a “Radome”)224is designed for weather and UV protection (i.e., to protect the EHF module220and motor unit222from weather conditions) but is transparent to the high frequencies. In some embodiments, a heater (not shown) is also installed within the enclosure224. In some embodiments, the combination of the EHF module220and the servo controlled motor unit222can be referred to as a steerable antenna module. The servo controlled motor unit222preferably includes a 2-axis pan-tilt mount or gimbal that is controlled by one or more motors. The pan-tilt mount is used to rotate the EHF module220so that the integrated patch array antenna can be aligned for communicating with the aggregation node102. Specifically, the motor unit222rotates the EHF module220around the vertical axis or in an azimuth direction and further tips the EHF module220around a horizontal axis or in the elevation direction. This movement allows the integrated patch array antenna of the EHF module220to be pointed at the phased array antenna system103of the aggregation node102. This movement also allows a dynamic repositioning of the network without requiring site visits. For example, in the case of a failure of a particular aggregation node102or the addition of a new aggregation node102to the overall local network system (e.g., system100), the EHF module220will automatically re-point to a secondary/backup/new aggregation node102. Additionally, in the case of a site that is served by multiple aggregation nodes102, a separate path may be extended facilitating redundancy and enabling multi-path network coding to extend at the IP packet level. In some embodiments, the motors (e.g., stepper motors) of the motor unit222are controlled by a microcontroller unit (MCU) on the IDU204. In one example, the motor unit222is capable of moving the EHF module220to enable a 75 degree rotation or more in the azimuth direction and a+25 degree rotation or more in the elevation direction. FIG.3Ashows an example of a MDN endpoint node located on a roof top of an apartment building (e.g., MDU106). The MDN will communicate with the aggregation node102via high frequency links and couples with the switches (e.g., SW) to provide connectivity to each of the apartments in the apartment building106. FIG.3Bis a diagram of the enclosure mechanical arrangement of an exemplary MDN. The MDN includes similar components to the subscriber node104. In particular,FIG.3Bdepicts an EHF module310for the MDNa-1with a number of patch array antennas320for high frequency communication with the aggregation node102. These antennas are not actively steered, but a couple of separate patch array antennas are connected in parallel to increase gain, in this specific embodiment. In other embodiments, however, mechanically or electrically steered antennas are used. FIG.4Ais a block diagram of the endpoint node104, with its components or modules. The components are arranged between the IDU204, bridge unit206and ODU202. In this way, it is illustrative of the subscriber endpoint node discussed inFIG.2A-2C. That said the electronic construction is relevant to the MDU endpoint unit discussed inFIGS.3A and3B. In more detail, the IDU204contains electronic circuits, primarily on two printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) referred to as a WiFi modem module404and a diplexer module402. According to some embodiments, the WiFi modem module404is a printed circuit board assembly, which includes: 1) a 802.11ac 4×4 radio chipset for the internet (referred to herein as internet WiFi chipset410), 2) a 802.11 ac n×n chipset, such as, (3×3) radio chip set (referred to herein as local WiFi chipset412or local wireless module210) for establishing a wireless data connection to a wireless router or access point414via WiFi antennas416on the IDU204, and 3) and a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) radio418for system configuration. Preferably, the modem module404also include one or more wired and or optical network jacks such an optical data connections or RJ-45 jacks. In one embodiment, off-the-shelf printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) are used for the WiFi modem module404e.g., AP148with 2 radio PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) modules. In some embodiments, the local WiFi chipset412is mounted directly on the main PCB without interconnections through inter-board connectors. In some embodiments, a QCA9980 PCIe card that has a ˜5 GHz operating frequency is used for the internet WiFi chipset410. The diplexer module402includes a frequency diplexer for WiFi signals (e.g., 802.11ac signals) from the internet WiFi chipset410of the modem module404, clock sources for low frequency local oscillator (LO) signals, a global positioning system (GPS) receiver403, a 100 MHz reference synthesizer, and a microcontroller for managing various functions, e.g., local functions, functions of the EHF module220, and gimbal functions of the servo controlled motor unit222. The diplexer module402communicates with the internet WiFi chipset410and the EHF module220via the WiFi signals. The EHF module220is configured to: i) perform frequency conversions between intermediate frequencies (IF), WiFi or near WiFi frequencies (associated with the WiFi signals from the diplexer module402) and high frequencies, and ii) communicate with one or more aggregation nodes102at the high frequencies. The ODU202includes the EHF module220and the servo controlled motor unit222. The ODU202contains circuitries for the high frequency antennas, frequency conversion, amplifiers, and LNBs (low noise block down converters) on the EHF module220. The LNB is a combination of low-noise amplifier, frequency mixer, local oscillator and intermediate frequency amplifier. Extending through the bridge unit206are cables supporting two or more transmit intermediate frequency connections TXIF and cables supporting two or more receive intermediate frequency connections RXIF, electrical connections for control and status signals, power to the EHF module220, and a motor control harness between the diplexer module402and the servo controlled motor unit222. In some implementations, the radio on the modem module404has a TX Enable control signal that is asserted while the radio is transmitting. The diplexer module402buffers this signal, and passes it along to the EHF module220. In one embodiment, the radio on the modem module404also has a RX Enable control signal that is used to control the RX path of the SPDT (single pole double throw) switch between the radio and its antenna. The diplexer module402buffers this signal and passes it along to the EHF module220. In some implementations, T/R switches connect the unidirectional transmission lines on the diplexer module402to the bi-directional transmission lines used on the modem module404. FIG.4Bis a block diagram of the MDN version of the endpoint node. The various component/modules of the MDN are similar to and perform the same functions as modules of the subscriber node104as described inFIG.4A. Diplexer module422communicates with WiFi modem module424and the EHF module426via the WiFi signals (i.e., 802.11ac signals). The diplexer module422includes a frequency diplexer for the WiFi signals from the modem module424, clock sources for LO signals, GPS receiver423, a 100 MHz reference synthesizer, and a microcontroller for managing various functions, e.g., functions of the EHF module426, and gimbal functions of the motor unit428. The EHF module426performs frequency conversions between WiFi/IF frequencies and high frequencies and communicates with the aggregation node102at the high frequencies. An optional motor unit428is used to rotate the EHF module426so that patch array antennas associated with the EHF module426can be aligned for communicating with the aggregation node102. Specifically, the motor unit428rotates the EHF module426around the vertical axis or in an azimuth direction and further tips the EHF module426around a horizontal axis or in the elevation direction. This movement allows the patch array antennas of the EHF module426to be pointed at the phased array antenna system103of the aggregation node102. The modem module424of the MDU (e.g., MDU106-1) couples to the router/switch SW-1) via an Ethernet port430, a PoE splitter435, a lightning protector436and a PoE injector437. The PoE injector437is used to add PoE capability to existing cabling used in MDUs. The router/switch SW-1couples to one or more G.hn switches e.g.,126-1,126-2,126-3. Wired data connections are maintained between the G.hn switch and WiFi router110, where the WiFi router provides wireless connectivity for a number of network devices in a particular unit (e.g., apartment) of the MDU. FIG.5shows an exemplary frequency plan utilized for high frequency wireless communications between the aggregation node102and the subscriber nodes104. In the transmit direction, four RF WiFi signals from the internet WiFi chipset410are translated to IF signals in the 2-3.5 GHz range by the diplexer module402of the IDU204, for example. In the receive direction, the received high frequency signals are translated to the IF signals at the EHF module220. In particular, in the transmit direction, 4 MIMO outputs of the internet WiFi chipset410are multiplexed and compressed to two signals using the frequency plan. Specifically, at the diplexer module402, two outputs (e.g., Tx1and Tx2) are combined into IF1signal and two additional outputs (e.g., Tx3and Tx4) are combined into IF3signal. At the EHF module220, the IF1signal is upconverted into a high frequency signal HF1that is transmitted with a horizontal polarization (HTx) and the IF3signal is upconverted to a high frequency signal HF2that is transmitted with a vertical polarization (VTx). Similarly, in the receive direction and at the EHF module220, received high frequency signals are downconverted into IF signals IF2and IF4. These IF signals are converted to WiFi signals (e.g., Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, and Rx4) at the diplexer module402, where the WiFi signals can be decoded by the internet WiFi chipset410. Each signal path (transmit or receive) in the EHF module220passes two simultaneous carriers (e.g., IF1, IF3for transmit and IF2, IF4for receive) via horizontal and vertical polarization, where each carrier contains 802.11ac modulation of bandwidths (either 100 MHz or 50 MHz in total). FIGS.6A and6Bdepict a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the diplexer module402of the IDU204. In the transmit direction, multi spatial stream WiFi signals (e.g., four RF signals—Tx1, Tx2, Tx3, and Tx4, in the 5 GHz WiFi band) are received from the internet WiFi chipset410. These signals are down-converted using two local oscillator (LO) frequencies (IFLO1, IFLO2) and combined onto two signal streams (IF1, IF3). Tx1, Tx2, Tx3and Tx4have carrier frequencies in the 5 GHz band. They are mixed with IFLO1, IFLO2respectively followed by combining to yield diplexed signals IF1, IF3with frequencies at 1.4 GHz and 2.1 GHz. In more detail, as shown inFIG.6A, Tx1, Tx2signals from the internet WiFi chipset410are amplified in respective amplifiers616. They are then bandpass filtered by respective bandpass filters618to remove any out of band interference. Tx1, Tx2are then respectively mixed with local oscillator (LO) frequencies (IFLO1, IFLO2) in the mixers620. In some embodiments, IFLO1operates at 6.7 to 7.4 GHz, and IFLO2operates at 7.4-8.1 GHz. The outputs of the mixers620are filtered by respective bandpass filters622. These bandpass filters622pass the difference components of the mixers620. Y combiner624combines the outputs from the bandpass filters622to yield the signal IF1. A subsequent amplifier626and attenuator628adjust the level of the signal IF1. The attenuator628is used for automatic level control (ALC). There is programmable attenuation in each transmit (TX) path to provide the ALC function based on temperature and measured RF power from EHF module220. This function is performed by the local microcontroller unit MCU666(including direct control of the attenuators628). As shown inFIG.6B, Tx3, Tx4signals from the internet WiFi chipset410are similarly mixed and combined to produce IF3using local oscillator (LO) frequencies (IFLO1, IFLO2) in the mixers620. Attenuator628is similarly used for the ALC function. These two streams IF1and IF3are transmitted using different polarizations for diversity. These streams are sent to the EHF module220for: i) up-conversion to high frequency signals, ii) amplification, and iii) wireless transmission to the aggregation node102. In the receive direction, two diplexed streams (IF2, IF4) are converted into multi spatial stream WiFi signals (e.g, four RF signals—Rx1, Rx2, Rx3and Rx4) at the appropriate frequency for reception and decoding by the internet WiFi chipset410. Each receive path includes a splitter640followed by two different band-pass filters646,648followed by separate mixers652. Consider IF2signal as an example. As shown inFIG.6A, IF2signal is received at the diplexer module402. The signal ranges between 1.4-2.8 GHz in frequency. The signal is split in a Y splitter640. Two digital attenuators642are provided to adjust each divided signal. Switches644for each receive path are used depending on the mode of operation. For example, if the signal quality of the link between the aggregation node102and the subscriber node104is low, then more robust 40 MHz bandwidth channels are used. However, if the signal quality of the link is good/strong, then 80 MHz bandwidth modulation and channels are used. In other examples, 160 MHz channels are used. A 40 MHz bandwidth bandpass filter646is provided for each path. In addition, two 80 MHz bandwidth bandpass filters648are provided depending on the type of modulation used. The four switches644are set based on which of the two modulation modes is being used. The output from the selected bandpass filters for each path is amplified in two amplifiers650. The local oscillator (LO) frequencies (IFLO1, IFLO2) in the mixers652convert the 1.4-2.8 GHz IF2signal to the 5250-5350 MHz frequencies that are expected by the Internet WiFi chipset410. These 5 GHz frequencies are then provided on Rx1and Rx2through amplifiers656. A similar series of components640,642,644,646,648,650,652,654, and656convert IF4into Rx3and Rx4, as shown inFIG.6B. In some embodiments, the local oscillator (LO) frequencies (IFLO1, IFLO2) used by mixers620,652are generated from the GPS carrier signals using a synthesizer670(shown inFIG.6B) on the diplexer module402. In one embodiment, a 1.5 GHz GPS signal is received from the EHF module220. The GPS carrier is used to control/discipline a 100 MHz oscillator407. This 100 MHz signal is used to synchronize the various LO signals used on the diplexer module402and the EHF module220. In some embodiments, a GPS antenna (e.g., GPS antenna403of the diplexer module402or other GPS antenna provided at the EHF module220) is included that receives the 1.5 GHz GPS carrier. The diplexer module402provides two LO signals (IFLO1, IFLO2) frequency-locked to the 100 MHz reference signal. In one embodiment, one LO signal (e.g., IFLO1) is in the range of about 6.7-7.4 GHz, and the other LO signal (e.g., IFLO2) is equal to the first frequency plus 700 MHz (i.e., IFLO2is in the range of 7.4-8.1 GHz). This can be realized in multiple ways including two fully independent synthesizers, as will be appreciated. In some implementations, the programmable attenuators642in each RX path are controlled directly by the local MCU666, under direction of central processing unit (CPU) of the modem module404. The CPU of the modem module404uses RSSI (received signal strength indicator) information from the radio to make adjustments to RX gain. In some embodiments, the microcontroller (MCU)666is used to handle the real-time management of the diplexer module402, the EHF module220, and Gimbal functions of the motors associated with the motor unit222. In one implementation, the MCU666controls two servo motors associated with the motor unit222. The motors are controlled in order to maximize the received signal strength RSSI of the high frequency signals from the aggregation nodes. FIG.7shows an embodiment where WiFi signals from the internet WiFi chipset410/modem module404are directly communicated to the EHF module220without conversion to IF frequencies. On the transmit side, WiFi signals from a 2×2 WiFi 801.11 ac chipset are passed through an automatic level control (ALC) attenuator720and amplifier725prior to being communicated to the EHF module220for up-conversion to high frequency signals. On the receive side, at the EHF module220, the received high frequency signals are down-converted to WiFi signals that can be decoded by the WiFi chip set410. The WiFi signals from the EHF module220are amplified at amplifier730. The amplified signals are passed through a band pass filter735and an automatic gain control (AGC) attenuator740prior to being communicated to the WiFi chipset410. In some implementations, single pole double throw (SPDT) switches710enable transmission or reception control (whether radios are transmitting or receiving) based on Tx/Rx control signals from the WiFi chipset410. FIGS.8A and8Bshow exemplary views of the EHF module220of the ODU unit202. The EHF module220includes components for frequency conversion between WiFi/IF frequencies and high frequencies, one or more power amplifiers, a high frequency LO generation unit (from 100 MHz), a GPS antenna, transmission power detectors, and/or temperature sensors. The EHF module220manages the high frequency communications for the subscriber node104. It contains transmit and receive antennas and all up and down frequency conversion circuitry. There are possibly two or three printed circuit boards (PCBs): antenna PCB(s)/module810and RF circuitry EHF PCB812, as shown inFIG.8B, in one example. These boards are integrated into a brick-like assembly that is placed in the ODU202and mounted on the servo controlled motor unit222to form a steerable antenna module. As shown inFIG.8B(from top to bottom of figure), the EHF module220assembly includes: 1. Cover806that is transparent to the high frequencies. 2. Waveguide Backshort, Top808. 3. antenna PCB(s)/module810. 4. Central Chassis811. 5. EHF PCB812. 6. Waveguide Backshort, Bottom818. 7. Back Plate814. 8. Heat Sink816. The EHF PCB812is completely enclosed in an aluminum housing formed by, the back plate814and the central chassis811, except for provisions for cable entry. Connections between the antenna PCB(s)/module810and the EHF PCB812are accomplished using waveguide channels integrated into the central chassis component811as well as bottom aluminum backshorts818affixed to the bottom surface of the EHF PCB812and top aluminum backshorts808on the top surface of the antenna. PCB(s)/module810. The EHF PCB812contains all of the active circuitry used in the EHF module220. The various circuits and their functions are described below in detail with respect toFIGS.9A and9B. Some of the characteristics of one embodiment of the antenna PCB(s)/module810include the following: Operating frequency: 38.6 GHz-40.0 GHz, Number of ports: 4 (2 for vertical polarization/2 for horizontal polarization), and 3 dB beamwidth: 6 degrees (both in azimuth and elevation) FIGS.9A and9Billustrate a block diagram depicting some of the components of the EHF module220implemented on the EHF PCB812, for example. 1. Phase Locked Oscillator (PLO) or RFLO synthesizer952to create LO frequency signals/RFLO synthesizer signals (for example, RFLO at 9.3 GHz). In one embodiment, the 100 MegaHertz signal received from the disciplined 100 MHz clock generator407is converted to the RFLO synthesizer signal by driving the RFLO synthesizer952. 2. Two Tx paths with filtering (TxPath1, TxPath2). 3. Two Rx paths with image rejection (RxPath1, RxPath2). 4. Waveguide transitions960,964to transmit antennas and waveguide transitions962,966from the receive antennas. 5. Track and Hold Power Detectors918on the outputs of the power amps916to monitor Tx levels. 6. Power regulators975and/or inverters. 7. Microcontroller (MCU)980to monitor sensors, signal, and/or other circuits. 8. GPS antenna950, GPS amplifier970, and GPS signal pass-through972to the diplexer module402. The transmit paths (TxPath1, TxPath2), as depicted inFIG.9A, correspond to two polarizations. Each transmit path receives an IF signal (e.g., IF1or IF3inFIGS.6A and6B) from the diplexer module402. The IF signals are in the range of 1.4 GHz to 2.8 GHz. The IF signals are up-converted to high frequency signals (e.g., in a range of 38.6 GHz to 40 GHz) and amplified on the EHF PCB812. After amplification, the signal waveguide transitions960,964provide the signals to the antenna PCB(s)/module810via a short section of the waveguide. Specifically, IF1is received on to TxPath1. IF1is mixed in a mixer910with RFLO at 9.3 GHz, which is frequency quadrupled, in multiplier912prior to mixing. The mixer output is amplified in amplifier916. A power detector918detects the output power. The high frequency signal is then sent to the antenna PCB(s)/module810that transmits the high frequency signal with a horizontal polarization HTx. Similarly, IF3is received onto TxPath2. It is also mixed in a mixer910with RFLO at 9.3 GHz, which is frequency quadrupled in multiplier912prior to mixing. The mixer output is amplified in amplifier916. A second power detector918measures output power. The high frequency signal is then sent to the antenna PCB(s)/module810that transmits the high frequency signal with a vertical polarization VTx. A temperature sensor920is placed in proximity to each of the transmit paths TxPath1, TxPath2. The MCU980reads the monitored temperature that can be used for automatic level control (ALC) functions. Each high frequency transmit path (TxPath1, TxPath2) has a directional coupler922located immediately after the final power amplifier916. Each directional coupler922feeds the respective power detector918that converts the RF power to a DC voltage. The local MCU980performs ADC conversion on the two DC signals associated with each transmit path and calculates actual transmit power in dBm. The two receive paths (RxPath1, RxPath2), as depicted inFIGS.9A and9B, correspond to the two polarizations. Each receive signal (e.g., in a range of 38.6 GHz to 40 GHz) associated with the receive path is received from the antenna PCB(s)/module810via waveguide transitions962,966. The receive signal passes through to an LNB for frequency down conversion. The resulting IF signal (e.g., in a range of about 1.400 to 2.800 GHz) is transmitted over coax to the diplexer module402. In more detail, the HRx signal (i.e., high frequency signal with horizontal receive polarization) associated with RxPath1is amplified in an amplifier930. A mixer932mixes the signal with RFLO at 9.3 GHz which is frequency quadrupled in multiplier934prior to mixing. The resulting signal is sent through amplifier936. Similarly, the VRx signal (i.e., high frequency signal with vertical received polarization) associated with RxPath2in amplified in amplifier930. Mixer932mixes the signal with RFLO at 9.3 GHz which is frequency quadrupled in multiple934prior to mixing. The resulting signal is sent through amplifier936. In some embodiments, the signals obtained after amplification via amplifier936in the two receive paths (RxPath1, RxPath2) correspond to the IF2, IF4signals, depicted inFIGS.6A and6B, that are transmitted to and received by the diplexer module402. The local MCU980performs management and status checking of the various components of the EHF module220. The MCU980measures RF Transmit power via the power detectors918. In particular, two RF_POWER analog voltages from the power detectors918are measured. A serial (UART) connection is provided to the diplexer module402in the illustrated example. The MCU980detects, for each transmit path, the EHF temperature using temperature sensors920. The temperature information (and/or the power measurement information) can be used by the diplexer module402to implement the automatic level control (ALC) via the programmable attenuators628of the diplexer module402. The MCU980can also manage the TX_ENABLE signal from the internet WiFi chipset610. The MCU980also monitors the synthesizer operation of the RFLO synthesizer952via a PLL Lock Status (digital input). The local RFLO synthesizer952is synchronized to a 100 MHz reference signal (which, in turn is GPS disciplined). The RFLO synthesizer signal is used for all four mixers910,932(two on the transmit paths and two on the receive paths) found on the EHF PCB812. The EHF PCB812has local voltage regulators and a single DC input voltage. Two power control inputs are provided to the EHF PCB812. These inputs are used to power down the transmitters and/or receivers during periods when they are not needed (e.g., as decided by an outside controller). In some implementations, each transmit path receives WiFi signals (e.g., WiFi1and WiFi3) directly from the internet WiFi chipset410as described inFIG.7. In this scenario, the WiFi signals (e.g., in a range of 5250-5350 MHz) are up-converted to high frequency signals (in the range of 38.6 GHz to 40 GHz) and amplified on the EHF PCB812. In particular, on the transmit side, WiFi signals (WiFi1, WiFi3) are mixed in respective mixers910with RFLO signals (having an appropriate frequency for WiFi to high frequency conversion), which are frequency quadrupled, in multiplier912prior to mixing. The mixer outputs are amplified in respective amplifiers916. The respective high frequency signals (e.g., in a range of 38.6 GHz to 40 GHz) are then sent to the antenna PCB(s)/module810that transmits the high frequency signals with corresponding horizontal and vertical polarizations HTx, VTx. On the receive side, the high frequency signals associated with the two polarizations are received from the antenna PCB(s)/module810. These high frequency signals (e.g., in a range of 38.6 GHz to 40 GHz) are down-converted to WiFi signals (e.g., in a range of 5250-5350 MHz) without IF conversion. In particular, the high frequency signals associated with the two receive paths (RxPath1, RxPath2) are amplified in respective amplifiers930and mixed in respective mixers932(where the signals are mixed with RFLO signals having an appropriate frequency for high frequency to WiFi conversion). The resulting signals are amplified in respective amplifiers936prior to communication to the internet WiFi chipset410. FIGS.10A and10Bdepict exemplary patch antenna array modules810. FIG.10Ashows a first embodiment. Here, two 16×16 dual polarized serially fed patch array antennas1010,1012, on respective circuit boards, are placed side by side. The antenna module810also includes the GPS antenna950. The array columns of the patch array antennas1010,1012can be excited via a feed network (which is not shown in theFIG.10A). The overall size of printed circuit board module is approximately 80×185 mm. The antenna elements of each 16×16 patch array antenna1010,1012are printed on a substrate and the antenna output terminals are waveguide transitions (e.g., waveguide transitions960-966depicted inFIGS.9A and9B). FIG.10Bshows a second embodiment of the antenna module810. Here, the two 16×16 dual polarized serially fed patch array antennas1010,1012integrated on a single board substrate1014within the module810. FIG.11Ashows another example of a patch array antenna1010,1012. FIG.11Bshows a cross-sectional view of exemplary material layers of the patch array antennas1010,1012. The topmost patch layer1110is patterned with antenna patch elements of the patch array antennas1010,1012. The copper weight utilized for the patch layer1110is 0.5 ounce (oz) copper. A ground layer1116is sandwiched between two dielectric layers1112and1118. The dielectric layer1112has 20 mils thickness and the dielectric layer1118has 5 mils thickness. The copper weight utilized for the ground layer1116is 0.5 oz copper. A prepreg layer1114(e.g., a fastRise™ prepreg of 1.9 mils thickness) is provided between the dielectric layer1112and the ground layer1116to eliminate differential skew. A feed layer1120includes the feeding network/feed lines of the patch array antennas1010,1012. The copper weight utilized for the feed layer1120is 0.5 oz copper. For example,FIG.12Adepicts two 16×16 patch array antennas1010,1012being fed using a feeding network comprising feed lines1202in series with antenna patch elements. FIG.12Bdepicts two 16×16 patch array antennas1010,1012being fed using an aperture coupled feeding network such that fields on the feed lines1204(bottom layer) couples to the slots1206on the ground layer1116and then couples to the antenna patch elements on the patch layer1110. FIG.13shows the configuration in which the above two feeding techniques ofFIGS.12A and12Bare combined to excite vertical and horizontal polarized waves simultaneously for improved isolation. For example, the combined feeding technique at the EHF module220/antenna PCB810can be used to transmit high frequency signals with horizontal polarization HTx and vertical polarization VTx, simultaneously from the antennas1010,1012. FIGS.14A and14Billustrate embodiments for coupling patch antenna arrays320(as shown inFIG.3B) for a MDN (e.g., MDNa-1) of a MDU106-1, for example. FIG.14Aillustrates two patch antenna arrays1410,1420, where each patch antenna array has two polarization inputs/ports1415,1416. The ports1415,1416of the two patch antenna arrays1410,1420are coupled to a feed plate1430.FIG.14Billustrates a mechanism for connecting a small antenna with the big antenna using a distribution plate. Ports of a feed plate1430(for the two patch antenna arrays) are coupled to a distribution plate1450. The distribution plate1450splits/combines each port by 4 and routes to a larger array. In particular, the outputs of the distribution plate1450couple to an array of 8 patch antenna arrays320. Each port of the 8 patch antenna arrays320is coupled to the distribution plate1450. FIGS.15A and15Billustrate renderings of sector heads of the aggregation node102. In particular,FIG.15Aillustrates a 120-degree sector head aggregation node102, andFIG.15Billustrates a 3-sectorhead aggregation node102(without mounting hardware). The aggregation node102can be located on a roof top or other vertical assets or locations suitable for transmitting and receiving high frequency signals to and from multiple subscriber nodes104. In general, the aggregation nodes102are installed at locations similar to where cellular phone base station antennas are installed. Preferably, this would be a high point in a city or town or neighborhood. This point would provide open line-of-sight or near open line-of-sight path to each of the subscriber nodes104. In still another embodiment, the aggregation nodes102are mounted on top of telephone poles at the neighborhood level. In contrast, in cities, the aggregation nodes102in some cases are installed on tall buildings within neighborhoods. In the case of apartment buildings and possibly multiple apartment buildings, the aggregation nodes102can be positioned to have good line of sight access down streets so that there would be line of sight paths to subscriber nodes104installed as window units in each apartment in large apartment buildings. FIG.16illustrates two deployment examples for the aggregation node102. The first example corresponds to a multi-sector deployment for the aggregation node102and the second example corresponds to a single sector deployment for the aggregation node102. In either deployment example, the sector head(s)1602contains the bulk of the circuitry and devices that are used in the aggregation node102, which are provided in an enclosure. For example, the sector head(s)1602can include RF circuitry, modem circuitry, networking circuitry, DC power input, small form-factor pluggable modules (SFP+, SFP) and RS232 ports. The multi-sector deployment of the aggregation node102illustrates three sector heads1602-1,1602-2, and1602-3coupled to a multi-sector adaptor1604. Power and network cables are run between each sector head1602-1,1602-2,1602-3and the multi-sector adaptor1604. In some embodiments, the multi-sector adaptor1604provides power and networking support to two or more sector heads. The multi-sector adaptor1604functions as a power/network aggregator for the sector heads1602-1,1602-2, and1602-3. The multi-sector adaptor1604includes AC power input, DC power output, and small form-factor pluggable modules (e.g. SFP+ for the Internet and sector heads, and SFP for service). In the single-sector deployment, a single sector head1602is coupled to a single sector adaptor1606that provides power to the single sector head1602. FIG.17depicts components of an exemplary sector head1602in more detail. The sector head1602includes circuitry for performing conversions between i) WiFi and IF frequencies, and ii) IF and high frequencies. In particular, the sector head1602includes the following components and functions: 1) SH modem block1702includes 802.11ac radios (transceivers) chipsets, network processor(s), network interfaces, and system control circuitry. 2) SH diplexer block1704includes circuitry for performing up/down frequency conversion (i.e., WiFi to IF conversion and vice versa), duplexing, and filtering. The SH diplexer block1804also contains a LO network for distributing LO signals. 3) SH EHF block1706includes high frequency up/down converters (for performing IF to high frequency conversion and vice versa), beam forming network, RF switches, power amplifiers, LNBs, antennas, and a LO network for distributing LO signals. 4) SH LO generators block1708include high fidelity clock sources for up/down frequency conversion, where a GPS carrier is used to discipline a 100 MHz oscillator. The SH LO generators1708includes 3 clock sources, 3 agile oscillators and 1 fixed oscillator. The SH LO generators block1708generates IFLO signals for WiFi-IF conversion and RFLO signals for IF-high frequency conversion. 5) SH power system1710that includes DC power supplies and filtering as required for the other component blocks. FIG.18illustrates an exemplary schematic for the aggregation node102that utilizes the phased array antenna system103T,103R to communicate with multiple subscriber nodes104, where the phased array antenna system103divides an area of coverage into multiple subsectors. This aggregation node102uses a frequency plan as discussed in connection withFIG.5. The embodiment leverages multiuser MIMO WiFi chipsets (mu-MIMO) that implement the IEEE 802.11ac version of the standard and follow-on versions. Multi-user MIMO (mu-MIMO) relies on spatially distributed transmission resources. In particular, mu-MIMO WiFi chipsets encode information into and decode information from multi spatial stream WiFi signals associated with multiple users. Considering the transmission side/path, data to be transmitted (e.g., data from a fiber coaxial backhaul) is provided to two 4-port mu-MIMO WiFi chipsets1810a,1810b. These chipsets are implemented on a modem board at the SH modem block1702. The WiFi chipsets1810a,1810bproduce eight 5 to 6 GHz WiFi signals that are output on two signal paths Tx1, Tx2(i.e., 4 WiFi signals on Tx1and other 4 WiFi signals on Tx2). The WiFi signals are provided to two transmit diplexers1812a,1812bof the SH diplexer block1704. Each of the two transmit diplexers1812a,1812buses fixed local oscillator signals (IFLO1, IFLO2, IFLO3, IFLO4) to down-convert the 5 to 6 GHz WiFi signals to intermediate frequency (IF) signals (IF1, IF2, IF3, IF4) in a range of 2 to 3 GHz. In some implementations, the IFLO signals are in the range of 7.8-8.2 GHz. At each transmit diplexer, IF1and IF2signals are combined (summed/added) to form one IF signal, and IF3and IF4signals are combined to form another IF signal. In this way, the WiFi signal are multiplexed into to IF signals. Preferably the IF signals are offset by over 100 MHz, such as by 700 MHz. These combined IF signals from the two diplexers1812a,1812bare provided to four block-up convertors (BUCs)1814a,1814b,1814c,1814d. The BUCs1814a,1814b,1814c,1814dupconvert the combined IF signals to high frequency signals. The upconverted IF signals are provided as inputs to a phase control device that includes one or more 8-port Rotman lens1816a,1816b, in this specific implementation. The phase control device is configured to feed the transmit phased array antenna system103T (e.g., transmit antenna arrays1820a,1820bof the phased array antenna system) via a set of feedlines1819a,1819b. In particular, Rotman lens1816afeeds a horizontal polarization transmit antenna array1820aand Rotman lens1816bfeeds a vertical polarization transmit antenna array1820b. In some implementations, the upconverted IF signals are combined at a combiner associated with each Rotman lens1816a,1816b. The Rotman lens1816a,1816bvary phases of the upconverted high frequency signals to, in combination with the transmit antenna arrays1820a,1820b, steer the high frequency signals towards one or more subsectors in the area of coverage. Specifically, the upconverted signals are directed to different ports of the Rotman lens1816a,1816b. The Rotman lens1816a,1816bcontrol phases of the upconverted signals to be fed to an amplifier system and then to the transmit antenna arrays1820a,1820b. The amplifier system includes power amplifiers1818a,1818bprovided at output ports of the Rotman lens1816a,1816b. The amplifier system amplifies the feeds on the feedlines1819a,1819bto the transmit antenna arrays1820a,1820b. The BUCs1814a,1814b,1814c,1814duse a first frequency local oscillator signal RFLO1or a second frequency local oscillator signal RFLO2that are frequency shifted from each other by 380 MHz. These local oscillator signals are utilized to convert the IF signals received from the diplexers1812a,1812bto the high frequency signals for transmission. The center frequencies of the high frequency signals, however, are shifted with respect to each other. In more detail, BUCs1814a,1814creceive RFLO1and BUCs1814b,1814dreceive RFLO2. This arrangement results in the two WiFi chips sets operating at different center frequencies that are shifted with respect to each other in the high frequency signals for transmission. This occurs because the 4 Tx1signals from the first WiFi chipset1810aare routed from the TX diplexer1812bto BUCs1814b,1814d. In contrast, the 4 Tx2signals from the second WiFi chipset1810bare routed from the TX diplexer1812aand to BUCs1814a,1814c. A 100 megahertz signal received from GPS disciplined 100 MHz clock generator1870is converted to RFLO synthesizer signals (RFLO1, RFLO2) by driving a synthesizer module1880. Preferably, generator module1870and the synthesizer module1880also generate the IFLO signals used by the transmit diplexers1812a,1812bto convert WiFi signals to IF signals. In some implementations, the modules1870and1880are part of the SH LO generators block1708. The output ports of each of the two Rotman lenses1816a,1816bfeed into eight parallel amplifiers1818a,1818bfor each antenna array1820a,1820b. These eight amplifiers1818a,1818bfor each of the Rotman lenses1816a,1816bfeed into the two 8×16 antenna arrays1820aand1820b. However, 8×8, 8×10, 8×12, 8×18 antenna arrays might otherwise be selected depending on the link budget requirement. One of the transmit antenna arrays1820athen transmits the high frequency signals associated with Rotman lens1816awith a horizontal polarization and the other transmit antenna array1820btransmits the high frequency signals associated with Rotman lens1816bwith a vertical polarization. The polarization diversity can be achieved by adding a polarizing sheet in front of one of the antennas to rotate its emissions. On the receive side/path, two 8×16 receive antenna arrays1840a,1840bof the receive phased array antenna system103R are provided. 8×8, 8×10, 8×12, 8×18 antenna arrays might be used in the alternative, however. Antenna array1840aoperates at a horizontal polarization and the other antenna array1840boperates at a vertical polarization. The eight output ports of each of the two antenna arrays1840a,1840bfeed into the phase control device that includes one or more 8-port Rotman lens1842a,1842b. The Rotman lens phase control devices1842a,1842breceive high frequency signals from one or more subsectors and/or different directions associated with the one or more subsectors simultaneously. In particular, Rotman lens1842a,1842breceives high frequency signals at one or more of its input ports and controls the phases of the received signals to produce outputs to low noise block-down converters (LNBs)1844a,1844b,1844c,1844d, in which pairs of outputs corresponds to a unique subsector of the corresponding receive antenna array1840a,1840b. Each of the two Rotman lenses1842a,1842bproduces two outputs that feed into two LNBs. For example, Rotman lens1842afeeds into LNBs1844a,1844b, and Rotman lens1842bfeeds into LNBs1844c,1844d. Outputs from LNBs1844aand1844c(with different polarizations) correspond to one subsector and the outputs from LNBs1844band1844d(with different polarizations) correspond to another subsector. The received high frequency signals at receive antenna arrays1840a,1840bare combined at a combiner associated with each Rotman lens1842a,1842b. The combiner vectorially sums the received high frequency signals present at the antenna ports to be presented to one LNB input, such that each LNB1844a,1844b,1844c,1844dthen receives one formed beam. However, an alternative method of beamforming can be utilized where each signal is provided to the LNB and the outputs from the LNB can be summed to form a beam. The LNBs1844a,1844b,1844c,1844dalso use the local oscillator signals RFLO1and RFLO2generated by the synthesizer module1880for converting the high frequency signals received at the antenna arrays1840a,1840bto IF signals. Each subsector is handled by only one of the WiFi chipsets1810aor1810b, and also operates at a different center in the high frequencies. LNBs1844aand1844creceive RFLO1. In contrast, LNBs1844band1844dreceive RFLO2. As a result, despite the WiFi signals from two WiFi chipsets being upconverted and transmitting at different high frequency center frequencies, they are down-converted to the same IF frequencies. The four low noise block-down converters1844a,1844b,1844c,1844dfeed into two receive diplexers1846a,1846bof the SH diplexer block1704. The inputs to the diplexers1846a,1846bare the IF signals of 2 to 3 GHz. The diplexer demultiplexes the two offset signals in each IF signal. Specifically, receive diplexer1846aproduces four Rx2WiFi signals that will be processed by the second mu-MIMO WiFi chipset1810b. In contrast, receive diplexer1846bproduces four Rx1WiFi signals that will be processed by the first mu-MIMO WiFi chipset1810a. In some implementations, the block-up converters, the block-down converters, the Rotman lens on the transmit and receive side, the amplifiers on the transmit side, and the antenna arrays on the transmit and receive side are part of the SH EHF block1706discussed with reference toFIG.17, for example. FIG.19is an exemplary block diagram of the SH modem block1702used for the embodiment described inFIG.18. The SH modem block1702can implement a radio/processor architecture based on QCOM AP148 design, or other commercial AP design, such as by Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. The SH modem block1702includes the following components and functions. 1)1904: Two units of 4×4 802.11ac (i.e., 4×4 MIMO) Primary Radios1810a,1810bwith TX, RX, and PDET signals connected to coax connectors. The Primary Radios1810a,1810b(also referred to as WiFi chipsets herein) produce WiFi signals that are encoded according to the 802.11ac wireless networking standard. The two units of Primary Radios1810a,1810bare collectively configured to transmit/receive eight 5-6 GHz WiFi signals. In some embodiments, QCA9980 or Marvell 8964 can be used. The Primary Radios1810a,1810bare multiuser MIMO WiFi chipsets that encode/decode information associated with multiple users in multiple spatial streams. In other words, the WiFi signals carry information associated with multiple users simultaneously. While the current implementations utilizes the 802.11ac standard, other subsequent wireless networking standards in the 802.11 family can be employed to provide multiple spatial stream WiFi signals associated with multiple users using multiple antennas, as would be appreciated. Furthermore, while WiFi signals in the 5-6 GHz frequency band (according to the 802.11ac standard) are utilized by the current implementations, WiFi signals in other frequency bands associated with other standards in the 802.11 family can be used. 2) One 4×4 802.11ac (i.e., 4×4 MIMO) Secondary Radio1906for dedicated use as a spectrum analyzer. RX inputs are shared (divided) with the primary radios1904. In some embodiments, QCA9980 or Marvell 8964 can be used. 3) A first Network Processor1908configured to provide processing capabilities for the various functions of the SH modem block1702. In some embodiments, IPQ8064, which is a Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. internet processor, but another network processor can be used. 4) Auxiliary network processor1910is used for system control, and connects to the Ethernet (ETH) switch1912. In some embodiments, IPQ8064, or other network processor can be used. 5) ETH Switch1912is coupled to fiber optic or copper networking cables via small form factor pluggable transceivers (SPF). 6) Power System1914with input voltage at 12V, and all necessary rails are generated on-board. The physical interfaces of the SH modem block1702include various sockets, connectors and ports, as well as inputs/outputs from a microcontroller unit (MCU)1916that are used to control other modules in the sector head1602, such as SH EHF block1706, SH diplexer block1704, and SH LO generators block1708. In some implementations, the SH modem block1702is provided inside an EMI/EMC enclosure. FIG.20illustrates a block diagram of a transmit diplexer (for example, Tx diplexer1812a,1812bofFIG.18) of diplexer block1704, according to one embodiment. Four RF/WiFi signals are received at transmit diplexer1812afrom the modem block1702. In particular, transmit diplexer1812areceives four multi spatial stream WiFi signals from the 4-port transmit mu-MIMO WiFi chipset1810a. The four WiFi signals received have carrier frequencies in the 5170 MHz-5650 MHz range. At the transmit diplexer1812a, the four WiFi signals are down-converted using local oscillator frequencies (IFLO2, IFLO4) to yield intermediate frequency (IF) signals IF1, IF2, IF3, IF4. In detail, at transmit diplexer (e.g.,1812a), four WiFi signals (Tx2) from the second WiFi chipset1810bare amplified in respective amplifiers2020. They are then bandpass filtered by respective bandpass filters2022to remove any out of band interference. In mixers2024, the filtered signals are mixed with local oscillator frequencies (IFLO2, IFLO4) from the synthesizer module1880to generate the IF signals. In some implementations, the IFLO signals operate in the range of 7.8-8.2 GHz. The outputs of the mixers2024are filtered by respective bandpass filters2026. Amplifiers2028adjust the level of the intermediate frequency signals IF1, IF2, IF3, IF4. In some implementations, the intermediate frequency signals are in the 2.510-2.680 GHz range. Here, the IF signals are combined to yield two outputs for the block-up converters ofFIG.18. For example, IF and IF2signals are combined at summer2030to yield combined IF signal C-IF1and IF3and IF4signals are combined at summer2030to yield combined IF signal C-IF2. The two combined IF signals are provided as input to the block-up converters, where the two combined IF signals are converted to high frequency signals. As will be appreciated, the transmit diplexer1812bincludes the same components as and functions in a manner similar to transmit diplexer1812a. As such, the description ofFIG.20applies to transmit diplexer1812b, where the WiFi signals are mixed with local oscillator frequencies (IFLO1, IFLO3) at mixers2024to generate the IF signals. FIG.21illustrates a block diagram of a receive diplexer (e.g., Rx diplexer1846a,1846bofFIG.18) of diplexer block1704, according to one embodiment. Two IF signals are received at receive diplexer1846afrom the LNBs ofFIG.18. The IF signals are converted into multi spatial stream WiFi signals at the appropriate frequency for reception and decoding by the mu-MIMO WiFi chipset1810b. In some implementations, the IF signals are in the range of 2.510-2.680 GHz In detail, at receive diplexer1846a, two IF signals are received from the LNBs. The two IF signals are split into four IF signals (IF1, IF2, IF3, IF4) at splitter2105. The four IF signals are the converted to four WiFi signals (4Rx1for RX diplexer1846a,4Rx2for RX Diplexer1846b). Each IF signal goes through similar processing to yield the corresponding WiFi signals. The processing for the IF1signal is described below, however, the same description applies to other IF signals (IF2, IF3, IF4) as well. Considering the IF1signal, switches2110switch the IF1signal depending on the mode of operation. For example, if the signal quality of the link between the aggregation node102and subscriber node(s)104is low, then more robust 40 MHz bandwidth channels are used. Depending on the signal quality of the link, 80 MHz or 160 MHz bandwidth modulation and channels are used. The switches2110are set based on which of the modulation modes/schemes. Bandpass filters2120are provided for the respective the modulation scheme used. The output from the selected bandpass filter2120is amplified at amplifier2130. In some implementations, power detector2124measures the power of the signal output from the selected bandpass filter2120. Programmable attenuation is provided by attenuator2125based on the measured power. Output from the amplifier2130is provided to mixer2140that converts the IF1signal to a WiFi signal in the 5 GHz frequency range that is expected by the modem block1702. The mixer2140mixes the IF1signal with IFLO2from the synthesizer module1880to generate the WiFi signal. The WiFi signal is passed through filter2150and attenuator2160, and amplified by amplifier2170prior to being provided as output Rx2-1to the WiFi chipset1810a. Each of the other IF signals IF2, IF3, and IF4for the receive diplexer1846apass through similar components described with respect to IF1signal to generate respective WiFi signals Rx2-2, Rx2-3, Rx2-4for the modem block1702. In particular, IF2signal is mixed with IFLO2to generate WiFi signal Rx2-2, IF3signal is mixed with IFLO4to generate WiFi signal Rx2-3, and IF4signal is mixed with IFLO4to generate WiFi signal Rx2-4. As will be appreciated, the receive diplexer1846bincludes the same components as and functions in a manner similar to receive diplexer1846a. As such, the description ofFIG.21applies to receive diplexer1846b, where the WiFi signals are mixed with local oscillator frequencies (IFLO1, IFLO3) at mixers2140to generate the IF signals. FIG.22depicts components of another embodiment of the sector head1602in detail. The sector head1602, in this embodiment, includes circuitry for performing direct conversion between WiFi and high frequencies, without the intervening IF conversion. In particular, the sector head1602includes the following components and functions: 1) SH modem block2202includes 802.11ac radios (transceivers), network processor(s), network interfaces, and system control circuitry. The components of the SH modem block2202are similar to the modem block1702, except that two units of 8×8 802.11ac (i.e., 8×8 MIMO) Primary Radios or WiFi chipsets are used (as described below with respect toFIG.23). 2) SH EHF block2204includes high frequency up/down converters (for performing WiFi to high frequency conversion and vice versa), beam forming network, RF switches, power amplifiers, LNBs, antennas, and a LO network for distributing LO signals. 3) SH LO generators block2206include high fidelity clock sources for up/down frequency conversion, where a GPS carrier is used to discipline a 100 MHz oscillator. The SH LO generators block2206generates RFLO signals for WiFi-high frequency conversion. 4) SH power system2208that includes DC power supplies and filtering as required for the other component blocks. FIG.23shows an embodiment that leverages 8-port mu-MIMO WiFi chipsets2310a,2310bimplemented at the SH modem block2202. Specifically, on the transmit side, the 8-port mu-MIMO WiFi chipsets2310a,2310bfeed into four quad block-up convertors (BUCs)2312a,2312b,2312c,2312d. The WiFi signals from the WiFi chipsets are fed directly to the block-up converters without conversion to IF signals as in the case ofFIG.18. The block-up converters2312a,2312c, use local oscillator signal RFLO1the block-up converters2312b,2312duse local oscillator signals RFLO2. RFLO1and RFLO2are frequency shifted from each other by 380 MHz). The four quad block-up convertors (BUCs)2312a,2312b,2312c,2312dconvert WiFi signals to high frequency signals for transmission. The offset between RFLO1and RFLO2has the effect of offsetting the center frequency used to transmit and receive the high frequency signals used for the two mu-MIMO WiFi chipsets2310a,2310bwith respect to each other. This reduces interference between the two chipsets. In some implementations, a 100 megahertz signal received from GPS disciplined 100 MHz clock generator2370is converted to RFLO synthesizer signals (RFLO1, RFLO2) by driving a synthesizer module2380. Each BUC2312a,2312b,2312c,2312dproduces four outputs. Two BUCs (e.g.,2312a,2312b) provide eight inputs to a horizontal polarization Rotman lens2314a. The other two BUCs (e.g.,2312c,2312d) provide the eight inputs to the vertical polarization Rotman lens2314b. The Rotman lens2314a,2314bform the transmit side phase control device that functions in a manner similar to the phase control device ofFIG.18, except that each of the two Rotman lenses2314a,2314breceive eight inputs from the quad BUCs rather than two inputs. The eight output ports of each of the two Rotman lenses2314a,2314bfeed into eight parallel amplifiers2316a,2316bfor each antenna array2318a,2318b. The power amplifiers2316a,2316bform the amplifier system that functions in a manner similar to the amplifier system ofFIG.18. The amplifiers should form a matched-set group, in that they are factory aligned to be equivalent to each other with respect to insertion gain (dBS21) and insertion phase (angS21). These eight amplifiers2316a,2316bfor each of the Rotman lenses2314a,2314bfeed into two 8×16 antenna arrays2318aand2318b(i.e., transmit antenna arrays of the phased array antenna system103). It should be noted that 8×8, 8×10, 8×12, 8×18 arrays might be used, depending on the link budget requirements, to list a few examples. One of the transmit antenna arrays then transmits the high frequency signals associated with Rotman lens2314awith a horizontal polarization and the other transmit antenna array2318btransmits the high frequency signals associated with Rotman lens2314bwith a vertical polarization. The eight discrete inputs to each antenna array2318a,2318b, derived from the four 5 GHz WiFi signals from each of two WiFi chipsets2310a,2310b, result in eight subsectors that divide the 120 degree area coverage for the antenna arrays2318a,2318b. The subsectors for each of the antenna arrays2318aand2318bare coextensive with each other but separated by polarization. There is also frequency diversity between the first four subsectors of each of the antenna arrays2318a,2318band the last four subsectors. On the receive side, two 8×8 or 8×16 or other n×m receive antenna arrays2340a,2340bof the phased array antenna system103are provided. Antenna array2340aoperates at a horizontal polarization and the other antenna array2340boperates at a vertical polarization. The eight output ports of each of the two antenna arrays2340a,2340bfeed into two 8-port Rotman lens2342a,2342b. The Rotman lens2342a,2342bform the receive side phase control device that functions in a manner similar to the receive side phase control device ofFIG.18, except that each of the two Rotman lenses2342a,2342bproduce eight outputs that yield eight subsectors that divide the 120 degree area coverage for the two receive antenna arrays2340a,2340b. Each of these outputs corresponds to one of the eight subsectors of the receive antenna arrays2340a,2340b. These eight output feed into two 4-port (quad) low noise block-down converters (LNBs). For example, Rotman lens2342afeeds into Quad LNBs2344a,2344b, and Rotman lens2342bfeeds into Quad LNBs2344c,2344d. The Quad LNBs2344a,2344b,2344c,2344duse the local oscillator signals RFLO1and RFLO2for converting the high frequency signals received at the antenna arrays2340a,2340bto WiFi signals that are expected by/can be decoded by the two 8-port receive mu-MIMO WiFi chipsets2346a,2346bof the modem block2202. In some implementations, the block-up converters, the block-down converters, the Rotman lens on the transmit and receive side, the amplifiers on the transmit side, and the antenna arrays on the transmit and receive side are part of the SH EHF block2204. Since the subsectors are assigned to different WiFi chipsets2310a,2310b, they operate at different frequencies. As a result, quad LNBs2344a,2344c, receive RFLO1, whereas quad LNBs2344b,2344dreceive RFLO2. FIG.24illustrates a block diagram of a quad block-up converter (e.g., Quad BUC2312a) ofFIG.23, according to one embodiment. Four WiFi signals are received at each QuadBUC2312a-2312dfrom the modem block2202. In particular, each QuadBUC2312a-2312dreceives four multi spatial stream WiFi signals from the 8-port mu-MIMO WiFi chipsets2310a,2310b. The received WiFi signals have carrier frequencies in the 5170 MHz-5650 MHz range. At each QuadBUC2312a-2312d, the four WiFi signals are up-converted using local oscillator frequencies (RFLO1, RFLO2) to yield high frequency signals RF1, RF2, RF3, RF4. Considering QuadBUC2312a, the WiFi signals (Tx1-1to Tx1-4) on each path2401-2404are amplified by respective amplifiers2410. The amplified signals are passed to respective digital attenuators2412for adjusting the level of the WiFi signals. In some implementations, the amplified signals in path2401and2403are phase adjusted prior to being passed to the digital attenuators2412. After the signals are filtered by channel filters2414, the signals are mixed with oscillator frequency signals RFLO1or RFLO2(here RFLO1) at respective mixers M1-M4to upconvert the WiFi signals to high frequency signals. The RFLO1and RFLO2signals from the synthesizer module1880are distributed to the paths2401-2404via LO network2405. In some implementations, the outputs of the mixers are filtered (by respective filters2416) and amplified (by amplifiers2418) prior to be being output as high frequency signals RF1-RF4to the Rotman lens (e.g., Rotman lens2314a). As will be appreciated, each QuadBUC2312b-2312dincludes the same components as and functions in a manner similar to QuadBUC2312a. As such, the description ofFIG.24applies to QuadBUCs2312b-2312das well. It will be understood that the QuadBUC described inFIG.24can also be utilized to implement alternate embodiments. For example, the QuadBUC can be used to implement the embodiment described inFIG.18(e.g., BUCs1814a-1814d). In this embodiment, the QuadBUC is driven by one or more IF signals instead of WiFi signals, where the IF signals are up-converted to high frequency signals. In some embodiments, the QuadBUC can be driven by one IF signal. For example, one or more paths2401,2402can be driven by the IF signal (e.g., IF1/C-IF1). In other embodiments, the QuadBUC can be driven by two or more IF signals, as will be appreciated. This operation is achieved by control of the two switches S1, S2. FIG.25illustrates a block diagram of a quad block-down converter (e.g., Quad LNB2344a) ofFIG.23, according to one embodiment. Four high frequency signals (RF1-RF4) are received at each QuadLNB2344a-2344dfrom Rotman lens2342a,2342b. At each QuadLNB2344a-2344d, the four high frequency signals are down-converted using local oscillator frequencies (RFLO1or RFLO2) to yield WiFi signals that can be decoded by the 8-port receive mu-MIMO WiFi chipsets2346a,2346b. Considering QuadLNB2344a, the high frequency signals (RF1-RF4) on each path2501-2504are amplified by respective amplifiers2510prior to being mixed with oscillator frequency signals RFLO1. The amplified signals are mixed with RFLO1at respective mixers2520to downconvert the high frequency signals to the WiFi signals (Rx1-1-Rx1-4). The RFLO1and RFLO2signals from the synthesizer module2380are distributed to the paths2501-2504via LO network2505, that controls which of RFLO1and RFLO2is used for the LNB and further conditions the signals. The WiFi signals are filtered (by bandpass filters2530), amplified (by amplifiers2540), and phase adjusted (by phase shifters2550) prior to being output to the WiFi chipset2346a. As will be appreciated, each QuadLNB2344b-2344dincludes the same components as and functions in a manner similar to QuadLNB2344a. As such, the description ofFIG.25applies to QuadLNBs2344b-2344das well. It will be understood that the QuadLNB described inFIG.25can also be utilized to implement alternate embodiments. For example, the QuadLNB can be used to implement the embodiment described inFIG.18(e.g., LNBs1844a,1844b,1844c,1844d). In this embodiment, the QuadLNB outputs one or more IF signals instead of WiFi signals, where the IF signals are up-converted to WiFi signals. In some embodiments, the QuadLNB can be driven by one high frequency signal (RF1). For example, path2501can be driven by RF1(i.e., the formed beam ofFIG.18) to generate one IF signal (e.g., IF1) that is provided as input to receive diplexer1846a. In other embodiments, the QuadLNB can be driven by two or more RF signals to generate two or more IF signals, as will be appreciated. FIG.26illustrates a block diagram of the clock generator and the synthesizer module of the SH LO generators block1708,2206, according to one embodiment. A GPS signal (operating at approximately 1.5 GHz) is used to control/discipline a 100 MHz clock generator2610(including clock generators1870,2370). The 100 MHz reference signal from the clock generator2610is used by synthesizer module2620(including synthesizer modules1880,2380) to generate various LO signals that are used by transmit and receive diplexers, block-up converters, and block-down converters (depicted inFIGS.18and23, for example). Direct digital synthesizers2640of the synthesizer module2620are used to generate the LO signals (IFLO1, IFLO2, RFLO1, and RFLO2) based on the 100 MHz reference signal. In some implementations, IFLO1and IFLO2signals operating at 7.9-8.3 GHz frequencies are generated for the transmit and receive diplexers ofFIG.18. The RFLO1and RFLO2signals operating at 8.8 GHz-9.4 GHz frequencies are generated for the BUCs and LNBs ofFIG.18, and the QuadBUCs and QuadLNBs ofFIG.23. WhileFIG.22depicts two IFLO signals (IFLO1and IFLO2) being generated, it will be appreciated that additional IFLO signals (e.g., IFLO3and IFLO4depicted inFIG.18) can also be generated based on the 100 MHz reference signal. FIG.27shows the layout of the sector head including the antenna arrays used at the aggregation node102. Two receive (Rx) antenna arrays (e.g.,1840a,1840bofFIG.18or2340a,2340bofFIG.23) and two transmit (Tx) antenna arrays (e.g.,1820a,1820bofFIG.18or2318a,2318bofFIG.23) are layout in a 2 by 2 array. Each transmit antenna arrays is coupled to the respective amplifier system2722comprising power amplifiers (e.g.,1818a,1818bofFIG.18or2316a,2316bofFIG.23). Each receive antenna array is a slotted waveguide antenna array that has an integrated phase control device ( ). Each transmit antenna array is coupled to a separate phase control device. These phase control devices control the phase of the high frequency signals being transmitted from or received at the antenna arrays, thereby making the antenna arrays phased antenna arrays. FIGS.28A and28Bdepict an exemplary receive antenna array (e.g., antenna array2340a) and its associated frontplate2810. High frequency signals from endpoint nodes104are received at antenna apertures or slots2830of the receive antenna array2340a. These slots are arranged in a 8×8 array, in illustrated embodiment, although 8×8, 8×10, 8×12, 8×16, and 8×18 arrays are possible depending on the link budget requirements. The signals feed into integrated Rotman lens2342avia feedlines2825. Outputs from the Rotman lens2342aare provided to LNBs (e.g., QuadLNBs2344a-2344bofFIG.23) via feedlines2826. The receive antenna arrays2340b,1840a, and1840b(described with respect toFIGS.18and23) are implemented in the same manner as receive antenna array2340a. The receive antenna arrays2340a,2340bwith their integrated Rotman lenses2342a,2342bform the receive side of the phased array antenna system103inFIG.23. Similarly, the receive antenna arrays1840a,1840bwith their integrated Rotman lenses1842a,1842bform the receive side of the phased array antenna system103inFIG.18. Transmit antenna arrays2318a,2318b, with their corresponding Rotman lens2314a,2314band power amplifiers2316a,2316bform the transmit side of the phased array antenna system103ofFIG.23.FIGS.28C and28Ddepict an assembly of components forming one part of the transmit side of the phased array antenna system103ofFIG.23. For example,FIG.28Cshows the backplate of one transmit antenna array (e.g., antenna array2318a) coupled to the Rotman lens2314avia the amplifier system2722. The amplifier system2722is an 8 channel power amplifier assembly that includes 8 power amplifiers (e.g.,2316a). Rotman lens2314aelectronically steers the high frequency signals from BUCs (e.g., QuadBUCs2312a-2312b) by controlling the phase of the high frequency signals. Signals from the BUCs2312a,2312bare fed to the Rotman lens2314avia a 90 degrees waveguide bend2846. The Rotman lens2314ais configured to feed the transmit antenna array2318avia antenna and waveguide feedlines2845. Signals from the feedlines2845are then emitted from antenna slots2860of frontplate2850associated with the transmit antenna array2318a. These slots are arranged in an 8×8 array. This phase control by the Rotman lens2314acauses the signals from the transmit antenna array2318ato be emitted as beams to particular sub-sector(s) and/or specific endpoint node(s)104. The high frequency signals are amplified by the amplifier system2722prior to transmission. The transmit antenna arrays2318b,1820a, and1820b(described with respect toFIGS.18and23) are implemented in the same manner as transmit antenna array2318a. The transmit antenna arrays yield a steerable beam in the azimuth direction. That is, the beam can be steered by rotation around the z-axis and in the x-y plane. This is achieved by controlling the phase of the signal emitted from each of the eight vertically extending (extending in the direction of the z-axis) columns of slots. On the other hand, the beam is pancaked in the z-axis or elevation direction. This is achieved by setting the phase of the signal emitted from the rows of slots. In the illustrated embodiments, the receive and transmit antenna arrays are slotted waveguide antenna arrays, where the antenna slots2380,2860are half wavelength long openings across the waveguide channel to create horizontally polarized electromagnetic waves. While the antenna slots2830,2860associated with the receive and transmit antenna arrays are depicted as 8×8 arrays, other size arrays can be used depending on the link budget requirements. Different sizes of the same configuration like 8×8, 8×10, 8×12, 8×16, 8×18 can be used, such that the number of columns is often 8, but the number of rows varies. As the number of rows increase, more gain and directive radiation pattern is achieved. FIG.29illustrates a schematic diagram for high frequency transmission at a transmit antenna array (e.g. antenna array2318a), according to one a different embodiment. In some implementations, a high frequency signal (after up-conversion at a block-up converter) is amplified at a pre-amplifier2902and provided to a switch2904. The switch2904can be connected to any of the eight input ports of a Rotman lens2314a. By varying the phases of the signals propagating through the Rotmans lens2314a, the direction of the overall signal output can be controlled (as determined by the constructive and destructive interferences of the signals). Thus, a signal can be transmitted by a transmit antenna array2318aof the phased antenna array system103and directed to particular sub-sector(s) and/or specific endpoint node(s)104. Power amplifiers2316aare provided at each output port of the Rotman lens2314afor amplifying the signals. Although it is possible to have the power amplifiers at the input ports of the Rotman lens2314a, the configuration of the power amplifiers at the lens output ports results in lower loss compared to the other configuration (i.e., power amplifiers at lens inputs). Because these eight power amplifiers are meant to be used as a matched-set group, they are to be factory aligned to be equivalent to each other with respect to insertion gain (dBS21) and insertion phase (angS21). Electronic steering of a high frequency signal is performed by the Rotman lens2314a, which couples the high frequency signal from any one of the eight Rotman lens inputs to the corresponding transmitting antenna array. While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims. | 84,581 |
11943819 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Specific embodiments are described hereinafter in detail with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same symbols throughout the drawings, and duplicated explanations are omitted as necessary for the sake of clarity. Each of the embodiments described below may be used individually, or two or more of the embodiments may be appropriately combined with one another. These embodiments include novel features different from each other. Accordingly, these embodiments contribute to attaining objects or solving problems different from one another and also contribute to obtaining advantages different from one another. The following descriptions on the embodiments mainly focus on radio communication networks for CIoT including LTE eMTC and NB-IoT. However, these embodiments may also be applied to radio communication networks for another CIoT. First Embodiment FIG.2shows a configuration example of a radio communication network according to some embodiments including this embodiment. In the example shown inFIG.2, a UE1, which functions as a CIoT device, communicates with an application server4through a CIoT Radio Access Network (RAN)2and a Core Network (CN)3. The RAN2supports a plurality of communication architecture types for data packet transmission related to CIoT. The RAN2broadcasts, in a cell, information which explicitly or implicitly indicates the plurality of communication architecture types supported by the RAN2, by using a Master Information Block (MIB) or a System Information Block (SIB), for example. The UE1supports at least one of these communication architecture types. The CN3supports these communication architecture types. The CN3may include dedicated CNs (DCNs) each associated with a different one of the communication architecture types. In some implementations, the plurality of communication architecture types may include first and second communication architecture types corresponding respectively to the solutions 2 and 18, which are disclosed in Non-patent Literature 1. In the first communication architecture type, user data packets transmitted or received by the UE1are transferred through a control plane (e.g., NAS messages transmitted between the UE and an MME/C-SGN). In the first communication architecture type, the RAN2does not need to set up a DRB for data packet transmission for the UE1. Further, regarding the SRB used for data packet transmission, Access Stratum (AS) security (i.e., ciphering and deciphering of control plane data and integrity protection and integrity verification of control plane data) by the RAN2may be omitted. In other words, the processes of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer for the SRB used for the data packet transmission may be omitted. In this case, data packets for the UE1are encrypted and decrypted by the UE1and the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN) by using NAS security keys. In contrast to this, in the second communication architecture type, user data packets transmitted or received by the UE1are transferred through a user plane (e.g., an EPS bearer including a DRB and a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) tunnel). The UE1may support either or both of LTE eMTC and NB-IoT. In other words, the UE1may support either or both of CIoT RAT (NB-IoT RAT) and LTE RAT (eMTC). The RAN2may include either or both of a CIoT BS supporting the CIoT RAT (NB-IoT RAT) and an eNB supporting the LTE RAT (eMTC). The CN3may include a C-SGN, or an MME and an S-GW, or both of them. Further, the CN3may include other network entities such as a P-GW, a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), and a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF). FIG.3is a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the procedure shown inFIG.3, a communication architecture type to be used for data packet transmission for the UE1is determined during a procedure for attaching the UE1to the CN3. The UE1determines a communication architecture type to be used for data packet transmission for the UE1and transmits to the RAN2an RRC Connection Request message including an establishment cause explicitly or implicitly indicating the determined communication architecture type. In step301, the UE1determines (or selects) a communication architecture type to be used for data packet transmission for the UE1. In some implementations, the UE1may select a communication architecture type to be used based on a default UE capability that has been preconfigured in the UE1. Additionally or alternatively, the UE1may measure reference signal received power (RSRP) from the RAN2or an estimated propagation loss between the UE1and the RAN2(CIoT-BS/eNB) and select a communication architecture type to be used based on the measured RSRP or propagation loss. Additionally or alternatively, the UE1may determine a necessary coverage enhancement (CE) level based on the measured RSRP or propagation loss and select a communication architecture type based on the determined CE level. Additionally or alternatively, the UE1may select a communication architecture type according to a data transmission trigger (e.g., mo-Data, mo-ExceptionData, mt-Access, or mo-Signaling). Additionally or alternatively, the UE1may select a communication architecture type according to the type of an application that performs data packet transmission. In step302, the UE1starts a random access procedure. That is, the UE1transmits a random access preamble (i.e., a Random Access Channel (RACH) preamble) to the RAN2and receives a random access response (RAR) message from the RAN2. In step303, the UE1transmits a third message (Msg3) in the random access procedure (i.e., an RRC Connection Request message) to the RAN2. This RRC Connection Request message is transmitted by an SRB0on a Common Control Channel (CCCH). The RRC Connection Request message includes an establishment cause information element explicitly or implicitly indicating a communication architecture type determined (or selected) by the UE1. Regarding the establishment cause indicating the communication architecture type, for example, one of the ordinary establishment causes (e.g., mo-Data, mo-ExceptionData, mo-Signaling, mt-Access) may be used for indicating the first (or second) communication architecture type, and a specific establishment cause may be used for indicating the second (or first) communication architecture type. When a specific establishment cause is used for the first communication architecture type, it may be, for example, information (e.g., mo-DataOverNAS, mo-ExceptionDataOverNAS, mo-SignalingDataOverNAS, or Mt-AccessDataOverNAS) indicating a communication architecture type in which user data is transmitted by a NAS message. When a specific establishment cause is used for the second communication architecture type, it may be, for example, information (e.g., mo-DataUP, Mo-ExceptionDataUP, Mo-SignalingUP, or Mt-AccessUP) indicating that a DRB is configured and user data is transmitted through a User Plane (UP) (an AS message). In step304, upon receiving the RRC Connection Request message, the RAN2transmits an RRC Connection Setup message to the UE1. This RRC Connection Setup message is transmitted by an SRB0on a CCCH. The RRC Connection Setup message includes configuration information regarding an SRB1and allows subsequent signaling to use a Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH). The RRC Connection Setup message may indicate a need for a PDCP. More specifically, the RRC Connection Setup message may indicate a need for a PDCP (e.g., whether a PDCP is used similar as in a conventional manner) to the UE1. In some implementations, flag information indicating a need for a PDCP may be included in a RadioResourceConfigDedicated IE or another IE included in the RRC Connection Setup message. In some implementations, a PDCP configuration (pdcp-Config) included in the RRC Connection Setup message may indicate a need for a PDCP. This PDCP configuration may include flag information indicating a need for a PDCP (e.g., whether a PDCP is used similar as in a conventional manner) to the UE1. The PDCP configuration may include information indicating whether a default configuration of the PDCP Config of the SRB1should be enabled to the UE1. The PDCP configuration may include a specific PDCP Config (e.g., RLC-SAP and PDCP Sequence Number (SN) length applied to the SRB1). Alternatively, the RAN2may determine whether to include the PDCP configuration (pdcp-Config) in the RRC Connection Setup message depending on the communication architecture type determined by the UE1. Specifically, if the UE1selects the second communication architecture type, the RAN2may incorporate the PDCP configuration for the SRB1into the RRC Connection Setup message. In step305, the UE1transmits an RRC Connection Setup Complete message to the RAN2. This RRC Connection Setup Complete message is transmitted by an SRB1on a DCCH. The RRC Connection Setup Complete message carries an initial NAS message. Note that sinceFIG.3shows the attach procedure, the initial NAS message is an Attach Request message. This Attach Request message includes an EPS attach type Information Element (IE) set to “CIoT Attach”. The RAN2receives the RRC Connection Setup Complete message from the UE1and sends the initial NAS message (i.e., the Attach Request message) retrieved from the RRC Connection Setup Complete message to the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN) using an S1AP: Initial UE message. The Initial NAS message (i.e., Attach Request message) is embedded into a NAS-Protocol Data Unit (PDU) Information Element (IE) of the S1AP: Initial UE Message. The RAN2may incorporate an information element indicating the communication architecture type determined (or selected) by the UE1into the S1AP: Initial UE message. The RAN2may select, from DCNs in the CN3, a DCN corresponding to the communication architecture type determined by the UE1and send the S1AP: Initial UE message carrying the Initial NAS message (i.e., the Attach Request message) to the selected DCN. In step306, the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN) performs an authentication and security procedure and thereby sets up NAS security. A downlink NAS message(s) necessary for the authentication and security procedure (i.e., an Authentication Request and a NAS Security Mode Command) is transmitted by an RRC: DL Information Transfer message on the SRB1. Similarly, an uplink NAS message(s) necessary for the authentication and security procedure (i.e., an Authentication Response and a NAS Security Mode Complete) is transmitted by an RRC: UL Information Transfer message on the SRB1. In step307, the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN) sends a NAS: Attach Accept message to the UE1. The setup of a session for the UE1(e.g., a DRB and an S1 bearer) is not needed. Accordingly, the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN) does not need to send an S1AP: Initial Context Setup Request message to the RAN2(e.g., CIoT-BS or eNB). Thus, the Attach Accept message may be transmitted from the CN3to the RAN2by an S1AP: Downlink NAS transport message. The RAN2transmits the Attach Accept message to the UE1on the SRB1using an RRC: DL Information Transfer message. The UE1receives the Attach Accept message from the CN3through the RAN2. The Attach Accept message may indicate a transfer data type (e.g., IP, non-IP, or SMS) and a UE address (e.g., IP address). Upon receiving the Attach Accept message, the UE1transmits a NAS: Attach Complete message to the CN3. This Attach Complete message is transmitted to the RAN2by an RRC: UL Information Transfer message on the SRB1. The RAN2forwards the received Attach Complete message to the CN3using an S1AP: Uplink NAS transport message. In step308, the RAN2transmits an RRC Connection Release message to the UE1on the SRB1. The CN3may request the RAN2to release the RRC connection with the UE1by sending an S1AP: S1 UE Context Release Command message to the RAN2. Upon receiving the RRC Connection Release message, the UE1transitions from RRC-Connected mode to RRC-Idle mode. For the UE1serving as a CIoT device, another suspension mode or state different from the existing RRC-idle mode may be defined. Thus, upon receiving the RRC Connection Release message, the UE1may enter RRC-Idle mode or the other suspension mode. The other suspension mode or state may be used in the second communication architecture type in order to retain information about the RRC connection (e.g., an Access Stratum Security Context, bearer related information, and L2/1 parameters). The Attach Accept message in step307, the RRC Connection Release message in step308, or another downlink NAS message transmitted from the CN3to the UE1may explicitly or implicitly indicate a communication architecture type to be used for the UE1(e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type). In step309, the UE1records (stores) the communication architecture type configured during the attach procedure. The procedure shown inFIG.3may be modified as follows. The UE1may include, in addition to the ordinary establishment cause, another information element in the RRC Connection Request message (step303) to indicate the communication architecture type. This information element may be, for example, an information element indicating which of the first and second communication architecture types the UE1has selected (e.g., a Selected Architecture Type or an Applied Architecture Type). For example, the UE1may set the value of the information element to “DataOverNAS (DONAS)” or “Type 1” in order to indicate the first communication architecture type, and set the value of the information element to “RRC-Suspend” or “Type 2” in order to indicate the second communication architecture type. For example, the above-described information element may be defined as “SelectedArcType ENUMERATED {type1, type2} (or, {DataOverNAS, rrc-Suspend})”. Alternatively, the information element may be flag information indicating that the first communication architecture type has been selected (e.g., SelectedArcType ENUMERATED {type1}, or ArcType1 ENUMERATED {true}). Alternatively, the information element may be flag information indicating that the second communication architecture type has been selected (e.g., SelectedArcType ENUMERATED {type2}, or ArcType2 ENUMERATED {true}). If the UE1implements a method of transmitting flag information indicating that one of the two communication architecture types (e.g., the second communication architecture type) has been selected, use of the other communication architecture type (e.g., the first communication architecture type) by the UE1may be defined as a default configuration (or a basic configuration). Thus, when the UE1does not transmit the flag information, it implicitly indicates that the UE1has selected the default communication architecture type. That is, if the RAN2does not receive the flag information, the RAN2recognizes that the UE1has selected the default communication architecture type. The procedure shown inFIG.3may be further modified as follows. The RAN2may use a communication architecture type different from the communication architecture type indicated by the UE1in the RRC Connection Request message (step303). In this case, the RAN2may notify the UE1of this different communication architecture type (e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type) using the RRC Connection Setup message (step304). Alternatively, the RAN2may transmit to the UE1in step304an RRC Connection Reject message, instead of the RRC Connection Setup message, and notify the UE1of the different communication architecture type using this message. Upon receiving the notification of the different communication architecture type, the UE1may terminate the current attach procedure and restart a new RRC connection setup procedure. Alternatively, the UE1may continue the current attach procedure and the RRC connection setup procedure in accordance with the notification of the different communication architecture type transmitted from the RAN2. When the second communication architecture type, in which user data packets are transmitted through the user plane (e.g., an EPS bearer including a DRB and a GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) tunnel), is used for the UE1, the CN3may incorporate the NAS: Attach Accept message into an S1AP: Initial Context Setup Request message and transmit them to the RAN2in step307. This S1AP: Initial Context Setup Request message includes a security key (KeNB) and a UE Security Algorithm used for the UE1. The RAN2may perform an AS security setup in accordance with the received security key (KeNB) and UE Security Algorithm. The AS security setup may be performed before or after the transmission of the NAS: Attach Accept message to the UE1. AlthoughFIG.3shows Mobile Originated (MO) data transmission, a procedure similar to that shown inFIG.3may be applied to Mobile Terminated (MT) data transmission. In the example shown inFIG.3, the UE1determines a communication architecture type to be used for data packet transmission for the UE1and transmits to the RAN2an RRC Connection Request message including an establishment cause or another information element indicating the determined communication architecture type. Using the establishment cause or another information element included in the RRC Connection Request message to indicate the communication architecture type determined by the UE1provides the following advantages, for example. Firstly, it allows the UE1to transmit a communication architecture type determined by the UE1as AS (RRC) information, rather than as NAS information. Therefore, the RAN2can recognize the communication architecture type desired by the UE1, and thus the RAN2can perform a process (e.g., selecting a CN (DCN)) according to the communication architecture type desired by the UE1. Secondly, it allows the UE1to notify the RAN2of the communication architecture type determined by the UE1, before establishing an RRC connection. Thus, the RAN2can reduce the number of signaling messages required to set up an RRC connection according to the communication architecture type determined by the UE1. Second Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. This embodiment provides another communication procedure involving determination (or selection) of communication architecture used for the UE1.FIG.4is a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the procedure shown inFIG.4, a communication architecture type to be used for data packet transmission for the UE1is determined during a procedure for attaching the UE1to the CN3. The UE1determines a communication architecture type to be used for data packet transmission for the UE1and transmits to the RAN2an RRC Connection Setup Complete message including an information element about the determined communication architecture type, which explicitly or implicitly indicates the determined communication architecture type. Steps401to404are similar to steps301to304shown inFIG.3. However, an RRC Connection Request message in step403does not indicate the communication architecture type determined (selected) by the UE1. In step405, the UE1transmits an RRC Connection Setup Complete message to the RAN2. This RRC Connection Setup Complete message is transmitted by an SRB1on a DCCH. The RRC Connection Setup Complete message includes an initial NAS message and a UE assistance Information Element (IE) about the communication architecture type determined by the UE1, which explicitly or implicitly indicates the communication architecture type. The UE assistance IE may be NAS information or may be AS (RRC) information. When the UE assistance IE is AS (RRC) information, depending on the communication architecture type determined by the UE1, the RAN2may transmit a PDCP configuration (pdcp-Config) for the SRB1to the UE1or may notify the UE1that a PDCP layer is used (applied). Specifically, the RAN2may transmit the PDCP configuration for the SRB1to the UE1when the UE1selects the second communication architecture type. The RAN2receives the RRC Connection Setup Complete message from the UE1and sends to the CN3an initial NAS message (i.e., an Attach Request message) retrieved from the RRC Connection Setup Complete message (e.g., MME or C-SGN), using an initial UE message. When the UE assistance IE is AS (RRC) information, the RAN2may select, from DCNs in the CN3, a DCN corresponding to the communication architecture type determined by the UE1and send the Initial UE message carrying the initial NAS message (i.e., the Attach Request message) to the selected DCN. In contrast to this, when the UE assistance IE is NAS information, the UE assistance IE is incorporated into a NAS-PDU Information Element (IE) of the S1AP: Initial UE message together with the initial NAS message. In this case, the RAN2may receive a notification explicitly or implicitly indicating the communication architecture type determined by the UE1from the CN3using, for example, an Initial Context Setup Request message (e.g., an Architecture Type IE). Steps406to409are similar to steps306to309shown inFIG.3. The procedure shown inFIG.4may be modified, for example, as follows. The RAN2or the CN3may use a communication architecture type different from the communication architecture type indicated by the UE1in the RRC Connection Setup Complete message or the Attach Request message from the UE1(step404). In response to the RRC Connection Setup Complete message (step404), the RAN2may transmit an RRC Connection Reject message indicating the different communication architecture type (e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type) to the UE1. In this case, the UE1may restart a new RRC Connection Setup procedure. Alternatively, the CN3may notify the UE1of the different communication architecture type (e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type) using the Attach Accept message (step407). In this case, the UE1may terminate the current attach procedure and restart a new RRC connection setup procedure. Alternatively, the UE1may continue the current attach procedure in accordance with the notification of the different communication architecture type transmitted from the RAN2. When the second communication architecture type, in which user data packets are transmitted through the user plane (e.g., an EPS bearer including a DRB and a GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) tunnel), is used for the UE1, the CN3may incorporate the NAS: Attach Accept message into an S1AP: Initial Context Setup Request message and transmit them to the RAN2in step407. This S1AP: Initial Context Setup Request message includes a security key (KeNB) and a UE Security Algorithm used for the UE1. The RAN2may perform an AS security setup in accordance with the received security key (KeNB) and UE Security Algorithm. The AS security setup may be performed before or after the transmission of the NAS: Attach Accept message to the UE1. AlthoughFIG.4shows Mobile Originated (MO) data transmission, a procedure similar to that shown inFIG.4may be applied to Mobile Terminated (MT) data transmission. In the example shown inFIG.4, the UE1determines a communication architecture type to be used for data packet transmission for the UE1and transmits to the RAN2an RRC Connection Setup Complete message including a UE assistance IE indicating the determined communication architecture type. Using the RRC Connection Setup Complete message to indicate the communication architecture type determined by the UE1provides the following advantages, for example. In some implementations, it allows the UE1to transmit a communication architecture type determined by the UE1as NAS information. Therefore, the UE1can easily notify the CN3of the communication architecture type desired by the UE1. Third Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. This embodiment provides another communication procedure involving determination (or selection) of communication architecture used for the UE1.FIG.5is a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the procedure shown inFIG.5, the RAN2determines (or selects) a communication architecture type to be used for data packet transmission for the UE1, during a procedure for attaching the UE1to the CN3. Steps501to504are similar to steps402to405shown inFIG.4. However, an RRC Connection Setup Complete message in step504includes an information element about communication architecture types (e.g., a UE Supported Architecture Type), which explicitly or implicitly indicates one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1. This information element is AS (RRC) information. Accordingly, this information element allows the RAN2(e.g., CIoT-BS or eNB) to detect the one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1. This information element may indicate, for example, a communication architecture type(s) supported by the UE1(e.g., {type1, type2, . . . }, or {DONAS, RRC-Suspend, . . . }). The information element may be a bitmap indicating which one or more of a plurality of communication architecture types are supported by the UE1. The information element may be a flag or a bitmap indicating whether one or more optional communication architecture types other than a default communication architecture type are supported by the UE1. That is, the information element may indicate that an optional communication architecture type is supported (e.g., typeX supported), or may indicate whether the optional communication architecture type is supported (e.g., Support of typeX=ENUMERATED {true, . . . }, or {Supported, Not Supported}). The above-described values “type1” and “type2” (and “typeX”) may be replaced by names that indicate a communication architecture type in a more specific manner, such as “DataOverNAS (DONAS)” or “RRC-Suspend”. In step505, the RAN2determines a communication architecture type to be used for the UE1while considering the one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1. In some implementations, the RAN2may select a communication architecture type used for the UE1based on a default UE capability that has been preconfigured in the UE1. Additionally or alternatively, the RAN2may select a communication architecture type used for the UE1based on received power at the UE1of a reference signal transmitted from the RAN2(i.e., RSRP) or an estimated propagation loss between the UE1and the RAN2(e.g., CIoT-BS/eNB). A measurement result of the RSRP or the propagation loss may be sent from the UE1to the RAN2. Additionally or alternatively, the RAN2may select a communication architecture type used for the UE1based on a network capability of the CN3. Additionally or alternatively, the RAN2may select a communication architecture type used for the UE1based on a load on the RAN2(e.g., a Cell load, an S1 Transport Network Layer (TNL) load, the number of Connected UEs, or the number of UEs whose UE context stored). Depending on the communication architecture type determined by the UE1, the RAN2may transmit a PDCP configuration (pdcp-Config) for the SRB1to the UE1or may notify the UE1that a PDCP layer is used (applied). Specifically, the RAN2may transmit the PDCP configuration for the SRB1to the UE1when the RAN2selects the second communication architecture type for the UE1. In step506, the RAN2sends an initial NAS message (i.e., Attach Request message) retrieved from the RRC Connection Setup Complete message to the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN) using an S1AP: Initial UE message. The initial NAS message (i.e., the Attach Request message) is embedded into a NAS-PDU Information Element (IE) of the S1AP: Initial UE message. The RAN2may incorporate an information element indicating the communication architecture type determined in step505into the S1AP: Initial UE message. The RAN2may select, from DCNs in the CN3, a DCN corresponding to the communication architecture type determined in step505and send the S1AP: Initial UE message carrying the initial NAS message (i.e., the Attach Request message) to the selected DCN. Steps507to510are similar to steps306to309inFIG.3or steps406to409inFIG.4. When the second communication architecture type is used for the UE1, the procedure shown inFIG.5may be changed so that an AS security setup is performed as in the case of the above-described other procedures. AlthoughFIG.5shows Mobile Originated (MO) data transmission, a procedure similar to that shown inFIG.5may be applied to Mobile Terminated (MT) data transmission. Fourth Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. This embodiment provides another communication procedure involving determination (or selection) of communication architecture used for the UE1.FIG.6is a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the procedure shown inFIG.6, the RAN2determines a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1, during a procedure for attaching the UE1to the CN3. Note that the procedure shown inFIG.6differs from that shown inFIG.5in that an information element about communication architecture types (e.g., a UE Supported Architecture Type), which explicitly or implicitly indicates one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1, is transmitted by an RRC Connection Request message. Steps601and602are similar to steps302and303shown inFIG.3. However, an RRC Connection Request message in step602includes an information element indicating one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1(e.g., a UE Supported Architecture Type). This information element is AS (RRC) information. Accordingly, this information element allows the RAN2(e.g., CIoT-BS or eNB) to detect the one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1. In step603, the RAN2determines a communication architecture type used for the UE1while considering the one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1. Step604is similar to step304inFIG.3. However, an RRC Connection Setup message in step604may indicate the communication architecture type determined by the RAN2in step603(e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type). Steps605and606are similar to steps305inFIG.3. However, the RAN2may incorporate an information element indicating the communication architecture type determined in step603(e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type) into the S1AP: Initial UE message. The RAN2may select, from DCNs in the CN3, a DCN corresponding to the communication architecture type determined in step603and send the S1AP: Initial UE message carrying the initial NAS message (i.e., the Attach Request message) to the selected DCN. Steps607to610are similar to steps306to309inFIG.3or steps507to510inFIG.5. When the second communication architecture type is used for the UE1, the procedure shown inFIG.6may be changed so that an AS security setup is performed as in the case of the above-described other procedures. AlthoughFIG.6shows Mobile Originated (MO) data transmission, a procedure similar to that shown inFIG.6may be applied to Mobile Terminated (MT) data transmission. Fifth Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. This embodiment provides another communication procedure involving determination (or selection) of communication architecture used for the UE1.FIG.7is a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the procedure shown inFIG.7, the RAN2determines a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1, during a procedure for attaching the UE1to the CN3. Note that the procedure shown inFIG.7differs from those shown inFIGS.5and6in that an information element about communication architecture types supported by the UE1(e.g., a UE Supported Architecture Type), which explicitly or implicitly indicates one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1, is transmitted as NAS information together with an initial NAS message (i.e., an Attach Request message). Steps701to704are similar to steps402to405shown inFIG.4. However, in step704, the UE1transmits a NAS information element indicating one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1(e.g., a UE Supported Architecture Type) together with the Attach Request message. This NAS information element may indicate, for example, a communication architecture type(s) supported by the UE1(e.g., {type1, type2, . . . }, or {DONAS, RRC-Suspend, . . . }). Alternatively, the NAS information element may indicate that an optional communication architecture type is supported (e.g., typeX supported), or may indicate whether the optional communication architecture type is supported (e.g., Support of typeX=ENUMERATED {true, . . . }, or {Supported, Not Supported}). The above-described values “type1” and “type2” (and “typeX”) may be replaced by names that indicate a communication architecture type in a more specific manner, such as “DataOverNAS (DONAS)” or “RRC-Suspend”. In step705, the CN3sends an S1AP: Initial Context Setup Request message indicating the one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1(e.g., the UE Supported Architecture Type) to the RAN2. In step706, the RAN2determines a communication architecture type used for the UE1while considering the one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1based on the information received from the CN3. The RAN2may notify the CN3of the determined communication architecture type using an S1AP: Initial Context Setup Response message (step707). Steps708to711are similar to steps306to309inFIG.3, steps507to510inFIG.5, or steps607to610inFIG.6. When the second communication architecture type is used for the UE1, the procedure shown inFIG.7may be changed so that an AS security setup is performed as in the case of the above-described other procedures. AlthoughFIG.7shows Mobile Originated (MO) data transmission, a procedure similar to that shown inFIG.7may be applied to Mobile Terminated (MT) data transmission. Sixth Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. This embodiment provides another communication procedure involving determination (or selection) of communication architecture used for the UE1.FIG.8is a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the procedure shown inFIG.8, the RAN2determines a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1, during a procedure for attaching the UE1to the CN3. Note that the procedure shown inFIG.8differs from those shown inFIGS.5to7in that an information element about communication architecture types (e.g., a UE Supported Architecture Type), which explicitly or implicitly indicates one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1, is transmitted from an HSS5to the RAN2through the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN). Steps801to804are similar to steps701to704shown inFIG.7. However, in step804, the UE1does not need to transmit a NAS information element (e.g., a UE Supported Architecture Type) indicating one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1. In step805, the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN) performs an authentication and security procedure and thereby sets up NAS security. In step806, when the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN) receives authentication information regarding the UE1from the HSS5, the CN3further receives one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1(e.g., the UE Supported Architecture Type) from the HSS5. The HSS5manages the UE Supported Architecture Type as subscriber information regarding the UE1. Steps807to809are similar to steps705to707inFIG.7. Steps810to812are similar to steps307to309inFIG.3, steps508to510inFIG.5, steps608to611inFIG.6, or steps709to711inFIG.7. When the second communication architecture type is used for the UE1, the procedure shown inFIG.8may be changed so that an AS security setup is performed as in the case of the above-described other procedures. AlthoughFIG.8shows Mobile Originated (MO) data transmission, a procedure similar to that shown inFIG.8may be applied to Mobile Terminated (MT) data transmission. Seventh Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. This embodiment provides another communication procedure involving determination (or selection) of communication architecture used for the UE1is described.FIG.9is a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the procedure shown inFIG.9, the CN3determines a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1, during a procedure for attaching the UE1to the CN3. Steps901to904are similar to steps701to704inFIG.7. That is, in step904, the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN) receives a NAS information element about communication architecture types (e.g., a UE Supported Architecture Type), which explicitly or implicitly indicates one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1, together with an Attach Request message from the UE1. In step905, the CN3determines a communication architecture type used for the UE1while considering the one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1(i.e., the UE Supported Architecture Type). In some implementations, the CN3may select a communication architecture type used for the UE1based on a default UE capability that has been preconfigured in the UE1. Additionally or alternatively, the CN3may select a communication architecture type used for the UE1based on a network capability of the RAN2(e.g., CIoT BS or eNB). Additionally or alternatively, the CN3may select a communication architecture type used for the UE1based on a load on the CN3(e.g., an S1 Transport Network Layer (TNL) load, the number of Connected UEs, the number of UEs whose UE context stored). Additionally or alternatively, the CN3may select a communication architecture type used for the UE1based on Quality of Service (QoS) applied to the UE1(e.g., a QoS Class Identifier (QCI), an Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP), a resource type (a Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) or a non-GBR)). In step906, the CN3sends an S1AP: Initial Context Setup Request message indicating the communication architecture type determined in step905(e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type) to the RAN2. The RAN2may send a response to the notification received in step906(step907). Steps908to911are similar to steps306to309inFIG.3, steps406to409inFIG.4, steps507to510inFIG.5, steps607to610inFIG.6, or steps708to711inFIG.7. When the second communication architecture type is used for the UE1, the procedure shown inFIG.9may be changed so that an AS security setup is performed as in the case of the above-described other procedures. AlthoughFIG.9shows Mobile Originated (MO) data transmission, a procedure similar to that shown inFIG.9may be applied to Mobile Terminated (MT) data transmission. Eighth Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. This embodiment provides another communication procedure involving determination (or selection) of communication architecture used for the UE1.FIG.10is a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the procedure shown inFIG.10, the CN3determines a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1, during a procedure for attaching the UE1to the CN3. Note that the procedure shown inFIG.10differs from that shown inFIG.9in that an information element about communication architecture types (e.g., a UE Supported Architecture Type), which explicitly or implicitly indicates one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1, is transmitted from an HSS5to the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN). Steps1001to1006are similar to steps801to806inFIG.8. Steps1007to1009are similar to steps905to907inFIG.9. Steps1010to1012are similar to steps307to309inFIG.3, steps407to409inFIG.4, steps508to510inFIG.5, steps608to610inFIG.6, steps709to711inFIG.7, steps810to812inFIG.8, or steps909to911inFIG.9. When the second communication architecture type is used for the UE1, the procedure shown inFIG.10may be changed so that an AS security setup is performed as in the case of the above-described other procedures. AlthoughFIG.10shows Mobile Originated (MO) data transmission, a procedure similar to that shown inFIG.10may be applied to Mobile Terminated (MT) data transmission. Ninth Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. This embodiment provides another communication procedure involving determination (or selection) of communication architecture used for the UE1.FIGS.11and12show a sequence diagram showing examples of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the procedures shown inFIGS.11and12, the UE1determines (or selects) a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1, during an RRC connection setup procedure in which the UE1transitions from RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode) to RRC-Connected mode to perform data packet transmission after attach. FIG.11shows a case where the first communication architecture type is used for the UE1. As already described, in the first communication architecture type, user data packets transmitted or received by the UE1are transferred through the control plane (e.g., a NAS message transmitted between the UE and the MME/C-SGN). Meanwhile,FIG.12shows a case where the second communication architecture type is used for the UE1. In the second communication architecture type, user data packets transmitted or received by the UE1are transferred through the user plane (e.g., an EPS bearer including a DRB and a GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) tunnel). Referring toFIG.11, the UE1determines (selects) a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1in step1101. The determination of a communication architecture type may take into account parameters similar to those in step301inFIG.3. In the example shown inFIG.11, the UE1can determine (or select) a communication architecture type at every transmission opportunity. Accordingly, the UE1may take into account a parameter(s) that dynamically changes at every transmission opportunity. For example, the UE1may select a communication architecture type according to a data transmission trigger (e.g., mo-Data, mo-ExceptionData, mt-Access, or mo-Signaling). Additionally or alternatively, the UE1may select a communication architecture type according to the type of an application that performs data packet transmission. Steps1102to1106are similar to steps302to305inFIG.3. However, the example inFIG.11shows a transition from RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode) to RRC-Connected mode performed after attach. Further, in the example shown inFIG.11, the UE1selects the first communication architecture type in step1101. Thus, the initial NAS message transmitted by the UE1in step1105is a NAS message carrying small data. That is, the small data piggybacks onto the initial NAS message. In step1106, the RAN2sends an initial NAS message (i.e., a NAS message carrying the small data) retrieved from the RRC Connection Setup Complete message to the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN) using an S1AP: Initial UE message. The initial NAS message (i.e., the NAS message carrying the small data) is embedded into a NAS-PDU Information Element (IE) of the S1AP: Initial UE message. The RAN2may incorporate an information element explicitly or implicitly indicating the first communication architecture type determined by the UE1into the S1AP: Initial UE message. The RAN2may select, from DCNs in the CN3, a DCN corresponding to the first communication architecture type determined by the UE1and send the S1AP: Initial UE message to the selected DCN. In step1107, the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN) decrypts the uplink NAS message transmitted from the UE1to obtain the small data packet. In step1108, the CN3forwards the small data packet according to the data type of the small data packet. When an ACK or a response to the Mobile Originated small packet is expected to be transmitted, the CN3receives an arriving response downlink data packet (step1109). In step1110, the CN3encrypts the downlink data packet and generates a downlink NAS message carrying the encrypted downlink data packet. In step1111, the CN3sends an S1AP: DL NAS Transport message to the RAN2. In step1112, the RAN2transmits an RRC: DL Information Transfer message to the UE1on an SRB1. This DL Information Transfer message includes the downlink NAS message carrying the encrypted downlink data packet destined for the UE1. Next, referring toFIG.12, step1201inFIG.12is similar to step1101inFIG.11. However, in the example shown inFIG.12, the UE1selects the second communication architecture type for data packet transmission for the UE1. Steps1202to1206are similar to steps1102to1106inFIG.11. However, since the second communication architecture type is used in the example shown inFIG.12, the initial NAS message transmitted by the UE1in step1205is a Service Request message. In step1206, the RAN2sends an initial NAS message (i.e., a Service Request message) retrieved from the RRC Connection Setup Complete message to the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN) using an S1AP: Initial UE message. The Initial NAS message (i.e., the Service Request message) is embedded into a NAS-PDU Information Element (IE) of the S1AP: Initial UE Message. The RAN2may incorporate an information element explicitly or implicitly indicating the second communication architecture type determined by the UE1into the S1AP: Initial UE message. The RAN2may select, from DCNs in the CN3, a DCN corresponding to the second communication architecture type determined by the UE1and send the S1AP: Initial UE message to the selected DCN. Steps1207to1211are similar to an EPS bearer establishment procedure in the existing service request procedure. In steps1212and1213, the UE1transmits uplink data on an uplink bearer through an S-GW6and the RAN2and receives downlink data on a downlink bearer through the S-GW6and the RAN2. In step1214, the UE1, the RAN2, and the CN3suspend the RRC connection. The UE1transitions from RRC-Connected mode to RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode) and retains information about the RRC connection (e.g., an Access Stratum Security Context, a bearer related information (incl. RoHC state information), and L2/1 parameters when applicable) while it is in RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode). Similarly, the RAN2retains information about the RRC connection for the UE1(e.g., an Access Stratum Security Context, bearer related information (incl. RoHC state information), and L2/1 parameters when applicable). Further, the RAN2and the CN3retain S1AP UE Contexts. Furthermore, the RAN2retains S1-U tunnel addresses. In this way, the UE1, the RAN2, and the CN3can reuse the information obtained from the previous RRC connection for the subsequent RRC connection setup. AlthoughFIGS.11and12show Mobile Originated (MO) data transmission, procedures similar to those shown inFIGS.11and12may be applied to Mobile Terminated (MT) data transmission. The procedure shown inFIG.12may be modified as follows. In some implementations, the S1AP: Initial UE message in step1206may indicate a downlink tunnel endpoint identifier used in the second communication architecture type. The downlink tunnel endpoint identifier specifies a tunnel endpoint on the RAN2of a bearer between the RAN2and the CN3which is used for data packet transmission for the UE1in the second communication architecture type. The downlink tunnel endpoint identifier may be an S1 eNB TEID (i.e., an S1 TEID (DL)) of an S1 bearer (i.e., a GTP tunnel). Further, the S1AP: Initial UE message in step1206may indicate an address of the RAN2(e.g., an eNB address) used for data packet transmission for the UE1in the second communication architecture type. In this way, it is possible to omit transmission of a Modify Bearer Request message from the MME to the S-GW and a Modify Bearer Response message from the S-GW to the MME, which are necessary in the existing EPS bearer establishment procedure. Additionally or alternatively, it is possible to omit transmission of an Initial Context Setup Response message from the eNB to the MME, which is necessary in the existing EPS bearer establishment procedure. In CIoT, the RAN2and the CN3is required to have a capability of communicating with a large number of CIoT devices. By eliminating transmission of these signaling messages, it is possible to contribute to reducing the CIoT-related load on the RAN2and the CN3. In the examples shown inFIGS.11and12, the UE1determines a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1and transmits to the RAN2an RRC Connection Request message including an establishment cause indicating the determined communication architecture type. Accordingly, the examples shown inFIGS.11and12can provide the same advantages as the example shown inFIG.3. Further, the examples shown inFIGS.11and12allows the UE1to determine a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1, during an RRC connection setup procedure in which the UE1transitions from RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode) to RRC-Connected mode to perform data packet transmission after attach. Tenth Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. This embodiment provides another communication procedure involving determination (or selection) of communication architecture used for the UE1.FIGS.13and14show a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the procedures shown inFIGS.13and14, the UE1determines a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1, during an RRC connection setup procedure in which the UE1transitions from RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode) to RRC-Connected mode to perform data packet transmission after attach.FIG.13shows a case where the first communication architecture type is used for the UE1. Meanwhile,FIG.14shows a case where the second communication architecture type is used for the UE1. Note that the procedures inFIGS.13and14are different from the procedures inFIGS.11and12in that the communication architecture type determined by the UE1is sent to the RAN2by an RRC Connection Setup Complete message. Referring toFIG.13, steps1301to1312are similar to steps1101to1112inFIG.11. However, in the procedure inFIG.13, the UE1transmits, to the RAN2, a UE Assistance Information Element (IE) explicitly or implicitly indicating the first communication architecture type determined by the UE1, using an RRC Connection Setup Complete message (step1305) as in the procedure inFIG.4. Next, referring toFIG.14, steps1401to1414are similar to steps1201to1214inFIG.12. However, in the procedure inFIG.14, the UE1transmits, to the RAN2, a UE Assistance Information Element (IE) explicitly or implicitly indicating the second communication architecture type determined by the UE1, using an RRC Connection Setup Complete message (step1405) as in the procedure inFIG.4. AlthoughFIGS.13and14show Mobile Originated (MO) data transmission, procedures similar to those shown inFIGS.13and14may be applied to Mobile Terminated (MT) data transmission. In the examples shown inFIGS.13and14, the UE1determines a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1and transmits to the RAN2an RRC Connection Setup Complete message including a UE assistance IE indicating the determined communication architecture type. Accordingly, the examples shown inFIGS.13and14can provide the same advantages as the example shown inFIG.4. Further, the example shown inFIGS.13and14allows the UE1to determine a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1, during an RRC connection setup procedure in which the UE1transitions from RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode) to RRC-Connected mode to perform data packet transmission after attach. Eleventh Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. This embodiment provides another communication procedure involving determination (or selection) of communication architecture used for the UE1.FIGS.15and16show a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the procedures shown inFIGS.15and16, the RAN2determines a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1, during an RRC connection setup in which the UE1transitions from RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode) to RRC-Connected mode to perform data packet transmission after attach.FIG.15shows a case where the first communication architecture type is used for the UE1. Meanwhile,FIG.16shows a case where the second communication architecture type is used for the UE1. Note that the procedures inFIGS.15and16are different from the procedures inFIGS.11and12in that the RAN2determines the communication architecture type. Referring toFIG.15, steps1501to1505are similar to steps601to605inFIG.6. However, the example inFIG.15shows a transition from RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode) to RRC-Connected mode performed after attach. Further, in the example shown inFIG.15, the RAN2selects the first communication architecture type for the UE1in step1503. Thus, the initial NAS message transmitted by the UE1in step1505is a NAS message carrying small data. That is, the small data piggybacks onto the initial NAS message. The RRC Connection Setup message in step1504may explicitly or implicitly indicate the first communication architecture type determined by the RAN2in step1503(e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type). When the RAN2explicitly indicates a communication architecture type, the RAN2may transmit to the UE1an RRC Connection Setup message including an AS layer (e.g., RRC layer) information element or a NAS layer information element indicating the communication architecture type. When a NAS information element indicating the communication architecture type is transmitted, the NAS layer of the UE1may send information indicating the communication architecture type to be used to the AS layer of the UE1, or may start data transmission in accordance with the communication architecture type. On the other hand, when the RAN2implicitly indicates the communication architecture type, the RAN2may notify the UE1of the selected communication architecture type by incorporating configuration information for the selected communication architecture type into the RRC Connection Setup message. In step1506, the RAN2sends an initial NAS message (i.e., a NAS message carrying the small data) retrieved from the RRC Connection Setup Complete message to the CN3(e.g., MME or C-SGN) using an S1AP: Initial UE message. The initial NAS message (i.e., the NAS message carrying the small data) is embedded into a NAS-PDU Information Element (IE) of the S1AP: Initial UE message. The RAN2may incorporate an information element indicating the communication architecture type determined in step1503(e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type) into the S1AP: Initial UE message. The RAN2may select, from DCNs in the CN3, a DCN corresponding to the communication architecture type determined in step1503and send the S1AP: Initial UE message carrying the initial NAS message (i.e., the Attach Request message) to the selected DCN. Steps1507to1512are similar to steps1107to1112inFIG.11or steps1307to1312inFIG.13. Next, referring toFIG.16, steps1601to1606are similar to steps1501to1505inFIG.15. However, in step1603, the RAN2selects the second communication architecture type for the UE1. Thus, the initial NAS message transmitted by the UE1in step1605is a Service Request message. The RRC Connection Setup message in step1604may explicitly or implicitly indicate the second communication architecture type determined by the RAN2in step1603(e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type). Steps1606-1614are similar to steps1206to1214inFIG.12or steps1406-1414inFIG.14. AlthoughFIGS.15and16show Mobile Originated (MO) data transmission, procedures similar to those shown inFIGS.15and16may be applied to Mobile Terminated (MT) data transmission. The example shown inFIGS.15and16allows the RAN2to determine a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1, during an RRC connection setup procedure in which the UE1transitions from RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode) to RRC-Connected mode to perform data packet transmission after attach. Twelfth Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. However, the CN3includes a plurality of (dedicated) core networks. The RAN2determines a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1and selects, from a plurality of (dedicated) core networks included in the CN3, a (dedicated) core network corresponding to the determined communication architecture type. Further, the RAN2is configured to send an initial Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message to the selected core network. FIG.17is a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the example shown inFIG.17, the CN3includes a first (dedicated) core network ((D)CN-13A) corresponding to the first communication architecture type and a second (dedicated) core network ((D)CN-23B) corresponding to the second communication architecture type. Step1701is similar to step504inFIG.5. That is, the UE1transmits an RRC Connection Setup Complete message during an RRC connection setup procedure for initial attach. The RRC Connection Setup Complete message in step1701includes an information element explicitly or implicitly indicating one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1(e.g., a UE Supported Architecture Type). This information element is AS (RRC) information. In step1702, similarly to step505inFIG.5, the RAN2determines a communication architecture type used for the UE1while considering the one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1. Further, the RAN2selects, from a plurality of (dedicated) core networks included in the CN3, a (dedicated) core network corresponding to the determined communication architecture type. That is, when the RAN2selects the first communication architecture type for the UE1, it selects the CN-13A and sends an S1AP: Initial UE message to the CN-13A (step1703). When the RAN2selects the second communication architecture type for the UE1, it selects the CN-23B and sends an Initial UE message to the CN-23B (step1704). This Initial UE message may indicate the communication architecture type selected by the RAN2(e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type). Steps1705to1708are similar to steps507to510inFIG.5. The Attach Accept message in step1706, the RRC Connection Release message in step1707, or another downlink NAS message transmitted from the CN3(i.e., the CN-13A or the CN-23B) to the UE1may explicitly or implicitly indicate the communication architecture type used for the UE1. When the UE1performs data transmission after attach in accordance with the procedure shown inFIG.17, the UE1may indicate information about the dedicated CN to which the UE1has been registered (i.e., information about the MME or the C-SGN), using a Registered MME Information Element (IE) included in the RRC Connection Setup Complete message. The RAN2may use the Registered MME IE included in the RRC Connection Setup Complete message to select a communication architecture type applied to the UE1and select a (dedicated) CN. That is, when the Registered MME IE indicates a NAS node (e.g., MME/C-SGN) of the CN-13A, the RAN2selects the first communication architecture type and the CN-13A for the UE1, whereas when the Registered MME IE indicates a NAS node (e.g., MME/C-SGN) of the CN-23B, the RAN2selects the second communication architecture type and the CN-23B for the UE1. A Registered C-SGN IE, a Registered DCN IE, or a UE Usage Type may be used, in addition to or instead of the Registered MME IE. In the example shown inFIG.17, the RAN2determines a communication architecture type used for the UE1and selects a (dedicated) core network to which an Initial UE message to be transmitted. It thus enables the RAN2to select an appropriate (dedicated) core network according to a dynamic determination in the RAN2of a communication architecture type used for the UE1. Thirteenth Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. However, the CN3includes a plurality of (dedicated) core networks. The RAN2is configured to determine a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1. The CN3is configured to perform rerouting (or redirection) of an Initial UE message so that the Initial UE message is transmitted to an appropriate (dedicated) core network corresponding to the communication architecture type determined by the RAN2. FIG.18is a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the example shown inFIG.18, the CN3includes a first (dedicated) core network ((D)CN-13A) corresponding to the first communication architecture type and a second (dedicated) core network ((D)CN-23B) corresponding to the second communication architecture type. Steps1801and1805are similar to steps504and505inFIG.5. The RAN2receives an RRC Connection Setup Complete message including an initial NAS message from the UE1. The RAN2then determines a communication architecture type used for the UE1while considering the one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1. In step1803, the RAN2sends an S1AP Initial UE message to a pre-designated or arbitrarily-selected (dedicated) core network. This Initial UE message includes an information element explicitly or implicitly indicating the communication architecture type used for the UE1(e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type). In the example shown inFIG.18, the RAN2sends the Initial UE message to the (dedicated) core network CN-23B. The pre-designated (dedicated) core network may be, for example, a core network that supports a default communication architecture type. In step1804, a NAS node (e.g., MME/C-SGN) located in the CN3(i.e., the CN-23B in this example) receives the Initial UE message from the RAN2and refers to the information element indicating the communication architecture type (e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type) included in the received Initial UE message. When the communication architecture type used for the UE1is associated with the CN-23B, the NAS node located in the CN-23B continues the attach process based on the Attach Request message included in the Initial UE message. On the other hand, when the communication architecture type used for the UE1is associated with another (dedicated) core network (i.e., the CN-13A in this example), the NAS node located in the CN-23B requests the RAN2to reroute the Initial UE message to the CN-13A. Specifically, as shown inFIG.18, the CN-23B sends an S1AP: Reroute NAS Message Request message to the RAN2. This Reroute NAS Message Request message includes an identifier of the (dedicated) core network to which the Initial UE message to be sent (e.g., an MME Group ID, a C-SGN Group ID, a DCN Group ID, and an Additional Global Unique Temporary Identity (GUTI)). In step1804, to determine the rerouting of the Initial UE message, the CN3may further consider subscription data of the UE1retrieved from the HSS5(e.g., a UE Capability or a UE Usage Type (e.g., C-IoT, a general MTC, or a delay tolerant MTC)). In step1805, upon receiving the S1AP: Reroute NAS Message Request message, the RAN2reroutes the Initial UE message to the core network (the CN-13A in this example) designated in the Reroute NAS Message Request message. Steps1806to1809are similar to steps1705to1708inFIG.17. The Attach Accept message in step1807, the RRC Connection Release message in step1808, or another downlink NAS message transmitted from the CN3(i.e., the CN-13A or the CN-23B) to the UE1may explicitly or implicitly indicate the communication architecture type used for the UE1. When the UE1performs data transmission after attach in accordance with the procedure shown inFIG.18, the UE1may indicate information about a dedicated CN to which the UE1has been registered (i.e., information about the MME or the C-SGN), using a Registered MME Information Element (IE) included in the RRC Connection Setup Complete message. The RAN2may use the Registered MME IE included in the RRC Connection Setup Complete message to select a communication architecture type applied to the UE1and select a (dedicated) CN. That is, when the Registered MME IE indicates a NAS node (e.g., MME/C-SGN) of the CN-13A, the RAN2selects the first communication architecture type and the CN-13A for the UE1, whereas when the Registered MME IE indicates a NAS node (e.g., MME/C-SGN) of the CN-23B, the RAN2selects the second communication architecture type and the CN-23B for the UE1. In the example shown inFIG.18, the CN3recognizes the communication architecture type determined by the RAN2and reroutes the Initial UE message according to the communication architecture type determined by the RAN2. It is thus enable the CN3to handle the Initial UE message in an appropriate (dedicated) core network according to a dynamic determination in the RAN2of the communication architecture type used for the UE1. Fourteenth Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. However, the CN3includes a plurality of (dedicated) core networks. The CN3is configured to determine a communication architecture type used for data packet transmission for the UE1and perform rerouting (redirection) of an Initial UE message so that the Initial UE message is transmitted to an appropriate (dedicated) core network corresponding to the communication architecture type determined by the CN3. FIG.19is a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure according to this embodiment. In the example shown inFIG.19, the CN3includes a first (dedicated) core network ((D)CN-13A) corresponding to the first communication architecture type and a second (dedicated) core network ((D)CN-23B) corresponding to the second communication architecture type. The procedure shown inFIG.19is different from the one shown inFIG.18in that the CN3determines the communication architecture type used for the UE1. Steps1901and1902are similar to step904inFIG.9. That is, in step1901, the UE1transmits to the RAN2an RRC Connection Setup Complete message carrying Dedicated NAS information including an initial NAS message (i.e., an Attach Request message) and one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1(e.g., a UE Supported Architecture Type). In step1902, the RAN2retrieves the dedicated NAS information from the RRC Connection Setup Complete message. The RAN2then sends an S1AP: Initial UE message carrying a NAS-PDU including the retrieved dedicated NAS information to a pre-designated or arbitrarily-selected (dedicated) core network. In the example shown inFIG.19, the RAN2sends the Initial UE message to the (dedicated) core network CN-23B. Step1903is similar to step905inFIG.9. That is, a NAS node (e.g., MME/C-SGN) located in the CN3(i.e., the CN-23B in this example) determines a communication architecture type used for the UE1while considering the one or more communication architecture types supported by the UE1(e.g., the UE Supported Architecture Type). To determine the communication architecture type, the NAS node located in the CN-23B may further consider subscription data of the UE1retrieved from the HSS5(e.g., a UE Capability or a UE Usage Type). Steps1904to1909are similar to steps1804to1809inFIG.18. However, the S1AP: Reroute NAS Message Request message in step1904may include an information element explicitly or implicitly indicating the communication architecture type used for the UE1determined by the CN-23B (e.g., an Applied Architecture Type or a Selected Architecture Type). In this way, the RAN2can recognize the communication architecture type used for the UE1. In the example shown inFIG.19, the CN3determines a communication architecture type for the UE1and reroutes an Initial UE message according to the determined communication architecture type. It is thus enable the CN3to handle the Initial UE message in an appropriate (dedicated) core network according to a dynamic determination in the CN3of the communication architecture type used for the UE1. Fifteenth Embodiment The method for transmitting an information element explicitly or implicitly indicating a communication architecture type from the UE1to the RAN2is not limited to the methods described in the above embodiments. That is, it is not limited to the methods using an RRC message (e.g., RRC Connection Request or RRC Connection Setup Complete). For example, the UE1may transmit the information element (e.g., UE assistance IE) indicating a communication architecture type, using an RLC header, a MAC header, or a MAC Control Element (MAC CE) in a layer lower than the RRC (i.e., RLC or MAC). Additionally or alternatively, the UE1may transmit information indicating an omission of a PDCP process (e.g., an AS security process) to the RAN2, using an RLC header, a MAC header, or a MAC CE. More specifically, when the first communication architecture type involves an omission of a PDCP process, the UE1may transmit at least one of an information element indicating the first communication architecture type and an information element indicating the omission of the PDCP process, using a MAC CE. For example, when the UE1determines (selects) the first communication architecture type in step401inFIG.4, the UE1may omit the PDCP process for the SRB1to transmit the RRC Connection Setup Complete message (step405). Accordingly, the UE1transmits at least one of the information element indicating the first communication architecture type and the information element indicating the omission of the PDCP process, using a MAC CE. By using the MAC CE, the RAN2can recognize, in its MAC process before its PDCP process, that the PDCP process in the UE1has been omitted for the message received from the UE1(including the RRC Connection Setup Complete). Sixteenth Embodiment Although the above-described embodiments provides examples in which a random access procedure involving transmission of a random access preamble is performed when the UE1transitions from RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode) to RRC-Connected mode, the present disclosure is not limited to such examples. Other random access procedures may be implemented in the UE1and the RAN2. In some implementations, a UE1may transmit a small (or short) message, instead of a random access preamble (i.e., a RACH preamble), on an RACH. In this case, the message transmitted on the RACH may indicate a communication architecture type that is determined (or selected) or supported by the UE1. It allows the UE1to inform the RAN2of the communication architecture type determined (or selected) or supported by the UE1, before establishing an RRC connection. Thus, for example, the RAN2can generate an RA response message while considering the communication architecture type received from the UE1. The RA response message may include a backoff indicator determined based on the communication architecture type received from the UE1. Seventeenth Embodiment RACH resources that are used by the UE1when the UE1transitions from RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode) to RRC-Connected mode may be allocated respectively to a plurality of communication architecture types. In this case, the UE1may use a particular RACH resource for the first RACH transmission containing a preamble or a small (short) message to implicitly indicate a communication architecture type determined (or selected) or supported by the UE1. It allows the UE1to inform the RAN2of the communication architecture type determined (or selected) or supported by the UE1, before establishing an RRC connection. Thus, for example, the RAN2can generate an RA response message while considering the communication architecture type received from the UE1. The RA response message may include a backoff indicator determined based on the communication architecture type received from the UE1. Eighteenth Embodiment The above-described embodiments may be applied to either or both of NB-IoT communication and LTE eMTC communication. Further, the above-described embodiments may be applied to LTE communication, LTE-Advanced communication, and other UE communication according to modified versions of these standards. A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. Note that the UE1according to this embodiment may be a CIoT device (e.g., NB-IoT or LTE eMTC), or may be a UE conforming to LTE, LTE-Advanced, or modified versions of these standards. This embodiment provides examples of mobility in a case where one of the above-described communication architecture types is applied to the UE1. The mobility of the UE1includes a cell change in idle mode (e.g., RRC-Idle or another suspension mode) (i.e., idle-mode mobility) and a cell change in connected mode (e.g., RRC-Connected) (i.e., connected-mode mobility). The Idle-mode mobility includes a cell reselection procedure in idle mode. The connected-mode mobility includes backward and forward handover procedures in connected mode (e.g., RRC release with redirection). The radio communication network according to this embodiment may not be required to support mobility of UEs1to which at least one of a plurality of communication architecture types including the first and second communication architecture types is applied. Note that “not supporting mobility” means that the communication architecture type and its configuration that was used for the UE1before the cell change are not taken into consideration in determination or selection of a communication architecture type to be applied to the UE1after the cell change. In some implementations, the RAN2may disable functions for the mobility in RRC-Connected mode (e.g., handover and redirection) for the UE1to which the first (or second) communication architecture type is applied. In other words, the UE1may deactivate functions (e.g., measurement report, handover, and redirection) for the mobility in RRC-Connected mode. Additionally or alternatively, the RAN2may disable functions for the mobility in RRC-Idle mode (e.g., cell reselection) for the UE1to which the second (or first) communication architecture type is applied. In other words, the UE1may deactivate functions (e.g., cell reselection and measurement) for the mobility in RRC-Idle mode. In some implementations, functions for the mobility in RRC-Idle mode and RRC-Connected mode may be activated for the UE1to which the first (or second) communication architecture type is applied. In this case, the UE1may operate as follows to change a cell in RRC-Idle mode or RRC-Connected mode. For example, upon performing a cell reselection, the UE1may release (or discard) information regarding the communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1in a cell before the cell reselection. For example, during a handover procedure in RRC-Connected mode (i.e., backward handover), the UE1may release (or discard) information about the communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1in response to receiving a handover instruction from the source RAN node (e.g., source eNB or source CIoT BS) located in the RAN2. The handover instruction may be, for example, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message including a mobilityControlInfo IE. For example, during an RRC release with redirection procedure in RRC-Connected mode, the UE1may release (or discard) information about the communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1in response to receiving, from the source RAN node (e.g., a source eNB or a source CIoT BS) located in the RAN2, an RRC Connection Release message for requesting redirection. Alternatively, upon performing a cell reselection in accordance with the RRC Connection Release message for requesting redirection, the UE1may release (or discard) information about the communication architecture type that was configured in (or applied to) the UE1in a cell before the cell reselection. In this case, the release cause used in the RRC Connection Release message may be set to “other”. Alternatively, a new cause (e.g., redirectionForCIoT, redirectionForCellUpdate, redirectionRequired, or cellUpdateRequired) may be defined and used for the release cause. After the cell change of the UE1, the UE1, the RAN2, and the CN3may determine (or select) a communication architecture type to be used for the UE1in accordance with any one of the methods described in the above-described embodiments. Alternatively, after the cell change, the UE1may perform data transmission according to an existing manner in LTE and LTE-Advanced (i.e., the UE1may fall back to a legacy/conventional mechanism). As described above, in this embodiment, after performing a cell change in idle mode (or a suspension mode) or connected mode, the UE1releases (or discards) the communication architecture type configuration that was used before the cell change. It is thus possible to prevent an inconsistency (or mismatch) between the communication architecture type configuration in the UE1and that in the network after the cell change. Nineteenth Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. The UE1according to this embodiment may be a CIoT device (e.g., NB-IoT or LTE eMTC), or may be a UE conforming to LTE, LTE-Advanced, or modified versions of these standards. This embodiment provides examples of idle-mode mobility in a case where one of the above-described communication architecture types is applied to the UE1. The UE1according to this embodiment transmits to the RAN2or the CN3, after performing a cell reselection, an information element explicitly or implicitly indicating the communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1since before the cell reselection. Specifically, the UE1may transmit the information element when the UE1enters RRC-Connected mode for the first time after the cell reselection. FIGS.20and21are sequence diagrams showing examples of communication procedures according to this embodiment.FIG.20shows a case where the first communication architecture type is used for the UE1. Meanwhile,FIG.21shows a case where the second communication architecture type is used for the UE1. In the examples shown inFIGS.20and21, the RAN2includes a RAN-12A and a RAN-22B. The RAN-12A corresponds to a RAN node (e.g., CIoT BS or eNB) before the cell change (a cell reselection) and the RAN-22B corresponds to a RAN node after the cell change. Referring toFIG.20, in step2001, a communication architecture type used for the UE1is determined in accordance with any one of the procedures described in the first to seventeenth embodiments and the UE1is configured with the determined communication architecture type. In the example shown inFIG.20, the UE1uses the first communication architecture type. In step2002, the RAN-12A transmits an RRC Connection Release message to the UE1on an SRB1. In step2003, the UE1records (stores) the communication architecture type with which the UE1has been configured and transitions to RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode). In the example shown inFIG.20, the UE1uses the first communication architecture type. The UE1measures a serving cell and a neighbor cell(s) in RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode). In step2004, the UE1performs a cell reselection. In steps2005and2006, the UE1and the RAN-22B perform an RRC connection establishment procedure so that the UE1enters RRC-Connected mode for the first time after the cell reselection. During this procedure, the UE1transmits an information element (e.g., Configured arc-type information) explicitly or implicitly indicating the communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1since before the cell reselection to the RAN-22B. This information element may be transmitted by, for example, an RRC Connection Request message or an RRC Connection Setup Complete message. In the example shown inFIG.20, the information element indicates the first communication architecture type. It allows the RAN-22B to recognize the communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1since before the cell reselection and hence the RAN-2can perform operations corresponding to the communication architecture type with which the UE1has been configured. In step2007, the UE1performs either or both of UL data transmission and DL data reception using a NAS message. Similarly to the ninth and tenth embodiments, the UE1may transmit a NAS message containing UL data on an SRB1using an RRC Setup Complete message or an RRC: UL Information Transfer message. The UE1may receive a NAS message containing DL data on the SRB1using an RRC: DL Information Transfer message. The procedure shown inFIG.20may be modified as follows. For example, the RAN-22B may communicate with the CN3to authenticate or approve the UE1. The UE1may use a NAS message to transmit to the CN3the information element (e.g., Configured arc-type information) explicitly or implicitly indicating the communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1since before the cell reselection. In this case, the CN3may send, to the RAN-22B, an information element indicating the communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1. Instead of transmitting the information element indicating the communication architecture type configured in (or applied to) the UE1, the UE1may transmit, to the RAN-22B, an information element indicating a resumption of the already-configured communication architecture type and an information element indicating a cell or RAN node before the cell reselection (e.g., a Physical Cell ID (PCI), a Carrier frequency (EARFCN), or an E-UTRAN Cell Global ID (ECGI)). In this case, the RAN-22B may ask a RAN node that manages the cell before the cell reselection about the communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1. The UE1may transmit to the CN3the information element indicating a resumption of the already-configured communication architecture type. In this case, the CN3may send, to the RAN-22B, an information element indicating the communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1. Next, referring toFIG.21, in step2101, a communication architecture type used for the UE1is determined in accordance with any one of the procedures described in the first to seventeenth embodiments and the UE1is configured with the determined communication architecture type. In the example shown inFIG.21, the UE1uses the second communication architecture type. In step2102, the RAN-12A transmits an RRC message (e.g., an RRC Connection Suspend message) to suspend the RRC connection to the UE1. Upon receiving the RRC message, the UE1transitions from RRC-Connected mode to RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode) and retains information about the RRC connection while it is in RRC-Idle mode (or another suspension mode) (Step2103). Similarly, the RAN-12A and the CN3retain contexts related to the UE1necessary for a suspension of the RRC connection (step2103). The UE1and the RAN-12A further stores the communication architecture type with which the UE1has been configured (i.e., the second communication architecture type in this example) (step2104). Steps2105and2106are similar to steps2004and2005inFIG.20. However, in the RRC message transmitted in step2106, the information element (e.g., the Configured arc-type information), which explicitly or implicitly indicates the communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1, indicates the second communication architecture type. Further, the RRC message transmitted in step2106includes an information element (e.g., a PCI or an ECGI) indicating a cell or a RAN node before the cell reselection. In step2107, upon receiving the RRC message in step2106, the RAN-22B requests a UE context from the RAN-12A before the cell reselection. In step2098, the RAN-12A sends the UE context retained in the RAN-12A to the RAN-22B. In step2109, the RAN-22B communicates with the CN3to resume the suspended RRC connection. Specifically, the RAN-22B may send an S1-AP: UE Context Active message to the CN3and receive an S1-AP: UE Context Active Ack message from the CN3. The S1-AP: UE Context Active message triggers a procedure for modifying an S1 bearer in the CN3. This procedure includes, for example, transmission of a Modify Bearer Request message from an MME (or a C-SSN) to an S-GW and transmission of a Modify Bearer Response message from the S-GW to the MME (or the C-SSN). In step2110, the RAN-22B transmits an RRC message indicating the completion of the resumption of the RRC connection (e.g., an RRC Connection Resume Complete message) to the UE1. This RRC message includes AS security information. In step2111, the UE1and the RAN-22B establish AS security. In step2112, the UE1transmits UL data through the RAN-22B on a UL bearer and receives DL data through the RAN-22B on a DL bearer. As described above, in this embodiment, after performing a cell reselection, the UE1transmits to the RAN-22B or the CN3an information element (e.g., Configured arc-type information) explicitly or implicitly indicating the communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1since before the cell reselection. It is thus possible to prevent an inconsistency (or mismatch) between the communication architecture type configuration in the UE1and that in the network after the cell change. Twentieth Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. The UE1according to this embodiment may be a CIoT device (e.g., NB-IoT or LTE eMTC), or may be a UE conforming to LTE, LTE-Advanced, or modified versions of these standards. This embodiment provides examples of connected-mode mobility in a case where one of the above-described communication architecture types is applied to the UE1. In this embodiment, when performing a handover of the UE1, a source RAN node (e.g., CIoT BS or eNB) transmits a Handover Request including an information element explicitly or implicitly indicating a communication architecture type that has been configured in the UE1(i.e., used for the UE1) to a target RAN node (e.g., CIoT BS or eNB). FIGS.22and23are sequence diagrams showing examples of communication procedures according to this embodiment.FIG.22shows a case where the first communication architecture type is used for the UE1. Meanwhile,FIG.23shows a case where the second communication architecture type is used for the UE1. In the examples shown inFIGS.22and23, the RAN2includes a RAN-12A and a RAN-22B. The RAN-12A corresponds to the source RAN node (e.g., CIoT BS or eNB) and the RAN-22B corresponds to the target RAN node. Referring toFIG.22, in step2201, a communication architecture type used for the UE1is determined in accordance with any one of the procedures described in the first to seventeenth embodiments and the UE1is configured with the determined communication architecture type. In the example shown inFIG.22, the UE1uses the first communication architecture type. In step2202, the UE1is in RRC-Connected mode. Accordingly, in step2202, the UE1may perform either or both of UL data transmission and DL data reception using a NAS message. In step2203, the UE1transmits a measurement report indicating a measurement result of the serving cell and a neighbor cell(s) to the source RAN-12A. In step2004, the source RAN-12A determines a handover of the UE1to the target RAN-22B. In step2005, the source RAN-12A sends a handover request to the target RAN-22B. This handover request includes an information element (e.g., arc-type information) indicating a communication architecture type used for the UE1in the source RAN-12A (i.e., the first communication architecture type in this example). In step2206, upon receiving the handover request, the target RAN-22B sends a response message to the handover request (e.g., a Handover Request Acknowledge message) to the source RAN-12A. In some implementations, this response message indicates whether the target RAN-22B supports the communication architecture type that it has been notified of from the source RAN-12A. Alternatively, the response message explicitly or implicitly indicates a (changed) communication architecture type to be used for the UE1in the target RAN-22B. In step2207, the source RAN-12A transmits to the UE1a handover instruction including an information element (e.g., arc-type information) indicating that the current communication architecture type is continuously used after the handover or indicating the (changed) communication architecture type to be applied to the UE1after the handover. The handover instruction may be, for example, a RRC Connection Reconfiguration message including a MobilityControlInfo IE. In the example shown inFIG.22, the first communication architecture type is used for the UE1also in the target RAN-22B. In step2208, the UE1performs a random access procedure in order to synchronize to the target cell (i.e., the target RAN-22B). In step2209, the UE1transmits an RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete message including a handover confirmation (e.g., Handover Confirm) to the target RAN-22B. In step2210, the UE1performs either or both of UL transmission and DL reception in accordance with the communication architecture type indicated from the source RAN-12A in step2207. In the example shown inFIG.22, the first communication architecture type is used for the UE1also in the target RAN-22B. Accordingly, in step2210, the UE1may perform either or both of UL data transmission and DL data reception using a NAS message. The procedure shown inFIG.22may be modified as follows. In step2205, the handover request may indicate that the UE1has been authorized to use the first communication architecture type. Next, Referring toFIG.23, in step2301, a communication architecture type used for the UE1is determined in accordance with any one of the procedures described in the first to seventeenth embodiments and the UE1is configured with the determined communication architecture type. In the example shown inFIG.23, the UE1uses the second communication architecture type. In step2302, a bearer establishment procedure for the UE1is performed. In step2303, the UE1transmits UL data through the RAN-12A on a UL bearer and receives DL data through the RAN-12A on a DL bearer. Steps2304to2310are similar to steps2203-2209inFIG.22. However, in the example shown inFIG.23, the target RAN-22B uses the second communication architecture type for the UE1. In step2311, the target RAN-22B communicates with the CN3to change a route of the S1 bearer(s) for the UE1as in the case of an ordinary handover procedure. For example, the target RAN-22B sends an S1AP: Path Switch Request message to the CN3and receives an S1AP: Path Switch Request Ack message from the CN3. In step2312, the UE1transmits UL data through the target RAN-22B on a UL bearer and receives DL data through the target RAN-22B on a DL bearer. In step2313, the UE1, the target RAN-22B, and the CN3suspends the RRC connection. The procedures inFIGS.22and23may be combined as appropriate. That is, as already described, the target RAN-22B may apply to the UE1a communication architecture type different from the one that was applied to the UE1in the source RAN-12A. Accordingly, inFIG.22, when the handover response message (step2206) indicates that the second communication architecture type is to be used for the UE1in the target RAN-22B, steps2311to2313shown inFIG.23may be performed instead of performing step2210. The same is true for the reversed case. As described above, in this embodiment, the source RAN-12A transmits, to the target RAN-22B, a Handover Request including an information element indicating a communication architecture type that has been configured in the UE1(i.e., used for the UE1). It is thus possible to prevent an inconsistency (or mismatch) between the communication architecture type configuration in the UE1and that in the target RAN-22B. Further, in this embodiment, the target RAN-22B sends to the source RAN-12A a handover response message including an information element indicating whether the target RAN-22B supports the communication architecture type that it has been notified of from the source RAN-12A or indicating a (changed) communication architecture type to be used for the UE1in the target RAN-22B. Further, the source RAN-12A transmits to the UE1a handover instruction including an information element indicating the communication architecture type to be used for the UE1in the target RAN-22B. It allows the target RAN-22B to use, for the UE1, a communication architecture type different from the one that was used in the source RAN-12A. Twenty-First Embodiment A configuration example of a radio communication network according to this embodiment is similar to the one shown inFIG.2. The UE1according to this embodiment may be a CIoT device (e.g., NB-IoT or LTE eMTC), or may be a UE conforming to LTE, LTE-Advanced, or modified versions of these standards. This embodiment provides examples of connected-mode mobility in a case where one of the above-described communication architecture types is applied to the UE1. In this embodiment, during a forward handover procedure in connected mode, the UE1transmits to the target RAN-22B an information element explicitly or implicitly indicating a communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1in the source RAN-12A. Specifically, the UE1may transmit this information element using an RRC Connection Re-establishment message toward the target RAN-22B. The forward handover procedure may be started as the RAN-12A transmits an “RRC release with redirection” message to the UE1. Alternatively, the forward handover procedure may be voluntarily started by the UE1in response to expiration of a Radio Link Failure (RLF) timer. FIGS.24,25A and25Bare sequence diagrams showing examples of communication procedures according to this embodiment.FIG.24shows a case where the first communication architecture type is used for the UE1. Meanwhile,FIGS.25A and25Bshow a case where the second communication architecture type is used for the UE1. In the examples shown inFIGS.24,25A and25B, the RAN2includes a RAN-12A and a RAN-22B. The RAN-12A corresponds to the source RAN node (e.g., CIoT BS or eNB) and the RAN-22B corresponds to the target RAN node. Referring toFIG.24, steps2401to2403are similar to steps2201to2203inFIG.22. In step2404, the source RAN-12A transmits to the UE1an RRC release message indicating a redirection to the target RAN-22B. Upon receiving the RRC release message, the UE1performs a cell reselection (step2405). Note that step2404does not necessarily have to be performed. Specifically, the UE1may voluntarily perform a cell (re)selection (step2405) in response to expiration of the RLF timer. In step2406, the UE1transmits an RRC connection re-establishment request message to the target RAN-22B. This RRC connection re-establishment request message includes an information element about a communication architecture type (e.g., Configured arc-type information) which explicitly or implicitly indicates the communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1in the source RAN-12A. In step2407, the target RAN-22B transmits an RRC Connection Re-establishment message to the UE1. This message may include an information element about a communication architecture type (e.g., arc-type information) which indicates that the current communication architecture type is continuously used, or indicates explicitly or implicitly a (changed) communication architecture type applied to the UE1in the target RAN-22B. In the example shown inFIG.24, the target RAN-22B uses the first communication architecture type for the UE1. Thus, step2408is similar to step2210inFIG.22. Next, Referring toFIGS.25A and25B, steps2501to2504are similar to steps2301to2304inFIG.23. Steps2505to2508are similar to steps2404to2407inFIG.24. In the example shown inFIGS.25A and25B, the target RAN-22B uses the second communication architecture type for the UE1. Thus, steps2509to2514are similar to steps2107to2112inFIG.21. Step2515is similar to step2313inFIG.23. The procedure shown inFIGS.25A and25Bmay be modified as follows. The RRC connection release message in step2505may indicate a Resume ID. The Resume ID is an identifier that the RAN2assigns to the UE1for an RRC suspension. The RAN2uses the Resume ID to associate the UE1with the previously stored UE context. In some implementations, the source RAN-12A may determine the Resume ID and transmit it to the UE1and the target RAN-22B. Alternatively, the target RAN-22B may determine the Resume ID and transmit it to the UE1through the source RAN-12A. As described above, in this embodiment, after performing a cell reselection related to a forward handover, the UE1transmits to the target RAN-22B an information element indicating a communication architecture type that has been configured in (or applied to) the UE1in the source RAN-12A (e.g., Configured arc-type information). It is thus possible to prevent an inconsistency (or mismatch) between the communication architecture type configuration in the UE1and that in the target RAN-22B. Twenty-second Embodiment The 3GPP is starting to work on the standardization for 5G, i.e., 3GPP Release 14, in 2016 to make 5G a commercial reality in 2020. 5G is expected to be realized by continuous enhancement/evolution of LTE and LTE-Advanced and an innovative development by an introduction of a new 5G air-interface (i.e., a new Radio Access Technology (RAT)). The new RAT (i.e., New 5G RAT) supports, for example, frequency bands higher than the frequency bands (e.g., 6 GHz or lower) supported by the LTE/LTE-Advanced and its enhancement/evolution. For example, the new RAT supports centimeter-wave bands (10 GHz or higher) and millimeter-wave bands (30 GHz or higher). Higher frequency can provide higher-rate communication. However, because of its frequency properties, coverage of the higher frequency is more local. Therefore, high frequencies are used to boost capacity and data rates in specific areas, while wide-area coverage is provided by lower current frequencies. That is, in order to ensure the stability of New 5G RAT communication in high frequency bands, tight integration or interworking between low and high frequencies (i.e., tight integration or interworking between LTE/LTE-Advanced and New 5G RAT) is required. A 5G supporting radio terminal (i.e., 5G User Equipment (UE)) is connected to both of a low frequency band cell and a high frequency band cell (i.e., a LTE/LTE-Advanced cell and a new 5G cell) by using Carrier Aggregation (CA) or Dual Connectivity (DC), or a modified technique thereof. The term “LTE” used in this specification includes enhancements of LTE and LTE-Advanced for 5G to provide tight interworking with the New 5G RAT, unless otherwise indicated. Such enhancements of LTE and LTE-Advanced are also referred to as LTE-Advanced Pro, LTE+, or enhanced LTE (eLTE). Further, the term “5G” or “New 5G” in this specification is used, for the sake of convenience, to indicate an air-interface (RAT) that is newly introduced for the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication systems, and nodes, cells, protocol layers, etc. related to this air-interface. The names of the newly introduced air interface (RAT), and nodes, cells, and protocol layers related thereto will be determined in the future as the standardization work progresses. For example, the LTE RAT may be referred to as Primary RAT (P-RAT or pRAT) or Master RAT. Meanwhile, the New 5G RAT may be referred to as Secondary RAT (S-RAT or sRAT). The first to twenty-first embodiments described above may be applied to a 5G radio communication network that provides tight interworking between the LTE RAT and the New 5G RAT. In some implementations, the UE1, the RAN2, and the CN3may perform any one of the attach procedures described in the first to eighth embodiments in the LTE RAT and then perform data transmission in the New 5G RAT according to a communication architecture type determined (or selected) in the attach procedure. For example, when the first communication architecture type is used for the UE1, the UE1may transmit data using a UL Information Transfer message in the 5G cell, instead of using an RRC Connection Setup Complete message in the LTE cell, and receive data using a DL Information Transfer message in the 5G cell. For example, when the second communication architecture type is used for the UE1, the UE1, the RAN2, and the CN3may perform suspension and resumption of an RRC connection in the 5G cell. In this process, the UE1and the RAN2may be connected to both a core network node for communication in the LTE cell and a core network node different from that for the communication in the LTE cell. Lastly, configuration examples of the UE1, a node in the RAN2(e.g., CIoT BS and eNB) and a node in the CN3(e.g., C-SGN and MME) according to the above-described embodiments will be described.FIG.26is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the UE1. A Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver2601performs an analog RF signal processing to communicate with the RAN2. The analog RF signal processing performed by the RF transceiver2601includes frequency up-conversion, frequency down-conversion, and amplification. The RF transceiver2601is coupled to an antenna2602and a baseband processor2603. That is, the RF transceiver2601receives modulated symbol data (or OFDM symbol data) from the baseband processor2603, generates a transmission RF signal, and supplies the generated transmission RF signal to the antenna2602. Further, the RF transceiver2601generates a baseband reception signal based on a reception RF signal received by the antenna2602and supplies the generated baseband reception signal to the baseband processor2603. The baseband processor2603performs digital baseband signal processing (i.e., data-plane processing) and control-plane processing for radio communication. The digital baseband signal processing includes (a) data compression/decompression, (b) data segmentation/concatenation, (c) composition/decomposition of a transmission format (i.e., transmission frame), (d) channel coding/decoding, (e) modulation (i.e., symbol mapping)/demodulation, and (f) generation of OFDM symbol data (i.e., baseband OFDM signal) by Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT). On the other hand, the control-plane processing includes communication management of layer 1 (e.g., transmission power control), layer 2 (e.g., radio resource management and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processing), and layer 3 (e.g., signaling regarding attach, mobility, and call management). In the case of LTE or LTE-Advanced, for example, the digital baseband signal processing performed by the baseband processor2603may include signal processing of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and Physical (PHY) layer. Further, the control-plane processing performed by the baseband processor2603may include processing of Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol, RRC protocol, and MAC Control Element (MAC CE). The baseband processor2603may include a modem processor (e.g., Digital Signal Processor (DSP)) that performs the digital baseband signal processing and a protocol stack processor (e.g., Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a Micro Processing Unit (MPU)) that performs the control-plane processing. In this case, the protocol stack processor, which performs the control-plane processing, may be integrated with an application processor2604described in the following. The application processor2604may also be referred to as a CPU, an MPU, a microprocessor, or a processor core. The application processor2604may include a plurality of processors (processor cores). The application processor2604loads a system software program (Operating System (OS)) and various application programs (e.g., voice call application, WEB browser, mailer, camera operation application, and music player application) from a memory2606or from another memory (not shown) and executes these programs, thereby providing various functions of the UE1. In some implementations, as represented by a dashed line (2605) inFIG.26, the baseband processor2603and the application processor2604may be integrated on a single chip. In other words, the baseband processor2603and the application processor2604may be implemented in a single System on Chip (SoC) device2605. An SoC device may be referred to as a system Large Scale Integration (LSI) or a chipset. The memory2606is a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory, or a combination thereof. The memory2606may include a plurality of memory devices that are physically independent from each other. The volatile memory is, for example, a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a Dynamic RAM (DRAM), or a combination thereof. The non-volatile memory is, for example, a mask Read Only Memory (MROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), a flash memory, a hard disc drive, or any combination thereof. The memory2606may include, for example, an external memory device that can be accessed by the baseband processor2603, the application processor2604, and the SoC2605. The memory2606may include an internal memory device that is integrated in the baseband processor2603, the application processor2604, or the SoC2605. Further, the memory2606may include a memory in a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). The memory2606may store one or more software modules (computer programs)2607including instructions and data to perform processing by the UE1described in the above embodiments. In some implementations, the baseband processor2603or the application processor2604may load the one or more software modules2607from the memory2606and execute the loaded software modules, thereby performing the processing of the UE1described in the above embodiments. FIG.27is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a node in the RAN2(e.g., CIoT BS or eNB) according to the above-described embodiments. As shown inFIG.27, the node includes an RF transceiver2701, a network interface2703, a processor2704, and a memory2705. The RF transceiver2701performs analog RF signal processing to communicate with the radio terminal1. The RF transceiver2701may include a plurality of transceivers. The RF transceiver2701is connected to an antenna2702and the processor2704. The RF transceiver2701receives modulated symbol data (or OFDM symbol data) from the processor2704, generates a transmission RF signal, and supplies the generated transmission RF signal to the antenna2702. Further, the RF transceiver2701generates a baseband reception signal based on a reception RF signal received by the antenna2702and supplies this signal to the processor2704. The network interface2703is used to communicate with network nodes (e.g., MME, C-SGN, and S-GW). The network interface2703may include, for example, a network interface card (NIC) conforming to the IEEE 802.3 series. The processor2704performs digital baseband signal processing (i.e., data-plane processing) and control-plane processing for radio communication. In the case of LTE or LTE-Advanced, for example, the digital baseband signal processing performed by the processor2704may include signal processing of the PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and PHY layer. Further, the control-plane processing performed by the processor2704may include processing of S1 protocol, RRC protocol, and MAC CEs. The processor2704may include a plurality of processors. The processor2704may include, for example, a modem processor (e.g., DSP) that performs the digital baseband signal processing and a protocol-stack-processor (e.g., CPU or MPU) that performs the control-plane processing. The memory2705is composed of a combination of a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory. The volatile memory is, for example, an SRAM, a DRAM, or a combination thereof. The nonvolatile memory is, for example, an MROM, a PROM, a flash memory, a hard disk drive, or a combination thereof. The memory2705may include a storage located apart from the processor2704. In this case, the processor2704may access the memory2705through the network interface2703or an I/O interface (not shown). The memory2705may store one or more software modules (computer programs)2706including instructions and data to perform processing by the node in the RAN2(e.g., CIoT BS or eNB) described in the above embodiments. In some implementations, the processor2704may load the one or more software modules2706from the memory2705and execute the loaded software modules, thereby performing the processing of any node in the RAN2described in the above embodiments. FIG.28is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a node in the CN3(e.g., C-SGN and MME) according to the above-described embodiments. As shown inFIG.28, the node includes a network interface2801, a processor2802, and a memory2803. The network interface2801is used to communicate with network nodes (e.g., C-SGN, MME, HSS, S-GW, P-GW, CIoT BS, and eNB). The network interface2801may include, for example, a network interface card (NIC) conforming to the IEEE 802.3 series. The processor2802loads one or more software modules (computer programs)2804from the memory2803and executes the loaded software modules, thereby performing the processing of any node in the CN3(e.g., C-SGN or MME) described in the above embodiments. The processor2802may be, for example, a microprocessor, an MPU, or a CPU. The processor2802may include a plurality of processors. The memory2803is composed of a combination of a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory. The memory2803may include a storage located apart from the processor2802. In this case, the processor2802may access the memory2803through an I/O interface (not shown). As described above with reference toFIGS.26to28, each of the processors included in the UE1, the nodes in the RAN2and the nodes in the CN3in the above embodiments executes one or more programs including a set of instructions to cause a computer to perform an algorithm described above with reference to the drawings. These programs may be stored in various types of non-transitory computer readable media and thereby supplied to computers. The non-transitory computer readable media includes various types of tangible storage media. Examples of the non-transitory computer readable media include a magnetic recording medium (such as a flexible disk, a magnetic tape, and a hard disk drive), a magneto-optic recording medium (such as a magneto-optic disk), a Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), CD-R, CD-R/W, and a semiconductor memory (such as a mask ROM, a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), a flash ROM, and a Random Access Memory (RAM)). These programs may be supplied to computers by using various types of transitory computer readable media. Examples of the transitory computer readable media include an electrical signal, an optical signal, and an electromagnetic wave. The transitory computer readable media can be used to supply programs to a computer through a wired communication line (e.g., electric wires and optical fibers) or a wireless communication line. Other Embodiments Each of the above embodiments may be used individually, or two or more of the embodiments may be appropriately combined with one another. The RAN2described in the above embodiments may be a Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN). The C-RAN is also referred to as a Centralized RAN. In other words, the processes and the operations performed by the RAN2, or the CIoT BS or the eNB in the RAN2, described in the above embodiments may be provided by one or a combination of a Digital Unit (DU) and a Radio Unit (RU) included in the C-RAN architecture. The DU is also referred to as a Baseband Unit (BBU). The RU is also referred to as a Remote Radio Head (RRH) or Remote Radio Equipment (RRE). That is, the processes and the operations performed by the RAN2, the CIoT BS, or the eNB described in the above embodiments may be provided by any one or more radio stations (RAN nodes). The above-described embodiments may be applied to either or both of communication in NB-IoT and communication in LTE eMTC. Further, the above-described embodiments may be applied to communication of UEs according to LTE, LTE-Advanced and modifications thereof. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are not limited to LTE, LTE-Advance and modifications thereof and may also be applied to other radio communication networks. Further, the above-described embodiments are merely examples of applications of the technical ideas obtained by the inventors. These technical ideas are not limited to the above-described embodiments and various modifications may be made thereto. This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese patent application No. 2015-256034, filed on Dec. 28, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1USER EQUIPMENT (UE)2RADIO ACCESS NETWORK (RAN)3CORE NETWORK (CN)4APPLICATION SERVER5HOME SUBSCRIBER SERVER (HSS)6SERVING GATEWAY (S-GW)2603BASEBAND PROCESSOR2604APPLICATION PROCESSOR2606MEMORY2704PROCESSOR2705MEMORY2802PROCESSOR2803MEMORY | 115,888 |
11943820 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements. Also, the following detailed description does not limit the invention. The increase in mobile device utilization and data demand is a factor in the interoperability between RANs and Wi-Fi access points (APs). The interoperability of a RAN and a Wi-Fi access point may be used for both ground-based device and air-based device communications. For example, an in-flight device may communicate with the RAN via a high-powered Wi-Fi access point. Offloading traffic to the Wi-Fi access point can alleviate RAN utilization since the RAN may typically be a bottleneck in the network. During crisis, natural disaster, or other circumstances when the RAN may be congested or unavailable, some priority users (e.g., Emergency 911 users, Natural Security users, Governmental users, etc.) may be afforded access to Wi-Fi access points to use various services, such as messaging, voice and video calls, Internet access, or other type of application services (e.g., ultra-reliable communications, etc.) via an evolved Packet Data Gateway (ePDG). Additionally, a Fifth Generation (5G) or future generation fixed wireless access device may have a built-in Wi-Fi modem connected to a data network that may be managed by a network provider. Even so, Wi-Fi access points may also experience congestion. For example, a Wi-Fi access point may be subject to excessive connection demand, limited bandwidth, a Denial of Service (DoS) attack, or other circumstance that may degrade wireless access and consequently inhibit the priority user to access and establish a service (e.g., a call, Internet access, etc.). According to exemplary embodiments, a Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service is described. According to an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may provide priority users with admission control and quality of service (QoS) priority to Wi-Fi access points over other types of users. According to an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi access point may be a device that operates according to an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (also known as 802.11x) (e.g., 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11n, 802.11ac, etc.). According to an exemplary embodiment, the priority user may be a user and/or an end device within a special class, such as the special class 11-15 or 10-15 of an Access Control Class (ACC) pertaining to a network (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-A Pro, Fifth Generation (5G), etc.), a network standard (e.g., Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 3GPP2, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)), and/or an access class barring (ACB) configuration scheme. According to another exemplary embodiment, the priority user may be a user and/or an end device within a special class according to a proprietary or non-standard ACC scheme. According to an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi control and prioritization service may be invoked when the Wi-Fi access point is congested and/or congestion is predicted (e.g., a prospective congestion). According to an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi control and prioritization service may be invoked not based on congestion control, but may be invoked based on an operator controlled Operations and Maintenance (O&M) procedure and/or another type of configuration. According to an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may use priority information that may be stored or accessed by the end device. For example, priority information may be included in an Access Control Class (ACC) file that may be stored in a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) applet of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) or other storage medium, as described herein. According to an exemplary embodiment, the end device of a priority user may include priority information in a message used to establish a Wi-Fi connection with the Wi-Fi access point. According to an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may include distinguishing the priority user on a Wi-Fi radio link so that access may be granted when the Wi-Fi access point is congested, subject to potential or predicted congestion, or some other state that may degrade performance. The Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may afford priority to priority users over other users and/or end devices that may be requesting sessions or may already have active sessions. According to exemplary embodiments, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may afford priority to traffic of the priority user. For example, the Wi-Fi access point may afford priority by way of routing and/or processing traffic to and from an end device and/or a network device in a network path of a priority user's session, as described herein. According to an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may afford priority to all traffic associated with the priority user. According to another exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may afford priority to traffic according to traffic categories. For example, the traffic categories may be the traffic categories or classification associated with the Wireless Multimedia Extension (WME) of the Wi-Fi 802.11 standard. According to an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may afford different priorities to priority users based on the ACC and traffic category. FIG.1is a diagram illustrating an exemplary environment100in which an exemplary embodiment of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may be implemented. As illustrated, environment100includes an access network105, a core network150, and an external network170. Access network105includes access devices110, core network150includes core devices155, and external network170includes external devices175. Environment100further includes end devices199. The number, type, and arrangement of networks illustrated in environment100are exemplary. Additionally, or alternatively, other networks not illustrated inFIG.1may be included in environment100, such as a backhaul/fronthaul network or another type of intermediary network, as described herein. The number, the type, and the arrangement of network devices in access network105, core network150, external network170, as illustrated and described, are exemplary. The number of end devices199is exemplary. A network device, a network element, or a network function (referred to herein simply as a network device) may be implemented according to one or multiple network architectures (e.g., a client device, a server device, a peer device, a proxy device, a cloud device, a virtualized function, and/or another type of network architecture (e.g., Software Defined Networking (SDN), virtual, logical, network slicing, etc.)). Additionally, a network device may be implemented according to various computing architectures, such as centralized, distributed, cloud (e.g., elastic, public, private, etc.), edge, fog, and/or another type of computing architecture. Environment100includes communication links between the networks, between network devices, and between end device199and network devices. Environment100may be implemented to include wired, optical, and/or wireless communication links among the network devices and the networks illustrated. A communicative connection via a communication link may be direct or indirect. For example, an indirect communicative connection may involve an intermediary device and/or an intermediary network not illustrated inFIG.1. A direct communicative connection may not involve an intermediary device and/or an intermediary network. The number and the arrangement of communication links illustrated in environment100are exemplary. Environment100may include various planes of communication including, for example, a control plane, a user plane, and a network management plane. Environment100may include other types of planes of communication. A message communicated in support of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may use at least one of these planes of communication. Additionally, an interface of a network device may be modified (e.g., relative to an interface defined by a standards body, such as 3GPP, 3GPP2, ITU, ETSI, IEEE 802.11, etc.) or a new interface of the network device may be provided in order to support the communication (e.g., transmission and reception of messages, information elements (IE), attribute value pairs (AVPs), etc.) between network devices and the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service logic, as described herein. For example, a Wi-Fi interface may be modified to transmit and receive priority information, as described herein. According to various exemplary implementations, the interface of the network device may be a service-based interface or a reference point-based interface. Access network105may include one or multiple networks of one or multiple types and technologies. For example, access network105may include a Fourth Generation (4G) RAN, a 4.5G RAN, a Fifth Generation (5G) RAN, and/or another type of future generation RAN. By way of further example, access network105may be implemented to include an Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) of an LTE network, an LTE-A network, and/or an LTE-A Pro network, a next generation (NG) RAN, and/or another type of RAN. Access network105may further include other types of wireless networks, such as a Wi-Fi network, a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) network, a local area network (LAN), a Bluetooth network, a personal area network (PAN), or another type of network (e.g., a legacy Third Generation (3G) RAN, etc.) that may be considered a network edge. Additionally, or alternatively, access network105may include a wired network, an optical network, or another type of network that may provide an on-ramp to access devices110and/or core network150. According to various exemplary embodiments, access network105may be implemented to include various architectures of wireless service, such as, for example, macrocell, microcell, femtocell, picocell, metrocell, NR cell, LTE cell, non-cell, or another type of architecture. Additionally, according to various exemplary embodiments, access network105may be implemented according to various wireless technologies (e.g., radio access technologies (RATs), etc.), wireless standards, wireless frequencies/bands/carriers (e.g., centimeter (cm) wave, millimeter (mm) wave, below 6 Gigahertz (GHz), above 6 GHz, licensed radio spectrum, unlicensed radio spectrum, etc.), and/or other attributes of radio communication. Depending on the implementation, access network105may include one or multiple types of network devices, such as access devices110. For example, access devices110may include an evolved Node B (eNB), a next generation Node B (gNB), an evolved Long Term Evolution (eLTE) eNB, a radio network controller (RNC), a remote radio head (RRH), a baseband unit (BBU), a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a small cell node (e.g., a picocell device, a femtocell device, a microcell device, a home eNB, etc.), a future generation wireless access device, another type of wireless node (e.g., a WiMax device, a hotspot device, etc.) that provides a wireless access service. According to exemplary embodiments, access devices110include a Wi-Fi access device that is Wi-Fi enabled and provides Wi-Fi access to end devices199. The Wi-Fi access device includes logic of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, as described herein. According to various exemplary embodiments, the Wi-Fi access device may be a stationary device, a mobile device, included in an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (e.g., a drone, etc.), included in a manned aerial vehicle (MAV) (e.g., a helicopter, etc.), a portable device, a home device, an enterprise device, a public device, a private device, an ad hoc device, a hotspot device, or a fixed wireless access point, for example. The Wi-Fi access device may be implemented as a router, a repeater, a bridge, a smartphone or other type of user equipment/device, or other type of Wi-Fi access point, for example. Wi-Fi access device and Wi-Fi access point may be used interchangeably in the description. Core network150may include one or multiple networks of one or multiple types and technologies. According to an exemplary embodiment, core network150includes a complementary network of access network105. For example, core network150may be implemented to include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) of an LTE network, an LTE-A network, an LTE-A Pro network, a next generation core (NGC) network, and/or a future generation network. Core network150may include a legacy core network. Depending on the implementation, core network150may include various types of network devices, such as core devices155. For example, core devices155may include a mobility management entity (MME), a packet gateway (PGW), an ePDG, a serving gateway (SGW), a home agent (HA), a GPRS support node (GGSN), a home subscriber server (HSS), an authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) server, a policy charging and rules function (PCRF), a charging system (CS), a user plane function (UPF), a Non-3GPP Interworking Function (N3IWF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a unified data management (UDM) device, an authentication server function (AUSF), a network slice selection function (NSSF), a network repository function (NRF), a policy control function (PCF), a network data analytics function (NWDAF), a network exposure function (NEF), and/or an application function (AF). According to other exemplary implementations, core devices155may include additional, different, and/or fewer network devices than those described. For example, core devices155may include a non-standard and/or a proprietary network device, or another type of network device that may be well-known but not particularly mentioned herein. Access network105and/or core network150may include a public network, a private network, and/or an ad hoc network. External network170may include one or multiple networks. For example, external network170may be implemented to include a service or an application-layer network, the Internet, the World Wide Web (WWW), an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network, a Rich Communication Service (RCS) network, a cloud network, a packet-switched network, a private network, a public network, a multi-access edge computing (MEC) network (also known as a mobile edge computing), a fog network, or other type of network that hosts an end device application or service. Depending on the implementation, external network170may include various network devices, such as external devices175. For example, external devices175may provide various applications, services, or other type of end device assets, such as servers (e.g., web, application, cloud, etc.), mass storage devices, and/or data center devices. According to various exemplary implementations, the application services may pertain to broadband services in dense areas (e.g., pervasive video, smart office, operator cloud services, video/photo sharing, etc.), broadband access everywhere (e.g., 50/100 Mbps, ultra low-cost network, etc.), higher user mobility (e.g., high speed train, remote computing, moving hot spots, etc.), Internet of Things (IoTs) (e.g., smart wearables, sensors, mobile video surveillance, smart cities, connected home, etc.), extreme real-time communications (e.g., tactile Internet, augmented reality, etc.), lifeline communications (e.g., natural disaster, emergency response, etc.), ultra-reliable communications (e.g., automated traffic control and driving, collaborative robots, health-related services (e.g., monitoring, remote surgery, etc.), drone delivery, public safety, etc.), broadcast-like services, real-time communications (e.g., voice, video conferencing, etc.), and/or messaging (e.g., texting, etc.). External devices175may also include network devices that provide other network-related functions, such as network management, load balancing, security, authentication and authorization, policy control, billing, and routing. External network170may include a private network and/or a public network. End device199includes a device that has computational and wireless communicative capabilities. Depending on the implementation, end device199may be a mobile device, a portable device, a stationary device, a device operated by a user (e.g., user equipment (UE)), or a device not operated by a user. For example, end device199may be implemented as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a tablet, a netbook, a phablet, a wearable device (e.g., a watch, glasses, etc.), a computer, a device in a vehicle, an IoT device, or other type of mobile wireless device. End device199may be configured to execute various types of software (e.g., applications, programs, etc.). The number and the types of software may vary among end devices199. According to an exemplary embodiment, end device199provides the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service and is Wi-Fi enabled, as described herein. A Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card, an embedded SIM (eSIM), a Universal SIM (USIM), a UICC, an embedded UICC (eUICC), or another type of resident storage (e.g., future generation, proprietary, etc.) of an end device may store priority information. For example, a UICC may include a USIM applet or other logic that includes ACC information. For example, an ACC elemental file (EF) may include bits corresponding to access classes ranging from 0-15. Access classes 0-9 correspond to standard access class users (e.g., non-priority users), access control class 10 corresponds to emergency call users, and access control classes 11-15 correspond to special access class or high priority access users. For example, access control class 11 may be for public land mobile network (PLMN) use, access control class 12 may be for security services, access control class 13 may be for public utilities, access control class 14 may be for national security services, and access control class 15 may be for PLMN staff. The term “priority user” or “priority users” may refer to a user, end device199, or both. Wi-Fi signaling procedures between end device199and the Wi-Fi access point, or between a RAN device (e.g., eNB, etc.) and the Wi-Fi access point do not include any priority information. As a consequence, when the Wi-Fi access point is overloaded, congested, or all existing connections are occupied, for example, a priority user or end device199may be unable to establish a radio link with the Wi-Fi access point, and in turn be unable to access and use an application service. For example, the Wi-Fi access point may be limited to accept a finite number of connections that may correspond to the number of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that are configured. For example, a Class-C IP address range may support about 253 Wi-Fi connections. According to other examples, the Wi-Fi access point may accept a finite number of connections based on some other type of configuration. According to an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may include priority or access level information corresponding to the access control class categories in a signaling procedure, as described herein. According to an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may reserve a number of connections to be used for priority users. For example, a Wi-Fi access device may be configured with a reserved connection value that indicates a maximum number of Wi-Fi connections available for priority users. According to various exemplary embodiments, the reserved connection value may be a static value or a dynamic value. For example, the reserved connection value may be increased or decreased using a network management procedure. According to an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may manage the reservation of available connections for the priority users. For example, the Wi-Fi access device may release a session of a priority user when the maximum number of connections is being used, and a new request to establish a Wi-Fi connection is received. For example, the Wi-Fi access device may include rules, policies, and/or other logic that selects the session to be released based on one or multiple factors, such as the state of the session (e.g., active versus idle), the priority of the priority user (e.g., 10 may be lower than 11-15, etc.), and/or other types of session-related (e.g., type of application service, etc.) and/or user-related information. According to an exemplary embodiment, when the reserved connection value is dynamic, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may release a session of a non-priority user (e.g., a normal user) to allow a priority user to establish a Wi-Fi connection. The Wi-Fi access device may include rules, policies, and/or other logic that selects the session to be released based on one or multiple factors, such as the state of the session, the duration of the session, and/or other types of session-related (e.g., type of application service, etc.) and/or user-related information. FIGS.2A and2Bare diagrams illustrating an exemplary process of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service. For example, the process may correspond to a signaling procedure between end device199and a Wi-Fi access device205. The messages described are exemplary. For purposes of description, according to an exemplary scenario, assume a priority user operates end device199. Also assume that Wi-Fi access device205is in a congested state or a predicted congested state. Further assume that Wi-Fi access device205Wi-Fi is configured with a reserved connection value that indicates a reservation of Wi-Fi connections available for priority users. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may reserve a pool of Wi-Fi data connections that may be used by priority users when Wi-Fi access device205is in the congested state or the predicted congested state. Referring toFIG.2A, Wi-Fi access device205may transmit a beacon signal within an area of Wi-Fi service (step1). End device199may receive the beacon. As a part of a Wi-Fi connection establishment procedure, end device199may generate and transmit a probe request. According to an exemplary embodiment, the probe request may include priority information (step2). For example, the priority information may indicate an access class category of 11 or some other priority value (e.g., 10, 12, 13, 14, 15), as illustrated inFIG.2Aas “Priority=X”. End device199may generate the probe request based on the priority information stored by end device199. For example, an operating system (OS) of end device199may fetch and translate the prioritization information (e.g., stored in a SIM or other resident memory) and include the priority information in an access signal message (e.g., the probe request) that is transmitted via a Wi-Fi modem of end device199. The probe request may include a unique identifier that may identify end device199(e.g., a Media Access Control (MAC) address, etc.), a Service Set Identifier (SSID), and/or other information (e.g., a request element, extended supported rates, high throughput (HT) capabilities, channel usage, a direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, etc.) that may be included in a probe request (e.g., of a Wi-Fi standard). In step (3), based on the receipt of the probe request, Wi-Fi access device205may determine that it is in a congested state or a predicted congested state. Wi-Fi access device205may not grant a new Wi-Fi connection to a non-priority user. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may ignore the probe request. However, in step (4), Wi-Fi access device205may determine that end device199is of a priority class. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may inspect and/or read an information element or other data field of the probe request, and determine that end device199has priority access. Additionally, for example, Wi-Fi access device205may compare the number of current Wi-Fi connections associated with priority users to the reserved connection value. Wi-Fi access device205may determine whether establishing the Wi-Fi connection with end device199would exceed the reserved connection value. According to various exemplary embodiments, when the reserved connection value would be exceeded, Wi-Fi access device205may refuse to establish a Wi-Fi connection or release a priority user, as described herein. In step (5), Wi-Fi access device205may generate and transmit a probe response that is responsive to the probe request. For example, the probe response may include a requested information element that may have been requested by end device199. In step (6), based on the receipt of the probe response, end device199may generate and transmit an authentication message. According to this exemplary scenario, assume an open system authentication framework (illustrated as “OPEN” inFIG.2A) and the first Authentication Frame (illustrated as “SEQ:1” inFIG.2A). The authentication message may include, for example, a unique identifier of end device199and other information according to a Wi-Fi standard. According to an exemplary embodiment, the authentication message may include the priority information. According to other exemplary scenarios, the authentication mechanism may use a “shared key” authentication mechanism (e.g., challenge messages, etc.) or some other type of authentication mechanism in which authentication messages may be exchanged. According to such an embodiment, one or multiple authentication messages may include the priority information. In step (7), Wi-Fi access device205may receive the authentication message, perform an authentication procedure, and generate and transmit an authentication message to end device199. The authentication message is also illustrated inFIG.2Aas “OPEN” and “SEQ:2.” According to some exemplary implementations, although not illustrated, Wi-Fi access device205may also re-perform (steps (3) and (4)) based on receiving the authentication message. For this example, assume that the authentication is successful. In step (8), based on the receipt of the authentication message, end device199may generate and transmit an association request. According to an exemplary embodiment, the association request may include the priority information. The association request may include a unique identifier of end device199and other information according to a Wi-Fi standard (e.g., various capabilities, etc.). In step (9), Wi-Fi access device205may receive the association message, may perform an association procedure, and may generate and transmit an association response to end device199. According to some exemplary implementations, although not illustrated, Wi-Fi access device205may also re-perform (steps (3) and (4)) based on receiving the association request. For this example, assume that the association is successful and a Wi-Fi connection between end device199and Wi-Fi access device205is established. Referring toFIG.2B, in step (10), in response to receiving the association response, end device199may perform an authentication procedure with an ePDG210via Wi-Fi access device205. As illustrated, Wi-Fi access device205may establish a tunnel (e.g., an Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) tunnel) with ePDG210. In step (11), end device synchronization and authentication between end device199and a core network of PGW215via ePDG210may be performed. According to this example, assume successful authentication and other core network procedures, and that end device199may transmit data to and/or receive data from a PGW215(or other core device155(e.g., UPF, etc.)). AlthoughFIGS.2A and2Billustrate exemplary messaging for the process of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, according to other exemplary embodiment, the process may include different messages and/or different operations depending on, for example, the access devices110and/or core devices155involved. Additionally, or alternatively, according to other exemplary embodiments of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, Wi-Fi access device205may assign a unique identifier to the probe request of step (2) in response to receiving the probe request that includes the priority information. The unique identifier may be included in the probe request (e.g., a unique end device identifier) or an identifier generated by Wi-Fi access device205. Wi-Fi access device205may store the identifier that correlates to the priority information (and end device199). Consequently, the authentication open message of step (6) and/or the association request of step (8) may not include the priority information. FIGS.2C and2Dare diagrams illustrating another exemplary process of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service. For example, the process may correspond to a signaling procedure between end device199, a flying cell/Wi-Fi access device220(e.g., a flying cell220-1and a flying Wi-Fi AP220-2), a ground Wi-Fi AP230, and a macrocell240. The messages described are exemplary. For purposes of description, according to an exemplary scenario, assume a priority user operates end device199. According to various exemplary embodiments, flying cell/Wi-Fi access device220may include a small cell (e.g., a femto cell, etc.), an eNB, a gNB, or other RAN device and a Wi-Fi access point that is communicatively coupled to the small cell or RAN device. According to other exemplary embodiments, flying cell/Wi-Fi access device220may include only a small cell or other RAN device, or only a Wi-Fi access point. Flying cell/Wi-Fi access device220may be implemented in an MAV, a UAV, or other type of aerial device. According to various exemplary embodiments, a ground Wi-Fi access device230may be communicatively coupled to a macrocell (e.g., an eNB, a gNB, etc.) or other ground-based RAN device. According to various exemplary embodiments, the flying Wi-Fi AP220-2and/or ground Wi-Fi AP230may include the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, as described herein. According to various exemplary embodiments, flying Wi-Fi AP220-2and/or ground Wi-Fi AP230may be in a congested state or a predicted congested state. Referring toFIG.2C, in step (1), end device199and flying cell220-1may establish a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection based on an RRC Connection Establishment Procedure. As a part of this procedure, end device199may generate and transmit an RRC Connection request that includes an establishment cause. The establishment cause may indicate High Priority Access (HPA), such as access control class 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15, or access control class 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15. In step (2), during the execution of the RRC Connection Establishment procedure, flying cell220-1and flying Wi-Fi AP220-2may exchange messages that establish a communicative coupling. For example, the messages may include an indication that end device199has a HPA. In step (3), upon completion of the of RRC Connection Establishment procedure and the messages exchanged with flying cell220-1, flying Wi-Fi AP220-2may generate and transmit a probe request with priority information to ground Wi-Fi AP230. The messages and operations of step (3) through step (10) may be similar to those previously described in relation to steps (2) through step (9) illustrated inFIG.2A. Referring toFIG.2D, based on the completion of the Wi-Fi connection between flying Wi-Fi AP202-2and ground Wi-Fi AP230, in step (11) ground Wi-Fi AP230may translate the Wi-Fi priority to an RRC Connection with HPA. For example, ground Wi-Fi AP230may indicate the HPA in an RRC procedure with macrocell240and an attachment procedure with core network150. For example, in an LTE context, an initial message (e.g., S1 Application Protocol (S1AP)) may include an attach request, a packet data network (PDN) request, and priority information. In step (12), ground Wi-Fi AP230, macrocell240and core network150may setup and establish a priority bearer on behalf of end device199. In step (13), end device199may transmit and/or receive data via flying cell/Wi-Fi access device220, ground Wi-Fi AP230, macrocell240, and core network150. AlthoughFIGS.2C and2Dillustrate exemplary messaging for the process of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, according to other exemplary embodiment, the process may include different messages and/or different operations depending on, for example, the access devices110and/or core devices155involved. Additionally, or alternatively, according to other exemplary embodiments of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, flying Wi-Fi AP220-2and/or ground Wi-Fi AP230Wi-Fi access device205may assign a unique identifier or a unique end device identifier, as previously described, for correlation to priority information pertaining to end device199. Additionally, for example, according to other exemplary embodiments, flying cell/Wi-Fi access device220may include only flying Wi-Fi access point220-2, Wi-Fi messaging may take place between end device199and flying Wi-Fi access point220-2, and between flying Wi-Fi access point220-2and ground Wi-Fi access point230. As previously described, according to exemplary embodiments, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may afford priority to traffic of the priority user. For example, the Wi-Fi access point may afford priority by way of routing and/or processing traffic to and from an end device and/or a network device in a network path of a priority user's session. According to an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may afford priority to all traffic associated with the priority user. According to another exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may afford priority to traffic according to traffic categories associated with WMM of the Wi-Fi standard, such as background, best effort, video, and voice. According to an exemplary embodiment, a Wi-Fi access point may support QoS, such as the Wireless Multimedia Extension (WMM) enhancement pertaining to the Wi-Fi standard. Currently, the Wi-Fi standard defines eight user priorities, four access categories, and a queueing structure for different types of traffic associated with the access categories. However, the Wi-Fi standard does not provide any QoS and prioritization mapping between RAN standards (e.g., 3GPP, ITU, etc.) and Wi-Fi standards. According to an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may afford priority to all traffic associated with the priority user. For example, referring to a table300inFIG.3, a QoS and priority mapping is shown. As illustrated, table300may store exemplary application service information. Table300may include a priority level field305, a user priority field310, and an access category field315. As further illustrated, table300includes entries330-1through330-10(also referred as entries330, or individually or generally as entry330) that each includes a grouping of fields305,310, and315that are correlated (e.g., a record, etc.). Application service information is illustrated in tabular form merely for the sake of description. In this regard, application service information may be implemented in a data structure different from a table (e.g., a list, a flat file, etc.), a database, or other type of data file. The values illustrated in table300are exemplary. Priority level field305may indicate access control classes associated with a RAN or other type of network, a network standard, and so forth. For example, as previously described, the priority user may have an access control class ranging from 11-15 or 10-15, while non-priority users (e.g., normal users) may have an access control class ranging from 0-9. User priority field310may indicate a user priority associated with a Wi-Fi standard. For example, currently as previously described, the Wi-Fi standard defines eight user priorities (e.g., 0-7). According to some exemplary embodiments of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, user priorities may be expanded to include at least one additional user priority. A further description of this is described further below. Access category field315may indicate an access category. For example, currently as previously described, the Wi-Fi standard defines four access categories. These access categories are AC-NK (background), AC_BE (best effort), AC_VI (video), and AC_VO (voice). According to some exemplary embodiments of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, user priorities may be expanded to include, for example, AC_HI (all traffic). A further description is provided below. According to other exemplary implementations, table300may store additional, fewer, and/or different instances of application service information in support of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, as described herein. Referring to table300, normal users (e.g., 0-9) of the access control class may be correlated to the eight user priorities of the Wi-Fi standard. However, as illustrated in entries330-9and330-10, according to an exemplary embodiment, priority users (e.g., 10-15) may be mapped to an expanded Wi-Fi category of users (e.g., 8 and 9). According to other exemplary embodiments, the priority users may be mapped to a different expanded Wi-Fi category. For example, the priority users (e.g., 10-15) may be mapped to the same expanded Wi-Fi category of users (e.g., 8). Alternatively, the priority users (e.g., 11-15) may be mapped to one or multiple expanded Wi-Fi categories of users. Alternatively, the priority user (e.g., 10) may be mapped to a separate Wi-Fi category of user, while the priority users (e.g., 11-15) may be mapped to one or multiple higher tiered Wi-Fi category of users. Additionally, according to this embodiment, the access category may pertain to all traffic of the priority user. In this regard, any traffic including the four access categories of the Wi-Fi standard and any traffic that may fall outside of the four access categories of the Wi-Fi standard may be afforded with higher QoS and prioritization. Referring toFIG.5, current Wi-Fi standards define a QoS WMM Queue system in which priorities have been assigned for each of the traffic types. The QoS, prioritization, scheduling, queuing, and other processes may include various parameters, such as back-off times, transmit opportunity times, contention window values, arbitration interframe space values, and other parameters or configurations. In view of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, an additional one or more queues and configurations may be used to support the priority users, as described herein. For example, in addition to queues505-1through505-4that may be configured to support background, best effort, video, and voice traffic, the Wi-Fi access point may further include one or multiple queues505-5that support the priority users (e.g., access control class 10-15 or 11-15). Additionally, the components of the system that may support various QoS, scheduling (back off values, etc.), etc., as illustrated by background510-1, best effort510-2, video510-3, and voice510-4, the system may further support such configurations for the priority users via highest priority510-5. As such, application data500received by the Wi-Fi access point that includes the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may provide QoS and prioritization associated with the priority users. As previously described, according to another exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may afford priority to traffic according to traffic categories associated with WMM of the Wi-Fi standard, such as background, best effort, video, and voice. For example, referring to a table400inFIG.4, a QoS and priority mapping is shown. As illustrated, table400may store exemplary application service information. Table400may include a priority level field405, a user priority field410, and an access category field415. As further illustrated, table400includes entries430-1through430-12(also referred as entries430, or individually or generally as entry430) that each includes a grouping of fields405,410, and415that are correlated (e.g., a record, etc.). Application service information is illustrated in tabular form merely for the sake of description. In this regard, application service information may be implemented in a data structure different from a table (e.g., a list, a flat file, etc.), a database, or other type of data file. The values illustrated in table400are exemplary. Priority level field405, user priority field410, and access category field415may store information similar to that previously described in relation to priority level field305, user priority field310, and access category field315ofFIG.3. However, in contrast, as illustrated inFIG.4, the priority level mapping relates to only the four access categories of the Wi-Fi standard. According to this exemplary embodiment, the priority users (e.g., access control class 14 and 15) may have the highest priority for each traffic category or classification. According to other exemplary embodiments, the priority users and their associated access control class may be mapped differently relative to the eight user priorities of the Wi-Fi standard. For example, the priority user (e.g., access control class 10) may be mapped to Wi-Fi user priorities 2, 4, 7, and 10 associated with background, best effort, video, and voice traffic (e.g., entries430-2,430-5,430-8, and430-11), while priority users (e.g., access control classes 11-15) may be mapped to Wi-Fi user priorities 3, 5, 8, and 11 associated with background, best effort, video, and voice traffic (e.g., entries430-3,430-6,430-9, and430-12). According to various exemplary embodiment associated withFIG.4and described herein, the QoS WMM Queue system ofFIG.5may be modified to accommodate the different priority levels, user priority, and access category mappings ofFIG.4. For example, queues505and components510may include highest priority queues and highest priority components for priority users and each traffic category. The Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service may provide QoS and prioritization to traffic of the priority user/end device that communicates via a Wi-Fi access point or a Wi-Fi traffic link interfaced to non-Wi-Fi networks (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, 5G, a future generation network, etc.). For example, as illustrated inFIG.6, end device199of a priority user (not illustrated) may establish and have an application service session in which traffic may be communicated via Wi-Fi access device205and an intermediary network610to/from external network170. Intermediary network610may include access network105, core network150, and/or the Internet, for example. During the session, Wi-Fi access device205may apply QoS and prioritization to the traffic, as described herein. Wi-Fi access device205may or may not be in a congested state or a predicted state when the QoS and prioritization is provided as a part of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, as described herein. FIG.7is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of a device700that may be included in one or more of the devices described herein. For example, device700may correspond to access devices110, core devices155, external devices175, end devices199, Wi-Fi Fi access device205, ePDG210, PGW215, flying cell/Wi-Fi access device220, ground Wi-Fi AP230, macrocell240, and other types of network devices or logic, as described herein. As illustrated inFIG.7, device700includes a bus705, a processor710, a memory/storage715that stores software720, a communication interface725, an input730, and an output735. According to other embodiments, device700may include fewer components, additional components, different components, and/or a different arrangement of components than those illustrated inFIG.7and described herein. Bus705includes a path that permits communication among the components of device700. For example, bus705may include a system bus, an address bus, a data bus, and/or a control bus. Bus705may also include bus drivers, bus arbiters, bus interfaces, clocks, and so forth. Processor710includes one or multiple processors, microprocessors, data processors, co-processors, graphics processing units (GPUs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), controllers, programmable logic devices, chipsets, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific instruction-set processors (ASIPs), system-on-chips (SoCs), central processing units (CPUs) (e.g., one or multiple cores), microcontrollers, neural processing unit (NPUs), and/or some other type of component that interprets and/or executes instructions and/or data. Processor710may be implemented as hardware (e.g., a microprocessor, etc.), a combination of hardware and software (e.g., a SoC, an ASIC, etc.), may include one or multiple memories (e.g., cache, etc.), etc. Processor710may control the overall operation or a portion of operation(s) performed by device700. Processor710may perform one or multiple operations based on an operating system and/or various applications or computer programs (e.g., software720). Processor710may access instructions from memory/storage715, from other components of device700, and/or from a source external to device700(e.g., a network, another device, etc.). Processor710may perform an operation and/or a process based on various techniques including, for example, multithreading, parallel processing, pipelining, interleaving, etc. Memory/storage715includes one or multiple memories and/or one or multiple other types of storage mediums. For example, memory/storage715may include one or multiple types of memories, such as, a random access memory (RAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a cache, a read only memory (ROM), a programmable read only memory (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), a single in-line memory module (SIMM), a dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a flash memory (e.g., 2D, 3D, NOR, NAND, etc.), a solid state memory, and/or some other type of memory. Memory/storage715may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optic disk, a solid state disk, etc.), a Micro-Electromechanical System (MEMS)-based storage medium, and/or a nanotechnology-based storage medium. Memory/storage715may include drives for reading from and writing to the storage medium. Memory/storage715may be external to and/or removable from device700, such as, for example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory stick, a dongle, a hard disk, mass storage, off-line storage, or some other type of storing medium (e.g., a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-Ray disk (BD), etc.). Memory/storage715may store data, software, and/or instructions related to the operation of device700. Software720includes an application or a program that provides a function and/or a process. As an example, with reference to Wi-Fi access device205or a Wi-Fi access point, software720may include an application that, when executed by processor710, provides a function of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, as described herein. Additionally, for example, with reference to end device199, software720may include an application that, when executed by processor710, provides a function of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service. Software720may also include firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language (HDL), and/or other form of instruction. Software720may also be virtualized. Software720may further include an operating system (OS) (e.g., Windows, Linux, Android, proprietary, etc.). Communication interface725permits device700to communicate with other devices, networks, systems, and/or the like. Communication interface725includes one or multiple wireless interfaces and/or wired interfaces. For example, communication interface725may include one or multiple transmitters and receivers, or transceivers. Communication interface725may operate according to a protocol stack and a communication standard. Communication interface725may include an antenna. Communication interface725may include various processing logic or circuitry (e.g., multiplexing/de-multiplexing, filtering, amplifying, converting, error correction, application programming interface (API), etc.). Communication interface725may be implemented as a point-to-point interface, a service based interface, etc. Communication interface725may be implemented to include logic that supports the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, such as the transmission and reception of messages, the inclusion of priority information, and so forth, as described herein. Input730permits an input into device700. For example, input730may include a keyboard, a mouse, a display, a touchscreen, a touchless screen, a button, a switch, an input port, speech recognition logic, and/or some other type of visual, auditory, tactile, etc., input component. Output735permits an output from device700. For example, output735may include a speaker, a display, a touchscreen, a touchless screen, a light, an output port, and/or some other type of visual, auditory, tactile, etc., output component. As previously described, a network device may be implemented according to various computing architectures (e.g., in a cloud, etc.) and according to various network architectures (e.g., a virtualized function, etc.). Device700may be implemented in the same manner. For example, device700may be instantiated, created, deleted, or some other operational state during its life-cycle (e.g., refreshed, paused, suspended, rebooting, or another type of state or status), using well-known virtualization technologies (e.g., hypervisor, container engine, virtual container, virtual machine, etc.) in a network. Device700may perform a process and/or a function, as described herein, in response to processor710executing software720stored by memory/storage715. By way of example, instructions may be read into memory/storage715from another memory/storage715(not shown) or read from another device (not shown) via communication interface725. The instructions stored by memory/storage715cause processor710to perform a process and/or a function, as described herein. Alternatively, for example, according to other implementations, device700performs a process and/or a function as described herein based on the execution of hardware (processor710, etc.). FIGS.8A and8Bare a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process800of an exemplary embodiment of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service. According to an exemplary embodiment, Wi-Fi access device205may perform steps of process800. Process800may include steps performed by Wi-Fi access device205to establish a Wi-Fi connection. According to an exemplary implementation, processor710executes software720to perform a step illustrated inFIGS.8A and8B, and described herein. Alternatively, a step illustrated in FIGS.8A and8B and described herein, may be performed by execution of only hardware. Wi-Fi access device205may reserve Wi-Fi connections for the priority users, as described herein. According to various exemplary scenarios, the multi-RAT end device199may seek a Wi-Fi connection instead of an LTE, 5G, or other type of radio connection based on traffic offloading, cellular network failure, handover, lack of cellular coverage, or other circumstances that may prevent the multi-RAT end device199from establishing a radio connection with a non-Wi-Fi network. In some cases, such as traffic offloading or handover for example, Wi-Fi access device205may receive messaging from a RAN device in support of the offloading or handover. Referring toFIG.8A, in block805, the Wi-Fi access device may receive a probe request. For example, end device199may transmit a probe request that includes priority information (e.g., access control class value, such as between 11-15 or 10-15). Wi-Fi access device205may receive the probe request. In block810, the Wi-Fi access device may determine that it is in a congested state or predicted congested state. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may determine that a maximum number of Wi-Fi connections are currently being serviced. In block815, the Wi-Fi access device may determine that the received probe request pertains to a priority user. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may read the priority information included in the probe request, and determine that the probe request pertains to a priority user, as described herein. Wi-Fi access device205may have a certain number or percentage of Wi-Fi connections (e.g., a reserved connection value) that indicates a maximum number of reserved connections available for the priority users. In block820, it may be determined whether a reserved connection is available. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may determine whether the reserved connection value is greater than a current usage value indicating the reserved Wi-Fi connections currently being used. Wi-Fi access device205may compare the reserved connection value to the current usage value to make such a determination. When the current number of reserved Wi-Fi connections is equal to the reserved connection value (block820-NO), the Wi-Fi access device may release a Wi-Fi connection (block825). For example, based on the comparison, Wi-Fi access device205may determine that the current number of reserved Wi-Fi connections is equal to the reserved connection value. Wi-Fi access device205may release one of the Wi-Fi connections being used by a priority user. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may select the Wi-Fi connection to be released based on one or multiple factors, such as the state of the session, the priority of the priority user, and/or other session-related and/or user-related information, as described herein. Process800may continue to block830. When the current number of reserved Wi-Fi connections is not equal (e.g., below) the reserved connection value (block820-YES), the Wi-Fi access device may generate and transmit a probe response to the end device (block830). For example, based on the comparison, Wi-Fi access device205may determine that the current number of reserved Wi-Fi connections is less than the reserved connection value. Wi-Fi access device205may generate and transmit a probe response to end device199. In block835, the Wi-Fi access device may store the priority information. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may store the priority information (e.g., an access control class value between 10-15 or 11-15) that is correlated to a MAC address of end device199, another type end device identifier, or an identifier generated by Wi-Fi access device205. Referring toFIG.8B, in block840, the Wi-Fi access device may receive an authentication message. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may receive an authentication message from end device199. Wi-Fi access device205may correlate the authentication message to the stored priority information and the unique identifier of end device199. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may use the unique identifier of end device199to map the authentication message. In block845, the Wi-Fi access device may generate and transmit an authentication message. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may generate and transmit an authentication message to end device199. In block850, the Wi-Fi access device may receive an association request. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may receive an association request from end device199. Wi-Fi access device205may correlate the association request to the stored priority information. In block855, the Wi-Fi access device may generate and transmit an association response. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may generate and transmit an association response to end device199. In block860, the Wi-Fi access device may establish a Wi-Fi data connection. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may establish a Wi-Fi data connection, which supports an application service session, with end device199. FIGS.8A and8Billustrate an exemplary process800of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, however, according to other embodiments, process800may include additional operations, fewer operations, and/or different operations than those illustrated inFIGS.8A and8B, and described herein. For example, with reference to block845and855, the authentication message and the association request may each include the priority information. Additionally, according to such an embodiment, block835may be omitted. Alternatively, for example, according to other exemplary embodiments, block825may not be performed. For example, when the Wi-Fi access point determines that all of the reserved connections are being used, the priority user may be denied access. According to another exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi access point may store the priority information when the Wi-Fi data connection is established. FIG.9is a flow diagram illustrating another exemplary process900of an exemplary embodiment of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service. According to an exemplary embodiment, Wi-Fi access device205may perform steps of process900. Process900may include steps performed by Wi-Fi access device205, subsequent to the establishment of a Wi-Fi connection that pertain to QoS and prioritization of traffic (e.g., queuing, scheduling, etc.). According to an exemplary implementation, processor710executes software720to perform a step illustrated inFIG.9, and described herein. Alternatively, a step illustrated inFIG.9and described herein, may be performed by execution of only hardware. Referring toFIG.9, in block905, the Wi-Fi access device may store the priority information and a unique identifier. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may store the priority information (e.g., access control class value, such as between 11-15 or 10-15) and a unique identifier pertaining to end device199with which a Wi-Fi connection is established. In block910, the Wi-Fi access device may store application service information. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may store the application service information illustrated and described in relation toFIG.3orFIG.4. In block915, the Wi-Fi access device may receive traffic to or from the end device. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may receive traffic to or from end device199. In block920, the Wi-Fi access device may identify the priority level. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may correlate the traffic to the priority information and/or the unique identifier of end device199. Wi-Fi access device205may determine an access control class value pertaining to end device199and the traffic. In block925, the Wi-Fi access device may correlate a priority level to a user priority. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may correlate the access control class value of the traffic to a matched access control value included in the application service information. Wi-Fi access device205may determine the QoS and prioritization that correlate to the matched access control value and/or the user priority that is above the user priorities of the Wi-Fi standard. In block930, the Wi-Fi access device may apply the QoS and prioritization. For example, Wi-Fi access device205may apply queueing, scheduling, and other parameters as described herein, to the traffic that are indicative of a higher priority and QoS relative to the eight user priorities of the Wi-Fi standard. FIG.9illustrates an exemplary process900of the Wi-Fi admission control and prioritization service, however, according to other embodiments, process900may include additional operations, fewer operations, and/or different operations than those illustrated inFIG.9, and described herein. For example, process900may include a step that identifies the type of traffic (e.g., background, best effort, voice, or video). As set forth in this description and illustrated by the drawings, reference is made to “an exemplary embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “embodiments,” etc., which may include a particular feature, structure or characteristic in connection with an embodiment(s). However, the use of the phrase or term “an embodiment,” “embodiments,” etc., in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to all embodiments described, nor does it necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments necessarily mutually exclusive of other embodiment(s). The same applies to the term “implementation,” “implementations,” etc. The foregoing description of embodiments provides illustration, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Accordingly, modifications to the embodiments described herein may be possible. For example, various modifications and changes may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from the broader scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. The description and drawings are accordingly to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. The terms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to be interpreted to include one or more items. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to be interpreted as “based, at least in part, on,” unless explicitly stated otherwise. The term “and/or” is intended to be interpreted to include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated items. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example.” Any embodiment or implementation described as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or implementations. In addition, while series of blocks have been described with regard to the processes illustrated inFIGS.8A,8B, and9, the order of the blocks may be modified according to other embodiments. Further, non-dependent blocks may be performed in parallel. Additionally, other processes described in this description may be modified and/or non-dependent operations may be performed in parallel. Embodiments described herein may be implemented in many different forms of software executed by hardware. For example, a process or a function may be implemented as “logic,” a “component,” or an “element.” The logic, the component, or the element, may include, for example, hardware (e.g., processor710, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software (e.g., software720). Embodiments have been described without reference to the specific software code because the software code can be designed to implement the embodiments based on the description herein and commercially available software design environments and/or languages. For example, various types of programming languages including, for example, a compiled language, an interpreted language, a declarative language, or a procedural language may be implemented. Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another, the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, the temporal order in which instructions executed by a device are performed, etc., but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements. Additionally, embodiments described herein may be implemented as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores data and/or information, such as instructions, program code, a data structure, a program module, an application, a script, or other known or conventional form suitable for use in a computing environment. The program code, instructions, application, etc., is readable and executable by a processor (e.g., processor710) of a device. A non-transitory storage medium includes one or more of the storage mediums described in relation to memory/storage715. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be implemented in a centralized, distributed, or logical division that may include a single physical memory device or multiple physical memory devices spread across one or multiple network devices. To the extent the aforementioned embodiments collect, store or employ personal information of individuals, it should be understood that such information shall be collected, stored, and used in accordance with all applicable laws concerning protection of personal information. Additionally, the collection, storage and use of such information can be subject to consent of the individual to such activity, for example, through well known “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as can be appropriate for the situation and type of information. Collection, storage and use of personal information can be in an appropriately secure manner reflective of the type of information, for example, through various encryption and anonymization techniques for particularly sensitive information. No element, act, or instruction set forth in this description should be construed as critical or essential to the embodiments described herein unless explicitly indicated as such. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects set forth in this disclosure that are known or later come to be known are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. | 66,340 |
11943821 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION An information processing system according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described with reference toFIG.1.FIG.1illustrates an example of the configuration of the information processing system according to the present exemplary embodiment. The information processing system according to the present exemplary embodiment includes at least one wearable device10, at least one terminal apparatus12, and a control device14by way of example. The information processing system may also include other devices (e.g. a server etc.). The wearable device10, the terminal apparatus12, and the control device14have a function to communicate with a different device. The communication may be made through wired communication in which a cable is used, or may be made through wireless communication. That is, the devices may be physically connected to a different device etc. through a cable to transmit and receive information to and from each other, or may transmit and receive information to and from each other through wireless communication. Examples of the wireless communication include near-field wireless communication and Wi-Fi (registered trademark). Wireless communication of a different standard may also be used. Examples of the near-field wireless communication include Bluetooth (registered trademark), Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID), and Near Field Communication (NFC). The devices may also communicate with a different device via a communication path such as a Local Area Network (LAN) and the Internet. The devices may also communicate with a different device via a communication path N such as the Internet, for example. The wearable device10is a device to be worn by a user to be used, and includes at least one of a speaker and a display device. The wearable device10may be an ear-wearable device (e.g. an earphone, a headphone, a hearing aid, etc.) to be worn on an ear of the user, may be a glass-type device, may be a contact lens-type device to be worn on an eye (e.g. an eyeball) of the user, may be a device (e.g. a wristwatch-type device such as a smartwatch etc.) to be worn on a hand, a wrist, a finger, etc. of the user, may be a device to be worn on the neck of the user, may be a device to be worn on the body (e.g. abdomen, chest, etc.) of the user, and may be a device to be embedded in the skin of the user, for example. The wearable device10may be worn at a plurality of locations of the user. The glass-type device has a function to display an image using a technique such as augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR), for example. The glass-type device may be AR glasses, VR glasses, MR glasses, etc., for example. A head mounted display (HMD) may also be used as the wearable device10. Examples of the terminal apparatus12include a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a “PC”), a tablet PC, a smartphone, a smart speaker, a cellular phone, etc. The terminal apparatus12may be a device to be worn, held, or carried by the user to be used, or may be a device to be installed to be used, rather than being worn, held, or carried by the user. In the present exemplary embodiment, communication is established between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12so that information is transmitted and received between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12. Examples of the communication include wireless communication. A specific example of the communication is near-field wireless communication such as Bluetooth. For example, in the case where the wearable device10is an ear-wearable device that includes an earphone or a headphone, sound data such as music data or voice data are transmitted from the terminal apparatus12to the wearable device10so that a sound based on the sound data is generated from the earphone or the headphone of the wearable device10. In the case where the wearable device10is a device that includes a display device such as AR glasses, VR glasses, or MR glasses, image data (e.g. still image data or moving image data) are transmitted from the terminal apparatus12to the wearable device10so that an image based on the image data is displayed on the display device of the wearable device10. The wearable device10may be a device that includes an earphone or a headphone and a display device such as AR glasses, VR glasses, or MR glasses. The concept of establishment of communication include: a state in which information is transmitted and received with the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12connected to each other through near-field wireless communication; a state in which information may be transmitted and received with the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12connected to each other through near-field wireless communication; a state in which pairing (i.e. synchronization) between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is completed; etc. Pairing is a process of allowing mutual authentication, that is, allowing the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12to authenticate each other and permit the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12to communication with each other. Pairing is occasionally referred to as “mutual registration”. The state in which pairing is completed is a state in which mutual authentication is completed to enable the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12to communicate with each other. For example, when pairing is completed between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12, the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12are able to transmit and receive information therebetween using Bluetooth. Alternatively, communication may be established between one or more wearable devices10and one or more terminal apparatuses12so that information is transmitted and received therebetween. For example, communication may be established between one wearable device10and a plurality of terminal apparatuses12, and communication may be established between a plurality of wearable devices10and one terminal apparatus12. For example, information may be transmitted from one terminal apparatus12to a plurality of wearable devices10using a technique such as a multi-stream function (e.g. “multi-stream audio” achieved by Bluetooth) to transmit information to a plurality of devices and a function (e.g. “broadcast audio” achieved by Bluetooth) to enable broadcast of information to surrounding devices. For example, “LE Audio” achieved by Bluetooth etc. may be used. One of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is an example of an information processing apparatus, and the other device is an example of an external device. For example, the wearable device10may be an example of the information processing apparatus, and the terminal apparatus10may be an example of the external device. On the contrary, the terminal apparatus12may be an example of the information processing apparatus, and the wearable device10may be an example of the external device. The control device14is configured to control establishment of communication established between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12. The control device14is a device, a server, etc. that is used by a manager, for example, and corresponds to an example of a different device. For example, the control device14transmits cancellation information, which indicates an instruction to cancel establishment of communication established between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12, to at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12. The cancellation information is information for forcibly canceling establishment of such communication. In another example, in the case where the wearable device10includes a speaker (e.g. in the case where the wearable device10is an ear-wearable device that includes an earphone or a headphone), the control device14may transmit volume control information, which indicates an instruction to cause the speaker to generate a specific sound with a volume that is equal to or more than a volume determined in advance, to at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12. The volume control information is information for forcibly causing the speaker to generate the specific sound. The specific sound may be a sound determined in advance (e.g. noise, masking sound, etc.), or may be changed in random, for example. The specific sound may be an emergency alert sound etc. for informing the user of occurrence of a natural disaster such as an earthquake, an incident, etc. The volume control information may be information that instructs muting, or may be information that instructs a volume reduction. In still another example, in the case where the wearable device10includes a display device (e.g. in the case where the wearable device10is a device that includes a display device such as AR glasses, VR glasses, or MR glasses), the control device14may transmit image control information, which indicates an instruction to cause the display device to display a specific image determined in advance, to at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12. The image control information is information for forcibly causing the display device to display the specific image. The specific image may be an image determined in advance, or may be changed in random, for example. Examples of the specific image include an image that may obstruct the viewing field of the user. For example, the specific image may be an image that represents a specific color such as white, black, and other colors, an image that represents a specific pattern, etc. The control device14may cause the speaker to generate the specific sound described above, or cause the display device to display the specific image described above, in the case where establishment of communication between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12may not be canceled. The control device14may transmit the cancellation information, the volume control information, and the image control information to the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12via the communication path N, or may transmit the cancellation information, the volume control information, and the image control information to the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12using near-field wireless communication such as Bluetooth. The control device14stores information (e.g. address information such as an Internet Protocol (IP) address) for communicating with each of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12, other information (e.g. information such as an identification (ID) for identifying each of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12) related to each of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12, etc. Such information may be stored in advance in the control device14, may be stored in the control device14in the case where at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is used at a specific location, or may be stored in the control device14in the case where at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is used at a specific time. The hardware configuration of the wearable device10will be described below with reference toFIG.2.FIG.2illustrates an example of the hardware configuration of the wearable device10. The wearable device10includes a communication device16, a user interface (UI)18, a memory20, and a processor22, for example. The communication device16is a communication interface that includes a communication chip, a communication circuit, etc., and has a function of transmitting information to a different device and a function of receiving information transmitted from a different device. The communication device16may have a wireless communication function, or may have a wired communication function. The communication device16may communicate with a different device by using near-field wireless communication, or may communicate with a different device via a communication path such as a LAN or the Internet, for example. In the present exemplary embodiment, the communication device16communicates with one or more terminal apparatuses12using near-field wireless communication such as Bluetooth. The communication device16may also communicate with the control device14using near-field wireless communication, a LAN, the Internet, etc. The UI18is a user interface, and includes at least one of a display device such as a liquid crystal display and an electro-luminescence (EL) display and a device (e.g. a speaker) that generates a sound. In the case where the wearable device10is an ear-wearable device to be worn on an ear of the user to be used, the UI18includes an earphone or a headphone. In this case, the entire wearable device10may be an earphone or a headphone. For example, a wireless earphone or a wireless headphone is an example of the wearable device10as an ear-wearable device. In the case where the wearable device10is a glass-type wearable device (e.g. AR glasses, VR glasses, MR glasses, etc.) to be worn by the user to be used or a wearable device (e.g. a contact lens-type wearable device that contacts the cornea of an eye of the user to be used) to be worn on an eye of the user to be used, the UI18includes a display device. In the glass-type wearable device, in addition, the display device may be constituted of a touch screen. The wearable device10may be a device that includes the wireless earphone or the wireless headphone discussed above and the glass-type or contact lens-type wearable device. The UI18may include a sound pick-up device such as a microphone. The memory20is a device that constitutes one or more storage areas that store various kinds of information. Examples of the memory20include a hard disk drive, various types of memories (e.g. a random access memory (RAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a read only memory (ROM), etc.), other storage devices (e.g. an optical disk etc.), and a combination thereof. One or more memories20are included in the wearable device10. The memory20stores information for identifying the wearable device10, address information for communication (e.g. address information on the wearable device10, address information on the terminal apparatus12, and address information on the control device14), etc. For example, an IP address, a media control access (MAC) address, and other addresses (e.g. an electronic mail address etc.) may be stored as the address information. The processor22is configured to control operation of various portions of the wearable device10. The processor22may include a memory. For example, the processor22communicates with the various devices using the communication device16. Specifically, the processor22establishes near-field wireless communication such as Bluetooth with the terminal apparatus12, and transmits and receives information to and from the terminal apparatus12through the near-field wireless communication. The processor22also transmits and receives information to and from the control device14using near-field wireless communication or other communication. In the case where the wearable device10includes an earphone or a headphone, the processor22may cause the earphone or the headphone to generate a sound on the basis of voice data, music data, or other sound data. In the case where the wearable device10includes a display device, the processor22may cause the display device to display image data (e.g. still image data or moving image data). The voice data, the image data, etc. may be stored in the memory20, or may be transmitted from the terminal apparatus12or the control device14to the wearable device10. Besides, the processor22may receive information input via the UI18. The hardware configuration of the terminal apparatus12will be described below with reference toFIG.3.FIG.3illustrates an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal apparatus12. The terminal apparatus12includes a communication device24, a UI26, a memory28, and a processor30, for example. The communication device24is a communication interface that includes a communication chip, a communication circuit, etc., and has a function of transmitting information to a different device and a function of receiving information transmitted from a different device. The communication device24may have a wireless communication function, or may have a wired communication function. The communication device24may communicate with a different device by using near-field wireless communication, or may communicate with a different device via a communication path such as a LAN or the Internet, for example. In the present exemplary embodiment, the communication device24communicates with one or more wearable devices10using near-field wireless communication such as Bluetooth. The communication device24may also communicate with the control device14using near-field wireless communication, a LAN, the Internet, etc. The UI26is a user interface, and includes a display device and an operation device. The display device may be a liquid crystal display, an EL display, etc. The operation device may be a keyboard, an input key, an operation panel, etc. The UI26may be a UI that serves as both the display device and the operation device such as a touch screen. In addition, the UI26may include a microphone, or the UI26may include a speaker that generates a sound. The memory28is a device that constitutes one or more storage areas that store various kinds of information. Examples of the memory28include a hard disk drive, various types of memories (e.g. a RAM, a DRAM, a ROM, etc.), other storage devices (e.g. an optical disk etc.), and a combination thereof. One or more memories28are included in the terminal apparatus12. The memory28stores information for identifying the terminal apparatus12, address information for communication (e.g. address information on the wearable device10, address information on the terminal apparatus12, and address information on the control device14), etc. For example, an IP address, a MAC address, and other addresses (e.g. an electronic mail address etc.) may be stored as the address information. The processor30is configured to control operation of various portions of the terminal apparatus12. The processor30may include a memory. For example, the processor30communicates with the various devices using the communication device24. Specifically, the processor30establishes near-field wireless communication such as Bluetooth with the wearable device10, and transmits and receives information to and from the wearable device10through the near-field wireless communication. The processor30also transmits and receives information to and from the control device14using near-field wireless communication or other communication. In the case where the wearable device10includes an earphone or a headphone, the processor30may cause the earphone or the headphone to generate a sound on the basis of voice data, music data, or other sound data. In the case where the wearable device10includes a display device, the processor30may cause the display device to display image data (e.g. still image data or moving image data). The voice data, the image data, etc. may be stored in the memory20of the wearable device10, or may be transmitted from the terminal apparatus12or the control device14to the wearable device10. That is, generation of a sound from the earphone or the headphone and display of an image may be performed by the processor22of the wearable device10, or may be performed by the processor30of the terminal apparatus12. The hardware configuration of the control device14will be described below with reference toFIG.4.FIG.4illustrates an example of the hardware configuration of the control device14. The control device14includes a communication device32, a UI34, a memory36, and a processor38, for example. The communication device32is a communication interface that includes a communication chip, a communication circuit, etc., and has a function of transmitting information to a different device and a function of receiving information transmitted from a different device. The communication device32may have a wireless communication function, or may have a wired communication function. The communication device32may communicate with a different device by using near-field wireless communication, or may communicate with a different device via a communication path such as a LAN or the Internet, for example. In the present exemplary embodiment, the communication device32communicates with the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12using near-field wireless communication, a LAN, the Internet, etc. The UI34is a user interface, and includes a display device and an operation device. The display device may be a liquid crystal display, an EL display, etc. The operation device may be a keyboard, an input key, an operation panel, etc. The UI34may be a UI that serves as both the display device and the operation device such as a touch screen. In addition, the UI34may include a microphone, or the UI34may include a speaker that generates a sound. The UI34may not be included in the control device14. The memory36is a device that constitutes one or more storage areas that store various kinds of information. Examples of the memory36include a hard disk drive, various types of memories (e.g. a RAM, a DRAM, a ROM, etc.), other storage devices (e.g. an optical disk etc.), and a combination thereof. One or more memories36are included in the control device14. The memory36stores information for identifying the control device14, address information for communication (e.g. address information on the wearable device10, address information on the terminal apparatus12, and address information on the control device14), etc. For example, an IP address, a MAC address, and other addresses (e.g. an electronic mail address etc.) may be stored as the address information. The processor38is configured to control operation of various portions of the control device14. The processor38may include a memory. For example, the processor38communicates with the various devices using the communication device32. Specifically, the processor38transmits and receives information to and from the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12using near-field wireless communication or other communication. The information processing system according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described in detail below. In the following description, by way of example, it is assumed that pairing is completed between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12and the completed pairing is canceled in accordance with cancellation information from the control device14. In the case where paring is completed between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12, the processor38of the control device14transmits cancellation information which indicates an instruction to cancel establishment of communication, that is, cancellation information which indicates an instruction to cancel the completed pairing, to at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12. For example, the memory36of the control device14stores address information on each of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12, and the processor38of the control device14transmits the cancellation information to at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12using the address information. By way of example, it is assumed that the control device14transmits the cancellation information to the wearable device10. As a matter of course, the control device14may transmit the cancellation information to the terminal apparatus12without transmitting the cancellation information to the wearable device10, or may transmit the cancellation information to both the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12. Upon receiving the cancellation information from the control device14, the processor22of the wearable device10cancels the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12in accordance with an instruction for cancellation indicated in the cancellation information. Consequently, information is not transmitted and received between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12. For example, if the pairing is canceled when sound data or image data are transmitted from the terminal apparatus12to the wearable device10to be played back on the wearable device10through streaming, the sound data or the image data are not transmitted from the terminal apparatus12to the wearable device10so that the sound data or the image data are not played back on the wearable device10. For example, if pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is canceled in the case where the wearable device10is an ear-wearable device that includes an earphone or a headphone, sound data are not transmitted from the terminal apparatus12to the wearable device10so that a sound is not output from the earphone or the headphone. If pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is canceled in the case where the wearable device10is a wearable device that includes a display device such as AR glasses, VR glasses, or MR glasses, image data are not transmitted from the terminal apparatus12to the wearable device10so that image data are not displayed on the wearable device10. In the case where paring is completed between one wearable device10and a plurality of terminal apparatuses12, meanwhile, the processor22of the wearable device10cancels all the pairings completed with the plurality of terminal apparatuses12. In the case where specific pairing to be canceled is designated from among the plurality of pairings by a manager etc. authorized for cancellation, the processor22of the wearable device10may cancel the specific pairing, and may not cancel the other pairings. In the case where paring is completed between a plurality of wearable devices10and one terminal apparatus12, meanwhile, the processor22of each of the wearable devices10cancels its own pairing. In the case where the cancellation information is transmitted to the terminal apparatus12, the processor30of the terminal apparatus12may cancel the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12in accordance with an instruction for cancellation indicated in the cancellation information. In this manner, pairing may be canceled by the processor22of the wearable device10, or may be canceled by the processor30of the terminal apparatus12. While pairing is canceled by the processor22of the wearable device10in the following description, pairing may be canceled by the processor30of the terminal apparatus12. The processor38of the control device14may transmit cancellation information to at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12even in the case where pairing is not completed between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12. In this case, the processor22of the wearable device10may not execute pairing in accordance with the cancellation information even upon receiving an instruction to pair the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12with each other. In this manner, completion of pairing may be prevented. In the case where the wearable device10is an ear-wearable device and the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12may not be canceled in accordance with the cancellation information, a specific sound with a volume determined in advance or more may be generated from the earphone or the headphone. For example, it is assumed that information that indicates completion of cancellation is transmitted from the wearable device10to the control device14in the case where cancellation of pairing is completed. In this case, in the case where the processor38of the control device14does not receive information that indicates completion of cancellation from the wearable device10(e.g. in the case where information that indicates completion of cancellation is not received even when a time determined in advance elapses since the time when the cancellation information is transmitted), the processor38of the control device14transmits volume control information, which indicates an instruction to generate a specific sound, to the wearable device10. The processor22of the wearable device10causes the earphone or the headphone of the device itself to generate a specific sound in accordance with the volume control information. For example, the processor22of the wearable device10plays back the specific sound as superposed on a sound being played back. That is, the processor22of the wearable device10forcibly plays back the specific sound. In another example, the processor22of the wearable device10may cause the earphone or the headphone of the device itself to generate a specific sound, even if the volume control information is not received, in the case where pairing may not be canceled in accordance with the cancellation information. That is, the processor22of the wearable device10attempts to cancel the pairing with the terminal apparatus12upon receiving the cancellation information from the control device14, and causes the earphone or the headphone to generate a specific sound in the case where such cancellation is not successfully performed. In still another example, the processor38of the control device14may transmit the volume control information to the wearable device10without transmitting the cancellation information to the wearable device10. In this case, the processor22of the wearable device10causes the earphone or the headphone of the device itself to generate a specific sound in accordance with the volume control information without canceling the pairing with the terminal apparatus12. In this manner, a specific sound may be generated from the earphone or the headphone without canceling pairing. In still another example, the processor22of the wearable device10may cause the earphone or the headphone of the device itself to generate a specific sound upon receiving the cancellation information from the control device14, and cancel pairing when a time determined in advance elapses since the time when the specific sound is generated. Control for generating a specific sound may be performed by the processor30of the terminal apparatus12, pairing of which with the wearable device10has been completed. In the case where the wearable device10is a device that includes a display device such as AR glasses, VR glasses, or MR glasses and the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12may not be canceled in accordance with the cancellation information, a specific image determined in advance may be displayed on the display device. For example, in the case where information that indicates completion of cancellation of pairing is not received from the wearable device10which is the destination of transmission of the cancellation information, the processor38of the control device14transmits image control information, which indicates an instruction to display a specific image, to the wearable device10. The processor22of the wearable device10causes the display device of the device itself to display the specific image in accordance with the image control information. For example, the processor22of the wearable device10plays back the specific image as superposed on an image being played back. That is, the processor22of the wearable device10forcibly displays the specific image. In another example, the processor22of the wearable device10may cause the display device of the device itself to generate a specific image, even if the image control information is not received, in the case where pairing may not be canceled in accordance with the cancellation information. That is, the processor22of the wearable device10attempts to cancel the pairing with the terminal apparatus12upon receiving the cancellation information from the control device14, and causes the display device to display a specific image in the case where such cancellation is not successfully performed. In still another example, the processor38of the control device14may transmit the image control information to the wearable device10without transmitting the cancellation information to the wearable device10. In this case, the processor22of the wearable device10causes the display device of the device itself to display a specific image in accordance with the image control information without canceling the pairing with the terminal apparatus12. In this manner, a specific image may be displayed without canceling pairing. In still another example, the processor22of the wearable device10may cause the display device of the device itself to display a specific image upon receiving the cancellation information from the control device14, and cancel pairing when a time determined in advance elapses since the time when the specific image is displayed. The volume control information or the image control information may be transmitted from the control device14to the terminal apparatus12, and the processor30of the terminal apparatus12may cause the wearable device10to generate a specific sound in accordance with the volume control information, or may cause the wearable device10to display a specific image in accordance with the image control information. For example, the processor22of the wearable device10may cancel pairing in accordance with the cancellation information in the case where the position of at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is included within a specific location range. For example, the processor22of the wearable device10cancels pairing in accordance with the cancellation information described above in the case where the position of the wearable device10is included within the specific location range. The processor22of the wearable device10may cancel pairing in accordance with the cancellation information in the case where the position of the terminal apparatus12is included within the specific location range or in the case where the respective positions of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12are included within the specific location range. For example, the memory20of the wearable device10stores specific location information which is information that indicates a specific location, and the processor22of the wearable device10determines, on the basis of the specific location information, whether or not the position of the wearable device10or the terminal apparatus12is included within a specific location range. The specific location information may be transmitted from the control device14to the wearable device10. In this case, the processor22of the wearable device10may determine, on the basis of the specific location information which is sent from the control device14, whether or not the position of the wearable device10or the terminal apparatus12is included within the specific location range. Positional information which indicates the position of each device is acquired using a known technique such as a global positioning system (GPS), for example. For example, each of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12includes a GPS function to acquire positional information on the device itself. The processor22of the wearable device10determines, on the basis of a position indicated in the thus acquired positional information, whether or not the respective positions of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12are included within the specific location range. The processor22of the wearable device10receives positional information on the terminal apparatus12from the terminal apparatus12, and specifies the position of the terminal apparatus12on the basis of such positional information. Alternatively, the user of the wearable device10may input information that indicates the position of the user to the wearable device10or the terminal apparatus12. The processor22of the wearable device10may treat the position indicated in the thus input information as the position of the wearable device10or the terminal apparatus12, and determine whether or not the position of the wearable device10or the terminal apparatus12is included within the specific location range. The specific location range and the position of each device may be determined by the latitude and the longitude, may be determined by a relative position (e.g. a coordinate) from an origin as a reference position, or may be determined by the name, number, etc. of a building, room, space, etc. In addition, the specific location range and the position of each device may include the idea of height. In another example, the processor38of the control device14may transmit cancellation information to the wearable device10in the case where the position of at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is included within a specific location range. The processor38of the control device14may transmit cancellation information to the wearable device10in the case where the position of one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is included within a specific location range. Upon receiving the cancellation information, the processor22of the wearable device10cancels the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12in accordance with the cancellation information. For example, each of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12transmits positional information which indicates the position of the device itself to the control device14. The processor38of the control device14specifies the position of each of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12on the basis of the positional information which is sent from each of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12. The specific location is not specifically limited. Examples of the specific location include a school, an examination site, a classroom, a workplace, a hospital, a hospital room, etc. As a matter of course, these examples are merely exemplary, and a different location may be determined as the specific location. For example, the specific location may be designated by a manager authorized to instruct cancellation of pairing, the user of the wearable device10, etc. For example, the memory36of the control device14stores the specific location information, and the processor38of the control device14determines, on the basis of the specific location information, whether or not the position of the wearable device10or the position of the terminal apparatus12is included within a specific location range. For example, in the case where the wearable device10is an ear-wearable device that includes an earphone or a headphone and the position of the wearable device10is included within the specific location range, the processor22of the wearable device10cancels the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12in accordance with the cancellation information. Consequently, sound data are not transmitted from the terminal apparatus12to the wearable device10so that the wearable device10does not cause the earphone or the headphone to generate a sound. In the case where the wearable device10is a device that includes a display device such as AR glasses, VR glasses, or MR glasses and the position of the wearable device10is included within the specific location range, the processor22of the wearable device10cancels the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12in accordance with the cancellation information described above. Consequently, image data are not transmitted from the terminal apparatus12to the wearable device10so that the wearable device10does not display an image. The processor38of the control device14may transmit the cancellation information to a plurality of wearable devices10. For example, the processor38of the control device14transmits the cancellation information to a plurality of wearable devices10located within a specific location range to cancel pairing between each of the plurality of wearable devices10and the terminal apparatus12. In one application example, it is conceivable that, when the user who has the wearable device10enters a specific location such as an examination site or a school, the address of the wearable device10of each user, the address of the terminal apparatus12of each user, etc. are registered in the control device14. In this case, the processor38of the control device14transmits cancellation information which indicates an instruction to cancel pairing to each wearable device10located in the examination site or the school. This does not allow transmission and reception of information between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12at the specific location such as an examination site or a school. For example, sound data may not be transmitted from the terminal apparatus12to the wearable device10which is an ear-wearable device, or image data may not be transmitted from the terminal apparatus12to the wearable device10which includes a display device such as AR glasses. In addition, the processor38of the control device14may keep transmitting the cancellation information to the wearable device10which is located within a specific location range. For example, the processor38of the control device14may keep transmitting the cancellation information also to the wearable device10, pairing of which with the terminal apparatus12has been canceled. The processor38of the control device14may transmit the cancellation information to the wearable device10at time intervals determined in advance. In the case where the position of the wearable device10is included within a specific location range and the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12may not be canceled in accordance with the cancellation information, in addition, the processor22of the wearable device10may cause the earphone or the headphone of the device itself to generate the specific sound discussed above, or may cause the display device of the device itself to display the specific image discussed above. For example, in the case where pairing may not be canceled, the processor38of the control device14may transmit the volume control information and the image control information discussed above to the wearable device10, and the processor22of the wearable device10may cause the earphone or the headphone of the device itself to generate a specific sound in accordance with the volume control information, or may cause the display device of the device itself to display a specific image in accordance with the image control information. The processor22of the wearable device10may cause the earphone or the headphone to generate a specific sound, or may cause the display device to display a specific image, even if the volume control information or the image control information is not received, in the case where pairing may not be canceled. For example, it is conceivable to generate a specific sound or display a specific image in the case where the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12may not be canceled at a specific location such as an examination site or a school. In another example, in the case where the position of the wearable device10is included within a specific location range, the processor38of the control device14may transmit the volume control information and the image control information to the wearable device10without transmitting the cancellation information to the wearable device10. In this case, the processor22of the wearable device10causes the earphone or the headphone of the device itself to generate a specific sound in accordance with the volume control information, or causes the display device of the device itself to display a specific image in accordance with the image control information. For example, it is conceivable to cause the wearable device10to generate a specific sound or cause the wearable device10to display a specific image at a specific location such as an examination site or a school. In the case where communication is established (e.g. in the case where pairing is completed) between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12at a specific time, the processor22of the wearable device10may cancel establishment of the communication (e.g. pairing) in accordance with the cancellation information. A case where completed pairing is canceled will be described below. The specific time may be a specific time slot, may be a specific date and time, or may be a specific period determined by the date and time, for example. For example, the memory20of the wearable device10stores specific time information which indicates a specific time, and the processor22of the wearable device10determines, on the basis of the specific time information, whether or not the present time is included in the specific time (e.g. a specific time slot etc.). The specific time information may be transmitted from the control device14to the wearable device10. In this case, the processor22of the wearable device10determines, on the basis of the specific time information which is sent from the control device14, whether or not the present time is included in the specific time. In another example, the memory36of the control device14may store specific time information, and the processor38of the control device14may transmit the cancellation information to the wearable device10at a specific time indicated in the specific time information. Upon receiving the cancellation information, the processor22of the wearable device10cancels the pairing with the terminal apparatus12in accordance with the cancellation information. The processor38of the control device14may transmit the cancellation information to a plurality of wearable devices10at a specific time. In addition, the processor38of the control device14may keep transmitting the cancellation information to the wearable device10for a specific time (e.g. a specific time slot etc.). For example, the processor38of the control device14may transmit the cancellation information also to the wearable device10, pairing of which with the terminal apparatus12has been canceled. The processor38of the control device14may transmit the cancellation information to the wearable device10at time intervals determined in advance. In one application example, the processor38of the control device14may transmit the cancellation information to the wearable device10at a time determined in advance before the start of an examination. In addition, the processor38of the control device14may keep transmitting the cancellation information to the wearable device10for a time slot for which an examination is conducted (e.g. since a time determined in advance before the start of an examination until a time at the end of the examination). In the case where the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12may not be canceled in accordance with the cancellation information at a specific time, in addition, the processor22of the wearable device10may cause the earphone or the headphone of the device itself to generate the specific sound discussed above, or may cause the display device of the device itself to display the specific image discussed above. For example, in the case where pairing may not be canceled, the processor38of the control device14may transmit the volume control information and the image control information discussed above to the wearable device10, and the processor22of the wearable device10may cause the earphone or the headphone of the device itself to generate a specific sound in accordance with the volume control information, or may cause the display device of the device itself to display a specific image in accordance with the image control information. The processor22of the wearable device10may cause the earphone or the headphone to generate a specific sound, or may cause the display device to display a specific image, even if the volume control information or the image control information is not received, in the case where pairing may not be canceled. For example, it is conceivable to generate a specific sound or display a specific image in the case where the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12may not be canceled during an examination. In another example, the processor38of the control device14may transmit the volume control information and the image control information to the wearable device10, without transmitting the cancellation information to the wearable device10, at a specific time. In this case, the processor22of the wearable device10causes the earphone or the headphone of the device itself to generate a specific sound in accordance with the volume control information, or causes the display device of the device itself to display a specific image in accordance with the image control information. For example, it is conceivable to cause the wearable device10to generate a specific sound or cause the wearable device10to display a specific image during an examination. In addition, the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12may be canceled at a specific location and at a specific time. For example, the pairing may be canceled at an examination site and in a time slot for which an examination is conducted. In addition, a specific sound may be generated from the wearable device10, or a specific image may be displayed on the wearable device10, at a specific location and at a specific time. An instruction to cancel pairing, an instruction to generate a specific sound, and an instruction to display a specific image may be provided by a manager (e.g. an examination proctor etc.) authorized to provide such instructions. For example, information for logging in to the control device14may be provided to only the manager to allow only the manager to log in to the control device14and provide such instructions. In addition, the manager may be requested to input information (e.g. an ID, a password, etc.) that proves him/her to be authorized when he/she provides such instructions using the control device14, and be allowed to provide the instructions when the manager inputs such information. The processor22of the wearable device10may cancel the pairing with the terminal apparatus12in accordance with the cancellation information in the case where at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is worn by the user. For example, the processor22of the wearable device10cancels the pairing with the terminal apparatus12in accordance with the cancellation information in the case where the wearable device10which is an ear-wearable device is worn on an ear of the user. In the case where the earphone or the headphone itself constitutes the ear-wearable device, the processor22of the wearable device10cancels the pairing with the terminal apparatus12in accordance with the cancellation information in the case where the earphone is worn on an ear of the user or the headphone is worn on the head. In the case where the wearable device10is a glass-type device such as AR glasses and the wearable device10is worn on the face of the user, meanwhile, the processor22of the wearable device10cancels the pairing with the terminal apparatus12in accordance with the cancellation information. The processor38of the control device14may transmit the cancellation information to the wearable device10in the case where the wearable device10is worn by the user. Upon receiving the cancellation information, the processor22of the wearable device10cancels the pairing with the terminal apparatus12in accordance with the cancellation information. For example, a camera (e.g. a monitoring camera, a security camera, etc.) installed around the user captures the user, and the processor38of the control device14analyzes captured image data to determine whether or not the user wears the wearable device10. It may be determined whether or not the user wears the wearable device10using various sensors other than the camera. The processor38of the control device14may transmit the volume control information and the image control information discussed above to the wearable device10, without transmitting the cancellation information to the wearable device10, in the case where the wearable device10is worn by the user. The processor22of the wearable device10causes the earphone or the headphone of the device itself to generate a specific sound in accordance with the volume control information, or causes the display device of the device itself to display a specific image in accordance with the image control information. In the case where the wearable device10is located within a specific location range and the wearable device10is worn by the user, the processor38of the control device14may transmit the cancellation information, the volume control information, and the image control information to the wearable device10. That is, in the case where the user wears the wearable device10at a specific location, the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is canceled, a specific sound is generated from the wearable device10, or a specific image is displayed on the wearable device10. In the case where the user wears the wearable device10at a specific time, the processor38of the control device14may transmit the cancellation information, the volume control information, and the image control information to the wearable device10. That is, in the case where the user wears the wearable device10at a specific time, the pairing between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is canceled, a specific sound is generated from the wearable device10, or a specific image is displayed on the wearable device10. In the case where the user wears the wearable device10at a specific location and at a specific time, the processor38of the control device14may transmit the cancellation information, the volume control information, and the image control information to the wearable device10. The wearable device10or the terminal apparatus12may be set such that cancellation of pairing according to the cancellation information which is sent from the control device14is permitted. In this case, pairing of the wearable device10which has been so set is canceled in accordance with the cancellation information. For example, it is conceivable that the wearable device10is so set upon entering a specific location such as an examination site so that pairing of the wearable device10is canceled in accordance with the cancellation information. Devices for which establishment of communication is to be forcibly canceled (e.g. devices of which pairing is to be forcibly canceled) and devices for which establishment of communication is not to be forcibly canceled (e.g. devices of which pairing is not to be forcibly canceled) may be determined in advance. An example in which pairing of devices is to be canceled will be described by way of example. For example, information (e.g. black list information) that indicates one or more devices of which pairing is to be forcibly canceled and information (e.g. white list information) that indicates one or more devices of which pairing is not to be forcibly canceled is generated in advance, and stored in the memory36of the control device14. For example, the processor38of the control device14registers the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12in the black list information and the white list information in accordance with an instruction from a manager etc. The black list information and the white list information may be stored in the memory20of the wearable device10or the memory28of the terminal apparatus12. In another example, the memory20of the wearable device10may store information indicating that the wearable device10itself is a device registered in the black list information or the white list information. Similarly, the memory28of the terminal apparatus12may store information indicating that the terminal apparatus12itself is a device registered in the black list information or the white list information. The processor38of the control device14continuously or intermittently transmits the cancellation information to a specific location. For example, in the case where pairing is completed between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12and at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is registered in the black list information and disposed within the specific location range described above as the destination of transmission of the cancellation information, the processor22of the wearable device10or the processor30of the terminal apparatus12cancels the pairing in accordance with the cancellation information. For example, in the case where the wearable device10is registered in the black list information and disposed within the specific location range described above, the processor22of the wearable device10receives the cancellation information which is transmitted to the specific location, and cancels pairing in accordance with the cancellation information. In this case, the processor22of the wearable device10cancels pairing even in the case where the terminal apparatus12is not registered in the black list information or in the case where the terminal apparatus12is not disposed within the specific location range. In the case where the wearable device10is registered in the black list information but is not disposed within the specific location range described above and the terminal apparatus12is disposed within the specific location range described above, meanwhile, the processor30of the terminal apparatus12may receive the cancellation information which is transmitted to the specific location, and may, or may not, cancel pairing in accordance with the cancellation information. For example, the processor30of the terminal apparatus12may cancel pairing in the case where the terminal apparatus12is registered in the black list information, and may not cancel pairing in the case where the terminal apparatus12is not registered in the black list information but is registered in the white list information. In the case where pairing is completed between the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12and the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12are not registered in the black list information but are registered in the white list information, on the other hand, the processor22of the wearable device10or the processor30of the terminal apparatus12does not cancel the pairing even in the case where at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12is disposed within the specific location range described above. In this case, at least one of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12which is disposed within the specific location range receives the cancellation information which is transmitted to the specific location, but does not cancel the pairing. Examples of the specific location include a classroom and an examination room. In this case, the processor38of the control device14transmits the cancellation information to the classroom or the examination room. The wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12of students or examinees are registered in the black list information. The wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12of teachers or examiners are registered in the white list information. The wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12of the teachers or the examiners receive the cancellation information which is transmitted to the classroom or the examination room, but do not cancel pairing. On the other hand, the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12of the students or the examinees receive the cancellation information which is transmitted to the classroom or the examination room, and cancel pairing in accordance with the cancellation information. In this manner, it is possible to forcibly cancel the pairing of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12of the students or the examinees without forcibly canceling the pairing of the wearable device10and the terminal apparatus12of the teachers or the examiners. The classroom and the examination room are merely examples of the specific location, and the same applies to other examples of the specific location. The processor38of the control device14may transmit the volume control information and the image control information discussed above, in place of the cancellation information, to a specific location. In addition, the processor38of the control device14may transmit the volume control information and the image control information to a specific location in the case where pairing is not canceled. In the embodiments above, the term “processor” refers to hardware in a broad sense. Examples of the processor include general processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, and programmable logic device). In the embodiments above, the term “processor” is broad enough to encompass one processor or plural processors in collaboration which are located physically apart from each other but may work cooperatively. The order of operations of the processor is not limited to one described in the embodiments above, and may be changed. The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and its practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the disclosure be defined by the following claims and their equivalents. | 62,241 |
11943822 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT In the following, a communication system of an embodiment is described. The communication system of the embodiment includes a communication device and at least one electronic apparatus. The communication device and the electronic apparatus wirelessly communicate with each other using the Bluetooth (Bluetooth, registered trademark) protocol that adopts a frequency hopping method. In the case where the communication device is incorporated in a game device, the electronic apparatus that is wirelessly connected to the communication device may be a game device peripheral such as a headset or a game controller that allows a user to perform voice chat. By incorporating the functions of a microphone and a speaker into a game controller, a user can carry out voice chat even without a headset. The communication device of the embodiment includes a plurality of communication units (transceivers) of the same type. Here, the “same type” may indicate for example that the physical circuitry of the communication units is identical or is at least capable of identical or similar function. It may indicate for example that operating software and/or operating protocols of the communication units are identical. It implies that (a) the communication units can operate according to the same wireless communications protocol(s) (such as, though not exclusively, a Bluetooth® protocol). This allows wireless communications with any given external apparatus to be handled interchangeably by either or any of the communications units. So, the communications process by the external apparatus is the same or similar, independent of which communications unit forms the other party to such communication such that the external apparatus is equally capable of communication with any of a plurality of such communication units of the same type, for example, by following a common communications protocol in its communication with the communication units of the same type. (Having said this, it is of course noted that there may be aspects of communication with a particular communication unit which are specific to that particular communication operation with that particular communication unit. For example, the communication between the external device and the particular communication unit may potentially specify an identifier (whether paired or on an adhoc basis) of that particular communication unit, or the external apparatus and communication unit may each operate selectively as a master or a slave for that specific communication operation, or the actual data transmitted or received during the particular communication may be specific to the particular communication). In this way, by providing a plurality of communication units of the same type, the communication device can increase the communication capacity and can wirelessly communicate with many electronic apparatus. The plurality of communication units may be controlled by a single device driver, and data from the plurality of communication units may be handled as data from a single communication unit by the device driver. The device driver connects the communication units and the electronic apparatus suitably on the basis of communication situations of the plurality of communication units. It is to be noted that the communication device of the embodiment may be incorporated in an information processing device of a different type other than a game device. FIG.1depicts a communication system1of the embodiment. A communication device2includes a device main body3and a communication block40. The communication block40includes a plurality of Bluetooth (this may be hereinafter referred to simply as “BT”) communication apparatus. The device main body3includes a device driver that controls the communication block40, and data acquired via the communication block40is supplied to application software of a game or chat. Electronic apparatuses200ato200d(in the case where they are not distinguished from each other, each of them is referred to as “electronic apparatus200”) may be a peripheral such as a headset or a game controller that includes a BT communication apparatus. Note that the present techniques are not restricted to BT arrangements. Other communications protocols, such as other frequency-hopping protocols (for example non-BT protocols using adaptive frequency hopping spread spectrum or frequency hopping code division multiple access techniques) may be used instead or in addition. The term “communications operations” refers to the use of any such techniques. The communication block40is wirelessly connected to one or more electronic apparatus200. The device driver incorporated in the device main body3efficiently allocates an electronic apparatus200to one of the plurality of communication units of the communication block40and supports good wireless communication between the communication block40and the electronic apparatus200. The communication device2may comprise a programmable processing unit and therefore provides an example of a computer provided in a communication device that includes a plurality of communication units of the same type. The computer (such as that shown schematically inFIG.25) can, under the control of a program comprising computer-executable instructions, perform any of the methods or techniques discussed here relating to the operations of such a communication device. The electronic apparatus200may comprise a programmable processing unit and therefore provides an example of a computer which is wirelessly connectable to a communication device that includes a plurality of communication units of the same type. The computer (such as that shown schematically inFIG.25) can, under the control of a program comprising computer-executable instructions, perform any of the methods or techniques discussed here relating to the operations of such an electronic apparatus. FIG.2is a block diagram of part of the communication device2that is wirelessly connected to an external electronic apparatus. The communication device2includes a power supply block10, a system controller20, a host block30, and a communication block40. In the power supply block10, a VDD_MAIN12supplies main power, and a VDD_LP14supplies low power. In the example depicted inFIG.2, the system controller20and the communication block40are driven by the low power supply and the host block30is drive by the main power supply. The communication block40includes a plurality of communication units of the same type and includes, in the embodiment, two communication units of a first communication unit42and a second communication unit44. That the communication units are of the same type may signify that communication standards used by them are same as each other. The communication block40may be configured as a system-on-chip and the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44may operate on the basis of a clock signal of a common system clock oscillator provided on the same chip. The first communication unit42and the second communication unit44are integrated circuit parts that are individually connected to antennae and have a function for establishing wireless connection to an external electronic apparatus200in accordance with the Bluetooth protocol. A universal serial bus (USB) module32of the host block30and a USB module46of the communication block40are connected to each other in accordance with a common USB standard. It is to be noted that the host block30and the communication block40may be connected to each other in accordance with a communication standard other than the USB standard. The first communication unit42and the second communication unit44are connected to the single USB module46. By commonly using the single USB module46in the communication block40, the chip production cost of the communication block40can be reduced. A data signal received by the first communication unit42and/or the second communication unit44is transmitted to the USB module32through the USB module46and is subjected to necessary processing by a control unit34and then provided to a main central processing unit (CPU) (not depicted) that executes an application. Meanwhile, a data signal generated by the main CPU is transmitted to the USB module46through the USB module32and is transmitted from the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44to the electronic apparatus200to which the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44is wirelessly connected. In the following, a state transition of a power supply system in the communication device2is described. <Power Off> In the case where the power supply cable of the communication device2is not connected to an electrical outlet, the communication device2is in a power off state. <BT Initialization> If the power supply cable of the communication device2is connected to the electrical outlet, then the system controller20is started. After the system controller20is started, it supplies power to the host block30and the communication block40. After the host block30is started, the system controller20supplies a USB_EN signal for enabling the USB module46to the communication block40. Consequently, the USB module32and the USB module46are USB connected to each other. In the host block30, the control unit34operates as a device driver that controls a BT communication apparatus. The control unit34downloads firmware to the first communication unit42through the USB connection to initialize the first communication unit42. In this state, the control unit34carries out initialization only of one communication unit, namely, the first communication unit42, determined in advance from among the plurality of communication units of the same type and does not perform initialization of the second communication unit44. The control unit34sets parameters for wake on to the first communication unit42. <Wake on BT> After the control unit34sets the parameters for wake on to the first communication unit42, the system controller20stops the power supply to the host block30and stops supply of the USB_EN signal. Consequently, in the communication device2, only the system controller20and the first communication unit42maintain the started state. The first communication unit42enters a page scan mode for waiting for a connection request from an external electronic apparatus200. The first communication unit42has acquired and retained address information (apparatus identification (ID)) for identifying electronic apparatus200to be connected to the communication device2by a pairing process in advance. The first communication unit42may have acquired and retained address information by predetermined pairing information being encoded in one or both of the electronic apparatus and the communications device, or by using an ad-hoc association between the electronic apparatus and the communications device. The first communication unit42reads out, in the page scan mode, a connectable apparatus ID list which includes one or more apparatus IDs and waits for a connection request (paging) from an electronic apparatus200. In the state of the wake on BT, a connection request from an external electronic apparatus200becomes a starting request for the entire communication device including the device main body3. If the first communication unit42receives a connection request from an electronic apparatus200having a BT device address included in the apparatus ID list, then it outputs a WAKE signal to the system controller20in accordance with the parameters for wake on. When the system controller20receives the WAKE signal, it supplies power to the host block30and supplies a USB_EN signal for enabling the USB module46to the communication block40. The control unit34downloads firmware to the second communication unit44through the USB connection to initialize the second communication unit44. Consequently, in the communication block40, the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44are placed into a state in which they can establish wireless connection to the external electronic apparatus200. <Suspend> In a suspend state, the first communication unit42operates in a page scan mode for waiting for a connection request from an external electronic apparatus200. The USB module32and the USB module46suspend and the second communication unit44sleeps. FIG.3depicts a configuration relating to communication between the communication device2and an electronic apparatus200. The control unit34functions as a device driver for controlling the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44. The control unit34includes a connection management unit102, an allocation processing unit104, and a role management unit106. Any one or more of these may be considered as a “control unit” in the context of the discussions below. The first communication unit42has a function for wirelessly communicating with an external apparatus by the Bluetooth protocol and includes a connection processing unit50, a communication controlling unit52, a retaining unit54, and a clock counter56. The connection processing unit50executes a process for establishing wireless connection to an electronic apparatus200. The communication controlling unit52transmits and receives a data signal to and from the electronic apparatus200after establishment of the connection. The clock counter56generates a BT clock of 28 bits whose clock rate is 3.4 KHz. The retaining unit54retains apparatus ID information of electronic apparatus200with which a pairing process was performed in the past, and the connection processing unit50has a function for waiting for a connection request from an external electronic apparatus200. The second communication unit44has a function for wirelessly communicating with an external apparatus by the Bluetooth protocol and includes a connection processing unit60, a communication controlling unit62, and a clock counter64. The connection processing unit60executes a process for establishing wireless connection to an electronic apparatus200from which a connection request is received by the first communication unit42. The communication controlling unit62transmits and receives a data signal to and from the electronic apparatus200after establishment of the connection. The clock counter64generates a BT clock of 28 bits whose clock rate is 3.4 KHz. In the communication device2of the embodiment, the value of a predetermined bit of the BT clock of the clock counter56and the value of the predetermined bit of the BT clock of the clock counter64are controlled so as to synchronize with each other. Different from the connection processing unit50, the connection processing unit60in the embodiment does not have a function for waiting for a connection request from an external electronic apparatus200and does not wait for a connection request. It is to be noted that, although, in a different example, the connection processing unit60may have a function for waiting for a connection request, it is desirable to restrict the waiting function such that the connection processing unit60does not wait for a connection request. The electronic apparatus200wirelessly connects to the first communication unit42and/or the second communication unit44by the Bluetooth protocol. The electronic apparatus200includes a connection processing unit210, a communication controlling unit220, a retaining unit222, and a clock counter224, and the connection processing unit210includes a connection requesting unit212, an instruction processing unit214, and a request processing unit216. The retaining unit222retains apparatus ID information of the first communication unit42acquired by a pairing process with the communication device2. Referring toFIG.3, components described as functioning blocks that perform various processes can be configured, in hardware, from a circuit block, a memory, and other large scale integrations (LSIs) and is implemented, in software, from system software, a game program loaded in the memory and so forth. Accordingly, it is recognized by those skilled in the art that the functioning blocks can be implemented in various forms only from hardware, only from software, or from a combination of them and are not restrictive. In the following, a procedure for establishing wireless connecting between an electronic apparatus200and the communication device2is described. In order to wirelessly connect to the communication device2, the electronic apparatus200carried out a pairing process with the communication device2in advance. In the pairing process, the electronic apparatus200and the first communication unit42exchanged mutual apparatus ID information. Therefore, in the retaining unit222of the electronic apparatus200, the apparatus ID information of the first communication unit42has been retained, and in the retaining unit54of the first communication unit42, the apparatus ID information of the electronic apparatus200has been retained. As the first communication unit42has performed the pairing process with a plurality of electronic apparatuses200ato200dto which the first communication unit42is wirelessly connectable, the apparatus ID information of the plurality of electronic apparatuses200ato200dhas been retained into the retaining unit54to generate an apparatus ID list. The communication device2is in a wake on BT state when it has no wireless connection to any electronic apparatus200. FIG.4depicts a sequence by which the electronic apparatus200and the communication device2establish wireless connection to each other. In the wake on BT state, the first communication unit42operates in a page scan mode in which it waits for a connection request from an external electronic apparatus200(S10). In the page scan mode, the connection processing unit50of the first communication unit42waits for a connection request (paging) from an electronic apparatus200included in the connectable apparatus ID list. In the electronic apparatus200, the connection requesting unit212reads out the apparatus ID information of the first communication unit42from the retaining unit222and transmits a connection request including the apparatus ID information of the first communication unit42to the first communication unit42(S12). In the first communication unit42, when the connection processing unit50receives the connection request from the electronic apparatus200having a device ID included in the apparatus ID list, it outputs a WAKE signal to the system controller20in accordance with the wake on parameters (S14). When the system controller20receives the WAKE signal, it starts up the host block30and the USB module46to make the USB connection between the USB module32and the USB module46active. In the control unit34, the connection management unit102downloads firmware into the second communication unit44through the USB connection to initialize the second communication unit44. Consequently, the second communication unit44is placed into a wirelessly connectable state to an external electronic apparatus200(S16). The connection management unit102executes an authentication process and an encryption process with the electronic apparatus200, and the first communication unit42establishes connection to the electronic apparatus200in an active mode that is a data transfer mode in which it is possible to transfer data (S18). A BT communication apparatus operates as one of a master and a slave. (In some examples, a particular BT communication apparatus may be constrained by design or by configuration setting to operate at any point in time as either a master or a slave, which is to say that in such examples the BT communication apparatus cannot operate simultaneously as both a master and a slave even with different communication destinations). If two BT communication apparatus establish a BT link therebetween on the base band level, then the paging device becomes the master and the paged device becomes the slave. The master determines a frequency hopping pattern on the basis of an own BT device address and determines a phase of a hopping sequence by an own clock. At the point of time of S18, the electronic apparatus200that is the paging device is the master, and the first communication unit42that is the paged device is the slave. In order for the communication device2to control the electronic apparatus200that is a peripheral, it is necessary for the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200to operate as the master and the slave, respectively, the role management unit106transmits a role switching instruction for switching the roles (roles) of the master and the slave to the electronic apparatus200through the first communication unit42(S20). In the electronic apparatus200, the instruction processing unit214accepts the role switching instruction. The connection processing unit50in the first communication unit42and the instruction processing unit214execute switching of the roles in synchronism with each other after a predetermined interval of time after the role switching instruction is transmitted. Consequently, the electronic apparatus200starts operation as the slave and the first communication unit42starts operation as the master. In the communication system1of the embodiment, after the first communication unit42accepts a connection request from an electronic apparatus200and establishes wireless connection to the electronic apparatus200, it instructs the electronic apparatus200to establish a state in which the electronic apparatus200waits for acceptance of a connection request (S22). This is a process necessary to switch the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200(from which the connection request was received) from the first communication unit42to the second communication unit44, and such switching can occur in response to receipt of the connection request as well as in dependence upon an allocation process. In the following, a reason why the first communication unit42transmits a waiting instruction to the electronic apparatus200is described. The connection management unit102acquires a communication situation (or communication status) of the first communication unit42with an external apparatus and a communication situation (or communication status) of the second communication unit44with an external apparatus. At the point of time of establishment of connection at S18, the first communication unit42is connected to one electronic apparatus200and the second communication unit44is not connected to any electronic apparatus200. The connection management unit102may acquire the numbers of external apparatus to which the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44are connected individually as the communication situations. The allocation processing unit104executes an allocation process for determining the connection destination of the external apparatus to the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44on the basis of the communication situations acquired by the connection management unit102of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44. Here, while the first communication unit42has the function for waiting for a connection request from an external apparatus, the second communication unit44does not have the function or does not execute the function for waiting for a connection request from an external apparatus. Since the first communication unit42in the embodiment has a role of periodically operating in the page scan mode, the allocation processing unit104preferably determines the connection destination of the external apparatus to the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44such that the communication load with the external apparatus on the first communication unit42is equal to or lower than the communication load with the external apparatus on the second communication unit44. Therefore, when only one electronic apparatus200is connected to the communication device2, preferably the allocation processing unit104determines the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200to the second communication unit44to make the communication load on the first communication unit42lighter than the communication load on the second communication unit44. The communication load to be used as a reference for decision of an allocation destination by the allocation processing unit104is a load factor having an influence on communication by each communication unit and may be the number of external apparatus to which each communication unit is connected. Therefore, the allocation processing unit104may allocate an external apparatus to the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44such that the number of external apparatus to which the first communication unit42is connected is smaller than the number of external apparatus to which the second communication unit44is connected. It is to be noted that the communication load to be used as a reference may be a communication data amount of each communication unit with an external apparatus. Although the data amount of voice data in voice chat with an electronic apparatus200is great, the data amount of operation data of a game controller is small. Therefore, the connection management unit102may monitor the communication data amount between each communication unit and an electronic apparatus200, and the allocation processing unit104may determine the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200such that the communication load on the first communication unit42becomes lower than the communication load upon the second communication unit44. The communication load to be used as a reference may be a communication error rate in each communication unit or may be a combination of some of them. At the point of time of establishment of connection at S18, only one electronic apparatus200is already connected to the communication device2. Therefore, the allocation processing unit104determines to change the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200from the first communication unit42to the second communication unit44. In the communication system1of the embodiment, in order to change the connection destination, the allocation processing unit104initiates a connection process of the already connected electronic apparatus to the second communication device. To do this, the electronic apparatus200is caused to operate in a scan mode (such as the page scan mode) and the second communication unit44is caused to transmit a connection request to the electronic apparatus200. To this end, at S22, the first communication unit42transmits a signal (waiting instruction signal) for instructing the electronic apparatus200to establish a state in which the electronic apparatus200waits for a connection request from the second communication unit44. In this connection destination switching process, the allocation processing unit104notifies the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44that the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200currently connected to the first communication unit42is to be switched from the first communication unit42to the second communication unit44. At this time, the allocation processing unit104notifies the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44also of apparatus ID information (BT device address) of the electronic apparatus200to which the connection destination is to be changed. Consequently, the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44recognize that they are to operate such that the electronic apparatus200currently connected to the first communication unit42is connected to the second communication unit44. In the first communication unit42, the connection processing unit50transmits a waiting instruction signal to the electronic apparatus200(S22). The waiting instruction signal may include identification information of an apparatus (for example, communication unit) from which a connection request is to be transmitted, in the present example, apparatus ID information of the second communication unit44. In the electronic apparatus200, the instruction processing unit214receives a waiting instruction signal and accepts an instruction to enter a state in which it waits for a connection request from the second communication unit44. Consequently, while the instruction processing unit214maintains the connection to the first communication unit42, the request processing unit216operates in the page scan mode for waiting for a connection request from the second communication unit44(S24). At this time, the instruction processing unit214operates so as to alternately switch a communication period (first period) with the first communication unit42of the connection switching source and a scan period (second period) within which the second communication unit44of the connection switching source waits for a connection request. The connection processing unit50may place timing information that defines alternate switching between the first period and the second period into the waiting instruction signal such that the instruction processing unit214alternately and periodically switches the communication period with the first communication unit42and the scan period for waiting for a connection request from the second communication unit44in accordance with the timing information included in the waiting instruction signal. It is to be noted that the connection processing unit50preferably sets timing information in response to the connection situation of the electronic apparatus200and the communication device2. At the point of time of S22inFIG.4, the electronic apparatus200is in a stage in which it performs a new connection process with the communication device2and does not yet start data communication of voice data or the like with the first communication unit42. Therefore, the connection processing unit50sets timing information TB such that the electronic apparatus200can quickly establish wireless communication with the second communication unit44. For example, the connection processing unit50may set the timing information TI1indicating that the second period is longer than the first period. In the page scan mode carried out within a scan period (second period), the request processing unit216waits for a connection request from the second communication unit44that has the apparatus ID information included in the waiting instruction signal. In the second communication unit44, the connection processing unit60transmits a connection request including the apparatus ID information of the electronic apparatus200to the electronic apparatus200(S26). If the request processing unit216accepts the connection request, then a connection process is carried out between the request processing unit216and the connection processing unit60. Consequently, the second communication unit44is connected to the electronic apparatus200in the active mode (S28). If the connection management unit102detects that connection is established between the second communication unit44and the electronic apparatus200, then it instructs the first communication unit42to cancel the connection to the electronic apparatus200. Receiving this instruction, the connection processing unit50transmits a disconnection request to the electronic apparatus200(S30). It is to be noted that the disconnection request may be transmitted from the electronic apparatus200to the first communication unit42. Thereafter, the connection between the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200is cancelled (S32) (for example by the communication device), and the electronic apparatus200is connected only to the second communication unit44. In this manner, in the communication system1, after the second communication unit44establishes connection the electronic apparatus200, the wireless connection between the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200is cancelled (for example by the communication device), and the electronic apparatus200is wirelessly connected only to the second communication unit44. The first communication unit42then operates in a page scan mode for waiting for a connection request from an external electronic apparatus200(S34) and waits for a connection request (paging) from an electronic apparatus200included in the connectable apparatus ID list. The procedure when a first electronic apparatus200establishes connection to the communication device2is described above. In the following, a procedure when second and succeeding electronic apparatuses200establish connection to the communication device2is described with reference to connection transition diagrams depicting connection states is described. FIG.5depicts a state in which the first electronic apparatus200ais wirelessly connected to the second communication unit44in accordance with the wireless connection sequence depicted inFIG.4. As described above, the electronic apparatus200atransmits a connection request to the first communication unit42to establish connection to the first communication unit42and then operates in the page scan mode in which it waits for a connection request from the second communication unit44. The electronic apparatus200receives a connection request from the second communication unit44and establishes connection to the second communication unit44and then cancels the connection to the first communication unit42.FIG.5depicts this state. FIG.6depicts a state in which the second electronic apparatus200bis wirelessly connected to the first communication unit42. The electronic apparatus200btransmits a connection request to the first communication unit42to establish connection to the first communication unit42in the active mode. The connection management unit102acquires a communication situation of the first communication unit42with an external apparatus and a communication situation of the second communication unit44with an external apparatus. In the connection state depicted inFIG.6, the first communication unit42is connected to one electronic apparatus200band the second communication unit44is connected to one electronic apparatus200a. The connection management unit102acquires the number of electronic apparatus200to which each of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44is connected as a communication situation. The allocation processing unit104executes a process for allocating the electronic apparatus200bto one of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44on the basis of the numbers of electronic apparatus200to which the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44are individually connected. The allocation processing unit104allocates the electronic apparatus200bto which connection is established newly to the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44such that the communication load on the first communication unit42with the external apparatus becomes equal to or lower than the communication load on the second communication unit44with the external apparatus. In the state in which the second electronic apparatus200bestablishes connection to the first communication unit42(state depicted inFIG.6), the first communication unit42is connected to one electronic apparatus200band the second communication unit44is connected to one electronic apparatus200a, and the communication loads on the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44are equal to each other. Therefore, the allocation processing unit104determines that there is no problem in that the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200bis the first communication unit42and accordingly determines that the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200bis not to be changed. FIG.7depicts a state in which the third electronic apparatus200cis wirelessly connected to the first communication unit42. The electronic apparatus200ctransmits a connection request to the first communication unit42to establish connection to the first communication unit42in the active mode. The connection management unit102acquires the connection number of external apparatus to the first communication unit42and the connection number of external apparatus to the second communication unit44. In the connection state depicted inFIG.7, the first communication unit42is connected to two electronic apparatuses200band200cand the second communication unit44is connected to one electronic apparatus200a. The allocation processing unit104allocates the electronic apparatus200cto which connection is established newly to the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44such that the connection number of external apparatus to the first communication unit42becomes equal to or smaller than the connection number of external apparatus to the second communication unit44. In the state in which the third electronic apparatus200cestablishes connection to the first communication unit42(state depicted inFIG.7), the connection number of external apparatus to the first communication unit42is greater than the connection number of external apparatus to the second communication unit44. Therefore, the allocation processing unit104determines that the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200cis the second communication unit44and accordingly determines to change the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200cfrom the first communication unit42to the second communication unit44. FIG.8depicts a state in which the electronic apparatus200cis connected to the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44simultaneously. The first communication unit42transmits a signal (waiting instruction signal) for instructing the electronic apparatus200cto enter a state in which it waits for a connection request to the electronic apparatus200c, and while the electronic apparatus200cmaintains the connection to the first communication unit42, it operates in the page scan mode in which it waits for a connection request from the second communication unit44. The electronic apparatus200creceives a connection request from the second communication unit44and establishes connection to the second communication unit44.FIG.8depicts this state. FIG.9depicts a state in which the electronic apparatus200ccancels the connection to the first communication unit42. The first communication unit42transmits a disconnection request to the electronic apparatus200cto cancel the connection to the electronic apparatus200c.FIG.9depicts this state. FIG.10depicts a state in which the fourth electronic apparatus200dis wirelessly connected to the first communication unit42. The electronic apparatus200dtransmits a connection request to the first communication unit42to establish connection to the first communication unit42in the active mode. The connection management unit102acquires the connection number of external apparatus to the first communication unit42and the connection number of external apparatus to the second communication unit44. In the connection state depicted inFIG.10, the first communication unit42is connected to the two electronic apparatuses200band200d, and the second communication unit44is connected to the two electronic apparatuses200aand200c. The allocation processing unit104allocates the electronic apparatus200dto which connection is established newly to the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44such that the connection number of external apparatus to the first communication unit42becomes equal to or smaller than the connection number of external apparatus to the second communication unit44. In the state in which the fourth electronic apparatus200destablishes connect to the first communication unit42(state depicted inFIG.10), the connection number of external apparatus to the first communication unit42is equal to the connection number of external apparatus to the second communication unit44. Therefore, the allocation processing unit104decides that the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200dmay be the first communication unit42and accordingly determines that the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200dis not to be changed. FIG.11depicts a state in which the third electronic apparatus200cis disconnected from the second communication unit44. For example, if the user of the electronic apparatus200cends the game play of the electronic apparatus200cand logs out from the device main body3, then the connection between the electronic apparatus200cand the second communication unit44is cancelled. After the connection between the electronic apparatus200cand the communication device2is cancelled, the connection management unit102acquires the connection number of external apparatus to the first communication unit42and the connection number of external apparatus to the second communication unit44. In the connection state depicted inFIG.11, the first communication unit42is connected to the two electronic apparatuses200band200dand the second communication unit44is connected to the one electronic apparatus200a. The allocation processing unit104executes an allocation process taking it as a trigger (or in other words, in response to a detection) that the wireless connection to the electronic apparatus200cto which the communication device2has been connected ends. In particular, the allocation processing unit104changes the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200d, which has been connected already, such that the connection number of external apparatus to the first communication unit42becomes equal to or smaller than the connection number of external apparatus to the second communication unit44. In the state depicted inFIG.11, since the connection number of external apparatus to the first communication unit42is greater than the connection number of external apparatus to the second communication unit44, the allocation processing unit104determines to change the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200dfrom the first communication unit42to the second communication unit44. FIG.12depicts a state in which the electronic apparatus200dis connected to the second communication unit44. When the connection destination is to be switched, the electronic apparatus200dreceives a waiting instruction signal from the first communication unit42and enters a state in which it waits for a connection request from the second communication unit44. The instruction processing unit214in the electronic apparatus200dalternately and periodically performs switching between a communication period with the first communication unit42and a scan period for waiting for a connection request from the second communication unit44in accordance with timing signal included in the waiting instruction signal. If the request processing unit216in the electronic apparatus200daccepts a connection request from the second communication unit44, then a connection process is carried out between the electronic apparatus200dand the second communication unit44. In this manner, going through the state in which the electronic apparatus200dis connected to the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44simultaneously, the electronic apparatus200dis disconnected from the first communication unit42and is connected only to the second communication unit44. At the point of time at which a waiting instruction signal is received, the electronic apparatus200dis in a state in which data communication of voice data or the like with the first communication unit42is being carried out already, and the circumstances are different from those in the case where a new connection process is performed as indicated at S22ofFIG.4. Therefore, the connection processing unit50sets timing information TI2such that, while priority is given to maintaining data communication between the electronic apparatus200dand the first communication unit42, the connection processing unit50can establish wireless communication to the second communication unit44during the period. The connection processing unit50may set the timing information TI2such that the communication period (first period) with the first communication unit42that is the connection switching source is made longer than the scan period (second period) within which the connection processing unit50waits for a connection request from the second communication unit44that is the connection switching destination. In other words, timing information TB transmitted upon new connection processing may be different from the timing information TI2transmitted after data communication is started. It is to be noted that, while, in the example ofFIG.12, the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200dhas been switched from the first communication unit42to the second communication unit44, also when the connection destination is to be switched from the second communication unit44to the first communication unit42, the connection processing unit50may place the timing information TI2into a waiting instruction signal and the second communication unit44may transmit the waiting instruction signal to the electronic apparatus200d. In the communication system1of the embodiment, the allocation processing unit104determines the connection destination of an external apparatus to the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44such that the communication load with an external apparatus on the first communication unit42becomes equal to or lower than the communication load with an external apparatus on the second communication unit44. Therefore, even if data communication is started between the communication device2and the electronic apparatus200, the switching process of the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200is carried out in response to a change of the connection environment between the communication device2and the electronic apparatus200. In particular, if, after a waiting instruction signal including the timing information TI2is transmitted to the electronic apparatus200in a state in which one of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44is wirelessly connected to the electronic apparatus200, the electronic apparatus200establishes the other one of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44, then the wireless connection between the one of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44and the electronic apparatus200is cancelled. As the allocation processing unit104determines a connection destination of an external apparatus in accordance with a reference using a communication load, stable page scan mode operation by the first communication unit42is guaranteed to the new external apparatus. In the communication system1of the embodiment, since the electronic apparatus200performs a paging process for the first communication unit42, when connection between the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200is first established, the electronic apparatus200becomes (or operates as) a master and the first communication unit42becomes (or operates as) a slave. Thereafter, in order to transmit and receive data of voice chat, a game play and so forth, it is necessary for the communication device2and the electronic apparatus200to become a master and a slave, respectively, such that communication of the electronic apparatus200is controlled by the communication device2. Therefore, the role management unit106transmits a role switching instruction for switching the roles (roles) of the master and the slave to the electronic apparatus200through the first communication unit42to switch the electronic apparatus200to the slave and switch the first communication unit42to the master as indicated at S20ofFIG.4. Although, inFIG.4, only one electronic apparatus200has established wireless connection to the first communication unit42at the point of time of S18becauseFIG.4depicts a sequence from a state of the waken on BT, after the communication device2is started, the electronic apparatus200cmay try to newly establish connection to the first communication unit42in a state in which the electronic apparatus200bis already connected to the first communication unit42in the active mode, for example, as depicted inFIG.7. FIG.13depicts a timing chart when the electronic apparatus200bpages the first communication unit42. At this time, the first communication unit42is not connected to an external apparatus. In the case where the first communication unit42is not connected to an external apparatus, it waits for a connection request in the first mode in which a waiting time period P1is comparatively (that is, relatively) long. The electronic apparatus200btransmits a connection request (paging) to the first communication unit42. The first communication unit42establishes connection to the electronic apparatus200bat time t1. At time t1, the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200bare in the state at S18in the sequence ofFIG.4, and at the point of time of establishment of connection, the first communication unit42becomes the slave and the electronic apparatus200bbecomes the master. Thus, the role management unit106recognizes the roles (roles) of them. After the electronic apparatus200bis connected, the role management unit106controls the period within which the first communication unit42is to operate as the slave in response to a communication situation with other external apparatus other than the electronic apparatus200bto the first communication unit42. At the point of time of time t1depicted inFIG.13, the first communication unit42is not connected to any other external apparatus. In this case, the role management unit106causes the first communication unit42to operate as the slave during a period within which the role switching process is carried out at time t3after time t1. After time t1, the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200btransmit information necessary for data communication such as clock information and communication parameters, and after such procedure ends and such information has been transmitted or transferred, at time t2, the role management unit106transmits a role switching instruction for switching the roles (roles) of the master and the slave to the electronic apparatus200bthrough the first communication unit42. The connection processing unit50in the first communication unit42and the instruction processing unit214in the electronic apparatus200bexecute switching of the roles in synchronism with each other at time t3after a predetermined period of time after transmission of the role switching instruction. Consequently, the electronic apparatus200operates as the slave and the first communication unit42operates as the master. In this manner, if any other external apparatus than the electronic apparatus200bis not connected, then the role management unit106may cause the first communication unit42to operate as the salve during a period until a role switching process is carried out in accordance with a role switching instruction. Therefore, in general terms, when the communication unit is connected to a given external apparatus, the control unit is configured to control a period during which the communication unit operates as the slave in response to a communication situation of the communication unit with a different external apparatus from the given external apparatus. FIG.14depicts a timing chart when the electronic apparatus200cperforms paging to the first communication unit42. At this time, the first communication unit42already is in a state in which it is communicating with the electronic apparatus200bin the active mode. In the case where the first communication unit42is in connection to an external apparatus, it waits for a connection request in a second mode in which a waiting time period P2is relatively short. Consequently, the first communication unit42can wait for a connection request from the new electronic apparatus200cwhile maintaining the communication of voice data or the like with the electronic apparatus200b. To this end, the waiting time period P2is preferably set to a period of time within which communication between the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200bis not disturbed. For example, in the case where the communication cycle of voice data between the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200bis 10 ms, the waiting time period P2is preferably set to a period of time shorter than 10 ms. This makes it possible for the first communication unit42to wait for a connection request from the new electronic apparatus200cbetween time zones within which voice data is transmitted and received. The electronic apparatus200ctransmits a connection request (paging) to the first communication unit42. The first communication unit42establishes connection to the electronic apparatus200cat time tn. At this time, the first communication unit42becomes the slave and the electronic apparatus200cbecomes the master, and the role management unit106recognizes the roles (roles) of them. After the electronic apparatus200cis connected, the role management unit106controls the period during which the first communication unit42operates as the slave in response to a communication situation of the first communication unit42with other external apparatus than the electronic apparatus200c. In the state depicted inFIG.14, the first communication unit42is connected already to the electronic apparatus200b, and the role management unit106controls the period during which the first communication unit42operates as the slave in the following manner. Different from the situation depicted inFIG.13, at time t11, the first communication unit42periodically performs data communication with the electronic apparatus200b, and if the first communication unit42continues to be the slave within a period up to time t13at which role switching is performed on the basis of the role switching instruction, then the first communication unit42cannot communicate with the electronic apparatus200b. This signifies that, in the case where the user of the electronic apparatus200bis voice chatting, the voice chart is temporarily interrupted during a period from time t11to time t13. Therefore, when the first communication unit42establishes connection to the electronic apparatus200c, if it is already connected to the other electronic apparatus200b, then the role management unit106alternately performs switching between a period during which the first communication unit42operates as the salve and another period during which the first communication unit42operates as the master. The period during which the first communication unit42operates as the master is a period within which data communication is possible between the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200b, and the period during which the first communication unit42operates as the slave is a period within which transmission and reception of information necessary for data communication between the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200care possible. FIG.15depicts a state of the first communication unit42from time t11to time t13. Here, “S” represents a period during which the first communication unit42is the slave, and “M” represents a period during which the first communication unit42is the master. The role management unit106periodically and alternately sets a slave period and a master period such that the first communication unit42can transmit and receive information necessary for communication with the electronic apparatus200cwithin the slave period and can communicate data with the electronic apparatus200bwithin the master period. The period within which the first communication unit42operates as the slave is set on the basis of the communication cycle with the electronic apparatus200bconnected already. For example, in the case where the communication cycle of voice data between the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200bis 10 ms, the period during which the first communication unit42operates as the slave is preferably set to a period shorter than 10 ms. This makes it possible to transmit and receive information to and from the new electronic apparatus200cbetween time zones within which voice data is transmitted and received. In the BT protocol, a BT communication apparatus that becomes the master performs transmission in an even-numbered slot, and another BT communication device that becomes the slave performs transmission in an odd-numbered slot. The slot cycle is 625 μs, and transmission operation by the master and transmission operation by the slave are defined by the BT clock of the master. FIG.16depicts the BT clock. A clock counter incorporated in a BT communication apparatus generates a 28-bit BT clock whose clock rate is 3.4 KHz. Here, a slot is defined by the bit C1, and the master performs transmission operation in even-numbered slots (C1=0) and performs reception operation in odd-numbered slots (C1=1). In the communication system1of the embodiment, the communication device2includes two communication units of a first communication unit42and a second communication unit44. For example, if the second communication unit44performs reception operation during transmission operation of the first communication unit42, then the transmission operation of the first communication unit42becomes interference with the reception operation of the second communication unit44. Therefore, it is preferable to avoid collision of transmission and reception between the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44. FIG.17depicts a timing chart of transmission and reception in the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44. In the first communication unit42, the communication controlling unit52performs switching between a transmission operation and a reception operation in response to the value of a predetermined bit (C1) of the clock counter56(which generates a clock signal of the first communication unit having a plurality of successive bits (C0, C1. . . CN)). Also in the second communication unit44, the communication controlling unit62similarly performs switching between a transmission operation and a reception operation in response to the value of the predetermined bit (C1) of the clock counter64(which generates a clock signal of the second communication unit having a plurality of successive bits). Accordingly, by synchronizing the value of the predetermined bit (C1) of the clock counter56and the value of the predetermined bit (C1) of the clock counter64with each other, it is possible to synchronize the transmission operation and the reception operation of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44with each other as depicted inFIG.17. The predetermined bit (C1) of the clock counter56and the predetermined bit (C1) of the clock counter64are bits at the same position that is the second bit from the least significant bit (LSB). The first communication unit42and the second communication unit44in the embodiment are formed on the same chip, and the clock counter56and the clock counter64may generate a BT clock on the basis of a clock signal of a common system clock oscillator. The clock counter56supplies a counter reset signal, which is a side band signal, to the clock counter64. The clock counter56outputs the counter reset signal in the case where the lowest 2 bits (C1, C0) are 0. When the counter reset signal is received, the clock counter64sets the lowest 2 bits (C1, C0) to 0. Consequently, the clock counter56and the clock counter64can synchronize the values of the bit C1, which defines a slot, with each other, and the communication controlling unit52of the first communication unit42and the communication controlling unit62of the second communication unit44can synchronize the transmission and reception operations with each other. It is to be noted that the communication controlling unit52and the communication controlling unit62synchronize the transmission and reception operations with each other and preferably communicate with each other with frequencies different from each other. Since the frequency hopping pattern is determined using the BT device address of the master, The communication controlling unit52may determine a frequency hopping pattern using the BT device address of the first communication unit42as it is, and the communication controlling unit62may determine a frequency hopping pattern by offsetting the BT device address of the first communication unit42by a predetermined value. This makes it possible to make the frequencies to be used by the communication controlling unit52and the communication controlling unit62different from each other with certainty. It is to be noted that, although the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44in the embodiment include the clock counter56and the clock counter64, respectively, in a different example, a clock counter common to the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44disposed on the same chip may be provided such that a BT clock from the common clock counter is supplied to the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44. As an alternative, the clock counter56may generate a BT clock from a clock signal of a system clock oscillator and supply the generated BT clock and a counter reset signal to the clock counter64to synchronize the values of the bit C1that specifies a slot with each other. It is to be noted that, although it is presupposed in the present embodiment that the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44are disposed on the same chip, even in the case where they are disposed on different chips, the values of the bit C1that defines a slot can be synchronized with each other by supplying a counter reset signal from the clock counter56to the clock counter64. Therefore, in example embodiments, bit synchronization of the clock counter56and the clock counter64is performed only for the low-order 2 bits (C1, C0). Each bit can define a so-called slot (or period of time) within a clock cycle defined by the succession of bits. As mentioned above, the master performs transmission operation in even-numbered slots (C1=0) and performs reception operation in odd-numbered slots (C1=1). To achieve this, it is possible that only bit C1may be synchronized, but in example arrangements both C1and C0are set to 0 for counter reset. Bit C2and higher are not affected by the counter reset. Therefore, a “given bit” may be C1or it may refer to C0and C1. The present invention has been described on the basis of the embodiment. The embodiment is exemplary and it can be recognized by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible in regard to the components or processes of the embodiment and that also such modifications remain within the scope of the present invention. In the sequence depicted inFIG.4, where the electronic apparatus200operates in the page scan mode in a state in which it is notified of apparatus ID information of the second communication unit44from the first communication unit42, the electronic apparatus200can respond fully to a connection request from the second communication unit44that has the notified apparatus ID information. Even if the electronic apparatus200is not notified of the apparatus ID information of the second communication unit44, it may respond to a connection request from the second communication unit44. It is to be noted that, when the electronic apparatus200is notified of the apparatus ID information of the second communication unit44, it is possible for the electronic apparatus200to transmit a connection request including the apparatus ID information of the second communication unit44to the second communication unit44to establish connection. Example methods representing at least some of the above techniques will now be described with reference to schematic flowcharts provided asFIGS.18to24. FIG.18is a schematic flowchart illustrating a wireless connection method for establishing wireless connection to a communication device that includes a plurality of communication units of the same type, the method comprising:a step1800of retaining identification information of one of the communication units acquired by a pairing process with the communication unit; anda step1810of transmitting a connection request including the identification information of the one communication unit. FIG.19is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method of operation of a communication device having a first communication unit and a second communication unit of a same type as that of the first communication unit, the communication device being wirelessly connectable to an external apparatus, the method comprising:the first communication unit waiting (at a step1900) for a connection request from an external apparatus; andin response to receipt of the connection request, the second communication unit wirelessly connecting (at a step1910) to the external apparatus from which the first communication unit received a connection request. FIG.20is a schematic flowchart illustrating a connection destination determination method for determining a connection destination of an external apparatus in a communication device that includes a first communication unit and a second communication unit of a same type as that of the first communication unit, the method comprising:a step2000of acquiring a communication situation of the first communication unit with an external apparatus and another communication situation of the second communication unit with an external apparatus; anda step2010of determining a connection destination of an external apparatus to the first communication unit or the second communication unit based on the acquired communication situations. FIG.21is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for wirelessly connecting a communication device including a first communication unit and a second communication unit of a same type as that of the first communication unit to an external apparatus, the first communication unit or the second communication unit carrying out:a step2100of establishing wireless connection to an external apparatus; anda step2110of transmitting, to the external apparatus, a waiting instruction signal for instructing the external apparatus to enter a state in which the external apparatus waits for a connection request. FIG.22is a schematic flowchart illustrating a wireless connection method for establishing wireless connection to a communication device, comprising:a step2200of transmitting a connection request to the communication device; anda step2210of accepting, after connection to the communication device is established, an instruction to enter a state in which a connection request is waited. FIG.23is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method of operation of a communication device including a communication unit that operates as one of a master and a slave so as to control a state of the communication unit, the method comprising:a step2300of establishing connection between the communication unit and an external apparatus; anda step2310of controlling a period during which the communication unit operates as the slave in response to a communication situation of the communication unit with a different external apparatus from the external apparatus. FIG.24is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method of operation of communication device having a first communication unit and a second communication unit of a type same as that of the first communication unit; the method comprising:each of the first communication unit and the second communication unit performing switching (at a step2400) between transmission operation and reception operation in response to a value of a given bit of a respective clock signal having a plurality of successive bits; andsynchronizing (at a step2410) a value of the given bit of the clock signal of the first communication unit and a value of the given bit of the clock signal of the second communication unit with each other. FIG.25schematically illustrates a computer or computer processor which may be used to implement any one or more components of the communication device or the electronic apparatus discussed above. For example, control or other functions such as those provided by any one or more of the units34,50,52,54,56,60,62,64,102,104,106may be implemented by executing program instructions by such a computer. Similarly, control or other functions such as those provided by any one or more of the units210,212,214,216,220,222,224may be implemented by executing program instructions by such a computer. The computer comprises a central processing unit (CPU)2500, a random access memory (RAM)2510, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium (NTMRSM)2520such as a read only memory, hard disk, optical disk, flash memory or the like, for example by which the program instructions are provided, and input/output (I/O) circuitry2510, the components being interconnected by a bus arrangement2540. A description will now be given of a variation.FIG.26is a view depicting a sequence by which the electronic apparatus200and the communication device2according to a variation establish wireless connection therebetween. The procedures denoted by the same number inFIG.4and inFIG.26are identical or similar procedures. In the wake on BT state, the first communication unit42operates in a page scan mode in which it waits for a connection request from an external electronic apparatus200(S10). The connection processing unit50of the first communication unit42waits for a connection request (paging) from an electronic apparatus200included in the connectable apparatus ID list. In the electronic apparatus200, the connection requesting unit212reads out the apparatus ID information of the first communication unit42from the retaining unit222and transmits a connection request including the apparatus ID information of the first communication unit42to the first communication unit42(S12). In the first communication unit42, when the connection processing unit50receives the connection request from the electronic apparatus200having a device ID included in the apparatus ID list, it outputs a WAKE signal to the system controller20in accordance with the wake on parameters (S14). When the system controller20receives the WAKE signal, it starts up the host block30and the USB module46to make the USB connection between the USB module32and the USB module46active. In the control unit34, the connection management unit102downloads firmware into the second communication unit44through the USB connection to initialize the second communication unit44. Consequently, the second communication unit44is placed into a wirelessly connectable state to an external electronic apparatus200(S16). The connection management unit102executes an authentication process and an encryption process with the electronic apparatus200and the first communication unit42establishes connection to the electronic apparatus200in an active mode that is a data transfer mode in which data can be transferred (S18). An active mode is a connection mode in which the communication block40and the electronic apparatus200transmit and receive data to and from each other using a plurality of continuous slots. To communicate data such as voice data between the communication block40and the electronic apparatus200, it is necessary for the communication block40and the electronic apparatus200to be connected to each other in the active mode. At the point of time that a connection is established in the active mode, the electronic apparatus200that is the paging device is the master, and the first communication unit42that is the paged device is the slave. The role management unit106transmits a role switching instruction for switching the roles (roles) of the master and the slave to the electronic apparatus200through the first communication unit42(S20). In the electronic apparatus200, the instruction processing unit214accepts the role switching instruction. The connection processing unit50in the first communication unit42and the instruction processing unit214execute switching of the roles of the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200in synchronism with each other after a predetermined interval of time after the role switching instruction is transmitted. Consequently, the electronic apparatus200starts operation as the slave and the first communication unit42of the communication device2starts operation as the master. After that, the first communication unit42instructs the electronic apparatus200to establish a state in which the electronic apparatus200waits for acceptance of a connection request (S22). The connection management unit102acquires a communication situation of the first communication unit42with an external apparatus and a communication situation of the second communication unit44with an external apparatus. At the point of time of establishment of connection at S18, the first communication unit42is connected to one electronic apparatus200, and the second communication unit44is not connected to any electronic apparatus200. FIG.27depicts a state in which the first electronic apparatus200ais connected to the first communication unit42in the active mode. The connection management unit102may acquire the numbers of external apparatuses to which the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44are respectively connected in the active mode as the communication situations. In the variation, the electronic apparatus200is connected to one of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44in a data transfer mode in which data can be transferred and is connected to the other of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44in a data non-transfer mode in which data is not transferred. A detailed description will follow. In the variation, the data transfer mode is an active mode in which a data transfer period is secured. In the data transfer mode, data used in a process executed in the information processing device incorporating the communication device2is transmitted and/or received. In the case where the information processing device is a game device, data used to run the game or voice data for voice chats may be transmitted and received in the data transfer mode. In the case where the electronic apparatus200is a peripheral such as a headset or a game controller, the electronic apparatus200transfers data input by the user to the communication unit in the data transfer mode, and the communication unit transfers output data for the user to the electronic apparatus200in the data transfer mode. The data input by the user includes, for example, voice data originated by the user or data necessary for execution of the game (application). The data necessary for execution of the game may include operation data for the controller and motion data for the controller. The output data for the user may include voice data in the game and voice data originated by a further user. The data non-transfer mode may be a connection mode in which data cannot be transferred or may be a connection mode in which data can be transferred but is not transferred. In the data non-transfer mode, data input by the user and output data for the user are not transferred between the electronic apparatus200and the communication unit. In the variation, control data for the electronic apparatus200or state data indicating the state of the electronic apparatus200are transferred in the data transfer mode, but these items of data may be transferred in the non-transfer mode exceptionally. Thus, the electronic apparatus200according to the variation is connected to one of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44such that data communication is enabled and connected to the other of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44such that data communication is not performed. Where three or more communication units are provided in the communication block40, for example, the electronic apparatus200is connected to one of the communication units in the data transfer mode and connected to the other communication units in the data non-transfer mode. In the data non-transfer mode, an extremely short period of time is defined within a communication cycle as a communication enabled period for maintaining synchronization, and the remainder of communication cycle is defined as a non-communication period. For example, the communication enabled period in the communication cycle in the data non-transfer mode may be 1/10 or shorter than the non-communication period. The data non-transfer mode of the variation may be a sniff mode in which packets for maintaining synchronization are transmitted and received by using only a predetermined number of slots (e.g., two slots) in a predetermined time interval (N slots). In the sniff mode, the N slots defining the predetermined time interval are called a sniff cycle, and N may be such that N=300. The sniff mode is a power saving connection mode used for the purpose of operating in a power saving mode and maintaining synchronization. The data non-transfer mode may be a connection mode of a format other than the sniff mode so long as it is a mode in which data is not transferred but synchronization of communication can be maintained. The electronic apparatus200connected to the communication unit in the sniff mode transmits and receives packets to and from the communication unit only during the two sniff slots defined within the sniff cycle comprised of continuous 300 slots. During the 298 slots other than the two sniff slots, the electronic apparatus200does not perform any process for the communication unit connected in the sniff mode. In the sniff mode, the master transmits a predetermined poll packet, and the slave receiving the packet returns a null packet, completing packet communication in the sniff cycle for maintaining synchronization. In the sniff mode, communication parameters for connection are maintained so that a new paging processes or authentication process is not necessary in changing the connection mode from the sniff mode to the active mode. The allocation processing unit104executes an allocation process for determining the connection destination of the external apparatus in the data transfer mode (active mode) to the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44on the basis of the communication situations of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44acquired by the connection management unit102. The allocation processing unit104preferably determines the connection destination of the external apparatus in the active mode to the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44such that the communication load with the external apparatus on the first communication unit42is equal to or lower than the communication load with the external apparatus on the second communication unit44. In other words, the allocation processing unit104preferably makes the communication load on the first communication unit42having the function of waiting for a connection request from the external electronic apparatus200equal to or lower than the communication load on the second communication unit44not having that function. The allocation processing unit104preferably performs an allocation process not to make the communication load on the second communication unit44excessively larger than the communication load on the first communication unit42while ensuring that the communication load on the first communication unit42is equal to or lower than the communication load on the second communication unit44. For example, the allocation processing unit104preferably performs an allocation process to ensure that a difference between the communication load on the second communication unit44and the communication load on the first communication unit42does not exceed a predetermined threshold value on the condition that the communication load on the first communication unit42is equal to or lower than the communication load on the second communication unit44. In the variation, the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44are connected to the electronic apparatus200in one of the active mode and the sniff mode. The communication load carried during the connection in the sniff mode is extremely lower than the communication load carried during the connection in the active mode. In this background, the allocation processing unit104may determine the connection destination of the external apparatus in the active mode by disregarding the communication load during the sniff mode and determining the relative magnitudes of the communication loads based on the number of external apparatuses to which the first communication unit42is connected in the active mode and the number of external apparatuses to which the second communication unit44is connected in the active mode. When only one electronic apparatus200is connected to the communication device2as shown inFIG.27, the allocation processing unit104preferably determines the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200in the active mode to the second communication unit44to make the communication load on the first communication unit42lighter than the communication load on the second communication unit44. Thus, the communication load to be used as a reference for decision of an allocation destination by the allocation processing unit104may be the number of external apparatus to which each communication unit is connected in the active mode. Therefore, the allocation processing unit104may allocate an external apparatus to the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44in the active mode such that the number of external apparatuses to which the first communication unit42is connected in the active mode is equal to or smaller than the number of external apparatuses to which the second communication unit44is connected in the active mode. It is to be noted that the communication load to be used as a reference may be a communication data amount of each communication unit with an external apparatus. Although the data amount of voice data in voice chat with an electronic apparatus200is great, the data amount of operation data of a game controller is small. Therefore, the connection management unit102may monitor the communication data amount between each communication unit and an electronic apparatus200, and the allocation processing unit104may determine the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200such that the communication load on the first communication unit42becomes lower than the communication load on the second communication unit44. The communication load to be used as a reference may be a communication error rate in each communication unit or may be a combination of some of them. Alternatively, the communication load to be used as a reference may be predicted based on functions of the electronic apparatus200or the on/off state of the functions. For example, if a microphone is not attached to the electronic apparatus200, it is predicted that the communication load on the electronic apparatus200is low, and, if a microphone is attached, on the other hand, it is predicted that the communication load on the electronic apparatus200is high or will become high. The connection management unit102may notify the allocation processing unit104of the availability of functions in the electronic apparatus200or the on/off state of the functions. The allocation processing unit104may determine the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200by predicting the communication load. In the state shown inFIG.27, only one electronic apparatus200ais already connected to the communication device2. Therefore, the allocation processing unit104determines to change the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200ain the active mode from the first communication unit42to the second communication unit44. The allocation processing unit104initiates a connection process of the already connected electronic apparatus to the second communication unit44. Specifically, the allocation processing unit104causes the electronic apparatus200ato operate in a scan mode (such as the page scan mode) and causes the second communication unit44to transmit a connection request to the electronic apparatus200a. To this end, at S22, the first communication unit42transmits a signal (waiting instruction signal) for instructing the electronic apparatus200ato establish a state in which the electronic apparatus200awaits for a connection request from the second communication unit44. The allocation processing unit104notifies the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44that the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200ain the active mode is to be switched from the first communication unit42to the second communication unit44. At this time, the allocation processing unit104notifies the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44also of apparatus ID information (BT device address) of the electronic apparatus200a. Consequently, the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44recognize that they are to operate such that the electronic apparatus200acurrently connected to the first communication unit42in the active mode is connected to the second communication unit44in the active mode and to the first communication unit42in the sniff mode. In the first communication unit42, the connection processing unit50transmits a waiting instruction signal to the electronic apparatus200a(S22). The waiting instruction signal may include identification information of an apparatus (for example, communication unit) from which a connection request is to be transmitted, in the present example, apparatus ID information of the second communication unit44. In the electronic apparatus200a, the instruction processing unit214receives a waiting instruction signal and accepts an instruction to enter a state in which it waits for a connection request from the second communication unit44. Consequently, while the instruction processing unit214maintains the connection to the first communication unit42in the active mode, the request processing unit216operates in the page scan mode for waiting for a connection request from the second communication unit44(S24). At this time, the instruction processing unit214operates so as to alternately switch a communication period (first period) for communication with the first communication unit42and a scan period (second period) for waiting for a connection request from the second communication unit44. The connection processing unit50may place timing information that defines alternate switching between the first period and the second period into the waiting instruction signal such that the instruction processing unit214alternately and periodically switches between the communication period for communication with the first communication unit42and the scan period for waiting for a connection request from the second communication unit44in accordance with the timing information included in the waiting instruction signal. It is to be noted that the connection processing unit50preferably sets timing information in response to the connection situation of the electronic apparatus200and the communication device2in the active mode. At the point of time of S22inFIG.26, the electronic apparatus200ais in a stage in which it performs a new connection process with the communication device2and does not yet start data communication of voice data or the like with the first communication unit42. Therefore, the connection processing unit50sets timing information TI1such that the electronic apparatus200acan quickly establish wireless connection with the second communication unit44. For example, the connection processing unit50may set the timing information TI1indicating that the second period is longer than the first period. In the page scan mode carried out within a scan period (second period), the request processing unit216waits for a connection request from the second communication unit44that has the apparatus ID information included in the waiting instruction signal. In the second communication unit44, the connection processing unit60transmits a connection request including the apparatus ID information of the electronic apparatus200ato the electronic apparatus200a(S26). If the request processing unit216accepts the connection request, then a connection process including an authentication process and an encryption process is carried out between the request processing unit216and the connection processing unit60. Consequently, the second communication unit44is connected to the electronic apparatus200in the active mode (S28). FIG.28depicts a state in which the first electronic apparatus200ais connected to the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44in the active mode. If the connection management unit102detects that the second communication unit44and the electronic apparatus200aare connected, then it instructs the first communication unit42to change the connection mode for connection to the electronic apparatus200a to the sniff mode. Receiving this instruction, the connection processing unit50transmits a change request to the electronic apparatus200to change the connection mode (S40). It is to be noted that the mode change request may be transmitted from the electronic apparatus200to the first communication unit42. Thereafter, the connection mode between the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200ais changed to the sniff mode (S42). The first communication unit42then operates in a page scan mode for waiting for a connection request from an external electronic apparatus200(S34) and waits for a connection request (paging) from an electronic apparatus200included in the connectable apparatus ID list. The procedure when a first electronic apparatus200aestablishes connection to the communication device2is described above. In the following, a procedure when second and succeeding electronic apparatuses200establish connection to the communication device2is described.FIG.29depicts a state in which the first electronic apparatus200ais wirelessly connected to the second communication unit44in the active mode and wirelessly connected to the first communication unit42in the sniff mode in accordance with the wireless connection sequence depicted inFIG.26. FIG.30depicts a state in which the second electronic apparatus200bis wirelessly connected to the first communication unit42in the active mode. The electronic apparatus200btransmits a connection request to the first communication unit42to establish connection to the first communication unit42in the active mode. The connection management unit102acquires a communication situation of the first communication unit42with an external apparatus and a communication situation of the second communication unit44with an external apparatus. In the connection state depicted inFIG.30, the first communication unit42is connected to one electronic apparatus200bin the active mode and the second communication unit44is connected to one electronic apparatus200ain the active mode. The connection management unit102acquires the numbers of electronic apparatuses200to which the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44are respectively connected in the active mode as the communication situations. The allocation processing unit104executes a process for determining the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200bin the active mode to the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44on the basis of the numbers of electronic apparatus200to which the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44are respectively connected in the active mode. The allocation processing unit104determines the connection destination of the newly connected electronic apparatus200in the active mode to the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44such that the communication load with the external apparatus on the first communication unit42is equal to or lower than the communication load with the external apparatus on the second communication unit44. In the state in which the second electronic apparatus200bestablishes connection to the first communication unit42in the active mode (state depicted inFIG.30), the first communication unit42is connected to one electronic apparatus200bin the active mode and the second communication unit44is connected to one electronic apparatus200ain the active mode, and the communication loads on the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44are equal to each other. Therefore, the allocation processing unit104determines that there is no problem in that the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200bin the active mode is the first communication unit42. In this way, the second electronic apparatus200bis determined to be wirelessly connected to the first communication unit42in the active mode and wirelessly connected to the second communication unit44in the sniff mode. Before being connecting to the second communication unit44in the sniff mode, the electronic apparatus200bis connected to the second communication unit44in the active mode through the steps of S24, S26, and S28shown inFIG.26. FIG.31depicts a state in which the second electronic apparatus200bis connected to the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44in the active mode. If the connection management unit102detects that the second communication unit44and the electronic apparatus200aare connected in the active mode, then it instructs the second communication unit44to change the connection mode for connection to the electronic apparatus200bto the sniff mode. Receiving this instruction, the connection processing unit60transmits a change request to the electronic apparatus200to change the connection mode. It is to be noted that the mode change request may be transmitted from the electronic apparatus200to the second communication unit44. Thereafter, the connection mode between the second communication unit44and the electronic apparatus200bis changed to the sniff mode. FIG.32depicts a state in which the connection mode between the second communication unit44and the electronic apparatus200bis changed to the sniff mode. Thus, in the variation, the control unit34connects one of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44to the electronic apparatus200in the active mode in which data can be transferred and connects the other of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44to the electronic apparatus200in the sniff mode in which data is not transferred. In other words, the electronic apparatus200is connected to the first communication unit42in the active mode in which data can be transferred and is connected to the second communication unit44in the sniff mode having a shorter communication enabled period than that of the active mode and not used to transfer data. When the allocation processing unit104changes the destination of connection of the electronic apparatus200in the active mode in response to, for example, a change of the connection environment, the process of changing the destination of connection in the active mode can be instantaneously executed without performing a new paging process or authentication process because the electronic apparatus200has already been connected in the sniff mode to the communication unit to which the connection is switched. FIG.33depicts a state in which the third electronic apparatus200cis wirelessly connected to the first communication unit42. The electronic apparatus200ctransmits a connection request to the first communication unit42to establish connection to the first communication unit42in the active mode. The connection management unit102acquires the number of external apparatuses connected to the first communication unit42in the active mode and the number of external apparatuses connected to the second communication unit44in the active mode. In the connection state depicted inFIG.33, the first communication unit42is connected to two electronic apparatuses200band200cin the active mode and the second communication unit44is connected to one electronic apparatus200ain the active mode. The allocation processing unit104determines the destination of connection in the active mode of the electronic apparatus200c, to which connection is established newly, to be the first communication unit42or the second communication unit44such that the number of external apparatuses connected to the first communication unit42in the active mode becomes equal to or smaller than the number of external apparatuses connected to the second communication unit44in the active mode. In the state in which the third electronic apparatus200cestablishes connection to the first communication unit42(state depicted inFIG.33), the number of external apparatuses connected to the first communication unit42in the active mode is greater than the number of external apparatuses connected to the second communication unit44in the active mode. Therefore, the allocation processing unit104determines that the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200cin the active mode is the second communication unit44and accordingly determines to change the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200cin the active mode from the first communication unit42to the second communication unit44. FIG.34depicts a state in which the electronic apparatus200cis connected to the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44simultaneously in the active mode. The first communication unit42in the connection state shown inFIG.33transmits a waiting instruction signal to the electronic apparatus200c, and while the electronic apparatus200cmaintains the connection to the first communication unit42in the active mode, it operates in the page scan mode in which it waits for a connection request from the second communication unit44. The electronic apparatus200creceives a connection request from the second communication unit44and establishes connection to the second communication unit44in the active mode.FIG.34depicts this state. FIG.35shows a state in which the connection between the electronic apparatus200cand the first communication unit42is changed to the sniff mode. The connection management unit102instructs the first communication unit42to change the mode of connection with the electronic apparatus200cto the sniff mode. Receiving this instruction, the connection processing unit50transmits a change request to the electronic apparatus200cto change the connection mode. Thereafter, the connection mode between the first communication unit42and the electronic apparatus200cis changed to the sniff mode. FIG.36shows a state in which the fourth electronic apparatus200dis connected to the communication block40. The electronic apparatus200dis wirelessly connected to the first communication unit42in the active mode and wirelessly connected to the second communication unit44in the sniff mode. FIG.37depicts a state in which the third electronic apparatus200cis disconnected from the communication block40. For example, if the user of the electronic apparatus200cends the game play and logs out from the device main body3, then the connection between the electronic apparatus200cand the communication block40is cancelled. After the connection between the electronic apparatus200cand the communication device2is cancelled, the connection management unit102acquires the number of external apparatuses connected to the first communication unit42in the active mode and the number of external apparatuses connected to the second communication unit44in the active mode. In the connection state depicted inFIG.37, the first communication unit42is connected to the two electronic apparatuses200band200dand the second communication unit44is connected to the one electronic apparatus200ain the active mode. The allocation processing unit104executes an allocation process, triggered by the termination of wireless connection with the electronic apparatus200cconnected so far. In particular, the allocation processing unit104changes the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200din the active mode such that the number of external apparatuses connected to the first communication unit42in the active mode becomes equal to or smaller than the number of external apparatuses connected to the second communication unit44in the active mode. In the state depicted inFIG.37, since the number of external apparatuses connected to the first communication unit42in the active mode is greater than the number of external apparatuses connected to the second communication unit44in the active mode, the allocation processing unit104determines to change the connection destination of the electronic apparatus200din the active mode from the first communication unit42to the second communication unit44. FIG.38shows a state in which the electronic apparatus200dis connected to the second communication unit44in the active mode and connected to the first communication unit42in the sniff mode. In the variation, a paging process or an authentication process, which is required in the embodiment, is not necessary when the connection destination in the active mode is switched. Consequently, data communication between the electronic apparatus200and the communication device2is suitably maintained. In this process, the control unit34changes the connection in the sniff mode between the electronic apparatus200dand the second communication unit44to the connection in the active mode and then changes the connection in the active mode between the electronic apparatus200dand the first communication unit42to the connection in the sniff mode. By following the procedure described above, data communication between the electronic apparatus200dand the communication device2can be suitably maintained without being interrupted. In the variation, when the connection between one of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44and the electronic apparatus200is canceled, the control unit34may cancel the connection between the other of the first communication unit42and the second communication unit44and the electronic apparatus200. For example, the connection management unit102determines to cancel the connection with the electronic apparatus200when a duration of disconnection exceeds a predetermined period of time. By ensuring that, when the connection with one is determined to be canceled, the connection with the other is canceled, connection with the electronic apparatus200can be managed easily. It is noted that while various techniques have been described individually for clarity of the description, an embodiment may employ any one or more of the techniques discussed above such that the various techniques are combinable in any permutation. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is applicable to a wireless communication technology. REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1. . . Communication system,2. . . Communication device,34. . . Control unit,40. . . Communication block,42. . . First communication unit,44. . . Second communication unit,50. . . Connection processing unit,52. . . Communication controlling unit,54. . . Retaining unit,56. . . Clock counter,60. . . Connection processing unit,62. . . Communication controlling unit,64. . . Clock counter,102. . . Connection management unit,104. . . Allocation processing unit,106. . . Role management unit,200. . . Electronic apparatus,210. . . Connection processing unit,212. . . Connection requesting unit,214. . . Instruction processing unit,216. . . Request processing unit,220. . . Communication controlling unit,222. . . Retaining unit,224. . . Clock counter. | 104,446 |
11943823 | The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments, but those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the technology disclosed herein is not limited to the arrangements and/or instrumentality shown in the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview Embodiments described herein relate to techniques for reducing time-to-music (TTM), which can be an important consideration for playback devices that directly impacts a user's experience. At a high level, TTM refers to the time it takes for a playback device to start playing back audio content from a given state. For many types of stationary playback devices that are always plugged into an electrical outlet (e.g., always powered), the starting point for measuring TTM is typically an idle or sleep state where the playback device is already booted and is executing one or more software applications used for the retrieval and playback of audio content over a wireless network connection (e.g., from a media streaming service). Accordingly, for a stationary playback device of this kind, the TTM may be relatively short, perhaps no more than a few seconds, when starting from a powered-on, idle state. This is generally within the expectations of a typical user. Indeed, achieving a relatively short TTM is one of the primary motivations for maintaining full power to many of the electronic components in a stationary playback device (e.g., processor(s), wireless network interface(s), memory, etc.), even though it may result in a corresponding increase in power consumption. As another illustrative example, if the starting point for a stationary playback device of this kind were a completely powered-off state (e.g., unplugged from the electrical outlet, or plugged in with completely powered-off internal components), the TTM would be substantially longer. For instance, upon receiving a command to power up (e.g., by plugging in the device), the stationary playback device may need to proceed through a number of operations before it can begin playing audio content. These operations may include (i) initializing its wireless network interface, which may include installing and/or loading one or more drivers, (ii) performing a scan for available wireless networks (e.g., WIFI networks and/or BLUETOOTH networks), (iii) identifying one or more available wireless networks and then connecting to an identified network, (iv) obtaining an IP address on the identified network (e.g., for a WIFI network), and (v) initializing one or more software applications that facilitate receiving and executing commands for the retrieval and playback of audio content over the identified wireless network. Conventionally, a playback device carries out these operations sequentially one-at-a-time, and thus TTM can be upwards of 30 seconds or even greater than one minute in these situations. However, these timeframes are generally viewed as acceptable to most users, who do not expect a stationary playback device to be ready to play back audio content over a wireless network connection immediately upon plugging it in to an outlet. Moreover, it is a scenario that a user will face relatively rarely, if ever, after initial setup of a stationary playback device. Portable playback devices, on the other hand, present additional challenges because they may rely on an internal power supply (e.g., a battery) for extended periods of time. Power conservation for such devices is a greater concern, and thus leaving the playback device in an always-powered state when idle is a less desirable solution. Consequently, a portable playback device's idle state may be a state in which some or all internal components (e.g., processor(s), wireless network interface(s), memory, etc.) are completely powered off. In this regard, a portable playback device that is “woken up” from this state may need to complete some or all of the same operations discussed above before it is able to play back audio content. Nonetheless, users generally have a higher expectation that portable playback devices will be capable of playing back audio content relatively quickly after the user wakes up the portable playback device from an idle state, by pressing a button on the device, for example. Thus, a relatively lengthy TTM of 30 seconds or more for a portable playback device may negatively impact a user's experience. As portable playback devices continue to increase in popularity, and as user expectations of consumer device performance continues to increase, improvements may be needed. To address these and other issues, techniques are discussed below that may allow for some of the initialization operations discussed herein to be performed in parallel. For example, it may be possible for a playback device, upon initial startup from a powered-off state, to begin scanning for available wireless networks while the playback device's wireless network interface is still being initialized, and thus before the wireless network interface is actually capable of establishing a wireless connection. In conventional playback devices, a network scan generally does not begin until the wireless network interface is fully initialized (e.g., the drivers are fully loaded). Thus, performing these operations simultaneously may shorten or even eliminate the time needed to perform a network scan after the wireless network interface drivers are fully loaded, thereby reducing a portable playback device's TTM. As another example, a portable playback device that is started from a powered-off state will generally need to initialize the software application that coordinates the retrieval and playback of audio content via the device's wireless network interface. In many cases, because the software application may enable the communication and coordination with various devices over a wireless network, such as a user's home WIFI network, the software application may assume the presence of an IP address for the playback device. Consequently, initialization of the software application may not be able to proceed before an IP address is obtained. However, it may be possible for the playback device to perform some initialization operations for the software application that do not require an IP address, while other initialization operations for the software application that do require an IP address are deferred. Thus, various operations that would normally be executed after obtaining an IP address are already completed, and the playback device need only execute the deferred operations. As above, this may further reduce a portable playback device's TTM. As discussed further in the examples below, two or more of the techniques discussed herein may also be combined, such that a portable playback device may perform multiple parallel operations related to initializing its wireless network interface, scanning for available networks, and initializing a software application for coordinating audio content playback, among other possibilities. In some embodiments, for example, a playback device is provided including at least one processor, a wireless network interface, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, and program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to (i) detect an input indicating a command to power up the playback device, (ii) based on the detected input, begin initialization of the wireless network interface, (iii) after beginning initialization of the wireless network interface but before the playback device is capable of establishing a connection to at least one wireless network type via the wireless network interface, cause the wireless network interface to scan for available wireless networks of the at least one wireless network type, (iv) identify, via the wireless network interface, at least one available wireless network of the at least one wireless network type, (v) store an indication of the at least one available wireless network, and (vi) after the playback device is capable of establishing a connection to the at least one type of wireless network via the wireless network interface, use the stored indication of the at least one available wireless network to establish a connection to a given wireless network of the at least one available wireless network. In another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium in provided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium is provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause a playback device to (i) detect an input indicating a command to power up the playback device, (ii) based on the detected input, begin initialization of the wireless network interface, (iii) after beginning initialization of the wireless network interface but before the playback device is capable of establishing a connection to at least one wireless network type via the wireless network interface, cause the wireless network interface to scan for available wireless networks of the at least one wireless network type, (iv) identify, via the wireless network interface, at least one available wireless network of the at least one wireless network type, (v) store an indication of the at least one available wireless network, and (vi) after the playback device is capable of establishing a connection to the at least one type of wireless network via the wireless network interface, use the stored indication of the at least one available wireless network to establish a connection to a given wireless network of the at least one available wireless network. In yet another aspect, a method carried out by a playback device includes, (i) detecting an input indicating a command to power up the playback device, (ii) based on the detected input, beginning initialization of a wireless network interface, (iii) after beginning initialization of the wireless network interface but before the playback device is capable of establishing a connection to at least one wireless network type via the wireless network interface, causing the wireless network interface to scan for available wireless networks of the at least one wireless network type, (iv) identifying, via the wireless network interface, at least one available wireless network of the at least one wireless network type, (v) storing an indication of the at least one available wireless network, and (vi) after the playback device is capable of establishing a connection to the at least one type of wireless network via the wireless network interface, using the stored indication of the at least one available wireless network to establish a connection to a given wireless network of the at least one available wireless network. While some examples described herein may refer to functions performed by given actors such as “users,” “listeners,” and/or other entities, it should be understood that this is for purposes of explanation only. The claims should not be interpreted to require action by any such example actor unless explicitly required by the language of the claims themselves. II. Suitable Operating Environment a. Suitable Media Playback System FIGS.1A and1Billustrate an example configuration of a media playback system (“MPS”)100in which one or more embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented. Referring first toFIG.1A, a partial cutaway view of MPS100distributed in an environment101(e.g., a house) is shown. The MPS100as shown is associated with an example home environment having a plurality of rooms and spaces. The MPS100comprises one or more playback devices110(identified individually as playback devices110a-o), one or more network microphone devices (“NMDs”)120(identified individually as NMDs120a-c), and one or more control devices130(identified individually as control devices130aand130b). As used herein the term “playback device” can generally refer to a network device configured to receive, process, and output data of a media playback system. For example, a playback device can be a network device that receives and processes audio content. In some embodiments, a playback device includes one or more transducers or speakers powered by one or more amplifiers. In other embodiments, however, a playback device includes one of (or neither of) the speaker and the amplifier. For instance, a playback device can comprise one or more amplifiers configured to drive one or more speakers external to the playback device via a corresponding wire or cable. Moreover, as used herein the term NMD (i.e., a “network microphone device”) can generally refer to a network device that is configured for audio detection. In some embodiments, an NMD is a stand-alone device configured primarily for audio detection. In other embodiments, an NMD is incorporated into a playback device (or vice versa). The term “control device” can generally refer to a network device configured to perform functions relevant to facilitating user access, control, and/or configuration of the MPS100. Each of the playback devices110is configured to receive audio signals or data from one or more media sources (e.g., one or more remote servers, one or more local devices) and play back the received audio signals or data as sound. The one or more NMDs120are configured to receive spoken word commands, and the one or more control devices130are configured to receive user input. In response to the received spoken word commands and/or user input, the MPS100can play back audio via one or more of the playback devices110. In certain embodiments, the playback devices110are configured to commence playback of media content in response to a trigger. For instance, one or more of the playback devices110can be configured to play back a morning playlist upon detection of an associated trigger condition (e.g., presence of a user in a kitchen, detection of a coffee machine operation). In some embodiments, for example, the MPS100is configured to play back audio from a first playback device (e.g., the playback device100a) in synchrony with a second playback device (e.g., the playback device100b). Interactions between the playback devices110, NMDs120, and/or control devices130of the MPS100configured in accordance with the various embodiments of the disclosure are described in greater detail below with respect toFIGS.1B-1H. In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG.1A, the environment101comprises a household having several rooms, spaces, and/or playback zones, including (clockwise from upper left) a master bathroom101a, a master bedroom101b, a second bedroom101c, a family room or den101d, an office101e, a living room101f, a dining room101g, a kitchen101h, and an outdoor patio101i. While certain embodiments and examples are described below in the context of a home environment, the technologies described herein may be implemented in other types of environments. In some embodiments, for example, the MPS100can be implemented in one or more commercial settings (e.g., a restaurant, mall, airport, hotel, a retail or other store), one or more vehicles (e.g., a sports utility vehicle, bus, car, a ship, a boat, an airplane), multiple environments (e.g., a combination of home and vehicle environments), and/or another suitable environment where multi-zone audio may be desirable. The MPS100can comprise one or more playback zones, some of which may correspond to the rooms in the environment101. The MPS100can be established with one or more playback zones, after which additional zones may be added, or removed to form, for example, the configuration shown inFIG.1A. Each zone may be given a name according to a different room or space such as the office101e, master bathroom101a, master bedroom101b, the second bedroom101c, kitchen101h, dining room101g, living room101f, and/or the patio101i. In some aspects, a single playback zone may include multiple rooms or spaces. In certain aspects, a single room or space may include multiple playback zones. In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG.1A, the master bathroom101a, the second bedroom101c, the office101e, the living room101f, the dining room101g, the kitchen101h, and the outdoor patio101ieach include one playback device110, and the master bedroom101band the den101dinclude a plurality of playback devices110. In the master bedroom101b, the playback devices110land110mmay be configured, for example, to play back audio content in synchrony as individual ones of playback devices110, as a bonded playback zone, as a consolidated playback device, and/or any combination thereof. Similarly, in the den101d, the playback devices110h-jcan be configured, for instance, to play back audio content in synchrony as individual ones of playback devices110, as one or more bonded playback devices, and/or as one or more consolidated playback devices. Referring toFIG.1B, the home environment may include additional and/or other computing devices, including local network devices, such as one or more smart illumination devices108(FIG.1B), a smart thermostat140, and a local computing device105(FIG.1A). In embodiments described below, one or more of the various playback devices110may be configured as portable playback devices, while others may be configured as stationary playback devices. For example, the headphones110o(FIG.1B) are a portable playback device, while the playback device110eon the bookcase may be a stationary device. As another example, the playback device110con the Patio may be a battery-powered device, which may allow it to be transported to various areas within the environment101, and outside of the environment101, when it is not plugged in to a wall outlet or the like. With reference still toFIG.1B, the various playback, network microphone, and controller devices102-104and/or other network devices of the MPS100may be coupled to one another via point-to-point connections and/or over other connections, which may be wired and/or wireless, via a local network160that may include a network router109. For example, the playback device110jin the Den101d(FIG.1A), which may be designated as the “Left” device, may have a point-to-point connection with the playback device110k, which is also in the Den101dand may be designated as the “Right” device. In a related embodiment, the Left playback device110jmay communicate with other network devices, such as the playback device110h, which may be designated as the “Front” device, via a point-to-point connection and/or other connections via the local network160. The local network160may be, for example, a network that interconnects one or more devices within a limited area (e.g., a residence, an office building, a car, an individual's workspace, etc.). The local network160may include, for example, one or more local area networks (LANs) such as a wireless local area network (WLAN) (e.g., a WIFI network, a Z-Wave network, etc.) and/or one or more personal area networks (PANs) (e.g. a BLUETOOTH network, a wireless USB network, a ZigBee network, an IRDA network, and/or other suitable wireless communication protocol network) and/or a wired network (e.g., a network comprising Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), and/or another suitable wired communication). As those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, as used herein, “WIFI” can refer to several different communication protocols including, for example, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.12, 802.11ac, 802.11ac, 802.11ad, 802.11af, 802.11ah, 802.11ai, 802.11aj, 802.11aq, 802.11ax, 802.1lay, 802.15, etc. transmitted at 2.4 Gigahertz (GHz), 5 GHz, 6 GHz, and/or another suitable frequency. The MPS100is configured to receive media content from the local network160. The received media content can comprise, for example, a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) and/or a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). For instance, in some examples, the MPS100can stream, download, or otherwise obtain data from a URI or a URL corresponding to the received media content. As further shown inFIG.1B, the MPS100may be coupled to one or more remote computing devices106via a wide area network (“WAN”)107. In some embodiments, each remote computing device106may take the form of one or more cloud servers. The remote computing devices106may be configured to interact with computing devices in the environment101in various ways. For example, the remote computing devices106may be configured to facilitate streaming and/or controlling playback of media content, such as audio, in the environment101(FIG.1A). In some implementations, the various playback devices110, NMDs120, and/or control devices130may be communicatively coupled to at least one remote computing device associated with a voice assistant service (“VAS”) and/or at least one remote computing device associated with a media content service (“MCS”). For instance, in the illustrated example ofFIG.1B, remote computing devices106aare associated with a VAS190and remote computing devices106bare associated with an MCS192. Although only a single VAS190and a single MCS192are shown in the example ofFIG.1Bfor purposes of clarity, the MPS100may be coupled to multiple, different VASes and/or MCSes. In some embodiments, the various playback devices110, NMDs120, and/or control devices130may transmits data associated with a received voice input to a VAS configured to (i) process the received voice input data and (ii) transmit a corresponding command to the MPS100. In some aspects, for example, the computing devices106amay comprise one or more modules and/or servers of a VAS. In some implementations, VASes may be operated by one or more of SONOS®, AMAZON®, GOOGLE® APPLE®, MICROSOFT®, NUANCE®, or other voice assistant providers. In some implementations, MCSes may be operated by one or more of SPOTIFY, PANDORA, AMAZON MUSIC, GOOGLE PLAY, or other media content services. In some embodiments, the local network160comprises a dedicated communication network that the MPS100uses to transmit messages between individual devices and/or to transmit media content to and from MCSes. In certain embodiments, the local network160is configured to be accessible only to devices in the MPS100, thereby reducing interference and competition with other household devices. In other embodiments, however, the local network160comprises an existing household communication network (e.g., a household WIFI network). In some embodiments, the MPS100is implemented without the local network160, and the various devices comprising the MPS100can communicate with each other, for example, via one or more direct connections, PANs, telecommunication networks (e.g., an LTE network or a 5G network, etc.), and/or other suitable communication links. In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added or removed from the MPS100. In some embodiments, for example, the MPS100performs an indexing of media items when one or more media content sources are updated, added to, and/or removed from the MPS100. The MPS100can scan identifiable media items in some or all folders and/or directories accessible to the various playback devices and generate or update a media content database comprising metadata (e.g., title, artist, album, track length) and other associated information (e.g., URIs, URLs) for each identifiable media item found. In some embodiments, for example, the media content database is stored on one or more of the various playback devices, network microphone devices, and/or control devices of MPS100. As further shown inFIG.1B, the remote computing devices106further include remote computing device106cconfigured to perform certain operations, such as remotely facilitating media playback functions, managing device and system status information, directing communications between the devices of the MPS100and one or multiple VASes and/or MCSes, among other operations. In one example, the remote computing devices106cprovide cloud servers for one or more SONOS Wireless HiFi Systems. In various implementations, one or more of the playback devices110may take the form of or include an on-board (e.g., integrated) network microphone device configured to receive voice utterances from a user. For example, the playback devices110c-110h, and110kinclude or are otherwise equipped with corresponding NMDs120c-120h, and120k, respectively. A playback device that includes or is equipped with an NMD may be referred to herein interchangeably as a playback device or an NMD unless indicated otherwise in the description. In some cases, one or more of the NMDs120may be a stand-alone device. For example, the NMD1201may be a stand-alone device. A stand-alone NMD may omit components and/or functionality that is typically included in a playback device, such as a speaker or related electronics. For instance, in such cases, a stand-alone NMD may not produce audio output or may produce limited audio output (e.g., relatively low-quality audio output). The various playback and network microphone devices110and120of the MPS100may each be associated with a unique name, which may be assigned to the respective devices by a user, such as during setup of one or more of these devices. For instance, as shown in the illustrated example ofFIG.1B, a user may assign the name “Bookcase” to playback device110ebecause it is physically situated on a bookcase. Similarly, the NMD1201may be assigned the named “Island” because it is physically situated on an island countertop in the Kitchen101h(FIG.1A). Some playback devices may be assigned names according to a zone or room, such as the playback devices110g,110d, and110f, which are named “Bedroom,” “Dining Room,” and “Office,” respectively. Further, certain playback devices may have functionally descriptive names. For example, the playback devices110kand110hare assigned the names “Right” and “Front,” respectively, because these two devices are configured to provide specific audio channels during media playback in the zone of the Den101d(FIG.1A). The playback device110cin the Patio may be named “Portable” because it is battery-powered and/or readily transportable to different areas of the environment101. Other naming conventions are possible. As discussed above, an NMD may detect and process sound from its environment, such as sound that includes background noise mixed with speech spoken by a person in the NMD's vicinity. For example, as sounds are detected by the NMD in the environment, the NMD may process the detected sound to determine if the sound includes speech that contains voice input intended for the NMD and ultimately a particular VAS. For example, the NMD may identify whether speech includes a wake word associated with a particular VAS. In the illustrated example ofFIG.1B, the NMDs120are configured to interact with the VAS190over the local network160and/or the router109. Interactions with the VAS190may be initiated, for example, when an NMD identifies in the detected sound a potential wake word. The identification causes a wake-word event, which in tum causes the NMD to begin transmitting detected-sound data to the VAS190. In some implementations, the various local network devices105,110,120, and130(FIG.1A) and/or remote computing devices106cof the MPS100may exchange various feedback, information, instructions, and/or related data with the remote computing devices associated with the selected VAS. Such exchanges may be related to or independent of transmitted messages containing voice inputs. In some embodiments, the remote computing device(s) and the MPS100may exchange data via communication paths as described herein and/or using a metadata exchange channel as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017-0242653 published Aug. 24, 2017, and titled “Voice Control of a Media Playback System,” which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Upon receiving the stream of sound data, the VAS190may determine if there is voice input in the streamed data from the NMD, and if so the VAS190may also determine an underlying intent in the voice input. The VAS190may next transmit a response back to the MPS100, which can include transmitting the response directly to the NMD that caused the wake-word event. The response is typically based on the intent that the VAS190determined was present in the voice input. As an example, in response to the VAS190receiving a voice input with an utterance to “Play Hey Jude by The Beatles,” the VAS190may determine that the underlying intent of the voice input is to initiate playback and further determine that intent of the voice input is to play the particular song “Hey Jude.” After these determinations, the VAS190may transmit a command to a particular MCS192to retrieve content (i.e., the song “Hey Jude”), and that MCS192, in turn, provides (e.g., streams) this content directly to the NIPS100or indirectly via the VAS190. In some implementations, the VAS190may transmit to the NIPS100a command that causes the MPS100itself to retrieve the content from the MCS192. In certain implementations, NMDs may facilitate arbitration amongst one another when voice input is identified in speech detected by two or more NMDs located within proximity of one another. For example, the NMD-equipped playback device110ein the environment101(FIG.1A) is in relatively close proximity to the NMD-equipped Living Room playback device120b, and both devices110eand120bmay at least sometimes detect the same sound. In such cases, this may require arbitration as to which device is ultimately responsible for providing detected-sound data to the remote VAS. Examples of arbitrating between NMDs may be found, for example, in previously referenced U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017-0242653. In certain implementations, an NMD may be assigned to, or otherwise associated with, a designated or default playback device that may not include an NMD. For example, the Island NMD1201in the Kitchen101h(FIG.1A) may be assigned to the Dining Room playback device110d, which is in relatively close proximity to the Island NMD1201. In practice, an NMD may direct an assigned playback device to play audio in response to a remote VAS receiving a voice input from the NMD to play the audio, which the NMD might have sent to the VAS in response to a user speaking a command to play a certain song, album, playlist, etc. Additional details regarding assigning NMDs and playback devices as designated or default devices may be found, for example, in previously referenced U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017-0242653. Further aspects relating to the different components of the example MPS100and how the different components may interact to provide a user with a media experience may be found in the following sections. While discussions herein may generally refer to the example MPS100, technologies described herein are not limited to applications within, among other things, the home environment described above. For instance, the technologies described herein may be useful in other home environment configurations comprising more or fewer of any of the playback devices110, network microphone devices120, and/or control devices130. For example, the technologies herein may be utilized within an environment having a single playback device110and/or a single NMD120. In some examples of such cases, the local network160(FIG.1B) may be eliminated and the single playback device110and/or the single NMD120may communicate directly with the remote computing devices106a-d. In some embodiments, a telecommunication network (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network, etc.) may communicate with the various playback devices110, network microphone devices120, and/or control devices130independent of the local network160. b. Suitable Playback Devices FIG.1Cis a block diagram of the playback device110acomprising an input/output111. The input/output111can include an analog I/O111a(e.g., one or more wires, cables, and/or other suitable communication links configured to carry analog signals) and/or a digital I/O111b(e.g., one or more wires, cables, or other suitable communication links configured to carry digital signals). In some embodiments, the analog I/O111ais an audio line-in input connection comprising, for example, an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-in connection. In some embodiments, the digital I/O111bcomprises a Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format (S/PDIF) communication interface and/or cable and/or a Toshiba Link (TOSLINK) cable. In some embodiments, the digital I/O111bcomprises a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) interface and/or cable. In some embodiments, the digital I/O111bincludes one or more wireless communication links comprising, for example, a radio frequency (RF), infrared, WIFI, BLUETOOTH, or another suitable communication protocol. In certain embodiments, the analog I/O111aand the digital I/O111bcomprise interfaces (e.g., ports, plugs, jacks) configured to receive connectors of cables transmitting analog and digital signals, respectively, without necessarily including cables. The playback device110a, for example, can receive media content (e.g., audio content comprising music and/or other sounds) from a local audio source150via the input/output111(e.g., a cable, a wire, a PAN, a BLUETOOTH connection, an ad hoc wired or wireless communication network, and/or another suitable communication link). The local audio source150can comprise, for example, a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer) or another suitable audio component (e.g., a television, a desktop computer, an amplifier, a phonograph, a Blu-ray player, a memory storing digital media files). In some aspects, the local audio source150includes local music libraries on a smartphone, a computer, a networked-attached storage (NAS), and/or another suitable device configured to store media files. In certain embodiments, one or more of the playback devices110, NMDs120, and/or control devices130comprise the local audio source150. In other embodiments, however, the media playback system omits the local audio source150altogether. In some embodiments, the playback device110adoes not include an input/output111and receives all audio content via the local network160. The playback device110afurther comprises electronics112, a user interface113(e.g., one or more buttons, knobs, dials, touch-sensitive surfaces, displays, touchscreens), and one or more transducers114(e.g., a driver), referred to hereinafter as “the transducers114.” The electronics112is configured to receive audio from an audio source (e.g., the local audio source150) via the input/output111, one or more of the computing devices106a-cvia the local network160(FIG.1B)), amplify the received audio, and output the amplified audio for playback via one or more of the transducers114. In some embodiments, the playback device110aoptionally includes one or more microphones115(e.g., a single microphone, a plurality of microphones, a microphone array) (hereinafter referred to as “the microphones115”). In certain embodiments, for example, the playback device110ahaving one or more of the optional microphones115can operate as an NMD configured to receive voice input from a user and correspondingly perform one or more operations based on the received voice input. In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG.1C, the electronics112comprise one or more processors112a(referred to hereinafter as “the processors112a”), memory112b, software components112c, a network interface112d, one or more audio processing components112g, one or more audio amplifiers112h(referred to hereinafter as “the amplifiers112h”), and power components112i(e.g., one or more power supplies, power cables, power receptacles, batteries, induction coils, Power-over Ethernet (POE) interfaces, and/or other suitable sources of electric power). In some embodiments, the electronics112optionally include one or more other components112j(e.g., one or more sensors, video displays, touchscreens, battery charging bases). In some embodiments, the playback device110aand electronics112may further include one or more voice processing components that are operable coupled to one or more microphones, and other components as described below with reference toFIGS.1F and1G. The processors112acan comprise clock-driven computing component(s) configured to process data, and the memory112bcan comprise a computer-readable medium (e.g., a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, data storage loaded with one or more of the software components112c) configured to store instructions for performing various operations and/or functions. The processors112aare configured to execute the instructions stored on the memory112bto perform one or more of the operations. The operations can include, for example, causing the playback device110ato retrieve audio data from an audio source (e.g., one or more of the computing devices106a-c(FIG.1B)), and/or another one of the playback devices110. In some embodiments, the operations further include causing the playback device110ato send audio data to another one of the playback devices110aand/or another device (e.g., one of the NMDs120). Certain embodiments include operations causing the playback device110ato pair with another of the one or more playback devices110to enable a multi-channel audio environment (e.g., a stereo pair, a bonded zone). The processors112acan be further configured to perform operations causing the playback device110ato synchronize playback of audio content with another of the one or more playback devices110. As those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, during synchronous playback of audio content on a plurality of playback devices, a listener will preferably be unable to perceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content by the playback device110aand the other one or more other playback devices110. Additional details regarding audio playback synchronization among playback devices can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395, which was incorporated by reference above. In some embodiments, the memory112bis further configured to store data associated with the playback device110a, such as one or more zones and/or zone groups of which the playback device110ais a member, audio sources accessible to the playback device110a, and/or a playback queue that the playback device110a(and/or another of the one or more playback devices) can be associated with. The stored data can comprise one or more state variables that are periodically updated and used to describe a state of the playback device110a. The memory112bcan also include data associated with a state of one or more of the other devices (e.g., the playback devices110, NMDs120, control devices130) of the MPS100. In some aspects, for example, the state data is shared during predetermined intervals of time (e.g., every 5 seconds, every 10 seconds, every 60 seconds) among at least a portion of the devices of the MPS100, so that one or more of the devices have the most recent data associated with the MPS100. The network interface112dis configured to facilitate a transmission of data between the playback device110aand one or more other devices on a data network. The network interface112dis configured to transmit and receive data corresponding to media content (e.g., audio content, video content, text, photographs) and other signals (e.g., non-transitory signals) comprising digital packet data including an Internet Protocol (IP)-based source address and/or an IP-based destination address. The network interface112dcan parse the digital packet data such that the electronics112properly receives and processes the data destined for the playback device110a. In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG.1C, the network interface112dcomprises one or more wireless interfaces112e(referred to hereinafter as “the wireless interface112e”). The wireless interface112e(e.g., a suitable interface comprising one or more antennae) can be configured to wirelessly communicate with one or more other devices (e.g., one or more of the other playback devices110, NMDs120, and/or control devices130) that are communicatively coupled to the local network160(FIG.1B) in accordance with a suitable wireless communication protocol (e.g., WIFI, BLUETOOTH, LTE). In some embodiments, the network interface112doptionally includes a wired interface112f(e.g., an interface or receptacle configured to receive a network cable such as an Ethernet, a USB-A, USB-C, and/or Thunderbolt cable) configured to communicate over a wired connection with other devices in accordance with a suitable wired communication protocol. In certain embodiments, the network interface112dincludes the wired interface112fand excludes the wireless interface112e. In some embodiments, the electronics112excludes the network interface112daltogether and transmits and receives media content and/or other data via another communication path (e.g., the input/output111). The audio processing components112gare configured to process and/or filter data comprising media content received by the electronics112(e.g., via the input/output111and/or the network interface112d) to produce output audio signals. In some embodiments, the audio processing components112gcomprise, for example, one or more digital-to-analog converters (DAC), audio preprocessing components, audio enhancement components, a digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other suitable audio processing components, modules, circuits, etc. In certain embodiments, one or more of the audio processing components112gcan comprise one or more subcomponents of the processors112a. In some embodiments, the electronics112omits the audio processing components112g. In some aspects, for example, the processors112aexecute instructions stored on the memory112bto perform audio processing operations to produce the output audio signals. The amplifiers112hare configured to receive and amplify the audio output signals produced by the audio processing components112gand/or the processors112a. The amplifiers112hcan comprise electronic devices and/or components configured to amplify audio signals to levels sufficient for driving one or more of the transducers114. In some embodiments, for example, the amplifiers112hinclude one or more switching or class-D power amplifiers. In other embodiments, however, the amplifiers include one or more other types of power amplifiers (e.g., linear gain power amplifiers, class-A amplifiers, class-B amplifiers, class-AB amplifiers, class-C amplifiers, class-D amplifiers, class-E amplifiers, class-F amplifiers, class-G and/or class H amplifiers, and/or another suitable type of power amplifier). In certain embodiments, the amplifiers112hcomprise a suitable combination of two or more of the foregoing types of power amplifiers. Moreover, in some embodiments, individual ones of the amplifiers112hcorrespond to individual ones of the transducers114. In other embodiments, however, the electronics112includes a single one of the amplifiers112hconfigured to output amplified audio signals to a plurality of the transducers114. In some other embodiments, the electronics112omits the amplifiers112h. In some implementations, the power components112iof the playback device110amay additionally include an internal power source (e.g., one or more batteries) configured to power the playback device110awithout a physical connection to an external power source. When equipped with the internal power source, the playback device110amay operate independent of an external power source. In some such implementations, an external power source interface may be configured to facilitate charging the internal power source229. As discussed before, a playback device comprising an internal power source may be referred to herein as a “portable playback device.” On the other hand, a playback device that operates using an external power source may be referred to herein as a “stationary playback device,” although such a device may in fact be moved around a home or other environment. The user interface113may facilitate user interactions independent of or in conjunction with user interactions facilitated by one or more of the control devices130(FIG.1A). In various embodiments, the user interface113includes one or more physical buttons and/or supports graphical interfaces provided on touch sensitive screen(s) and/or surface(s), among other possibilities, for a user to directly provide input. The user interface113may further include one or more of lights (e.g., LEDs) and the speakers to provide visual and/or audio feedback to a user. The transducers114(e.g., one or more speakers and/or speaker drivers) receive the amplified audio signals from the amplifier112hand render or output the amplified audio signals as sound (e.g., audible sound waves having a frequency between about 20 Hertz (Hz) and 20 kilohertz (kHz)). In some embodiments, the transducers114can comprise a single transducer. In other embodiments, however, the transducers114comprise a plurality of audio transducers. In some embodiments, the transducers114comprise more than one type of transducer. For example, the transducers114can include one or more low frequency transducers (e.g., subwoofers, woofers), mid-range frequency transducers (e.g., mid-range transducers, mid-woofers), and one or more high frequency transducers (e.g., one or more tweeters). As used herein, “low frequency” can generally refer to audible frequencies below about 500 Hz, “mid-range frequency” can generally refer to audible frequencies between about 500 Hz and about 2 kHz, and “high frequency” can generally refer to audible frequencies above 2 kHz. In certain embodiments, however, one or more of the transducers114comprise transducers that do not adhere to the foregoing frequency ranges. For example, one of the transducers114may comprise a mid-woofer transducer configured to output sound at frequencies between about 200 Hz and about 5 kHz. In some embodiments, the playback device110amay include a speaker interface for connecting the playback device to external speakers. In other embodiments, the playback device110amay include an audio interface for connecting the playback device to an external audio amplifier or audio-visual receiver. By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered) for sale certain playback devices including, for example, a “SONOS ONE,” “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,” “PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “PLAYBASE,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Other suitable playback devices may additionally or alternatively be used to implement the playback devices of example embodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, one of ordinary skilled in the art will appreciate that a playback device is not limited to the examples described herein or to SONOS product offerings. In some embodiments, for example, one or more playback devices110comprises wired or wireless headphones (e.g., over-the-ear headphones, on-ear headphones, in-ear earphones). In other embodiments, one or more of the playback devices110comprise a docking station and/or an interface configured to interact with a docking station for personal mobile media playback devices. In certain embodiments, a playback device may be integral to another device or component such as a television, a lighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use. In some embodiments, a playback device omits a user interface and/or one or more transducers. For example,FIG.1Dis a block diagram of a playback device110pcomprising the input/output111and electronics112without the user interface113or transducers114. FIG.1Eis a block diagram of a bonded playback device110qcomprising the playback device110a(FIG.1C) sonically bonded with the playback device110i(e.g., a subwoofer) (FIG.1A). In the illustrated embodiment, the playback devices110aand110iare separate ones of the playback devices110housed in separate enclosures. In some embodiments, however, the bonded playback device110qcomprises a single enclosure housing both the playback devices110aand110i. The bonded playback device110qcan be configured to process and reproduce sound differently than an unbonded playback device (e.g., the playback device110aofFIG.1C) and/or paired or bonded playback devices (e.g., the playback devices1101and110mofFIG.1B). In some embodiments, for example, the playback device110ais full-range playback device configured to render low frequency, mid-range frequency, and high frequency audio content, and the playback device110iis a subwoofer configured to render low frequency audio content. In some aspects, the playback device110a, when bonded with playback device110i, is configured to render only the mid-range and high frequency components of a particular audio content, while the playback device110irenders the low frequency component of the particular audio content. In some embodiments, the bonded playback device110qincludes additional playback devices and/or another bonded playback device. In some embodiments, one or more of the playback devices110may take the form of a wired and/or wireless headphone (e.g., an over-ear headset, an on-ear headset, or an in-ear headset). For instance,FIG.4shows an example headset assembly400(“headset400”) for such an implementation of one of the playback devices110. As shown, the headset400includes a headband402that couples a first earcup404ato a second earcup404b. Each of the earcups404aand0244bmay house any portion of the electronic components in the playback device110, such as one or more speakers. Further, one or more of the earcups404aand404bmay include a user interface for controlling audio playback, volume level, and other functions. The user interface may include any of a variety of control elements such as a physical button408, a slider, a knob, and/or a touch control surface. As shown inFIG.4, the headset400may further include ear cushions406aand406bthat are coupled to ear cups404aand404b, respectively. The ear cushions406aand406bmay provide a soft barrier between the head of a user and the earcups404aand404b, respectively, to improve user comfort and/or provide acoustic isolation from the ambient (e.g., passive noise reduction (PNR)). As described in greater detail below, the electronic components of a playback device may include one or more network interface components (not shown inFIG.4) to facilitate wireless communication over one more communication links. For instance, a playback device may communicate over a first communication link401a(e.g., a BLUETOOTH link) with one of the control devices130and/or over a second communication link401b(e.g., a WIFI or cellular link) with one or more other computing devices410(e.g., a network router and/or a remote server). As another possibility, a playback device may communicate over multiple communication links, such as the first communication link401awith the control device130aand a third communication link401c(e.g., a WIFI or cellular link) between the control device130aand the one or more other computing devices410. Thus, the control device130amay function as an intermediary between the playback device and the one or more other computing devices410, in some embodiments. In some instances, the headphone device may take the form of a hearable device. Hearable devices may include those headphone devices (including ear-level devices) that are configured to provide a hearing enhancement function while also supporting playback of media content (e.g., streaming media content from a user device over a PAN, streaming media content from a streaming music service provider over a WLAN and/or a cellular network connection, etc.). In some instances, a hearable device may be implemented as an in-ear headphone device that is configured to playback an amplified version of at least some sounds detected from an external environment (e.g., all sound, select sounds such as human speech, etc.) It should be appreciated that one or more of the playback devices110may take the form of other wearable devices separate and apart from a headphone. Wearable devices may include those devices configured to be worn about a portion of a subject (e.g., a head, a neck, a torso, an arm, a wrist, a finger, a leg, an ankle, etc.). For example, the playback devices110may take the form of a pair of glasses including a frame front (e.g., configured to hold one or more lenses), a first temple rotatably coupled to the frame front, and a second temple rotatable coupled to the frame front. In this example, the pair of glasses may comprise one or more transducers integrated into at least one of the first and second temples and configured to project sound towards an ear of the subject. c. Suitable Network Microphone Devices (NMD)s FIG.1Fis a block diagram of the NMD120a(FIGS.1A and1B). The NMD120aincludes one or more voice processing components124and several components described with respect to the playback device110a(FIG.1C) including the processors112a, the memory112b, and the microphones115. The NMD120aoptionally comprises other components also included in the playback device110a(FIG.1C), such as the user interface113and/or the transducers114. In some embodiments, the NMD120ais configured as a media playback device (e.g., one or more of the playback devices110), and further includes, for example, one or more of the audio processing components112g(FIG.1C), the transducers114, and/or other playback device components. In certain embodiments, the NMD120acomprises an Internet of Things (IoT) device such as, for example, a thermostat, alarm panel, fire and/or smoke detector, etc. In some embodiments, the NMD120acomprises the microphones115, the voice processing components124, and only a portion of the components of the electronics112described above with respect toFIG.1B. In some aspects, for example, the NMD120aincludes the processor112aand the memory112b(FIG.1B), while omitting one or more other components of the electronics112. In some embodiments, the NMD120aincludes additional components (e.g., one or more sensors, cameras, thermometers, barometers, hygrometers). In some embodiments, an NMD can be integrated into a playback device.FIG.1Gis a block diagram of a playback device110rcomprising an NMD120d. The playback device110rcan comprise many or all of the components of the playback device110aand further include the microphones115and voice processing components124(FIG.1F). The microphones115are configured to detect sound (i.e., acoustic waves) in the environment of the playback device110r, which is then provided to voice processing components124. More specifically, each microphone115is configured to detect sound and convert the sound into a digital or analog signal representative of the detected sound, which can then cause the voice processing component to perform various functions based on the detected sound, as described in greater detail below. In some implementations, the microphones115may be arranged as an array of microphones (e.g., an array of six microphones). In some implementations the playback device110rmay include fewer than six microphones or more than six microphones. The playback device110roptionally includes an integrated control device130c. The control device130ccan comprise, for example, a user interface configured to receive user input (e.g., touch input, voice input) without a separate control device. In other embodiments, however, the playback device110rreceives commands from another control device (e.g., the control device130aofFIG.1B). In operation, the voice processing components124are generally configured to detect and process sound received via the microphones115, identify potential voice input in the detected sound, and extract detected-sound data to enable a VAS, such as the VAS190(FIG.1B), to process voice input identified in the detected-sound data. The voice processing components124may include one or more analog-to-digital converters, an acoustic echo canceller (“AEC”), a spatial processor (e.g., one or more multi-channel Wiener filters, one or more other filters, and/or one or more beam former components), one or more buffers (e.g., one or more circular buffers), one or more wake-word engines, one or more voice extractors, and/or one or more speech processing components (e.g., components configured to recognize a voice of a particular user or a particular set of users associated with a household), among other example voice processing components. In example implementations, the voice processing components124may include or otherwise take the form of one or more DSPs or one or more modules of a DSP. In this respect, certain voice processing components124may be configured with particular parameters (e.g., gain and/or spectral parameters) that may be modified or otherwise tuned to achieve particular functions. In some implementations, one or more of the voice processing components124may be a subcomponent of the processor112a. In some implementations, the voice processing components124may detect and store a user's voice profile, which may be associated with a user account of the MPS100. For example, voice profiles may be stored as and/or compared to variables stored in a set of command information or data table. The voice profile may include aspects of the tone of frequency of a user's voice and/or other unique aspects of the user's voice, such as those described in previously-referenced U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017-0242653. Referring again toFIG.1F, the microphones115are configured to acquire, capture, and/or receive sound from an environment (e.g., the environment101ofFIG.1A) and/or a room in which the NMD120ais positioned. The received sound can include, for example, vocal utterances, audio played back by the NMD120aand/or another playback device, background voices, ambient sounds, etc. The microphones115convert the received sound into electrical signals to produce microphone data. The voice processing components124receive and analyze the microphone data to determine whether a voice input is present in the microphone data. The voice input can comprise, for example, an activation word followed by an utterance including a user request. As those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, an activation word is a word or other audio cue that signifying a user voice input. For instance, in querying the AMAZON® VAS, a user might speak the activation word “Alexa.” Other examples include “Ok, Google” for invoking the GOOGLE® VAS and “Hey, Siri” for invoking the APPLE® VAS. After detecting the activation word, voice processing components124monitor the microphone data for an accompanying user request in the voice input. The user request may include, for example, a command to control a third-party device, such as a thermostat (e.g., NEST® thermostat), an illumination device (e.g., a PHILIPS HUE® lighting device), or a media playback device (e.g., a Sonos® playback device). For example, a user might speak the activation word “Alexa” followed by the utterance “set the thermostat to 68 degrees” to set a temperature in a home (e.g., the environment101ofFIG.1A). The user might speak the same activation word followed by the utterance “turn on the living room” to turn on illumination devices in a living room area of the home. The user may similarly speak an activation word followed by a request to play a particular song, an album, or a playlist of music on a playback device in the home. d. Suitable Controller Devices FIG.1His a partially schematic diagram of one of the control device130a(FIGS.1A and1B). As used herein, the term “control device” can be used interchangeably with “controller,” “control device,” or “control system.” Among other features, the control device130ais configured to receive user input related to the MPS100and, in response, cause one or more devices in the MPS100to perform an action(s) or operation(s) corresponding to the user input. In the illustrated embodiment, the control device130acomprises a smartphone (e.g., an iPhone™, an Android phone) on which media playback system controller application software is installed. In some embodiments, the control device130acomprises, for example, a tablet (e.g., an iPad™), a computer (e.g., a laptop computer, a desktop computer), and/or another suitable device (e.g., a television, an automobile audio head unit, an IoT device). In certain embodiments, the control device130acomprises a dedicated controller for the MPS100. In other embodiments, as described above with respect toFIG.1G, the control device130ais integrated into another device in the MPS100(e.g., one more of the playback devices110, NMDs120, and/or other suitable devices configured to communicate over a network). The control device130aincludes electronics132, a user interface133, one or more speakers134, and one or more microphones135. The electronics132comprise one or more processors132a(referred to hereinafter as “the processors132a”), a memory132b, software components132c, and a network interface132d. The processor132acan be configured to perform functions relevant to facilitating user access, control, and configuration of the MPS100. The memory132bcan comprise data storage that can be loaded with one or more of the software components executable by the processor302to perform those functions. The software components132ccan comprise applications and/or other executable software configured to facilitate control of the MPS100. The memory112bcan be configured to store, for example, the software components132c, media playback system controller application software, and/or other data associated with the MPS100and the user. The network interface132dis configured to facilitate network communications between the control device130aand one or more other devices in the MPS100, and/or one or more remote devices. In some embodiments, the network interface132dis configured to operate according to one or more suitable communication industry standards (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3, wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.12, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4G, LTE). The network interface132dcan be configured, for example, to transmit data to and/or receive data from the playback devices110, the NMDs120, other ones of the control devices130, one of the computing devices106ofFIG.1B, devices comprising one or more other media playback systems, etc. The transmitted and/or received data can include, for example, playback device control commands, state variables, playback zone and/or zone group configurations. For instance, based on user input received at the user interface133, the network interface132dcan transmit a playback device control command (e.g., volume control, audio playback control, audio content selection) from the control device130ato one or more of the playback devices110. The network interface132dcan also transmit and/or receive configuration changes such as, for example, adding/removing one or more playback devices110to/from a zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forming a bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devices from a bonded or consolidated player, among others. Additional description of zones and groups can be found below with respect toFIGS.1J through2. The user interface133is configured to receive user input and can facilitate control of the MPS100. The user interface133includes media content art133a(e.g., album art, lyrics, videos), a playback status indicator133b(e.g., an elapsed and/or remaining time indicator), media content information region133c, a playback control region133d, and a zone indicator133e. The media content information region133ccan include a display of relevant information (e.g., title, artist, album, genre, release year) about media content currently playing and/or media content in a queue or playlist. The playback control region133dcan include selectable (e.g., via touch input and/or via a cursor or another suitable selector) icons to cause one or more playback devices in a selected playback zone or zone group to perform playback actions such as, for example, play or pause, fast forward, rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode, enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode, etc. The playback control region133dmay also include selectable icons to modify equalization settings, playback volume, and/or other suitable playback actions. In the illustrated embodiment, the user interface133comprises a display presented on a touch screen interface of a smartphone (e.g., an iPhone™, an Android phone). In some embodiments, however, user interfaces of varying formats, styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented on one or more network devices to provide comparable control access to a media playback system.FIG.1Ishows two additional user interface displays133fand133gof user interface133. Additional examples are also possible. The one or more speakers134(e.g., one or more transducers) can be configured to output sound to the user of the control device130a. In some embodiments, the one or more speakers comprise individual transducers configured to correspondingly output low frequencies, mid-range frequencies, and/or high frequencies. In some aspects, for example, the control device130ais configured as a playback device (e.g., one of the playback devices110). Similarly, in some embodiments the control device130ais configured as an NMD (e.g., one of the NMDs120), receiving voice commands and other sounds via the one or more microphones135. The one or more microphones135can comprise, for example, one or more condenser microphones, electret condenser microphones, dynamic microphones, and/or other suitable types of microphones or transducers. In some embodiments, two or more of the microphones135are arranged to capture location information of an audio source (e.g., voice, audible sound) and/or configured to facilitate filtering of background noise. Moreover, in certain embodiments, the control device130ais configured to operate as playback device and an NMD. In other embodiments, however, the control device130aomits the one or more speakers134and/or the one or more microphones135. For instance, the control device130amay comprise a device (e.g., a thermostat, an IoT device, a network device) comprising a portion of the electronics132and the user interface133(e.g., a touch screen) without any speakers or microphones. e. Suitable Playback Device Configurations FIGS.1J through2show example configurations of playback devices in zones and zone groups. Referring first toFIG.2, in one example, a single playback device may belong to a zone. For example, the playback device110gin the second bedroom101c(FIG.1A) may belong to Zone C. In some implementations described below, multiple playback devices may be “bonded” to form a “bonded pair” which together form a single zone. For example, the playback device1101(e.g., a left playback device) can be bonded to the playback device110m(e.g., a right playback device) to form Zone B. Bonded playback devices may have different playback responsibilities (e.g., channel responsibilities). In another implementation described below, multiple playback devices may be merged to form a single zone. For example, the playback device110h(e.g., a front playback device) may be merged with the playback device110i(e.g., a subwoofer), and the playback devices110jand110k(e.g., left and right surround speakers, respectively) to form a single Zone D. In another example, the playback zones110gand110hcan be merged to form a merged group or a zone group108b. The merged playback zones110gand110hmay not be specifically assigned different playback responsibilities. That is, the merged playback zones110hand110imay, aside from playing audio content in synchrony, each play audio content as they would if they were not merged. Each zone in the MPS100may be provided for control as a single user interface (UI) entity. For example, Zone A may be provided as a single entity named Master Bathroom. Zone B may be provided as a single entity named Master Bedroom. Zone C may be provided as a single entity named Second Bedroom. Playback devices that are bonded may have different playback responsibilities, such as responsibilities for certain audio channels. For example, as shown inFIG.1J, the playback devices110land110mmay be bonded so as to produce or enhance a stereo effect of audio content. In this example, the playback device110lmay be configured to play a left channel audio component, while the playback device110kmay be configured to play a right channel audio component. In some implementations, such stereo bonding may be referred to as “pairing.” Additionally, bonded playback devices may have additional and/or different respective speaker drivers. As shown inFIG.1K, the playback device110hnamed Front may be bonded with the playback device110inamed SUB. The Front device110hcan be configured to render a range of mid to high frequencies and the SUB device110ican be configured render low frequencies. When unbonded, however, the Front device110hcan be configured render a full range of frequencies. As another example,FIG.1Lshows the Front and SUB devices110hand110ifurther bonded with Left and Right playback devices110jand110k, respectively. In some implementations, the Left and Right playback devices110jand110kcan be configured to form surround or “satellite” channels of a home theater system. The bonded playback devices110h,110i,110j, and110kmay form a single Zone D (FIG.2). Playback devices that are merged may not have assigned playback responsibilities and may each render the full range of audio content the respective playback device is capable of. Nevertheless, merged devices may be represented as a single UI entity (i.e., a zone, as discussed above). For instance, the playback devices110aand110nin the master bathroom have the single UI entity of Zone A. In one embodiment, the playback devices110aand110nmay each output the full range of audio content each respective playback devices110aand110nare capable of, in synchrony. In some embodiments, an NMD is bonded or merged with another device so as to form a zone. For example, the NMD120bmay be bonded with the playback device110e, which together form Zone F, named Living Room. In other embodiments, a stand-alone network microphone device may be in a zone by itself. In other embodiments, however, a stand-alone network microphone device may not be associated with a zone. Additional details regarding associating network microphone devices and playback devices as designated or default devices may be found, for example, in previously referenced U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/438,749. Zones of individual, bonded, and/or merged devices may be grouped to form a zone group. For example, referring toFIG.2, Zone A may be grouped with Zone B to form a zone group108athat includes the two zones. Similarly, Zone G may be grouped with Zone H to form the zone group108b. As another example, Zone A may be grouped with one or more other Zones C-I. The Zones A-I may be grouped and ungrouped in numerous ways. For example, three, four, five, or more (e.g., all) of the Zones A-I may be grouped. When grouped, the zones of individual and/or bonded playback devices may play back audio in synchrony with one another, as described in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395. Playback devices may be dynamically grouped and ungrouped to form new or different groups that synchronously play back audio content. In various implementations, the zones in an environment may be the default name of a zone within the group or a combination of the names of the zones within a zone group. For example, Zone Group108bcan have be assigned a name such as “Dining+Kitchen”, as shown inFIG.2. In some embodiments, a zone group may be given a unique name selected by a user. Certain data may be stored in a memory of a playback device (e.g., the memory112bofFIG.1C) as one or more state variables that are periodically updated and used to describe the state of a playback zone, the playback device(s), and/or a zone group associated therewith. The memory may also include the data associated with the state of the other devices of the media system and shared from time to time among the devices so that one or more of the devices have the most recent data associated with the system. In some embodiments, the memory may store instances of various variable types associated with the states. Variables instances may be stored with identifiers (e.g., tags) corresponding to type. For example, certain identifiers may be a first type “a1” to identify playback device(s) of a zone, a second type “b1” to identify playback device(s) that may be bonded in the zone, and a third type “c1” to identify a zone group to which the zone may belong. As a related example, identifiers associated with the second bedroom101cmay indicate that the playback device is the only playback device of the Zone C and not in a zone group. Identifiers associated with the Den may indicate that the Den is not grouped with other zones but includes bonded playback devices110h-110k. Identifiers associated with the Dining Room may indicate that the Dining Room is part of the Dining+Kitchen zone group108band that devices110band110dare grouped (FIG.1M). Identifiers associated with the Kitchen may indicate the same or similar information by virtue of the Kitchen being part of the Dining+Kitchen zone group108b. Other example zone variables and identifiers are described below. In yet another example, the MPS100may include variables or identifiers representing other associations of zones and zone groups, such as identifiers associated with Areas, as shown inFIG.2. An area may involve a cluster of zone groups and/or zones not within a zone group. For instance,FIG.2shows an Upper Area109aincluding Zones A-D, and a Lower Area109bincluding Zones E-I. In one aspect, an Area may be used to invoke a cluster of zone groups and/or zones that share one or more zones and/or zone groups of another cluster. In another aspect, this differs from a zone group, which does not share a zone with another zone group. Further examples of techniques for implementing Areas may be found, for example, in U.S. application Ser. No. 15/682,506 filed Aug. 21, 2017 and titled “Room Association Based on Name,” and U.S. Pat. No. 8,483,853 filed Sep. 11, 2007, and titled “Controlling and manipulating groupings in a multi-zone media system.” Each of these applications is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In some embodiments, the MPS100may not implement Areas, in which case the system may not store variables associated with Areas. FIG.3shows an example housing330of the playback device110that includes a user interface in the form of a control area332at a top portion334of the housing330. The control area332includes buttons336-cfor controlling audio playback, volume level, and other functions. The control area332also includes a button236dfor toggling the microphones222to either an on state or an off state. The control area332is at least partially surrounded by apertures formed in the top portion334of the housing330through which the microphones222(not visible inFIG.3) receive the sound in the environment of the playback device102. The microphones222may be arranged in various positions along and/or within the top portion334or other areas of the housing330so as to detect sound from one or more directions relative to the playback device110. In some embodiments, the playback device110may take the form of a wired and/or wireless headphone (e.g., an over-ear headset, an on-ear headset, or an in-ear headset). For instance,FIG.4shows an example headset assembly400(“headset400”) for such an implementation of the playback device110. As shown, the headset400includes a headband402that couples a first earcup404ato a second earcup404b. Each of the earcups404aand404bmay house any portion of the electronic components in the playback device110, such as one or more speakers. Further, one or more of the earcups404aand404bmay include a user interface for controlling audio playback, volume level, and other functions. The user interface may include any of a variety of control elements such as a physical button408, a slider, a knob, and/or a touch control surface. As shown inFIG.4, the headset400may further include ear cushions406aand406bthat are coupled to ear cups404aand404b, respectively. The ear cushions406aand406bmay provide a soft barrier between the head of a user and the earcups404aand404b, respectively, to improve user comfort and/or provide acoustic isolation from the ambient (e.g., passive noise reduction (PNR)). III. Example Techniques for Reducing Time to Music As discussed above, a playback device must undertake various initialization operations when it is initially powered on, or when it is woken up from a deep sleep state in which some or all of its internal components are powered off, before the playback device is capable of playing back audio content over a wireless network connection. Nonetheless, for some playback devices, such as portable playback devices, users may expect a relatively short time-to-music (TTM) in such situations. Thus, techniques that reduce a playback device's TTM can lead to an improved user experience. FIG.5is a flowchart500that illustrates one example implementation for reducing a playback device's TTM that involves the playback device performing two or more operations related to establishing a wireless network connection in parallel. The playback device may be, for example, any of the playback devices110discussed above and shown inFIGS.1A-4, such as the portable, battery-powered playback device110cor the wearable playback device110o. Beginning at block501, the playback device110may detect an input indicating a command to power up the playback device110. For instance, the playback device110may be completely powered off or in a deep sleep state in which some or all of its internal electronic components, such as processor(s)112aand/or wireless network interface(s)112e, are powered off to conserve battery power. Further, the detected input may take various forms, such as a button press, touch input, or similar interaction received via the user interface113. In some cases, the detected input may additionally be indicative of a command to perform a given audio playback function. As one illustrative example, a user who wishes to play back audio content on portable playback device110, which has been sitting idle outdoors on the user's patio, may press a “Play” button on the device. This input may serve as a command to both “wake” the playback device from its powered-off state as well as a command to begin playback of audio content from a playback queue associated with the playback device, once it is capable of doing so. Other examples are also possible. At block502, based on the detected input, the playback device110may begin initialization of the wireless network interface112e. As noted above, the wireless network interface112emay include one or more wireless network interfaces that the playback device110may utilize to communicate over different types of wireless networks, such as a WIFI network and/or a BLUETOOTH network, among other possibilities. For instance, the portable playback device110on the user's patio may begin initialization the wireless network interface112ein order to scan for available WIFI networks and establish (e.g., re-establish) a connection to the user's home WIFI network. Beginning initialization of the wireless network interface112emay take various forms. For instance, the playback device110may begin loading one or more software drivers that are used for operation of the wireless network interface112e. In some cases, the software drivers for the wireless network interface112emay need to be fully loaded before the playback device110can use the wireless network interface112eto establish a network connection. This is represented by the dashed line510in one example ofFIG.5, above which the playback device110is incapable of establishing a wireless network connection. However, the wireless network interface112emight not regain all of its capabilities at once, upon completion of the initialization process. Rather, certain functionalities may be enabled before others as the firmware and hardware of the wireless network interface112eare readied and the necessary data structures are allocated. For example, once certain components of the one or more software drivers are partially loaded, the wireless network interface112emay be capable of scanning for available wireless networks of a given type, even though establishing a connection to such a network is not yet possible. For illustration, the initialization may occur in a bottoms-up approach where lower-level layers of a network stack are initialized before higher-level layers. In such scenarios, a wireless chip (e.g., a WIFI chip) may become ready to execute an operation during initialization (e.g., perform a scan for one or more networks) before software executing on an application processor that communicates with the WIFI chip (e.g., an operating system such as LINUX and/or a WIFI driver) is capable of, for example, initiating a set of one or more operations to establish a connection to a particular network. Accordingly, at block503, after beginning initialization of the wireless network interface112ebut before the playback device110is capable of establishing a connection to a WIFI network via the wireless network interface112e(e.g., before the playback device completes installing the one or more software drivers), the playback device110may cause the wireless network interface112eto scan for available WIFI wireless networks. In this way, the playback device110can save time and reduce its TTM as operations that would otherwise be performed in sequence are performed in simultaneously. In particular, initialization of the wireless network interface112e(e.g., loading of the one or more software drivers) may continue while the scan for available networks occurs in parallel. Additional aspects of the scan for available networks at block503that may further reduce TTM will be discussed below in relation toFIG.6. At block504, the playback device110may identify, via the wireless network interface112e, at least one available wireless network of the wireless network type that is the subject of the scan. For instance, the playback device's scan for available WIFI networks may identify the user's home WIFI network, among others (e.g., a neighbor's WIFI network). At block505, the playback device110may store an indication of the at least one available wireless network that was identified. At some point after the scan for available wireless networks has begun, the playback device110will complete initialization of the wireless network interface112e(e.g., complete loading the one or more drivers) such that the playback device110is capable of establishing a connection to a WIFI network. In this regardFIG.5illustrates two example scenarios, each depicted by dashed lines. In the first example, shown by dashed line510and dashed block506a, the playback device110may complete initialization of the wireless network interface112e, and thus be capable of establishing a connection to a WIFI network, before the scan has identified an available network at block504. Nonetheless, scanning for available wireless networks, which would normally commence upon completing the initialization of the wireless network interface112e, is already underway, and thus the playback device's TTM has been reduced. Alternatively,FIG.5illustrates a second example scenario, shown by dashed line511and dashed block506b, in which the scan identifies at least one available wireless network and stores an indication thereof before initialization of the wireless network interface112eis complete. Consequently, once the playback device110completes initialization of the wireless network interface112eat block506b, the playback device110may immediately use the stored indication to connect to the identified wireless network. As a result, the time that would have been needed to perform the scan, identify the available network, and store the indication—all performed after initialization of the wireless network interface112ewas completed—has been eliminated from the playback device's TTM. It should be understood that the examples shown inFIG.5and discussed above represent just two of many possibilities. For example, the playback device110may complete initialization of the wireless network interface112eat any point during the scan (e.g., at any point between dashed lines510and511), including concurrently with identifying the one or more available wireless networks. Other examples are also possible. At block507, after the playback device110is capable of establishing a connection to a WIFI network via the wireless network interface112e, the playback device110may use the stored indication of the one or more available wireless network to establish a connection to a given wireless network of the at least one available wireless network. For instance, the playback device110may connect to the user's home WIFI network, which may be recognized by the playback device110as a known network for which the playback device110may have security information (e.g., a security key or password) stored in memory. As noted above, the detected input indicating a command to power up the playback device110may also indicate a command to begin play back of audio content. However, the playback device110may need to perform one or more additional steps, depending on the type of wireless network to which the playback device110has established a connection, among other factors, before the play back command can be executed. For example, at block508, the playback device110may receive an indication that the playback device110has obtained an IP address. In some cases, the playback device110may be assigned an IP address by a DHCP service running on an access point of the user's WIFI network. Other examples of how the playback device110may obtain an IP address are also possible. Whatever its source, a valid IP address may allow the playback device110, via a software application for retrieving and playback audio content over the user's WIFI network, to execute the playback command. Turning now toFIG.6, a flowchart520illustrates an example implementation related to scanning for available wireless networks before the playback device110is capable of establishing a wireless network connection to a WIFI network. In particular, the blocks shown inFIG.6may represent a more detailed view of the operations that the playback device110performs from block503to block505shown inFIG.5, which may result in a reduced TTM in some cases. Thus, at blocks503and504, the computing device may cause the wireless network interface112eto scan for available wireless networks and then identify at least one or more available wireless networks, as discussed above. In some embodiments, an “available” wireless network may refer to a wireless network that is within range of (e.g., detectable by) the playback device110, whether or not additional security information is required to establish a connection. In this regard, although the underlying goal of reducing TTM may be served by connecting to an identified wireless network as quickly as possible, it may be undesirable for the playback device110to connect to an unsecured wireless network that is identified. Accordingly, at block504a, the playback device110may determine whether an identified wireless network is secure or unsecure. If the identified wireless network is unsecure, or “open,” the playback device110may continue to scan for available wireless networks. In some cases, the playback may store an indication for of the identified, unsecured wireless network. If the identified wireless network is secure, the playback device110may determine, at block504b, whether the identified wireless network is known to the playback device110. For example, the playback device110may determine whether security information corresponding to the identified wireless network is stored in memory on the playback device110. If no such security information is stored in memory, the playback device110may determine that the identified wireless network is unknown, and may continue scanning for available networks at block503. However, if the identified wireless network is a known network for which security information is stored in memory, the playback device110may cause the wireless network interface112eto discontinue (e.g., stop) the scan for available wireless networks at block504c. This may reduce the time needed to complete the scan and/or allow the playback device110utilize those resources (e.g., computational resources, battery power) for other processes. At block505, as discussed above, the playback device110may store an indication of the available wireless network (e.g., including an indication of a service set identifier (SSID) associated with the available wireless network and/or an indication of at least one frequency channel over which the available wireless network operates). A given wireless network, such as the user's WIFI network in current example, may be known to the playback device110based on the playback device110being previously connected to it. In this situation, the playback device110may take additional steps that may reduce the time needed to identify the user's WIFI network via the network scan. For instance, the playback device110may have been powered off or otherwise entered a low-power state (e.g., automatically after a pre-determined period without user interaction) while connected to the user's WIFI network on a given wireless frequency channel, such as channel 11 in the 2.4 GHz frequency range. The playback device110may store an indication of this frequency channel in memory. Upon beginning initialization of the wireless network interface112eat block502, the playback device110may read the stored frequency channel from memory and cause the wireless network interface112eto scan for available wireless networks, at block503, starting from the stored frequency channel. Thus, wireless network interface112emay begin scanning on channel 11 in the 2.4 GHz frequency range, rather than a default channel, which might be channel 1. In this way, the playback device110may be able to quickly identify the user's WIFI network and discontinue the network scan, which may further reduce the playback device's TTM. It should be understood that certain operations shown inFIG.6may be performed in a different order, substantially simultaneously with other operations, or may be omitted. For instance, the playback device110might determine whether an identified wireless network is known without determining if it is secure or unsecure. For example, the playback device110might establish some types of wireless connections (e.g., some BLUETOOTH connections) without using any additional security information. In these situations, the playback device110may determine that the wireless network is a “known” network based on a stored indication that the playback device110has connected to it before. Turning now toFIG.7, a flowchart700is shown that illustrates another example of operations that the playback device110may perform to reduce TTM, relating to the startup of a software application for retrieval and playback of audio content over a wireless network. As discussed further below, the flowchart700may be implemented by the playback device110independent of, or in addition to, the examples discussed above and shown inFIGS.5and6. In many cases, another pre-requisite for the playback device110to play back audio content over a wireless network (e.g., from a cloud-based streaming media service) is the initialization of a software application that coordinates such playback. In the context of a WIFI network, the software application, which may be referred to as a “player application,” may be responsible for identification and retrieval of audio content over the WIFI network, communication and coordination with other playback devices and/or control devices over the network, among other operations. Thus, many of the player application's functions require not only a connection to a WIFI network, but also a valid IP address to facilitate such communications. Therefore, many conventional playback devices may not begin initialization of the player application until a valid IP address has been obtained. However, similar to the initialization of the wireless network interface112ediscussion above, there may be some operations associated with initialization the player application that can be performed before an IP address is obtained in order to reduce the total initialization time for the player application, and by extension, the TTM. Thus, the playback device110may begin initialization of the player application before obtaining an IP address, and in some cases, before a connection to the WIFI network is established. Accordingly, at block701, the playback device110may detect an input indicating a command to power up the playback device110. The input may be similar to the input detected at block501, wherein the user presses a button on portable playback device110, which has been sitting idle outdoors on the user's patio. Various other examples are also possible At block702, based on the detected input, the playback device110may begin initialization of the player application for retrieval and playback of audio content via the wireless network interface112e, before the playback device110has obtained an IP address. For instance, the playback device110may begin executing one or more operations that do not require an IP address. For example, the playback device may begin executing one or more operations associated with initialization of one or more software decoders. Such one or more software decoders may be configured to, for example, decode encoded audio to generate uncompressed audio, such as pulse-code modulation (PCM) audio, for playback. In some embodiments, the playback device110may determine whether a given initialization operation of the player application requires an IP address (and/or a connection to a WAN) or not. If it does not, the playback device110may execute the initialization operation, as shown at block703. Alternatively, the playback device110may determine, at block704, that an initialization operation of the player application requires an IP address (and/or a connection to a WAN). For instance, a given initialization operation may involve the playback device110initializing a handshake connection with one or more cloud-based servers associated with the user's media playback system100. If the playback device110attempts to execute this operation before an IP address is obtained, it may result in the playback device110devoting computation resources and battery power to a task that cannot be completed, and could be better spent elsewhere. Further, if such an operation is attempted without an IP address and is unsuccessful after several tries, or after a certain period of time, the operation may be discontinued such that the playback device110will not re-attempt the operation until a time-out period, such as 10 seconds, expires. This may be disadvantageous if the playback device110then obtains an IP address during the time-out period and then is delayed in completing the initialization of the player application, resulting in an increased TTM. Therefore, at block705, the playback device110may defer execution of an initialization that requires the playback device110to have an IP address. This may allow the playback device110to proceed with one or more other initialization operations that do not require an IP address, as shown at block706, resulting in a more efficient use of the playback device's computational resources and battery power. At block707, the playback device110may receive an indication that it has obtained an IP address. For example, block707may resemble block508discussed above, as the playback device110may be assigned an IP address by a DHCP service running on an access point of the user's WIFI network. Thereafter, based on receiving the indication that the playback device110has obtained the IP address, the playback device110may execute the deferred initialization operation(s) at block708. In this way, various initialization operations of the player application that would normally begin only after obtaining an IP address may already be completed, which may cause the player application to be ready sooner and thereby reduce the playback device's TTM. Accordingly, at block709, after the player application has completed initialization, the playback device110may retrieve and playback audio content via the user's WIFI network. For example, the input that indicated the power-up command may also be an input to begin playback of audio content from the playback device's associated playback queue, which may involve streaming the audio content from one of the user's cloud-based media streaming services. Additionally or alternatively, the playback device110may determine that one or more of the initialization operations that require the presence of an IP address can be fully or partially executed by assigning a placeholder IP address. Thus, the playback device110may assign a placeholder IP address (e.g., 000.000.0.0) for use by the initialization operation, and then execute the initialization operation using the placeholder. Then, rather than executing a deferred operation after receiving the IP address, as discussed above, the playback device110may instead update the placeholder IP address that was used during the initialization operation with the obtained IP address, which may be accomplished relatively quickly. In some cases, this may allow the playback device110to complete even more of the initialization process for the player application before the IP address is obtained, further reducing the playback device's TTM. As suggested above, the operations related to reducing TTM in the context of initializing the playback device's wireless network interface112e, as shown inFIG.5, may overlap in some cases with the operations related to reducing TTM in the context of initializing the player application, as shown inFIG.7. In this regard,FIG.8illustrates a flowchart800showing one example of how these operations may be executed in parallel. InFIG.8, some of the operations shown in FIG. and5andFIG.7have been simplified or condensed for the sake of clarity. However, it should be understood that any of the individual examples and variations noted above are equally applicable, in any combination, to the example depicted byFIG.8. As discussed above, the playback device110may detect an input indicating a command to power up the playback device110. As discussed above, this input may correspond to a user's button press to power up the portable playback device in order to play back audio content via the user's WIFI network. As shown inFIG.8, this input may correspond to both blocks501and701discussed above, and may cause the playback device110to begin initialization of both the wireless network interface112eas well as the player application, as shown at blocks502and702respectively. Thereafter, the playback device110may proceed in parallel with various operations, including at least (i) loading the one or more drivers for the wireless network interface112e, (ii) scanning for available wireless networks, (iii) performing one or more initialization operations for the player application that do not require an IP address (and/or a connection to a WAN), and (iv) deferring operating of one or more initialization operations for the player application that do require an IP address. There are numerous possibilities for the order in which these parallel operations may be completed, which may depend on the network conditions in the area of the user's WIFI network, among other possibilities. Thus, the TTM benefits provided by the techniques discussed herein may also vary in different situations. As one possibility, the network scan may identify the user's WIFI network relatively quickly, such that blocks503-505are completed before the initialization of the wireless network interface112eis complete, and while the playback device110is still executing and/or deferring initialization operations of the player application at blocks704-705based on the need for an IP address. Once initialization of the wireless network interface112eis complete at block506, the playback device225may immediately establish a connection to the user's WiFi network at block507. After obtaining an IP address at block508, which also corresponds to block707, the playback device110may execute any deferred initialization operations of the player application at block708, as well as any other remaining initialization operating that have yet to be completed. In this regard, any remaining, undeferred initialization operations of the player application that require and IP address can be executed without deferral. As another possibility, all of the initialization operations of the player application may be either executed or deferred and the one or more drivers for the wireless network interface112emay be fully loaded before the network scan identifies the user's WIFI network. For example, the playback device110may have been recently connected to another known wireless network, such as an office WIFI network, such that the previously stored wireless communication channel does not correspond to the channel used by the user's home WIFI network. Additionally or alternatively, the playback device110may be experiencing radio frequency interference from one or more other wireless networks or devices that causes the network scan to take longer than it otherwise would. In this example, the playback device110may establish a connection to the user's WIFI network as soon as it is identified by the scan, and then execute the deferred operations of the player application initialization as soon as an IP address is received. Alternatively, if the playback device110assigned a placeholder IP address for any of the initialization operations of the player application, the playback device may update the placeholder IP address(es) with the obtained IP address. Numerous other variations of the operations shown inFIG.8are also possible. As noted above, although some examples discussed herein are generally presented as providing benefits to portable playback devices and users thereof, the examples are also applicable to stationary playback devices. For instance, TTM may be reduced at power up whenever a user relocates a stationary playback device, which may provide a positive user experience. As another possibility, a user may prefer that her stationary playback devices, despite having always-on capability via an external power source, enter a deep sleep state when idle to reduce power consumption, similar to a portable playback device. Similarly, a user may set the stationary playback devices of her media playback system to operate in a deep sleep or completely off state during certain hours of the day (e.g., overnight or during the middle of the day). Various other examples are also possible. FIGS.5-8include one or more operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one or more of operational blocks. Although the blocks are illustrated in a given order, some of the blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/or in a different order than those described herein. Also, the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additional blocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation. In addition, for the flowcharts shown inFIGS.5-8and other processes and methods disclosed herein, the diagrams show functionality and operation of one possible implementation of present embodiments. In this regard, each block may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code, which includes one or more instructions executable by one or more processors for implementing logical functions or blocks in the process. The program code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, for example, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. The computer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readable medium, for example, such as computer-readable media that stores data for short periods of time like register memory, processor cache and Random Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium may also include non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent long-term storage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks, compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computer readable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storage systems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computer readable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. In addition, for the processes and methods disclosed herein, each block inFIGS.5-8may represent circuitry and/or machinery that is wired or arranged to perform the specific functions in the process. IV. Conclusion The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices, playback zone configurations, and media content sources provide only some examples of operating environments within which functions and methods described below may be implemented. Other operating environments and configurations of media playback systems, playback devices, and network devices not explicitly described herein may also be applicable and suitable for implementation of the functions and methods. The description above discloses, among other things, various example systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including, among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware. It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and should not be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or components can be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software, exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the only ways to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture. Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of an invention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly and implicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined with other embodiments. The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrative environments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble the operations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These process descriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it is understood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of the present disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and circuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description of embodiments. When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at least one example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible, non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on, storing the software and/or firmware. | 108,704 |
11943824 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of some aspects. However, it will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art that some aspects may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, units and/or circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the discussion. Discussions herein utilizing terms such as, for example, “processing”, “computing”, “calculating”, “determining”, “establishing”, “analyzing”, “checking”, or the like, may refer to operation(s) and/or process(es) of a computer, a computing platform, a computing system, or other electronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform data represented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within the computer's registers and/or memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer's registers and/or memories or other information storage medium that may store instructions to perform operations and/or processes. The terms “plurality” and “a plurality”, as used herein, include, for example, “multiple” or “two or more”. For example, “a plurality of items” includes two or more items. References to “one aspect”, “an aspect”, “demonstrative aspect”, “various aspects” etc., indicate that the aspect(s) so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every aspect necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in one aspect” does not necessarily refer to the same aspect, although it may. As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives “first”, “second”, “third” etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner. Some aspects may be used in conjunction with various devices and systems, for example, a User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Device (MD), a wireless station (STA), a Personal Computer (PC), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, a wearable device, a sensor device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld PDA device, an on-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device, a vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a consumer device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a wireless communication station, a wireless communication device, a wireless Access Point (AP), a wired or wireless router, a wired or wireless modem, a video device, an audio device, an audio-video (A/V) device, a wired or wireless network, a wireless area network, a Wireless Video Area Network (WVAN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wireless LAN (WLAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN), a Wireless PAN (WPAN), and the like. Some aspects may be used in conjunction with devices and/or networks operating in accordance with existing IEEE 802.11 standards (including IEEE 802.11-2016 (IEEE 802.11-2016, IEEE Standard for Information technology—Telecommunications and information exchange between systems Local and metropolitan area networks—Specific requirements; Part II: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications, Dec. 7, 2016); and/or IEEE 802.11be (IEEE P802.11be/D0.2 Draft Standard for Information technology Telecommunications and information exchange between systems Local and metropolitan area networks Specific requirements; Part II: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications; Amendment 8: Enhancements for extremely high throughput (EHT), November 2020)) and/or future versions and/or derivatives thereof, devices and/or networks operating in accordance with existing cellular specifications and/or protocols, e.g., 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or future versions and/or derivatives thereof, units and/or devices which are part of the above networks, and the like. Some aspects may be used in conjunction with one way and/or two-way radio communication systems, cellular radio-telephone communication systems, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a Personal Communication Systems (PCS) device, a PDA device which incorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a device which incorporates a GPS receiver or transceiver or chip, a device which incorporates an RFID element or chip, a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transceiver or device, a Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO) transceiver or device, a Multiple Input Single Output (MISO) transceiver or device, a device having one or more internal antennas and/or external antennas, Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) devices or systems, multi-standard radio devices or systems, a wired or wireless handheld device, e.g., a Smartphone, a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) device, or the like. Some aspects may be used in conjunction with one or more types of wireless communication signals and/or systems, for example, Radio Frequency (RF), Infra Red (IR), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM), Orthogonal FDM (OFDM), Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), FDM Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO), Spatial Division Multiple Access (SDMA), Extended TDMA (E-TDMA), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), extended GPRS, Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA, Multi-Carrier Modulation (MDM), Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT), Bluetooth®, Global Positioning System (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee™, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, Fifth Generation (5G), or Sixth Generation (6G) mobile networks, 3GPP, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE advanced, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), or the like. Other aspects may be used in various other devices, systems and/or networks. The term “wireless device”, as used herein, includes, for example, a device capable of wireless communication, a communication device capable of wireless communication, a communication station capable of wireless communication, a portable or non-portable device capable of wireless communication, or the like. In some demonstrative aspects, a wireless device may be or may include a peripheral that may be integrated with a computer, or a peripheral that may be attached to a computer. In some demonstrative aspects, the term “wireless device” may optionally include a wireless service. The term “communicating” as used herein with respect to a communication signal includes transmitting the communication signal and/or receiving the communication signal. For example, a communication unit, which is capable of communicating a communication signal, may include a transmitter to transmit the communication signal to at least one other communication unit, and/or a communication receiver to receive the communication signal from at least one other communication unit. The verb communicating may be used to refer to the action of transmitting or the action of receiving. In one example, the phrase “communicating a signal” may refer to the action of transmitting the signal by a first device, and may not necessarily include the action of receiving the signal by a second device. In another example, the phrase “communicating a signal” may refer to the action of receiving the signal by a first device, and may not necessarily include the action of transmitting the signal by a second device. The communication signal may be transmitted and/or received, for example, in the form of Radio Frequency (RF) communication signals, and/or any other type of signal. As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to, be part of, or include, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an integrated circuit, an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group), that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some aspects, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some aspects, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware. The term “logic” may refer, for example, to computing logic embedded in circuitry of a computing apparatus and/or computing logic stored in a memory of a computing apparatus. For example, the logic may be accessible by a processor of the computing apparatus to execute the computing logic to perform computing functions and/or operations. In one example, logic may be embedded in various types of memory and/or firmware, e.g., silicon blocks of various chips and/or processors. Logic may be included in, and/or implemented as part of, various circuitry, e.g. radio circuitry, receiver circuitry, control circuitry, transmitter circuitry, transceiver circuitry, processor circuitry, and/or the like. In one example, logic may be embedded in volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory, including random access memory, read only memory, programmable memory, magnetic memory, flash memory, persistent memory, and the like. Logic may be executed by one or more processors using memory, e.g., registers, stuck, buffers, and/or the like, coupled to the one or more processors, e.g., as necessary to execute the logic. Some demonstrative aspects may be used in conjunction with a WLAN, e.g., a WiFi network. Other aspects may be used in conjunction with any other suitable wireless communication network, for example, a wireless area network, a “piconet”, a WPAN, a WVAN and the like. Some demonstrative aspects may be used in conjunction with a wireless communication network communicating over a 2.4 Gigahertz (GHz) frequency band, a 5 GHz frequency band, and/or a 6 GHz frequency band. However, other aspects may be implemented utilizing any other suitable wireless communication frequency bands, for example, an Extremely High Frequency (EHF) band (the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band), e.g., a frequency band within the frequency band of between 20 Ghz and 300 GHz, a frequency band above 45 GHz, a 5G frequency band, a frequency band below 20 GHz, e.g., a Sub 1 GHz (S1G) band, a WLAN frequency band, a WPAN frequency band, a frequency band according to the WGA specification, and the like. The term “antenna”, as used herein, may include any suitable configuration, structure and/or arrangement of one or more antenna elements, components, units, assemblies and/or arrays. In some aspects, the antenna may implement transmit and receive functionalities using separate transmit and receive antenna elements. In some aspects, the antenna may implement transmit and receive functionalities using common and/or integrated transmit/receive elements. The antenna may include, for example, a phased array antenna, a single element antenna, a set of switched beam antennas, and/or the like. Reference is made toFIG.1, which schematically illustrates a system100, in accordance with some demonstrative aspects. As shown inFIG.1, in some demonstrative aspects, system100may include one or more wireless communication devices. For example, system100may include a wireless communication device102, a wireless communication device140, and/or one more other devices. In some demonstrative aspects, devices102and/or140may include a mobile device or a non-mobile, e.g., a static, device. For example, devices102and/or140may include, for example, a UE, an MD, a STA, an AP, a PC, a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, an Ultrabook™ computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a sensor device, a handheld device, a wearable device, a PDA device, a handheld PDA device, an on-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device (e.g., combining cellular phone functionalities with PDA device functionalities), a consumer device, a vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a PCS device, a PDA device which incorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable GPS device, a DVB device, a relatively small computing device, a non-desktop computer, a “Carry Small Live Large” (CSLL) device, an Ultra Mobile Device (UMD), an Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC), a Mobile Internet Device (MID), an “Origami” device or computing device, a device that supports Dynamically Composable Computing (DCC), a context-aware device, a video device, an audio device, an A/V device, a Set-Top-Box (STB), a Blu-ray disc (BD) player, a BD recorder, a Digital Video Disc (DVD) player, a High Definition (HD) DVD player, a DVD recorder, a HD DVD recorder, a Personal Video Recorder (PVR), a broadcast HD receiver, a video source, an audio source, a video sink, an audio sink, a stereo tuner, a broadcast radio receiver, a flat panel display, a Personal Media Player (PMP), a digital video camera (DVC), a digital audio player, a speaker, an audio receiver, an audio amplifier, a gaming device, a data source, a data sink, a Digital Still camera (DSC), a media player, a Smartphone, a television, a music player, or the like. In some demonstrative aspects, device102may include, for example, one or more of a processor191, an input unit192, an output unit193, a memory unit194, and/or a storage unit195; and/or device140may include, for example, one or more of a processor181, an input unit182, an output unit183, a memory unit184, and/or a storage unit185. Devices102and/or140may optionally include other suitable hardware components and/or software components. In some demonstrative aspects, some or all of the components of one or more of devices102and/or140may be enclosed in a common housing or packaging, and may be interconnected or operably associated using one or more wired or wireless links. In other aspects, components of one or more of devices102and/or140may be distributed among multiple or separate devices. In some demonstrative aspects, processor191and/or processor181may include, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), one or more processor cores, a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a multiple-core processor, a microprocessor, a host processor, a controller, a plurality of processors or controllers, a chip, a microchip, one or more circuits, circuitry, a logic unit, an Integrated Circuit (IC), an Application-Specific IC (ASIC), or any other suitable multi-purpose or specific processor or controller. Processor191may execute instructions, for example, of an Operating System (OS) of device102and/or of one or more suitable applications. Processor181may execute instructions, for example, of an Operating System (OS) of device140and/or of one or more suitable applications. In some demonstrative aspects, input unit192and/or input unit182may include, for example, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touch-screen, a touch-pad, a track-ball, a stylus, a microphone, or other suitable pointing device or input device. Output unit193and/or output unit183may include, for example, a monitor, a screen, a touch-screen, a flat panel display, a Light Emitting Diode (LED) display unit, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) display unit, a plasma display unit, one or more audio speakers or earphones, or other suitable output devices. In some demonstrative aspects, memory unit194and/or memory unit184includes, for example, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Dynamic RAM (DRAM), a Synchronous DRAM (SD-RAM), a flash memory, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a cache memory, a buffer, a short term memory unit, a long term memory unit, or other suitable memory units. Storage unit195and/or storage unit185may include, for example, a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a Compact Disk (CD) drive, a CD-ROM drive, a DVD drive, or other suitable removable or non-removable storage units. Memory unit194and/or storage unit195, for example, may store data processed by device102. Memory unit184and/or storage unit185, for example, may store data processed by device140. In some demonstrative aspects, wireless communication devices102and/or140may be capable of communicating content, data, information and/or signals via a wireless medium (WM)103. In some demonstrative aspects, wireless medium103may include, for example, a radio channel, an RF channel, a WiFi channel, a cellular channel, a 5G channel, an IR channel, a Bluetooth (BT) channel, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Channel, and the like. In some demonstrative aspects, WM103may include one or more wireless communication frequency bands and/or channels. For example, WM103may include one or more channels in a 2.4 GHz wireless communication frequency band, one or more channels in a 5 GHz wireless communication frequency band, and/or one or more channels in a 6 GHz wireless communication frequency band. In other aspects, WM103may include any other type of channel over any other frequency band. In some demonstrative aspects, device102and/or device140may include one or more radios including circuitry and/or logic to perform wireless communication between devices102,140and/or one or more other wireless communication devices. For example, device102may include one or more radios114, and/or device140may include one or more radios144. In some demonstrative aspects, radios114and/or144may include one or more wireless receivers (Rx) including circuitry and/or logic to receive wireless communication signals, RF signals, frames, blocks, transmission streams, packets, messages, data items, and/or data. For example, a radio114may include at least one receiver116, and/or a radio144may include at least one receiver146. In some demonstrative aspects, radios114and/or144may include one or more wireless transmitters (Tx) including circuitry and/or logic to transmit wireless communication signals, RF signals, frames, blocks, transmission streams, packets, messages, data items, and/or data. For example, a radio114may include at least one transmitter118, and/or a radio144may include at least one transmitter148. In some demonstrative aspects, radios114and/or144, transmitters118and/or148, and/or receivers116and/or146may include circuitry; logic; Radio Frequency (RF) elements, circuitry and/or logic; baseband elements, circuitry and/or logic; modulation elements, circuitry and/or logic; demodulation elements, circuitry and/or logic; amplifiers; analog to digital and/or digital to analog converters; filters; and/or the like. For example, radios114and/or144may include or may be implemented as part of a wireless Network Interface Card (NIC), and the like. In some demonstrative aspects, radios114and/or144may be configured to communicate over a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, a 6 GHz band, and/or any other band, for example, a directional band, e.g., an mmWave band, a 5G band, an S1G band, and/or any other band. In some demonstrative aspects, radios114and/or144may include, or may be associated with one or more, e.g., a plurality of, antennas. In some demonstrative aspects, device102may include one or more, e.g., a plurality of, antennas107, and/or device140may include on or more, e.g., a plurality of, antennas147. Antennas107and/or147may include any type of antennas suitable for transmitting and/or receiving wireless communication signals, blocks, frames, transmission streams, packets, messages and/or data. For example, antennas107and/or147may include any suitable configuration, structure and/or arrangement of one or more antenna elements, components, units, assemblies and/or arrays. In some aspects, antennas107and/or147may implement transmit and receive functionalities using separate transmit and receive antenna elements. In some aspects, antennas107and/or147may implement transmit and receive functionalities using common and/or integrated transmit/receive elements. In some demonstrative aspects, device102may include a controller124, and/or device140may include a controller154. Controller124may be configured to perform and/or to trigger, cause, instruct and/or control device102to perform, one or more communications, to generate and/or communicate one or more messages and/or transmissions, and/or to perform one or more functionalities, operations and/or procedures between devices102,140and/or one or more other devices; and/or controller154may be configured to perform, and/or to trigger, cause, instruct and/or control device140to perform, one or more communications, to generate and/or communicate one or more messages and/or transmissions, and/or to perform one or more functionalities, operations and/or procedures between devices102,140and/or one or more other devices, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controllers124and/or154may include, or may be implemented, partially or entirely, by circuitry and/or logic, e.g., one or more processors including circuitry and/or logic, memory circuitry and/or logic, Media-Access Control (MAC) circuitry and/or logic, Physical Layer (PHY) circuitry and/or logic, baseband (BB) circuitry and/or logic, a BB processor, a BB memory, Application Processor (AP) circuitry and/or logic, an AP processor, an AP memory, and/or any other circuitry and/or logic, configured to perform the functionality of controllers124and/or154, respectively. Additionally or alternatively, one or more functionalities of controllers124and/or154may be implemented by logic, which may be executed by a machine and/or one or more processors, e.g., as described below. In one example, controller124may include circuitry and/or logic, for example, one or more processors including circuitry and/or logic, to cause, trigger and/or control a wireless device, e.g., device102, and/or a wireless station, e.g., a wireless STA implemented by device102, to perform one or more operations, communications and/or functionalities, e.g., as described herein. In one example, controller124may include at least one memory, e.g., coupled to the one or more processors, which may be configured, for example, to store, e.g., at least temporarily, at least some of the information processed by the one or more processors and/or circuitry, and/or which may be configured to store logic to be utilized by the processors and/or circuitry. In one example, controller154may include circuitry and/or logic, for example, one or more processors including circuitry and/or logic, to cause, trigger and/or control a wireless device, e.g., device140, and/or a wireless station, e.g., a wireless STA implemented by device140, to perform one or more operations, communications and/or functionalities, e.g., as described herein. In one example, controller154may include at least one memory, e.g., coupled to the one or more processors, which may be configured, for example, to store, e.g., at least temporarily, at least some of the information processed by the one or more processors and/or circuitry, and/or which may be configured to store logic to be utilized by the processors and/or circuitry. In some demonstrative aspects, at least part of the functionality of controller124may be implemented as part of one or more elements of radio114, and/or at least part of the functionality of controller154may be implemented as part of one or more elements of radio144. In other aspects, the functionality of controller124may be implemented as part of any other element of device102, and/or the functionality of controller154may be implemented as part of any other element of device140. In some demonstrative aspects, device102may include a message processor128configured to generate, process and/or access one or messages communicated by device102. In one example, message processor128may be configured to generate one or more messages to be transmitted by device102, and/or message processor128may be configured to access and/or to process one or more messages received by device102, e.g., as described below. In one example, message processor128may include at least one first component configured to generate a message, for example, in the form of a frame, field, information element and/or protocol data unit, for example, a MAC Protocol Data Unit (MPDU); at least one second component configured to convert the message into a PHY Protocol Data Unit (PPDU), for example, by processing the message generated by the at least one first component, e.g., by encoding the message, modulating the message and/or performing any other additional or alternative processing of the message; and/or at least one third component configured to cause transmission of the message over a wireless communication medium, e.g., over a wireless communication channel in a wireless communication frequency band, for example, by applying to one or more fields of the PPDU one or more transmit waveforms. In other aspects, message processor128may be configured to perform any other additional or alternative functionality and/or may include any other additional or alternative components to generate and/or process a message to be transmitted. In some demonstrative aspects, device140may include a message processor158configured to generate, process and/or access one or messages communicated by device140. In one example, message processor158may be configured to generate one or more messages to be transmitted by device140, and/or message processor158may be configured to access and/or to process one or more messages received by device140, e.g., as described below. In one example, message processor158may include at least one first component configured to generate a message, for example, in the form of a frame, field, information element and/or protocol data unit, for example, an MPDU; at least one second component configured to convert the message into a PPDU, for example, by processing the message generated by the at least one first component, e.g., by encoding the message, modulating the message and/or performing any other additional or alternative processing of the message; and/or at least one third component configured to cause transmission of the message over a wireless communication medium, e.g., over a wireless communication channel in a wireless communication frequency band, for example, by applying to one or more fields of the PPDU one or more transmit waveforms. In other aspects, message processor158may be configured to perform any other additional or alternative functionality and/or may include any other additional or alternative components to generate and/or process a message to be transmitted. In some demonstrative aspects, message processors128and/or158may include, or may be implemented, partially or entirely, by circuitry and/or logic, e.g., one or more processors including circuitry and/or logic, memory circuitry and/or logic, MAC circuitry and/or logic, PHY circuitry and/or logic, BB circuitry and/or logic, a BB processor, a BB memory, AP circuitry and/or logic, an AP processor, an AP memory, and/or any other circuitry and/or logic, configured to perform the functionality of message processors128and/or158, respectively. Additionally or alternatively, one or more functionalities of message processors128and/or158may be implemented by logic, which may be executed by a machine and/or one or more processors, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, at least part of the functionality of message processor128may be implemented as part of radio114, and/or at least part of the functionality of message processor158may be implemented as part of radio144. In some demonstrative aspects, at least part of the functionality of message processor128may be implemented as part of controller124, and/or at least part of the functionality of message processor158may be implemented as part of controller154. In other aspects, the functionality of message processor128may be implemented as part of any other element of device102, and/or the functionality of message processor158may be implemented as part of any other element of device140. In some demonstrative aspects, at least part of the functionality of controller124and/or message processor128may be implemented by an integrated circuit, for example, a chip, e.g., a System on Chip (SoC). In one example, the chip or SoC may be configured to perform one or more functionalities of one or more radios114. For example, the chip or SoC may include one or more elements of controller124, one or more elements of message processor128, and/or one or more elements of one or more radios114. In one example, controller124, message processor128, and one or more radios114may be implemented as part of the chip or SoC. In other aspects, controller124, message processor128and/or the one or more radios114may be implemented by one or more additional or alternative elements of device102. In some demonstrative aspects, at least part of the functionality of controller154and/or message processor158may be implemented by an integrated circuit, for example, a chip, e.g., a SoC. In one example, the chip or SoC may be configured to perform one or more functionalities of one or more radios144. For example, the chip or SoC may include one or more elements of controller154, one or more elements of message processor158, and/or one or more elements of one or more radios144. In one example, controller154, message processor158, and one or more radios144may be implemented as part of the chip or SoC. In other aspects, controller154, message processor158and/or one or more radios144may be implemented by one or more additional or alternative elements of device140. In some demonstrative aspects, device102and/or device140may include, operate as, perform the role of, and/or perform one or more functionalities of, one or more STAs. For example, device102may include at least one STA, and/or device140may include at least one STA. In some demonstrative aspects, device102and/or device140may include, operate as, perform the role of, and/or perform one or more functionalities of, one or more Extremely High Throughput (EHT) STAs. For example, device102may include, operate as, perform the role of, and/or perform one or more functionalities of, one or more EHT STAs, and/or device140may include, operate as, perform the role of, and/or perform one or more functionalities of, one o more EHT STAs. In other aspects, devices102and/or140may include, operate as, perform the role of, and/or perform one or more functionalities of, any other wireless device and/or station, e.g., a WLAN STA, a WiFi STA, and the like. In some demonstrative aspects, device102and/or device140may be configured operate as, perform the role of, and/or perform one or more functionalities of, an access point (AP), e.g., an EHT AP STA. In some demonstrative aspects, device102and/or device140may be configured to operate as, perform the role of, and/or perform one or more functionalities of, a non-AP STA, e.g., an EHT non-AP STA. In other aspects, device102and/or device140may operate as, perform the role of, and/or perform one or more functionalities of, any other additional or alternative device and/or station. In one example, a station (STA) may include a logical entity that is a singly addressable instance of a medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) interface to the wireless medium (WM). The STA may perform any other additional or alternative functionality. In one example, an AP may include an entity that contains one station (STA) and provides access to the distribution services, via the wireless medium (WM) for associated STAs. An AP may include a STA and a distribution system access function (DSAF). The AP may perform any other additional or alternative functionality. In some demonstrative aspects devices102and/or140may be configured to communicate in an EHT network, and/or any other network. In some demonstrative aspects, devices102and/or140may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more Specifications, for example, including one or more IEEE 802.11 Specifications, e.g., an IEEE 802.11-2016 Specification, an IEEE 802.11be Specification, and/or any other specification and/or protocol. In some demonstrative aspects, device102and/or device140may include, operate as, perform a role of, and/or perform the functionality of, one or more multi-link logical entities, e.g., as described below. For example, a multi-link logical entity may include a logical entity that contains one or more STAs. The logical entity may have one MAC data service interface and primitives to the logical link control (LLC) and a single address associated with the interface, which can be used to communicate on a distribution system medium (DSM). For example, the DSM may include a medium or set of media used by a distribution system (DS) for communications between APs, mesh gates, and the portal of an extended service set (ESS). For example, the DS may include a system used to interconnect a set of basic service sets (BSSs) and integrated local area networks (LANs) to create an extended service set (ESS). In one example, a multi-link logical entity may allow STAs within the multi-link logical entity to have the same MAC address. The multi-link entity may perform any other additional or alternative functionality. In some demonstrative aspects, device102and/or device140may include, operate as, perform a role of, and/or perform the functionality of, a Multi-Link Device (MLD). For example, device102may include, operate as, perform a role of, and/or perform the functionality of, at least one MLD, and/or device140may include, operate as, perform a role of, and/or perform the functionality of, at least one MLD, e.g., as described below. For example, an MLD may include a device that is a logical entity and has more than one affiliated STA and has a single MAC service access point (SAP) to LLC, which includes one MAC data service. The MLD may perform any other additional or alternative functionality. In some demonstrative aspects, for example, an infrastructure framework may include a multi-link AP logical entity, which includes APs, e.g., on one side, and a multi-link non-AP logical entity, which includes non-APs, e.g., on the other side. In some demonstrative aspects, device102and/or device140may be configured operate as, perform the role of, and/or perform one or more functionalities of, an AP MLD. In some demonstrative aspects, device102and/or device140may be configured to operate as, perform the role of, and/or perform one or more functionalities of, a non-AP MLD. In other aspects, device102and/or device140may operate as, perform the role of, and/or perform one or more functionalities of, any other additional or alternative device and/or station. For example, an AP MLD may include an MLD, where each STA affiliated with the MLD is an AP. In one example, the AP MLD may include a multi-link logical entity, where each STA within the multi-link logical entity is an EHT AP. The AP MLD may perform any other additional or alternative functionality. For example, a non-AP MLD may include an MLD, where each STA affiliated with the MLD is a non-AP STA. In one example, the non-AP MLD may include a multi-link logical entity, where each STA within the multi-link logical entity is a non-AP EHT STA. The non-AP MLD may perform any other additional or alternative functionality. In one example, a multi-link infrastructure framework may be configured as an extension from a one link operation between two STAs, e.g., an AP and a non-AP STA. In some demonstrative aspects, controller124may be configured to control, perform and/or to trigger, cause, instruct and/or control device102to operate as, perform a role of, and/or perform one or more operations and/or functionalities of, an AP MLD131including a plurality of AP STAs133, e.g., including an AP STA135, an AP STA137and/or an AP STA139. In some aspects, as shown inFIG.1, AP MLD131may include three AP STAs. In other aspects, AP MLD131may include any other number of AP STAs. In one example, AP STA135, AP STA137and/or AP STA139may operate as, perform a role of, and/or perform one or more operations and/or functionalities of, an EHT AP STA. In other aspects, AP STA135, AP STA137and/or AP STA139may perform any other additional or alternative functionality. In some demonstrative aspects, for example, the one or more radios114may include, for example, a radio for communication by AP STA135over a first wireless communication frequency channel and/or frequency band, e.g., a 2.4 Ghz band, as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, for example, the one or more radios114may include, for example, a radio for communication by AP STA137over a second wireless communication frequency channel and/or frequency band, e.g., a 5 Ghz band, as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, for example, the one or more radios114may include, for example, a radio for communication by AP STA139over a third wireless communication frequency channel and/or frequency band, e.g., a 6 Ghz band, as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, the radios114utilized by APs133may be implemented as separate radios. In other aspects, the radios114utilized by APs133may be implemented by one or more shared and/or common radios and/or radio components. In some demonstrative aspects, controller154may be configured to control, perform and/or to trigger, cause, instruct and/or control device140to operate as, perform a role of, and/or perform one or more operations and/or functionalities of, an MLD151including a plurality of STAs153, e.g., including a STA155, a STA157and/or a STA159. In some aspects, as shown inFIG.1, MLD151may include three STAs. In other aspects, MLD151may include any other number of STAs. In one example, STA155, STA157and/or STA159may operate as, perform a role of, and/or perform one or more operations and/or functionalities of, an EHT STA. In other aspects, STA155, STA157and/or STA159may perform any other additional or alternative functionality. In some demonstrative aspects, for example, the one or more radios144may include, for example, a radio for communication by STA145over a first wireless communication frequency channel and/or frequency band, e.g., a 2.4 Ghz band, as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, for example, the one or more radios144may include, for example, a radio for communication by STA157over a second wireless communication frequency channel and/or frequency band, e.g., a 5 Ghz band, as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, for example, the one or more radios144may include, for example, a radio for communication by STA159over a third wireless communication frequency channel and/or frequency band, e.g., a 6 Ghz band, as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, the radios144utilized by STAs153may be implemented as separate radios. In other aspects, the radios144utilized by STAs153may be implemented by one or more shared and/or common radios and/or radio components. In some demonstrative aspects, controller154may be configured to control, perform and/or to trigger, cause, instruct and/or control MLD151to operate as, perform a role of, and/or perform one or more operations and/or functionalities of, a non-AP MLD. For example, STA155, STA157and/or STA159may operate as, perform a role of, and/or perform one or more operations and/or functionalities of, a non-AP EHT STA. In some demonstrative aspects, controller154may be configured to control, perform and/or to trigger, cause, instruct and/or control MLD151to operate as, perform a role of, and/or perform one or more operations and/or functionalities of, an AP MLD. For example, STA155, STA157and/or STA159may operate as, perform a role of, and/or perform one or more operations and/or functionalities of, an AP EHT STA. Reference is made toFIG.2, which schematically illustrates a multi-link communication scheme200, which may be implemented in accordance with some demonstrative aspects. As shown inFIG.2, a first multi-link logical entity202(“multi-link logical entity 1”), e.g., a first MLD, may include a plurality of STAs, e.g., including a STA212, a STA214, and a STA216. In one example, AP MLD131(FIG.1) may perform one or more operations, one or more functionalities, the role of, and/or the functionality of, multi-link logical entity202. As shown inFIG.2, a second multi-link logical entity240(“multi-link logical entity 2”), e.g., a second MLD, may include a plurality of STAs, e.g., including a STA252, a STA254, and a STA256. In one example, MLD151(FIG.1) may perform one or more operations, one or more functionalities, the role of, and/or the functionality of, multi-link logical entity240. As shown inFIG.2, multi-link logical entity202and multi-link logical entity240may be configured to form, setup and/or communicate over a plurality of links, for example, including a link272between STA212and STA252, a link274between STA214and STA254, and/or a link276between STA216and STA256. Reference is made toFIG.3, which schematically illustrates a multi-link communication scheme300, which may be implemented in accordance with some demonstrative aspects. As shown inFIG.3, a multi-link AP logical entity302, e.g., an AP MLD, may include a plurality of AP STAs, e.g., including an AP STA312, an AP STA314, and an AP STA316. In one example, AP MLD131(FIG.1) may perform one or more operations, one or more functionalities, the role of, and/or the functionality of, multi-link AP logical entity302. As shown inFIG.3, a multi-link non-AP logical entity340, e.g., a non-AP MLD, may include a plurality of non-AP STAs, e.g., including a non-AP STA352, a non-AP STA354, and a non-AP STA356. In one example, MLD151(FIG.1) may perform one or more operations, one or more functionalities, the role of, and/or the functionality of, multi-link non-AP logical entity340. As shown inFIG.3, multi-link AP logical entity302and multi-link non-A logical entity340may be configured to form, setup and/or communicate over a plurality of links, for example, including a link372between AP STA312and non-AP STA352, a link374between AP STA314and non-AP STA354, and/or a link376between AP STA316and non-AP STA356. For example, as shown inFIG.3, multi-link AP logical entity302may include a multi-band AP MLD, which may be configured to communicate over a plurality of wireless communication frequency bands. For example, as shown inFIG.3, AP STA312may be configured to communicate over a 2.4 Ghz frequency band, AP STA314may be configured to communicate over a 5 Ghz frequency band, and/or AP STA316may be configured to communicate over a 6 Ghz frequency band. In other aspects, AP STA312, AP STA314, and/or AP STA216, may be configured to communicate over any other additional or alternative wireless communication frequency bands. Referring back toFIG.1, in some demonstrative aspects, devices102and/or140may be configured to support a technical solution for a non-AP STA, e.g., a STA of STAs153, to discover an AP MLD, e.g., AP MLD133. For example, an AP of AP MLD131, e.g., each AP of AP MLD131, may be configured to transmit one or more beacon frames. In some demonstrative aspects, a beacon frame transmitted by an AP STA may include, for example, a description of capabilities, operation elements, and/or any other information, relating to the AP STA. In some demonstrative aspects, the beacon frame transmitted by the AP STA may include information e.g., in the form of a basic description, of one or more other AP STAs of the same MLD that are collocated, e.g., a report in a Reduced Neighbor Report (RNR) element, or any information. In one example, e.g., in some cases, the description of the other APs may be complete and include all the capabilities, and/or operation elements of the other APs. In one example, AP STA135may transmit a beacon frame including a description of capabilities, operation elements, and/or any other information, relating to the AP STA135; and information relating to one or more other AP STAs of AP MLD131, e.g., AP STA137and/or AP STA138. In some demonstrative aspects, in some demonstrative aspects, devices102and/or140may be configured to support a technical solution, e.g., in some use cases, implementations, scenarios, and/or deployments, in which APs that are part of a multiple BSSID set are each also part of a different MLD with other APs on other links. Reference is made toFIG.4, which schematically illustrates a plurality of multi-link devices participating in a plurality of multiple BSSID sets, which may be implemented in accordance with some demonstrative aspects. For example, as shown inFIG.4, a first AP MLD402(“MLD1”) may include an AP STA404(“AP1-2.4”), e.g., configured to communicate over a 2.4 GHz band; an AP STA406(“AP1-5”), e.g., configured to communicate over a 5 GHz band; and/or an AP STA408(“AP1-6”), e.g., configured to communicate over a 6 GHz band. For example, the AP MLD402may have a first Service Set Identifier (SSID) (“SSID1”), and/or a first BSSID index (BSSID-index1). For example, as shown inFIG.4, a second AP MLD432(“MLD2”) may include an AP STA434(“AP2-2.4”), e.g., configured to communicate over the 2.4 GHz band; an AP STA436(“AP2-5”), e.g., configured to communicate over the 5 GHz band; and/or an AP STA438(“AP2-6”), e.g., configured to communicate over the 6 GHz band. For example, the AP MLD432may have a second SSID (“SSID2”), and/or a second BSSID index (BSSID-index2). For example, as shown inFIG.4, a third AP MLD442(“MLD3”) may include an AP STA444(“AP3-2.4”), e.g., configured to communicate over the 2.4 GHz band; an AP STA446(“AP3-5”), e.g., configured to communicate over the 5 GHz band; and/or an AP STA448(“AP3-6”), e.g., configured to communicate over the 6 GHz band. For example, the AP MLD442may have a third SSID (“SSID3”), and/or a third BSSID index (BSSID-index3). For example, as shown inFIG.4, AP MLD422, AP MLD432, and/or AP MLD442may be configured to communicate in a plurality of multiple BSSID sets. For example, as shown inFIG.4, a first multiple BSSID set422over the 2.4 GHz band may include the AP STA404of AP MLD402, the AP STA434of AP MLD432, and/or the AP STA444of AP MLD442. For example, as shown inFIG.4, a second multiple BSSID set424over the 5 GHz band may include the AP STA406of AP MLD402, the AP STA436of AP MLD432, and/or the AP STA446of AP MLD442. For example, as shown inFIG.4, a third multiple BSSID set426over the 6 GHz band may include the AP STA408of AP MLD402, the AP STA438of AP MLD432, and/or the AP STA448of AP MLD442. In one example, AP MLD131(FIG.1) may perform one or more operations, one or more functionalities, the role of, and/or the functionality of, AP MLD402; AP STA135(FIG.1) may perform one or more operations, one or more functionalities, the role of, and/or the functionality of, AP STA404; AP STA137(FIG.1) may perform one or more operations, one or more functionalities, the role of, and/or the functionality of, AP STA406; and/or AP STA139(FIG.1) may perform one or more operations, one or more functionalities, the role of, and/or the functionality of, AP STA408. In some demonstrative aspects, an AP STA of an AP MLD may be configured to utilize a reporting scheme to report in one or more frames, e.g., in beacon frames and/or probe response frames transmitted by the AP, multiple APs that are part of the multiple BSSID set to which the AP belongs, as well as multiple APs that are part of other MLDs on other links, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, for example, AP STA408may be configured to transmit a frame, e.g., a beacon frame, a probe response frame, and/or any other type of frame, which may be configured to report information of multiple APs that are part of the multiple BSSID set to which the AP STA408belongs, e.g., AP STAs438and/or448; and to report information of multiple APs that are part of other MLDs on other links, e.g., the AP STAs434and/or436of AP MLD432, and/or the AP STAs444and/or446of AP MLD442. In some demonstrative aspects, this reporting scheme may be utilized to support one or more use cases. In one example, the reporting scheme may be implemented in multi-link setup, e.g., where there shouldn't be a Multiple BSSID element. In another example, the reporting scheme may be implemented in a beacon and/or an unsolicited probe response, for example, if an AP provides complete information for other APs in the MLD of the AP, and does not limit itself to an RNR element. In another example, the reporting scheme may be implemented in an MLD probe response, e.g., in response to a directed probe request to a non-transmitted BSSID. For example, a transmit BSSID may send the MLD probe response on behalf of a non-transmitted BSSID, and the MLD probe response may include a Multiple BSSID element with a non-transmitted BSSID profile, which may include an ML element, e.g., if part of an MLD. Referring back toFIG.1, in some demonstrative aspects, devices102and/or140may be configured to generate, transmit, receive and/or process one or more frames including a Multi-Link element (MLE), which may be configured to report and/or describe multiple APs of an AP MLD, e.g., as described below. For example, the MLE may have a structure, which may be based on, compatible with, and/or similar to, a structure of a multiple Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) element, e.g., with one or more optional subelements. For example, the MLE may include a profile subelement (also referred to as “AP profile subelement”) for a reported AP. In one example, the MLE may include an AP profile subelement for each reported AP. For example, the reported AP may be identified bay a unique link identifier (ID). For example, the AP profile subelement for a reported AP may include variable number of elements describing this reported AP. For example, the AP profile subelement for a reported AP may optionally include a Non-Inheritance element. For example, when included in the AP Profile subelement for an AP, the Non-Inheritance element may appear as the last element in the profile. For example, the Non-Inheritance element may carry a list of elements that are not inherited by this reported AP from the reporting AP. In some demonstrative aspects, an ML element may be included in a non-transmitted BSSID profile of a multiple BSSID element, for example, to describe one or more APs of the same MLD as the AP with the corresponding BSSID-Index, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, a non-inheritance element may be included in an AP/STA profile of a multilink element. In some demonstrative aspects, a reference for inheritance may be the non-transmitted BSSID, which corresponds to the non-transmitted BSSID profile in which the ML element is included, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controller124may be configured to cause a reporting AP, e.g., AP STA135, of an AP MLD, e.g., AP MLD131, including a plurality of APs, e.g., AP STAs133, to generate a multiple BSSID element corresponding to a multiple BSSID set including the reporting AP, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, the BSSID element may include one or more non-transmitted BSSID profile elements corresponding to one or more other APs belonging to the multiple BSSID set, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, a non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponding to an other AP may include one or more elements of information corresponding to the other AP, and a multi-link element, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, the multi-link element may include one or more profile subelements for one or more reported APs of an other MLD including the other AP, respectively, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, a profile subelement corresponding to a reported AP may include one or more elements of information corresponding to the reported AP, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP may include a unique link ID. For example, controller124may be configured to cause a reporting AP408(FIG.4) to generate a multiple BSSID element corresponding to multiple BSSID set426(FIG.4) including the reporting AP408(FIG.4). For example, the multiple BSSID element may include one or more non-transmitted BSSID profile elements corresponding to one or more other APs belonging to the multiple BSSID set426(FIG.4), e.g., AP STA438(FIG.4) and/or AP STA448(FIG.4). For example, a non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponding to AP STA438(FIG.4) may include one or more elements of information corresponding to AP STA438(FIG.4), and a multi-link element including one or more profile subelements for one or more reported APs, e.g., reported AP STA434(FIG.4) and/or reported AP STA436(FIG.4) of the AP MLD432(FIG.4) including the AP438(FIG.4). For example, a non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponding to AP STA448(FIG.4) may include one or more elements of information corresponding to AP STA448(FIG.4), and a multi-link element including one or more profile subelements for one or more reported APs, e.g., reported AP STA444(FIG.4) and/or reported AP STA446(FIG.4) of the AP MLD442(FIG.4) including the AP448(FIG.4). In some demonstrative aspects, controller124may be configured to cause the reporting AP, e.g., AP STA135, to transmit a frame including the multiple BSSID element. In some demonstrative aspects, the frame may include a beacon frame. In some demonstrative aspects, the frame may include a probe response frame. In other aspects, the frame may include any other type of frame. In some demonstrative aspects, controller124may be configured to cause the reporting AP, e.g., AP STA135, to selectively exclude from the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP one or more inherited elements, which are to be inherited from the other AP to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponds, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controller124may be configured to cause the reporting AP, e.g., AP STA135, to include in the non-transmitted BSSID profile at least one element of the one or more inherited elements, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controller124may be configured to cause the reporting AP, e.g., AP STA135, to selectively exclude from the non-transmitted BSSID profile at least one sub-inherited element of the one or more inherited elements, when the at least one sub-inherited element is to be inherited by the other AP and by the reported AP from the reporting AP, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controller124may be configured to cause the reporting AP, e.g., AP STA135, to determine the one or more elements of information corresponding to the reported AP to be included in the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP, for example, such that an inherited element, which is excluded from the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP, and which is not identified by a non-inheritance element in the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP, is to be inherited from the other AP to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponds, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controller124may be configured to cause the reporting AP, e.g., AP STA135, to include a non-inheritance element in the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, the non-inheritance element may be configured to identify one or more elements, which are not to be inherited from the other AP to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponds, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, the non-inheritance element may be a last element in the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP. In some demonstrative aspects, controller154may be configured to cause a STA, e.g., STA155, of an MLD, e.g., MLD151, including a plurality of STAs, e.g., STAs153, to process a frame from a reporting AP of an AP MLD, e.g., the frame transmitted by reporting AP135of AP MLD131. For example, the frame may include a multiple BSSID element corresponding to a multiple BSSID set including the reporting AP. For example, the BSSID element may include one or more non-transmitted BSSID profile elements corresponding to one or more other APs belonging to the multiple BSSID set. For example, a non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponding to an other AP may include one or more elements of information corresponding to the other AP, and a multi-link element including one or more profile subelements for one or more reported APs of an other MLD including the other AP, respectively. For example, a profile subelement corresponding to a reported AP may include one or more elements of information corresponding to the reported AP. In one example, the frame may include the multiple BSSID element corresponding to the multiple BSSID set including the reporting AP135, e.g., as described above. In some demonstrative aspects, controller154may be configured to cause STA155to identify one or more inherited elements, which are excluded from the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controller154may be configured to cause STA155to determine values of the one or more inherited elements for the reported AP, for example, by inheriting the one or more inherited elements from the other AP to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponds, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controller154may be configured to cause STA155to inherit at least one element of the one or more inherited elements for the reported AP from the one or more elements of information corresponding to the other AP in the non-transmitted BSSID profile, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controller154may be configured to cause STA155to identify a sub-inherited element, which is excluded from the non-transmitted BSSID profile, and to inherit the sub-inherited element for the other AP and for the reported AP from the reporting AP, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controller154may be configured to cause STA155to identify the one or more inherited elements to include one or more elements, which are not identified by a non-inheritance element in the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controller154may be configured to cause STA155to process a non-inheritance element in the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controller154may be configured to cause STA155to identify, for example, based on the non-inheritance element, one or more elements, which are not to be inherited from the other AP to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponds, e.g., as described below. Reference is made toFIG.5, which schematically illustrates elements of a frame500, in accordance with some demonstrative aspects. In some demonstrative aspects, devices102and/or140(FIG.1) may be configured to generate, transmit, receive and/or process frame500. In some demonstrative aspects, frame500may include a beacon frame. In some demonstrative aspects, frame500may include a probe response frame. In other aspects, frame500may include any other type of frame. In some demonstrative aspects, controller124(FIG.1) may be configured to cause a reporting AP408(FIG.4) to generate frame500including a multiple BSSID element502corresponding to multiple BSSID set426(FIG.4) including the reporting AP408(FIG.4). For example, the multiple BSSID element502may include one or more non-transmitted BSSID profile elements corresponding to one or more other APs belonging to the multiple BSSID set426(FIG.4), e.g., AP STA438(FIG.4) and/or AP STA448(FIG.4). For example, multiple BSSID element502may include a non-transmitted BSSID profile element510corresponding to AP STA438(FIG.4). For example, non-transmitted BSSID profile element510may include one or more elements of information512corresponding to AP STA438(FIG.4), and a multi-link element514including a profile subelement516for reported AP STA434(FIG.4), and/or a profile subelement518for reported AP STA436(FIG.4). For example, multiple BSSID element502may include a non-transmitted BSSID profile element520corresponding to AP STA448(FIG.4). For example, non-transmitted BSSID profile element520may include one or more elements of information522corresponding to AP STA448(FIG.4), and a multi-link element524including a profile subelement526for reported AP STA444(FIG.4), and/or a profile subelement528for reported AP STA446(FIG.4). In some demonstrative aspects, multiple BSSID element502may be configured according to one or more inheritance rules, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controller124(FIG.1) may be configured to cause the reporting AP408(FIG.4) to generate the multiple BSSID element502, according to the one or more inheritance rules, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, controller154(FIG.1) may be configured to cause a STA, which received frame500, e.g., STA155(FIG.1), to interpret information in the multiple BSSID element502, according to the one or more inheritance rules, e.g., as described below. In some demonstrative aspects, a reference for inheritance to be applied to a profile subelement in an ML element may be the non-transmitted BSSID, which corresponds to the non-transmitted BSSID profile in which the ML element is included. For example, the AP STA434(FIG.4) described in profile516(linkID 1 profile), may inherit information from AP STA438(FIG.4) to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile510corresponds. For example, the AP STA436(FIG.4) described in profile518(linkID 2 profile), may inherit information from AP STA438(FIG.4) to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile510corresponds. For example, the AP STA444(FIG.4) described in profile526(linkID 1 profile), may inherit information from AP STA448(FIG.4) to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile520corresponds. For example, the AP STA446(FIG.4) described in profile528(linkID 2 profile), may inherit information from AP STA448(FIG.4) to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile540corresponds. In some demonstrative aspects, for example, according to inheritance from baseline defined for a Multiple BSSID element, an AP STA in a non-transmitted BSSID profile may inherit information from a reporting AP, which transmits the frame500. For example, the AP STA438(FIG.4) described in non-transmitted BSSID profile510(BSSID-index2), may inherit information from AP STA408(FIG.4), which transmits frame500. For example, the AP STA448(FIG.4) described in non-transmitted BSSID profile520(BSSID-index3), may inherit information from AP STA408(FIG.4), which transmits frame500. In some demonstrative aspects, a non-inheritance element may be included in an AP/STA profile of a multilink element. In one example, the profile subelement516may include a non-inheritance element, to identify one or more elements, which are not to be inherited from the AP STA438(FIG.4) to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element510corresponds. In another example, the profile subelement518may include a non-inheritance element, to identify one or more elements, which are not to be inherited from the AP STA438(FIG.4) to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element510corresponds. In another example, the profile subelement526may include a non-inheritance element, to identify one or more elements, which are not to be inherited from the AP STA448(FIG.4) to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element520corresponds. In another example, the profile subelement528may include a non-inheritance element, to identify one or more elements, which are not to be inherited from the AP STA448(FIG.4) to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element520corresponds. In some demonstrative aspects, an inheritance rule may define that, if an element E is included in the AP/STA profile for an AP1 with a specific linkID, in the non-transmitted BSSID ID profile describing an AP2 with a specific BSSID-index, that element E explicitly describes this AP1. In some demonstrative aspects, another inheritance rule may define that, if an element E is not included in the AP/STA profile for an AP1 with a specific linkID, in the non-transmitted BSSID ID profile describing an AP2 with a specific BSSID-index, that element E is inherited from AP2. This may mean, for example, that the AP2 is considered to have the same element E as AP2, for example, unless the element E is listed in the non-inheritance element (if present) in the AP/STA profile of AP1 (in which case the element E of AP1 is not known). In some demonstrative aspects, there may be a case where the AP2 does not have element E explicitly included in its non-transmitted BSSID profile subelement and inherits it from the transmitted BSSID (AP3). For example, in this case, there may be a double inheritance, where element E for AP1 is the same as AP2, which is the same as AP3. In some demonstrative aspects, a multiple BSSID element may be included in the AP profile (“STA profile”) of a multi-link element to describe the APs that are part of the same multiple BSSID set as the AP with the corresponding linkID in the AP MLD, e.g., as described above. In some demonstrative aspects, a reference for the inheritance of the non-transmitted BSSID may be the transmitted BSSID, which corresponds to the AP with link ID, which is described by the AP/STA profile in which the Multiple BSSID element is included, e.g., as described above. In some demonstrative aspects, inheritance of an AP profile from a reporting AP, e.g., when a multi-link element is included in a core of a beacon/probe response transmitted by the reporting AP, may be defined, e.g., as follows:If any of the elements carried in the Probe Response frame or Beacon frame of the reporting AP are not present in an AP profile of a multilink element describing a reported AP, the values to use for the reported AP are the values of the corresponding element of the reporting AP unless the element is listed in the Non-Inheritance element (if included) in the AP profile for that BSS. In some demonstrative aspects, inheritance may be defined for a reported AP described in an AP profile from a non-transmitted BSSID, for example, when the multi-link element is included in a non-transmitted BSSID profile of this non-transmitted BSSID in a multiple BSSID element included in a beacon/probe response sent by a reporting AP. For example, the inheritance may be defined, e.g., as follows:If an element is not carried in the AP/STA profile, describing a reported AP, of a multilink element included in the non-transmitted BSSID profile, describing a non-transmitted BSSID, of a multiple BSSID element included in a beacon or probe response frame by a reporting AP, then the values to use for the reported AP are:the values of the corresponding element in the non-transmitted BSSID profile of the non-transmitted BSSID, if both of the 2 following conditions are true:the corresponding element is present in the non-transmitted BSSID profile of the non-transmitted BSSIDeither the element is not listed in the Non-Inheritance element included in the AP profile of the reported AP or the Non-Inheritance element is not included in the AP profile of the reported AP.the values of the corresponding element in the beacon/probe response frame of the reporting AP, if all the three following conditions are true:the corresponding element is not included in the non-transmitted BSSID profile of the non-transmitted BSSID,either the element is not listed in the Non-Inheritance element included in the AP profile of the reported AP or the Non-Inheritance element is not included in the AP profile of the reported AP.either the element is not listed in the Non-Inheritance element included in the non-transmitted BSSID profile of the non-transmitted BSSID or the Non-Inheritance element is not included in the non-transmitted BSSID profile of the non-transmitted BSSID. In some demonstrative aspects, a same adaptation may be implemented for the inheritance of a reported AP described in the non-transmitted BSSID profile from the AP profile, for example, when the multiple BSSID element is included in the AP profile of this AP in a multilink element included in a beacon/probe response sent by a reporting AP. In some aspects, some or all of the above inheritance rules may be implemented. In other aspects, any other additional or alternative inheritance rules may be used. Reference is made toFIG.6, which schematically illustrates a method of transmitting a multi-link element. For example, one or more of the operations of the method ofFIG.6may be performed by one or more elements of a system, e.g., system100(FIG.1), for example, one or more wireless devices, e.g., device102(FIG.1), and/or device140(FIG.1), an MLD, e.g., MLD131(FIG.1) and/or MLD151(FIG.1), a controller, e.g., controller124(FIG.1) and/or controller154(FIG.1), a radio, e.g., radio114(FIG.1) and/or radio144(FIG.1), and/or a message processor, e.g., message processor128(FIG.1) and/or message processor158(FIG.1). As indicated at block602, the method may include generating, at a reporting AP, a multiple BSSID element corresponding to a multiple BSSID set including the reporting AP, the BSSID element including one or more non-transmitted BSSID profile elements corresponding to one or more other APs belonging to the multiple BSSID set, wherein a non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponding to an other AP includes one or more elements of information corresponding to the other AP, and a multi-link element, the multi-link element including one or more profile subelements for one or more reported APs of an other MLD including the other AP, respectively, wherein a profile subelement corresponding to a reported AP includes one or more elements of information corresponding to the reported AP. For example, controller124(FIG.1) may be configured to cause, trigger, and/or control reporting AP135(FIG.1) to generate the multiple BSSID element corresponding to a multiple BSSID set including the reporting AP135(FIG.1), e.g., as described above. As indicated at block604, the method may include transmitting a frame including the multiple BSSID element. For example, controller124(FIG.1) may be configured to cause, trigger, and/or control reporting AP135(FIG.1) to transmit a frame including the multiple BSSID element, e.g., as described above. Reference is made toFIG.7, which schematically illustrates a method of processing a multi-link element. For example, one or more of the operations of the method ofFIG.7may be performed by one or more elements of a system, e.g., system100(FIG.1), for example, one or more wireless devices, e.g., device102(FIG.1), and/or device140(FIG.1), an MLD, e.g., MLD131(FIG.1) and/or MLD151(FIG.1), a controller, e.g., controller124(FIG.1) and/or controller154(FIG.1), a radio, e.g., radio114(FIG.1) and/or radio144(FIG.1), and/or a message processor, e.g., message processor128(FIG.1) and/or message processor158(FIG.1). As indicated at block702, the method may include processing, at a STA of an MLD, a frame from a reporting AP of an AP MLD, the frame including a multiple BSSID element corresponding to a multiple BSSID set including the reporting AP, the BSSID element including one or more non-transmitted BSSID profile elements corresponding to one or more other APs belonging to the multiple BSSID set, wherein a non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponding to an other AP includes one or more elements of information corresponding to the other AP, and a multi-link element, the multi-link element including one or more profile subelements for one or more reported APs of an other MLD including the other AP, respectively, wherein a profile subelement corresponding to a reported AP includes one or more elements of information corresponding to the reported AP. For example, controller154(FIG.1) may be configured to cause, trigger, and/or control STA155(FIG.1) to process the frame including the multiple BSSID element from the reporting AP135(FIG.1), e.g., as described above. As indicated at block704, the method may include identifying one or more inherited elements, which are excluded from the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP. For example, controller154(FIG.1) may be configured to cause, trigger, and/or control STA155(FIG.1) to identify the one or more inherited elements, e.g., as described above. As indicated at block706, the method may include determining values of the one or more inherited elements for the reported AP, for example, by inheriting the one or more inherited elements from the other AP to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponds. For example, controller154(FIG.1) may be configured to cause, trigger, and/or control STA155(FIG.1) to determine values of the one or more inherited elements for the reported AP by inheriting the one or more inherited elements from the other AP, e.g., as described above. Reference is made toFIG.8, which schematically illustrates a product of manufacture800, in accordance with some demonstrative aspects. Product800may include one or more tangible computer-readable (“machine-readable”) non-transitory storage media802, which may include computer-executable instructions, e.g., implemented by logic804, operable to, when executed by at least one computer processor, enable the at least one computer processor to implement one or more operations at device102(FIG.1), device140(FIG.1), MLD131(FIG.1), MLD151(FIG.1), radio114(FIG.1), radio144(FIG.1), transmitter118(FIG.1), transmitter148(FIG.1), receiver116(FIG.1), receiver146(FIG.1), message processor128(FIG.1), message processor158(FIG.1), controller124(FIG.1), and/or controller154(FIG.1), to cause device102(FIG.1), device140(FIG.1), MLD131(FIG.1), MLD151(FIG.1), radio114(FIG.1), radio144(FIG.1), transmitter118(FIG.1), transmitter148(FIG.1), receiver116(FIG.1), receiver146(FIG.1), message processor128(FIG.1), message processor158(FIG.1), controller124(FIG.1), and/or controller154(FIG.1), to perform, trigger and/or implement one or more operations and/or functionalities, and/or to perform, trigger and/or implement one or more operations and/or functionalities described with reference to theFIGS.1,2,3,4,5,6, and/or7, and/or one or more operations described herein. The phrases “non-transitory machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable non-transitory storage media” may be directed to include all machine and/or computer readable media, with the sole exception being a transitory propagating signal. In some demonstrative aspects, product800and/or machine readable storage media802may include one or more types of computer-readable storage media capable of storing data, including volatile memory, non-volatile memory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasable memory, writeable or rewriteable memory, and the like. For example, machine readable storage media802may include, RAM, DRAM, Double-Data-Rate DRAM (DDR-DRAM), SDRAM, static RAM (SRAM), ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), Compact Disk ROM (CD-ROM), Compact Disk Recordable (CD-R), Compact Disk Rewriteable (CD-RW), flash memory (e.g., NOR or NAND flash memory), content addressable memory (CAM), polymer memory, phase-change memory, ferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, a disk, a floppy disk, a hard drive, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a card, a magnetic card, an optical card, a tape, a cassette, and the like. The computer-readable storage media may include any suitable media involved with downloading or transferring a computer program from a remote computer to a requesting computer carried by data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium through a communication link, e.g., a modem, radio or network connection. In some demonstrative aspects, logic804may include instructions, data, and/or code, which, if executed by a machine, may cause the machine to perform a method, process and/or operations as described herein. The machine may include, for example, any suitable processing platform, computing platform, computing device, processing device, computing system, processing system, computer, processor, or the like, and may be implemented using any suitable combination of hardware, software, firmware, and the like. In some demonstrative aspects, logic804may include, or may be implemented as, software, a software module, an application, a program, a subroutine, instructions, an instruction set, computing code, words, values, symbols, and the like. The instructions may include any suitable type of code, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, and the like. The instructions may be implemented according to a predefined computer language, manner or syntax, for instructing a processor to perform a certain function. The instructions may be implemented using any suitable high-level, low-level, object-oriented, visual, compiled and/or interpreted programming language, such as C, C++, Java, BASIC, Matlab, Pascal, Visual BASIC, assembly language, machine code, and the like. EXAMPLES The following examples pertain to further aspects. Example 1 includes an apparatus comprising logic and circuitry configured to cause a reporting Access Point (AP) of an AP Multi-Link Device (MLD) comprising a plurality of APs, to generate a multiple Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) element corresponding to a multiple BSSID set including the reporting AP, the BSSID element comprising one or more non-transmitted BSSID profile elements corresponding to one or more other APs belonging to the multiple BSSID set, wherein a non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponding to an other AP comprises one or more elements of information corresponding to the other AP, and a multi-link element, the multi-link element comprising one or more profile subelements for one or more reported APs of an other MLD comprising the other AP, respectively, wherein a profile subelement corresponding to a reported AP comprises one or more elements of information corresponding to the reported AP; and transmit a frame comprising the multiple BSSID element. Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the reporting AP to selectively exclude from the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP one or more inherited elements, which are to be inherited from the other AP to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponds. Example 3 includes the subject matter of Example 2, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the reporting AP to include in the non-transmitted BSSID profile at least one element of the one or more inherited elements. Example 4 includes the subject matter of Example 2 or 3, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the reporting AP to selectively exclude from the non-transmitted BSSID profile at least one sub-inherited element of the one or more inherited elements, when the at least one sub-inherited element is to be inherited by the other AP and by the reported AP from the reporting AP. Example 5 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-4, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the reporting AP to determine the one or more elements of information corresponding to the reported AP to be included in the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP, such that an inherited element, which is excluded from the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP, and which is not identified by a non-inheritance element in the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP, is to be inherited from the other AP to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponds. Example 6 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-5, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the reporting AP to include a non-inheritance element in the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP, the non-inheritance element to identify one or more elements, which are not to be inherited from the other AP to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponds. Example 7 includes the subject matter of Example 6, and optionally, wherein the non-inheritance element is a last element in the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP. Example 8 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-7, and optionally, wherein the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP comprises a unique link identifier (ID). Example 9 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-8, and optionally, wherein the frame comprises a beacon frame. Example 10 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-8, and optionally, wherein the frame comprises a probe response frame. Example 11 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-10, and optionally, wherein the reporting AP comprises an Extremely High Throughput (EHT) AP station (STA). Example 12 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-11, and optionally, comprising a radio to transmit the frame. Example 13 includes the subject matter of Example 12, and optionally, comprising one or more antennas connected to the radio, and a processor to execute instructions of an operating system of the AP MLD. Example 14 includes an apparatus comprising logic and circuitry configured to cause a wireless communication station (STA) of a Multi-Link Device (MLD) comprising a plurality of STAs, to process a frame from a reporting Access Point (AP) of an AP MLD, the frame comprising a multiple Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) element corresponding to a multiple BSSID set including the reporting AP, the BSSID element comprising one or more non-transmitted BSSID profile elements corresponding to one or more other APs belonging to the multiple BSSID set, wherein a non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponding to an other AP comprises one or more elements of information corresponding to the other AP, and a multi-link element, the multi-link element comprising one or more profile subelements for one or more reported APs of an other MLD comprising the other AP, respectively, wherein a profile subelement corresponding to a reported AP comprises one or more elements of information corresponding to the reported AP; identify one or more inherited elements, which are excluded from the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP; and determine values of the one or more inherited elements for the reported AP by inheriting the one or more inherited elements from the other AP to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponds. Example 15 includes the subject matter of Example 14, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the STA to inherit at least one element of the one or more inherited elements for the reported AP from the one or more elements of information corresponding to the other AP in the non-transmitted BSSID profile. Example 16 includes the subject matter of Example 14 or 15, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the STA to identify a sub-inherited element, which is excluded from the non-transmitted BSSID profile, and to inherit the sub-inherited element for the other AP and for the reported AP from the reporting AP. Example 17 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 14-16, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the STA to identify the one or more inherited elements to include one or more elements which are not identified by a non-inheritance element in the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP. Example 18 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 14-17, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the STA to process a non-inheritance element in the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP, and to identify based on the non-inheritance element one or more elements, which are not to be inherited from the other AP to which the non-transmitted BSSID profile element corresponds. Example 19 includes the subject matter of Example 18, and optionally, wherein the non-inheritance element is a last element in the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP. Example 20 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 14-19, and optionally, wherein the profile subelement corresponding to the reported AP comprises a unique link identifier (ID). Example 21 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 14-20, and optionally, wherein the frame comprises a beacon frame. Example 22 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 14-20, and optionally, wherein the frame comprises a probe response frame. Example 23 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 14-22, and optionally, comprising a radio to receive the frame. Example 24 includes the subject matter of Example 23, and optionally, comprising one or more antennas connected to the radio, and a processor to execute instructions of an operating system of the MLD. Example 25 comprises an apparatus comprising means for executing any of the described operations of Examples 1-24. Example 26 comprises a product comprising one or more tangible computer-readable non-transitory storage media comprising computer-executable instructions operable to, when executed by at least one processor, enable the at least one processor to cause a computing device to perform any of the described operations of Examples 1-24. Example 27 comprises an apparatus comprising: a memory interface; and processing circuitry configured to: perform any of the described operations of Examples 1-24. Example 28 comprises a method comprising any of the described operations of Examples 1-24. Functions, operations, components and/or features described herein with reference to one or more aspects, may be combined with, or may be utilized in combination with, one or more other functions, operations, components and/or features described herein with reference to one or more other aspects, or vice versa. While certain features have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents may occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the disclosure. | 87,720 |
11943825 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Wireless communications systems may support broadcasting of network coded packets to receiving devices. The transmitter (e.g., a network node, base station, etc.) may broadcast multiple packets to multiple receivers (e.g., each user equipment (UE) of a plurality of UEs). Additionally, receivers may broadcast packets directly to one another in sidelink communication channels without transmitting through a base station or through a relay point. Sidelink communication may be an example of device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, or another example of sidelink communication in a wireless communications system. The broadcasting may be repeated blindly without the transmitters identifying or determining network coded packets that have been decoded by the receivers. That is, if the broadcasting system does not utilize feedback associated with packets, the transmitter may continue to transmit packets blindly without any indication of packets that have been decoded by the UEs. Thus, the transmitter may rebroadcast packets in a wasteful manner, since some packets may have been decoded by each receiver. Thus, the lack of feedback may result in waste, duplication of packets, and decreased efficiency. Techniques described herein may leverage feedback for broadcasted packets to determine which packets of a set to retransmit. The transmitter may identify a set of packets for broadcast to a plurality of UEs and transmit a set of network encoded packets based on the set of packets. In some examples, the transmitter may encode the set of network encoded packets according to a Luby transform (LT) code, where each network encoded packet of the set of network encoded packets may be constructed from one or more packets according to a distribution (e.g., an ideal soliton distribution, a robust soliton distribution, among other examples). The UEs may decode successfully received network encoded packets to determine a set of decoded packets and may rebroadcast the decoded packets via sidelink communications. When each UE has decoded network encoded packets from the transmitter and received decoded packets from other UEs, each UE may determine to transmit feedback to the original transmitter. Each UE may transmit feedback that indicates successfully decoded packets at the UE. The feedback may be received via one or more hybrid automatic repeat request (HARD) messages, using a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) status report, or a radio link control (RLC) status report. Further, the transmitter may configure the UEs with network encoding parameters, such as a network coding algorithm, a network coding function, a network encoding matrix, a number of decoding iterations, or a combination thereof. Thus, the transmitter and the UEs may be synchronized such that the transmitter may encode the packets and the UEs may decode the packets. In some examples, the transmitter may adjust encoding metrics, such as a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) or encoding rate, based on the feedback such that the UEs may have a higher probability of successfully decoding packets. These and other implementations are further described with respect to the figures herein. The transmitter may generate an updated set of network encoded packets based on the feedback received from one or more of the UEs. The updated set of network encoded packets may be determined based on the transmitter inferring (e.g., determining), from the feedback, which packets have been commonly decoded at the one or more of the UEs or a union of the packets decoded at the one or more of the UEs. The transmitter may continue to update and transmit the updated set of network encoded packets based on feedback until the transmitter determines that each UE has recovered the set of packets. Particular aspects of the subject matter described herein may be implemented to realize one or more advantages. The described techniques may support improvements in the packet broadcasting framework, decreasing signaling overhead, and improving reliability, among other advantages. As such, supported techniques may include improved network operations and, in some examples, may promote network efficiencies, among other benefits. Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of wireless communications systems. Additional aspects of the disclosure are described in the context of process flows. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink. FIG.1illustrates an example of a wireless communications system100that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system100may include one or more base stations105, one or more UEs115, and a core network130. In some examples, the wireless communications system100may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wireless communications system100may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, communications with low-cost and low-complexity devices, or any combination thereof. The base stations105may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communications system100and may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. The base stations105and the UEs115may wirelessly communicate via one or more communication links125. Each base station105may provide a coverage area110over which the UEs115and the base station105may establish one or more communication links125. The coverage area110may be an example of a geographic area over which a base station105and a UE115may support the communication of signals according to one or more radio access technologies. The UEs115may be dispersed throughout a coverage area110of the wireless communications system100, and each UE115may be stationary, or mobile, or both at different times. The UEs115may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some example UEs115are illustrated inFIG.1. The UEs115described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs115, the base stations105, or network equipment (e.g., core network nodes, relay devices, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network equipment), as shown inFIG.1. The base stations105may communicate with the core network130, or with one another, or both. For example, the base stations105may interface with the core network130through one or more backhaul links120(e.g., via an S1, N2, N3, or other interface). The base stations105may communicate with one another over the backhaul links120(e.g., via an X2, Xn, or other interface) either directly (e.g., directly between base stations105), or indirectly (e.g., via core network130), or both. In some examples, the backhaul links120may be or include one or more wireless links. One or more of the base stations105described herein may include or may be referred to by a person having ordinary skill in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB or a giga-NodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB), a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology. A UE115may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. A UE115may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE115may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communications (MTC) device, among other examples, which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances, or vehicles, meters, among other examples. The UEs115described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs115that may sometimes act as relays as well as the base stations105and the network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, among other examples, as shown inFIG.1. The UEs115and the base stations105may wirelessly communicate with one another via one or more communication links125over one or more carriers. The term “carrier” may refer to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting the communication links125. For example, a carrier used for a communication link125may include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP)) that is operated according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communications system100may support communication with a UE115using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE115may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) component carriers. Signal waveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may consist of one symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both). Thus, the more resource elements that a UE115receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate may be for the UE115. A wireless communications resource may refer to a combination of a radio frequency spectrum resource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate or data integrity for communications with a UE115. The time intervals for the base stations105or the UEs115may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of Ts=1/(Δfmax·Nf) seconds, where Δfmaxmay represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing, and Nfmay represent the maximum supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size. Time intervals of a communications resource may be organized according to radio frames each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023). Each frame may include multiple consecutively numbered subframes or slots, and each subframe or slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a number of slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of slots, and the number of slots may depend on subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a number of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period). In some wireless communications systems100, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots containing one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., Nf) sampling periods. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation. A subframe, a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communications system100and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system100may be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs)). Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) for a physical control channel may be defined by a number of symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of the carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of the UEs115. For example, one or more of the UEs115may monitor or search control regions for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or multiple control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. An aggregation level for a control channel candidate may refer to a number of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with encoded information for a control information format having a given payload size. Search space sets may include common search space sets configured for sending control information to multiple UEs115and UE-specific search space sets for sending control information to a specific UE115. In some examples, a base station105may be movable and therefore provide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas110associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas110may be supported by the same base station105. In other examples, the overlapping geographic coverage areas110associated with different technologies may be supported by different base stations105. The wireless communications system100may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of the base stations105provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas110using the same or different radio access technologies. The wireless communications system100may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations105may have similar frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations105may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations105may have different frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations105may, in some examples, not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operations. Some UEs115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or low complexity devices and may provide for automated communication between machines (e.g., via Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with one another or a base station105without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay such information to a central server or application program that makes use of the information or presents the information to humans interacting with the application program. Some UEs115may be designed to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines or other devices. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging. Some UEs115may be configured to employ operating modes that reduce power consumption, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., a mode that supports one-way communication via transmission or reception, but not transmission and reception simultaneously). In some examples, half-duplex communications may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power conservation techniques for the UEs115include entering a power saving deep sleep mode when not engaging in active communications, operating over a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications), or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs115may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., set of subcarriers or resource blocks (RBs)) within a carrier, within a guard-band of a carrier, or outside of a carrier. The wireless communications system100may be configured to support ultra-reliable communications or low-latency communications, or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communications system100may be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) or mission critical communications. The UEs115may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions). Ultra-reliable communications may include private communication or group communication and may be supported by one or more mission critical services such as mission critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission critical video (MCVideo), or mission critical data (MCData). Support for mission critical functions may include prioritization of services, and mission critical services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission critical, and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein. In some examples, a UE115may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs115over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link135(e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D protocol). One or more UEs115utilizing D2D communications may be within the geographic coverage area110of a base station105. Other UEs115in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area110of a base station105or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station105. In some examples, groups of the UEs115communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE115transmits to every other UE115in the group. In some examples, a base station105facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications are carried out between the UEs115without the involvement of a base station105. In some systems, the D2D communication link135may be an example of a communication channel, such as a sidelink communication channel, between vehicles (e.g., UEs115). In some examples, vehicles may communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, or some combination of these. A vehicle may signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergencies, or any other information relevant to a V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system may communicate with roadside infrastructure, such as roadside units, or with the network via one or more network nodes (e.g., base stations105) using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, or with both. The core network130may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network130may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC), which may include at least one control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) and at least one user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)). The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for the UEs115served by the base stations105associated with the core network130. User IP packets may be transferred through the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to the network operators IP services150. The operators IP services150may include access to the Internet, Intranet(s), an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or a Packet-Switched Streaming Service. Some of the network devices, such as a base station105, may include subcomponents such as an access network entity140, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entity140may communicate with the UEs115through one or more other access network transmission entities145, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission/reception points (TRPs). Each access network transmission entity145may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, various functions of each access network entity140or base station105may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., a base station105). The wireless communications system100may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. The UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, but the waves may penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to the UEs115located indoors. The transmission of UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) compared to transmission using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz. The wireless communications system100may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communications system100may employ License Assisted Access (LAA), LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. When operating in unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, devices such as the base stations105and the UEs115may employ carrier sensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among other examples. A base station105or a UE115may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of a base station105or a UE115may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a base station105may be located in diverse geographic locations. A base station105may have an antenna array with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station105may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE115. Likewise, a UE115may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, an antenna panel may support radio frequency beamforming for a signal transmitted via an antenna port. Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station105, a UE115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagating at particular orientations with respect to an antenna array experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antenna elements may include a transmitting device or a receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation). The wireless communications system100may be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. A radio link control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also use error detection techniques, error correction techniques, or both to support retransmissions at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a UE115and a base station105or a core network130supporting radio bearers for user plane data. At the physical layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels. The UEs115and the base stations105may support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is one technique for increasing the likelihood that data is received correctly over a communication link125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise conditions). In some examples, a device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval. Some wireless communications systems100may support broadcasting packets to a plurality of UEs115. The packets may be broadcast by a network node, which may be an example of a base station105, UE115, or the like. The transmitter may broadcast multiple packets to multiple receivers (e.g., UEs115). The broadcasting may be repeated blindly without the transmitter knowing whether packets have been received or decoded by the receivers. That is, if the wireless communications system100does not utilize feedback associated with the packets, the transmitter may continue to transmit packets blindly without any indication of packets that have actually been decoded by the UEs115. Thus, the transmitter may rebroadcast packets in a wasteful manner, since some packets may have been decoded by all UEs115. Thus, the lack of feedback may result in waste, unnecessary duplication of packets, and low efficiency. Techniques described herein support a packet broadcasting design that uses feedback received from the UEs115. The transmitter (e.g., base station105) may identify a set of packets for broadcasting to a plurality of UEs115and transmit a set of network encoded packets based on the set of packets. The UEs115may decode successfully received network encoded packets to determine a set of decoded packets and may rebroadcast the decoded packets via sidelink communications. When each UE115has decoded network encoded packets from the transmitter and received decoded packets from other UEs115, each UE115may determine to transmit feedback to the original transmitter. Each UE115may transmit feedback that indicates successfully decoded packets at the UE115. The transmitter may generate an updated set of network encoded packets based on the feedback received from one or more of the UEs115. The updated set of network encoded packets may be determined based on the transmitter inferring (e.g., determining), from the feedback, which packets have been commonly decoded at the one or more of the UEs115or a union of the packets decoded at the one or more of the UEs115. The transmitter may continue to update and transmit the updated set of network encoded packets based on feedback until the transmitter determines that each UE115has recovered the set of packets. Using this technique, the transmitter may reduce waste and duplication of packets by retransmitting packets that have not been decoded by the UEs115. This may result in increased efficiencies in the wireless communications system100, such as a broadcasting system. Different types of feedback may support these techniques. For example, the transmitter (e.g., base station105) may use HARQ messages received from the UEs115to update the sets of packets. The HARQ message may indicate an acknowledgement (ACK) or negative-acknowledgement (NACK) for one or more packets. Thus, based on the ACKs and NAKs, the transmitter may determine which packets were successfully received by which UEs115. In some examples, the feedback is received via one or more PDCP status reports, one or more RLC status reports, or the like. Further to support these techniques, the transmitter may configure the UEs115with network coding parameters, which the UEs115may use to decode the packets. The transmitter may update the various encoding metrics during the broadcasting to increase the likelihood that the UEs115are able to decode the packets. For example, the transmitter may receive a channel state information (CSI) report based on receiving a NACK for one or more packets and update the modulation and coding scheme or encoding rate based on the CSI report. FIG.2illustrates an example of a wireless communications system200that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the wireless communications system200may implement aspects of the wireless communications system100. For example, the wireless communications system200may include a network entity205and UEs215, which may be examples of the corresponding devices described with reference toFIG.1. The wireless communications system200may illustrate an example of a packet broadcasting system. The network entity205may be an example of a base station105described with reference toFIG.1, a network node, a transmitter, or the like. The UEs215may be an example of a UE115as described with reference toFIG.1. The wireless communications system200may include features for improved packet transmission operations, among other benefits. The UEs215may transmit and receive communications as scheduled by the network entity205. For example, the UEs215may communicate with the network entity via direct links220(e.g., communication links125described with reference toFIG.1). For instance, UE215-amay communicate with network entity205via direct link220-a, UE215-bmay communicate with network entity205via direct link220-b, and UE215-cmay communicate with network entity205via direct link220-c. Additionally, the UEs215may communicate directly with one another via sidelink connections225without transmitting through the network entity205. For instance, UE215-amay communicate with UE215-cvia sidelink connection225-a; UE215-amay communicate with UE215-bvia sidelink connection225-b; and UE215-bmay communicate with UE215-cvia sidelink connection225-c. The sidelink connections225may illustrate examples of D2D communication, V2X communication, or another example of sidelink communication in the wireless communications system200. In some cases, the wireless communications system200may support broadcasting packets by the network entity205to the UEs215via the direct links220. The network entity205may repeat the broadcasting blindly without knowing whether the packets were received or decoded by the UEs215. That is, if the wireless communications system200does not utilize feedback associated with the packets, the network entity205may continue to transmit packets blindly without any indication of packets that have actually been received or decoded by the UEs215. Thus, the network entity205may rebroadcast packets in a wasteful manner, since some packets may have been received or decoded by all UEs215. Thus, the lack of feedback may result in waste, unnecessary duplication of packets, and low efficiency. Techniques described herein support a packet broadcasting design that uses feedback received from the UEs215. The network entity205may identify a set of packets for broadcasting to the UEs215and transmit a set of network encoded packets based on the set of packets via the direct links220. The UEs215may decode successfully received network encoded packets to determine a set of decoded packets and may rebroadcast the decoded packets via sidelink connections225. When each UE215has decoded network encoded packets from the network entity205and received decoded packets from other UEs215, each UE215may determine to transmit feedback to the original transmitter. Each UE215may transmit feedback to the network entity205that indicates successfully decoded packets at the UE215. Each of the receiving UEs215may provide feedback associated with receiving the broadcasted network encoded packets. For example, feedback received from a particular UE215may indicate a subset of successfully decoded packets of the set of packets used to generate the set of network encoded packets. The network entity205may generate an updated set of network encoded packets based on the feedback received from one or more of the UEs215. The updated set of network encoded packets may be determined based on the transmitter inferring (e.g., determining), from the feedback, which packets have been commonly decoded at the one or more of the UEs215or a union of the packets decoded at the one or more of the UEs215. The network entity205may continue to update and transmit the updated set of network encoded packets based on feedback until the network entity205determines that each UE215of the UEs215has recovered the set of packets. Using this technique, the network entity205may reduce waste and duplication of packets by retransmitting packets that have not been received by the UEs215. This may result in increased efficiencies in the wireless communications system200. FIG.3illustrates an example of a wireless communications system300that supports broadcasting packets using network coding via sidelink with feedback in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the wireless communications system300may implement aspects of wireless communications systems100and200. For example, the wireless communications system300may include a network entity305and UEs315, which may be examples of the corresponding devices described with reference toFIGS.1and2. The wireless communications system300may illustrate an example of a packet broadcasting system. The wireless communications system300may include features for improved packet transmission operations, among other benefits. The network entity305may configure the UEs315with network coding parameters, such as an encoding matrix, encoding/decoding function, etc. These parameters may be used by the UEs315to decode the packets. For example, a row of the encoding matrix may indicate an ordering or grouping of network encoded packets that are transmitted to the UEs315. The network coding parameters may be signaling using medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling, downlink control information (DCI), or RRC signaling. In some cases, multiple sets of network coding parameters may be signaled. The network entity305may identify a set of packets for transmission to the UEs315. In one example, the network entity305identifies the set of packets from a packet pool, which may be a set of packets scheduled for broadcasting. In some examples, the broadcasting may support a content streaming service and the packets may correspond to the streamed content. From the set of packets, the network entity305may encode (e.g., using LT coding) and transmit a set of network encoded packets320-ato the UEs315in a broadcast manner. Each of the UEs315may receive one or more encoded packets of the set of network encoded packets320-a. The UEs315may decode successfully received network encoded packets to determine a set of decoded packets and may rebroadcast the decoded packets via sidelink connections330. For instance, UE315-amay rebroadcast the decoded packets via one or more of sidelink connections330-aand330-b; UE315-bmay rebroadcast the decoded packets via one or more of sidelink connections330-band330-c; and UE315-cmay rebroadcast the decoded packets via one or more of sidelink connections330-aand330-c. When each UE315has received network encoded packets320-afrom the network entity305and decoded packets from other UEs115, each UE115may report to the network entity305via feedback325. The feedback325may indicate a subset of the set of packets used to generate the set of network encoded packets320-athat each UE315was able to successfully decode, either directly from the network entity305or via the sidelink connections330. For example, the UE315-amay transmit feedback325-athat indicates a first subset of the set of packets that the UE315-awas able to successfully decode, while the UE315-btransmits feedback325-bthat indicates a second subset of the set of packets that the UE315-bwas able to successfully decode, and the UE315-ctransmits feedback325-cthat indicates a second subset of the set of packets that the UE315-cwas able to successfully decode. Based on the received feedback325, the network entity305may generate an updated set of network encoded packets320-b. The updated set of network encoded packets may be determined based on the transmitter inferring (e.g., determining), from the feedback, which packets have been commonly decoded at the one or more of the UEs315or a union of the packets decoded at the one or more of the UEs315. The updated set of network encoded packets320-bis transmitted to the UEs315and the network entity305may continue to update and transmit updated sets of network encoded packets320based on feedback325until the network entity305determines that each UE315of the UEs315has recovered the set of packets. As described herein, the feedback325may be an example of one or HARQ messages. In other cases, the feedback325may be an example of a PDCP status report or RLC status report. Based on the reports or HARQ messages, the network entity305may infer (e.g., determine) the packet receiving/recovery results. In some examples, the UEs315may transmit the feedback325in the network coding sub-layer, and such feedback325may directly indicate the receiving success or failure corresponding to each packet. Thus, rather than inferring (e.g., determining) packet decoding success failure based on HARQ messages (e.g., correlating HARQ messages to packets), the feedback325may directly indicate packet receiving success and/or failure. In some cases, one or more of the UEs315transmit a CSI report to facilitate MCS selection and/or rate control. Thus, based on received feedback325and a CSI report, the network entity305may adjust the MCS or encoding rate to increase likelihood of successful decoding by the UEs315. In some examples, the CSI report is transmitted when a NACK is transmitted in order to request the updated MCS or data encoding rate for better data reception. As described herein, one or more sets of network coding parameters may be configured at the UEs315. If one set of parameters is configured at one or more of the UEs315and the network entity305determines that the transmission is underperforming (e.g., that the feedback325indicates that a relatively high number of packets are not decoded), then the network entity305may transmit a new set of network coding parameters to the UEs315(e.g., via MAC-CE or DCI). In other cases, the UE315may request an updated set of network coding parameters (e.g., via MAC-CE or uplink control information (UCI)). In either case, after the updated set of parameters is transmitted, subsequent sets of packets may be encoded and transmitted according to the updated set of parameters. If multiple sets of network coding parameters are synchronized between the network entity305and the UEs315, then the network entity305may transmit an instruction to switch between sets of parameters (e.g., based on underperformance or based on a request from a UE315received via MAC-CE or UCI) via MAC-CE or DCI. In some examples, the network entity305may encode the network encoded packets320using an LT coding process. In the LT coding process, the network entity305may map source symbols of the set of packets to a set of encoding symbols. The LT coding process may employ a degree distribution Ω, where the degree distribution Ω represents a probability mass function of a set of degrees di(e.g., d1, d2, d3, etc.). The probability of randomly selecting a degree di(i.e., a degree with index i) from the degree distribution may be represented by ρ(i). In the LT coding process, the degree diof an ith encoding symbol may represent the quantity of source symbols which the network entity305may combine into the ith encoding symbol. For example, if the selected degree for a first encoding symbol is d1=2, two source symbols may be randomly selected and combined into the first encoding symbol. Similarly, if the selected degree for a second encoding symbol is d2=1, a single source symbol may be combined into the second encoding symbol. In some examples, the source symbols may be combined into encoding symbols using a logic operation such as a logic exclusive OR (XOR) operation. In some examples, each encoding symbol may include information identifying the source symbols used to construct the encoding symbol. For example, the encoding symbol may include indices (e.g., s1, s2, s3, sK, etc.) associated with the source symbols used to construct the encoding symbol. The encoding symbols may be transmitted as the set of network encoded packets320-afrom the network entity305to the UEs315. In some examples, the LT coding process may be represented by a generator matrix. In some examples, one or more encoded packets may be lost based on the transmission environment. A UE315may receive a subset of the set of network encoded packets320-a(e.g., a quantity N of encoded packets). The UE315may decode the received encoding symbols to obtain the source symbols. The UE315may begin a decoding process by identifying an encoding symbol with an index tjthat is connected to a single source symbol with an index si. The UE315may determine the encoding symbol with index tjis equivalent to the source symbol with index si. The UE315may then apply an XOR operation to each other encoding symbol connected to the source symbol with index si, and remove all edges connected to the source symbol with index si. The UE315may repeat this process until each source symbol is determined from the received encoding symbols. In some examples, the decoding process may fail if there is no encoding symbol connected to a single source symbol. Accordingly, the degree distribution Ω of the encoding symbols received at the UE315may have a direct impact on the probability of successfully decoding source symbols transmitted in encoding symbols. For example, in a first degree distribution (which may in some examples be referred to as an ideal soliton distribution), the probability ρ(i) of selecting a degree di(where diis an integer from 1 to K) may be defined by: ρ(i)={1K,i=11i(i-1),i=1,2,…,K(1) The first degree distribution may have a mode (e.g., a high probability) at di=2. Alternatively, in a second degree distribution (which in some examples may be referred to as a robust soliton distribution), the probability of selecting the degree dimay be represented by μ(i) rather than ρ(i) of the ideal soliton distribution. The probability μ(i) may be defined by: μ(i)=ρ(i)+τ(i)∑j=1Kρ(j)+τ(j)(2) where τ(i) is a parameter defined in terms of constants c and R=cKln(Kδ), as well as a decoding error probability δ. The parameter τ(i) may be defined for various values of i as: τ(i)={RiK,i=1,2,…,KR-1RKln(Rδ),i=KR0,otherwise.(3) The robust soliton distribution may have a greater probability that a random di=1 than the ideal soliton distribution, which may reduce the probability of the decoding process failing by increasing the probability that an encoding symbol is connected to a single source symbol. The encoding scheme described herein may enable the network entity305to improve efficiency and reliability of communications with the UEs315by increasing the probability of successfully decoding source symbols transmitted in encoding symbols. FIG.4illustrates an example of a process flow400that supports broadcasting packets using network coding via sidelink with feedback in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the process flow400may implement aspects of wireless communications systems100,200, and300. For example, the process flow400may include example operations associated with one or more of a transmitter405or a set of receivers415, which may be examples of a base station and UEs, respectively, described with reference toFIGS.1through3. The receivers415may be receivers415of a group of receivers415that includes m receivers415. In the following description of the process flow400, the operations between the transmitter405and the receivers415may be performed in a different order than the example order shown, or the operations performed by the transmitter405and the receivers415may be performed in different orders or at different times. Some operations may also be omitted from the process flow400, and other operations may be added to the process flow400. The operations performed by the transmitter405and the receivers415may support improvement to the transmitter405packet transmission operations and, in some examples, may promote improvements to efficiency and reliability for communications between the transmitter405and the receivers415, among other benefits. At420, the transmitter405may construct a packet pool S={p1, p2, . . . , pn}. The set of network encoded packets may be encoded using a network encoding function q=f(S)={q1, q2, . . . qk} and the set of network encoded packets q may be transmitted to the receivers415(e.g., receivers415-a,415-band415-c). In some example, the set of network encoded packets q may be encoded using an LT code. At425, each receiver415may decode successfully received encoded packets and may broadcast the successfully decoded packets via sidelink connections with the group of receivers415. For example, receiver415-amay decode successfully received network encoded packets to determine decoded packets p2and p3and may broadcast p2and p3to other receivers415. Similarly, receiver415-bmay decode successfully received network encoded packets to determine decoded packets p1and p3and may broadcast p1and p3to other receivers415. Likewise, receiver415-cmay decode successfully received network encoded packets to determine decoded packets p1and p2and may broadcast p1and p2to other receivers415. At430, each receiver415may gather decoded packets determined from the direct link and received from the sidelink connections. For example, receiver415-amay receive the broadcast from the receiver415-band may thus have received and/or decoded a first subset of decoded packets {p1, p2, p3}. Similarly, receiver415-bmay receive the broadcast from receiver415-cand may thus have received and/or decoded a second subset of decoded {p1, p2, p3}. Receiver415-cmay fail to receive the broadcast from another receiver415and may thus have decoded a third subset of decoded packets {p1, p2}. Additionally, at430, each receiver415may send feedback to the transmitter405indicating the packets successfully decoded by the receiver415. For instance, receiver415-amay transmit feedback indicating successfully decoded and/or received packets p1, p2, and p3; receiver415-bmay transmit feedback indicating successfully decoded and/or received packets p1, p2, and p3; and receiver415-cmay transmit feedback indicating successfully decoded packets p1and p2. At435, transmitter405may determine a set of commonly decoded packets M among the receivers415. For instance, from the feedback received from receivers415-a(e.g., p1, p2, and p3),415-b(e.g., p1, p2, and p3), and415-c(e.g., p1and p2), transmitter405may determine that receivers415-a,415-b, and415-chave each obtained decoded packet p1and p2. Accordingly, transmitter405may determine that M={p1, p2}. At440, transmitter405may generate newly encoded packets using the packet pool S and M. For instance, the transmitter405may determine a set of network encoded packets according to f(S). The transmitter405may determine the newly encoded packets according to f(S′)=f(S−M). In the present example, M may equal {p1, p2}. As such, if S={p1, p2, p3, . . . , pn}, then S′ may equal {p3, . . . pn} and the transmitter405may generate the newly encoded packets according to f(S′). At445, transmitter405and the receivers415may continue to perform the operations described at425through440until the transmitter405infers (e.g., determines) all packets of the packet pool S have been successfully recovered by all receivers415. FIG.5illustrates an example of a process flow500that supports broadcasting packets using network coding via sidelink with feedback in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the process flow500may implement aspects of wireless communications systems100,200, and300. For example, the process flow500may include example operations associated with one or more of a transmitter505or a set of receivers515, which may be examples of a base station and UEs, respectively, described with reference toFIGS.1through3. The receivers515may be receivers515of a group of receivers515that includes m receivers515. In the following description of the process flow500, the operations between the transmitter505and the receivers515may be performed in a different order than the example order shown, or the operations performed by the transmitter505and the receivers515may be performed in different orders or at different times. Some operations may also be omitted from the process flow500, and other operations may be added to the process flow500. The operations performed by the transmitter505and the receivers515may support improvement to the transmitter505packet transmission operations and, in some examples, may promote improvements to efficiency and reliability for communications between the transmitter505and the receivers515, among other benefits. At520, the transmitter505may construct a packet pool S={p1, p2, . . . , pn}. The set of network encoded packets may be encoded using a network encoding function q=f(S)={q1, q2, . . . qk} and the set of network encoded packets q may be transmitted to the receivers515(e.g., receivers515-a,515-band515-c). In some example, the set of network encoded packets q may be encoded using an LT code. At525, each receiver515may decode successfully received encoded packets and may broadcast the successfully decoded packets via sidelink connections with the group of receivers515. For example, receiver515-amay decode successfully received network encoded packets to determine decoded packets p2and p3and may broadcast p2and p3to other receivers515. Similarly, receiver515-bmay decode successfully received network encoded packets to determine decoded packets p1and p3and may broadcast p1and p3to other receivers515. Likewise, receiver515-cmay decode successfully received network encoded packets to determine decoded packets p1and p2and may broadcast p1and p2to other receivers515. At530, each receiver515may gather decoded packets determined from the direct link and received from the sidelink connections. For example, receiver515-amay receive the broadcast from the receiver515-band may thus have received and/or decoded a first subset of decoded packets {p1, p2, p3}. Similarly, receiver515-bmay receive the broadcast from receiver515-cand may thus have received and/or decoded a second subset of decoded {p1, p2, p3}. Receiver515-cmay fail to receive the broadcast from another receiver515and may thus have decoded a third subset of decoded packets {p1, p2}. Additionally, at530, each receiver515may send feedback to the transmitter505indicating the packets successfully decoded by the receiver515. For instance, receiver515-amay transmit feedback indicating successfully decoded and/or received packets p1, p2, and p3; receiver515-bmay transmit feedback indicating successfully decoded and/or received packets p1, p2, and p3; and receiver515-cmay transmit feedback indicating successfully decoded packets p1and p2. At535, transmitter505may determine a union of the decoded packets M1among the receivers515. For instance, from the feedback received from receivers515-a(e.g., p1, p2, and p3),515-b(e.g., p1, p2, and p3), and515-c(e.g., p1and p2), transmitter505may determine that a union of the decoded packets provided by receivers515-a,515-b, and515-cis {p1, p2, p3}. Accordingly, transmitter505may determine that M1={p1, p2, p3}. At540, transmitter505may generate newly encoded packets using the packet pool S and M1. For instance, the transmitter505may determine a set of network encoded packets according to f(S). The transmitter505may determine the newly encoded packets according to f(S′)=f(S−M1). In the present example, M1may equal {p1, p2, p3}. As such, if S={p1, p2, p3, p4, . . . pn}, then S′ may equal {p4. . . , pn} and the transmitter505may generate the newly encoded packets according to f(S′). At545, transmitter505and the receivers515may continue to perform the operations described at525through540until S′={ } at550. At550, in some examples, each of the packets in S may have been decoded at each of the receivers515considered together. However, there may be cases where a receiver515of the set of receivers515has not successfully decoded one or more of the packets in S, even though the packet has been successfully decoded by another of the set of receivers515. In such examples, transmitter505may determine M2, where M2may be the set of commonly decoded packets among the receivers515. Using S and M2, the transmitter505may determine S″=S−M2; may generate newly encoded packets according to f (S″); and may transmit the newly encoded packets via a broadcast transmission. Alternatively, transmitter505may transmit the packets that a receiver515has not decoded to the receiver directly via a unicast transmission directed to that receiver515. Whether transmitter505transmits via broadcast signaling or unicast signaling may depend on a number of receivers515still missing packets. For instance, if the number of receivers515is above a threshold, transmitter505may transmit broadcast signaling according to f (S″). If the number of receivers515missing packets is below the threshold, transmitter505may transmit unicast signaling directed to receivers515missing the packets. FIG.6illustrates an example of a process flow600that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the process flow600may implement aspects of wireless communications systems100,200, and300. For example, the process flow600may include example operations associated with one or more of a network entity605(e.g., a base station) or a plurality of UEs615(e.g., UEs615-aand615-b), which may be examples of the corresponding devices described with reference toFIGS.1through3. In the following description of the process flow600, the operations between the network entity605and the UEs615may be performed in a different order than the example order shown, or the operations performed by the network entity605and the UEs615may be performed in different orders or at different times. Some operations may also be omitted from the process flow600, and other operations may be added to the process flow600. The operations performed by the network entity605and the UEs615may support improvement to the network entity605packet transmission operations and, in some examples, may promote improvements to efficiency and reliability for communications between the network entity605and the UEs615, among other benefits. At620, the network entity605may identify a set of packets for transmission to the UEs615. In one example, the network entity605identifies the set of packets from a packet pool, which may be a set of packets scheduled for broadcasting. In some examples, the broadcasting may support a content streaming service and the packets may correspond to the streamed content. From the set of packets, the network entity605may encode (e.g., using LT coding) a set of network encoded packets. At625, the network entity605may broadcast the set of network encoded packets to the UEs615. Each of the UEs615may receive one or more network encoded packets of the set of network encoded packets. For example, some network encoded packets may be lost based on a transmission environment. At630, each UE615may decode successfully received encoded packets and may broadcast the decoded packets via sidelink connections with the group of UEs615. At635, each UE615may gather decoded packets from the direct link and the sidelink connections to determine a respective subset of successfully decoded network encoded packets. At640, the UEs615may each transmit feedback to the network entity605indicating a respective set of successfully decoded packets. As noted herein, the feedback may be an example of one or more HARQ messages. In other cases, the feedback may be an example of a PDCP status report or RLC status report. In some examples, the UEs615may transmit the feedback in the network coding sub-layer, and such feedback may directly indicate the receiving success/failure corresponding to each packet. In some cases, one or more of the UEs615may transmit a CSI report to facilitate MCS selection and/or rate control. In some examples, the CSI report is transmitted when a NACK is transmitted in order to request the updated MCS or data encoding rate for better data reception. As noted herein, one or more sets of network coding parameters may be configured at the UEs615(e.g., via MAC-CE or DCI). In some cases, one or more UEs615may request (e.g., along with transmitting feedback) an updated set of network coding parameters (e.g., via MAC-CE or UCI). At645, the network entity605may determine a subset of successfully decoded network encoded packets based on the feedback. In one example, the subset may represent successfully decoded packets included in each of the subsets (e.g., an intersection of the subsets of decoded packets). In another example, the subset may represent successfully decoded packets included in any of the subsets (e.g., a union of the subsets of decoded packets). At650, the network entity605may generate newly encoded packets, for example using the packet pool. At655, the network entity may transmit an updated set of network encoded packets based on generating the newly encoded packets. The updated set of network encoded packets may not be generated according to the subset of decoded packets determined based on the feedback (e.g., the union or the intersection of the subsets indicated in, inferred, or determined according to the feedback). At660, the network entity605and the UEs615may continue to perform the operations described at630through655until the network entity605infers (e.g., determines) all packets of the packet pool have been successfully recovered by all receivers UEs615(e.g., based on decoding the successfully received network encoded packets indicated in the feedback). In cases where the subset of decoded packets determined by the network entity605is determined according to the union, the network entity605may switch to using the intersection once each packet has been successfully decoded at least receiver UE115or may transmit unicast signaling indicating the remaining missing packet to receiver UEs115still missing packets. The operations performed by the network entity605and the UEs615may support improvements to the network entity605packet transmission operations and, in some examples, may promote improvements to efficiency and reliability for communications between the network entity605and the UEs615, among other benefits. FIG.7shows a block diagram700of a device705that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device705may be an example of aspects of a UE115as described herein. The device705may include a receiver710, a communication manager715, and a transmitter720. The device705may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver710may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device705. The receiver710may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1015described with reference toFIG.10. The receiver710may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. The communication manager715may receive, as part of a broadcast from a network node, a first subset of one or more network encoded packets; decode the first subset of one or more network encoded packets as a first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets; receive, via a plurality of sidelink connections with a corresponding plurality of UEs, a second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets forwarded after successful receipt and decoding by the plurality of UEs from the network node; and determine, based on the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets and the second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets, a combined set of one or more successfully decoded packets from the network node. The communication manager715may be an example of aspects of the communication manager1010described herein. The communication manager715, or its sub-components, may be implemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager715, or its sub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure. The communication manager715, or its sub-components, may be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations by one or more physical components. In some examples, the communication manager715, or its sub-components, may be a separate and distinct component in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager715, or its sub-components, may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The transmitter720may transmit signals generated by other components of the device705. In some examples, the transmitter720may be collocated with a receiver710in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter720may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1015described with reference toFIG.10. The transmitter720may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. By including or configuring the communication manager715in accordance with examples as described herein, the device705(e.g., a processor controlling or otherwise coupled to the receiver710, the transmitter720, the communication manager715, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for the device705to reduce waste and duplication of packets by communicating successfully received and decoded packets with other devices (e.g., other UEs115) and providing feedback that enables a base station to retransmit packets that have not been received at the device705and the other devices (e.g., other UEs115). FIG.8shows a block diagram800of a device805that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device805may be an example of aspects of a device705, or a UE115as described herein. The device805may include a receiver810, a communication manager815, and a transmitter835. The device805may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver810may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device805. The receiver810may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1015described with reference toFIG.10. The receiver810may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. The communication manager815may be an example of aspects of the communication manager715as described herein. The communication manager815may include a network encoded packet receiver820, a sidelink packet receiver825, and a packet decoder830. The communication manager815may be an example of aspects of the communication manager1010described herein. The network encoded packet receiver820may receive, as part of a broadcast from a network node, a first subset of one or more network encoded packets. The sidelink packet receiver825may decode the first subset of one or more network encoded packets as a first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets. The packet decoder830may receive, via a plurality of sidelink connections with a corresponding plurality of UEs, a second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets forwarded after successful receipt and decoding by the plurality of UEs from the network node and determine, based on the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets and the second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets, a combined set of one or more successfully decoded packets from the network node. The transmitter835may transmit signals generated by other components of the device805. In some examples, the transmitter835may be collocated with a receiver810in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter835may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1015described with reference toFIG.10. The transmitter835may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. FIG.9shows a block diagram900of a communication manager905that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager905may be an example of aspects of a communication manager715, a communication manager815, or a communication manager1010described herein. The communication manager905may include a network encoded packet receiver910, a sidelink packet receiver915, a packet decoder920, a feedback transmitter925, a sidelink packet transmitter930, and a network coding parameter component935. Each of these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The network encoded packet receiver910may receive, as part of a broadcast from a network node, a first subset of one or more network encoded packets. In some examples, the network encoded packet receiver910may receive a third subset of one or more network encoded packets from the network node based on transmitting the feedback, where the third subset of one or more network encoded packets is different from the first subset of one or more network encoded packets. In some examples, the third subset of one or more network encoded packets is provided via broadcast signaling. In some examples, the third subset of one or more network encoded packets is provided via unicast signaling. The sidelink packet receiver915may decode the first subset of one or more network encoded packets as a first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets. The packet decoder920may receive, via a plurality of sidelink connections with a corresponding plurality of UEs, a second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets forwarded after successful receipt and decoding by the plurality of UEs from the network node. In some examples, the packet decoder920may determine, based on the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets and the second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets, a combined set of one or more successfully decoded packets from the network node. The feedback transmitter925may transmit feedback to the network node, where the feedback indicates a combination of the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets and the second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets. In some examples, the feedback transmitter925may transmit the feedback via a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) status report, a RLC status report, or a HARQ message. In some examples, the feedback transmitter925may transmit the feedback in a network coding sub-layer. In some examples, the feedback transmitter925may transmit a channel state information message in conjunction with feedback. In some cases, the feedback includes a negative acknowledgement message. The sidelink packet transmitter930may transmit the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets to a plurality of UEs via a plurality of sidelink connections. The network coding parameter component935may receive an indication of one or more network coding parameters, the one or more network coding parameters including a network coding algorithm, a network encoding function, a network encoding matrix, a number of decoding iterations, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the network coding parameter component935may receive the one or more network coding parameters using medium access control (MAC) control element signaling, downlink control information signaling, radio resource control signaling, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the network coding parameter component935may receive an indication to switch from one or more prior network coding parameters to the one or more network coding parameters. In some examples, the network coding parameter component935may transmit, to the network node, a request for the one or more network coding parameters, where the indication of the one or more network coding parameters is received based on transmitting the request. In some examples, the network coding parameter component935may transmit the request using medium access control (MAC) control element signaling or uplink control information signaling. FIG.10shows a diagram of a system1000including a device1005that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device1005may be an example of or include the components of device705, device805, or a UE115as described herein. The device1005may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communication manager1010, a transceiver1015, an antenna1020, memory1025, and a processor1035. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus1040). The communication manager1010may receive, as part of a broadcast from a network node, a first subset of one or more network encoded packets; decode the first subset of one or more network encoded packets as a first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets; receive, via a plurality of sidelink connections with a corresponding plurality of UEs, a second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets forwarded after successful receipt and decoding by the plurality of UEs from the network node; and determine, based on the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets and the second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets, a combined set of one or more successfully decoded packets from the network node. The transceiver1015may communicate bi-directionally, via one or more antennas, wired, or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver1015may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver1015may also include a modem to modulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antennas. In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna1020. However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna1020, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The memory1025may include random-access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory1025may store computer-readable, computer-executable code1030including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory1025may contain, among other things, a basic input/output system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices. The code1030may include instructions to implement aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. The code1030may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code1030may not be directly executable by the processor1035but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. The processor1035may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor1035may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor1035. The processor1035may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory1025) to cause the device1005to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink). By including or configuring the communication manager1010in accordance with examples as disclosed herein, the device1005may support techniques for the device1005to reduce waste and duplication of packets by communicating successfully received and decoded packets with other devices (e.g., other UEs115) and providing feedback that enables a base station to retransmit packets that have not been received at the device1005and the other devices (e.g., other UEs115). FIG.11shows a block diagram1100of a device1105that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device1105may be an example of aspects of a base station105as described herein. The device1105may include a receiver1110, a communication manager1115, and a transmitter1120. The device1105may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver1110may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device1105. The receiver1110may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1420described with reference toFIG.14. The receiver1110may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. The communication manager1115may transmit, to a plurality of UEs, a set of one or more network encoded packets representing a set of one or more packets identified for broadcast to the plurality of UEs; receive feedback from each of one or more of the plurality of UEs, the feedback indicating, as respective subsets of the set of one or more network encoded packets, successfully decoded packets of the set of one or more packets at each of the plurality of UEs; determine, based on the feedback, a subset of the set of one or more packets that was successfully decoded for each of the one or more of the plurality of UEs providing the feedback; generate, based on the feedback, an updated set of one or more network encoded packets based on an updated set of one or more packets, where the updated set of one or more packets excludes successfully decoded packets included in each of the subsets; and transmit the updated set of one or more network encoded packets to the plurality of UEs. The communication manager1115may be an example of aspects of the communication manager1410described herein. The communication manager1115, or its sub-components, may be implemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager1115, or its sub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure. The communication manager1115, or its sub-components, may be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations by one or more physical components. In some examples, the communication manager1115, or its sub-components, may be a separate and distinct component in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager1115, or its sub-components, may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The transmitter1120may transmit signals generated by other components of the device1105. In some examples, the transmitter1120may be collocated with a receiver1110in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter1120may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1420described with reference toFIG.14. The transmitter1120may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. By including or configuring the communication manager1115in accordance with examples as described herein, the device1105(e.g., a processor controlling or otherwise coupled to the receiver1110, the transmitter1120, the communication manager1115, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for the device1105to reduce waste and duplication of packets by receiving feedback from multiple UEs115and excluding successfully decoded packets from a set of packets retransmitted to the multiple UEs115in response to the feedback. FIG.12shows a block diagram1200of a device1205that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device1205may be an example of aspects of a device1105, or a base station105as described herein. The device1205may include a receiver1210, a communication manager1215, and a transmitter1240. The device1205may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The receiver1210may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device1205. The receiver1210may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1420described with reference toFIG.14. The receiver1210may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. The communication manager1215may be an example of aspects of the communication manager1115as described herein. The communication manager1215may include a network encoded packet transmitter1220, a feedback receiver1225, a decoding determination component1230, and a network encoded packet generator1235. The communication manager1215may be an example of aspects of the communication manager1410described herein. The network encoded packet transmitter1220may transmit, to a plurality of UEs, a set of one or more network encoded packets representing a set of one or more packets identified for broadcast to the plurality of UEs and transmit the updated set of one or more network encoded packets to the plurality of UEs. The network encoded packet generator1235may generate, based on the feedback, an updated set of one or more network encoded packets based on an updated set of one or more packets, where the updated set of one or more packets excludes successfully decoded packets included in each of the subsets. The decoding determination component1230may determine, based on the feedback, a subset of the set of one or more packets that was successfully decoded for each of the one or more of the plurality of UEs providing the feedback. The feedback receiver1225may receive feedback from each of one or more of the plurality of UEs, the feedback indicating, as respective subsets of the set of one or more network encoded packets, successfully decoded packets of the set of one or more packets at each of the plurality of UEs. The transmitter1240may transmit signals generated by other components of the device1205. In some examples, the transmitter1240may be collocated with a receiver1210in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter1240may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1420described with reference toFIG.14. The transmitter1240may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. FIG.13shows a block diagram1300of a communication manager1305that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager1305may be an example of aspects of a communication manager1115, a communication manager1215, or a communication manager1410described herein. The communication manager1305may include a network encoded packet transmitter1310, a feedback receiver1315, a decoding determination component1320, a network encoded packet generator1325, an encoding metric determination component1330, a network coding parameter component1335, a packet identification component1340, and an encoding component1345. Each of these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The network encoded packet transmitter1310may transmit, to a plurality of UEs, a set of one or more network encoded packets representing a set of one or more packets identified for broadcast to the plurality of UEs. In some examples, the network encoded packet transmitter1310may transmit the updated set of one or more network encoded packets to the plurality of UEs. In some examples, the network encoded packet transmitter1310may continue to update and transmit the updated set of one or more network encoded packets based on additional feedback received from the one or more of the plurality of UEs until the updated set of one or more network encoded packets is empty. In some examples, the network encoded packet transmitter1310may transmit the updated set of one or more network encoded packets via broadcast signaling based on a number of the plurality of UEs that have failed to decode each packet of the set of one or more network encoded packets being above a threshold amount. In some examples, the network encoded packet transmitter1310may transmit the updated set of one or more network encoded packets via unicast signaling based on a number of the plurality of UEs that have failed to decode each packet of the set of one or more network encoded packets being below a threshold amount. The feedback receiver1315may receive feedback from each of one or more of the plurality of UEs, the feedback indicating, as respective subsets of the set of one or more network encoded packets, successfully decoded packets of the set of one or more packets at each of the plurality of UEs. In some examples, the feedback receiver1315may receive the feedback via a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) status report, a RLC status report, or a HARQ message. In some examples, the feedback receiver1315may receive the feedback in a network coding sub-layer. In some examples, the feedback receiver1315may receive a channel state information message in conjunction with the feedback. The decoding determination component1320may determine, based on the feedback, a subset of the set of one or more packets that was successfully decoded for each of the one or more of the plurality of UEs providing the feedback. In some examples, the decoding determination component1320may determine an intersection of each of the subsets indicated in the feedback to identify the successfully decoded packets included in each of the subsets. In some examples, the decoding determination component1320may determine, based on the feedback indicative of the successfully decoded network encoded packets, a second subset of the set of one or more network encoded packets that was successfully decoded at any of the one or more of the plurality of UEs providing the feedback, where the updated set of one or more network encoded packets further excludes the second subset of the set of one or more network encoded packets. In some examples, the decoding determination component1320may determine a union of the successfully decoded packets included in each of the subsets indicated in the feedback to identify the second subset of the set of one or more network encoded packets. The network encoded packet generator1325may generate, based on the feedback, an updated set of one or more network encoded packets based on an updated set of one or more packets, where the updated set of one or more packets excludes successfully decoded packets included in each of the subsets. The encoding metric determination component1330may determine one or more encoding metrics for transmission of the updated set of one or more packets based on the channel state information message. In some examples, the encoding metric determination component1330may determine a modulation and coding scheme, an encoding rate, or both. The network coding parameter component1335may transmit, to one or more of the plurality of UEs, an indication of one or more network coding parameters, where at least the updated set of one or more network encoded packets are transmitted to the plurality of UEs in accordance with the one or more network coding parameters. In some examples, the network coding parameter component1335may transmit an indication of a network coding algorithm, a network encoding function, a network encoding matrix, a number of decoding iterations, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the network coding parameter component1335may transmit the one or more network coding parameters using medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling, downlink control information signaling, radio resource control signaling, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the network coding parameter component1335may transmit an indication to switch from one or more prior network coding parameters to the one or more network coding parameters. In some examples, the network coding parameter component1335may receive, from the one or more of the plurality of UEs, a request for the one or more network coding parameters, where the indication of the one or more network coding parameters is transmitted based on receiving the request. In some examples, the network coding parameter component1335may receive, the request using medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling or uplink control information signaling. The packet identification component1340may identify the set of one or more packets from a packet pool scheduled for broadcast to the plurality of UEs. In some examples, the packet identification component1340may identify one or more additional packets for broadcast to the plurality of UEs based on the one or more additional packets being added to the packet pool. The encoding component1345may encode the set of one or more network encoded packets according to a Luby transform (LT) code, where each network encoded packet of the set of one or more network encoded packets is constructed from one or more packets of the set of one or more packets identified for broadcast to the plurality of UEs according to a distribution. In some cases, the distribution includes an ideal soliton distribution, a robust soliton distribution, or any combination thereof. FIG.14shows a diagram of a system1400including a device1405that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device1405may be an example of or include the components of device1105, device1205, or a base station105as described herein. The device1405may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communication manager1410, a network communications manager1415, a transceiver1420, an antenna1425, memory1430, a processor1440, and an inter-station communications manager1445. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus1450). The communication manager1410may transmit, to a plurality of UEs, a set of one or more network encoded packets representing a set of one or more packets identified for broadcast to the plurality of UEs; receive feedback from each of one or more of the plurality of UEs, the feedback indicating, as respective subsets of the set of one or more network encoded packets, successfully decoded packets of the set of one or more packets at each of the plurality of UEs; determine, based on the feedback, a subset of the set of one or more packets that was successfully decoded for each of the one or more of the plurality of UEs providing the feedback; generate, based on the feedback, an updated set of one or more network encoded packets based on an updated set of one or more packets, where the updated set of one or more packets excludes successfully decoded packets included in each of the subsets; and transmit the updated set of one or more network encoded packets to the plurality of UEs. The network communications manager1415may manage communications with the core network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communications manager1415may manage the transfer of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs115. The transceiver1420may communicate bi-directionally, via one or more antennas, wired, or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver1420may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver1420may also include a modem to modulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antennas. In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna1425. However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna1425, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The memory1430may include RAM and ROM. The memory1430may store computer-readable, computer-executable code1435including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory1430may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices. The code1435may include instructions to implement aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. The code1435may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code1435may not be directly executable by the processor1440but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. The processor1440may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor1440may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor1440. The processor1440may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory1430) to cause the device1405to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink). The inter-station communications manager1445may manage communications with other base station105, and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UEs115in cooperation with other base stations105. For example, the inter-station communications manager1445may coordinate scheduling for transmissions to UEs115for various interference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-station communications manager1445may provide an X2 interface within an LTE/LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communication between base stations105. By including or configuring the communication manager1410in accordance with examples as disclosed herein, the device1405may support techniques for the device1405to reduce waste and duplication of packets by receiving feedback from multiple UEs115and excluding successfully decoded packets from a set of one or more packets retransmitted to the multiple UEs115in response to the feedback. FIG.15shows a flowchart illustrating a method1500that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method1500may be implemented by a UE115or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method1500may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of one or more instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware. At1505, the UE may receive, as part of a broadcast from a network node, a first subset of one or more network encoded packets. The operations of1505may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1505may be performed by a network encoded packet receiver as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1510, the UE may decode the first subset of one or more network encoded packets as a first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets. The operations of1510may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1510may be performed by a sidelink packet receiver as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1515, the UE may receive, via a plurality of sidelink connections with a corresponding plurality of UEs, a second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets forwarded after successful receipt and decoding by the plurality of UEs from the network node. The operations of1515may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1515may be performed by a packet decoder as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1520, the UE may determine, based on the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets and the second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets, a combined set of one or more successfully decoded packets from the network node. The operations of1520may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1520may be performed by a packet decoder as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. FIG.16shows a flowchart illustrating a method1600that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method1600may be implemented by a UE115or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method1600may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware. At1605, the UE may receive, as part of a broadcast from a network node, a first subset of one or more network encoded packets. The operations of1605may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1605may be performed by a network encoded packet receiver as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1610, the UE may decode the first subset of one or more network encoded packets as a first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets. The operations of1610may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1610may be performed by a sidelink packet receiver as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1615, the UE may receive, via a plurality of sidelink connections with a corresponding plurality of UEs, a second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets forwarded after successful receipt and decoding by the plurality of UEs from the network node. The operations of1615may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1615may be performed by a packet decoder as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1620, the UE may determine, based on the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets and the second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets, a combined set of one or more successfully decoded packets from the network node. The operations of1620may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1620may be performed by a packet decoder as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1625, the UE may transmit feedback to the network node, where the feedback indicates a combination of the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets and the second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets. The operations of1625may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1625may be performed by a feedback transmitter as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. FIG.17shows a flowchart illustrating a method1700that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method1700may be implemented by a UE115or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method1700may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware. At1705, the UE may receive, as part of a broadcast from a network node, a first subset of one or more network encoded packets. The operations of1705may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1705may be performed by a network encoded packet receiver as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1710, the UE may decode the first subset of one or more network encoded packets as a first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets. The operations of1710may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1710may be performed by a sidelink packet receiver as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1715, the UE may transmit the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets to a plurality of UEs via a plurality of sidelink connections. The operations of1715may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1715may be performed by a sidelink packet transmitter as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1720, the UE may receive, via the plurality of sidelink connections with the plurality of UEs, a second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets forwarded after successful receipt and decoding by the plurality of UEs from the network node. The operations of1720may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1720may be performed by a packet decoder as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. At1725, the UE may determine, based on the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets and the second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets, a combined set of one or more successfully decoded packets from the network node. The operations of1725may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1725may be performed by a packet decoder as described with reference toFIGS.7through10. FIG.18shows a flowchart illustrating a method1800that supports feedback-based broadcasting of network coded packets with sidelink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method1800may be implemented by a base station105or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method1800may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference toFIGS.11through14. In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, a base station may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware. At1805, the base station may transmit, to a plurality of UEs, a set of one or more network encoded packets representing a set of one or more packets identified for broadcast to the plurality of UEs. The operations of1805may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1805may be performed by a network encoded packet transmitter as described with reference toFIGS.11through14. At1810, the base station may receive feedback from each of one or more of the plurality of UEs, the feedback indicating, as respective subsets of the set of one or more network encoded packets, successfully decoded packets of the set of one or more packets at each of the plurality of UEs. The operations of1810may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1810may be performed by a feedback receiver as described with reference toFIGS.11through14. At1815, the base station may determine, based on the feedback, a subset of the set of one or more packets that was successfully decoded for each of the one or more of the plurality of UEs providing the feedback. The operations of1815may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1815may be performed by a decoding determination component as described with reference toFIGS.11through14. At1820, the base station may generate, based on the feedback, an updated set of one or more network encoded packets based on an updated set of one or more packets, where the updated set of one or more packets excludes successfully decoded packets included in each of the subsets. The operations of1820may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1820may be performed by a network encoded packet generator as described with reference toFIGS.11through14. At1825, the base station may transmit the updated set of one or more network encoded packets to the plurality of UEs. The operations of1825may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1825may be performed by a network encoded packet transmitter as described with reference toFIGS.11through14. The following provides an overview of aspects of the present disclosure: Aspect 1: A method for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: receiving, as part of a broadcast from a network node, a first subset of one or more network encoded packets; decoding the first subset of one or more network encoded packets as a first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets; receiving, via a plurality of sidelink connections with a corresponding plurality of UEs, a second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets forwarded after successful receipt and decoding by the plurality of UEs from the network node; and determining, based on the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets and the second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets, a combined set of one or more successfully decoded packets from the network node. Aspect 2: The method of aspect 1, further comprising: transmitting feedback to the network node, wherein the feedback indicates a combination of the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets and the second subset of one or more successfully decoded packets. Aspect 3: The method of aspect 2, wherein transmitting the feedback comprises: transmitting the feedback via a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) status report, an RLC status report, or an HARQ message. Aspect 4: The method of any of aspects 2 through 3, wherein transmitting the feedback comprises: transmitting the feedback in a network coding sub-layer. Aspect 5: The method of any of aspects 1 through 4, further comprising: transmitting the first subset of one or more successfully decoded packets to the plurality of UEs via the plurality of sidelink connections. Aspect 6: The method of any of aspects 1 through 5, further comprising: transmitting a channel state information message in conjunction with feedback. Aspect 7: The method of aspect 6, wherein the feedback comprises a negative acknowledgement message. Aspect 8: The method of any of aspects 1 through 7, further comprising: receiving an indication of one or more network coding parameters, the one or more network coding parameters including a network coding algorithm, a network encoding function, a network encoding matrix, a number of decoding iterations, or any combination thereof. Aspect 9: The method of aspect 8, wherein receiving the indication of the one or more network coding parameters comprises: receiving the one or more network coding parameters using medium access control (MAC) control element signaling, downlink control information signaling, radio resource control signaling, or any combination thereof. Aspect 10: The method of any of aspects 8 through 9, wherein receiving the indication of the one or more network coding parameters comprises: receiving an indication to switch from one or more prior network coding parameters to the one or more network coding parameters. Aspect 11: The method of any of aspects 8 through 10, further comprising: transmitting, to the network node, a request for the one or more network coding parameters, wherein the indication of the one or more network coding parameters is received based at least in part on transmitting the request. Aspect 12: The method of aspect 11, wherein transmitting the request comprises: transmitting the request using medium access control (MAC) control element signaling or uplink control information signaling. Aspect 13: The method of any of aspects 1 through 12, further comprising: receiving a third subset of one or more network encoded packets from the network node based at least in part on transmitting the feedback, wherein the third subset of one or more network encoded packets is different from the first subset of one or more network encoded packets. Aspect 14: The method of aspect 13, wherein the third subset of one or more network encoded packets is provided via broadcast signaling. Aspect 15: The method of any of aspects 13 through 14, wherein the third subset of one or more network encoded packets is provided via unicast signaling. Aspect 16: A method for wireless communication at a network node, comprising: transmitting, to a plurality of UEs, a set of one or more network encoded packets representing a set of one or more packets identified for broadcast to the plurality of UEs; receiving feedback from each of one or more of the plurality of UEs, the feedback indicating, as respective subsets of the set of one or more network encoded packets, successfully decoded packets of the set of one or more packets at each of the plurality of UEs; determining, based at least in part on the feedback, a subset of the set of one or more packets that was successfully decoded for each of the one or more of the plurality of UEs providing the feedback; generating, based at least in part on the feedback, an updated set of one or more network encoded packets based at least in part on an updated set of one or more packets, wherein the updated set of one or more packets excludes successfully decoded packets included in each of the subsets; and transmitting the updated set of one or more network encoded packets to the plurality of UEs. Aspect 17: The method of aspect 16, further comprising: continuing to update and transmit the updated set of one or more network encoded packets based on additional feedback received from the one or more of the plurality of UEs until the updated set of one or more network encoded packets is empty. Aspect 18: The method of any of aspects 16 through 17, wherein determining the subset of the set of one or more network encoded packets comprises: determining an intersection of each of the subsets indicated in the feedback to identify the successfully decoded packets included in each of the subsets. Aspect 19: The method of any of aspects 16 through 18, further comprising: determining, based at least in part on the feedback indicative of the successfully decoded network encoded packets, a second subset of the set of one or more network encoded packets that was successfully decoded at any of the one or more of the plurality of UEs providing the feedback, wherein the updated set of one or more network encoded packets further excludes the second subset of the set of one or more network encoded packets. Aspect 20: The method of aspect 19, wherein determining the second subset of the set of one or more network encoded packets comprises: determining a union of the successfully decoded packets included in each of the subsets indicated in the feedback to identify the second subset of the set of one or more network encoded packets. Aspect 21: The method of any of aspects 16 through 20, wherein receiving the feedback comprises: receiving the feedback via a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) status report, an RLC status report, or an HARQ message. Aspect 22: The method of any of aspects 16 through 21, wherein receiving the feedback comprises: receiving the feedback in a network coding sub-layer. Aspect 23: The method of any of aspects 16 through 22, further comprising: receiving a channel state information message in conjunction with the feedback; and determining one or more encoding metrics for transmission of the updated set of one or more packets based at least in part on the channel state information message. Aspect 24: The method of aspect 23, wherein determining the one or more encoding metrics comprises: determining a modulation and coding scheme, an encoding rate, or both. Aspect 25: The method of any of aspects 16 through 24, further comprising: transmitting, to one or more of the plurality of UEs, an indication of one or more network coding parameters, wherein at least the updated set of one or more network encoded packets are transmitted to the plurality of UEs in accordance with the one or more network coding parameters. Aspect 26: The method of aspect 25, wherein transmitting the indication of the one or more network coding parameters comprises: transmitting an indication of a network coding algorithm, a network encoding function, a network encoding matrix, a number of decoding iterations, or any combination thereof. Aspect 27: The method of any of aspects 25 through 26, wherein transmitting the indication of the one or more network coding parameters comprises: transmitting the one or more network coding parameters using medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling, downlink control information signaling, radio resource control signaling, or any combination thereof. Aspect 28: The method of any of aspects 25 through 27, wherein transmitting the indication of the one or more network coding parameters comprises: transmitting an indication to switch from one or more prior network coding parameters to the one or more network coding parameters. Aspect 29: The method of any of aspects 25 through 28, further comprising: receiving, from the one or more of the plurality of UEs, a request for the one or more network coding parameters, wherein the indication of the one or more network coding parameters is transmitted based at least in part on receiving the request. Aspect 30: The method of any of aspects 16 through 29, wherein transmitting the updated set of one or more network encoded packets comprises: transmitting the updated set of one or more network encoded packets via broadcast signaling based at least in part on a number of the plurality of UEs that have failed to decode each packet of the set of one or more network encoded packets being above a threshold amount. Aspect 31: The method of any of aspects 16 through 30, wherein transmitting the updated set of one or more network encoded packets comprises: transmitting the updated set of one or more network encoded packets via unicast signaling based at least in part on a number of the plurality of UEs that have failed to decode each packet of the set of one or more network encoded packets being below a threshold amount. Aspect 32: The method of any of aspects 16 through 31 wherein receiving the request comprises: receiving, the request using medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling or uplink control information signaling. Aspect 33: The method of any of aspects 16 through 32, further comprising: identifying the set of one or more packets from a packet pool scheduled for broadcast to the plurality of UEs. Aspect 34: The method of aspect 33, further comprising: identifying one or more additional packets for broadcast to the plurality of UEs based at least in part on the one or more additional packets being added to the packet pool. Aspect 35: The method of any of aspects 16 through 34, further comprising: encoding the set of one or more network encoded packets according to a Luby transform (LT) code, wherein each network encoded packet of the set of one or more network encoded packets is constructed from one or more packets of the set of one or more packets identified for broadcast to the plurality of UEs according to a distribution. Aspect 36: The method of aspect 35, wherein the distribution comprises an ideal soliton distribution, a robust soliton distribution, or any combination thereof. Aspect 37: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 15. Aspect 38: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 1 through 15. Aspect 39: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a UE, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 15. Aspect 40: An apparatus for wireless communication at a network node, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method of any of aspects 16 through 36. Aspect 41: An apparatus for wireless communication at a network node, comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 16 through 36. Aspect 42: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a network node, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform a method of any of aspects 16 through 36. It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined. Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the described techniques may be applicable to various other wireless communications systems such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, as well as other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein. Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof. The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration). The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations. Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media. As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on.” In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label, or other subsequent reference label. The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “example” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples. The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. | 128,036 |
11943826 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Example embodiments relate to systems and methods to establish secure communication networks, and more specifically for intra-vehicle communication for components within a vehicle, and inter-vehicle communications amongst vehicles, for example, amongst agricultural vehicles. In response to the first node not being elected leader based on the second information received from the second node, the method further includes assigning a value corresponding to “follower” in the leader/follower field of the first node. In response to the first node not being elected leader based on the second information received from the second node, the method further includes assigning a value in an identification number following field in the memory of the first node to correspond to an identifier of the second node. The method may further include, in response to the first node being elected leader, establishing a communication path from the first node to a third node with a value corresponding to “leader” in a leader/follower field of a memory of the third node, and communicating from the first node to the third node over the communication path to establish the secure vehicle network by (i) receiving third information from the third node, and (ii) electing the first node to assign a value corresponding to “follower” to the leader/follower field based on the third information received from the third node. The electing includes electing the first node to assign a value corresponding to “follower” to the leader/follower field based on an identifier of the first node and an identifier of the second node. The method may further include, in the first node, setting a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field in response to a reset command performed by the first node. The method may further include, in the first node, setting a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field in response to a wake-up command performed by the first node. The communicating from the first node to the second node includes communicating over a bus, the bus including at least one of a CAN bus, a wireless bus, a LIN bus, a FlexRay bus, a MOST bus, or an Ethernet bus. The establishing the communication path from the first node to the second node includes, the first node broadcasting a message over the bus, the message including a statement of a desire to join other nodes, and wherein the first node is configured to receive a message from the second node that is broadcast over the bus, the message including a statement of a desire to join other nodes. The first node of the plurality of nodes corresponds to an electronic component, and the electronic component includes at least one of a body controller, an engine controller, a transmission controller, a telematics box, a display, an on-vehicle server, a wireless communication controller, a satellite antenna, a steering controller, a window controller, an implement hitch controller, a generator/inverter, a brake controller, or a seat controller. The first node of the plurality of nodes corresponds to an electronic component of an agricultural vehicle, a mining vehicle, or of a construction vehicle, the agricultural vehicle including one of a tractor, combine, implement, the construction vehicle including one of a loader or an excavator. The method may further include changing a logical network topology of the vehicle secure network by selecting one of the plurality of nodes having a value corresponding to “follower” in the leader/follower field, and assigning a value in the identification number following field of the selected node to a value corresponding to the identification number corresponding to the one of the plurality of nodes. At least one example embodiment provides a method of communicating among a plurality of vehicles, at least one of the plurality of vehicles including at least one electronic component, the at least one electronic component including a memory storing a leader/follower field, the method includes sending a first protected message from an electronic component in a first vehicle to an electronic component in a second vehicle, the leader/follower field of the at least one of the electronic components of the first vehicle having a value corresponding to “network leader”, and receiving a second protected message from the second vehicle. The first vehicle may include a combine, and the second vehicle includes a tractor with a grain cart, and the first vehicle performs a message authentication of each communication from the second vehicle. The first vehicle may communicate to the second vehicle over a wireless communication path. A first electronic component of a first one of the plurality of vehicles includes a value corresponding to “remote guidance leader” in the leader/follower field, and a second electronic component of a second one of the plurality of electronic vehicles has a value corresponding to “remote guidance follower” in the leader/follower field, and the first electronic component sends a message to the second electronic components, the message including information on how the second one of the plurality of electronic components should be driven. The first vehicle includes a tractor, and the second vehicle includes a planter having a plurality of rows, each of the plurality of rows including a respective one of the electronic components, and the first electronic component in the first vehicle having a value corresponding to “remote guidance leader” in the leader/follower field is configured to broadcast a speed of the tractor, and the second electronic component in the second vehicle having a value corresponding to “remote guidance follower” in the leader/follower field is configured to broadcast the speed of the tractor to the other electronic components in the second vehicle. At least one example embodiment provides an agricultural vehicle including at least one electronic component configured to communicate with other electronic components over a communication bus, the at least one electronic component including a memory configured to (i) store an identification number, (ii) store a leader/follower field indicating whether the electronic component is a leader or a follower, and (ii) store an identification number following field indicating an identification number associated with a node to which the electronic component delegates joining vehicle secure communication networks, a node having a value of “leader” in the leader/follower field configured to join vehicle secure communication networks on behalf of other electronic components having a value of “follower” in the leader/follower field, a value of the identification number following field in the other nodes having a value of “follower” in the leader/follower field corresponding to a value of the identification number stored in the identification number field of the node having a value of “leader” in the leader/follower field. A first electronic component having a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field is configured to communicate to a second electronic component having a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field, the first electronic component is configured to communicate to the second electronic component to elect the first electronic component to change the value in the leader/follower field to “follower.” At least one of the plurality of electronic components is configured to perform one of the methods. At least one of the plurality of electronic components having a value corresponding to “follower” in the leader/follower field does not broadcast a message to other nodes indicating a desire to join a vehicle secure network. A vehicle, for example an agricultural vehicle, includes a plurality of machinery, such as tractor and other attached agricultural implements. Such implements may include cultivators, rotors, spreaders, etc.; however, inventive concepts are not limited thereto. The tractor and the other implements includes at least one electronic component. These electronic components communicate with each other through some communication path, e.g. some physical communication path. The communication path is used in establishing the secure vehicle network. For example, individual electronic components may communicate over a communication path including a CAN bus or some other physical bus, for example some other bus over twisted pair communication and/or RS/232 communication; however, inventive concepts are not limited thereto. For example, individual electronic components may communicate over a communication path that is wireless. Further, individual electronic components can communicate over a communication path including a Local Interconnected Network (LIN) bus, or over a communication path including an Ethernet bus; inventive concepts are not limited thereto. According to the example embodiments described herein, the communication among the electronic components is made secure. Individual components may join the secure vehicle network. A system of individual electronic components communicating over the secure vehicle network can be established according to example embodiments. Some example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which some example embodiments are illustrated. Accordingly, while example embodiments are capable of various modifications and alternative forms, embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit example embodiments to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, example embodiments are to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the claims. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description of the figures. It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two figures shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. Portions of example embodiments and corresponding detailed description are presented in terms of software, or algorithms and symbolic representations of operation on data bits within a computer memory. These descriptions and representations are the ones by which those of ordinary skill in the art effectively convey the substance of their work to others of ordinary skill in the art. An algorithm, as the term is used here, and as it is used generally, is conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of optical, electrical, or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. In the following description, illustrative embodiments will be described with reference to acts and symbolic representations of operations (e.g., in the form of flowcharts) that may be implemented as program modules or functional processes including routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types and may be implemented using existing hardware. Such existing hardware may include one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Application-Specific-Integrated-Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), computers or the like. It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise, or as is apparent from the discussion, terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or “determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical, electronic quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. In this application, including the definitions below, the term ‘module’ or the term ‘controller’ may be replaced with the term ‘circuit.’ The term ‘module’ may refer to, be part of, or include processor hardware (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code and memory hardware (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by the processor hardware. The module may include one or more interface circuits. In some examples, the interface circuits may include wired or wireless interfaces that are connected to a local area network (LAN), the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), or combinations thereof. The functionality of any given module of the present disclosure may be distributed among multiple modules that are connected via interface circuits. Further, at least one embodiment of the invention relates to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising electronically readable control information stored thereon, configured such that when the storage medium is used in a controller, at least one embodiment of the method is carried out. Even further, any of the aforementioned methods may be embodied in the form of a program. The program may be stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium and is adapted to perform any one of the aforementioned methods when run on a computer device (a device including a processor). Thus, the non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium is adapted to store information and is adapted to interact with a data processing facility or computer device to execute the program of any of the above-mentioned embodiments and/or to perform the method of any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The computer readable medium or storage medium may be a built-in medium installed inside a computer device main body or a removable medium arranged so that it can be separated from the computer device main body. The term computer-readable medium, as used herein, does not encompass transitory electrical or electromagnetic signals propagating through a medium (such as on a carrier wave); the term computer-readable medium is therefore considered tangible and non-transitory. Furthermore, various information regarding stored images, for example, property information, may be stored in any other form, or it may be provided in other ways. The term code, as used above, may include software, firmware, and/or microcode, and may refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, data structures, and/or objects. Shared processor hardware encompasses a single microprocessor that executes some or all code from multiple modules. Group processor hardware encompasses a microprocessor that, in combination with additional microprocessors, executes some or all code from one or more modules. References to multiple microprocessors encompass multiple microprocessors on discrete dies, multiple microprocessors on a single die, multiple cores of a single microprocessor, multiple threads of a single microprocessor, or a combination of the above. Shared memory hardware encompasses a single memory device that stores some or all code from multiple modules. Group memory hardware encompasses a memory device that, in combination with other memory devices, stores some or all code from one or more modules. The term memory hardware is a subset of the term computer-readable medium. The term computer-readable medium, as used herein, does not encompass transitory electrical or electromagnetic signals propagating through a medium (such as on a carrier wave); the term computer-readable medium is therefore considered tangible and non-transitory. Non-limiting examples of the non-transitory computer-readable medium include, but are not limited to, rewriteable non-volatile memory devices (including, for example flash memory devices, erasable programmable read-only memory devices, or a mask read-only memory devices); volatile memory devices (including, for example static random access memory devices or a dynamic random access memory devices); magnetic storage media (including, for example an analog or digital magnetic tape or a hard disk drive); and optical storage media (including, for example a CD, a DVD, or a Blu-ray Disc). Examples of the media with a built-in rewriteable non-volatile memory, include but are not limited to memory cards; and media with a built-in ROM, including but not limited to ROM cassettes; etc. Furthermore, various information regarding stored images, for example, property information, may be stored in any other form, or it may be provided in other ways. As referred to herein, a vehicle may network include, for example, a plurality of individual nodes within a vehicle, such as an automotive vehicle and/or an agricultural vehicle and/or a mining vehicle. Non-limiting example vehicles may include tractors, planters, sprayers, bulldozers, backhoe loaders, forklifts, steam rollers, cranes, haul truck, underground graders, rock breakers, etc.; inventive concepts are not limited thereto. A secure network may include nodes that communicate securely. In accordance with example embodiments, each node will be designated as either a “follower node” or a “leader node.” A follower node is a node on a secure network that delegates to a leader node the action to join other secure networks. A leader node is a node with zero or more follower nodes, authorized by the follower nodes to join other secure networks on behalf of the follower nodes. As described below in more detail, by distinguishing between “leader nodes” and “follower nodes” with specific roles, the establishment of secure vehicle networks will be efficient. Furthermore, as referred to herein, a network leader node is a leader node that does not delegate the action to join other secure networks. FIG.1is a flowchart describing a method of establishing a secure vehicle network, for example for intra-vehicle communication, according to some example embodiments. Herein, a vehicle, such as an agricultural vehicle, has a plurality of electronic control units, e.g. electronic components. These electronic control units/components will be nodes within the secure vehicle network. Each electronic component includes a memory that stores a table250, to be described in more detail below with reference toFIG.2. The table250includes a field, herein described as a “leader/follower” field, which indicates whether the corresponding node is a leader or a follower. Referring toFIG.1, at step S100, the method of establishing a secure vehicle network begins. At step S200, there are more electronic components (nodes) that are to join the secure vehicle network. As an example, a vehicle can be started up or powered on, and thus each electronic component will be turned on. Thus, a vehicle network needs to be created so that each such component/node can communicate. Electronic components that have been woken up, or have been reset, will set the “leader/follower” field to “leader.” At step S300, the first electronic component broadcasts a message, for example over a CAN bus within the vehicle. The broadcasted message will indicate that the electronic component is a leader, and is looking for another electronic component that is also a leader. For example, by following CAN protocol J1939, there is a feature called “address claim.” Nodes on the CAN bus can request the “source address” of other nodes on the bus. Nodes can thus discover one another by leveraging address claims. Nodes with a value of “leader” in the leader/follower field may communicate with other nodes with a value of “leader” in the leader/follower field. A request message directed at another node, and a confirmation message from the other node, may result in a “handshake” where one node verifies another. This handshake may establish a secure communication. In step S400, a determination is made as to whether there is another node in the network having a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field. If, upon broadcasting the message, there are no other leader nodes in the network, the electronic component ends the method in step S700. However, if there is another, second, electronic component with a “leader” value in the leader/follower field, then at step S500, the first electronic component and the second electronic component engage in a decision protocol/election, to be described in more detail below, to decide which of the first electronic component and the second electronic component will maintain the role of the leader, and keep a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field. As described below in more detail, because only leader nodes are authorized by the follower nodes to join other secure networks on behalf of the follower nodes, the establishment of secure vehicle networks will be efficient. In step S600, if, as an outcome of the election, the first electronic component is elected leader, the first electronic component, the method returns to step S400. However, if, as an outcome of the election, the first electronic component is not elected leader, the first electronic component may update/change the leader/follower field to correspond to “follower” in step S800. Upon changing the leader/follower field to correspond to “follower,” the method may end in step S700. Because nodes communicate and handshake securely, a secure vehicle network will be established. The example method described with reference toFIG.1is not limited thereto. One of ordinary skill in the art may modify the method ofFIG.1in various ways. For example, during the communication, a comparison of a digital certificate may be performed. Communication may not be performed to other nodes that do not satisfy requirements of the digital certificate. FIG.2is an illustration of a vehicle200, according to some example embodiments. Referring toFIG.2, the vehicle200includes a first electronic component210along with a plurality of other electronic components211,212,213, etc. There is a communication bus270connecting each electronic component. The communication bus270may be a CAN bus. As mentioned above, the first electronic component210may be or include a body controller, an engine controller, a transmission controller, a telematics box, etc.; however, inventive concepts are not limited thereto. The first electronic component210includes hardware including a memory225that contains a table250. The table250may be contiguous within the memory225, or may be non-contiguous; inventive concepts are not limited thereto. The table250stored in the memory225of the electronic component210includes a field containing an identification number251or another identifier of the electronic component210. The identification number251of the electronic component includes an identifier for the electronic component. For example, the identification number251may be a unique identifier, unique to the specific electronic component. For example, the identification number251may correspond to a hardware media access control physical address associated with the specific electronic component; however, inventive concepts are not limited thereto, and the identification number251may correspond to any other identifier, or any other unique identifier. For example, the identification number251may correspond to a serial number associated with the specific electronic component. For example, the identification number251may be a numeric string, an alphanumeric string, or a alphabetical string. As a non-limiting example, the identification number may be the “NAME” field as defined by the J1939 Network Management protocol/standard/recommended practice. Furthermore, the table250also includes a leader/follower field252. The leader/follower field252indicates whether the electronic component210is a leader or a follower in the secure vehicle network. Additionally, the table250also includes an identification number following field253corresponding to an identification number or other identifier of another node to which the electronic component210is following. For example, if, after an election between the first electronic component210and a second electronic component (not shown) in step S600in the method described above with reference toFIG.1, the first electronic component210is not elected a leader, then the identification number following field in the table250may include and/or correspond to the identification number of the second electronic component. If, however, the first electronic component210is elected a leader, then the identification number following field253may be or correspond to “NULL,” or may be the identification number of the first electronic component210; however, inventive concepts are not limited thereto. The memory225of the electronic component210may include other fields. For example, other fields may be or include a symmetric key for secure communication, a list of addresses to which a leader leads, a symmetric key between the node and the node of the leader, and/or a public key for the network. FIGS.3(a)-3(g)are illustrations of intra-vehicle secure vehicle networks, according to example embodiments. Referring toFIG.3(a), a plurality of nodes301,302,303,304,305,306,307are within a vehicle300. Each node corresponds to an electronic component. Each of the plurality of nodes301,302,303,304,305,306,307includes the memory225described above with reference toFIG.2. There will be some method of physical communication between each of the plurality of nodes301,302,303,304,305,306,307. For example, each of the plurality of nodes301,302,303,304,305,306,307may be able to broadcast and communicate to others of the plurality of nodes301,302,303,304,305,306,307over a CAN bus, such as the communication bus270described above with reference toFIG.2, or over some wireless communication; however, inventive concepts are not limited thereto. The state of the vehicle300illustrated inFIG.3(a)corresponds to a state in which each of the plurality of nodes301,302,303,304,305,306,307has been reset or woken up. Upon each of the plurality of nodes301,302,303,304,305,306,307being reset (or woken up), each of the plurality of nodes301,302,303,304,305,306,307may have a value corresponding to “leader” in the field corresponding to the leader/follower field252shown inFIG.2. Each of, or at least some of, the plurality of nodes301,302,303,304,305,306,307, will broadcast or send out a message along a communication channel such as the communication bus270, requesting other nodes to join in creating a secure vehicle network. For example, each of the nodes301,302,303,304,305,306, and307can broadcast a message over a CAN bus; the message may include a message stating that they wish to join a network. Some vehicles may greatly benefit from parallelism, for example if nodes are limited by computational resources and/or other operations cannot be, or cannot easily, be done in parallel. A CAN bus allows only one node to send a message at any time. For example, a vehicle with a CAN bus may have one or more pairs of nodes executing verifications on embedded security hardware in parallel with a pair of nodes communicating back and forth over a CAN bus. Each node with a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field252that has broadcast a message stating a desire to join a secure vehicle network attempts to pair up with another node with a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field252that has also broadcast a message stating a desire to join a secure vehicle network. For example, as illustrated inFIG.3, nodes301and302communicate a desire to join; similarly, nodes303and304, and nodes306and307. Each node may establish a secure network with the first node that is available to do so. Upon agreeing to join to another node with a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field252, nodes may not send other messages requesting to pair up with another node, and instead may engage in an election to determine a leader and a follower, after pairing. Alternatively, a node may indicate a desire to pair with a specific other node chosen from the address claim process as in the J1939 protocol, in which case the nodes may not broadcast. However, inventive concepts are not limited thereto. For example, nodes301and302may pair up because nodes301and302were the first to respond to each other's broadcast message; nodes303and304may pair up because nodes303and304were the first to respond to each other's broadcast message; and nodes306and307may pair up because nodes306and307were the first to respond to each other's broadcast message. However, node305may not yet be able to pair up. Further, nodes may have a desire to pair up to specific other nodes; for example, an engine controller may attempt to pair with a transmission controller. For example, on a J1939 CAN bus, there are two kinds of message targets: broadcast and point-to-point. A first node, e.g. node301, may broadcast a “want to join” message over the CAN bus, and a second node, e.g. node302, may send a point-to-point message to node301agreeing to join. Alternatively, a preferred node may request joining the networks as well. For example, an engine controller may prefer to join secure networks with a transmission controller. Such electronic components may know to do this based on the J1939 address claims where nodes broadcast an address claimed message (PGN) containing “NAME” message. FIG.3(b)is an illustration of a vehicle300, according to an example embodiment. Referring toFIG.3(b), each pair of the plurality of nodes may engage in an election to determine which element will remain a leader, and which element will change the leader/follower field252to correspond to “follower.” Determining which node is a leader and which node is a follower may be performed through any method. For example, the leader may be determined as the node with the lower identification number251, or with the lower hash, such as the lower SHA256 hash, of the identification number251. Thus, any node may be the leader of the secure network, unless otherwise restricted by a specific implementation. Thus, even if nodes within the secure vehicle network may change, a leader may not change. Upon determination of the leader, the node that was not determined to be a leader will change the leader/follower field252to a value corresponding to “follower,” and will change the identification number following field253to a value corresponding to the identification number of the node that was determined to be leader. As an illustration, suppose nodes301and302agree to join in a secure network. Nodes301and302compare their respective identification numbers251. Suppose node301has a lower identification number than node302. Suppose, accordingly, node301is determined to be the leader. Node301will maintain a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field252; node302will change the respective leader/follower field to correspond to “follower,” and will change the identification number following field253to correspond to the identification number of node301. Similarly, as illustrated inFIG.3(b), nodes303and304engage in a communication to determine that node304is a leader with node303following. Nodes306and307engage in a communication to determine that node306is a leader. Further, nodes within the network that have a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field252may broadcast another message to determine other nodes that have a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field252. For example, as illustrated inFIG.3(b), nodes301and304can broadcast a desire to communicate and join in a secure network. Likewise, nodes305and306may broadcast a desire to communicate and join in a secure network. Some implementations may rely on, or include, some counter to help manage some steps. For example, according to some example embodiments, some method of synchronizing the pairing of nodes may be achieved with a counter, thus creating a concept of a round, or round robin. For example, a round may allow nodes to organize pairing to minimize or reduce the total number of rounds to establish the secure vehicle network. FIG.3(c)is an illustration of a vehicle300, according to an example embodiment. Referring toFIG.3(c), nodes304and305have a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field252. Furthermore, nodes301,302,303,306, and307have a value corresponding to “follower” in the leader/follower field252. Still further, node302has the identification number251of node301in the identification number following field253; nodes301and303have the identification number251of node304in the respective identification number following field253; node307has the identification number251of node306in the identification number following field253; and node306has the identification number251of node305in the identification number following field253. Nodes304and305, which have a value corresponding to “leader” in the respective leader/follower field252, may communicate a message to join and pair up. FIG.3(d)is an illustration of a vehicle300, according to an example embodiment. Referring toFIG.3(d), upon pairing of nodes304and305, node305will be elected as a leader while node305will be the follower. Thus, node304may have a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field252, while node305may have a value corresponding to “follower” in the leader/follower field252. Further, node305may have a value corresponding to the identification number of the leader node304in the identification number following field253. Thus, the state of the vehicle300, as illustrated inFIG.3(d), will correspond to a data structure such as a tree. The root of the tree corresponds to node304while internal nodes of the tree may correspond to nodes301,305, and306, while leaves of the tree correspond to nodes302,303, and307. FIG.3(e)is an illustration of the contents of the memory225of each node in the secure vehicle network illustrated inFIG.3(d), according to an example embodiment. Referring toFIG.3(e), each of nodes301,302,303,304,305,306, and307has a memory225. The memory225includes a table with fields as shown. For example, as illustrated inFIG.3(e), node301may have a value corresponding to “304” in the identification number following field253. Likewise, node304may have a value of “NULL” in the identification number following field. Alternatively, node304may have a value corresponding to the identification number corresponding to node304in the identification number following field253. For example, node304may have a self-referential identification number following field253. FIG.3(f)is an illustration of a vehicle300, according to an example embodiment. ComparingFIG.3(f)toFIG.3(d), the logical network topology is different. Further steps can be performed by nodes in the vehicle network to restructure the network topology to a more efficient topology. There may be a communication between follower nodes to change the identification number following field253. For example, a node, e.g. node305, with a follower in the leader/follower field252, may broadcast a message corresponding to the respective identification number following field253. All nodes that follow node305, e.g. nodes306and307, may update their respective identification number following field253to correspond to those of node305. Thus, the network topology may change. The vehicle network illustrated inFIG.3(f)may simplify or speed up some operations, as compared to the vehicle network illustrated inFIG.3(d). A message from the leader to followers to change topology should be secure. For example, the current leader may tell all internal nodes and leaf nodes to change topology. Further, a network leader may broadcast a proof of leadership. Similar toFIG.3(e),FIG.3(g)illustrates that node304has a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field252. However, nodes301,302,303,305,306, and307all have the identification number corresponding to node304in the identification number following field253. This corresponds to such a restructuring of the network topology. FIG.3(g)is an illustration of the contents of the memory225of each node ofFIG.3(f), according to an example embodiment. Referring toFIG.3(g), the contents of the memory225of each node are similar to those illustrated inFIG.3(e). However, because each follower node illustrated inFIG.3(e)directly follows node304, the contents of each follower node's identification number following field253contains, or corresponds to, the identification number corresponding to leader node304. As illustrated inFIGS.3(e) and3(g), leader node304may also be a network leader node. Such a network leader node does not delegate the action to join other secure networks. Such a network leader node may securely distribute a shared key to nodes in the secure network for securely communicating with other nodes on the vehicle network. For example, the network leader node304inFIG.3might distribute a shared secure CAN bus key for broadcasting messages that may be verified by recipient nodes to detect for potential message tampering. Inventive concepts are not limited to pairing network leaders. For example, according to some example embodiments, a third node may be required, for example as required by the network topology. Furthermore, example embodiments may contain gateway nodes that are connected to multiple vehicle networks. According to example embodiments, such a gateway node might treat the secure networks independently, for example, the node might be a leader on one secure network and a follower on another. Example embodiments are not limited to the above network topologies. For example, other network topologies may include a binary tree. Such a binary tree may be implemented with a version of a round robin protocol. According to some example embodiments, a remote node, that is, a node not on the vehicle, may be required to cross-verify during the pairing of secure networks. For example, the vehicle300may require communication with a remote internet server (not shown). For instance, consider an anhydrous ammonia applicator implement with a control valve controlled by an attached tractor. To prevent tampering in response to a terrorist action, a tractor leader node might require a trusted remote computer to also verify the implement leader node or vise-versa as a precondition to opening the control value. Furthermore, an example embodiment may have nodes with a cached state from prior verification sequences. For example, previously verified certificates could be stored in a compact form or in a way which is faster to verify. FIG.4(a)is an illustration of a vehicle400, according to some example embodiments. According to some example embodiments, network leader nodes may delegate verification to one or more follower nodes. As illustrated inFIG.4(a), network leader nodes401,402, and406had previously established a shared key with their respective follower nodes. Network leader nodes401,402, and407might use the secure key to securely communicate to follower nodes to enable the follower nodes to perform verifications. If two network leader nodes, for example network leader nodes401and402, are determined where follower nodes have made progress on verifying the other network leader node, for example node406, the time to establish a secure vehicle network may be reduced. For example, if vehicle verification computation resources were constrained, such a time may be reduced. As shown inFIG.4(a), the non-pairing network leader node407has enough follower nodes405and406to ensure follower nodes will have made progress verifying the eventual new network leader node of the pairing nodes. This may be coordinated intentionally. FIG.4(b)illustrates a subsequent secure network pairing wherein each network leader node402,407retrieves a verification from a follower node. The time to establish the secure network inFIGS.4(a) and4(b)may therefore be reduced even if the follower nodes merely had not yet fully completed the verification ahead of time. FIG.5illustrates a number of iterations needed to establish a secure network, according to some example embodiments. As an example, consider a vehicle, such as the vehicle300illustrated above, that has a plurality of electronic components, such as the electronic component210. Each such electronic component follows the method illustrated inFIG.1to establish a vehicle network, consolidating nodes with each iteration. Each node within the vehicle network executes such a method illustrated inFIG.1in parallel. Accordingly, each such execution of the method illustrated inFIG.1might approximately double the size of an individual network, and reduce the number of networks in half for each such iteration. Thus, given N individual nodes (where N is a natural number), the time taken to securely define a network may be O(log(N)). In contrast, if instead every node is required to communicate with all nodes to verify all other nodes before establishing a secure network, such a secure network might take approximately O(N2) time to verify the security. Thus, O(N2) time may be detrimental if, for example, the time to compute the verification were the limiting factor of establishing the security for the network. Further, some nodes may not have enough memory to store verification information for all nodes, and may exclude some nodes from otherwise participating in the secure network or causing verification information to be redundantly transmitted on the vehicle network while establishing the secure network. If the vehicle network were on a CAN bus, redundant messages sent in series would exacerbate the time required to establish the secure vehicle network. FIGS.6(a)-6(c)illustrates secure inter-vehicle networks, according to example embodiments. Example embodiments may be advantageous for a vehicle to form a secure vehicle network with multiple other vehicles, or with different vehicles over time. In the context ofFIGS.6(a)-6(c), a leader may correspond to a lead vehicle that establishes a lead guidance path, and a follower may correspond to vehicle or vehicles track or generally follow the lead vehicle guidance path. The path may include offsets in one or more dimensions, such as: (1) lateral offset to allow for cultivating, tilling, leveling, earth-moving, planting, spraying, harvesting, treating, or processing of crop or ground. in adjacent or row-skipping operations and (2) longitudinal offset in the direction of travel of one or more vehicles for collision avoidance, clearance during turning operations, and a delay or lag for tracking/guidance of the follower vehicle or vehicles to track the lead vehicle. Additionally in the context ofFIGS.6(a)-6(c), during operations in the field or worksite, the follower vehicle or lead vehicle may switch roles or reverse roles for efficiency or other reasons, such as resetting or re-establishing of a secure network after expiration of a timer or within a certain geographical zone, defined by a series of coordinates. An operator (not shown) may force the lead vehicle to be a lead vehicle within a certain zone, field or worksite, such as a vehicle that a foreman or project lead directs for a particular project; this lead vehicle may be transitioned at the end of a work shift or to bring a vehicle offline for service or maintenance or to reallocate a lead vehicle to another worksite or area. Referring toFIG.6(a), two vehicles might form a secure inter-vehicle network with each other. A first vehicle might be an agricultural combine1100and a second vehicle might be a tractor with a grain cart1150; however, inventive concepts are not limited thereto. The combine1100includes a plurality of electronic components/nodes1101(a),1101(b), . . .1110that have formed a secure vehicle network, according to the methods described above. Node1110is a leader or a network leader, with the other nodes1101(a),1101(b), . . . being followers. Similarly, the tractor with grain cart1150may include a plurality of electronic components/nodes1151(a),1151(b), . . .1160that have formed a secure vehicle network, according to the methods described above. Node1160is a leader or a network leader with other nodes1151(a),1151(b), . . . being followers. Supposing that the agricultural combine1100sends data wirelessly to the tractor with grain cart1150, such that the tractor with grain cart1150attempts to drive in tandem with the combine1100so that the combine1100can transfer material to the tractor with grain cart1150. To accomplish this, the agricultural combine1100might use the methods described inFIG.1to form a secure network with the tractor with grain cart1150. Further, the combine1100and the tractor with grain cart1150might establish a secure communication between each other. FIG.6(b)illustrates a state of an inter-secure vehicle network, according to example embodiments. As shown inFIG.6(b), protected messages may be sent between leader node1110and network leader node1160. For example, the combine1100may encrypt and add a message authentication (MAC) for each of the tractor with grain cart1150's messages. Accordingly, owing to the encryption, the only entity that can see the decrypted data may be the tractor with grain cart1150. Further, owing to the MAC, the tractor with grain cart1150can verify if messages received are from the combine1100, and act on them accordingly. There may not be a prevention of any denial of service (DOS), and further there may not be protection over other exploits such as stack overflow. But, assuming if the network's verification is cryptographically strong, example embodiments would be able to detect untrusted identities and choose not to establish secure vehicle networks with those entities. Nodes should not establish keys for authentication or confidentiality with entities other than those with which they have established a secure vehicle network. Further, according to some example embodiments, vehicles may identify properties of the other vehicle's nodes. Some properties might include the vehicle type, permissions, features, limitations, etc.; however, example embodiments are not limited thereto. Some secure vehicle networks may choose to reorganize the node topology to facility a better leader node when forming a secure vehicle network for inter-vehicle communication. FIG.6(c)illustrates an inter-vehicle communication network, according to an example embodiment. As illustrated inFIG.6(c), one node, e.g. node1120, of the combine1100is capable of remote, e.g. wireless, communication with other vehicles. Further, another node, e.g. node1161, of the tractor with grain cart1150. Even though the network leader of the combine1100may be node1120, while the network leader of the tractor with grain cart1150may be node1161, node1110may be the remote guidance leader while node1160may be the remote guidance follower. The remote guidance leader will inform the remote guidance follower how to drive/travel. As a non-limiting example embodiment, the combine1100and the tractor with grain cart1150establish a secure vehicle network, and use digital certificates to verify each vehicle's network leader node. However, in addition to the secure vehicle network for intra-vehicle communications established in the combine1100, and the secure vehicle network for intra-vehicle communications established in the tractor with grain cart1150, there can be another gateway communication for inter-vehicle communications established between the combine1100and the tractor with grain cart1150. As a non-limiting example embodiment, consider the tractor with grain cart1150driving up to the combine1100; there may be thus an inter-vehicle secure communication formed between the two vehicles. An example wherein this may be advantageous would be if the tractor with grain cart1150were returning from dropping off a prior load of grain. Further, there may be a safety interlock when appropriate. For example, perhaps the operators of the combine1100and the tractor with grain cart1150must approve prior to secure vehicle network formation, for example with a prompt on respective displays on the vehicles. Additionally, secure vehicle networks may be changed at runtime. For example, suppose a tractor forms a secure inter-vehicle network with a first implement, such as the tractor with grain cart1150. After some time, the tractor may physically disconnect from the implement; for example, the tractor may disconnect from the grain cart because the grain cart is full. A node on the tractor which may correspond to the network leader node between the tractor and the grain cart, may detect the event, and would no longer be a leader node of the grain cart. According to example embodiments, there may be an advantage for special nodes in the system to differ from the network leader node. Suppose further the same tractor connects to a second implement. Establishing a secure vehicle network with the second implement may start as a new sequence of the method. Afterwards, a secure vehicle network is formed between the tractor and the second implement. FIGS.7(a) and7(b)illustrate an inter-vehicle secure vehicle network amongst a plurality of vehicles and a plurality of implements. Referring toFIG.7(a), a first combine1400may have a plurality of follower nodes1401, a network leader node1405, and a remote guidance leader1410. A first grain cart1420may have a plurality of follower nodes1421, a network leader node1425, and a remote guidance follower1430. A second combine1440may have a plurality of follower nodes1441, a network leader node1445, and a remote guidance leader1450. A second grain cart1460may have a plurality of follower nodes1461, a network leader node1465, and a remote guidance follower1470. Suppose combine1400is not physically connected, e.g. connected over a CAN bus, with grain cart1460. Similarly, suppose combine1440is not physically connected, e.g. connected over a CAN bus, with grain cart1420. However, there may be a secure communication between the first grain cart1420and the first combine1400. Similarly, there may be a secure communication between the second grain cart1460and the second combine1440. Referring toFIG.7(b), suppose after some time grain cart1420is full and needs to unload the grain. According to some example embodiments, there may be coordination in disconnecting, for example by a request from either the combine1400or the grain cart1420. Referring toFIG.7(b), in an example embodiment the first combine1400and the first grain cart1420may be chosen to be remote on a secure vehicle network if possible, and may establish a second vehicle network comprising the first combine1400and the second grain cart1460. However, inventive concepts are not limited thereto. According to some example embodiments, remote guidance nodes may try to maintain a secure vehicle network with multiple other vehicles if possible. For example, each combine may try to maintain a secure vehicle network with each grain cart, and vice versa. Similarly, each vehicle may try to maintain a secure vehicle network with every other vehicle. According to some example embodiments, there may be a detection, or a detection and a verification, of the first grain cart1420physically out of the way before the second grain cart1460takes the place of the first grain cart1420. Alternatively or additionally, there may be a safety interlock, e.g. an operator confirmation. According to some example embodiments, a secure vehicle network may automate a transition from the first grain cart1420's departure and the second grain cart's1460arrival. For example, there may be a synchronous departure. According to some example embodiments, the first grain cart1420may return, having unloaded the grain. The first grain cart1420may try to establish a secure vehicle network with one or more vehicles in the system. The first grain cart may have been kept in a cache in components of the secure vehicle networks while the first grain cart1420was away unloading grain. For example, a key previously established between the first grain cart1420and other vehicles may still be valid and reused, rather than using the method described inFIG.1to reestablish the secure vehicle network. FIG.8shows example agricultural vehicles according to an example embodiment. As shown inFIG.8, a tractor800may drive a planter850. The planter850may include a plurality of rows850a,850b,850z. The tractor800may include a plurality of electronic components. Each of the plurality of rows850a,850b,850zmay include one of, or a plurality of electronic components. The plurality of electronic components included in the plurality of rows850a,850b,850zmay engage in the method illustrated inFIG.1to establish an intra-vehicle secure network. After establishing the vehicle secure network, one of the plurality of electronic components included in the plurality of rows850a,850b,850zmay have a value corresponding to “leader” in the leader/follower field, while the other of the plurality of electronic components included in the plurality of rows850a,850b,850zmay have a value corresponding to “follower” in the leader/follower field. The tractor800and the planter850may engage in the methods illustrated inFIGS.6(a)-7(b)to communicate in an inter-vehicle secure network. One of the plurality of electronic components included in the tractor800may communicate with one of the plurality of electronic components included in the planter850, informing the planter of the speed of the tractor. The electronic component included in the planter850that receives communication from the tractor800may broadcast the speed of the tractor to other electronic components included in the planter850, to inform the rows850a,850b,850zof the planter850how fast to dispense seed. FIG.9is a representative drawing illustrating a system including a satellite and a vehicle, according to some example embodiments, according to some example embodiments. As illustrated inFIG.9, a vehicle900may include a location-determining receiver910, a wireless transceiver920, and a data processing system960including a path planner950and a guidance-tracker970. The location-determining receiver910, the wireless transceiver920, and the data processing system960may be connected over a bus901. The vehicle900may correspond to one or more of the vehicles as described with regards toFIGS.7(a)-7(b). The location-determining receiver910may receive location information from a satellite990. The location-determining receiver910may be or correspond to a satellite navigation receiver, such as a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver. The location information received from the satellite990may include at least one of position, velocity and heading data for the vehicle900. The location-determining receiver910may also receive altitude information including at least one of roll angle, tilt angle, and yaw angle (heading) of the vehicle900. The wireless transceiver920may enable communication with other vehicles in the vehicle secure network. For example, the vehicle900may correspond to the combine1400described above with reference toFIG.7(a), and may communicate over the wireless transceiver920with another vehicle, such as grain cart1420, described above with reference toFIG.7(a), so as to coordinate respective guidance paths. If the vehicle900is designated a leader, the vehicle900may track a lead path plan, whereas other follower vehicles may track a follower path plan. The follower path plan may be a derivative of the lead path plan. The data processing system960may include one or more processors configured to execute machine-readable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform various actions. In some non-limiting example embodiments, the data processing system960may include the path planner950and the guidance tracker970. The path planner950and the guidance tracker970may be embodied as hardware and/or software that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the processor to perform various actions. For example, the path planner950may determine the path plan, based on inputs received from the location-determining receiver910. The guidance tracker970may track a path taken by the vehicle900in response to information received from the location-determining transceiver910. The data processing system may receive information from, and transmit information through, the wireless transceiver920. For example, if the vehicle900corresponds to the combine1400, then the vehicle900may communicate with the grain cart1420to track set and track paths. Systems and methods for establishing a secure vehicle network according to example embodiments may be performed with reduced or minimized speed. Further, a number of independent verifications may be reduced or minimized while nodes perform verifications in parallel. Further, redundant vehicle messages may be reduced or minimized. Still further, the systems and methods are robust to situations when a vehicle, or components within a vehicle, are reset. Example embodiments being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of example embodiments, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the claims. | 60,656 |
11943827 | MODE FOR THE INVENTION Hereinafter, example embodiments of the present disclosure are described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing the example embodiments, the description of technologies that are known in the art and that are not directly related to the present disclosure may be omitted for the sake of clarity. For the same reasons, some elements may be exaggerated or schematically illustrated. The size of each element does not necessarily reflect the real size of the element. The same reference numeral is used to refer to the same element throughout the drawings. Advantages and features of the present disclosure, and methods for achieving the same may be understood through the various example embodiments to be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the example embodiments disclosed herein, and various changes may be made thereto. The example embodiments disclosed herein are provided only to inform one of ordinary skilled in the art of the category of the present disclosure. The present disclosure is defined by the appended claims. The same reference numeral denotes the same element throughout the specification. It should be appreciated that the blocks in each flowchart and combinations of the flowcharts may be performed by computer program instructions. Since the computer program instructions may be equipped in a processor of a general-use computer, a dedicated processor, a special-use computer or other programmable data processing devices, the instructions executed through a processor of a computer or other programmable data processing devices cause the devices and/or processors to perform the functions described in connection with a block(s) of each flowchart. Since the computer program instructions may be stored in a computer-available or computer-readable memory that may be oriented to a computer or other programmable data processing devices to implement a function in a specified manner, the instructions stored in the computer-available or computer-readable memory may produce a product including an instructions for performing the functions described in connection with a block(s) in each flowchart. Since the computer program instructions may be equipped in a computer or other programmable data processing devices, instructions that generate a process executed by a computer as a series of operational steps are performed over the computer or other programmable data processing devices and operate the computer or other programmable data processing devices may provide steps for executing the functions described in connection with a block(s) in each flowchart. Further, each block may represent a module, segment, or part of a code including one or more executable instructions for executing a specified logical function(s). Further, it should also be noted that in some replacement execution examples, the functions mentioned in the blocks may occur in different orders. For example, two blocks that are consecutively shown may be performed substantially simultaneously or in a reverse order depending on corresponding functions. As used herein, the term “unit” may refer, for example, to a software element or a hardware element such as processing circuitry, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or the like, but is not limited thereto. A unit plays a certain role. However, the term “unit” is not limited as meaning a software and/or hardware element. A ‘unit’ may be configured in a storage medium that may be addressed or may be configured to reproduce one or more processors. Accordingly, as an example, a ‘unit’ includes elements, such as software elements, object-oriented software elements, class elements, and task elements, processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program codes, drivers, firmware, microcodes, circuits, data, databases, data architectures, tables, arrays, and variables. A function provided in an element or a ‘unit’ may be combined with additional elements or may be separated into sub elements or sub units. Further, an element or a ‘unit’ may be implemented to reproduce one or more CPUs in a device or a security multimedia card. Although the description of example embodiments herein mentions particular communication protocols, systems, and services, the subject matter of the present disclosure may also be applicable to other communication schemes or services having similar technical backgrounds without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, and this may be determined by one of ordinary skill in the art. The present disclosure may use the following technical schemes: A method for establishing dual-connectivity to transmit data, including:sending, by a base station where a primary cell (PCell) of a user equipment (UE) is located, a secondary base station adding request message to a base station where a secondary cell (SCell) is located, in which the secondary base station adding request message includes configuration information of a quality of service flow (QoS Flow) which is quality packet data to be created, and the configuration information includes an identity of the QoS Flow;receiving, by the base station where the PCell of the UE is located, a secondary base station adding response message from the base station where the SCell is located, in which the secondary base station adding response message includes configuration information of a user plane configured for the SCell, and the configuration information of the user plane includes: the identity of the QoS Flow and an identity of a user plane tunnel; andsending, by the base station where the PCell of the UE is located, a bearer modification message to a core network, in which the bearer modification message includes configuration information of the user plane on the SCell, an IP address of the user plane and the identity of the user plane tunnel. Preferably, the secondary base station adding request message sent from the base station where the PCell of the UE is located to the base station where the SCell is located carries: an identity of a tunnel for data forwarding (TEID) allocated by the base station where the PCell is located. Preferably, the secondary base station adding request message sent from the base station where the PCell of the UE is located to the base station where the SCell is located carries: an identity of a QoS Flow, data of which is suggested to be forwarded. Preferably, the secondary base station adding response message received by the base station where the PCell of the UE is located from the base station where the SCell is located carries an identity of a QoS Flow, data of which needs to be forwarded, and information indicating forwarding is required. Preferably, a tunnel decided by the secondary base station includes a tunnel between a master base station and a secondary base station and/or a tunnel between the secondary base station and the core network, in which the tunnel decided by the secondary base station is targeted for one PDU Session. A method for establishing dual-connectivity to transmit data, including:sending, by a base station where a primary cell (PCell) is located, a secondary base station adding request message to a base station where a secondary cell (SCell) is located, in which the secondary base station adding request message includes configuration information of a split bearer to be established, and the configuration information of the split bearer includes an identity of a data radio bearer (DRB) or an identity of an Xn user plane and quality information of the DRB; andreceiving, by the base station where the PCell is located, a secondary base station adding response message from the base station where the SCell is located, in which the secondary base station adding response message includes configuration information of a user plane configured for the SCell, and the configuration information of the user plane includes: the identity of the DRB or the identity of the Xn user plane and an identity of a user plane tunnel. A data transmission system under a 5G network, including: at least two base stations and a user equipment (UE), in which:a primary cell (PCell) of the UE carries out a mapping function and realizes a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer and a physical layer, and a secondary cell (SCell) of the UE carries out quality packet data to data radio bearer mapping and realizes a PDCP layer, a MAC layer and a physical layer, in whicha core network transmits data of the UE to the PCell, the PCell maps a QoS Flow of the data of the UE which is quality packet data to a data radio bearer on a mapping layer, performs path split, transmits data of respective paths to the UE through the PCell and SCell of the UE, and the UE regroups the data of the respective paths on the PDCP layer, and transmits the regrouped data to an application layer; orthe core network transmits the data of the UE to the PCell and the Scell, the PCell and the Scell map QoS Flows of the data of the UE which are quality packet data to data radio bearers on mapping layers, and the data is transmitted to the UE through the PCell and SCell of the UE, and the UE regroups the data on an application layer of the UE. A data transmission method under a 5G network, including:receiving, by a base station where a secondary cell (SCell) is located, a downlink data packet from a base station where a primary cell is located, in which the downlink data packet comprises: information of quality packet data which is a quality of service flow (QoS Flow); andsending, by the base station where the SCell is located, an uplink data packet to the base station where the primary cell is located, in which the uplink data packet comprises the information of the QoS Flow and cache information of the QoS Flow. Preferably, the information of the QoS Flow in the downlink data packet includes: an identity of the QoS Flow or information indirectly indicating an identity of the QoS Flow by a location of a header of the downlink data packet. Preferably, the information of the QoS Flow in the uplink packet includes: an identity of the QoS Flow or information indirectly indicating an identity of the QoS Flow by a location of a header of the uplink data packet. The present disclosure further provides a method and apparatus for connection control of light-connection UEs to control the connection of a UE after the UE moves out of a light-connection paging area. The method of connection control of a light-connection UE according to the present disclosure includes:judging, by a first radio access network (RAN) node, whether a pre-set condition is met;determining, by a first RAN, a mobility control operation associated with a light-connection UE in response to a determination that the pre-set condition is met. Preferably, the pre-set condition includes at least one of: preferably, there is no data transmission demand, there is only one data transmission demand, there is no uplink UE data transmission demand, there is no downlink UE data transmission demand, there is no control plane data transmission demand, there is no user plane data transmission demand, the UE moves out of a configured paging area, the UE changes a paging area, the UE does not move out of a configured paging area, or obtaining an access request of UE; and/orthe mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE includes at least one of: releasing the UE, suspending the UE, updating the light-connection paging area of the UE, deleting the light connection of the UE, keeping the RAN node of the light connection of the UE unchanged, or demanding the UE to be in a light-connection mode. Preferably, judging by the first RAN node whether the pre-set condition is met includes: judging by the first RAN node whether the pre-set condition is met based on access information about the light-connection UE obtained by the first RAN node. Preferably, the access information about the light-connection UE includes at least one of: information on whether there is data transmission demand, information on whether there is data forwarding demand, information on whether the UE has moved out of the paging area, information on whether the UE has moved out of the paging area and has no data transmission demand, information on whether there is the demand of changing the paging area, or information on whether there is only one data transmission demand. Preferably, the first RAN node may obtain the access information about the light-connection UE from one of: the UE, a second RAN node, the core network, a core network user plane node, or a core network control plane node. Preferably, releasing the UE includes at least one of: releasing UE context, releasing a connection between the UE and a RAN node, releasing a connection for the UE between the RAN node and a core network node, or requiring the UE to return to an idle mode; and/orsuspending the UE includes at least one of: suspending UE context, suspending a connection between the UE and a RAN node, suspending a connection for the UE between the RAN node and a core network node, or requesting the UE to return to an idle mode; and/orupdating the light-connection paging area of the UE includes at least one of: configuring a light-connection paging area, indicating the light-connection RAN node of the UE is unchanged, or requiring the UE to be in a light-connection mode. Preferably, determining by the first RAN the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE includes:transmitting, by the first RAN, the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE to a core network node, the UE, or a second RAN node. The present disclosure provides a network device, including a sending module, a receiving module, and a controlling module,the controlling module is configured to judge whether a pre-set condition is met, and determine a mobility control operation associated with a light-connection UE in response to a determination that the pre-set condition is met; andthe sending module is configured to send the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE under the control of the controlling module. The present disclosure provides a method for connection control of light-connection UEs, including:judging, by a second radio access network (RAN) node, whether a pre-set condition is met; anddetermining, by a second RAN node, a connection control operation associated with a light-connection UE based on the pre-set condition which is met. Preferably, the pre-set condition includes at least one of: the second RAN node obtains a mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE, there is no interface between the second RAN node and an RAN interface of the light-connection UE; and/orthe mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE includes at least one of: releasing the UE, suspending the UE, updating the light-connection paging area of the UE, deleting the light connection of the UE, keeping the RAN node of the light connection of the UE unchanged, or demanding the UE to be in a light-connection mode. Preferably, the procedure of determining by the second RAN node the connection control operation associated with a light-connection UE based on the pre-set condition which is met includes:when the pre-set condition met is receiving the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE, determining by the second RAN node the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE includes at least one of: performing an operation according to the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE, or sending the light-connection mobility control operation received; and/orwhen the pre-set condition met is there is no interface between the second RAN node and the RAN interface of the light-connection UE, the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE includes at least one of: indicating that there is no interface between the RAN node accessed by the UE and the RAN node of the light connection of the UE, requesting to trigger a location update procedure at the core network level, rejecting a connection establish request of the UE, rejecting a connection resume request of the UE, sending messages about the UE exchanged between RAN nodes to other RAN nodes via the core network, or the second RAN node requesting the core network to establish UE context in a second RAN. Preferably, determining by the second RAN the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE includes:sending, by the second RAN, the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE to a core network node, the UE or the first RAN node, a RAN node after determining the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE. The present disclosure provides a network device, including a sending module, a receiving module, and a controlling module,the controlling module is configured to judge whether a pre-set condition is met, and determine a connection control operation associated with a light-connection UE in response to a determination that the pre-set condition is met; andthe sending module is configured to send the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE under the control of the controlling module. The present disclosure provides a method for connection control of light-connection UEs, including:obtaining, by a UE, a connection control operation and/or a mobility control operation associated with a light-connection UE; andperforming, by the UE, the connection control operation and/or the mobility control operation. Preferably, the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE includes at least one of: releasing the UE, suspending the UE, updating the light-connection paging area of the UE, deleting the light connection of the UE, keeping the RAN node of the light connection of the UE unchanged, or demanding the UE to be in a light-connection mode; and/orthe connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE includes at least one of: indicating that there is no interface between the RAN node accessed by the UE and the RAN node of the light connection of the UE, requesting to trigger a location update procedure at the core network level, rejecting a connection establish request of the UE, rejecting a connection resume request of the UE. Preferably, when the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE includes at least one of: indicating that there is no interface between the RAN node accessed by the UE and the RAN node of the light connection of the UE, requesting to trigger a location update procedure at the core network level, rejecting a connection resume request of the UE; the UE performs at least one of: initiating a location update procedure at the core network level, initiating a service requesting procedure at the core network level, or initiating a connection setup request procedure at a RAN node. Preferably, the procedure of obtaining by a UE a connection control operation and/or a mobility control operation associated with a light-connection UE includes:obtaining, by the UE, the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE from a RAN or a core network; and/orobtaining, by the UE, the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE from a RAN or a core network. The present disclosure provides a network device, including a sending module, a receiving module, and a controlling module,the receiving module is configured to receive from a network device an indication of reception of a connection control operation and/or a mobility control operation associated with a light-connection UE; andthe controlling module is configured to perform the connection control operation according to the information. According to the above technical mechanisms, after a UE moves out of a light-connection paging area, connection of the UE can be controlled by cooperation of three parties, i.e., a RAN node providing a light-connection to the UE, a RAN node accessed by the UE, so as to implement connection control of a moving UE which has no data transmission demand and connection control where there is no interface between a RAN node accessed by a UE and a RAN node having a light connection with the UE. The technical mechanisms make full use of the advantages of light connection in saving signaling overhead while avoiding impacts of light-connections on implementations of existing functions and services. Contemporary mobile communications technology are tending to provide users with high-data rate multimedia services. FIG.1is a schematic diagram illustrating a system structure of a system architecture evolution (SAE) system. In the system, user equipment (UE)101is a terminal device supporting a network protocol. Evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN)102is a wireless access network which includes macro base stations (eNodeBs/NodeB) which provide UEs with interfaces for accessing the wireless network. Mobility management entity (MME)103manages mobility context, session context and security information of UEs. Serving gateway (SGW)104provides user plane functions. MME103and SGW104may reside in the same physical entity. Packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW)105implements functions including accounting, lawful interception and so on, and may reside in the same physical entity with SGW104. Policy and charging rule functions (PCRF)106provides Quality of Service (QoS) policies and charging rules. Serving GPRS support node (SGSN)108is a network node device providing routing for data transmission in the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). Home Subscriber Server (HSS)109is a home subscribed subsystem of the UE, and maintains user information including a current location of the UE, the address of the serving node, user security information, packet data context of the UE, and so on. New radio, in other words, 5G refers to the fifth generation of mobile communication technology. Unlike the previous four generations, 5G is not a single radio technology, but fusion of existing radio communication technologies. At present, a long time evolution (LTE) peak rate may reach 100 Mbps, and a 5G peak rate will reach 10 Gbps, 100 times higher than that of 4G. A traditional 4G network has a limited ability to process spontaneous situations, and cannot support some services such as high-definition video, high-quality voice, augmented reality, and virtual reality. 5G will introduce more advanced technologies, through higher spectral efficiency, more spectrum resources, and more dense cells to meet the demands of mobile service traffic growth and address the problems faced by 4G networks, so as to build a high transmission rate, high capacity, low delay, high reliability, and excellent user experience network. As shown inFIG.1, the 5G architecture includes a 5G access network and a 5G core network. A UE communicates with a data network through the access network and the core network. In the evolution of the network, the first phase will continue to use LTE base stations, while supporting 5G UEs and using 5G features. So the LTE base stations are upgraded to support the 5G features, which is attractive to operators and is what the operators want. If a LTE base station is upgraded, the LTE base station can be connected to a 5G core network. In the present disclosure, a LTE base station that can be connected to a 5G core network is called an eLTE eNB. FIG.2is a schematic diagram illustrating an initial system structure of the next generation (in other words, 5G or new radio) network. Referring toFIG.2, the network includes next-generation (NextGen) UE202, NextGen access network or NextGen wireless access network (NextGen (R)AN)204, NextGen core network (NextGen Core)206and a data network208. The control plane interface between the NextGen (R)AN204and the NextGen Core206is NG2 (may also referred to as NG-C), and the user plane interface is NG3 (may also referred to as NG-C). The names of the interfaces are just temporary names which may be replaced in future decisions of 3GPP, and the change in the names does not affect the technical mechanism of the present disclosure. The NextGen Core206may also include a user-plane functional entity and a control-plane functional entity. FIG.3is a schematic diagram of a 5G (or new radio) architecture. Node100is a 5G core network. Referring toFIG.3, the 5G core network includes a control plane node and a user plane node, and they may be different entities. NG interfaces are between the 5G core network and 5G base stations, and the NG interfaces include control planes and user planes. The control plane is an interface between the control plane node of the 5G core network and a base station. The user plane is an interface between the user plane node of the 5G core network and the base station. The base station connected to the 5G core network may be a 5G base station, gNB, or an enhanced LTE base station, referred to as an eLTE eNB. The interface between gNBs is an Xn interface, and the Xn interface includes a user plane interface and a control plane interface. The interface between a gNB and an eLTE base station is also an Xn interface. A UE can simultaneously transmit and receive data at two base stations, which is called dual-connectivity. In the two base stations, only one base station is responsible for transmitting radio resource control (RRC) messages to the UE and is responsible for interacting with the core network control plane entity, and the base station is called master base station, MeNB. The other base station is called secondary base station, SeNB. There is a cell for the UE in the master base station which is a primary cell of the UE, Pcell, and through the primary cell, RRC messages are sent to the UE. The other cells are secondary cells, Scells. There is a cell in the Scells ????of the secondary base station which is a primary cell of the secondary base station, pScell ????(functions as a pScell). The PScell ????has an uplink physical layer control channel, other Scells don't. A cell group of the master base station is a master cell group (MCG), and a cell group of the secondary base station is a secondary cell group (SCG). It is also possible to extend dual-connectivity to multi-connectivity where there is a master base station and multiple secondary base stations. These base stations transmit data to the UE, which can improve the throughput of the system and the rate of the UE. When the data radio bearer signal quality of a certain base station is poor, data may be transmitted on other base stations which have a good data radio bearer signal quality. The configuration of a secondary cell group for the UE is performed by a secondary base station, and the configuration for the UE by the secondary base station is performed by an RRC container and is transmitted to the UE by the master base station. The master base station does not resolve the RRC container, or resolves it but does not change the configuration inside the RRC container. There are two types of bearers based on SeNB. One type is called split bearer, and the other type is called SCG bearer. A protocol stack of a convergence protocol of the split bearer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), is on the master base station, and other user plane protocol layers (such as radio link control (RLC)/media access control (MAC)/physical layer) are on the secondary base stations. The SCG bearer means that all user plane protocol stacks are on the secondary base stations, including PDCPRLC/MAC/physical layer, and a secondary base station receives data from the core network, and processes data through the user plane, sends data to the UE through an air interface. In the 5G technology, some technologies different from those of the 4G technology are used, for example, 5G defines a new model for the QoS architecture. When a data connection (protocol data unit (PDU) session) is created, the core network sends a default QoS policy or/and an authenticated QoS policy to a radio access network (RAN) and the UE. The data connection is a transmission path between the UE and the core network, and it includes a transmission path between the core network and a base station and a data radio bearer between the base station and the UE. The PDU session is a connection between the UE and a packet data network, and this connection is used to transmit data units. Generally, one PDU session is created for one service. The types of data units include IP data, Ethernet data and non-IP data. When establishing the PDU session, the core network sends a QoS policy to the RAN through a NG interface, and sends the QoS policy to the UE through a non-access stratum (NAS) interface. The QoS policy contains QoS Flow indication/description information, and contains specific QoS information. Specific QoS information includes at least one of the following: A. data delay target, B. data error rate, C. data priority, D. guaranteed data rate, E. maximum data rate and other information, such as application layer information. The RAN establishes a default data radio bearer (DRB) according to QoS requirements, and the RAN may establish other DRBs in addition to the default DRB. In the user plane, the core network forms data packets into a QoS flow, and adds QoS indication information in a data header of the QoS Flow. Based on QoS indication information, the RAN can find corresponding parameters according to QoS policies received, and perform corresponding processing using user plane data according to the parameters in the QoS policies to meet the quality requirements. The core network sends the data packets with QoS indication information to the RAN. The RAN maps the QoS Flow to resources and data radio bearer of the access network. For example, the RAN determines to map the QoS Flow to a data bearer DRB or creates a new data bearer DRB, for the QoS Flow. When to create the new DRB is decided by the RAN, and may be after the RAN receives signaling from the core network or receives data of the QoS Flow user equipment, based on QoS indication information contained in the header of the QoS Flow, and based on QoS indication information together with default QoS policies saved by the RAN and/or pre-authenticated QoS policy, the RAN can know detailed QoS requirements corresponding to the QoS Flow. According to the QoS requirements, if a DRB currently established is suitable to bear data meet the QoS requirements, and then the QoS Flow is transmitted through the DRB. If not, the RAN may decide to establish a new DRB, and bear the QoS Flow using the new DRB. Under the new technology, the traditional dual-connectivity establishment process is no longer applicable. For example, in a LTE system, a core network determines a data bearer corresponding to a certain QoS, a core network initiates data bearing, S1 interface bearers (referred to as an evolved radio access bearer (E-RAB)) and data radio bearers are one-to-one mapping, an S1 interface bearer corresponds to one tunnel in a user plane, and a RAN receive data from the tunnel, directly corresponding to the corresponding data radio bearer. In 5G, a NG interface has been able not to have the E-RAB concept. How the RAN determines the data radio bearer and how to establish dual-connectivity to transmit data, traditional methods are no longer applicable. The present disclosure makes a research on how to establish dual-connectivity for a UE under a new technology, including solving the following issues:1) how to establish a split bearer2) how to establish an SCG bearer3) how to notify a SCG bearer to a core network. In new radio or 5G, during downlink, a user plane of a core network sends data to a base station. Through a NG interface, the core network sends data in the form of QoS Flow to the base station. The base station maps a QoS Flow to a data radio bearer (DRB) and transmits it to the UE. During uplink, the UE sends data to the base station, data is borne on a DRB, and the base station maps data on the DRB to a QoS Flow and transmits the QoS Flow to the core network. Therefore, a mapping function module is required on the base station to perform QoS Flow to DRB mapping (or, conversely, perform DRB to QoS Flow mapping). The mapping functions described in the following all include the above two modes of mapping. For convenience of description, only QoS Flow to DRB mapping is described. FIG.7is an example of a user plane data transmission path. Between a core network and a base station, QoS Flow 1, QoS Flow 2, QoS Flow 3 and QoS Flow 4 are data all sent to a certain UE, where QoS Flow 1 and QoS Flow 2 belong to a same service data connection (PDU Session). QoS Flow 3 and QoS Flow 4 belong to another service data connection. QoS Flow 1, QoS Flow 2 and QoS Flow 3 are sent through a MeNB. According to QoS service quality requirements of QoS Flows, a mapping function on the MeNB maps QoS Flows with the same quality to a DRB. For example, the MeNB maps QoS Flow 1 and QoS Flow 2 to DRB1 and maps QoS Flow 3 to DRB2. If the MeNB decides to establish a split bearer, for example, establishing DRB2 on a SeNB, after being processed by a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) on the MeNB, data is sent to the SeNB via an Xn interface. The SeNB processes data through RLC/MAC and sends data on DRB2 to the UE. If the MeNB decides to establish an SCG bearer, for example, sending QoS Flow 4 to the UE through the SCG bearer of the SeNB, the MeNB establishes the SCG bearer according to the following embodiments, data is sent from the core network to the SeNB, the mapping function of the SeNB maps the Flow of data to a DRB, and then the flow is processed by other user planes such as PDCP/RLC/MAC, and is sent to the UE. FIG.4is a schematic diagram of a method of the present disclosure describing how a master base station and a secondary base station establish a split bearer and an SCG data bearer. In the following, a base station and a cell are not separately described. A master base station refers to a base station where a primary cell is located, and a secondary base station is a base station where a secondary cell is located. Step201: a master base station (a base station where a primary cell, PCell, of a UE is located) sends a secondary base station adding request message to a secondary base station. According to a measurement report of the UE, the master base station decides to establish dual-connectivity according to a service quality requirement of a QoS Flow or DRB, that is, establishing a secondary base station (a base station where a secondary cell, SCell, of the UE is located), and data transmission is provided to the UE through bearers of the master base station and secondary base station at the same time. In this way, data transmission rate can be increased and the throughput of the system can be increased. When the base station where the PCell is located decides to add a cell as SCell, the base station where the PCell is located sends a secondary base station adding request message to the base station where the SCell is located. The secondary base station adding request message contains capability information of the UE, information of secondary cells of the secondary base station, an uplink data receiving address allocated by the core network, the said uplink data receiving address is received by the base station where the PCell is located from the core network, the base station where the PCell is located sends the uplink data receiving address through the secondary base station adding request message to the base station where the SCell is located. If the master base station decides to establish a split bearer, the master base station performs QoS Flow to DRB mapping on the user plane, data after the mapping operation is processed by PDCP, and then is split. A part of PDCP PDU data is sent to the secondary base station. The master base station decides to establish a split bearer. The master base station sends a secondary base station adding request message to the secondary base station. The secondary base station adding request message carries information that can indicate a DRB of the MeNB, e.g., a DRB identity. Through the DRB identity, a user plane corresponding to the DRB identity can be uniquely determined. Or a user plane identity is defined. For example, the MeNB allocates a user plane identity, and this identity is used to indicate a user plane of an Xn interface where the split bearer is located. The secondary base station adding request message also carries QoS information corresponding to the DRB. Quality (QoS) information includes at least one of the following: A. data delay target, B. data error rate, C. data priority, D. guaranteed data rate and E. maximum data rate. After receiving the secondary base station adding request message, the secondary base station configures a user plane for the split bearer according to QoS information, configures user plane configuration information of the UE side, and allocates transport layer information in the user plane on the Xn interface. For example, for each split bearer, the secondary base station allocates a tunnel endpoint or tunnel ID for it. Or the master base station sends a secondary base station adding request message to the secondary base station. The secondary base station adding request message carries information of a PDU session, for example, an identity of the PDU session, information of a QoS flow, such as QoS flow and quality requirement information corresponding to the QoS flow. After receiving the secondary base station adding request message, the secondary base station configures a user plane for the split bearer according to QoS information, configures user plane configuration information of the UE side, and allocates transport layer information of the user plane on the Xn interface. For example, for bearers belonging to a same PDU session, the secondary base station allocates a tunnel endpoint or tunnel ID for them. If the master base station decides to establish an SCG bearer, there are three data processing methods for the SCG bearer. One is that QoS Flow to DRB mapping is carried out by the master base station, and other processing on the user plane is carried out by the secondary base station. Then, in the user plane, the SCG bearer is established between the master base station and the secondary base station. The master base station maps a QoS Flow to a DRB through the mapping function and then sends it to the secondary base station. Other processing on the user plane, e.g., PDCP/RLC/MAC, is performed on the secondary base station. The secondary base station then transmits data to the UE via an air interface. The second method is that the MeNB decides a mapping principle of QoS Flow to DRB mapping and notifies the base station of the mapping principle. For example, the mapping principle is which QoS Flows are mapped to a same DRB. The mapping function of the secondary base station maps a QoS Flow to a data radio bearer according to the mapping principle. In this method, the secondary base station adding request message carries QoS Flow identity, the identity could be multiple, and DRB identity corresponding to the QoS Flow(s). In this way, the secondary base station may map data indicated by the QoS Flow identities to a same DRB. The secondary base station adding request message also carries specific information about the QoS corresponding to the DRB, or carries a QoS policy. How the QoS policy is carried will be described in detail in the following third method. The third method is that for an SCG bearer, QoS Flow to DRB mapping is carried out by the secondary base station. The secondary base station obtains a QoS Flow policy, decides how to perform QoS Flow to DRB mapping according to QoS information of a QoS Flow and its resources, and transmits configuration information of a DRB to the UE. In this method, the secondary base station adding request message of step201needs to contain a QoS Flow identity which indicates which QoS Flow is configured as the SCG bearer. The message may include one or more QoS flow identity(s). The secondary base station adding request message also contains detailed QoS information of a QoS Flow on a SCG bearer. Or the secondary base station adding request message contains a QoS policy of the QoS Flow, and the QoS policy is sent to the master base station by the core network, and the master base station forwards the QoS policy to the secondary base station. The master base station may send all QoS policies to the secondary base station or send only a QoS policy corresponding to a QoS Flow connected to the secondary base station to the secondary base station. The secondary base station adding request message also needs to carry an identity of a PDU session corresponding to the QoS Flow. In the second method and the third method, because a tunnel between a secondary base station and the core network needs to be allocated to the secondary base station, for a same PDU session, in order to reduce the number of tunnels, only one tunnel is allocated. Data of a whole PDU session is sent to the base station through a same tunnel. Thus, the secondary base station needs to know which QoS Flows among the QoS Flows carried by the secondary base station belong to a same PDU session and data thereof can be transmitted through a same tunnel. An identity of the PDU session is sent by the master base station to the secondary base station, and therefore, the master base station needs to know the relationship between PDU sessions and QoS Flows, that is, which QoS Flows belonging to a same PDU session. The master base station may obtain an identity of a PDU Session and an identity of a corresponding QoS Flow through signaling sent from the core network, e.g., a PDU Session establishment request message, or through information of a PDU Session carried in an identity of a QoS Flow, and knows whether QoS Flows belong to a same PDU Session according to identities of the QoS Flow. For example, QoS Flow identities of QoS Flows belonging to a same PDU session have the same part. So the master base station and the secondary base station may know whether QoS Flows belong to a same PDU Session according to their QoS Flow identities. An adding request message sent by the master base station contains PDU Sessions identities and QoS Flow identities, and the secondary base station may know which QoS Flow belong to a same PDU Session according to the PDU Sessions identities and the QoS Flow identities, so as to decide whether to allocate a new tunnel or reuse an established tunnel. For example, if the secondary base station has not yet established a user plane tunnel for the PDU session, the secondary base station allocates a tunnel identity for a new user plane tunnel to receive the downlink data, and sends the tunnel identity to the core network through the master base station. If a user plane tunnel has been established between the secondary base station and the core network for the PDU session, the secondary base station sends a tunnel identity of the user plane tunnel to the core network through the master base station. If a user plane tunnel can be established for each QoS Flow between the secondary base station and the core network, then the secondary base station only needs to know QoS Flow information, and the master base station does not need to send PDU Session identities to the secondary base station. In summary, the secondary base station adding request message may contain one or more pieces of following information:DRB identity (or/and an identity of an Xn user plane of a Split bearer)QoS Flow identityQoS Flow policy (or QoS specific requirements)PDU Session identity DRB in the present disclosure may be changed to other terms, e.g., Xn bearer or data bearer, as long as there is a mapping relationship between Xn bearer or data bearer and DRB. If DRB is changed to other terms, DRB identity should be changed accordingly, e.g., changed to Xn bearer identity or data bearer identity. In information sent to the UE by the base station, DRB is used to identify a radio bearer, and on an Xn interface, other terms may be used to identify a bearer on the Xn interface, but there should be a mapping relationship between the terms and DRB, so the base station can know from the mapping relationship that data on the bearers are one to one mapping. The mapping relationship may use the same value as that is currently used. Step202: The secondary base station sends a secondary base station adding response message to the master base station. The secondary base station adding response message carries configuration information for a bearer of the UE. Configuration information configured for the UE by the secondary base station is sent to the master base station by being carried in an RRC container. The master base station does not resolve the RRC container but forwards the RRC container to the UE. The secondary base station adding response message carries transport layer information of the user plane allocated to the bearer. For example, for each split bearer, the secondary base station allocates a tunnel identity. For a SCG bearer, the secondary base station allocates a tunnel identity for each PDU session or allocates a tunnel identity for each QoS Flow, or allocates a tunnel identity for each DRB. In summary, the secondary base station adding response message may contain one or more pieces of following information:DRB identity (or an identity of an Xn user plane of a Split bearer)QoS Flow identityPDU Session identityTransport layer information, such as tunnel identityRRC container Step203: The master base station sends a bearer modification message to the core network. The bearer modification message contains a QoS Flow identity and its corresponding transport layer information for downlink receiving, such as an IP address and a tunnel identity, or contains a PDU Session identity, a QoS Flow identity and an IP address and a tunnel identity for downlink receiving allocated for a PDU Session. In summary, the bearer modification message may contain one or more pieces of following information:QoS Flow identityPDU Session identityTransport layer information such as IP address and tunnel identity FIG.5is a schematic diagram of a flow of establishing a split bearer for a service according to the present disclosure. The flow includes the following steps. Step301, a control plane node of a core network receives a PDU session establishment request message. The PDU session establishment request message may be sent to a control plane by a user plane node of the core network or by other nodes of the core network. The PDU session establishment request is to establish a data connection from the core network to the UE for a service of the UE. The PDU session establishment request message contains configuration information of PDU data. A PDU session may consist of multiple QoS Flows. The QoS requirement for each QoS Flow is different and the PDU session establishment request message may contain a QoS Flow identity and a corresponding specific QoS requirement. The PDU session establishment request message may also contain a default QoS policy and a preconfigured QoS policy. The QoS policies contain the QoS Flow indication/description information and specific QoS information. Specific quality (QoS) information includes at least one of the following: A. data delay target, B. data error rate, C. data priority, D. guaranteed data rate and E. maximum data rate, and may contain other information such as application layer information. Step302, the core network sends a message to a base station of an access network. The control node of the core network sends a PDU session establishment request message to the base station. The PDU session establishment request message carries a PDU session identity which uniquely identifies a service of a UE. The PDU session establishment request message also carries transport layer information of the user plane of the core network, such as an IP address and a tunnel identity, which identifies an uplink receiving address of a data path. The PDU session establishment request message also carries a default QoS policy and/or a preconfigured QoS policy. The QoS policies contain QoS Flow indication information and/or description information (ID or descriptor), and contains specific QoS information. Specific quality (QoS) information contains at least one of the following: A. data delay target, B. data error rate, C. data priority, D. guaranteed data rate, E. maximum data rate and other information, e.g., application layer information. Data of a PDU Session may have multiple different QoS Flows, and each QoS Flow may have its corresponding processing policy. A PDU Session establishment request message may contain multiple QoS policies. The PDU Session establishment message may also carry information to be sent by the core network to the UE, and this information may be borne through a non-access stratum container (NAS container). After the base station receives the PDU session establishment request message, it performs the following operations: the base station saves a received QoS policy and performs subsequent user plane data processing according to the QoS policy. The base station receives the PDU Session establishment request message, and according to the QoS policy, establishes at least one default data radio bearer (DRB). The base station may also establish other data bearers at the same time. Step303, the base station sends a message to the UE. The base station sends a RRC configuration request message to the UE, and the RRC configuration request message carries the QoS policy sent by the core network to the UE. The QoS policy may be transmitted to the UE through the non-access stratum container (NAS container), and may include configuration information of a DRB configured by the base station to the UE. Step304, the UE sends a message to the base station. The UE sends a RRC configuration complete message to the base station. The RRC configuration complete message carries acknowledgement information indicating that the UE has successfully configured the DRB. Step305, the base station sends a PDU session establishment success message to the core network. After the configuration by the base station is completed, the base station sends an acknowledgement message to the control node in the core network. The acknowledgement message carries transport layer information allocated by the base station to the user plane, e.g., an IP address and a tunnel identity for downlink data receiving. Step306, the control node of the core network sends a message to the user plane node. If the control node and the user plane node of the core network are separate, the control node sends the message to the user plane node. The message carries information about a QoS Flow, e.g., an identity of a PDU Session, identity/description information of the QoS Flow and transport layer information allocated for the user plane of the PDU Session, e.g., the IP address and the tunnel identity for downlink data receiving. A PDU Session may establish only one tunnel between the user plane of the core network and the base station. Step307, user plane data can be transmitted. For example, in downlink, the core network forms data packets into a QoS Flow, adds QoS indication information in a data header of the QoS Flow, and sends the data packets with QoS indication information to a RAN. In case of non-guaranteed reliable transmission data (non-GBR), the core network does not need to initiate control plane signaling, but directly sends data to the RAN node, i.e., the base station after foregoing processing. Step308, the base station receives user plane data, obtains QoS information of a data packet according to header information of the data packet, and the base station should have a QoS Flow to DRB mapping function. The mapping function module maps one or more QoS flows to a DRB, and a mapping principle mainly refers to QoS of the QoS Flow. For example, the packet header indicates QoS Flow-1. According to the saved QoS policy, the specific QoS requirement corresponding to QoS Flow-1 can be known, and a default DRB or a certain DRB that has been established can meet the QoS requirement. The base station may decide to send the data packet to the UE via an appropriate DRB. If there are multiple QoS Flows, e.g., QoS Flow-1, QoS Flow-2 and QoS Flow-3, where QoS Flow-1 and QoS Flow-3 have the same or close QoS requirements, the base station may map data of QoS Flow-1 and QoS Flow-3 to a same DRB to transmit. After data is processed by the mapping function, through processing in the layer 2, for example via the PDCP/RLC/MAC layer, it is sent to the UE through an air interface. Step309, the master base station sends a secondary base station adding request to a target secondary base station. The primary cell of the UE on the base station receives a measurement report of the UE, and the signal quality of a cell on a neighboring base station satisfies the requirement. The primary cell on the master base station decides to establish a secondary cell on the secondary base station so that data transmission is shared through dual-connectivity. The base station decides to transmit data of one or several DRBs originally on the MeNB through the secondary base station, i.e., establishing a Split bearer. When the base station where the PCell is located decides to add a cell as SCell, the base station where the PCell is located sends a secondary base station adding request message to the base station where the SCell is located. The secondary base station adding request message contains capability information of the UE, information including the secondary cells on the secondary base station, an uplink data receiving address allocated by the core network, the uplink data receiving address is obtained from the core network by the based station where the PCell is located, and the base station where the PCell is located sends the uplink data receiving address to the base station where the SCell is located through the secondary base station adding request message. The master base station sends a secondary base station adding request message to the secondary base station. The secondary base station adding request message carries information that can indicate a DRB on the MeNB, for example, carrying a DRB identity, and through the DRB identity, a user plane corresponding to the DRB is uniquely identified. Or a user plane identity may be defined, for example, the MeNB allocating a user plane identity to identify a corresponding user plane. The secondary base station adding request message also carries a QoS requirement for the DRB. After receiving the secondary base station adding request message, the secondary base station configures a user plane for the split bearer according to the QoS requirement, configures user plane configuration information at the UE side, and the secondary base station allocates transport layer information of a user plane on an Xn interface. For example, for each split bearer, the secondary base station allocates a tunnel identity. In another implementation, the master base station sends a secondary base station adding request message to the secondary base station. The secondary base station adding request message carries information about a PDU session, e.g., an identity of the PDU session, information of a QoS flow, e.g., a QoS Flow identity list, and Quality requirement information corresponding to the QoS Flow. After receiving the secondary base station adding request message, the secondary base station configures a user plane for the split bearer according to the quality requirement of the QoS, configures user plane configuration information of the UE side, and the secondary base station allocates transport layer information for the user plane on the Xn interface. For example, for bearers belonging to a same PDU session, the secondary base station allocates a tunnel identity, TEID, for it. Step310, the secondary base station sends a secondary base station adding response message to the master base station. The secondary base station determines configuration information of bearers on the UE according to the QoS of the DRB and the UE capability. The target base station includes configuration information of a secondary bearer or a secondary cell on the UE in an RRC container, and forwards the RRC container to the UE through the master base station. The UE sets UE layer protocols, such as RLC and MAC layers, according to the configuration. The secondary base station adding response message also carries a DRB identity or an identity of an Xn user plane, and transport layer information corresponding to the Xn user plane, e.g., a tunnel identity. If the secondary base station allocates a tunnel identity TEID to bearers that belong to a same PDU session, the secondary base station adding response message sent by the secondary base station contains a PDU session identity and a tunnel identity TEID allocated to the PDU. In this case, traffic control of the user plane also needs to be modified. A detailed traffic control procedure is described in the embodiment ofFIG.9. Step311, the master base station sends a RRC reconfiguration request to the UE. The master base station does not resolve the RRC container, but forwards the RRC container to the UE. The master base station may send configuration information for the UE by it together with information configured by the secondary base station. Step312: The UE sends a RRC reconfiguration complete message to the master base station. After the UE is configured successfully, the UE sends a response message to the master base station. The response message contains the response to configuration information sent by the step311. That is, the response message not only includes a response to configuration information of the master base station but also includes a response to configuration information of the secondary base station. If necessary, the UE also needs to perform a random access procedure with the new secondary base station and synchronize with the new secondary base station. After synchronization, the secondary base station may begin to send data to the UE. Step313: The master base station sends the RRC reconfiguration complete message to the secondary base station. The master base station notifies the secondary base station that the UE side has been successfully configured. Since the UE sends an acknowledgment message to the master base station, the master base station needs to forward the acknowledgment message to the secondary base station. If the master base station can not resolve the response of the UE to configuration information of the secondary base station, the master base station may also forward the response of the UE to configuration information of the secondary base station in the form of RRC container to the secondary base station. For example, the master base station is an eLTE base station, the secondary base station is a 5G base station gNB, or the master base station is a 5G base station, and the secondary base station is an eLTE base station. After that, data is transmitted from the master base station to the secondary base station. The secondary base station also sends traffic control information to the master base station. At this point, the Split bearer setup process is complete. FIG.6is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of establishing an SCG bearer for a service in the present disclosure. The flowchart includes the following steps: Step401, a control plane node of a core network receives a PDU session establishment request message. The PDU session establishment request message may be sent by a user plane node of the core network to the control plane or by other nodes of the core network to the control plane. The PDU session establishment request establishes a data connection from the core network to a UE for a service of the UE. The PDU session establishment request message contains configuration information of PDU data. A PDU session may consist of multiple QoS Flows. Each QoS has different QoS requirements, and the PDU session establishment request message may include an identity of a QoS Flow and a specific QoS requirement corresponding to the QoS Flow. The PDU session establishment request message may also include a default QoS policy and a preconfigured QoS policy. The QoS policies contain QoS Flow indication/description information, and contain specific QoS information. Specific quality (QoS) information includes at least one of the following: A. data delay target, B. data error rate, C. data priority, D. guaranteed data rate, E. maximum data rate and other information, e.g., application layer information. Step402, the core network sends a message to a base station of an access network. The control node of the core network sends a PDU session establishment request message to the base station. The PDU session establishment request message carries an identity of a PDU session which uniquely identifies a service of the UE. The PDU session establishment request message also carries transport layer information of the user plane of the core network, e.g., an IP address and a tunnel identity, which identifies an uplink receiving address of a data path. The PDU session establishment request message also carries a default QoS policy and/or a preconfigured QoS policy. The QoS policies contain the QoS Flow indication information/description information (an ID or descriptor), and contain specific QoS information. Specific quality (QoS) information contains at least one of the following: A. data delay target, B. data error rate, C. Data priority, D. guaranteed data rate, E. maximum data rate and other information, e.g., application layer information. Data of a PDU Session may have multiple different QoS Flows, each QoS Flow may have its corresponding processing policy, and a PDU Session establishment request message may include multiple QoS policies. The PDU Session establishment request message may also carry information to be sent by the core network to the UE, which may be borne through a non-access stratum container (NAS container). After the base station receives the PDU Session establishment request message, it may perform the following operations: the base station saves a received QoS policy and performs subsequent user plane data processing according to the QoS policy. The base station receives the PDU Session establishment request message, and according to the QoS policy, at least needs to establish at least one default data radio bearer (DRB). The base station may also establish other data bearers at the same time. Step403, the base station sends a message to the UE. The base station sends an RRC configuration request message to the UE, and the RRC configuration request message carries the QoS policy sent by the core network to the UE. The QoS policy may be transmitted to the UE through a non-access stratum container (NAS container), and contains configuration information of a DRB configured by the base station to the UE. Step404, the UE sends a message to the base station. The UE sends an RRC configuration complete message to the base station. The RRC configuration complete message carries an acknowledgement message that confirms the UE has successfully configured the DRB. Step405, the base station sends a PDU session establishment success message to the core network. After the base station is configured, the base station sends an acknowledgement message to the control node inside the core network. The acknowledgement message carries transport layer information allocated by the base station to the user plane, e.g., an IP address and a tunnel identity for downlink data receiving. Step406, the control node of the core network sends a message to the user plane node. If the control node and the user plane node of the core network are separate, the control node sends a message to the user plane node. The message carries information of a QoS Flow, e.g., a PDU session identity, QoS Flow identity/description information and transport layer information allocated for the user plane of the PDU Session by the base station, e.g., an IP address and a tunnel identity for downlink data receiving. One PDU Session may establish only one tunnel between the user plane of the core network and the base station. Step407, data of the user plane can be sent. For example, in downlink, the core network forms data packets into a QoS Flow, and adds QoS indication information in a data header of the QoS Flow, and sends the data packets with QoS indication information to the RAN. In case of non-guaranteed reliable transmission of data (non-GBR), the core network does not need to initiate control plane signaling, but directly sends processed data to the RAN node, i.e., the base station. Step408, the base station receives data of the user plane, and obtains QoS information of a data packet according to header information of the data packet, and the base station needs to have a QoS Flow to DRB mapping function. The mapping function module maps one or more QoS flows to a DRB, and a mapping principle mainly refers to a QoS of a QoS Flow. For example, the packet header indicates QoS Flow-1, and according to the saved QoS policy, a specific QoS requirement corresponding to QoS Flow-1 can be known. An established default DRB or a DRB can meet the QoS requirement, and the base station may decide to transmit the data packet to the UE through a proper DRB. If there are multiple QoS Flows, e.g., QoS Flow-1, QoS Flow-2 and QoS Flow-3, where QoS Flow-1 and QoS Flow-3 have the same or close QoS requirements, the base station may map data of the QoS Flow-1 and QoS Flow-3 to the same DRB and transmit it. After data is processed by the mapping function, it is processed via layer 2, then processed via PDCP/RLC/MAC layer, and is sent to the UE through an air interface. Step409, the master base station sends a secondary base station adding request message to the secondary base station. The primary cell of the UE on the base station receives a measurement report of the UE, and the signal quality of a cell on a neighboring base station satisfies the requirement. The primary cell on the master base station decides to establish a secondary cell on the secondary base station so that data transmission is shared through dual-connectivity. The base station decides to transmit data of one or several QoS Flows originally on the MeNB through the secondary base station, i.e., establishing an SCG bearer. The base station sends a secondary base station adding request to the secondary base station, and the secondary base station adding request message contains capability information of the UE, information including secondary cells on the secondary base station, an uplink receiving address allocated by the core network, and an uplink receiving address of a data path obtained by a base station where the PCell is located from the core network, and the base station where the PCell is located sends the uplink receiving address of the data path to the base station where the SCell is located through the secondary base station adding request message. If the master base station decides to establish a SCG bearer, there are two data processing methods for the SCG bearer. One is that QoS Flow to DRB mapping is carried out by the master base station, and other processing of the user plane is carried out by the secondary base station. Through processing by the mapping function, the master base station maps the QoS Flow to a DRB, and sends it to the secondary base station. Other processing of the user plane is carried out by the secondary base station. The master base station sends a secondary base station adding request message to the secondary base station. The secondary base station adding request message carries information that can indicate the DRB on the MeNB, e.g., a DRB identity, and through this DRB identity, a user plane corresponding to the DRB identity is uniquely identified. Or a user plane identity is defined, for example, the MeNB allocates a user plane identity and uses it to identify a corresponding user plane. The message also carries a QoS requirement corresponding to the DRB. After the secondary base station receives the message, it configures a user plane for the SCG bearer according to the QoS requirement, and configures user plane configuration information of the UE, and the secondary base station also allocates transport layer information of the user plane on the Xn interface. For example, for each SCG bearer, the base station allocates a tunnel identity for it. The second method is that the MeNB determines QoS Flow to DRB mapping, and notifies a determined result to the secondary base station. The secondary base station maps a QoS Flow to a DRB according to a configuration of the MeNB. In this method, the secondary base station adding request carries a QoS Flow identity, and there may be multiple QoS Flow identities, and the secondary base station adding request carries an identity of a DRB corresponding to the QoS Flows. Thus, the secondary base station may map data indicated by the QoS Flow identity to a same DRB. The message also carries QoS information corresponding to the DRB, or a QoS policy of the QoS Flow. The carrying method will be described in the third method as follows. The third method is that for a SCG bearer, QoS Flow to DRB mapping is carried out by the secondary base station itself. The secondary base station gets a QoS Flow policy, according to a QoS requirement of the QoS Flow and resources of the secondary base station, the secondary base station decides how to perform QoS Flow to DRB mapping, and transmits configuration information of the DRB to the UE through the master base station. In this method, the secondary base station adding request message for this step contains a QoS Flow identity which shows which QoS Flow should be configured as an SCG bearer. The secondary base station adding request message may include one or more QoS Flow identities. The secondary base station adding request message also contains specific QoS requirements for the QoS Flow on the SCG bearer or the QoS policy of the QoS Flow which is sent by the core network to the master base station, and the master base station forwards the QoS policy to the secondary base station. The master base station may send all QoS policies to the secondary base station or send only a QoS policy corresponding to a QoS Flow connected to the secondary base station to the secondary base station. The secondary base station adding request message also needs to carry an identity of a PDU session corresponding to the QoS Flow. In the second method and the third method, because the secondary base station needs to allocate a tunnel between the core network and the secondary base station, for a same PDU session, in order to reduce the number of tunnels, only one tunnel is allocated, and data of the whole PDU session is sent to the base station through the same tunnel. In this way, the secondary base station needs to know among the QoS Flows borne by the secondary base station, which QoS Flows belong to a same PDU session and data of which QoS Flows can be transmitted through a same tunnel. The PDU Session is sent from the master base station to the secondary base station, so the master base station need to know a relationship between PDU Sessions and QoS Flows, that is, which QoS Flows belonging to a same PDU Session. The master base station may know identities of PDU Sessions and corresponding identities of QoS Flows from signaling sent from the core network, e.g., a PDU Session establishment request message. Or the master base station knows whether QoS Flows belong to a same PDU Session according to identities of the QoS Flows by information of the PDU sessions carried in the identities of the QoS Flows. For example, identities of QoS Flows belonging to a same PDU session have the same part. In this way, the master base station and the secondary base station know whether QoS Flows belong to a same PDU Session according to identities of the QoS Flows. If a tunnel may be established for each QoS Flow between the secondary base station and the core network, the master base station does not need to send a PDU Session identity to the secondary base station. For a SCG bearer, if the master base station is switched to the secondary base station, the master base station needs to forward cache data to the secondary base station. If there are multiple QoS flows on the SCG bearer, the master base station may decide to switch one of the QoS flows on the secondary base station to the master base station, but the SCG bearer remains on the secondary base station. In the secondary base station adding request message sent from the master base station, the master base station allocates an uplink address TEID of data forwarding. When a QoS flow is switched to the master base station, the secondary base station sends cache data to the uplink address. According to a quality requirement of the QoS flow and cache, the master base station may suggest that data of some QoS flows need to be forwarded. Therefore, the secondary base station adding request message also carries identities of the QoS flows, data of which is suggested to be forwarded. In the second method above, the data forwarding can be suggested per DRB. Step410, the secondary base station sends a secondary base station adding response message to the master base station. The secondary base station determines configuration information of bearers on the UE according to the QoS of the DRB and the capability of the UE, and the target base station contains configuration information of the secondary bearer or secondary cell of the UE in a RRC container and forwards the RRC container to the UE through the master base station. The UE sets protocols of respective layers such as PDCP, RLC and MAC layers at the UE side according to configuration information. The message also carries an identity of the DRB or an identity of an Xn user plane, and transport layer information corresponding to the DRB or the Xn user plane, e.g., a tunnel identity. Or the message contains a PDU session identity and/or QoS Flow identity, the secondary base station allocates a tunnel identity for each PDU session, or allocates a tunnel identity for each QoS Flow. If the secondary base station allocates a tunnel ID for each PDU session, the message contains IDs of PDU sessions. The secondary base station refers to the suggestion information of the master base station and configuration information of the radio bearer of the base station in the target cell, determines data of which QoS Flows need to be forwarded, and transmits identities of QoS Flows, data of which need to be forwarded, and information indicating forwarding is required. The information indicating forwarding is required may contain the transport layer information for data forwarding allocated by the secondary base station, such as IP address and tunnel identity. Beside the data forwarding for QoS flow, the data forwarding may be per DRB, the message carry the DRB identify and the corresponding transport layer information for data forwarding allocated by the secondary base station, such as IP address and tunnel identity. To be specific, the mechanism of data forwarding may be one of the following:a: Establish a data forwarding tunnel for PDU Session between the master base station and the secondary base station. The secondary base station creates a tunnel identity for data forwarding for a PDU Session, and sends the tunnel identity to the master base station. Data belonging to a same PDU Session are forwarded through a same tunnel. During data forwarding, the header of a data packet contains an identity of a QoS Flow, and based on the identity of the QoS Flow, the secondary base station maps the QoS Flow to a DRB. Data saved by the master base station may be a data packet that has not be mapped to a DRB, and when the data packet was sent from the core network to the master base station, the header of the data packet had carried the identity of the QoS Flow, and the master base station may send the data packet to the secondary base station directly. The master base station also saves a data packet that has been mapped to a DRB, and the data packet mapped to the DRB is sent to the PDCP protocol layer. If the PDCP protocol layer wants to know an identity of a QoS Flow corresponding to the PDCP data packet, it may know it from interaction information between internal protocol layers. When the master base station forwards the PDCP data packet, it sends the PDCP data packet through a channel corresponding to a PDU Session, and the tunnel protocol is GTP-U protocol, and in a GTP-U packet header, the identity of the QoS Flow is contained to indicate the QoS Flow corresponding to the PDCP data packet forwarded.b: Establish a data forwarding tunnel for DRB between the master base station and the secondary base station. The secondary base station allocates a tunnel identity for data forwarding for each DRB. In the second method, the MeNB decides the QoS Flow to DRB mapping, notifies a decision to the secondary base station, and the secondary base station maps a QoS Flow to a DRB according to a configuration by the MeNB. The secondary base station creates a tunnel identity for data forwarding for the DRB, and notifies the tunnel identity to the master base station. Data belonging to a same DRB are forwarded through a same tunnel. This way of forwarding is similar to current dual-connectivity data forwarding methods. Data saved by the master base station may be a data packet that has not been mapped to a DRB, and when the data packet was sent from the core network to the master base station, the header of the data packet had contained an identity of a QoS Flow, and for data forwarding, the master base station needs to map the data to a DRB, and forward the data to the secondary base station through a tunnel corresponding to the DRB. The secondary base station receives the forwarded data and sends the data packet to the UE through the corresponding DRB.c: Combine method a and method b, and establish two data forwarding tunnels between the master base station and the secondary base station, in which one is for PDU Session, and the other is for DRB. The secondary base station adding response message sent by the secondary base station may include a PDU Session identity and corresponding tunnel information, such as an IP address and a tunnel identity, or may include a DRB identity and corresponding tunnel information, such as an IP address and a tunnel identity. Data saved on the master base station may be a data packet that has not been mapped to a DRB. The header of the data packet had carried an identity of a QoS Flow when the data packet was sent from the core network to the master base station. The master base station sends the data packet through the tunnel for PDU Session. When the secondary base station receives the forwarded data, it maps the data packet to a DRB and sends the data packet through the DRB to the UE. The master base station also saves a data packet that has been mapped to a DRB, and sends the data packet mapped to the DRB to the PDCP protocol layer, and the data packet saved on the PDCP protocol layer is sent through the tunnel for DRB. When the secondary base station receives the forwarded data, it sends data packet to the UE through the corresponding DRB. It is to be noted that, though the data forwarding methods in the above are described in the embodiment for SCG bearer establishment, the methods of the present disclosure are also applicable to other bearing modes. In this case, what needs to do is to change the bearer type of the present disclosure to the corresponding bearer type. Step411, the master base station sends an RRC reconfiguration request message to the UE. The master base station does not resolve the RRC container but forwards the RRC container to the UE. The master base station may send configuration information configured for the UE by it to the UE together with the information configured by the secondary base station. Step412: The UE sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the master base station. After the UE is configured successfully, the UE sends a response message to the master base station. The response message contains a response to configuration information sent in the step411, that is, a response to configuration information configured by the master base station, and also contains a response to configuration information of the secondary base station. If necessary, the UE also needs to perform a random access procedure with the new secondary base station and synchronize with the new secondary base station. After synchronization, the secondary base station can begin sending data to the UE. Step413: The master base station sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the secondary base station. The master base station notifies the secondary base station that the UE side has been successfully configured. Since the UE sends an acknowledgment message to the master base station, the master base station needs to forward the acknowledgment message to the secondary base station. If the master base station can not resolve the response of the UE to configuration information of the secondary base station, the master base station may also forward the response of the UE to the secondary base station configuration information in the form of the RRC container to the secondary base station. For example, the master base station is an eLTE base station, the secondary base station is a 5G base station gNB, or the master base station is a 5G base station, and the secondary base station is an eLTE base station. Step414: The master base station sends a bearer modification request message to a control node of the core network. The bearer modification request message contains an identity of a QoS Flow and transport layer information for downlink receiving corresponding to it, e.g., an IP address and a tunnel identity, or contains PDU Session and QoS Flow identities and an IP address and tunnel ID for downlink receiving allocated to the PDU Session. Step415: The control node of the core network sends a bearer modification request message to a user node of the core network to notify new transport layer information for downlink receiving. Step416: The user node of the core network sends a bearer modification response message to the control node of the core network to confirm receipt of the message of step415. Step417: The control node of the core network sends a bearer modification response message to the base station to confirm receipt of the message of step415. Step418: If there is data forwarding, the master base station initiates a data forwarding step and sends serial number status information to the secondary base station. The secondary base station sets a serial number of user data by reference to this information. At this point, the SCG bearer establishment process is complete. FIG.8is a schematic diagram of a base station. In the base station, a mapping function module is added to map a QoS Flow to a DRB or map a DRB to a QoS Flow. FIGS.9a,9b,9c, and9dshow data formats transmitted between the master base station and the secondary base station. For the split bearer, the master base station divides the data, and transmits divided data to the UE through the master base station and the secondary base station, respectively. In order for the master base station to perform reasonable data segmentation, the secondary base station needs to transmit information about rate control. The master base station decides how to divide data by referring to this information. The first table is a data format that the master base station sends to the secondary base station, and it contains a format type indication, a QoS Flow identity and an Xn interface serial number. The format type indication indicates the type of user data format, for example, “0” representing a data format that the master base station sends to the secondary base station. The Xn interface serial number is a serial number allocated by the master base station to data packets of a QoS flow on the Xn interface. For each data packet, the serial number is incremented by one. The first table is the data format that the master base station sends to the secondary base station, and it contains the format type indication, cache data information of the first QoS Flow, and the next is cache data information of the second QoS Flow, and so on, until cache data information of the nthQoS Flow. When establishing the split bearer, the master base station tells the secondary base station which QoS Flows are created on the secondary base station through a QoS Flow identity list contained in the secondary base station establishment request message. The second format contains cache information corresponding to these QoS Flows, and the order of cache information is the same with that in the QoS Flow identity list. If the master base station establishes or deletes some QoS Flows established on the secondary base station, corresponding QoS flow places in the table are also adjusted accordingly. For example, if a QoS flow in the first place is deleted from the secondary base station, then the second QoS flow in the original table moves up and becomes the QoS flow in the first place. The third table is a data format sent by the secondary base station to the master base station, including a format type indication, a QoS Flow identity, data cache information and Xn data loss information. Data cache information is information about the size of a cache of the QoS Flow expected by the secondary base station, and the master base station may adjust a proportion of data segmentation according to this information. Xn data loss information indicates which data is lost during Xn transmission, and the secondary base station may know which data is lost during Xn transmission according to the serial number of the Xn interface in the first table. The fourth table is a data format sent by the secondary base station to the master base station, including a format type indication, data cache information of the first QoS Flow, and the next one is data cache information of the second QoS flow, and so on, until data cache information of the nthQoS flow. When establishing a split bearer, the master base station tells the secondary base station which QoS Flows are established on the secondary base station through a QoS Flow identity list contained in the secondary base station establishment request message. In the fourth format, cache information corresponding to these QoS flows is included. The orders of cache information are the same with those in the QoS Flow identity list. Data cache information is the size of a cache expected for the QoS Flow, and the master base station can adjust a proportion of data segmentation according to this information. Xn data loss information indicates which data is lost during Xn transmission, and the secondary base station may know which data is lost during Xn transmission based on Xn interface serial numbers in the first table. If the master base station establishes or deletes some QoS flows established on the secondary base station, the locations of corresponding QoS flows in the table are also adjusted accordingly. For example, if the QoS flow of the first place is deleted from the secondary base station, the second QoS flow in the original table moves up and becomes the QoS flow in the first place. In order to reduce the number of paging areas and reduce signaling for service setup, at present there is a newly proposed UE connection mode referred to as light connection. Light connection refers to when a UE connection is released by a RAN or a UE is inactive, the RAN does not request the core network to release the connection of the UE, e.g., a UE connection between a base station and an MME (e.g., on an S1 interface control plane), a UE connection between a base station and a Serving Gateway (SGW) (e.g., on an S1 interface user plane), a UE connection between a base station and an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) (e.g., on a NG-C interface control plane), a UE connection between a base station and a User Plane Function (UPF) (e.g., on a NG-U interface user plane), or the like. When the UE is in an idle state, a light connection state or inactive state, the RAN may still maintain context of the UE, and the core network (e.g., MME, SGW, etc.) may still regard the UE is still in a connected state. When there is downlink data, the core network (e.g., the SGW) may send data for the UE to the base station. If the UE has already been in the idle state or inactive state (e.g., the connection between the UE and the base station has been disconnected, suspended or inactive), the base station may initiating paging of the UE. The light connection may be applied to both architectures of SAE and 5G, as shown inFIG.1andFIG.2. After the proposed UE connection mode of light connection is adopted, the connection of a UE between the RAN and the core network may be retained if a UE whose connection with a network is disconnected or inactive or enters a light connection state. The UE determined the UE itself is in an idle state (e.g., ECM idle). The core network may decide a UE which is in a light connection state or inactive state to be in a connected state (e.g., ECM Connected). The difference in recognitions of the state of the UE at the UE and the core network may result in a series of problems. The problems may include the following. Problem 1: When the UE moves out of a paging area, the UE demands to initiate a connection establish request or a connection resume request. If the UE does not have the demand of data transmission at the moment (e.g., having no demand of both uplink data transmission and downlink data transmission), a RAN node may have a plurality of choices. For example, the RAN node may release or suspend the connection and the context of the UE in response to a determination that the UE is moving too fast. For another example, the RAN node may configure the UE to continue in the light connection state. But there is still no specification regarding how to implement the procedure. Problem 2: When a UE moves out of a paging area and attempts to access a RAN node (referred to as a new RAN node) other than the RAN node which retains the connection and context of the UE (referred to as the old RAN node). If there is no demand of data transmission, the old RAN node may only update the paging area of the UE without switching the UE context and the UE connection to the new RAN node. Problem 3: When a UE moves out of a paging area, the UE may attempt to resume the connection with the network. When the UE attempts to access a RAN node (referred to as a new RAN node) with which the RAN node that retains the connection and context of the UE (referred to as the old RAN node) does not have an interface in between, the context and connection of the UE cannot be switched from the old RAN node to the new RAN node. Hence, the context and connection of the UE maintained at the old RAN node may be released. Otherwise, downlink data destined for the UE may be directly forwarded to the old RAN node whose paging request for the UE may not be responded by the UE. In such case, the downlink data of the UE may be discarded. After the connection of the UE between the old RAN node and the core network is released, downlink data destined for the UE may be stored in the core network when the downlink data arrives. Problem 4: A UE may send a periodic location update request to the new RAN node. Extra signaling overhead may be resulted from switching a light connection UE from an old RAN node to a new RAN node each time the UE initiates a periodic location update request to the new RAN node. Especially when a UE frequently moves between RAN nodes while having no demand of data transmission, too much signaling overhead may be generated. Embodiments of the present disclosure are described hereinafter in detail. Some examples are illustrated in the drawings. The same or similar reference sign represents the same or similar component or components with the same or similar functions. The following embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings are merely exemplary, and are only for explaining the present disclosure, not for limiting the protection scope of the present closure. Those skilled in the art may understand that all of terms used herein (including technical terms and scientific terms), unless defined otherwise, have the same meaning with those understood by ordinary technical persons of the art. It should be understood that meanings of terms as defined in general dictionary should be regarded as consistent with context of the conventional art, unless defined specially as herein, and should not be explained in a manner overly ideal or formal. The principle of the present disclosure and related terms are first explained first for facilitating understanding of the technical mechanism of the present disclosure. Some terms are explained as below. In some embodiment, a RAN node may be a base station, an eNB, a NodeB, a RAN central control unit, a RAN node distributed unit, or the like. In the next generation networks, the concept of node may be virtualized as a function or a unit. A RAN central control unit may be connected with a plurality of RAN node distributed units. In some embodiments, a core network node may be a MME, a SGSN, a SGW, a core network control node, a core network user plane node, a core network control plane node, a core network user plane function, a core network control plane unit, a core network user plane unit, or the like. In the next generation networks, the concept of node may be virtualized as a function or a unit. In some embodiments, a core network control node may be a MME, a SGSN, a CCNF, an AMF, a SMF, a core network control plane function (e.g., a MME, a CCNF, an AMF), a core network control plane unit, or the like. In some embodiments, the core network user plane node may be a SGW, a SGSN, a SMF, a UPF core network user plane function, a core network user plane unit, a network slice, or the like. In some embodiments, a light connection may also be embodied by a RAN initiated paging function, an inactive connection or an inactive state (e.g., an inactive state in 5G, an operation under an inactive state), or the like. In some embodiment, whether a UE is allowed to enter a light connection may be embodied by whether a UE is suitable for light connection, whether a UE supports light connection, or the like. In some embodiments, a UE connection state may be embodied by a UE connection mode, and a light connection state may be embodied by a light connection mode. In some embodiments, the light connection represents the inactive mode, or the connection between the UE and the RAN is inactive or disconnected while the RAN retains the connection of the UE between a RAN node and a core network node. A RAN node in a light connection with a UE refers to the RAN node that retains the connection of the UE between the RAN node and a core network node when the UE is in a light connection. The data mentioned herein may include control plane data (e.g., NAS signaling, TAU Request, Service Request, user plane data transported in control plane data packets, etc.) or user plane data. Indication of whether there is data transmitted may further include indication of whether there is demand of uplink control plane data transmission and indication of whether there is demand of uplink user plane data transmission. Indication of whether there is data transmitted may further include indication of whether there is demand of uplink data transmission and indication of whether there is demand of downlink user plane data transmission. The paging area in the present disclosure may a light connection paging area configured for a UE by a RAN node. When a UE in a light connection moves in a configured paging area, paging from a light-connection RAN node can reach the UE. The paging from the light connection RAN node may be forwarded by other RAN nodes. The location updated in the present disclosure may be a RAN location update or a core network location update. The location update control operation of the present disclosure refers to a mobility control operation associated with a light-connection UE, and has the same meaning throughout the disclosure which will not be repeated in the following. FIG.10is a flowchart illustrating a first method of connection control of a light-connection UE in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.10, the method may include the following procedures. In step S301, a RAN node may judge whether a pre-set condition is met. Optionally, the pre-set condition may include at least one of: no data transmission demand, only one data transmission demand, no uplink UE data transmission demand, no downlink UE data transmission demand, no control plane data transmission demand, no user plane data transmission demand, UE moves out of a configured paging area, UE changes a paging area, UE does not move out of a configured paging area, obtaining an access request of UE. Optionally, no data transmission demand may include at least one of: no uplink UE data transmission demand, no downlink UE data transmission demand, no control plane data transmission demand, or no user plane data transmission demand. Optionally, only one data transmission demand may include at least one of: only one uplink UE data transmission demand, only one downlink UE data transmission demand, only one control plane data transmission demand, or only one user plane data transmission demand. There is only one data transmission demand may be embodied by one of: there is no subsequent data, the only data to be transmitted does not require acknowledgement, the only data to be transmitted has no response (e.g., a response packet of the application layer). Optionally, obtaining the access request of the UE may include at least one of: receiving a RAN periodic location update request sent by the UE, or receiving a RAN location update request sent by the UE. In some embodiments, a paging area refers to a mobility area configured for a light-connection UE. When the UE does not move out of the paging area, the UE may perform periodic RAN location update with a RAN node providing the light connection. When the UE has moved out of the paging area, the UE may perform RAN location update with the RAN node providing the light connection. According to some embodiments, a first RAN node may determine whether a UE has moved out of the paging area configured for the UE by obtaining information on the area accessed by the UE. The first RAN node may obtain the information on the area accessed by the UE from one of: the UE, a second RAN node, the core network, a core network user plane node, or a core network control plane node. For example, a UE may initiate a RAN location update after accessing a second RAN node, and the second RAN node may notify the first RAN node of access information of the UE, e.g., a cell identity (cell ID) of the cell accessed by the UE, a location area identity (e.g., a tracking area identity (TAT), a tracking area code (TAC), etc.). As such, the first RAN node may judge whether the UE has moved out of the paging area configured for the UE. In some embodiments, the first RAN node may judge whether a pre-set condition is met based on the access information of a light-connection UE. Optionally, the access information of the light-connection UE may include at least one of: information on whether there is data transmission demand, information on whether there is data forwarding need, information on whether the UE has moved out of the paging area, information on whether the UE has moved out of the paging area and has no data transmission demand, information on whether there is the need of changing the paging area, or information on whether there is only one data transmission demand. The data mentioned herein may include control plane data (e.g., NAS signaling, TAU Request, Service Request, user plane data transported in control plane data packets, etc.) or user plane data. The data may include uplink data or downlink data; or any combination of uplink data or downlink data. The information on whether there is data transmission or forwarding demand may include at least one of: information on whether there is uplink control plane data transmission or forwarding demand, information on whether there is uplink user plane data transmission or forwarding demand, information on whether there is downlink control plane data transmission or forwarding demand, or information on whether there is downlink user plane data transmission or forwarding demand. According to some embodiments, the first RAN node may obtain the access information about the light-connection UE from at least one of: the UE, a second RAN node, the core network, a core network user plane node, or a core network control plane node. In some embodiments, the access network information of a light-connection UE may be embodied by a reason of setting up a UE connection or resuming a UE connection. For example, in a connection setup request or connection resume request of a UE, the UE may indicate the reason of the connection setup or connection resume is there is no uplink data transmission demand or only that the UE has moved out of the paging area and has no data transmission demand. Optionally, the first RAN node is a RAN node with which the light connection of the UE is established. In some embodiments, the first RAN node may judge whether the UE has downlink data transmission demand according to whether data of UE is received or whether data of UE is buffered. In some other embodiments, when the UE accesses through a first RAN, the first RAN may judge whether there is uplink data transmission demand according to access information about a light-connection UE received from the UE. When the UE accesses through a second RAN node and the second RAN node is not the RAN node providing the light connection of the UE, the first RAN node may judge whether there is uplink data transmission demand according to access information about the light-connection UE received from the second RAN node. Optionally, the first RAN node is a new RAN node other than the RAN node providing the light connection of the UE, and the first RAN node is the RAN node providing the light connection of the UE.1) In some embodiments, the first RAN node obtains information about whether a UE has downlink data transmission demand and whether there is only one downlink transmission demand according to access information about the light-connection UE received from the second RAN node. For example, when the first RAN node requests UE context from the second RAN node, the second RAN node may send information of downlink data forwarding demand or the first downlink data to be transmitted in a UE context response if the second RAN node buffers the downlink data of the UE. For example, the second RAN node may send the only downlink data to be transmitted buffered in the second RAN to the UE via a paging message, or to the first RAN node in a UE context response so that the first RAN node sends the downlink data to the UE.2) In some other embodiments, the first RAN node obtains information about whether a UE has uplink data transmission demand and whether there is only one uplink transmission demand according to access information about the light-connection UE received from the UE. For example, the access information about the UE may be the reason of connection resume or connection setup, e.g., paging area update indicates it is merely for updating the paging area and there is no uplink data transmission demand.If uplink data is buffered on the UE, the UE may send information about the uplink data forwarding demand or the first uplink data to be transmitted in a connection setup request or connection resume request sent to the first RAN node. After receiving the information or the first uplink data, the first RAN node may send the information about the uplink data forwarding demand or the first uplink data to be transmitted in a UE context request sent to the second RAN node.If only the uplink data is buffered on the UE, which needs to be transmitted, the UE may send information about there is only one uplink data forwarding demand and/or the only uplink data to be transmitted in a connection setup request or connection resume request sent to the first RAN node. After receiving the information and/or the only uplink data, the first RAN node may send the information about there is only one uplink data forwarding demand and/or the only uplink data to be transmitted in a UE context request sent to the second RAN node. In step S302, the first RAN node may determine a mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE in response to a determination that the pre-set condition is met. Optionally, when the pre-set condition is met, the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE may include at least one of:releasing the UE, including at least one of: releasing UE context, releasing a connection between the UE and a RAN node, releasing a connection for the UE between the RAN node and a core network node, or requesting the UE to return to an idle mode; e.g., the first RAN node may release the UE when at least one of the following conditions is met: receiving a location update of the UE, there is no data transmission demand, there is only one data transmission demand. It can be understood that, a light connection may occupy some resources and memory in the RAN node; when the memory or resources are insufficient, the RAN node may release some of the light-connection UEs that have no data transmission demand (as in step201) and/or has only one data transmission demand. Releasing the UE during or after a periodic location update initiated by the UE does not require extra signaling, nor generate extra signaling overhead. The only data to be transmitted may be sent to the UE or the RAN during the periodic location update or during the procedure of releasing the UE.suspending the UE, including at least one of: suspending UE context, suspending a connection between the UE and a RAN node, suspending a connection for the UE between the RAN node and a core network node, or requesting the UE to return to an idle mode. e.g., the first RAN node may suspend the UE when at least one of the following conditions is met: receiving a location update of the UE, there is no data transmission demand, there is only one data transmission demand. It can be understood that, a light connection may occupy some resources and memory in the RAN node; when the memory or resources are insufficient, the RAN node may suspend some of the light-connection UEs that have no data transmission demand (as in step201) and/or has only one data transmission demand. Suspending a UE during or after a periodic location update initiated by a UE does not generate extra signaling overhead. The only data to be transmitted may be sent to the UE or the RAN during the periodic location update or during the procedure of suspending the UE. Releasing a UE and suspending a UE both release the resources occupied by the UE. Compared with releasing the UE, the first RAN node may still reserve the context of the UE after suspending the UE.updating the light-connection paging area of the UE, including at least one of: configuring a light-connection paging area, indicating the light-connection RAN node of the UE is unchanged, or requesting the UE to be in a light-connection mode. For example, the first RAN node may update the light-connection paging area of the UE in response to a determination that at least one of the following conditions is met: the UE has changed the location in the configured paging area (e.g., has changed the cell within the paging area, has changed the RAN area within the paging area, etc.), the UE accesses through the second RAN node.The RAN node providing the light connection of the UE keeps unchanged. For example, the first RAN node may indicate the RAN node providing the light connection of the UE remains unchanged when at least one of the following conditions is met: the UE does not move out of the configured paging area, a location update of the UE is received, there is no data transmission demand, there is only one data transmission demand, or the UE accesses through the second RAN node. It can be understood that the first RAN node may keep the RAN node providing the light connection of the UE unchanged when the UE accesses through the second RAN node and initiates a RAN location update at the second RAN node and has no data transmission demand or has only one data transmission demand. Further, the first RAN node may indicate the UE that the RAN node providing the light connection of the UE remains unchanged when the UE has not moved out of the configured paging area.requesting the UE to be in a light connection mode. For example, the first RAN node may request the UE to be in the light connection mode when at least one of the following condition is met: there is no data transmission demand, there is only one data transmission demand, or receiving a location update of the UE. It can be understood that the first RAN node may request the UE to continue in the light connection mode after acknowledging the location update request without data transmission demand. After acknowledging a location update request with only one data transmission demand, the only data to be transmitted may be transmitted during the location update procedure, and the first RAN node may request the UE to continue staying in the light connection mode.deleting a UE light connection (may be equivalent to releasing the UE or suspending the UE). Optionally, the first RAN node may send a location update control operation associated with the light-connection UE to at least one of: the UE, the second RAN node. The location update control operation is a mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE. It can be understood that the first RAN node may send a location update control operation to the UE when the light-connection UE accesses the first RAN node and initiates a location update. The second RAN node may notify the first RAN node that the UE has initiated a location update request when the light-connection UE accesses the second RAN node and initiates a location update request. The first RAN node may decide a location update operation associated with the UE, and send the operation to the UE through the second RAN node or making the second RAN node perform the location update operation associated with the UE. Optionally, the first RAN node is a RAN node with which the light connection of the UE is established.in response to a decision that the UE is to be released or suspended, the first RAN node may release or suspend a connection for the UE between the first RAN node and a core network node; when the UE accesses through a second RAN node, the first RAN node may request the second RAN node to release or suspend the UE. In an embodiment, the first RAN node may reject the UE context request sent by the second RAN node to achieve the releasing or suspending of the UE. The rejection reason may be at least one of: no UE context, unidentified UE ID (e.g., resume ID), released UE, suspended UE.In response to a decision to update a UE light-connection paging area, when the UE accesses through a second RAN node, the first RAN node may send an updated UE light-connection paging area to the second RAN node.Optionally, the first RAN node may notify the second RAN node of at least one of: the RAN node providing the light-connection of the UE remains unchanged, requesting the UE to stay in the light connection mode. Optionally, the first RAN node is a RAN node from which the UE accesses the RAN, and the second RAN node is a RAN node providing the light connection of the UE. In response to a decision to release or suspend the UE, the first RAN node may request the second RAN node to perform at least one of: releasing or suspending context of the UE, releasing or suspending a connection for the UE between the second RAN node and a core network node. FIG.11is a flowchart illustrating a second method of connection control of a light-connection UE in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.11, the method may include the following procedures. In step S401, a second RAN node may judge whether a pre-set condition is met. Optionally, the pre-set condition may be at least one of: receiving a mobility control operation associated with a light-connection UE (as in step S302), there is no interface (e.g., an X2 interface between eNBs, an Xn interface between gNBs, etc.) between the second RAN node and a RAN interface providing the light connection of the UE. In some embodiments, the second RAN node may receive the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE from at least one of: the first RAN node, the core network, or the UE. In step S402, the second RAN node may determine a connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE based on the pre-set condition which is met. Optionally, when the pre-set condition is receiving a mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE, the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE by the second RAN node may include at least one of:1) The second RAN node sends the received light-connection location update control operation (equivalent to the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE). In some embodiment, the second RAN node may send the received light-connection location update control operation (equivalent to the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE) to the UE or to the core network.2) The second RAN node performs an operation according to the received mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE.3) In some embodiments, the second RAN node is a RAN node with which the light connection of the UE is established.When the received mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE is at least one of: releasing the UE, releasing UE context, releasing a connection between the UE and a RAN node, releasing a connection for the UE between the RAN node and a core network node, or requesting the UE to return to an idle mode; the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE performed by the second RAN node may include at least one of: releasing context of the UE, releasing a connection for the UE between the RAN node and a core network node.When the received mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE is at least one of: suspending the UE, suspending UE context, suspending a connection between the UE and a RAN node, suspending a connection for the UE between the RAN node and a core network node, or requesting the UE to return to an idle mode; the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE performed by the second RAN node may include at least one of: suspending context of the UE, suspending a connection for the UE between the RAN node and a core network node.When the received mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE is at least one of: requesting the UE to stay in the light connection mode; the connection control operation performed associated with the light-connection UE by the second RAN node may include at least one of: instructing the UE to continue staying in the light connection mode.1) In some embodiments, the second RAN node is a RAN node accessed by the UE.When the received mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE is at least one of: releasing the UE releasing UE context, releasing a connection between the UE and a RAN node, releasing a connection for the UE between the RAN node and a core network node, or requesting the UE to return to an idle mode; the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE performed by the second RAN node may include at least one of: rejecting a connection resume request of the UE, rejecting a connection setup request of the UE, and a rejection reason may be at least one of: no UE context, unidentified UE ID (e.g., resume ID), releasing UE, UE light connected deleted.When the received mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE includes at least one of: suspending the UE, suspending UE context, suspending a connection between the UE and a RAN node, suspending a connection for the UE between the RAN node and a core network node, or requesting the UE to return to an idle mode; the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE performed by the second RAN node may include at least one of: rejecting a connection resume request of the UE, rejecting a connection setup request of the UE, and a rejection reason may be at least one of: suspending UE, UE light connected deleted.When the received mobility control operation associated with the UE includes at least one of: updating a light-connection paging area of the UE, a light-connection paging area, indicating the light-connection RAN node of the UE remains unchanged, instructing the UE to stay in the light connection mode; the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE performed by the second RAN node may include at least one of: sending an updated light-connection paging area to the UE, indicating the light-connection RAN node of the UE remains unchanged, requesting the UE to stay in the light-connection mode; notifying the UE of the identity of the light-connection RAN node, notifying the UE of the UE identity (e.g., resume ID, or the like) allocated by the light-connection RAN node of the UE, not updating the path to a path from the core network to the second RAN node, not initiating a UE context delete procedure to the first RAN node.When the received mobility control operation associated with the UE includes at least one of: deleting the light connection of the UE; the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE performed by the second RAN node may include at least one of: releasing the UE, suspending the UE. Optionally, when the pre-set condition is there is no interface between the second RAN node and the RAN interface providing the light connection of the UE, the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE decided by the second RAN node includes at least one of:1) indicating there is no interface between the RAN node accessed by the UE and RAN node providing the light connection of the UE. In some embodiments, the second RAN node rejects the connection setup request or connection resume request of the UE. The rejection reason may include: there is no interface between the RAN node accessed by the UE and RAN node providing the light connection of the UE, or a new reason.2) requesting to initiate a core-level location update procedure (e.g., TAU). A new reason may be defined for this operation. In some embodiments, the second RAN node rejects the connection setup request or connection resume request of the UE. The rejection reason may be: requesting to initiate a core-level location update procedure or a new reason. After triggering a core-level location update procedure, the core network may find out that the UE has accessed a new RAN node, and the UE context at the old RAN node and the connection of the UE between the RAN node and the core network may be deleted. If the core network received downlink data, the downlink data may be buffered in the core network and not sent to the old RAN node, thus may not become missing due to the UE out of reach of the paging of the old RAN node.2) forwarding a message of the UE between RAN nodes (e.g., UE context request, etc.) by the second RAN node through the core network. The second RAN node may at the same time notify the core network node of routing information of a target RAN node. Optionally, the routing information may include at least one of: an identity of a serving RAN node (e.g., an identity of a RAN node or an identity of an area to which the RAN node belongs (e.g., TAI, TAC, etc.)), an identity of the target RAN node (e.g., an identity of the RAN node providing the light connection of the UE, an identity of the RAN node accessed by the UE), an identity of the UE (e.g., a UE identity allocated by the RAN node providing the light connection of the UE, e.g., resume ID, which includes an identity of the RAN node providing the light connection of the UE). The core network node may determine the target RAN node by using the routing information of the target RAN node as an index. The core network node may send the routing information of the target RAN node to the target RAN node when forwarding the routing information.4) requesting to create UE context at the second RAN node. In some embodiments, the second RAN node may request the core network to create UE context at the second RAN node even if there is no data transmission demand.5) rejecting a connection setup request or a connection resume request of the UE. Optionally, the second RAN node may send the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE to at least one of: the UE, a core network node, the first RAN node. FIG.12is a flowchart illustrating a third method of connection control of a light-connection UE in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.12, the method may include the following procedures. In step S501, a light-connection UE determines whether a pre-set condition is met. Optionally, the pre-set condition may include at least one of: obtaining a connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE, a mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE. Optionally, content of the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE is described in the above step S302, and is not repeated here. Optionally, content of the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE is described in the above step S402, and is not repeated here. In some embodiments, the UE may obtain the mobility control operation or the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE from a UE connection resume rejection reason or a UE connection setup rejection reason. In some embodiments, the UE obtains the mobility control operation or the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE from at least one of: a RAN node, a core network. In step S502, the light-connection UE performs a connection control operation according to the pre-set condition met. Optionally, the UE may perform the operation according to the received mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE. Optionally, the UE may perform the operation according to the received connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE. Optionally, when the pre-set condition is receiving a mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE, the UE may perform the connection control operation according to at least one of the following.When the received light-connection location update control operation associated with the light-connection UE (i.e., the operation performed according to the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE) is at least one of: releasing the UE, releasing UE context, releasing a connection between the UE and a RAN node, releasing a connection for the UE between the RAN node and a core network node, or requesting the UE to return to an idle mode; the UE may perform at least one of: releasing context of the UE, releasing a connection between the UE and the RAN node, making the UE return to the idle mode.When the received light-connection location update control operation associated with the light-connection UE (i.e., the operation performed according to the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE) is at least one of: suspending the UE, suspending UE context, suspending a connection between the UE and a RAN node, suspending a connection for the UE between the RAN node and a core network node, or requesting the UE to return to an idle mode; the UE may perform at least one of: suspending context of the UE, suspending a connection between the UE and the RAN node, making the UE return to the idle mode.When the light-connection location update control operation associated with the UE (i.e., the operation performed according to the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE) includes at least one of: updating a light-connection paging area of the UE, a light-connection paging area, indicating the light-connection RAN node providing the light connection of the UE remains unchanged, the identity of the RAN node providing the light-connection of the UE includes the identity of the old RAN node, requesting the UE to stay in the light connection mode; the UE may perform at least one of: updating the light-connection paging area according to the received paging area, making the RAN node providing the light connection of the UE remain unchanged, or making the UE return to the light connection mode. Optionally, the paging area may include one of: a list of area identities (TAI, TAC, etc.), cell identity list, a light-connection location area identity.When the received light-connection location update control operation associated with the UE (i.e., the operation performed according to the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE) includes at least one of: deleting the light connection of the UE; the UE may perform at least one of: deleting UE context, suspending UE context, deleting a connection between the UE and a RAN node, suspending the connection between the UE and the RAN node. Optionally, when the pre-set condition is receiving a connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE, the UE may perform the connection control operation according to at least one of:when the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE includes at least one of: indicating that there is no interface between the RAN node accessed by the UE and the RAN node of the light connection of the UE, requesting to trigger a location update procedure at the core network level, rejecting a connection resume request of the UE; the UE may perform at least one of: initiating a location update procedure at the core network level, initiating a service requesting procedure at the core network level, or initiating a connection setup request at a RAN node. FIG.13is a flowchart illustrating a method of connection control of a light-connection UE in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. After a UE moves out of a light-connection paging area and accesses through a new RAN node, an old RAN node (the RAN node providing the light connection of the UE) may decide to release the UE or suspending the UE when there is no data transmission request. As shown inFIG.13, the method may include the following procedures. In step601, a UE in a light connection state sends a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection setup request or an RRC connection resume request to a new RAN node. Optionally, the message may include access information of the light-connection UE. The access information of the light-connection UE is described in step S301, and is not repeated here. In step602, the new RAN node may send a UE context request to the old RAN node. Optionally, the message may include access information of the light-connection UE. The access information of the light-connection UE is described in step S301, and is not repeated here. In step603, the old RAN node may determine that the pre-set condition met is merely that the UE has moved out of the paging area and has no data transmission demand according to whether data of the UE is buffered in the old RAN and according to the received access information of the light-connection UE. According to the pre-set condition met, the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE decided by the old RAN node may be releasing the UE or suspending the UE. The mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE is described in step S302, and is not repeated here. The old RAN node may initiate a UE context release procedure or a UE context suspend procedure to the core network control node to release or suspend a connection of the UE between the old RAN node and the core network, or to release or suspend the UE context at the old RAN node respectively. The old RAN node may initiate a UE context release procedure to release a connection of the UE between the old RAN node and the core network or to release the UE context at the old RAN node. The old RAN node may initiate a UE context suspend procedure to suspend a connection of the UE between the old RAN node and the core network or to suspend the UE context at the old RAN node. In step604, the old RAN node may send a UE context request rejection to the new RAN node. Optionally, the message may include the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE. The mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE is described in step S302, and is not repeated here. In step605, the new RAN node may send an RRC connection setup rejection or RRC connection resume rejection to the UE. Optionally, the message may include the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE. The mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE is described in step S302, and is not repeated here. The UE may perform connection control according to the received mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE, as in step S502. Hence, the procedure of this embodiment is completed. Unrelated steps are omitted. FIG.14is a flowchart illustrating a method of connection control of a light-connection UE in accordance with a seventh embodiment of the present disclosure. After a UE moves out of a light-connection paging area and accesses through a new RAN node, the new RAN node may decide to release the UE or suspending the UE when there is no data transmission request. As shown inFIG.14, the method may include the following procedures. In step701, a UE in a light connection state sends an RRC connection setup request or an RRC connection resume request to a new RAN node. Optionally, the message may include access information of the light-connection UE. The access information of the light-connection UE is described in step S301, and is not repeated here. In step702, the new RAN node may send a UE context request to the old RAN node. Optionally, the message may include access information of the light-connection UE. The access information of the light-connection UE is described in step S301, and is not repeated here. In step703, the old RAN node may notify the new RAN node of whether there is downlink data transmission or forwarding demand according to whether data of the UE is buffered in the old RAN node and according to the received access information of the light-connection UE. The old RAN node returns a UE context response. Optionally, the message may include access information of the light-connection UE and indicate whether there is downlink data transmission or forwarding demand. In step704, the new RAN node may determine that the pre-set condition met is merely that the UE has moved out of the paging area and has no data transmission demand according to access information of the light-connection UE received from the UE and the old RAN node. According to the pre-set condition met, the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE decided by the new RAN node may be releasing the UE or suspending the UE. The mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE is described in step S302, and is not repeated here. In response to a decision of releasing the UE, the new RAN node may send a UE context release request to the old RAN node. In response to a decision of suspending the UE, the new RAN node may indicate suspending the UE in the UE context release request sent or send a UE context suspend request. In step706, the old RAN node may initiate a UE context release procedure or a UE context suspend procedure to the core network control node to release or suspend a connection of the UE between the old RAN node and the core network, or to release or suspend the UE context at the old RAN node. In step707, the new RAN node may send an RRC connection setup rejection or RRC connection resume rejection to the UE. Optionally, the message may include the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE. The mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE is described in step S302, and is not repeated here. The UE may perform connection control according to the received mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE, as in step S502. Hence, the procedure of this embodiment is completed. Unrelated steps are omitted. FIG.15is a flowchart illustrating a method of connection control of a light-connection UE in accordance with an eighth embodiment of the present disclosure. After a UE moves out of a light-connection paging area and accesses a new RAN node, the old RAN node (RAN node providing the light connection of the UE) may decide to update the light-connection paging area of the UE and request the UE to retain the light connection with the old RAN node when there is no data transmission request. As shown inFIG.15, the method may include the following procedures. In step801, a UE in a light connection state sends an RRC connection setup request or an RRC connection resume request to a new RAN node. Optionally, the message may include access information of the light-connection UE. The access information of the light-connection UE is described in step S301, and is not repeated here. In step802, the new RAN node may send a UE context request to the old RAN node. Optionally, the message may include access information of the light-connection UE. The access information of the light-connection UE is described in step S301, and is not repeated here. In step803, the old RAN node may determine that the pre-set condition met is merely that the UE has moved out of the paging area and has no data transmission demand according to whether data of the UE is buffered in the old RAN and according to the received access information of the light-connection UE. The old RAN node may decide to update the light-connection paging area of the UE according to the pre-set condition met, and the RAN node providing the light connection of the UE remains the old RAN node. The mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE is described in step S302, and is not repeated here. In step804, the old RAN node may send a UE context response to the new RAN node. Optionally, the message may include the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE. The mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE is described in step S302, and is not repeated here. In step805, the new RAN node may send an RRC connection setup message or RRC connection resume message to the UE. In step806, the UE may send may send an RRC connection setup complete message or RRC connection resume complete message to the new RAN node. In step807, the new RAN node sends an RRC connection re-configure message to the UE. Optionally, the message may include the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE. The mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE is described in step S302, and is not repeated here. The UE may perform connection control according to the received mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE, as in step S502. In step807, after the configuration is completed, the UE may send an RRC re-configure complete message to the new RAN node and return to the light connection mode. Hence, the process of this embodiment is completed. Unrelated steps are omitted. FIG.16is a flowchart illustrating a method of connection control of a light-connection UE in accordance with a ninth embodiment of the present disclosure. When the UE accesses a new RAN node and there is no interface between the new RAN node and the old RAN node, the UE may initiate a core network level location update procedure. The new RAN node is the second RAN node in the second method. As shown inFIG.16, the method may include the following procedures. In step901, a UE in a light connection state sends an RRC connection setup request or an RRC connection resume request to a new RAN node. Optionally, the message may include access information of the light-connection UE. The access information of the light-connection UE is described in step S301, and is not repeated here. In step902, the new RAN node finds out that there is no interface with the new RAN node, and sends to the UE at least one of: an RRC connection setup rejection, an RRC connection setup, an RRC connection resume, an RRC connection resume rejection. Optionally, the message may include UE context request for the light connection of the UE. Optionally, the message may include a connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE. The connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE is described in step S402, and is not repeated here. In step903, the UE may initiate a core network level location update procedure (e.g., a TAU request), and the procedure is described in step S502. The UE establishes an RRC connection with the new RAN node. In step904, the new RAN node sends an initiate UE message to a core network control node. Optionally, the message may include an indication requesting the core network to create UE context at the new RAN node. In step905, the core network control node finds out the UE accesses the new RAN node. The core network node may immediately release an interface of the UE between the old RAN node and a core network user plane node. As such, data will not continue to be sent to the old RAN node. In step906, the core network control node sends a UE context release command to the old RAN node. Optionally, the message may include each UE bearer (e.g., E-RAB, DRB, etc.), UE session (e.g., PDU session PDU connectivity, etc.), UE QoS stream and/or data forwarding address of UE service data stream, instructing the old RAN node to forward data to the core network user plane node. In step907, the old RAN node sends a UE context release complete to the core network control node. In step908, the core network node may decide whether to establish a UE bearer, a UE session, a UE QoS stream and/or context of a UE service data stream at the new RAN node according to the needs. If the new RAN node requests to set up UE context, an initial context setup request may be sent. When only the TAU has no data transmission demand and the new RAN node doesn't requests to setup the UE context, a downlink NAS transmission message may be sent. Hence, the procedure of this embodiment is completed. Unrelated steps are omitted. FIG.17is a flowchart illustrating a method of connection control of a light-connection UE in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. When a UE accesses a new RAN node which has no interface with the old RAN node, the new RAN node may send a message for the UE to the old RAN node through the core network. The old RAN node may send a message for the UE to the new RAN node through the core network. As shown inFIG.17, the method may include the following procedures. In step1001, a UE in a light connection state sends an RRC connection setup request or an RRC connection resume request to a new RAN node. Optionally, the message may include access information of the light-connection UE. The access information of the light-connection UE is described in step S301, and is not repeated here. In step1002, the new RAN node finds out there is no interface with the old RAN node, and sends a RAN transfer message to a core network control node. Optionally, the message may include an inter-RAN node message for the UE (e.g., a UE context request), and the UE ID (e.g., a resume ID) allocated by the old RAN node. In step1003, the core network control node may identify the old RAN node by using the RAN node identity in the resume ID as an index, and forward the inter-RAN node message (e.g., a UE context request) in a core network transfer message. In step1004, the old RAN node sends a RAN transfer message to the core network control node. Optionally, the message may include an inter-RAN node message for the UE (e.g., a UE context request), and an identity of the new RAN node. In step1005, the core network control node may identify the new RAN node by using the identity of the new RAN node as an index, and forward the inter-RAN node message (e.g., a UE context response) in a core network transfer message. In step1006, the new RAN node initiates a path switch request procedure to a core network node. In step1007, the new RAN node may return an RRC connection setup message or RRC connection resume message to the UE. In step1008, the new RAN node initiates a path switch procedure to the core network control node. Hence, the procedure of this embodiment is completed. Unrelated steps are omitted. FIG.18is a schematic diagram illustrating a preferred structure of a network device in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.18, the RAN device may include: a receiving module1802, a sending module1806and a controlling module1804. The controlling module1804may judge whether a pre-set condition is met, and determine a mobility control operation associated with a light-connection UE in response to a determination that the pre-set condition is met. The sending module1806may send the mobility control operation associated with the light-connection UE under the control of the controlling module1804. FIG.19is a schematic diagram illustrating a preferred structure of a network device in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.19, the core network device may include: a receiving module1902, a sending module1906and a controlling module1904. The controlling module1904may judge whether a pre-set condition is met, and determine a connection control operation associated with a light-connection UE in response to a determination that the pre-set condition is met. The sending module1906may send the connection control operation associated with the light-connection UE under the control of the controlling module1904. FIG.20is a schematic diagram illustrating a preferred structure of a user device in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.20, the user device may include: a receiving module2002, a sending module2006and a controlling module2004. The receiving module2002may receive from a network device an indication of reception of a connection control operation and/or a mobility control operation associated with a light-connection UE. The controlling module2004may perform the connection control operation and/or the mobility control operation according to the information. Various example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as computer readable codes in a computer readable recording medium. The computer readable recording medium is a data storage device that may store data readable by a computer system. Examples of the computer readable recording medium may include read only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), compact disk-read only memories (CD-ROMs), magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and carrier waves (such as data transmission over the Internet). The computer readable recording medium may be distributed by computer systems over a network, and accordingly, the computer readable codes may be stored and executed in a distributed manner. Functional programs, codes, and code segments to attain various embodiments of the present disclosure may be readily interpreted by skilled programmers in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. The apparatuses and methods according to example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Such software may be recorded in volatile or non-volatile storage devices, such as ROMs, memories, such as RAMs, memory chips, memory devices, or integrated circuit devices, compact disks (CDs), DVDs, magnetic disks, magnetic tapes, or other optical or magnetic storage devices while retained in machine (e.g., computer)-readable storage media. The methods according to example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a computer or a portable terminal including a controller and a memory, and the memory may be an example machine-readable storage medium that may properly retain program(s) containing instructions for implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure encompasses a program containing codes for implementing the device or method set forth in the claims of this disclosure and a machine (e.g., computer)-readable storage medium storing the program. The program may be electronically transferred via any media such as communication signals transmitted through a wired or wireless connection and the present disclosure properly includes the equivalents thereof. The apparatuses according to various example embodiments of the present disclosure may receive the program from a program providing device via wire or wirelessly and store the same. The program providing apparatus may include a memory for storing a program including instructions enabling a program processing apparatus to perform a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and data necessary for a method according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication unit for performing wired or wireless communication with a graphic processing apparatus, and a controller transmitting the program to the graphic processing apparatus automatically or as requested by the graphic processing apparatus. The above is a description of a few examples and technical principles. It should clear for those skilled in the art that the protection scope is not limited to the above specified combinations of technical features, and technical mechanisms comprising any modifications and equivalents of the technical features within the principle of various examples should be covered in the protection scope of the invention. For example, a technical mechanism may be obtained by replacing the above features with other features with similar functions. What is described in the foregoing are only embodiments of the present disclosure, and should not be construed as limitations to the present disclosure. Any changes, equivalent replacements, modifications made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure are intended to be included within the protecting scope of the present disclosure. | 149,036 |
11943828 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the present specification, “A or B” may mean “only A”, “only B” or “both A and B”. In other words, in the present specification, “A or B” may be interpreted as “A and/or B”. For example, in the present specification, “A, B, or C” may mean “only A”, “only B”, “only C”, or “any combination of A, B, C”. A slash (/) or comma used in the present specification may mean “and/or”. For example, “A/B” may mean “A and/or B”. Accordingly, “A/B” may mean “only A”, “only B”, or “both A and B”. For example, “A, B, C” may mean “A, B, or C”. In the present specification, “at least one of A and B” may mean “only A”, “only B”, or “both A and B”. In addition, in the present specification, the expression “at least one of A or B” or “at least one of A and/or B” may be interpreted as “at least one of A and B”. In addition, in the present specification, “at least one of A, B, and C” may mean “only A”, “only B”, “only C”, or “any combination of A, B, and C”. In addition, “at least one of A, B, or C” or “at least one of A, B, and/or C” may mean “at least one of A, B, and C”. In addition, a parenthesis used in the present specification may mean “for example”. Specifically, when indicated as “control information (EHT-signal)”, it may denote that “EHT-signal” is proposed as an example of the “control information”. In other words, the “control information” of the present specification is not limited to “EHT-signal”, and “EHT-signal” may be proposed as an example of the “control information”. In addition, when indicated as “control information (i.e., EHT-signal)”, it may also mean that “EHT-signal” is proposed as an example of the “control information”. Technical features described individually in one figure in the present specification may be individually implemented, or may be simultaneously implemented. The following example of the present specification may be applied to various wireless communication systems. For example, the following example of the present specification may be applied to a wireless local area network (WLAN) system. For example, the present specification may be applied to the IEEE 802.11a/g/n/ac standard or the IEEE 802.11ax standard. In addition, the present specification may also be applied to the newly proposed EHT standard or IEEE 802.11be standard. In addition, the example of the present specification may also be applied to a new WLAN standard enhanced from the EHT standard or the IEEE 802.11be standard. In addition, the example of the present specification may be applied to a mobile communication system. For example, it may be applied to a mobile communication system based on long term evolution (LTE) depending on a 3 rd generation partnership project (3GPP) standard and based on evolution of the LTE. In addition, the example of the present specification may be applied to a communication system of a 5G NR standard based on the 3GPP standard. Hereinafter, in order to describe a technical feature of the present specification, a technical feature applicable to the present specification will be described. FIG.1shows an example of a transmitting apparatus and/or receiving apparatus of the present specification. In the example ofFIG.1, various technical features described below may be performed.FIG.1relates to at least one station (STA). For example, STAs110and120of the present specification may also be called in various terms such as a mobile terminal, a wireless device, a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile subscriber unit, or simply a user. The STAs110and120of the present specification may also be called in various terms such as a network, a base station, a node-B, an access point (AP), a repeater, a router, a relay, or the like. The STAs110and120of the present specification may also be referred to as various names such as a receiving apparatus, a transmitting apparatus, a receiving STA, a transmitting STA, a receiving device, a transmitting device, or the like. For example, the STAs110and120may serve as an AP or a non-AP. That is, the STAs110and120of the present specification may serve as the AP and/or the non-AP. The STAs110and120of the present specification may support various communication standards together in addition to the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, a communication standard (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR standard) or the like based on the 3GPP standard may be supported. In addition, the STA of the present specification may be implemented as various devices such as a mobile phone, a vehicle, a personal computer, or the like. In addition, the STA of the present specification may support communication for various communication services such as voice calls, video calls, data communication, and self-driving (autonomous-driving), or the like. The STAs110and120of the present specification may include a medium access control (MAC) conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard and a physical layer interface for a radio medium. The STAs110and120will be described below with reference to a sub-figure (a) ofFIG.1. The first STA110may include a processor111, a memory112, and a transceiver113. The illustrated process, memory, and transceiver may be implemented individually as separate chips, or at least two blocks/functions may be implemented through a single chip. The transceiver113of the first STA performs a signal transmission/reception operation. Specifically, an IEEE 802.11 packet (e.g., IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be, etc.) may be transmitted/received. For example, the first STA110may perform an operation intended by an AP. For example, the processor111of the AP may receive a signal through the transceiver113, process a reception (RX) signal, generate a transmission (TX) signal, and provide control for signal transmission. The memory112of the AP may store a signal (e.g., RX signal) received through the transceiver113, and may store a signal (e.g., TX signal) to be transmitted through the transceiver. For example, the second STA120may perform an operation intended by a non-AP STA. For example, a transceiver123of a non-AP performs a signal transmission/reception operation. Specifically, an IEEE 802.11 packet (e.g., IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be packet, etc.) may be transmitted/received. For example, a processor121of the non-AP STA may receive a signal through the transceiver123, process an RX signal, generate a TX signal, and provide control for signal transmission. A memory122of the non-AP STA may store a signal (e.g., RX signal) received through the transceiver123, and may store a signal (e.g., TX signal) to be transmitted through the transceiver. For example, an operation of a device indicated as an AP in the specification described below may be performed in the first STA110or the second STA120. For example, if the first STA110is the AP, the operation of the device indicated as the AP may be controlled by the processor111of the first STA110, and a related signal may be transmitted or received through the transceiver113controlled by the processor111of the first STA110. In addition, control information related to the operation of the AP or a TX/RX signal of the AP may be stored in the memory112of the first STA110. In addition, if the second STA120is the AP, the operation of the device indicated as the AP may be controlled by the processor121of the second STA120, and a related signal may be transmitted or received through the transceiver123controlled by the processor121of the second STA120. In addition, control information related to the operation of the AP or a TX/RX signal of the AP may be stored in the memory122of the second STA120. For example, in the specification described below, an operation of a device indicated as a non-AP (or user-STA) may be performed in the first STA110or the second STA120. For example, if the second STA120is the non-AP, the operation of the device indicated as the non-AP may be controlled by the processor121of the second STA120, and a related signal may be transmitted or received through the transceiver123controlled by the processor121of the second STA120. In addition, control information related to the operation of the non-AP or a TX/RX signal of the non-AP may be stored in the memory122of the second STA120. For example, if the first STA110is the non-AP, the operation of the device indicated as the non-AP may be controlled by the processor111of the first STA110, and a related signal may be transmitted or received through the transceiver113controlled by the processor111of the first STA110. In addition, control information related to the operation of the non-AP or a TX/RX signal of the non-AP may be stored in the memory112of the first STA110. In the specification described below, a device called a (transmitting/receiving) STA, a first STA, a second STA, a STA1, a STA2, an AP, a first AP, a second AP, an AP1, an AP2, a (transmitting/receiving) terminal, a (transmitting/receiving) device, a (transmitting/receiving) apparatus, a network, or the like may imply the STAs110and120ofFIG.1. For example, a device indicated as, without a specific reference numeral, the (transmitting/receiving) STA, the first STA, the second STA, the STA1, the STA2, the AP, the first AP, the second AP, the AP1, the AP2, the (transmitting/receiving) terminal, the (transmitting/receiving) device, the (transmitting/receiving) apparatus, the network, or the like may imply the STAs110and120ofFIG.1. For example, in the following example, an operation in which various STAs transmit/receive a signal (e.g., a PPDU) may be performed in the transceivers113and123ofFIG.1. In addition, in the following example, an operation in which various STAs generate a TX/RX signal or perform data processing and computation in advance for the TX/RX signal may be performed in the processors111and121ofFIG.1. For example, an example of an operation for generating the TX/RX signal or performing the data processing and computation in advance may include: 1) an operation of determining/obtaining/configuring/computing/decoding/encoding bit information of a sub-field (SIG, STF, LTF, Data) included in a PPDU; 2) an operation of determining/configuring/obtaining a time resource or frequency resource (e.g., a subcarrier resource) or the like used for the sub-field (SIG, STF, LTF, Data) included the PPDU; 3) an operation of determining/configuring/obtaining a specific sequence (e.g., a pilot sequence, an STF/LTF sequence, an extra sequence applied to SIG) or the like used for the sub-field (SIG, STF, LTF, Data) field included in the PPDU; 4) a power control operation and/or power saving operation applied for the STA; and 5) an operation related to determining/obtaining/configuring/decoding/encoding or the like of an ACK signal. In addition, in the following example, a variety of information used by various STAs for determining/obtaining/configuring/computing/decoding/decoding a TX/RX signal (e.g., information related to a field/subfield/control field/parameter/power or the like) may be stored in the memories112and122ofFIG.1. The aforementioned device/STA of the sub-figure (a) ofFIG.1may be modified as shown in the sub-figure (b) ofFIG.1. Hereinafter, the STAs110and120of the present specification will be described based on the sub-figure (b) ofFIG.1. For example, the transceivers113and123illustrated in the sub-figure (b) ofFIG.1may perform the same function as the aforementioned transceiver illustrated in the sub-figure (a) ofFIG.1. For example, processing chips114and124illustrated in the sub-figure (b) ofFIG.1may include the processors111and121and the memories112and122. The processors111and121and memories112and122illustrated in the sub-figure (b) ofFIG.1may perform the same function as the aforementioned processors111and121and memories112and122illustrated in the sub-figure (a) ofFIG.1. A mobile terminal, a wireless device, a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile subscriber unit, a user, a user STA, a network, a base station, a Node-B, an access point (AP), a repeater, a router, a relay, a receiving unit, a transmitting unit, a receiving STA, a transmitting STA, a receiving device, a transmitting device, a receiving apparatus, and/or a transmitting apparatus, which are described below, may imply the STAs110and120illustrated in the sub-figure (a)/(b) ofFIG.1, or may imply the processing chips114and124illustrated in the sub-figure (b) ofFIG.1. That is, a technical feature of the present specification may be performed in the STAs110and120illustrated in the sub-figure (a)/(b) ofFIG.1, or may be performed only in the processing chips114and124illustrated in the sub-figure (b) ofFIG.1. For example, a technical feature in which the transmitting STA transmits a control signal may be understood as a technical feature in which a control signal generated in the processors111and121illustrated in the sub-figure (a)/(b) ofFIG.1is transmitted through the transceivers113and123illustrated in the sub-figure (a)/(b) ofFIG.1. Alternatively, the technical feature in which the transmitting STA transmits the control signal may be understood as a technical feature in which the control signal to be transferred to the transceivers113and123is generated in the processing chips114and124illustrated in the sub-figure (b) ofFIG.1. For example, a technical feature in which the receiving STA receives the control signal may be understood as a technical feature in which the control signal is received by means of the transceivers113and123illustrated in the sub-figure (a) ofFIG.1. Alternatively, the technical feature in which the receiving STA receives the control signal may be understood as the technical feature in which the control signal received in the transceivers113and123illustrated in the sub-figure (a) ofFIG.1is obtained by the processors111and121illustrated in the sub-figure (a) ofFIG.1. Alternatively, the technical feature in which the receiving STA receives the control signal may be understood as the technical feature in which the control signal received in the transceivers113and123illustrated in the sub-figure (b) ofFIG.1is obtained by the processing chips114and124illustrated in the sub-figure (b) ofFIG.1. Referring to the sub-figure (b) ofFIG.1, software codes115and125may be included in the memories112and122. The software codes115and126may include instructions for controlling an operation of the processors111and121. The software codes115and125may be included as various programming languages. The processors111and121or processing chips114and124ofFIG.1may include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipsets, a logic circuit and/or a data processing device. The processor may be an application processor (AP). For example, the processors111and121or processing chips114and124ofFIG.1may include at least one of a digital signal processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), and a modulator and demodulator (modem). For example, the processors111and121or processing chips114and124ofFIG.1may be SNAPDRAGON™ series of processors made by Qualcomm®, EXYNOS™ series of processors made by Samsung®, A series of processors made by Apple®, HELIO™ series of processors made by MediaTek®, ATOM™ series of processors made by Intel® or processors enhanced from these processors. In the present specification, an uplink may imply a link for communication from a non-AP STA to an SP STA, and an uplink PPDU/packet/signal or the like may be transmitted through the uplink. In addition, in the present specification, a downlink may imply a link for communication from the AP STA to the non-AP STA, and a downlink PPDU/packet/signal or the like may be transmitted through the downlink. FIG.2is a conceptual view illustrating the structure of a wireless local area network (WLAN). An upper part ofFIG.2illustrates the structure of an infrastructure basic service set (BSS) of institute of electrical and electronic engineers (IEEE) 802.11. Referring the upper part ofFIG.2, the wireless LAN system may include one or more infrastructure BSSs200and205(hereinafter, referred to as BSS). The BSSs200and205as a set of an AP and a STA such as an access point (AP)225and a station (STA1)200-1which are successfully synchronized to communicate with each other are not concepts indicating a specific region. The BSS205may include one or more STAs205-1and205-2which may be joined to one AP230. The BSS may include at least one STA, APs providing a distribution service, and a distribution system (DS)210connecting multiple APs. The distribution system210may implement an extended service set (ESS)240extended by connecting the multiple BSSs200and205. The ESS240may be used as a term indicating one network configured by connecting one or more APs225or230through the distribution system210. The AP included in one ESS240may have the same service set identification (SSID). A portal220may serve as a bridge which connects the wireless LAN network (IEEE 802.11) and another network (e.g., 802.X). In the BSS illustrated in the upper part ofFIG.2, a network between the APs225and230and a network between the APs225and230and the STAs200-1,205-1, and205-2may be implemented. However, the network is configured even between the STAs without the APs225and230to perform communication. A network in which the communication is performed by configuring the network even between the STAs without the APs225and230is defined as an Ad-Hoc network or an independent basic service set (IBSS). A lower part ofFIG.2illustrates a conceptual view illustrating the IBSS. Referring to the lower part ofFIG.2, the IBSS is a BSS that operates in an Ad-Hoc mode. Since the IBSS does not include the access point (AP), a centralized management entity that performs a management function at the center does not exist. That is, in the IBSS, STAs250-1,250-2,250-3,255-4, and255-5are managed by a distributed manner. In the IBSS, all STAs250-1,250-2,250-3,255-4, and255-5may be constituted by movable STAs and are not permitted to access the DS to constitute a self-contained network. FIG.3illustrates a general link setup process. In S310, a STA may perform a network discovery operation. The network discovery operation may include a scanning operation of the STA. That is, to access a network, the STA needs to discover a participating network. The STA needs to identify a compatible network before participating in a wireless network, and a process of identifying a network present in a particular area is referred to as scanning. Scanning methods include active scanning and passive scanning. FIG.3illustrates a network discovery operation including an active scanning process. In active scanning, a STA performing scanning transmits a probe request frame and waits for a response to the probe request frame in order to identify which AP is present around while moving to channels. A responder transmits a probe response frame as a response to the probe request frame to the STA having transmitted the probe request frame. Here, the responder may be a STA that transmits the last beacon frame in a BSS of a channel being scanned. In the BSS, since an AP transmits a beacon frame, the AP is the responder. In an IBSS, since STAs in the IBSS transmit a beacon frame in turns, the responder is not fixed. For example, when the STA transmits a probe request frame via channel 1 and receives a probe response frame via channel 1, the STA may store BSS-related information included in the received probe response frame, may move to the next channel (e.g., channel 2), and may perform scanning (e.g., transmits a probe request and receives a probe response via channel 2) by the same method. Although not shown inFIG.3, scanning may be performed by a passive scanning method. In passive scanning, a STA performing scanning may wait for a beacon frame while moving to channels. A beacon frame is one of management frames in IEEE 802.11 and is periodically transmitted to indicate the presence of a wireless network and to enable the STA performing scanning to find the wireless network and to participate in the wireless network. In a BSS, an AP serves to periodically transmit a beacon frame. In an IBSS, STAs in the IBSS transmit a beacon frame in turns. Upon receiving the beacon frame, the STA performing scanning stores information related to a BSS included in the beacon frame and records beacon frame information in each channel while moving to another channel. The STA having received the beacon frame may store BSS-related information included in the received beacon frame, may move to the next channel, and may perform scanning in the next channel by the same method. After discovering the network, the STA may perform an authentication process in S320. The authentication process may be referred to as a first authentication process to be clearly distinguished from the following security setup operation in S340. The authentication process in S320may include a process in which the STA transmits an authentication request frame to the AP and the AP transmits an authentication response frame to the STA in response. The authentication frames used for an authentication request/response are management frames. The authentication frames may include information related to an authentication algorithm number, an authentication transaction sequence number, a status code, a challenge text, a robust security network (RSN), and a finite cyclic group. The STA may transmit the authentication request frame to the AP. The AP may determine whether to allow the authentication of the STA based on the information included in the received authentication request frame. The AP may provide the authentication processing result to the STA via the authentication response frame. When the STA is successfully authenticated, the STA may perform an association process in S330. The association process includes a process in which the STA transmits an association request frame to the AP and the AP transmits an association response frame to the STA in response. The association request frame may include, for example, information related to various capabilities, a beacon listen interval, a service set identifier (SSID), a supported rate, a supported channel, RSN, a mobility domain, a supported operating class, a traffic indication map (TIM) broadcast request, and an interworking service capability. The association response frame may include, for example, information related to various capabilities, a status code, an association ID (AID), a supported rate, an enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameter set, a received channel power indicator (RCPI), a received signal-to-noise indicator (RSNI), a mobility domain, a timeout interval (association comeback time), an overlapping BSS scanning parameter, a TIM broadcast response, and a QoS map. In S340, the STA may perform a security setup process. The security setup process in S340may include a process of setting up a private key through four-way handshaking, for example, through an extensible authentication protocol over LAN (EAPOL) frame. FIG.4illustrates an example of a PPDU used in an IEEE standard. As illustrated, various types of PHY protocol data units (PPDUs) are used in IEEE a/g/n/ac standards. Specifically, an LTF and a STF include a training signal, a SIG-A and a SIG-B include control information for a receiving STA, and a data field includes user data corresponding to a PSDU (MAC PDU/aggregated MAC PDU). FIG.4also includes an example of an HE PPDU according to IEEE 802.11ax. The HE PPDU according toFIG.4is an illustrative PPDU for multiple users. An HE-SIG-B may be included only in a PPDU for multiple users, and an HE-SIG-B may be omitted in a PPDU for a single user. As illustrated inFIG.4, the HE-PPDU for multiple users (MUs) may include a legacy-short training field (L-STF), a legacy-long training field (L-LTF), a legacy-signal (L-SIG), a high efficiency-signal A (HE-SIG A), a high efficiency-signal-B (HE-SIG B), a high efficiency-short training field (HE-STF), a high efficiency-long training field (HE-LTF), a data field (alternatively, an MAC payload), and a packet extension (PE) field. The respective fields may be transmitted for illustrated time periods (i.e., 4 or 8 μs). Hereinafter, a resource unit (RU) used for a PPDU is described. An RU may include a plurality of subcarriers (or tones). An RU may be used to transmit a signal to a plurality of STAs according to OFDMA. Further, an RU may also be defined to transmit a signal to one STA. An RU may be used for an STF, an LTF, a data field, or the like. The RU described in the present specification may be used in uplink (UL) communication and downlink (DL) communication. For example, when UL-MU communication which is solicited by a trigger frame is performed, a transmitting STA (e.g., an AP) may allocate a first RU (e.g., 26/52/106/242-RU, etc.) to a first STA through the trigger frame, and may allocate a second RU (e.g., 26/52/106/242-RU, etc.) to a second STA. Thereafter, the first STA may transmit a first trigger-based PPDU based on the first RU, and the second STA may transmit a second trigger-based PPDU based on the second RU. The first/second trigger-based PPDU is transmitted to the AP at the same (or overlapped) time period. For example, when a DL MU PPDU is configured, the transmitting STA (e.g., AP) may allocate the first RU (e.g., 26/52/106/242-RU. etc.) to the first STA, and may allocate the second RU (e.g., 26/52/106/242-RU, etc.) to the second STA. That is, the transmitting STA (e.g., AP) may transmit HE-STF, HE-LTF, and Data fields for the first STA through the first RU in one MU PPDU, and may transmit HE-STF, HE-LTF, and Data fields for the second STA through the second RU. FIG.5illustrates an operation based on UL-MU. As illustrated, a transmitting STA (e.g., an AP) may perform channel access through contending (e.g., a backoff operation), and may transmit a trigger frame1030. That is, the transmitting STA may transmit a PPDU including the trigger frame1030. Upon receiving the PPDU including the trigger frame, a trigger-based (TB) PPDU is transmitted after a delay corresponding to SIFS. TB PPDUs1041and1042may be transmitted at the same time period, and may be transmitted from a plurality of STAs (e.g., user STAs) having AIDs indicated in the trigger frame1030. An ACK frame1050for the TB PPDU may be implemented in various forms. A specific feature of the trigger frame is described with reference toFIG.6toFIG.8. Even if UL-MU communication is used, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) scheme or a MU MIMO scheme may be used, and the OFDMA and MU-MIMO schemes may be simultaneously used. FIG.6illustrates an example of a trigger frame. The trigger frame ofFIG.6allocates a resource for uplink multiple-user (MU) transmission, and may be transmitted, for example, from an AP. The trigger frame may be configured of a MAC frame, and may be included in a PPDU. Each field shown inFIG.6may be partially omitted, and another field may be added. In addition, a length of each field may be changed to be different from that shown in the figure. A frame control field1110ofFIG.6may include information related to a MAC protocol version and extra additional control information. A duration field1120may include time information for NAV configuration or information related to an identifier (e.g., AID) of a STA. In addition, an RA field1130may include address information of a receiving STA of a corresponding trigger frame, and may be optionally omitted. A TA field1140may include address information of a STA (e.g., an AP) which transmits the corresponding trigger frame. A common information field1150includes common control information applied to the receiving STA which receives the corresponding trigger frame. For example, a field indicating a length of an L-SIG field of an uplink PPDU transmitted in response to the corresponding trigger frame or information for controlling content of a SIG-A field (i.e., HE-SIG-A field) of the uplink PPDU transmitted in response to the corresponding trigger frame may be included. In addition, as common control information, information related to a length of a CP of the uplink PPDU transmitted in response to the corresponding trigger frame or information related to a length of an LTF field may be included. In addition, per user information fields1160#1 to1160#N corresponding to the number of receiving STAs which receive the trigger frame ofFIG.6are preferably included. The per user information field may also be called an “allocation field”. In addition, the trigger frame ofFIG.6may include a padding field1170and a frame check sequence field1180. Each of the per user information fields1160#1 to1160#N shown inFIG.6may include a plurality of subfields. FIG.7illustrates an example of a common information field of a trigger frame. A subfield ofFIG.7may be partially omitted, and an extra subfield may be added. In addition, a length of each subfield illustrated may be changed. A length field1210illustrated has the same value as a length field of an L-SIG field of an uplink PPDU transmitted in response to a corresponding trigger frame, and a length field of the L-SIG field of the uplink PPDU indicates a length of the uplink PPDU. As a result, the length field1210of the trigger frame may be used to indicate the length of the corresponding uplink PPDU. In addition, a cascade identifier field1220indicates whether a cascade operation is performed. The cascade operation implies that downlink MU transmission and uplink MU transmission are performed together in the same TXOP. That is, it implies that downlink MU transmission is performed and thereafter uplink MU transmission is performed after a pre-set time (e.g., SIFS). During the cascade operation, only one transmitting device (e.g., AP) may perform downlink communication, and a plurality of transmitting devices (e.g., non-APs) may perform uplink communication. A CS request field1230indicates whether a wireless medium state or a NAV or the like is necessarily considered in a situation where a receiving device which has received a corresponding trigger frame transmits a corresponding uplink PPDU. An HE-SIG-A information field1240may include information for controlling content of a SIG-A field (i.e., HE-SIG-A field) of the uplink PPDU in response to the corresponding trigger frame. A CP and LTF type field1250may include information related to a CP length and LTF length of the uplink PPDU transmitted in response to the corresponding trigger frame. A trigger type field1260may indicate a purpose of using the corresponding trigger frame, for example, typical triggering, triggering for beamforming, a request for block ACK/NACK, or the like. It may be assumed that the trigger type field1260of the trigger frame in the present specification indicates a trigger frame of a basic type for typical triggering. For example, the trigger frame of the basic type may be referred to as a basic trigger frame. FIG.8illustrates an example of a subfield included in a per user information field. A user information field1300ofFIG.8may be understood as any one of the per user information fields1160#1 to1160#N mentioned above with reference toFIG.6. A subfield included in the user information field1300ofFIG.8may be partially omitted, and an extra subfield may be added. In addition, a length of each subfield illustrated may be changed. A user identifier field1310ofFIG.8indicates an identifier of a STA (i.e., receiving STA) corresponding to per user information. An example of the identifier may be the entirety or part of an association identifier (AID) value of the receiving STA. In addition, an RU allocation field1320may be included. That is, when the receiving STA identified through the user identifier field1310transmits a TB PPDU in response to the trigger frame, the TB PPDU is transmitted through an RU indicated by the RU allocation field1320. The subfield ofFIG.8may include a coding type field1330. The coding type field1330may indicate a coding type of the TB PPDU. For example, when BCC coding is applied to the TB PPDU, the coding type field1330may be set to ‘1’, and when LDPC coding is applied, the coding type field1330may be set to ‘0’. In addition, the subfield ofFIG.8may include an MCS field1340. The MCS field1340may indicate an MCS scheme applied to the TB PPDU. For example, when BCC coding is applied to the TB PPDU, the coding type field1330may be set to ‘1’, and when LDPC coding is applied, the coding type field1330may be set to ‘0’. Hereinafter, a UL 01-DMA-based random access (UORA) scheme will be described. FIG.9describes a technical feature of the UORA scheme. A transmitting STA (e.g., an AP) may allocate six RU resources through a trigger frame as shown inFIG.9. Specifically, the AP may allocate a 1st RU resource (AID 0, RU 1), a 2nd RU resource (AID 0, RU 2), a 3rd RU resource (AID 0, RU 3), a 4th RU resource (AID 2045, RU 4), a 5th RU resource (AID 2045, RU 5), and a 6th RU resource (AID 3, RU 6). Information related to the AID 0, AID 3, or AID 2045 may be included, for example, in the user identifier field1310ofFIG.8. Information related to the RU 1 to RU 6 may be included, for example, in the RU allocation field1320ofFIG.8. AID=0 may imply a UORA resource for an associated STA, and AID=2045 may imply a UORA resource for an un-associated STA. Accordingly, the 1st to 3rd RU resources ofFIG.9may be used as a UORA resource for the associated STA, the 4th and 5th RU resources ofFIG.9may be used as a UORA resource for the un-associated STA, and the 6th RU resource ofFIG.9may be used as a typical resource for UL MU. In the example ofFIG.9, an OFDMA random access backoff (OBO) of a STA1 is decreased to 0, and the STA1 randomly selects the 2nd RU resource (AID 0, RU 2). In addition, since an OBO counter of a STA2/3 is greater than 0, an uplink resource is not allocated to the STA2/3. In addition, regarding a STA4 inFIG.9, since an AID (e.g., AID=3) of the STA4 is included in a trigger frame, a resource of the RU 6 is allocated without backoff. Specifically, since the STA1 ofFIG.9is an associated STA, the total number of eligible RA RUs for the STA1 is 3 (RU 1, RU 2, and RU 3), and thus the STA1 decreases an OBO counter by 3 so that the OBO counter becomes 0. In addition, since the STA2 ofFIG.9is an associated STA, the total number of eligible RA RUs for the STA2 is 3 (RU 1, RU 2, and RU 3), and thus the STA2 decreases the OBO counter by 3 but the OBO counter is greater than 0. In addition, since the STA3 ofFIG.9is an un-associated STA, the total number of eligible RA RUs for the STA3 is 2 (RU 4, RU 5), and thus the STA3 decreases the OBO counter by 2 but the OBO counter is greater than 0. Hereinafter, a PPDU transmitted/received in a STA of the present specification will be described. FIG.10illustrates an example of a PPDU used in the present specification. The PPDU ofFIG.10may be called in various terms such as an EHT PPDU, a TX PPDU, an RX PPDU, a first type or N-th type PPDU, or the like. For example, in the present specification, the PPDU or the EHT PPDU may be called in various terms such as a TX PPDU, a RX PPDU, a first type or N-th type PPDU, or the like. In addition, the EHT PPDU may be used in an EHT system and/or a new WLAN system enhanced from the EHT system. The PPDU ofFIG.10may indicate the entirety or part of a PPDU type used in the EHT system. For example, the example ofFIG.10may be used for both of a single-user (SU) mode and a multi-user (MU) mode. In other words, the PPDU ofFIG.10may be a PPDU for one receiving STA or a plurality of receiving STAs. When the PPDU ofFIG.10is used for a trigger-based (TB) mode, the EHT-SIG ofFIG.10may be omitted. In other words, an STA which has received a trigger frame for uplink-MU (UL-MU) may transmit the PPDU in which the EHT-SIG is omitted in the example ofFIG.10. InFIG.10, an L-STF to an EHT-LTF may be called a preamble or a physical preamble, and may be generated/transmitted/received/obtained/decoded in a physical layer. A subcarrier spacing of the L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG, and EHT-SIG fields ofFIG.10may be determined as 312.5 kHz, and a subcarrier spacing of the EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, and Data fields may be determined as 78.125 kHz. That is, a tone index (or subcarrier index) of the L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG, and EHT-SIG fields may be expressed in unit of 312.5 kHz, and a tone index (or subcarrier index) of the EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, and Data fields may be expressed in unit of 78.125 kHz. In the PPDU ofFIG.10, the L-LTE and the L-STF may be the same as those in the conventional fields. The L-SIG field ofFIG.10may include, for example, bit information of 24 bits. For example, the 24-bit information may include a rate field of 4 bits, a reserved bit of 1 bit, a length field of 12 bits, a parity bit of 1 bit, and a tail bit of 6 bits. For example, the length field of 12 bits may include information related to a length or time duration of a PPDU. For example, the length field of 12 bits may be determined based on a type of the PPDU. For example, when the PPDU is a non-HT, HT, VHT PPDU or an EHT PPDU, a value of the length field may be determined as a multiple of 3. For example, when the PPDU is an HE PPDU, the value of the length field may be determined as “a multiple of 3”+1 or “a multiple of 3”+2. In other words, for the non-HT, HT, VHT PPDI or the EHT PPDU, the value of the length field may be determined as a multiple of 3, and for the HE PPDU, the value of the length field may be determined as “a multiple of 3”+1 or “a multiple of 3”+2. For example, the transmitting STA may apply BCC encoding based on a ½ coding rate to the 24-bit information of the L-SIG field. Thereafter, the transmitting STA may obtain a BCC coding bit of 48 bits. BPSK modulation may be applied to the 48-bit coding bit, thereby generating 48 BPSK symbols. The transmitting STA may map the 48 BPSK symbols to positions except for a pilot subcarrier{subcarrier index −21, −7, +7, +21} and a DC subcarrier{subcarrier index 0}. As a result, the 48 BPSK symbols may be mapped to subcarrier indices −26 to −22, −20 to −8, −6 to −1, +1 to +6, +8 to +20, and +22 to +26. The transmitting STA may additionally map a signal of {−1, −1, −1, 1} to a subcarrier index {−28, −27, +27, +28}. The aforementioned signal may be used for channel estimation on a frequency domain corresponding to {−28, −27, +27, +28}. The transmitting STA may generate an RL-SIG generated in the same manner as the L-SIG. BPSK modulation may be applied to the RL-SIG. The receiving STA may know that the RX PPDU is the HE PPDU or the EHT PPDU, based on the presence of the RL-SIG. A universal SIG (U-SIG) may be inserted after the RL-SIG ofFIG.10. The U-SIB may be called in various terms such as a first SIG field, a first SIG, a first type SIG, a control signal, a control signal field, a first (type) control signal, or the like. The U-SIG may include information of N bits, and may include information for identifying a type of the EHT PPDU. For example, the U-SIG may be configured based on two symbols (e.g., two contiguous OFDM symbols). Each symbol (e.g., OFDM symbol) for the U-SIG may have a duration of 4 μs. Each symbol of the U-SIG may be used to transmit the 26-bit information. For example, each symbol of the U-SIG may be transmitted/received based on 52 data tomes and 4 pilot tones. Through the U-SIG (or U-SIG field), for example, A-bit information (e.g., 52 un-coded bits) may be transmitted. A first symbol of the U-SIG may transmit first X-bit information (e.g., 26 un-coded bits) of the A-bit information, and a second symbol of the U-SIB may transmit the remaining Y-bit information (e.g. 26 un-coded bits) of the A-bit information. For example, the transmitting STA may obtain 26 un-coded bits included in each U-SIG symbol. The transmitting STA may perform convolutional encoding (i.e., BCC encoding) based on a rate of R=½ to generate 52-coded bits, and may perform interleaving on the 52-coded bits. The transmitting STA may perform BPSK modulation on the interleaved 52-coded bits to generate 52 BPSK symbols to be allocated to each U-SIG symbol. One U-SIG symbol may be transmitted based on 65 tones (subcarriers) from a subcarrier index −28 to a subcarrier index +28, except for a DC index 0. The 52 BPSK symbols generated by the transmitting STA may be transmitted based on the remaining tones (subcarriers) except for pilot tones, i.e., tones −21, −7, +7, +21. For example, the A-bit information (e.g., 52 un-coded bits) generated by the U-SIG may include a CRC field (e.g., a field having a length of 4 bits) and a tail field (e.g., a field having a length of 6 bits). The CRC field and the tail field may be transmitted through the second symbol of the U-SIG. The CRC field may be generated based on 26 bits allocated to the first symbol of the U-SIG and the remaining 16 bits except for the CRC/tail fields in the second symbol, and may be generated based on the conventional CRC calculation algorithm. In addition, the tail field may be used to terminate trellis of a convolutional decoder, and may be set to, for example, “000000”. The A-bit information (e.g., 52 un-coded bits) transmitted by the U-SIG (or U-SIG field) may be divided into version-independent bits and version-dependent bits. For example, the version-independent bits may have a fixed or variable size. For example, the version-independent bits may be allocated only to the first symbol of the U-SIG, or the version-independent bits may be allocated to both of the first and second symbols of the U-SIG. For example, the version-independent bits and the version-dependent bits may be called in various terms such as a first control bit, a second control bit, or the like. For example, the version-independent bits of the U-SIG may include a PHY version identifier of 3 bits. For example, the PHY version identifier of 3 bits may include information related to a PHY version of a TX/RX PPDU. For example, a first value of the PHY version identifier of 3 bits may indicate that the TX/RX PPDU is an EHT PPDU. In other words, when the transmitting STA transmits the EHT PPDU, the PHY version identifier of 3 bits may be set to a first value. In other words, the receiving STA may determine that the RX PPDU is the EHT PPDU, based on the PHY version identifier having the first value. For example, the version-independent bits of the U-SIG may include a UL/DL flag field of 1 bit. A first value of the UL/DL flag field of 1 bit relates to UL communication, and a second value of the UL/DL flag field relates to DL communication. For example, the version-independent bits of the U-SIG may include information related to a TXOP length and information related to a BSS color ID. For example, when the EHT PPDU is divided into various types (e.g., various types such as an EHT PPDU related to an SU mode, an EHT PPDU related to a MU mode, an EHT PPDU related to a TB mode, an EHT PPDU related to extended range transmission, or the like), information related to the type of the EHT PPDU may be included in the version-dependent bits of the U-SIG. For example, the U-SIG may include: 1) a bandwidth field including information related to a bandwidth; 2) a field including information related to an MCS scheme applied to EHT-SIG; 3) an indication field including information regarding whether a dual subcarrier modulation (DCM) scheme is applied to EHT-SIG; 4) a field including information related to the number of symbol used for EHT-SIG; 5) a field including information regarding whether the EHT-SIG is generated across a full band; 6) a field including information related to a type of EHT-LTF/STF; and 7) information related to a field indicating an EHT-LTF length and a CP length. In the following example, a signal represented as a (TX/RX/UL/DL) signal, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) frame, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) packet, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) data unit, (TX/RX/UL/DL) data, or the like may be a signal transmitted/received based on the PPDU ofFIG.10. The PPDU ofFIG.10may be used to transmit/receive frames of various types. For example, the PPDU ofFIG.10may be used for a control frame. An example of the control frame may include a request to send (RTS), a clear to send (CTS), a power save-poll (PS-poll), BlockACKReq, BlockAck, a null data packet (NDP) announcement, and a trigger frame. For example, the PPDU ofFIG.10may be used for a management frame. An example of the management frame may include a beacon frame, a (re-)association request frame, a (re-)association response frame, a probe request frame, and a probe response frame. For example, the PPDU ofFIG.10may be used for a data frame. For example, the PPDU ofFIG.10may be used to simultaneously transmit at least two or more of the control frames, the management frame, and the data frame. FIG.11illustrates an example of a modified transmission device and/or receiving device of the present specification. Each device/STA of the sub-figure (a)/(b) ofFIG.1may be modified as shown inFIG.11. A transceiver630ofFIG.11may be identical to the transceivers113and123ofFIG.1. The transceiver630ofFIG.11may include a receiver and a transmitter. A processor610ofFIG.11may be identical to the processors111and121ofFIG.1. Alternatively, the processor610ofFIG.11may be identical to the processing chips114and124ofFIG.1. A memory620ofFIG.11may be identical to the memories112and122ofFIG.1. Alternatively, the memory620ofFIG.11may be a separate external memory different from the memories112and122ofFIG.1. Referring toFIG.11, a power management module611manages power for the processor610and/or the transceiver630. A battery612supplies power to the power management module611. A display613outputs a result processed by the processor610. A keypad614receives inputs to be used by the processor610. The keypad614may be displayed on the display613. A SIM card615may be an integrated circuit which is used to securely store an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) and its related key, which are used to identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile telephony devices such as mobile phones and computers. Referring toFIG.11, a speaker640may output a result related to a sound processed by the processor610. A microphone641may receive an input related to a sound to be used by the processor610. Hereinafter, technical features of multi-link (ML) supported by the STA of the present specification will be described. STAs (AP and/or non-AP STA) of the present specification may support multi-link (ML) communication. ML communication may mean communication supporting a plurality of links. Links related to ML communication may include channels (e.g., 20/40/80/160/240/320 MHz channels) of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band. A plurality of links used for ML communication may be set in various ways. For example, a plurality of links supported by one STA for ML communication may be a plurality of channels in the 2.4 GHz band, a plurality of channels in the 5 GHz band, and a plurality of channels in the 6 GHz band. Alternatively, a plurality of links may be a combination of at least one channel within the 2.4 GHz band (or 5 GHz/6 GHz band) and at least one channel within the 5 GHz band (or 2.4 GHz/6 GHz band). Meanwhile, at least one of a plurality of links supported by one STA for ML communication may be a channel to which preamble puncturing is applied. The STA may perform ML setup to perform ML communication. ML setup may be performed based on management frames or control frames such as Beacon, Probe Request/Response, and Association Request/Response. For example, information on ML setup may be included in element fields included in Beacon, Probe Request/Response, and Association Request/Response. When ML setup is completed, an enabled link for ML communication may be determined. The STA may perform frame exchange through at least one of a plurality of links determined as an enabled link. For example, an enabled link may be used for at least one of a management frame, a control frame, and a data frame. When one STA supports a plurality of Links, a transmitting/receiving device supporting each Link may operate like one logical STA. For example, one STA supporting two links may be expressed as one ML device (Multi Link Device; MLD) including a first STA for a first link and a second STA for a second link. For example, one AP supporting two links may be expressed as one AP MLD including a first AP for a first link and a second AP for a second link. In addition, one non-AP supporting two links may be expressed as one non-AP MLD including a first STA for the first link and a second STA for the second link. More specific features of the ML setup are described below. An MLD (AP MLD and/or non-AP MLD) may transmit information about a link that the corresponding MLD can support through ML setup. Link-related information may be configured in various ways. For example, link-related information includes at least one of 1) information on whether the MLD (or STA) supports simultaneous RX/TX operation, 2) information on the number/upper limit of uplink/downlink links supported by the MLD (or STA), 3) information on the location/band/resource of uplink/downlink link supported by MLD (or STA), 4) type of frame available or preferred in at least one uplink/downlink link (management, control, data etc.), 5) available or preferred ACK policy information on at least one uplink/downlink link, and 6) information on available or preferred TID (traffic identifier) on at least one uplink/downlink link. The TID is related to the priority of traffic data and is represented by 8 types of values according to the conventional wireless LAN standard. That is, 8 TID values corresponding to 4 access categories (AC) (AC_BK (background), AC_BE (best effort), AC_VI (video), AC_VO (voice)) according to the conventional wireless LAN standard may be defined. For example, it may be set in advance that all TIDs are mapped for uplink/downlink links. Specifically, if negotiation is not done through ML setup, all TIDs may be used for ML communication, and if mapping between uplink/downlink links and TIDs is negotiated through additional ML setup, the negotiated TIDs may be used for ML communication. A plurality of links that can be used by the transmitting MLD and the receiving MLD related to ML communication can be set through ML setup, and this can be called an enabled link. The enabled link can be called differently in a variety of ways. For example, it may be called various expressions such as a first link, a second link, a transmitting link, and a receiving link. After the ML setup is complete, the MLD may update the ML setup. For example, the MLD may transmit information about a new link when updating information about a link is required. Information about the new link may be transmitted based on at least one of a management frame, a control frame, and a data frame. The device described below may be the apparatus ofFIGS.1and/or11, and the PPDU may be the PPDU ofFIG.10. A device may be an AP or a non-AP STA. A device described below may be an AP multi-link device (MLD) or a non-AP STA MLD supporting multi-link. In EHT (extremely high throughput), a standard being discussed after 802.11ax, a multi-link environment in which one or more bands are simultaneously used is considered. When a device supports multi-link, the device can simultaneously or alternately use one or more bands (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, 60 GHz, etc.). In the following specification, MLD means a multi-link device. The MLD has one or more connected STAs and has one MAC service access point (SAP) that communicates with the upper link layer (Logical Link Control, LLC). MLD may mean a physical device or a logical device. Hereinafter, a device may mean an MLD. In the following specification, a transmitting device and a receiving device may mean MLD. The first link of the receiving/transmitting device may be a terminal (e.g., STA or AP) included in the receiving/transmitting device and performing signal transmission/reception through the first link. The second link of the receiving/transmitting device may be a terminal (e.g., STA or AP) that transmits/receives a signal through the second link included in the receiving/transmitting device. In IEEE802.11be, two types of multi-link operations can be supported. For example, simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) and non-STR operations may be considered. For example, STR may be referred to as asynchronous multi-link operation, and non-STR may be referred to as synchronous multi-link operation. Multi-links may include multi-bands. That is, multi-links may mean links included in several frequency bands or may mean multiple links included in one frequency band. EHT (11be) considers multi-link technology, where multi-link may include multi-band. That is, multi-link can represent links of several bands and multiple multi-links within one band at the same time. Two major multi-link operations are being considered. Asynchronous operation, which enables TX/RX simultaneously on several links, and synchronous operation, which is not possible, are being considered. Hereinafter, a capability that enables simultaneous reception and transmission on multiple links is referred to as STR (simultaneous transmit and receive), an STA having STR capability is referred to as STR MLD (multi-link device), and an STA that does not have STR capability is referred to as a non-STR MLD. In the following specification, for convenience of explanation, it is described that the MLD (or the processor of the MLD) controls at least one STA, but is not limited thereto. As described above, the at least one STA may transmit and receive signals independently regardless of MLD. According to an embodiment, an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD may have a structure having a plurality of links. In other words, a non-AP MLD can support multiple links. A non-AP MLD may include a plurality of STAs. A plurality of STAs may have Link for each STA. In the EHT standard (802.11be standard), the MLD (Multi-Link Device) structure in which one AP/non-AP MLD supports multiple links is considered as a major technology. STAs included in the non-AP MLD may transmit information about other STAs in the non-AP MLD together through one link. Accordingly, there is an effect of reducing the overhead of frame exchange. In addition, there is an effect of increasing the link use efficiency of the STA and reducing power consumption. Here, multi-link may include multi-band. That is, multi-link can represent links of several bands and multiple multi-links within one band at the same time. In the EHT wireless LAN system (802.11be), a multi-link concept in which one AP/non-AP device simultaneously supports several links is considered as a major technology. A device that supports Multi-Link is defined as multi-link device (MLD). FIG.12is an example of a structure in which one MLD has several Links. Referring toFIG.12, the MLD has several STAs (STAs 1, 2, and 3) and each STA has a Link (Links 1, 2, and 3). As such, in the case of an AP/non-AP MLD supporting Multi-Link, each AP of the AP MLD and each STA of the non-AP MLD are connected to each link through a link setup process. And, at this time, the connected Link may be changed or reconnected to another Link by an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD depending on circumstances. In general, each link between an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD is determined through (re)Association frame exchange during a multi-link setup process. The STA of the MLD that has performed this multi-link setup performs frame exchange through the connected link. An example of AP MLD and non-AP MLD connection through the multi-link setup process is shown inFIG.13. FIG.13is an example of a connection structure between an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD through multi-link setup. When STA 1 of the non-AP MLD transmits a (re)association request frame including setup link information for each STA to the AP MLD, and the receiving AP responds with a (re)association response frame that the AP accepts, the non-Multi-link setup is possible for multiple links with one (re)association frame between AP MLD and AP MLD. For example, in the case ofFIG.13, each of APs 1 and 2 of the AP MLD is connected to Links 1 and 2 for two STAs 1 and 2 of the non-AP MLD through multi-link setup. Each AP and STA performs frame exchange through the connected Link, and it is possible to transmit information of other APs or other STAs through one Link due to the nature of multi-Link. However, after this multi-link setup process, depending on the situation, you want more efficient frame exchange (e.g. load balancing, interference avoiding, etc.) or in various cases (e.g. STA turn off, etc.), the AP MLD or non-AP MLD may request a link configuration status change (e.g. Link add/Link delete/Link switching). However, when using an existing (re)association frame, the overhead of setting each link state may be large. This is because the non-AP MLD, which has already performed multi-link setup for several links, cannot disconnect links for only some links but not all links, and if even one link is disconnected, the disassociation process for all links must be performed. In addition, in order for the STA of the non-AP MLD to additionally configure a new link after multi-link setup, it must newly (re)associate all links after disassociation. In the case of a single link device, since it has only one link, (re)association or disassociation for all links within the device is not a problem, but in the case of an MLD that supports multi-link, all links are Performing (re)association or disassociation every time can be expensive and inefficient. Therefore, in this embodiment, a new method that can be efficiently configured when an STA of an MLD re-configurates some links is defined. 1. Multi-Link (ML) Re-Configuration After the multi-link setup process between MLDs, the multi-link connected by the STA of the AP MLD or non-AP MLD may be reconfigured. In this specification, ML Re-configuration is defined as adding/delete/modifying (i.e., switching) a link by an STA without a separate (re)association process for an existing connected multi-link state. In case of (re)association between existing MLDs, if some of the multi-link setup links are changed, initial state information (e.g. MLD level security key information, etc.) is not maintained, after disassociation of all links, a new multi-link setup must be performed. However, such an operation may cause unnecessary frame exchange overhead. Therefore, in this specification, several cases of ML Reconfiguration that can change some link states without disassociation or (re)association process are defined, and matters to be considered in such ML Reconfiguration are proposed. 1.1. ML Re-Configuration—Add Link Process This section describes the process by which the STA of the MLD adds some links among multi-link setup links. After the multi-link setup process (i.e., after association), the STA of the MLD can create and add a link to the STA without a (re)association process if there is an STA that has not been setup. An embodiment for this is shown inFIG.14. FIG.14shows an example of adding a link in ML reconfiguration. As shown inFIG.13, after STA 1 and STA 2 are connected to Link 1 and Link 2 for AP 1 and AP 2 through the existing multi-link setup, link can be additionally added for STA 3 of non-AP MLD. To this end, the non-AP MLD may exchange frames for creating a new link for STA 3 through previously connected Link 1 or Link 2. A request frame for this may use a new frame or an existing frame (e g management frame, action frame, etc.). 1.2. ML Re-Configuration—Delete Link Process This section describes the process by which the STA of the MLD deletes some of the multi-link setup links. After the multi-link setup process (i.e., after association), the STA of the MLD can remove and delete some of the links among the links set up without disassociation process. An embodiment for this is shown inFIG.15. FIG.15shows an example of deleting a link in ML reconfiguration. As shown inFIG.13, after STA 1 and STA 2 are connected to Link 1 and Link 2 for AP 1 and AP 2 through the existing multi-link setup, link can be removed for STA 2 of non-AP MLD. To this end, the non-AP MLD may exchange frames for deleting the link to STA 2 through previously connected Link 1 or Link 2. A request frame for this may use a new frame or an existing frame (e g management frame, action frame, etc.). 1.3. ML Re-Configuration—Modify (Switching) Link Process This section describes the process of modifying (switching) the STA of MLD for some of the multi-link setup links. After the multi-link setup process (i.e., after association), the STA of the MLD may modify and change some links among the links set up without a (re)association process. An embodiment for this is shown inFIG.16. FIG.16shows an example of modifying a link in ML reconfiguration. As shown inFIG.13, after STA 1 and STA 2 are connected to Link 1 and Link 2 for AP 1 and AP 2 through the existing multi-link setup, link can be changed for STA 2 of non-AP MLD. To this end, the non-AP MLD may exchange frames for changing the link to STA 2 through Link 1 or Link 2 connected previously. A request frame for this may use a new frame or an existing frame (e g management frame, action frame, etc.). 1.4. Signaling Definition for ML Re-Configuration This section defines signaling for the MLD reconfiguration process. MLD requires a container to put information about each STA and AP in a frame in order to ADD/DELETE/MODIFY a link. For this, ML IE (Multi-Link Element) defined in 802.11be can be used. FIG.17shows a format of a Multi-Link element. The upper part ofFIG.17shows a Multi-Link element, and the Multi-Link element includes Element ID, Length, Element ID Extension, Multi-Link Control, Common Info, and Link Info fields. The Multi-Link Control field includes a Type subfield and an MLD MAC Address Present subfield, and the Type subfield is used to distinguish a variant of a Multi-Link element. Various variants of the Multi-Link element are used for various multi-link operations. The format of each variant of the Multi-Link element is as follows. TABLE 1Typesubfield valueMulti-Link element variant name0Basic Multi-Link element1Probe Request Multi-Link element2(ML) Reconfiguration Multi-Link element3Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) Multi-Link element4Priority Access Multi-Link element5-7Reserved Referring to Table 1, the type of the ML IE is defined through the Type subfield of the Multi-Link Control field of the ML IE. If the value of the Type subfield is 0, the ML IE indicates a Basic variant Multi-Link element, if the value of the Type subfield is 1, the ML IE indicates the Probe Request variant Multi-Link element, and if the value of the Type subfield is 2, the ML IE indicates the ML Reconfiguration variant Multi-Link element. Referring toFIG.17, the Common Info field means common information between STAs in the MLD, and specific information about each STA is indicated in the Per-STA Profile of the Link Info field. The Common Info field includes the MLD MAC Address subfield. When the MLD MAC Address Present subfield is set to 1 (or 0), MAC addresses of STAs in the MLD may be included in the MLD MAC Address subfield. The Link Info field includes a Per-STA Profile subfield when the optional subelement ID is 0, and includes a Vendor Specific subfield when the optional subelement ID is 221. Optional subelement IDs for Multi-link Element are defined as follows. TABLE 2Subelement IDNameExtensible0Per-STA ProfileYes1-220Reserved221Vendor SpecificVendor defined222-255Reserved The Link Info field includes a Per-STA Profile subfield for other STAs (STAs operating on a non-association link) within the same MLD. In this specification, an ML Reconfiguration variant Multi-Link element (or the Reconfiguration Multi-Link element), which is a new ML IE Type for ML Reconfiguration, is newly defined. As described above, when the value of the Type subfield is 2, the ML IE may be defined as an ML Reconfiguration variant Multi-Link element. Additionally, the present specification defines matters to be considered when the MLD performs a reconfiguration process. When the MLD performs an ML Reconfiguration Operation (ADD/DELETE/MODIFY, etc.), the link set previously configured through the multi-link setup process may be changed. For example, as shown inFIG.13, after the non-AP MLD performs multi-link setup with the AP MLD, when the non-AP MLD ADDs a link to STA 3, it consists of a total of 3 link sets from the existing 2 link sets. At this time, in the existing multi-link setup process, various MLD capabilities are defined based on Link 1 and Link 2, which are existing link sets. However, when Link 3 is created through MLD ADD Reconfiguration, the link set is Link 1, Link 2, and Link 3, and various MLD capabilities are reconfigured based on a total of three links. At this time, if a change has occurred in the MLD Capability of the non-AP MLD, the AP MLD must know this. Therefore, in this specification, several operations required after ML Reconfiguration of the MLD are defined to notify the change of the MLD Capability. 2 Notification of ML Re-Configuration This section proposes necessary operations when MLD performs reconfiguration. Non-AP MLD determines various capabilities based on the link set created when multi-link setup is performed with the AP MLD, and information about these is exchanged with the AP MLD. However, when the non-AP MLD performs ML Reconfiguration (ADD/DELETE/MODIFY) after multi-link setup, the existing link set may be changed according to link creation/link removal/link change. At this time, key information of the non-AP MLD may be updated through these link changes. For example, this information includes MLD Capabilities (e.g. whether Simultaneous Transmit Receive (STR) is supported for a pair of links, number of links supported in MLD), EML Capabilities (Enhanced Multi-Link Single radio mode or Enhanced Multi-Link Single radio mode support, etc.). At this time, the non-AP MLD must inform the AP MLD of key information of the updated MLD as the link set configuration is changed through the ML Reconfiguration process. This section proposes methods for non-AP MLD to notify updated information through ML Reconfiguration. 2.1 A Method for Including Information in a Separate Notification Frame This method is a method in which the non-AP MLD notifies updated key information through a separate notification frame after the ML Reconfiguration operation is completed. FIG.18shows an example of delivering key information updated after an ML reconfiguration operation through a notification frame. For example, as shown inFIG.14, it is assumed that the non-AP MLD additionally creates one link for STA 3. In this case, in the multi-link setup process, the non-AP MLD creates only two links for Link 1 and Link 2, and at this time, the STR capability of the non-AP MLD is determined considering only Link 1 and Link 2. However, at this time, if Link 3 is additionally created for STA 3, the non-AP MLD has Link 1, Link 2, and Link 3, and the STR capability of each link may be changed. Originally, Link 1 and Link 2 had STR capability, but with the creation of Link 3, the existing Link 1 and Link 2 can be changed to non-STR capability. In this case, the main capability information of the non-AP MLD must be informed to the AP MLD. Also, in this case, the number of links supported in the MLD (e.g. the number of simultaneous links) is changed from 2 to 3. This information is MLD Capability information at the MLD level, and the non-AP MLD must inform the AP MLD. As shown inFIG.15, it is assumed that Link 1 and Link 2 are created in the multi-link setup process, but Link 2 is DELETE through the ML Reconfiguration process. At this time, if the non-AP MLD that previously supported the EML SR (Enhanced multi-link single radio operation) mode does not support the corresponding mode as some link information is changed, this changed information is also converted into MLD Capability information of the MLD Level. The non-AP MLD must inform the AP MLD. The same applies to a case in which the EML SR mode is changed from not being supported to being supported when a new link is created. To this end, the non-AP MLD transmits the information through a separate notification frame after ML Reconfiguration is completed (ie, when a response message including Accept STATUS CODE is received from the AP MLD). The AP receiving the notification frame may update the changed information of the non-AP MLD based on this. In this method, the non-AP MLD transmits a Notification frame only when the AP MLD accepts the ML Reconfiguration request of the non-AP MLD, so that unnecessary information transmission by Reject can be prevented. 2.2 A Method for Including Information in the ML Reconfiguration Frame This method is a method in which the non-AP MLD predicts key information to be updated through the ML Reconfiguration operation, includes it in advance in the ML Reconfiguration request message, and transmits it. FIG.19shows an example of predicting key information to be updated through an ML reconfiguration operation and delivering it through an ML reconfiguration request message. For example, as shown inFIG.14, it is assumed that the non-AP MLD additionally creates one link for STA 3. In this case, in the multi-link setup process, the non-AP MLD creates only two links for Link 1 and Link 2, and at this time, the STR capability of the non-AP MLD is determined considering only Link 1 and Link 2. However, at this time, if Link 3 is additionally created for STA 3, the non-AP MLD has Link 1, Link 2, and Link 3, and the STR capability of each link may be changed. Originally, Link 1 and Link 2 had STR capability, but with the creation of Link 3, the existing Link 1 and Link 2 can be changed to non-STR capability. In this case, the main capability information of the non-AP MLD must be informed to the AP MLD. Also, in this case, the number of links (e.g. the number of simultaneous links) supported in the MLD is changed from 2 to 3. This information is MLD Capability information at the MLD level, and the non-AP MLD must inform the AP MLD. As shown inFIG.15, it is assumed that Link 1 and Link 2 are created in the multi-link setup process, but Link 2 is DELETE through the ML Reconfiguration process. At this time, if a non-AP MLD that previously supported EML SR (Enhanced multi-link single radio operation) mode does not support the corresponding mode as information of some links is changed, this change information is also MLD Capability information at the MLD Level, and the non-AP MLD must inform the AP MLD. The same applies to a case in which the EML SR mode is changed from not being supported to being supported when a new link is created. To this end, when performing the ML Reconfiguration operation, the non-AP MLD may transmit an ML Reconfiguration request message including an information value expected to be changed through Link Reconfiguration. If STA 3 creates Link 3 and it is calculated that the number of links supported by the current MLD will change from 2 to 3, the corresponding value may be included in the request message and transmitted. Upon receiving this, the AP can obtain the main change information of the non-AP MLD without a separate frame exchange when ACCEPT the corresponding ML reconfiguration operation. In this method, if the AP MLD accepts the non-AP MLD's ML Reconfiguration request, the frame overhead may be smaller than the method using the Notification frame mentioned in the above section. But if the request is rejected, unnecessary overhead may occur. Hereinafter, the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.1to19. FIG.20is a flowchart illustrating a procedure in which a transmitting MLD receives updated information on ML reconfiguration through a separate frame according to the present embodiment. The example ofFIG.20may be performed in a network environment in which a next generation WLAN system (IEEE 802.11be or EHT WLAN system) is supported. The next generation wireless LAN system is a WLAN system that is enhanced from an 802.11ax system and may, therefore, satisfy backward compatibility with the 802.11ax system. This embodiment proposes a method and apparatus for configuring a separate frame to deliver updated information after a Multi-Link (ML) reconfiguration operation between a transmitting and receiving MLD. The ML reconfiguration corresponds to an operation of generating some links, deleting some links, or modifying (or changing) some links in the transmitting and receiving MLD. A first transmitting STA connected to a first receiving STA included in the receiving MLD through a first link may correspond to a peer AP, and the second to third transmitting STAs connected through different links (second to third links) may correspond to different APs. In step S2010, a transmitting multi-link device (MLD) performs multi-link (ML) reconfiguration with a receiving MLD. In step S2020, the transmitting MLD receives MLD capability information for the ML reconfiguration from the receiving MLD. The transmitting MLD includes a first transmitting station (STA) operating on the first link and a second transmitting STA operating on a second link. The receiving MLD includes a first receiving STA operating on the first link, and a second receiving STA operating on the second link. The MLD capability information includes information on a change in the number of links simultaneously supported by the transmitting and receiving MLDs. The ML reconfiguration may be a method of changing a state of some links without performing an association process, a reassociation process, or a disassociation process for all links of the transmitting and receiving MLDs. That is, in this embodiment, by separately transmitting the MLD capability information (updated information) after performing the ML reconfiguration, there is an effect that the transmitting MLD can efficiently update the changed information of the receiving MLD. In addition, this embodiment has an effect of preventing a situation in which unnecessary information needs to be retransmitted when the request for ML reconfiguration is rejected. The MLD capability information may be included in a Basic ML element. The basic ML element may be included in a beacon frame and a probe response frame. The beacon frame and the probe response frame may further include a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element. The RNR element may include Target Beacon Transmission Time (TBTT) information for the added AP. The transmitting MLD may further include a third transmitting STA, and the receiving MLD may further include a third receiving STA. For the transmitting and receiving MLDs, the first and second links may be established, and the third link that can be connected between the third transmitting and receiving STAs may not be established. That is, based on multi-link configuration, the first transmitting and receiving STAs are connected to the first link, and the second transmitting and receiving STAs are connected to the second link, and the third transmitting and receiving STAs are not connected to the third link. When the third link is added based on the ML reconfiguration, the number of links simultaneously supported by the transmitting and receiving MLDs may be changed from 2 to 3, the MLD capability information may further include information on whether Simultaneous Transmit Receive (STR) is supported between the first to third links. When the second link is deleted based on the ML reconfiguration and only the second link supports an enhanced multi-link single radio operation (EML SR) mode, the MLD capability information may further include information that the receiving MLD does not support the EML SR mode due to deletion of the second link. The receiving MLD may transmit a request frame requesting the MLD reconfiguration to the transmitting MLD. The receiving MLD may receive a response frame responding to the MLD reconfiguration from the transmitting MLD. The response frame may include a status code accepting the MLD reconfiguration. FIG.21is a flowchart illustrating a procedure in which a receiving MLD transmits updated information on ML reconfiguration through a separate frame according to the present embodiment. The example ofFIG.21may be performed in a network environment in which a next generation WLAN system (IEEE 802.11be or EHT WLAN system) is supported. The next generation wireless LAN system is a WLAN system that is enhanced from an 802.11ax system and may, therefore, satisfy backward compatibility with the 802.11ax system. This embodiment proposes a method and apparatus for configuring a separate frame to deliver updated information after a Multi-Link (ML) reconfiguration operation between a transmitting and receiving MLD. The ML reconfiguration corresponds to an operation of generating some links, deleting some links, or modifying (or changing) some links in the transmitting and receiving MLD. A first transmitting STA connected to a first receiving STA included in the receiving MLD through a first link may correspond to a peer AP, and the second to third transmitting STAs connected through different links (second to third links) may correspond to different APs. In step S2110, a receiving multi-link device (MLD) performs multi-link (ML) reconfiguration with a transmitting MLD. In step S2120, the receiving MLD transmits MLD capability information for the ML reconfiguration to the transmitting MLD. The transmitting MLD includes a first transmitting station (STA) operating on the first link and a second transmitting STA operating on a second link. The receiving MLD includes a first receiving STA operating on the first link, and a second receiving STA operating on the second link. The MLD capability information includes information on a change in the number of links simultaneously supported by the transmitting and receiving MLDs. The ML reconfiguration may be a method of changing a state of some links without performing an association process, a reassociation process, or a disassociation process for all links of the transmitting and receiving MLDs. That is, in this embodiment, by separately transmitting the MLD capability information (updated information) after performing the ML reconfiguration, there is an effect that the transmitting MLD can efficiently update the changed information of the receiving MLD. In addition, this embodiment has an effect of preventing a situation in which unnecessary information needs to be retransmitted when the request for ML reconfiguration is rejected. The MLD capability information may be included in a Basic ML element. The basic ML element may be included in a beacon frame and a probe response frame. The beacon frame and the probe response frame may further include a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element. The RNR element may include Target Beacon Transmission Time (TBTT) information for the added AP. The transmitting MLD may further include a third transmitting STA, and the receiving MLD may further include a third receiving STA. For the transmitting and receiving MLDs, the first and second links may be established, and the third link that can be connected between the third transmitting and receiving STAs may not be established. That is, based on multi-link configuration, the first transmitting and receiving STAs are connected to the first link, and the second transmitting and receiving STAs are connected to the second link, and the third transmitting and receiving STAs are not connected to the third link. When the third link is added based on the ML reconfiguration, the number of links simultaneously supported by the transmitting and receiving MLDs may be changed from 2 to 3, the MLD capability information may further include information on whether Simultaneous Transmit Receive (STR) is supported between the first to third links. When the second link is deleted based on the ML reconfiguration and only the second link supports an enhanced multi-link single radio operation (EML SR) mode, the MLD capability information may further include information that the receiving MLD does not support the EML SR mode due to deletion of the second link. The receiving MLD may transmit a request frame requesting the MLD reconfiguration to the transmitting MLD. The receiving MLD may receive a response frame responding to the MLD reconfiguration from the transmitting MLD. The response frame may include a status code accepting the MLD reconfiguration. The technical features of the present disclosure may be applied to various devices and methods. For example, the technical features of the present disclosure may be performed/supported through the device(s) ofFIG.1and/orFIG.11. For example, the technical features of the present disclosure may be applied to only part ofFIG.1and/orFIG.11. For example, the technical features of the present disclosure may be implemented based on the processing chip(s)114and124ofFIG.1, or implemented based on the processor(s)111and121and the memory(s)112and122, or implemented based on the processor610and the memory620ofFIG.11. For example, the device according to the present disclosure performs multi-link (ML) reconfiguration with a transmitting multi-link device (MLD); and transmits MLD capability information for the ML reconfiguration to the transmitting MLD. The technical features of the present disclosure may be implemented based on a computer readable medium (CRM). For example, a CRM according to the present disclosure is at least one computer readable medium including instructions designed to be executed by at least one processor. The CRM may store instructions that perform operations including performing multi-link (ML) reconfiguration with a transmitting multi-link device (MLD); and transmitting MLD capability information for the ML reconfiguration to the transmitting MLD. At least one processor may execute the instructions stored in the CRM according to the present disclosure. At least one processor related to the CRM of the present disclosure may be the processor111,121ofFIG.1, the processing chip114,124ofFIG.1, or the processor610ofFIG.11. Meanwhile, the CRM of the present disclosure may be the memory112,122ofFIG.1, the memory620ofFIG.11, or a separate external memory/storage medium/disk. The foregoing technical features of the present specification are applicable to various applications or business models. For example, the foregoing technical features may be applied for wireless communication of a device supporting artificial intelligence (AI). Artificial intelligence refers to a field of study on artificial intelligence or methodologies for creating artificial intelligence, and machine learning refers to a field of study on methodologies for defining and solving various issues in the area of artificial intelligence. Machine learning is also defined as an algorithm for improving the performance of an operation through steady experiences of the operation. An artificial neural network (ANN) is a model used in machine learning and may refer to an overall problem-solving model that includes artificial neurons (nodes) forming a network by combining synapses. The artificial neural network may be defined by a pattern of connection between neurons of different layers, a learning process of updating a model parameter, and an activation function generating an output value. The artificial neural network may include an input layer, an output layer, and optionally one or more hidden layers. Each layer includes one or more neurons, and the artificial neural network may include synapses that connect neurons. In the artificial neural network, each neuron may output a function value of an activation function of input signals input through a synapse, weights, and deviations. A model parameter refers to a parameter determined through learning and includes a weight of synapse connection and a deviation of a neuron. A hyper-parameter refers to a parameter to be set before learning in a machine learning algorithm and includes a learning rate, the number of iterations, a mini-batch size, and an initialization function. Learning an artificial neural network may be intended to determine a model parameter for minimizing a loss function. The loss function may be used as an index for determining an optimal model parameter in a process of learning the artificial neural network. Machine learning may be classified into supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning. Supervised learning refers to a method of training an artificial neural network with a label given for training data, wherein the label may indicate a correct answer (or result value) that the artificial neural network needs to infer when the training data is input to the artificial neural network. Unsupervised learning may refer to a method of training an artificial neural network without a label given for training data. Reinforcement learning may refer to a training method for training an agent defined in an environment to choose an action or a sequence of actions to maximize a cumulative reward in each state. Machine learning implemented with a deep neural network (DNN) including a plurality of hidden layers among artificial neural networks is referred to as deep learning, and deep learning is part of machine learning. Hereinafter, machine learning is construed as including deep learning. The foregoing technical features may be applied to wireless communication of a robot. Robots may refer to machinery that automatically process or operate a given task with own ability thereof. In particular, a robot having a function of recognizing an environment and autonomously making a judgment to perform an operation may be referred to as an intelligent robot. Robots may be classified into industrial, medical, household, military robots and the like according uses or fields. A robot may include an actuator or a driver including a motor to perform various physical operations, such as moving a robot joint. In addition, a movable robot may include a wheel, a brake, a propeller, and the like in a driver to run on the ground or fly in the air through the driver. The foregoing technical features may be applied to a device supporting extended reality. Extended reality collectively refers to virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). VR technology is a computer graphic technology of providing a real-world object and background only in a CG image, AR technology is a computer graphic technology of providing a virtual CG image on a real object image, and MR technology is a computer graphic technology of providing virtual objects mixed and combined with the real world. MR technology is similar to AR technology in that a real object and a virtual object are displayed together. However, a virtual object is used as a supplement to a real object in AR technology, whereas a virtual object and a real object are used as equal statuses in MR technology. XR technology may be applied to a head-mount display (HMD), a head-up display (HUD), a mobile phone, a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a TV, digital signage, and the like. A device to which XR technology is applied may be referred to as an XR device. The claims recited in the present specification may be combined in a variety of ways. For example, the technical features of the method claims of the present specification may be combined to be implemented as a device, and the technical features of the device claims of the present specification may be combined to be implemented by a method. In addition, the technical characteristics of the method claim of the present specification and the technical characteristics of the device claim may be combined to be implemented as a device, and the technical characteristics of the method claim of the present specification and the technical characteristics of the device claim may be combined to be implemented by a method. | 88,661 |
11943829 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the description and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the description. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the understanding of the description. Those of ordinary skill in the art, with the included description, will be able to implement appropriate functionality without undue experimentation. References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to implement such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. As mentioned above, current vRAN systems do not support NH. One solution is to deploy NH or Multi-Operator networks which require the NH provider to also deploy a full 3GPP Evolved Packet Core (EPC). As shown inFIG.1, a NH network100is shown. The NH network100has many functions of the EPC, e.g. Mobility Management Entity (MME)102, a NH gateway (NH GW)104, a local Authentication Authorization and Accounting (AAA) proxy106, etc. The NH network100may be connected to a User Equipment (UE)108, an external IP network110, a PDN gateway112and different AAAs114through different interfaces that are well-known in the art. While this is feasible for some large NH providers, there are many scenarios where it is not technically possible or economically feasible, i.e. many NH providers are not in the business of being network operators. Therefore, there is a need to provide solution for current vRAN systems to support NH in a simple way. Embodiments of the present disclosure allow the current vRAN systems to support NH and Multi-Operator networks by providing new signaling messages over the F1 interface. For example, specific information can be exchanged between the functions of RCF and BPF. Before going into detail of the present embodiments, a description of the split architecture for the NR network is provided. FIG.2illustrates a gNB200that implements the separation of functional and physical separation of the 5G or NR protocol stacks. The gNB200is represented by a Centralized Unit (CU)202and a plurality of decentralized units (DU)204. The CU202may comprise the functions of PPF that may include the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) function. The CU202may also comprise the function of Radio Resource Control (RRC) and/or RCF, for example. The DU204may comprise the functions of Layer 1 and Layer 2, such as Radio Link Control (RLC), Media Access Control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY). The interface defined between the CU and DU is the F1 interface. The gNB200can be connected to another gNB through the X2 interface. It can be also connected to a network node, such as a MME, through the interface S1. The NG and Xn interfaces are the 5G equivalent interfaces of 4G interfaces S1 and X2 respectively. It should be noted that using a split architecture, the CU202and the DUs204of a gNB200can belong to different network owners. It should be noted that in this disclosure, the following terms BPU (Baseband processing unit), cRBU (cloud connected RBU) and RBU (Remote Baseband Unit) are equivalent of a DU and as such these terms can be interchangeably used. Also, RCF (Radio Control Function) can be interchangeably used with vRC (virtual Radio Control). And PPF (Packet Processing Function) can be interchangeably used with vPP (virtual Packet Processing). For example,FIG.3illustrates an architecture of a communication network300, using the split architecture for NR, according to an embodiment, which allows a single cRBU (e.g. a DU of a gNB), belonging to a NH network, to be shared by and/or connected to a plurality of operators' networks. As shown inFIG.3, the cRBU304, which comprises the functions of layers 1 and 2, is connected to operator A, operator B and operator X's network. Each operator has a vRAN, for example. The cRBU304is connected to the vRAN of each operator using the interface C5, which is equivalent to the interface F1. The cRBU304may be connected to the OSS node306of the NH network as well. FIG.4shows the same architecture as inFIG.3, but with more details regarding the operators' networks. For example, a DU204(e.g. a cRBU) is connected to the network of operators A and B (or service providers A and B). More specifically, the DU204is connected, through the interface F1, to a PPF402and RCF404of each operator's network respectively. Furthermore, the PPF402is connected to the RCF404via the interface E6. It should be noted that the other elements of the operators' networks, such as a SGW406, MME408, PGW410, HSS/AAA412, CSCF414, IMS416, PCRF418, etc., are well-known in the art and will not be described further. FIG.5illustrates the split architecture for NR with different functions, according to an embodiment. The core network is connected to CUs202such as a virtual Packet Processing (vPP) and a virtual Radio Control (vRC), which are separate from the Radio Baseband Units (cRBU). The vPP may comprise a PPF and the vRC may comprise a RCF. The interface between the vRC/vPP and the cRBU is the F1 interface, which is equivalent to the C5 interface as shown inFIG.3. It should be noted that a cRBU can be connected to many PPF/RCF instances, of the same or different operators. Furthermore, the core network can be connected to a Radio Baseband Unit (RBU) and/or a Baseband Processing Unit (BPU), which do not have the split architecture. In this case, the RBU and BPU are part of a conventional gNB or eNB. As mentioned above, this disclosure allows vRAN systems to support NH and MO as shown inFIGS.3-5where many PPF/RCF instances of the same or different operators share the resources of one or more cRBUs. To do so, a plurality of new messages (or signals) is communicated between different nodes ofFIG.5, over the F1 interface and the E6 interface, during the connection establishment phase. Alternatively, new information elements in existing messages are communicated over the F1 interface for allowing vRANs systems to support NH and MO. For example, new messages are indicated, over the F1 interface, in the control plane between a cRBU304(or DU204) and a RCF404and between a RCF404and a PPF402via the E6 interface and in the user place between a cRBU304(or DU204) and a PPF402. More specifically, NH and MO information/parameters will be included in these messages. 1) As an example, in the control plane, the following parameters can be transmitted over the F1 interface, during the connection establishment phase: From cRBU304→RCF404:NH-Identifier (NH-ID), for standalone mode (Multefire & standalone NR);Radio capabilities (frequency range, number, Bandwidth (BW) of carriers, occupied BW (OBW), instantaneous BW (IBW), maximum output power of the radio frequency (max OP), Radio link control (RLC) mode, etc.;List of other detected cells (identified by physical cell identity (PCI) or downlink reference signal (DRS)) and frequency, BW;List of supported channels (for 5 GHz and 3.5 GHz);Channel loads for shared spectrum (for 5 GHz and 3.5 GHz), channel scan configuration;Statistics: number of collisions, Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) statistics, block error rate (BLER);List of optional features supported;Nose Floor (NF) measurements, Energy Detect (ED) level, Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) histogram;Selected carrier frequency, BW channel number, channel load, etc. From RCF4044→cRBU304:Radio capabilities: desired carrier frequency(ies), a carrier BW, a number of antenna ports, a plurality of channel numbers, number of HARQ re-transmission, a BLER target, a desired PCI, a random access channel (RACH) preamble, etc.;Maximum Transmit opportunity (Max TXOP), transmit (TX) power, DRS configuration;Other system information block (SIB) parameters;PDCP flow ID map. Between RCF404← →PPF402through the E6 interface, which is the 3GPP E6 interface:Packet forwarding Quality of Service (QoS) parameters, e.g. information regarding the priority and scheduling requirements of packets forwarded by the PPF402to the cRBU304(or DU204) (and sent from the cRBU304to the PPF402) in order to satisfy any Service Level Agreements (SLA) between the network operator and the Neutral host. Such scheduling requirements could include (but not limited to):i. Maximum packet delay or packet buffering limits;ii. Ethernet frame and/or IP Packet header quality of service (QoS) (priority) settings;iii. Maximum Transmission Units (MTU): ethernet frame or IP packet maximum size to transmit requirements needed in order to comply with the SLA.PDCP flow ID map. 2) As an example, in the user plane, the following parameters can be transmitted over the F1 interface User Plane: From cRBU304→PPF402Statistics and reports on packet reception, e.g. incoming packet buffer status (for flow control), packet delay and jitter, number of lost packets (packet error rate), number of fragmented packets, etc.;User Plane capacity exceeded indication (Exceeded/not exceeded). From PPF402→cRBU304Service Level Agreement (SLA) User Plane parameter list, e.g. information regarding the priority and scheduling requirements of packets forwarded by the cRBU304to the PPF402;Operator ID, e.g. public land mobile network identity (PLMN-ID);PDCP flow id map. It should be noted that the exchange of some of the parameters is optional or conditional to some actions or thresholds. For example, the table (Table 1) below shows some of the parameters that could be set by either by the Service provider (e.g. MNO) of the vRAN or by cRBU304of the NH provider. TABLE 1MandatoryStandardized(M),orOptional (O)proprietaryore.g. 3GPPConditional(F1) or(C) in F1FunctionsEricssonWi-FiInfosignalinginvolvedComments(C5)EquivalentPCIORCF −> BPUvRAN mayNoinform BPUexactly what PCIto use. But BPUmay also decidethe PCI locally.Both optionsneededO/CBPU −> RCFBPU may informNovRAN what PCIwas actually usedCarrierOFrequencyTx OutputOpowerPLMN IDMRCF −> BPUContained inSIB1. Needs to besent to the BPF byeach participatingMNOCarrierOEitherMIB—may beBandwidthdeterminedlocally by BPU,esp in case ofshared/unlicensedspectrumPHICHOeitherMIB—may beconfigurationdeterminedlocally by BPURRC configOeitherSIB2—may bedeterminedlocally by BPU,esp in case ofshared/unlicensedspectrumLAA InfoOeitherSub-band list,channel list,number ofchannels, accessclass list,sharable. If ashared channel isused, then somecell relatedoperations andparameters areonly controlledby the RCF, e.g.changing cellstate - a serviceprovider/operatorcan only changethe operation oftheir sub scribersand broadcastinfo - not the stateof the carrier (e.g.can't lock it)ParticipatingCRCF −> BPUPLMN ID orServicedomain nameProvider IDor . . . PLMNis not theonly option Now, turning toFIG.6, a method600is illustrated for supporting and establishing a connection between a Neutral Host network and one or more virtual radio access networks (vRANs), according to an embodiment. The method can be implemented in a CU202(or a RCF/PPF) of a gNB. It should be noted that before the virtual radio access network of one or more network operators can establish a connection with the neutral host network, a service level agreement (SLA) is shared between them and acknowledged by each other. The method600starts with sending a message to the one or more vRANs, the message including an identity of the NH network and at least a first radio parameter (block610). It should be noted that a NH refers to any entity that may provide and manage the BPF, or the radio unit equipment and resources. Method600continues with, in response to the message, receiving an identity of the one or more vRANs and at least a second radio parameter (block620). Method600continues with establishing the connection between the NH network and the one or more vRANs, based on the identity of the one or more vRANs, the identity of the NH network and one of the at least first radio parameter and the at least second radio parameter (block630). In other words, the CU202part of the gNB can initiate a connection establishment procedure with the one or more vRANs. During the connection establishment procedure, the NH network and the one or more vRANs can exchange their respective identity and one or more radio parameters. The radio parameters may comprise radio capabilities, e.g. a desired carrier frequency, a chosen cell, a carrier bandwidth, etc. Then, the NH network and the one or more vRANs can negotiate the one or more radio parameters. For example, the DU or cRBU can decide which carrier frequency to use, then it can request that desired carrier frequency. In response to the request, the RCF or the vRAN may send the desired carrier frequency to the cRBU. As another example, the cRBU may decide which cell to use. Then, it can indicate to the vRAN the cell that it wants to use. The vRAN will send the PCI in response to that indication. Once the one or more radio parameters are negotiated, the connection can be established between the NH network and the one or more vRANs, based on the respective identities and the one or more radio parameters. It should be noted that the exchange of radio parameters and identities may be done using one or more messages. In some embodiments, the at least first parameter may comprise a radio capability of the NH network and the at least second parameter may comprise a radio capability of the one or more vRANs. In some embodiments, the radio capability of the one or more vRANs may comprise one or more of: one or more carrier frequencies, a carrier bandwidth; a number of antenna ports; a plurality of channel numbers; a Block Error Rate (BLER) target; a Physical Cell Identity (PCI); and a Random Access Channel (RACH) preamble. In some embodiments, the radio capability of the NH network may comprise one or more of: a carrier frequency range; a carrier bandwidth; a number of carriers; an occupied bandwidth (OBW); a Radio Link Control (RLC) mode; an instantaneous bandwidth (IBW); and a maximum output power (OP). In some embodiments, the message may further comprise one or more of: a list of detected cells; a list of supported channels; channel loads for shared spectrum; a list of statistics of channel conditions; a Noise Floor (NF) measurements; an Energy Detect (ED) level; and Received signal strength indicator (RSSI) histogram. In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving a maximum transmit opportunity (TXOP); a transmit power; a downlink reference signal (DRS) configuration; and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) flow identity map. In some embodiments, the sending and receiving are performed over a F1 interface between the NH network and the one or more vRANs. In some embodiments, the at least first radio parameter may be a carrier frequency that the NH network wants to use and wherein receiving the at least second radio parameter may comprise receiving the carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the at least first radio parameter is a physical cell identity (PCI) that the NH network wants to use and wherein receiving the at least second radio parameter may comprise receiving the PCI. In some embodiments, sending the message to the one or more vRANs may comprise a request for the at least first parameter and receiving the at least second radio parameter may be in response to the request for the at least first parameter. FIG.7illustrates a flowchart for a method700for supporting and establishing a connection between a Neutral Host network and a virtual radio access network, according to an embodiment. The method can be implemented in a DU204(or a cRBU) of a gNB. It should be noted that before the virtual radio access network of a network operator can establish a connection with the neutral host network, a service level agreement (SLA) is shared between them and acknowledged by each other. The method700starts with receiving a message from the NH network, the message comprising an identity of the NH network and at least a first radio parameter (block710). Method700continues with, in response to the message, sending an identity of the one or more vRANs and at least a second radio parameter (block720). Method700continues with establishing the connection between the NH network and the one or more vRANs based on the identity of the NH network, the identity of the one or more vRANs and one of the at least first radio parameter and second radio parameter (block730). It should be understood that method600could be instead performed by a CU and method700could be performed by a DU, with respective exchange of information. An exemplary implementation800of methods600and700is illustrated inFIG.8in a flow diagram. It should be noted that a cRBU304can be shared with or connected to a plurality vRANs. First, a NH provider801, which can offer its NH networks to operators to use, and a mobile service provider negotiate a service level agreement (steps802and804). Once the SLA is reached and agreed, the service provider adds the SLA parameters to the vRAN operation administration and management (OAM)803of its network (step806). The NH provider801does the same thing, i.e. it adds the SLA parameters to the OAM805of the NH network (step808). Once the OAM803of the vRAN has received the SLA parameters, it sends the corresponding configurations to network nodes of the vRAN, such as the RCF404and PPF402(steps810and811). Once the OAM805has received the SLA parameters, it sends the corresponding configurations to the network nodes of the NH network, such as the cRBU304(step812). Then, the cRBU304initiates the procedure to connect to a network node of the vRAN, such as the RCF404, by sending a first message to the RCF404, the first message comprising at least an identity of the NH network and some security information (step814). The RCF404responds to the first message by sending a second message which may comprise an identity of the vRAN, some security information, protocol versions and vRAN capabilities and the SLA requirements (step816). During this procedure, the RCF404and the cRBU304may also negotiate a common set of protocol versions and capabilities to be used between the cRBU304and the RCF404(step818). They may also confirm the SLA requirements. It should be noted that, according to another embodiment, the RCF404could initiate the connection procedure with the cRBU304, which will then respond to the message. For example, in the same message as the second message or in a different message, the RCF404can also send a radio parameter to the cRBU304. The radio parameter can be sent in a SIB2 or in a SIB. In addition, the RCF404can also send some service provider specific parameters to the cRBU304, in a SIB2 and/or it may send other SIB parameters (step820). The radio parameter could be a desired carrier frequency, a carrier bandwidth, a number of antenna ports, a desired Physical Cell Identity (PCI), a RACH preamble, etc. In the same message as the first message or in a different message, the cRBU304can also send a radio parameter to the RCF404. For example, the cRBU304can choose a specific cell to serve and sends the identity of the chosen cell to the RCF404with the first message using a Master information block (MIB) and SIB1, as an example (step822). It may also send other parameters, such as a carrier frequency to use or ask for a carrier frequency to use. Alternatively, the cRBU304can decide to serve the cell that is indicated by the RCF404in the desired PCI. As such, the cRBU304sends the PCI to the RCF404. The radio parameter can further comprise radio capabilities of the cRBU, detected cells, supported channels, etc. Then, a connection can be established between the cRBU304and the particular RCF404, based on the identity of the cRBU304and the identity of the RCF404(or vRAN) and at least one radio parameter from the RCF404or the cRBU304. The cRBU304and the RCF404can use the same protocol version and capabilities and the SLA requirements to communicate with each other. Once the NH network is connected with the particular vRAN, a UE108can be connected to the cRBU304for communication services. To do so, the UE108requests a connection with the cRBU304(step824). Upon receipt of the request, the cRBU304determines which cell the UE108is attaching to and which operator the UE108wants to receive service from (step826). Then, a normal call can be set up between the UE108, the cRBU304and the vRAN from the desired operator (step828). For each vRAN of a mobile network operator or different operators that shares the same cRBU, the above procedure is used to establish a connection with the NH network and each of the vRANs. It should be noted that additional vRAN operators or service providers can create new cells on a same cRBU. For example, they can share radio resources (e.g. carrier frequency) or use their own private spectrum or use separate unlicensed spectrum. A service provider may control some actions on the cell, e.g. lock the cell, unlock the cell, modify the configuration, remove all service provider specific configuration and data from a cRBU304including security keys, etc., as long as it does not effect the operational state of other service providers that may be sharing the cell. Now, turning toFIG.9, a schematic diagram of a network node900is illustrated. The network node900can be a DU204(e.g. BPU or cRBU304) or a CU202(e.g. RCF/PPF), in accordance with certain embodiments, for example. The network node900includes a processing circuitry910, and a network interface930. The circuitry910may include one or more processors940, and memory950. The one or more processors940executes instructions to provide some or all of the functionalities described above as being provided by the cRBU/BPU or RCF/PPF, the memory950stores the instructions for execution by the one or more processors940, and the network interface930communicates signals to backend network components, such as a gateway, switch, router, Internet, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), core network nodes or radio network controllers, etc. The one or more processors940may include any suitable combination of hardware and software implemented in one or more modules to execute instructions and manipulate data to perform some or all of the described functions of the cRBU/BPU or RCF/PPF, such as those described above. In some embodiments, the one or more processors940may include, for example, one or more computers, one or more central processing units (CPUs), one or more microprocessors, one or more applications, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and/or other logic. In certain embodiments, the one or more processors940may comprise one or more of the modules discussed below with respect toFIGS.10and11. The memory950is generally operable to store instructions, such as a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, algorithms, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by one or more processors940. Examples of memory950include computer memory (for example, Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory computer-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information. In some embodiments, the network interface930is communicatively coupled to the one or more processors940and may refer to any suitable device operable to receive input for the cRBU or RCF, send output from the cRBU or RCF, perform suitable processing of the input or output or both, communicate to other devices, or any combination of the preceding. The network interface930may include appropriate hardware (e.g., port, modem, network interface card, etc.) and software, including protocol conversion and data processing capabilities, to communicate through a network. Other embodiments of the network node900may include additional components beyond those shown inFIG.9that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of a network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described above and/or any additional functionality (including any functionality necessary to support the solutions described above). The various different types of network nodes may include components having the same physical hardware but configured (e.g., via programming) to support different radio access technologies, or may represent partly or entirely different physical components. Functionalities described may reside within the same radio node or network node or may be distributed across a plurality of radios nodes and network nodes. FIG.10illustrates an example of a network node1000such as a DU (e.g. BPU or cRBU) in accordance with certain embodiments. The network node1000may include a sending module1010, a receiving module1020and an establishing module1030. In certain embodiments, the sending module1010may perform a combination of steps that may include steps such as Steps610inFIG.6. In certain embodiments, the receiving module1020may perform a combination of steps that may include steps such as Step620inFIG.6. In certain embodiments, the establishing module1030may perform a combination of steps that may include steps such as Step630inFIG.6. In certain embodiments, the sending module1010, receiving module1020and the establishing module1030may be implemented using one or more processors, such as described with respect toFIG.9. The modules may be integrated or separated in any manner suitable for performing the described functionality. FIG.11illustrates an example of another network node1100such as a CU202(e.g. the RCF and/or PPF), in accordance with certain embodiments. The network node1100may include a receiving module1110, a sending module1120and an establishing module1030. In certain embodiments, the receiving module1110may perform a combination of steps that may include steps such as Step710inFIG.7. In certain embodiments, the sending module1120may perform a combination of steps that may include steps such as Step720inFIG.7. In certain embodiments, the establishing module1130may perform a combination of steps that may include steps such as Step730inFIG.7. In certain embodiments, the receiving module1110, the sending module1120and the establishing module1130may be implemented using one or more processors, such as described with respect toFIG.9. The modules may be integrated or separated in any manner suitable for performing the described functionality. It should be noted that according to some embodiments, virtualized implementations of the DU204or BPU is possible, such as the cRBU304, which is a cloud connected RBU. The RCF404and PPF402could be also virtualized. As used herein, a “virtualized” network node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) is an implementation of the network node in which at least a portion of the functionality of the network is implemented as a virtual component (e.g., via a virtual machine(s) executing on a physical processing node(s) in a network(s)). The functions of the cRBU304and RCF404and PPF402are implemented at the one or more processors940or distributed across a cloud computing system. In some particular embodiments, some or all of the functions of the cRBU304and RCF404and PPF402are implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in a virtual environment(s) hosted by processing node(s). For example, turning toFIG.12, there is provided an instance or a virtual appliance1220implementing the methods or parts of the methods of some embodiments. The instance runs in a cloud computing environment1200which provides processing circuit1260and memory1290. The memory contains instructions1295executable by the processing circuit1260whereby the instance1220is operative to execute the methods or part of the methods previously described in relation to some embodiments. The comprises a general-purpose network device including hardware1230comprising a set of one or more processor(s) or processing circuits1260, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuit including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors, and network interface controller(s)1270(NICs), also known as network interface cards, which include physical Network Interface1280. The general-purpose network device also includes non-transitory machine readable storage media1290-2having stored therein software and/or instructions1295executable by the processor1260. During operation, the processor(s)1260execute the software/instructions1295to instantiate a hypervisor1250, sometimes referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM), and one or more virtual machines1240that are run by the hypervisor1250. A virtual machine1240is a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine; and applications generally do not know they are running on a virtual machine as opposed to running on a “bare metal” host electronic device, though some systems provide para-virtualization which allows an operating system or application to be aware of the presence of virtualization for optimization purposes. Each of the virtual machines1240, and that part of the hardware1230that executes that virtual machine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or time slices of hardware temporally shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtual machine(s)1240, forms a separate virtual network element(s) (VNE). The hypervisor1250may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to virtual machine1240, and the virtual machine1240may be used to implement functionality such as control communication and configuration module(s) and forwarding table(s), this virtualization of the hardware is sometimes referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). Thus, NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in Data centers, and customer premise equipment (CPE). Different embodiments of the instance or virtual appliance1220may be implemented on one or more of the virtual machine(s)1240, and the implementations may be made differently. Some embodiments may be represented as a non-transitory software product stored in a machine-readable medium (also referred to as a computer-readable medium, a processor-readable medium, or a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein). The machine-readable medium may be any suitable tangible medium including a magnetic, optical, or electrical storage medium including a diskette, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc read only memory (DVD-ROM) memory device (volatile or non-volatile), or similar storage mechanism. The machine-readable medium may contain various sets of instructions, code sequences, configuration information, or other data, which, when executed, cause a processor to perform steps in a method according to one or more of the described embodiments. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other instructions and operations necessary to implement the described embodiments may also be stored on the machine-readable medium. Software running from the machine-readable medium may interface with circuitry to perform the described tasks. The above-described embodiments are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the description, which is defined solely by the appended claims. The present description may comprise one or more of the following abbreviation: ARQ Automatic Repeat Request AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise BCCH Broadcast Control Channel BCH Broadcast Channel CA Carrier Aggregation CCCH SDU Common Control Channel SDU CDMA Code Division Multiplexing Access CGI Cell Global Identifier CP Cyclic Prefix CPICH Common Pilot Channel CPICH Ec/No CPICH Received energy per chip divided by the power density in the band CQI Channel Quality information C-RNTI Cell RNTI CSI Channel State Information DCCH Dedicated Control Channel DL Downlink DRX Discontinuous Reception DTX Discontinuous Transmission DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel DUT Device Under Test E-CID Enhanced Cell-ID (positioning method) ECGI Evolved CGI ED Energy Detect eNB E-UTRAN NodeB ePDCCH enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel E-SMLC evolved Serving Mobile Location Center E-UTRA Evolved UTRA E-UTRAN Evolved UTRAN FDD Frequency Division Duplex GERAN GSM EDGE Radio Access Network GSM Global System for Mobile communication HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request HO Handover HSPA High Speed Packet Access HRPD High Rate Packet Data LPP LTE Positioning Protocol MAC Medium Access Control MBMS Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast multicast service Single Frequency Network MBSFN ABS MBSFN Almost Blank Subframe MDT Minimization of Drive Tests MIB Master Information Block MME Mobility Management Entity MO Multi-Operator NF Noise Floor NH Neural Host NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control CHannel NR New Radio OCNG OFDMA Channel Noise Generator OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access OSS Operations Support System O&M Operation and Mainatenance PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel PCell Primary Cell PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator CHannel PDCCH Physical Downlink Control CHannel PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel PGW Packet Gateway PHICH Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator CHannel PLMN Public Land Mobile Network PMI Precoder Matrix Indicator PRACH Physical Random Access CHannel PRS Positioning Reference Signal PUCCH Physical Uplink Control CHannel PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel RLM Radio Link Management RRC Radio Resource Control RSCP Received Signal Code Power RSRP Reference Signal Received Power RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator RSTD Reference Signal Time Difference QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation RACH Random Access Channel RAT Radio Access Technology RNC Radio Network Controller RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier RRC Radio Resource Control RRM Radio Resource Management SCH Synchronization Channel SCell Secondary Cell SDU Service Data Unit SFN System Frame Number SGW Serving Gateway SI System Information SIB System Information Block SNR Signal Noise Ratio SON Self Optimized Network TDD Time Division Duplex TTI Transmission Time Interval UE User Equipment UL Uplink UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunication System UTRA Universal Terrestrial Radio Access UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network WCDMA Wide CDMA WLAN Wireless Local Area Network | 36,348 |
11943830 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The following clearly describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparently, the described embodiments are merely some rather than all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present disclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure. FIG.1provides a network structure, and the network structure may be applied to a 4G or 5G system. Components in the network structure are briefly described as follows. UE: It may include various handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, or computing devices that have a wireless communication function, or another processing device connected to a wireless modem, and UE, mobile stations (MS), terminals, terminal equipment, software terminals, and the like that are in various forms, such as a water meter, an electricity meter, or a sensor. For ease of description, in this disclosure, all the devices mentioned above are collectively referred to as user equipment or UE. RAN: It is similar to a base station in a conventional network, provides a network access function for an authorized user in a specific area, and can use transmission tunnels of different quality based on a user level and a service requirement. The RAN can manage radio resources and provide an access service for UE as required, so as to forward a control signal and user data between the UE and a core network. Core network: It is responsible for maintaining subscription data of a mobile network, managing network elements in the mobile network, and providing functions such as session management, mobility management, policy management, and security authentication for UE. When UE is attached to the core network, the core network provides network access authentication for the UE; when the UE requests a service, the core network allocates network resources to the UE; when the UE moves, the core network updates network resources for the UE; when the UE is idle, the core network provides a fast restoration mechanism for the UE; when the UE is detached from the core network, the core network releases network resources for the UE; when the UE has service data, the core network provides a data routing function for the UE, for example, receives downlink data of the UE from an IP network, and forwards the downlink data to an RAN, to send the downlink data to the UE. In the network structure shown inFIG.1, a core network includes a UP functional entity and a CP functional entity. Specifically, the UP functional entity is configured to implement a user plane function of the core network, and is mainly responsible for service data transmission, for example, data packet forwarding, quality of service (QoS) control, and charging information collection. The UP functional entity may include a serving gateway (SGW) or a packet data network gateway (PGW). The CP functional entity is configured to implement a control plane function of the core network, and is mainly responsible for mobile network management, for example, delivering of a data packet forwarding policy and a QoS control policy. The CP functional entity may specifically include a mobility management entity (MME), a session management entity, or the like. This is not specifically limited in the embodiments of this disclosure. It should be noted that the CP functional entity and the UP functional entity may be implemented by one physical device, or may be jointly implemented by a plurality of physical devices. This is not specifically limited in the embodiments of this disclosure. Certainly, the foregoing network structure may further include another module or network entity, such as a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) entity, a policy and charging control (PCC) entity, and a policy control entity. Details are not described herein. It should be noted that all the embodiments of the present disclosure are implemented based on the network architecture shown inFIG.1. The UE and the CP functional entity that is in the core network transmit data of the UE by using a NAS message. In addition, “source” and “target” that are used are both for the UE. For example, a source RAN indicates an RAN to which the UE is currently connected, and a source PCI is used to indicate a cell to which the UE is currently connected. A target RAN indicates an RAN to which the UE attempts to re-connect after the UE disconnects from the source RAN, and a target PCI is used to indicate a cell to which the UE attempts to re-connect after the UE disconnects from the source RAN. Description herein is only an example, and no limitation is imposed in this disclosure. It should be noted that, methods provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed when the UE detects a radio link failure, and no limitation is imposed on the embodiments. As shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, a link re-establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure is specifically described as follows. 201. UE obtains a MAC of the UE based on a NAS integrity key and a first MAC generation parameter. The first MAC generation parameter is a parameter used to generate the MAC, and may include some parameters used to generate the MAC. For example, the MAC of the UE is generated by using a target PCI of the UE, an identifier of the UE, and a source PCI of the UE. In this case, the first MAC generation parameter may include only the identifier of the UE and the source PCI of the UE. The first MAC generation parameter may include all parameters used to generate the MAC except the NAS integrity key. This is not limited in this disclosure. Specifically, the first MAC generation parameter includes the identifier of the UE, and the first MAC generation parameter may further include at least one of a NAS parameter and an RRC parameter that are of the UE. The RRC parameter may include the source physical cell identifier (physical cell identifier, PCI) of the UE and/or the target PCI of the UE, and the NAS parameter may include a NAS sequence number (NAS COUNT) of the UE. Apparently, the NAS parameter is not limited to the NAS count. The NAS count is used to indicate a serial number of a NAS data packet, and the NAS count may include an uplink NAS count and a downlink NAS count. This belongs to the prior art, and details are not described. The identifier of the UE may include at least one of a source cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), an SAE-temporary mobile subscriber identity (S-TMSI), and a globally unique temporary identity (GUTI). The source C-RNTI is allocated by the source RAN to the UE, and is used to uniquely identify the UE in the source RAN. In addition, the identifier of the UE may be a partial field of the S-TMSI or a partial field of the GUTI. This is not limited herein. It should be noted that step201may specifically include: obtaining the MAC of UE based on the NAS integrity key, the first MAC generation parameter, and the target PCI of the UE. 202. The UE sends a re-establishment request message to a target RAN, where the re-establishment request message includes the MAC and the first MAC generation parameter. The re-establishment request message may be used to request to re-establish a connection between the UE and the target RAN, for example, an RRC connection, and the message may be specifically an RRC connection re-establishment request message. The re-establishment request message carries the source PCI of the UE, and may specifically carry the source PCI of the UE in the following manners. Manner 1: The re-establishment request message includes the source PCI of the UE. For example, the source PCI is carried in the re-establishment request message, and is independent of the first MAC generation parameter. In other words, the re-establishment request message includes the first MAC generation parameter, the MAC, and the source PCI. Manner 2: The first MAC generation parameter includes the source PCI of the UE. 203. The target RAN receives the re-establishment request message sent by the UE, and sends a first message to a source RAN based on the re-establishment request message. The first message includes a second MAC generation parameter and the MAC, and the first message may be a radio link failure (RLF) indication message. The second MAC generation parameter may be the same as the first MAC generation parameter. Alternatively, the second MAC generation parameter may be different from the first MAC generation parameter. For example, the second MAC generation parameter includes the first MAC generation parameter and the target PCI of the UE. This may be specifically applied to a scenario in which the UE generates the MAC by using the target PCI of the UE, but the first MAC generation parameter does not include the target PCI of the UE. To be specific, the second MAC generation parameter includes the identifier of the UE, and the second MAC generation parameter further includes: at least one of the NAS parameter and the RRC parameter; or at least one of the NAS parameter and the RRC parameter, and the target PCI of the UE. Specifically, in step203, the target RAN sends the first message to the source RAN based on the source PCI of the UE carried in the re-establishment request message. For example, a correspondence exists between a PCI and an identifier or an address of an RAN. The target RAN searches a correspondence by using the source PCI of the UE, to obtain an identifier or an address of the source RAN, and sends the first message to the source RAN based on the identifier or the address of the source RAN. 204. The source RAN receives the first message sent by the target RAN, and sends a second message to a CP functional entity based on the first message. The second message includes the second MAC generation parameter and the MAC, and the second message may be sent through a connection link between the source RAN and the CP functional entity. This is not limited herein. Specifically, in step204, the source RAN may send the second message to the CP functional entity based on the identifier of the UE (UE ID) included in the first message, and step204may include: obtaining, by the source RAN, an identifier of a first link of the UE based on the identifier of the UE, where the first link is used to transmit data of the UE between the source RAN and the CP functional entity, and the source RAN sends the second message to the CP functional entity through the first link. For example, when the identifier of the UE is a source C-RNTI, the source RAN finds the identifier of the first link by using the source C-RNTI, and the source RAN sends the second message to the CP functional entity through the first link indicated by the identifier. The first link may be an S1 connection link, and the identifier of the first link may be an MME UE S1 disclosure protocol ID (MME UE S1AP ID). The MME UE S1AP ID is allocated by an MME, and is used to identify an S1AP of the UE. For another example, when the identifier of the UE is a GUTI, an S-TMSI, a partial field of the GUTI, or a partial field of the S-TMSI, the source RAN obtains an identifier of the CP functional entity from the identifier of the UE, for example, a globally unique MME identifier (GUMMEI). The source RAN sends the second message to the CP functional entity, or the source RAN finds the first link of the UE based on the identifier of the UE, and sends the second message to the CP functional entity through the first link. The first link may be an S1 connection link. Generally, the source RAN stores related information of the UE based on the source C-RNTI of the UE, to be specific, the related information (for example, the first link) of the UE can be searched for and obtained in the source RAN by using the C-RNTI. When the identifier of the UE is the GUTI, the S-TMSI, the partial field of the GUTI, or the partial field of the S-TMSI, the source RAN may first store the identifier of the UE. For example, when the source RAN communicates with the CP functional entity, the source RAN receives the identifier of the UE sent by the CP functional entity, and associates the identifier of the UE with the related information of the UE. In this case, the source RAN may obtain the related information of the UE based on the identifier of the UE. 205. The CP functional entity receives the second message sent by the source RAN, and verifies the MAC based on the second message. 206. The CP functional entity sends a verification result of the MAC to the source RAN. The verification result of the MAC may be sent to the source RAN in an explicit manner. Specifically, at least one bit may be used to indicate the verification result of the MAC. For example, when a value of the at least one bit is 1, it indicates that verification of the MAC succeeds, or when the value of the at least one bit is 0, it indicates that verification of the MAC fails. Apparently, the verification result of the MAC may further be sent to the source RAN in an implicit manner. Specifically, different message names may be used to notify the source RAN of the verification result of the MAC, and indication information may be sent to the source RAN only when verification of the MAC succeeds, and when verification of the MAC fails, the indication information is not sent to the source RAN. In addition, the verification result of the MAC may be sent to the source RAN by using a UE verification response message. 207. The source RAN receives the verification result, sent by the CP functional entity, of the MAC. 208. When the verification result indicates that verification of the MAC succeeds, the source RAN sends a context of the UE to the target RAN. The context of the UE may include an MME UE S1AP ID, a UE security capability, an E-UTRAN radio access bearer (E-RAB) ID, and an E-RAB level quality of service parameter (E-RAB Level QoS Parameters). The UE security capabilities are used to identify a security capability of the UE, the E-RAB ID is used to identify an E-RAB bearer, and the E-RAB level QoS parameters are used to identify parameters such as a bearer QoS. In addition, the context of the UE may not include an access stratum (AS) security context, for example, a key KeNB*. Specifically, the context may be a context of UE in a control plane CIoT EPS optimization solution. This is not limited herein. Specifically, the context of the UE may be carried in a restoration UE context response (Retrieve UE Context Response) message. 209. The target RAN receives the context of the UE sent by the source RAN, and sends a re-establishment response message to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the re-establishment response message sent by the target RAN. The re-establishment response message may be used to indicate that a link is allowed to be re-established between the UE and the target RAN. The re-establishment response message may further be used to indicate that the authentication performed by the CP functional entity on the UE succeeds, and may further be used to indicate that the identifier of the UE exists in the CP functional entity. When the re-establishment request message is an RRC connection re-establishment request, the re-establishment response message may be an RRC connection re-establishment message. After receiving the RRC connection re-establishment message, the UE may send an RRC connection re-establishment complete message to the target RAN. The RRC connection re-establishment complete message may be used to indicate that establishment of an RRC connection between the target RAN and the UE is completed. It should be noted that when the target RAN receives the context of the UE sent by the source RAN, it indicates that verification performed by the CP functional entity on the MAC sent by the UE succeeds, in other words, authentication performed by the CP functional entity on the UE succeeds. In the method provided in the foregoing embodiment, the UE sends, to the target RAN, the re-establishment request message that includes the first MAC generation parameter and the MAC, and the target RAN sends the second MAC generation parameter and the MAC to the CP functional entity based on the re-establishment request message and by using the source RAN, so that the CP functional entity verifies the MAC based on the second MAC generation parameter, and sends the verification result to the source RAN. When verification of the MAC succeeds, the source RAN sends the context of the UE to the target RAN. Therefore, the target RAN successfully obtains the context of the UE before establishment of an RRC connection is completed, and the UE does not need to initiate a TAU procedure to connect to the target RAN. This greatly reduces a time consumed by the UE to connect to the target RAN, reduces signaling complexity in re-establishment of a connection by the UE to the CP functional entity, reduces power consumption of the UE, and improves user experience. In addition, the CP functional entity verifies integrity of the MAC, to implement validity verification on the re-establishment request message. This prevents the re-establishment request message from being forged, tampered, or replayed, and ensures network security. Optionally, in an implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, step201may include the following steps. 2011. Calculate a hash value based on the first MAC generation parameter. Specifically, the first MAC generation parameter is combined into a message, and the combined message is used as an input of a hash function, to obtain the hash value Hm. For example, the following formula is used: Hm=HASH (message) (formula 1), where Hm is a hash value, HASH is a hash function, and message is an input message. 2012. Calculate the MAC based on the NAS integrity key and the hash value Hm. Specifically, the MAC may be calculated by using the following formula: MAC=Enc (Hm, Kint) (formula 2), where Enc is an encryption function, Hm is a hash value, and Kint is a NAS integrity key. For example, when the first MAC generation parameter includes the NAS parameter, if the NAS parameter is a NAS count, the combined message in step2011includes a NAS count or a partial field of the NAS count (least significant four bits of the NAS count), and the identifier of the UE, the combined message may further include a preset constant value. The preset constant value is stored on the UE. In addition, the preset constant value is also stored on the CP functional entity. It should be noted that when the target PCI of the UE is also used to generate the MAC, the combined message in step2011includes the first MAC generation parameter and the target PCI of the UE. Details are not described herein. Optionally, in another implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, step205may include the following steps. 2051. The CP functional entity obtains the NAS integrity key of the UE based on the second message. For example, the CP functional entity may obtain, through the first link that is used to receive the second message, the identifier of the UE corresponding to the first link. For the first link, refer to description in step204. Then the CP functional entity searches for a stored NAS context of the UE based on the identifier of the UE, to obtain the NAS integrity key of the UE. For another example, when the second message includes the identifier of the UE, and the identifier of the UE is the GUTI, the S-TMSI, the partial field of the GUTI, or the partial field of the S-TMSI, the CP functional entity may further search for the stored NAS context of the UE based on the identifier of the UE, so as to obtain the NAS integrity key of the UE. 2052. The CP functional entity verifies the MAC based on the NAS integrity key and the second MAC generation parameter. Specifically, the CP functional entity obtains the hash value Hm based on the second MAC generation parameter, the NAS integrity key, and the foregoing formula 1, and obtains a hash value Hm′ based on the MAC, the NAS integrity key, and a formula 3, and compares Hm with Hm′. If Hm and Hm′ are different, verification of the MAC fails; or if Hm and Hm′ are the same, verification of the MAC succeeds. Hm′=Dec (MAC, Kint) (formula 3), where Dec is a decryption function, and Kint is a NAS integrity key. In addition, when the second MAC generation parameter includes a NAS count, the NAS count in the second MAC generation parameter and the NAS count of the UE stored on the CP functional entity may be compared before Hm and Hm′ are compared. Apparently, when the second MAC generation parameter includes a partial field of the NAS count, the partial field of the NAS count in the second MAC generation parameter may be compared with a corresponding partial field of the NAS count of the UE stored on the CP functional entity. If the partial field of the NAS count in the second MAC generation parameter is the same as the corresponding partial field of the NAS count of the UE stored on the CP functional entity, Hm and Hm′ are obtained, and Hm and Hm′ are compared. This is not limited herein. In the method provided in the foregoing implementation scenario, the CP functional entity verifies the integrity of the MAC, to implement validity verification on the re-establishment request message. This prevents the re-establishment request message from being forged, tampered, or replayed, and ensures network security. Optionally, in still another implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, the foregoing method further includes the following steps. 210. The source RAN sends data of the UE stored on the source RAN to the CP functional entity. 211. The CP functional entity receives the data of the UE sent by the source RAN, and sends the received data of the UE to the UE by using the target RAN. For example, the CP functional entity sends a downlink NAS packet data unit (PDU) to the target RAN. In the method provided in the foregoing embodiment scenario, the source RAN sends the received data of the UE to the target RAN by using the CP functional entity, and then the target RAN sends the received data of the UE to the UE. This avoids a loss of the data of the UE, improves data transmission efficiency, and enhances network transmission reliability. Optionally, in yet another implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, the foregoing method further includes: updating, by the CP functional entity, the identifier of the UE, and sending an updated identifier of the UE to the target RAN. Optionally, steps208and209in the foregoing embodiment may be replaced with step208′ as follows. 208′. When the verification result received by the source RAN in step207indicates that verification of the MAC fails, the source RAN sends, to the target RAN, a message used to indicate a re-establishment failure. The message in step208′ may carry a failure cause value, so that the target RAN sends the failure cause value to the UE. Specifically, the failure cause value may be at least one bit, and is used to indicate a cause of the link re-establishment failure, for example, a MAC verification failure. Step208′ may be used to notify the UE of the cause of the link re-establishment failure, so that the UE can learn the failure cause and adjust an access policy in a timely manner. Optionally, in still yet another implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, step208may further include: sending, by the source RAN, the data of the UE stored on the source RAN to the target RAN. Correspondingly, the foregoing method further includes: receiving, by the target RAN, the data of the UE sent by the source RAN. Specifically, the data of the UE may be sent by using the NAS PDU, and details are not described again. In the foregoing implementation scenario, the source RAN directly sends the data of the UE to the target RAN. This shortens a transmission path of the data of the UE, avoids a waste of transmission resources in the core network, and improves performance. As shown inFIG.3, another link re-establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure is specifically described as follows. 301. UE obtains a MAC of the UE based on a NAS integrity key and a first MAC generation parameter. The first MAC generation parameter includes an identifier of the UE, and may further include a NAS parameter. Specifically, the NAS parameter may be a NAS count, and no limitation is imposed. The identifier of the UE may include at least one of an S-TMSI, a GUTI, a partial field of the S-TMSI, and a partial field of the GUTI. Specifically, for obtaining of the MAC, refer to related descriptions in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, and details are not described again. 302. The UE sends a re-establishment request message to a target RAN, where the re-establishment request message includes the MAC and a second MAC generation parameter. The second MAC generation parameter may be the same as the first MAC generation parameter, or may include the first MAC generation parameter and a target PCI of the UE. This is not limited. To be specific, the second MAC generation parameter includes the identifier of the UE. In addition, the second MAC generation parameter may further include a NAS parameter, or the second MAC generation parameter may further include the NAS parameter and the target PCI of the UE. 303. The target RAN receives the re-establishment request message sent by the UE, and sends a third message to a CP functional entity based on the re-establishment request message. The third message includes the second MAC generation parameter and the MAC. Specifically, step303may include the following two steps. 3031. The target RAN obtains an identifier of the CP functional entity based on an identifier of the UE. For example, if the identifier of the UE is a GUTI or an S-TMSI, the target RAN obtains a GUMMEI from the identifier of the UE. 3032. The target RAN sends the third message to the CP functional entity based on the identifier of the CP functional entity. 304. The CP functional entity receives the third message sent by the target RAN, and verifies the MAC based on the third message. Specifically, step304may include: 3041. Obtain the NAS integrity key of the UE based on the identifier of the UE in the second MAC generation parameter. 3042. Verify the MAC based on the NAS integrity key of the UE and the second MAC generation parameter. It should be noted that for details about step3041, refer to step2051, and for step3042, refer to step2052. Details are not described again. 305. When verification of the MAC succeeds, the CP functional entity sends a context of the UE to the target RAN. 306. The target RAN receives the context of the UE, and sends a re-establishment response message to the UE. Specifically, when step305is performed, in step306, the target RAN receives the context of the UE sent by the CP functional entity. For the re-establishment response message, refer to related description in step209, and details are not described again. In the method provided in the foregoing embodiment, the target RAN sends the second MAC generation parameter and the MAC to the CP functional entity based on the first MAC generation parameter and the MAC that are sent by the UE, and the CP functional entity sends the context of the UE to the target RAN when verification performed by the CP functional entity on the MAC succeeds. This increases a speed of restoring the context of the UE by the target RAN, and improves efficiency. Optionally, in another implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, after step304and before step305, or after step305, the foregoing method further includes steps305aand305b, which are specifically as follows. 305a. When verification of the MAC succeeds, the CP functional entity sends a fifth message to the source RAN. The fifth message includes the identifier of the UE. Further, the fifth message may include a verification result of the MAC. 305b. The source RAN receives the fifth message sent by the CP functional entity, and deletes the context of the UE based on the identifier of the UE included in the fifth message. For example,FIG.4AandFIG.4Bshow steps305aand305bafter step305. Further, the fifth message may be used to request the source RAN to send data of the UE to the control plane functional entity, and the foregoing method may further include steps305cand305d, which are specifically as follows. 305c. The source RAN sends data of the UE stored on the source RAN to the CP functional entity. 305d. The CP functional entity receives the data of the UE sent by the source RAN, and sends the received data of the UE to the UE by using the target RAN. For example, the CP functional entity sends a downlink NAS PDU to the target RAN. In the method provided in the foregoing embodiment scenario, the source RAN sends the received data of the UE to the target RAN by using the CP functional entity, and then the target RAN sends the received data of the UE to the UE. This avoids a loss of the data of the UE, improves data transmission efficiency, and enhances network transmission reliability. Optionally, in still another implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, the foregoing method further includes: updating, by the CP functional entity, the identifier of the UE, and sending an updated identifier of the UE to the target RAN. Alternatively, steps305and306in the foregoing embodiment may be replaced with the following step: When verification of the MAC fails, the CP functional entity sends the verification result of the MAC to the target RAN, and the target RAN sends, to the UE, a message that is used to indicate a re-establishment failure. The verification result of the MAC may be specifically transmitted in the explicit manner or the implicit manner described in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, and details are not described again. Specifically, the message used to indicate a re-establishment failure may carry a failure cause value. The failure cause value may be at least one bit, and is used to indicate a cause of the link re-establishment failure, for example, a MAC verification failure, and is used to notify the UE of the cause of the link re-establishment failure, so that the UE can learn the failure cause and adjust an access policy in a timely manner. As shown inFIG.5AandFIG.5B, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides still another link re-establishment method. The method is implemented on the basis of the embodiment shown inFIG.3. For example, the method inherits steps301to304and step306in the embodiment shown inFIG.3. In this method, step305in the embodiment shown inFIG.3is replaced with step305′, and before step306, the method further includes steps305′ato305′c, which are specifically as follows. 305′. When verification of the MAC succeeds, the CP functional entity sends a fourth message to the target RAN, where the fourth message includes the identifier of the UE, a token of the source RAN, and an identifier of the source RAN. The token is allocated by the CP functional entity to the source RAN, and the token may be generated in a random manner, or may be generated based on a preset parameter. Specifically, both the token of the source RAN and the identifier of the source RAN may be pre-stored on the CP functional entity, and have an association relationship with the identifier of the UE. When verification of the MAC succeeds, the CP functional entity finds the token and the identifier that are of the source RAN based on the identifier of the UE. Apparently, when the token of the source RAN is generated based on the preset parameter, the token of the source RAN may not be pre-stored on the CP functional entity, but generated by the CP functional entity based on the preset parameter when verification of the MAC succeeds. This is not limited. 305′a. The target RAN receives the fourth message sent by the CP functional entity, and sends the token and the identifier of the UE to the source RAN based on the identifier of the source RAN in the fourth message. 305′b. The source RAN receives the token and the identifier of the UE, where the token and the identifier are sent by the target RAN. 305′c. When a token stored on the source RAN is the same as the token sent by the target RAN, the source RAN sends the context of the UE to the target RAN. The token stored on the source RAN may be sent by the CP functional entity to the source RAN when the source RAN establishes a first link with the CP functional entity. For example, when the source RAN establishes an S1 connection to the CP functional entity, the CP functional entity sends the token and the identifier of the UE to the source RAN. Correspondingly, when step305′ is performed, that the target RAN receives the context of the UE in step306specifically includes: receiving, by the target RAN, the context of the UE sent by the source RAN. In the method provided in the foregoing embodiment, the target RAN sends the second MAC generation parameter and the MAC to the CP functional entity based on the first MAC generation parameter and the MAC that are sent by the UE, and the target RAN sends information such as the token to the source RAN when verification performed by the CP functional entity on the MAC succeeds. The source RAN verifies the token, and sends the context of the UE to the target RAN when verification of the token succeeds. This not only increases a speed of restoring the context of the UE by the target RAN, but also improves network security through double verification. Optionally, in an implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment shown inFIG.5AandFIG.5B, after step306, the foregoing method further includes: allocating, by the CP functional entity, a token to the target RAN, and sending the allocated token to the target RAN. Specifically, the target RAN may send an S1 path switch request to the CP functional entity, and the CP functional entity allocates the token to the target RAN, and sends the allocated token to the target RAN by using an S1 path switch request acknowledgment (S1 path switch request ack). Further, the foregoing method further includes: updating, by the CP functional entity, the identifier of the UE, and sending an updated identifier of the UE to the target RAN. Specifically, the CP functional entity may send the S1 path switch request ack to the target RAN. Optionally, in a second implementation scenario of the embodiment shown inFIG.5AandFIG.5B, step305′cmay further include: sending, by the source RAN, the data of UE stored on the source RAN to the CP functional entity. Correspondingly, the foregoing method further includes: receiving, by the CP functional entity, the data of the UE sent by the source RAN, and sending the received data of the UE to the UE by using the target RAN. For example, the CP functional entity sends a downlink NAS PDU to the target RAN. In the method provided in the foregoing embodiment scenario, the source RAN sends the received data of the UE to the target RAN by using the CP functional entity, and then the target RAN sends the received data of the UE to the UE. This avoids a loss of the data of the UE, improves data transmission efficiency, and enhances network transmission reliability. Alternatively, steps305′cand306in the embodiment shown inFIG.5AandFIG.5Bmay be replaced with the following steps: When the token stored on the source RAN is different from the token sent by the target RAN, the source RAN sends an indication message to the target RAN, where the indication message is used to indicate that verification of the token fails or the source RAN refuses to restore the context of the UE; and the target RAN sends, to the UE, a message that is used to indicate a re-establishment failure. For example, the target RAN may add the cause of the link re-establishment failure to the message, to send the cause to the UE, so that the UE can learn the failure cause and adjust an access policy in a timely manner. Optionally, in still another implementation scenario of the embodiment shown inFIG.5AandFIG.5B, step305′cmay further include: sending, by the source RAN, the data of the UE stored on the source RAN to the target RAN. Correspondingly, the foregoing method further includes: receiving, by the target RAN, the data of the UE sent by the source RAN. Specifically, the data of the UE may be sent by using the NAS PDU, and details are not described again. In the foregoing implementation scenario, the source RAN directly sends the data of the UE to the target RAN. This shortens a transmission path of the data of the UE, avoids a waste of transmission resources in a core network, and improves performance. As shown inFIG.6, an embodiment provides UE. The UE may be configured to perform actions of UE in any one of the embodiments shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2BtoFIG.5AandFIG.5Bor the embodiment shown inFIG.17AandFIG.17B, and the UE specifically includes a processing unit601and a transceiver unit602. The processing unit601is configured to obtain a MAC of the UE based on a NAS integrity key and a first MAC generation parameter, where the first MAC generation parameter includes an identifier of the UE. The transceiver unit602is configured to send a re-establishment request message to a target RAN, where the re-establishment request message includes the MAC and the first MAC generation parameter. The transceiver unit602is further configured to receive a re-establishment response message of the target RAN. The re-establishment request message may be an RRC connection re-establishment request message. For the first MAC generation parameter, the identifier of the UE, the re-establishment request message, the re-establishment response message, and the like, refer to related descriptions in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, and details are not described again. Specifically, the processing unit601may be configured to perform steps2011and2012in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, and details are not described again. The UE provided in the foregoing embodiment sends the re-establishment request message to the target RAN, and the re-establishment request message carries the first MAC generation parameter and the MAC, so that the target RAN sends a second MAC generation parameter and the MAC to a CP functional entity, and then the CP functional entity verifies the MAC based on the received information, thereby implementing authentication on the UE, and ensuring network security. In addition, the UE indirectly triggers, by sending the re-establishment request message, the CP functional entity to perform authentication on the UE. This resolves a prior-art problem that an excessively long time is consumed to re-establish a connection to a target RAN by using an RAU procedure, increases a speed of re-establishing a connection between UE and a network, and improving user experience. As shown inFIG.7, an embodiment provides a target RAN. The target RAN may be configured to perform actions of a target RAN in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2BorFIG.17AandFIG.17B, and the target RAN specifically includes a first receiving unit701, a sending unit702, and a second receiving unit703. The first receiving unit701is configured to receive a re-establishment request message sent by UE, where the re-establishment request message includes a MAC of the UE and a first MAC generation parameter, and the first MAC generation parameter includes an identifier of the UE. The sending unit702is configured to send a first message to a source RAN based on the re-establishment request message received by the first receiving unit701, where the first message includes a second MAC generation parameter and the MAC. The second receiving unit703is configured to: receive a context of the UE sent by the source RAN, and send a re-establishment response message to the UE by using the sending unit702. The second MAC generation parameter may be the same as the first MAC generation parameter, or may be different from the first MAC generation parameter. For example, the second MAC generation parameter may include the first MAC generation parameter and a target PCI of the UE. Alternatively, the second MAC generation parameter includes all parameters in the first MAC generation parameter except a source PCI of the UE. Optionally, the re-establishment request message further includes the source PCI of the UE, or the first MAC generation parameter includes the source PCI of the UE. Optionally, the sending unit702is specifically configured to send the first message to the source RAN based on the source PCI. For the first MAC generation parameter, the context of the UE, the identifier of the UE, the re-establishment response message, and the like, refer to related descriptions in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B. The target RAN provided in the foregoing embodiment receives the re-establishment request message sent by the UE, where the re-establishment request message carries the first MAC generation parameter and the MAC, and sends the second MAC generation parameter and the MAC to a CP functional entity, so that the CP functional entity verifies integrity of the MAC based on the received information, to implement validity verification of the re-establishment request message. This prevents the re-establishment request message from being forged, tampered, or replayed, and ensures network security. In addition, when verification of the MAC succeeds, the target RAN receives the context of the UE sent by the source RAN. Therefore, the target RAN successfully obtains the context of the UE before establishment of an RRC connection is completed, and the UE does not need to initiate a TAU procedure to connect to the target RAN. This greatly reduces a time consumed by the UE to connect to the target RAN, reduces signaling complexity in re-establishment of a connection by the UE to the CP functional entity, reduces power consumption of the UE, and improves user experience. As shown inFIG.8, an embodiment provides a source RAN. The source RAN may be configured to perform actions of a source RAN in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2BorFIG.17AandFIG.17B, and the source RAN specifically includes a receiving unit801, a first sending unit802, and a second sending unit803. The receiving unit801is configured to receive a first message sent by a target RAN, where the first message includes a MAC of UE and a second MAC generation parameter, and the second MAC generation parameter includes an identifier of the UE. The first sending unit802is configured to send a second message to a CP functional entity based on the first message received by the receiving unit801, where the second message includes a third MAC generation parameter and the MAC. The receiving unit801is further configured to receive a verification result, sent by the CP functional entity, of the MAC. The second sending unit803is configured to: when the verification result indicates that verification of the MAC succeeds, send a context of the UE to the target RAN. The second MAC generation parameter may further include at least one of a NAS parameter and an RRC parameter. The RRC parameter may include a source PCI of the UE. The third MAC generation parameter may be the same as the second MAC generation parameter, or may be different from the second MAC generation parameter. Specifically, the third MAC generation parameter may include all parameters in the second MAC generation parameter except the identifier of the UE. In addition, in a scenario in which the source PCI of the UE is used to generate the MAC, when the second MAC generation parameter does not include the source PCI of the UE, the third MAC generation parameter further includes the source PCI of the UE. Optionally, the first sending unit802is specifically configured to: obtain an identifier of a first link of the UE based on the identifier of the UE, where the first link is used to transmit data of the UE between the source RAN and the CP functional entity; and send the second message to the CP functional entity through the first link. Optionally, the first sending unit802is further configured to send the data of the UE stored on the source RAN to the CP functional entity. It should be noted that, for the first link, the identifier of the first link, the identifier of the UE, the second MAC generation parameter, and the like, refer to related descriptions in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, and details are not described herein again. The source RAN provided in the foregoing embodiment receives the verification result, sent by the CP functional entity, of the MAC, and when verification of the MAC succeeds, the source RAN sends the context of the UE to the target RAN. Therefore, the target RAN successfully obtains the context of the UE before establishment of an RRC connection is completed, and the UE does not need to initiate a TAU procedure to connect to the target RAN. This greatly reduces a time consumed by the UE to connect to the target RAN, reduces signaling complexity in re-establishment of a connection by the UE to the CP functional entity, reduces power consumption of the UE, and improves user experience. As shown inFIG.9, an embodiment provides a CP functional entity. The CP functional entity may be configured to perform actions of a CP functional entity in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, and specifically includes a receiving unit901, a verification unit902, and a sending unit903. The receiving unit901is configured to receive a second message sent by a source RAN, where the second message includes a MAC of UE and a second MAC generation parameter, where the second MAC generation parameter includes an identifier of the UE. The verification unit902is configured to verify the MAC based on the second message received by the receiving unit901. The sending unit903is configured to send a verification result of the MAC to the source RAN. Optionally, the verification unit902may be configured to perform steps2051and2052, and is specifically configured to: obtain a NAS integrity key of the UE based on the second message; and verify the MAC based on the NAS integrity key and the second MAC generation parameter. Optionally, the second MAC generation parameter further includes at least one of a NAS parameter and an RRC parameter. Alternatively, the second MAC generation parameter further includes at least one of the NAS parameter and the RRC parameter, and a target physical cell identifier PCI of the UE. For manners of sending the NAS parameter, the RRC parameter, the second MAC generation parameter, the identifier of the UE, the second message, and the verification result of the MAC, refer to related descriptions in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, and details are not described herein again. Optionally, in an implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, the receiving unit901is further configured to receive data of the UE sent by the source RAN; and the sending unit903is further configured to send the data of the UE to the target RAN. The CP functional entity provided in the foregoing embodiment verifies the MAC based on the second MAC generation parameter, sends the verification result to the source RAN, and triggers the source RAN to send the context of the UE to the target RAN. Therefore, the target RAN successfully obtains the context of the UE before establishment of an RRC connection is completed, and the UE does not need to initiate a TAU procedure to connect to the target RAN. This greatly reduces a time consumed by the UE to connect to the target RAN, reduces signaling complexity in re-establishment of a connection by the UE to the CP functional entity, reduces power consumption of the UE, and improves user experience. In addition, the CP functional entity verifies integrity of the MAC, to implement validity verification on the re-establishment request message. This prevents the re-establishment request message from being forged, tampered, or replayed, and ensures network security. As shown inFIG.10, an embodiment provides another target RAN. The target RAN may be configured to perform actions of a target RAN in any one of the embodiments shown inFIG.3toFIG.5AandFIG.5B, and specifically includes a first receiving unit1001, a sending unit1002, and a second receiving unit1003. The first receiving unit1001is configured to receive a re-establishment request message sent by UE, where the re-establishment request message includes a MAC of the UE and a first MAC generation parameter, and the first MAC generation parameter includes an identifier of the UE. The sending unit1002is configured to send a third message to a CP functional entity based on the re-establishment request message received by the first receiving unit1001, where the third message includes a second MAC generation parameter and the MAC. The second receiving unit1003is configured to: receive a context of the UE, and send a re-establishment response message to the UE by using the sending unit1002. The second MAC generation parameter is the same as the first MAC generation parameter, or the second MAC generation parameter includes the first MAC generation parameter and a target PCI of the UE. The first MAC generation parameter may further include a NAS parameter. For the first MAC generation parameter, the second MAC generation parameter, the context of the UE, the identifier of the UE, the re-establishment response message, and the like, refer to related descriptions in the embodiment shown inFIG.3, and details are not described again. The target RAN provided in the foregoing embodiment receives the first MAC generation parameter and the MAC that are sent by the UE, and sends the second MAC generation parameter and the MAC to the CP functional entity, so that the CP functional entity verifies the MAC, thereby ensuring network security. In addition, after verification of the MAC succeeds, the target RAN receives the context of the UE sent by the source RAN or the CP functional entity. Therefore, the target RAN successfully obtains the context of the UE before establishment of an RRC connection is completed, and the UE does not need to initiate a TAU procedure to connect to the target RAN. This greatly reduces a time consumed by the UE to connect to the target RAN, reduces signaling complexity in re-establishment of a connection by the UE to the CP functional entity, reduces power consumption of the UE, and improves user experience. Optionally, the sending unit1002is specifically configured to: obtain an identifier of the CP functional entity based on the identifier of the UE; and send the third message to the CP functional entity based on the identifier of the CP functional entity. The identifier of the CP functional entity may be a GUMMEI. Optionally, in an implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, the second receiving unit1003is specifically configured to: receive the context of the UE sent by the CP functional entity. When verification performed by the CP functional entity on the MAC succeeds, the CP functional entity sends the context of the UE to the target RAN, increasing a speed of restoring the context of the UE by the target RAN, and improving efficiency. Optionally, in an implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, the second receiving unit1003is specifically configured to: receive the context of the UE sent by the source RAN. Further, the second receiving unit1003may be further configured to receive a fourth message sent by the CP functional entity, where the fourth message includes the identifier of the UE, a token of the source RAN, and an identifier of the source RAN. The sending unit1002may be further configured to send the token and the identifier of the UE to the source RAN based on the identifier of the source RAN received by the second receiving unit1003. Network security is further improved through double verification of the MAC and the token. As shown inFIG.11, an embodiment provides another source RAN. The source RAN may be configured to perform actions of a source RAN in the embodiment shown inFIG.5AandFIG.5B, and the source RAN specifically includes a receiving unit1101and a sending unit1102. The receiving unit1101is configured to receive an identifier of UE and a token of the source RAN that are sent by a target RAN. The sending unit1102is configured to: when a token stored on the source RAN is the same as the token sent by the target RAN, send a context of the UE to the target RAN. Optionally, the sending unit1102is further configured to: when the token stored on the source RAN is the same as the token sent by the target RAN, send data of the UE stored on the source RAN to a CP functional entity. For the token, the identifier of the UE, and the like, refer to related descriptions in the embodiment shown inFIG.5AandFIG.5B, and details are not described again. The source RAN provided in the foregoing embodiment directly sends the context of the UE to the target RAN when verification of the token succeeds. Therefore, the target RAN successfully obtains the context of the UE before establishment of an RRC connection is completed, and the UE does not need to initiate a TAU procedure to connect to the target RAN. This greatly reduces a time consumed by the UE to connect to the target RAN, reduces signaling complexity in re-establishment of a connection by the UE to the CP functional entity, reduces power consumption of the UE, and improves user experience. In addition, verification of the token ensures network security. As shown inFIG.12, an embodiment provides still another source RAN. The source RAN may be configured to perform actions of a source RAN in the embodiment shown inFIG.3orFIG.4AandFIG.4B, and specifically includes a receiving unit1201and a processing unit1202. The receiving unit1201is configured to receive a fifth message sent by a CP functional entity, where the fifth message includes an identifier of UE. The processing unit1202is configured to delete a context of the UE based on the identifier of the UE. The fifth message may be used to request the source RAN to send data of the UE to the CP functional entity. Further, the source RAN may further include a sending unit1203. The sending unit1203is configured to send the data of the UE stored on the source RAN to the CP functional entity. For the identifier of the UE and the context of the UE, refer to related descriptions in the embodiment shown inFIG.3orFIG.4AandFIG.4B, and details are not described again. As shown inFIG.13, an embodiment provides another CP functional entity. The CP functional entity may be configured to perform actions of a CP functional entity in any one of the embodiments shown inFIG.3toFIG.5AandFIG.5B, and specifically includes a receiving unit1301, a verification unit1302, and a sending unit1303. The receiving unit1301is configured to receive a third message sent by a target RAN, where the third message includes a MAC of UE and a second MAC generation parameter, and the second MAC generation parameter includes an identifier of the UE. The verification unit1302is configured to verify the MAC based on the third message received by the receiving unit1301. The sending unit1303is configured to: when verification of the MAC succeeds, send a context of the UE or a fourth message to the target RAN, where the fourth message includes the identifier of the UE, a token of a source RAN, and an identifier of the source RAN. Optionally, the sending unit1303is further configured to: when verification of the MAC succeeds, send a fifth message to the source RAN, where the fifth message includes the identifier of the UE. The fifth message may be used to request the source RAN to send data of the UE to the CP functional entity. Optionally, the receiving unit1301is further configured to: receive the data of the UE sent by the source RAN. The second MAC generation parameter further includes a NAS parameter. Alternatively, the second MAC generation parameter further includes the NAS parameter and a target PCI of the UE. It should be noted that, for the NAS parameter, the second MAC generation parameter, the identifier of the UE, the token, the context of the UE, and the like, respectively refer to related descriptions in the embodiments shown inFIG.3toFIG.5AandFIG.5B, and details are not described again. The CP functional entity provided in the foregoing embodiment verifies the MAC based on the second MAC generation parameter, and sends the context of the UE to the target RAN after verification of the MAC succeeds, or sends the fourth message to the target RAN after verification of the MAC succeeds, so that the target RAN sends the token to the source RAN, and then the source RAN sends the context of the UE to the target RAN after verification of the token succeeds. Therefore, the target RAN successfully obtains the context of the UE before establishment of an RRC connection is completed, and the UE does not need to initiate a TAU procedure to connect to the target RAN. This greatly reduces a time consumed by the UE to connect to the target RAN, reduces signaling complexity in re-establishment of a connection by the UE to the CP functional entity, reduces power consumption of the UE, and improves user experience. In addition, the CP functional entity verifies integrity of the MAC, to implement validity verification on the re-establishment request message. This prevents the re-establishment request message from being forged, tampered, or replayed, and ensures network security. As shown inFIG.14, an embodiment provides UE. The UE may be configured to perform actions of UE in any one of the embodiments shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2Bto FIG.5A andFIG.5Bor the embodiment shown inFIG.17AandFIG.17B, and the UE specifically includes a processor1401, a memory1402, and a transceiver1403. The memory1402is configured to store a program. The processor1401is configured to execute the program stored in the memory1402, to implement actions of UE in the embodiments shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2BtoFIG.5AandFIG.5B, and details are not described again. It should be noted that the UE may send a re-establishment request message to a target RAN by using the transceiver1403, and may receive a re-establishment response message by using the transceiver1403. As shown inFIG.15, an embodiment provides an RAN. The RAN may be a source RAN, or may be a target RAN, and specifically includes a processor1501, a memory1502, a transceiver1503, and a communications interface1504. The memory1502is configured to store a program. When the RAN is a source RAN, the processor1501is configured to execute the program stored in the memory1502, to implement actions of a source RAN in the embodiments shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2BtoFIG.5AandFIG.5Bor the embodiment shown inFIG.17AandFIG.17B, and details are not described again. When the RAN is a target RAN, the processor1501is configured to execute the program stored in the memory1502, to implement actions of a target RAN in the embodiments shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2BtoFIG.5AandFIG.5Bor the embodiment shown inFIG.17AandFIG.17B, and details are not described again. It should be noted that, in the embodiments shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2BtoFIG.5AandFIG.5Bor the embodiment shown inFIG.17AandFIG.17B, information between the target RAN and the source RAN may be sent or received by using the communications interface1504, and information between the source RAN or the target RAN and the CP functional entity may also be sent or received by using the communications interface1504. In addition, a message between the UE and a target RAN, for example, a re-establishment request message, may be sent or received by using the transceiver1503. As shown inFIG.16, an embodiment provides a CP functional entity, specifically including a processor1601, a memory1602, and a communications interface1603. The memory1602is configured to store a program. The processor1601is configured to execute the program stored in the memory1602, to implement actions of a CP functional entity in the embodiments shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2BtoFIG.5AandFIG.5B, and details are not described again. It should be noted that, in the embodiments shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2BtoFIG.5AandFIG.5Bor the embodiment shown inFIG.17AandFIG.17B, information between the CP functional entity and a source RAN or a target RAN may be sent or received by using the communications interface1603. In addition, an embodiment provides a system, including UE, a source RAN, a target RAN, and a CP functional entity. Optionally, in a scenario, the UE is configured to perform actions of UE in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, the source RAN is configured to perform actions of a source RAN in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, the target RAN is configured to perform actions of a target RAN in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, and the CP functional entity is configured to perform actions of a CP functional entity in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B. Optionally, in another scenario, the UE is configured to perform actions of UE in the embodiment shown inFIG.3, the source RAN is configured to perform actions of a source RAN in the embodiment shown inFIG.3, the target RAN is configured to perform actions of a target RAN in the embodiment shown inFIG.3, and the CP functional entity is configured to perform actions of a CP functional entity in the embodiment shown inFIG.3. Optionally, in still another scenario, the UE is configured to perform actions of UE in the embodiment shown inFIG.5AandFIG.5B, the source RAN is configured to perform actions of a source RAN in the embodiment shown inFIG.5AandFIG.5B, the target RAN is configured to perform actions of a target RAN in the embodiment shown inFIG.5AandFIG.5B, and the CP functional entity is configured to perform actions of a CP functional entity in the embodiment shown inFIG.5AandFIG.5B. Optionally, in yet another scenario, the UE is configured to perform actions of UE in an embodiment shown inFIG.17AandFIG.17B, the source RAN is configured to perform actions of a source RAN in an embodiment shown inFIG.17AandFIG.17B, the target RAN is configured to perform actions of a target RAN in an embodiment shown inFIG.17AandFIG.17B, and the CP functional entity is configured to perform actions of a CP functional entity in an embodiment shown inFIG.17AandFIG.17B. As shown inFIG.17AandFIG.17B, another link re-establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure is specifically described as follows. 1701. UE obtains a MAC of UE based on a NAS integrity key and a first MAC generation parameter. For obtaining of the first MAC generation parameter and the MAC, refer to related descriptions of step201, and details are not described again. 1702. The UE sends a re-establishment request message to a target RAN, where the re-establishment request message includes the MAC and the first MAC generation parameter. The re-establishment request message may be used to request to re-establish a connection between the UE and the RAN, for example, an RRC connection, and the message may be specifically an RRC connection re-establishment request message. The re-establishment request message carries a source PCI of the UE. For details, refer to a manner provided in step202, and details are not described again. 1703. The target RAN receives the re-establishment request message sent by the UE, and sends a first message to a source RAN based on the re-establishment request message. The first message includes a second MAC generation parameter and the MAC, and the first message may be used to obtain a context of the UE, for example, the first message may be an RLF indication message. The second MAC generation parameter may be the same as the first MAC generation parameter, or may be different from the first MAC generation parameter. Specifically, the second MAC generation parameter may include the first MAC generation parameter and a target PCI of the UE, and may be applied to a scenario in which the UE generates the MAC by using the target PCI of the UE, and the first MAC generation parameter does not include the target PCI of the UE. Alternatively, the second MAC generation parameter may be some parameters in the first MAC generation parameter. For example, the second MAC generation parameter may be all parameters in the first MAC generation parameter except the source PCI of the UE, and may be applied to a scenario in which the UE uses the source PCI of the UE to generate the MAC. In other words, when the first MAC generation parameter is an identifier and the source PCI that are of the UE, the second MAC generation parameter is the identifier of the UE, to be specific, the second MAC generation parameter does not include the source PCI of the UE. In other words, the second MAC generation parameter includes the identifier of the UE, and the second MAC generation parameter may further include at least one of a NAS parameter and an RRC parameter. For the NAS parameter and the RRC parameter, refer to the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, and details are not described again. It should be noted that, in step1704, if the target RAN finds at least two RANs based on the source PCI of the UE in the first MAC generation parameter, the first message may be sent to the two RANs. In other words, when the source PCI cannot uniquely identify the source RAN, the target RAN may separately send the first message to a plurality of RANs indicated by the source PCI. In this case, only an RAN storing the identifier of the UE can send a second message to the CP functional entity after receiving the first message. Specifically, when receiving the first message sent by the target RAN, the source RAN may determine, through checking, whether the source RAN stores the identifier of the UE carried in the first message. If the source RAN stores the identifier of the UE carried in the first message, the source RAN sends the second message to the CP functional entity. For details, refer to step1704. 1704. The source RAN receives the first message sent by the target RAN, and sends a second message to the CP functional entity based on the first message. The second message includes a third MAC generation parameter and the MAC, and the third MAC generation parameter may be the same as the second MAC generation parameter, or may be different from the second MAC generation parameter. Specifically, the third MAC generation parameter may include all parameters in the second MAC generation parameter except the identifier of the UE. For example, the third MAC generation parameter may be all parameters in the second MAC generation parameter except the identifier of the UE. Apparently, in a scenario in which the source PCI of the UE is used to generate the MAC, when the second MAC generation parameter does not include the source PCI of the UE, the third MAC generation parameter may further include the source PCI of the UE. Specifically, in an example scenario, in step1701, the UE obtains the MAC of the UE based on the NAS integrity key and the first MAC generation parameter, and the first MAC generation parameter is an S-TMSI of the UE and the source PCI of the UE; in step1702, the UE sends the MAC and the first MAC generation parameter to the target RAN; in step1703, the target RAN sends the MAC and the second MAC generation parameter to the source RAN, and the second MAC generation parameter is the S-TMSI; and in step1704, the source RAN sends the third MAC generation parameter and the MAC to the CP functional entity, and the third MAC generation parameter is the source PCI of the UE. In addition, the second message may be sent through a connection link between the source RAN and the CP functional entity, and this is not limited herein. For specific implementation of step1704, refer to related descriptions of step204, and details are not described again. 1705. The CP functional entity receives the second message sent by the source RAN, and verifies the MAC based on the second message. The second message may be a connection UE change request (Connection UE Verify request). Specifically, step1705may include: 17051. The CP functional entity obtains the NAS integrity key of the UE and the identifier of the UE based on the second message. Specifically, the CP functional entity may obtain, by using a first link used to receive the second message, the NAS integrity key of the UE and the identifier of the UE. For the first link, refer to the descriptions of step204. For example, the CP functional entity receives the second message through the first link, and an MME obtains the identifier of the UE corresponding to the first link, and then the CP functional entity searches for a stored NAS context of the UE based on the identifier of the UE, to obtain the NAS integrity key of the UE. 17052. The CP functional entity verifies the MAC based on the NAS integrity key, the identifier of the UE, and the third MAC generation parameter. Implementations of steps17051and17052are similar to those of steps2051and2052, and details are not described again. In an example scenario of step1704, in step17051, the CP functional entity obtains the NAS integrity key of the UE and the S-TMSI of the UE based on the second message; and in step17052, the CP functional entity verifies the MAC based on the NAS integrity key, the S-TMSI of the UE, and the source PCI of the UE. A specific verification method is the same as that in step2052, and details are not described again. 1706. The CP functional entity sends a verification result of the MAC to the source RAN. 1707. The source RAN receives the verification result, sent by the CP functional entity, of the MAC. 1708. When the verification result indicates that verification of the MAC succeeds, the source RAN sends a context of the UE to the target RAN. The context of the UE in step1708may not include an access stratum (AS) security context, for example, a key KeNB*. Specifically, the context may be a context of UE in a control plane CIoT EPS optimization solution. This is not limited herein. Specifically, the context of the UE may be carried in a restoration UE context response (Retrieve UE Context Response) message. Optionally, the foregoing step1708may further include: sending, by the source RAN, data of the UE stored on the source RAN to the CP functional entity. In this case, the data of the UE may be a NAS PDU that is not sent to the UE. 1709. The target RAN receives the context of the UE sent by the source RAN, and sends a re-establishment response message to the UE. The re-establishment response message may be specifically an RRC connection re-establishment message. Apparently, after receiving the re-establishment response message, the UE may send an RRC connection re-establishment complete message to the target RAN. In this case, it should be noted that, for specific implementation of the foregoing steps, and nouns used in the steps, refer to related descriptions in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, and details are not described again. In the method provided in the foregoing embodiment, the UE sends, to the target RAN, the re-establishment request message that includes the first MAC generation parameter and the MAC, the target RAN sends the second MAC generation parameter and the MAC to the source RAN by using the first message and based on the re-establishment request message, and the source RAN sends the third MAC generation parameter and the MAC to the CP functional entity based on the first message, so that the CP functional entity verifies the MAC based on the third MAC generation parameter, and sends the verification result to the source RAN. In addition to the advantages of greatly reducing a time consumed by the UE to connect to the target RAN, reducing signaling complexity in re-establishment of a connection by the UE to the CP functional entity, reducing power consumption of the UE, and improving user experience mentioned in the foregoing embodiments, a message length can be reduced by reducing the second MAC generation parameter and the third MAC generation parameter, and load on a communication link can be reduced. As shown inFIG.18, an embodiment provides a CP functional entity. The CP functional entity may be configured to perform actions of a CP functional entity in the embodiment shown inFIG.17AandFIG.17B, and specifically includes a receiving unit1801, a verification unit1802, and a sending unit1803. The receiving unit1801is configured to receive a second message sent by a source RAN, where the second message includes a MAC of UE and a third MAC generation parameter. The verification unit1802is configured to verify the MAC based on the second message received by the receiving unit1801. The sending unit1803is configured to send a verification result of the MAC to the source RAN. The third MAC generation parameter includes at least one of a NAS parameter and an RRC parameter. For the RRC parameter and the NAS parameter, refer to related descriptions in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B. Specifically, the third MAC generation parameter may be the same as the foregoing second MAC generation parameter, or may be different from the foregoing second MAC generation parameter. Optionally, the verification unit1802may be configured to perform steps17051and17052, and is specifically configured to: obtain a NAS integrity key of the UE and an identifier of the UE based on the second message; and verify the MAC based on the NAS integrity key, the identifier of the UE, and the third MAC generation parameter. Optionally, the third MAC generation parameter may further include the identifier of the UE. In this case, the verification unit1802may be configured to perform steps2051and2052, and details are not described again. For manners of sending the NAS parameter, the RRC parameter, the second MAC generation parameter, the identifier of the UE, the second message, and the verification result of the MAC, refer to related descriptions in the embodiment shown inFIG.2AandFIG.2B, and details are not described herein again. Optionally, in an implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, the receiving unit1801is further configured to receive data of the UE sent by the source RAN; and the sending unit1803is further configured to send the data of the UE to the target RAN. The CP functional entity provided in the foregoing embodiment verifies the MAC based on the third MAC generation parameter, sends the verification result to the source RAN, and triggers the source RAN to send the context of the UE to the target RAN. Therefore, the target RAN successfully obtains the context of the UE before establishment of an RRC connection is completed, and the UE does not need to initiate a TAU procedure to connect to the target RAN. This greatly reduces a time consumed by the UE to connect to the target RAN, reduces signaling complexity in re-establishment of a connection by the UE to the CP functional entity, reduces power consumption of the UE, and improves user experience. In addition, the CP functional entity verifies integrity of the MAC, to implement validity verification on a re-establishment request message. This prevents the re-establishment request message from being forged, tampered, or replayed, and ensures network security. Persons of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or some of the steps of the method embodiments may be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware. The program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. When the program runs, the steps of the method embodiments are performed. The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that can store program code, such as a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disc. Finally, it should be noted that, the foregoing embodiments are merely intended for describing the technical solutions of the present disclosure other than limiting the present disclosure. Although the present disclosure is described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, persons of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they may still make modifications to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent replacements to some technical features thereof, without departing from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure. | 77,137 |
11943831 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The term “and/or” in this specification describes only an association relationship for describing associated objects and represents that three relationships may exist. For example, A and/or B may represent the following three cases: Only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists. In the specification and claims in the embodiments of this application, the terms “first”, “second”, and the like are intended to distinguish between different objects, but are not used to describe a particular order of the objects. For example, the first access network device, the second access network device, and the like are used to distinguish between different access network devices, but are not used to describe a specific order of the access network devices. In the embodiments of this application, the word such as “example” or “for example” is used to represent giving an example, an illustration, or a description. Any embodiment or design scheme described as the word “example” or “for example” in the embodiments of this application should not be explained as being more preferred or having more advantages than another embodiment or design scheme. Exactly, use of the word such as “example” or “for example” is intended to present a related concept in a specific manner. In descriptions of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, “a plurality of” means two or more. For example, a plurality of processing units are two or more processing units, and a plurality of systems are two or more systems. First, some concepts related to a communication method and an apparatus provided in the embodiments of this application are described. Dual connectivity (DC) architecture: Two access network devices (for example, base stations) are supported to simultaneously provide a data transmission service for one terminal device. For example, the access network devices are base stations. One of the two base stations is a primary base station, and the other base station is a secondary base station. A base station in a primary cell (PCell) is referred to as a primary base station, a base station in a primary secondary cell (PSCell) is a secondary base station, and the primary base station is a control plane anchor. The terminal device establishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection to the primary base station, the primary base station establishes a control plane connection to a core network, and an RRC message is transmitted between the primary base station and the terminal device. Optionally, some RRC messages (for example, a measurement configuration message and a measurement report) may also be transmitted between the secondary base station and the terminal device. It should be noted that the access network device may be an independent base station, or may be another radio access network element, for example, a distributed unit (DU) or another device having a protocol stack. Master cell group (MCG): A plurality of cells served by a primary base station form a master cell group, and the master cell group includes one PCell and one or more SCells. Secondary cell group (SCG): A plurality of cells served by a secondary base station form a secondary cell group, and the secondary cell group includes one PSCell and one or more S Cells. In the embodiments of this application, in the DC architecture, a device that acts as a primary base station is usually referred to as a master node (MN), or may be referred to as an anchor. A device that acts as a secondary base station is referred to as a secondary node (SN). Both the master node and the secondary node may be eNBs in a long term evolution (ILTE) network, or gNBs in a 5G new radio (NR) network. The core network may be a core network in the LTE network, for example, an evolved packet core (EPC) network. The core network may alternatively be a core network in the 5G NR network and is referred to as a 5G core network (5GC). When the master node, the secondary node, and the core network are base stations and core networks in the foregoing different networks, a plurality of DC architectures may be formed. For example, in the standard specification,FIG.1(a)is an Option 3 DC architecture, which is also referred to as an EN-DC (that is, E-UTRA NR DC) architecture. In the EN-DC architecture, a master node is an eNB (marked as an LTE eNB in the figure) in the LTE network, and a secondary node is a gNB (marked as a gNB in the figure) in the 5G NR network. In addition, both the master node and the secondary node are connected to the EPC, and the master node and the secondary node provide radio transmission resources for data transmission between a terminal device and the EPC.FIG.1(b)is an Option 4 DC architecture, which is also referred to as an NE-DC (that is, NR E-UTRA DC) architecture. In the NE-DC architecture, a master node is a gNB (marked as a gNB in the figure) in the 5G NR network, and a secondary node is an eNB (marked as an ng-eNB in the figure) in the LTE network. In addition, both the master node and the secondary node are connected to the5GC, and the master node and the secondary node provide radio transmission resources for data transmission between a terminal device and the5GC.FIG.1(c)is an Option 7 DC architecture, which is also referred to as an NG EN-DC (that is, next generation E-UTRANR DC) architecture. In the NG EN-DC architecture, a master node is an eNB (marked as a gNB ng-eNB in the figure) in the LTE network, and the secondary node is a gNB (marked as a gNB in the figure) in the 5G NR network. In addition, both the master node and the secondary node are connected to the5GC, and the master node and the secondary node provide radio transmission resources for data transmission between a terminal device and the5GC. Optionally, in addition to the several DC architectures in the foregoing examples, another DC architecture may be further included, for example, a case in which both the master node and the secondary node are gNBs in the 5G NR. Details are not described in the embodiments of this application. A signalling radio bearer (SRB) is a radio bearer (RB) used to transmit an RRC message and a non-access stratum (NAS) message. A type of the SRB may include an SRB0, an SRB1, an SRB2, an SRB3, or an SRB of another type. The SRB0is a default bearer, and uses a common control channel (CCCH). The SRB1is used to transmit an RRC message and a NAS message before the SRB2is established, and uses a dedicated control channel (DCCH). The SRB2is used to transmit a NAS message, has a priority lower than that of the SRB1, and uses a DCCH logical channel. The SRB3is used to directly transmit an RRC message on an SN path, and uses a DCCH logical channel. In the embodiments of this application, in the DC architecture, the terminal device may establish two types of radio bearers. The first type of radio bearer is a bearer for which PDCP is terminated in the MN (referred to as an MN terminated bearer in the standard specification), and is referred to as an MN bearer for short in this specification. For the MN bearer, a PDCP on a base station side is located in the MN, and a PDCP layer of the MN performs security-related processing. The second type of radio bearer is a bearer for which PDCP is terminated in the SN (referred to as an SN terminated bearer in the standard specification), and is referred to as an SN bearer for short in this specification. For the SN bearer, a PDCP on a base station side is terminated in the SN, and a PDCP layer of the SN performs security-related processing. It may be understood that, for both the MN and the SN, processing on a data unit includes processing at a physical (PHY) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a PDCP layer. For the MN, processing on a data unit includes processing at an MN MAC layer, an MN RLC layer, and a PDCP layer. For the SN, processing on a data unit includes processing at an SN MAC layer, an SN RLC layer, and a PDCP layer. Data unit transmission at the PDCP layer is mainly described in the embodiments of this application. In the embodiments of this application, a data unit of the MN bearer may be sent via MN radio resources and/or SN radio resources, and a data unit of the SN bearer may be sent via the MN radio resources and/or the SN radio resources. Sending a data unit only via the MN radio resources is referred to as sending the data unit via an MCG bearer. Sending a data unit only via the SN radio resources is referred to as sending the data unit via an SCG bearer. Sending a data unit via both the MN radio resources and the SN radio resources is referred to as sending the data unit via a split bearer. The split bearer includes an MCG split bearer and an SCG split bearer. In an implementation, the terminal device may send a data unit to the MN via the MCG split bearer, the terminal device may send a data unit to the SN via the SCG split bearer, and then the SN sends the data unit to the MN. For example,FIG.2(a)shows an MCG bearer, an SCG bearer, and a split bearer from a perspective of a terminal device, andFIG.2(b)shows an MCG bearer, an SCG bearer, and a split bearer from a perspective of an access network device. It should be understood that the bearer includes a signalling radio bearer and a data radio bearer. In the embodiments of this application, when the terminal device sends data via a split signalling radio bearer, a network side (for example, a base station) may configure the split signalling radio bearer to allow duplication or not to support duplication. In this way, the split signalling radio bearer may be classified into a split signalling radio bearer allowing duplication of RRC PDUs (split SRB allowing duplication of RRC PDUs) and a split signalling radio bearer without duplication (split SRB without duplication). The following briefly describes the split SRB allowing duplication and the split signalling radio bearer without duplication. Split SRB allowing duplication: In a process of sending data via a split signalling radio bearer, an MCG split signalling radio bearer and an SCG split signalling radio bearer are configured to allow duplication. That is, a data unit is sent via the MCG split signalling radio bearer, a data unit is sent via the SCG split signalling radio bearer, and the data unit sent via the MCG split signalling radio bearer is the same as the data unit sent via the SCG split signalling radio bearer. Split signalling radio bearer without duplication: In a process of sending data via a split signalling radio bearer, an MCG split signalling radio bearer and an SCG split signalling radio bearer are configured not to support duplication. It should be understood that, that the split signalling radio bearer is configured not to support duplication means that a data unit is sent via the MCG split signalling radio bearer, but a data unit is not sent via the SCG split signalling radio bearer. Alternatively, that the split bearer is configured not to support duplication means that a data unit sent via the MCG split bearer is different from a data unit sent via the SCG split bearer. For example, a data unit sent by the terminal device via the MCG split bearer is a first data unit, a data unit sent by the terminal device via the SCG split bearer is a second data unit, and the first data unit and the second data unit are different data units. It should be noted that, for brevity of description, in the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified, a bearer is a signalling radio bearer. For example, an MCG bearer is an MCG signalling radio bearer, an SCG bearer is an SCG signalling radio bearer, a split bearer is a split signalling radio bearer, a split bearer allowing duplication is a split signalling radio bearer allowing duplication, a split bearer without duplication is a signalling radio bearer without duplication, an MCG split bearer is an MCG split signalling radio bearer, and an SCG split bearer is an SCG split signalling radio bearer. In conclusion, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application is mainly applied to a scenario in which data is sent via a split bearer in a communications system of a DC architecture, and relates to a PDCP layer of an access network device. Functions of the PDCP layer mainly include at least one of the following functions: PDCP sequence number (SN) maintenance, packet header compression and decompression, encryption and decryption, integrity protection, integrity check, reordering, in-order delivery, PDCP header adding, data routing or replication, and the like. For example, a transmit end is a terminal device, and a receive end is an access network device. After the access network device receives data units sent by the terminal via a split bearer, at a PDCP layer of the access network device, the access network device reorders the plurality of processed data units based on PDCP SNs of the data units received by the access network device, and delivers the plurality of processed data units to a higher layer (that is, a radio resource control (RRC) layer of the access network device) in order. Based on an existing problem described in the background, the embodiments of this application provide a communication method and an apparatus, and are applied to a scenario in which data is sent via a split bearer. When a terminal device sends a first data unit to a first access network device via an MCG split bearer, the terminal device determines that an MCG link failure occurs. The terminal device sends a second data unit to a second access network device via an SCG split bearer, so that the second access network device sends the second data unit to the first access network device, and the first access network device can complete processing of the second data unit, where the second data unit includes information used to indicate the MCG link failure. According to the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application, MCG link failure information can be successfully reported. FIG.3is a schematic architectural diagram of a wireless communications system according to an embodiment of this application. The wireless communications system is of a DC architecture. As shown inFIG.3, the wireless communications system includes a first access network device10, a second access network device11, and a terminal device12. The first access network device10is a master node, the second access network device11is a secondary node, and the first access network device10and the second access network device11are connected to a core network of an LTE network or a 5GC. The terminal device12may separately communicate with the first access network device10and the second access network device11. The terminal device12and the first access network device10may transmit data to each other via an MCG bearer or an MCG split bearer, and the terminal device12and the second access network device11may transmit data to each other via an SCG bearer or an SCG split bearer. In the embodiments of this application, the access network device may be a base station. The base station may be a commonly used base station, an evolved node base station (eNB), a next generation node base station (gNB), a new radio eNB (new radio eNB), a macro base station, a micro base station, a high frequency base station, a transmission and reception point (TRP), or the like. For example, in the embodiments of this application, the commonly used base station is used as an example to describe a hardware structure of the access network device. The following specifically describes components of the base station provided in the embodiments of this application with reference toFIG.4. As shown inFIG.4, the base station provided in the embodiments of this application may include a part20and a part21. The part20is mainly configured to send and receive a radio frequency signal, and perform conversion between the radio frequency signal and a baseband signal. The part21is mainly configured to perform baseband processing, control the base station, and the like. The part20may usually be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver machine, a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, or the like. The part21is usually a control center of the base station, and is usually referred to as a processing unit. The transceiver unit in the part20may also be referred to as a transceiver machine, a transceiver, or the like, and includes an antenna and a radio frequency unit, or includes only a radio frequency unit or a part thereof. The radio frequency unit is mainly configured to perform radio frequency processing. Optionally, a component that is in the part20and that is configured to implement a receiving function may be considered as a receiving unit, and a component that is configured to implement a sending function may be considered as a sending unit. In other words, the part20includes the receiving unit and the sending unit. The receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver machine, a receiver, a receiver circuit, or the like, and the sending unit may be referred to as a transmitter machine, a transmitter, a transmitter circuit, or the like. The part21may include one or more boards or chips. Each board or chip may include one or more processors and one or more memories. The processor is configured to read and execute a program in the memory, to implement a baseband processing function and control the base station. If there is a plurality of boards, the boards may be interconnected to improve a processing capability. In an optional implementation, a plurality of boards may share one or more processors, or a plurality of boards share one or more memories. The memory and the processor may be integrated together, or may be independently disposed. In some embodiments, the part20and the part21may be integrated together, or may be disposed independently. In addition, all functions of the part21may be integrated into one chip for implementation. Alternatively, some functions may be integrated into one chip for implementation and some other functions are integrated into one or more other chips for implementation. This is not limited in the embodiments of this application. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present invention may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a netbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or the like. An example in which the terminal device is a mobile phone is used. The following describes each component of the mobile phone in the embodiments of this application in detail with reference toFIG.5. As shown inFIG.5, the mobile phone provided in the embodiments of the present invention includes components such as a processor31, a radio frequency (RF) circuit32, a power supply33, a memory34, an input unit35, a display unit36, and an audio circuit37. A person skilled in the art may understand that a structure of the mobile phone shown inFIG.5constitutes no limitation on the mobile phone, and the mobile phone may include more or fewer components than those shown inFIG.5, or may include a combination of some of the components shown inFIG.5, or may include components arranged differently from those shown inFIG.5. The processor31is a control center of the mobile phone, is connected to all parts of the entire mobile phone through various interfaces and lines, and executes various functions of the mobile phone and performs data processing by running or executing a software program and/or a module stored in the memory34and by invoking data stored in the memory34, to perform overall monitoring on the mobile phone. Optionally, the processor31may include one or more processing units. Preferably, the processor31may integrate an application processor and a modem processor. The application processor mainly processes an operating system, a user interface, an application program, and the like. The modem processor mainly processes wireless communication. It may be understood that, the modem processor may not be integrated into the processor31. The RF circuit32may be configured to receive and send information, or receive and send a signal during a call, in particular, send received downlink information of a base station to the processor31for processing, and send uplink data to the base station. Generally, an RF circuit includes but is not limited to an antenna, at least one amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low noise amplifier (LNA), a duplexer, and the like. In addition, the RF circuit32may further communicate with a network and another device through wireless communication. The wireless communication may use any communications standard or protocol, including but not limited to a global system for mobile communications (GSM), a general packet radio service (GPRS), code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), long term evolution (LTE), an email, a short message service (SMS), and the like. The mobile phone includes the power supply33(such as a battery) that supplies power to each component. Optionally, the power supply may be logically connected to the processor31through a power management system, to implement functions such as charging management, discharging management, and power consumption management by using the power management system. The memory34may be configured to store a software program and a module. The processor31runs the software program and the module that are stored in the memory34, to implement various function applications and data processing of the mobile phone. The memory34may mainly include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store an operating system, an application program required by at least one function (such as a sound play function and an image play function), and the like. The data storage area may store data (such as audio data, image data, and an address book) created based on use of the mobile phone, and the like. In addition, the memory34may include a high-speed random access memory, and may further include a non-volatile memory, such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, a flash memory device, or another volatile solid-state storage device. The input unit35may be configured to receive input digital or character information, and generate a key signal input related to user setting and function control of the mobile phone. Specifically, the input unit35may include a touchscreen351and another input device352. The touchscreen351is also referred to as a touch panel, and can collect touch operations performed by a user on or near the touchscreen351(for example, an operation performed by the user on or near the touchscreen351by using any proper object or accessory such as a finger or a stylus), and drive a corresponding connection apparatus according to a preset program. Optionally, the touchscreen351may include two components: a touch detection apparatus and a touch controller. The touch detection apparatus detects a touch location of the user, detects a signal generated by the touch operation, and transfers the signal to the touch controller. The touch controller receives touch information from the touch detection apparatus, converts the touch information into touch coordinates, then transmits the touch coordinates to the processor31, and receives and executes a command sent by the processor31. In addition, the touchscreen351may be implemented by using a plurality of types such as a resistor type, a capacitor type, an infrared type, and a surface acoustic wave type. The another input device352may include but is not limited to one or more of a physical keyboard, a function button (such as a volume control button or a power button), a trackball, a mouse, or a joystick. The display unit36may be configured to display information entered by the user or information provided for the user, and various menus of the mobile phone. The display unit36may include a display panel361. Optionally, the display panel361may be configured in a form of a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), or the like. Further, the touchscreen351may cover the display panel361. After detecting a touch operation on or near the touchscreen351, the touchscreen351sends the touch operation to the processor31to determine a type of a touch event. Then the processor31provides a corresponding visual output on the display panel361based on the type of the touch event. Although, inFIG.5, the touchscreen351and the display panel361are used as two independent components to implement input and output functions of the mobile phone, in some embodiments, the touchscreen351and the display panel361may be integrated to implement the input and output functions of the mobile phone. The audio circuit37, a speaker371, and a microphone372provide an audio interface between the user and the mobile phone. The audio circuit37may transmit, to the speaker371, an electrical signal converted from received audio data, and the speaker371converts the electrical signal into a sound signal for output. In addition, the microphone372converts a collected sound signal into an electrical signal. The audio circuit37receives the electrical signal, converts the electrical signal into audio data, and then outputs the audio data to the RF circuit32, to send the audio data to, for example, another mobile phone, or outputs the audio data to the memory34for further processing. Optionally, the mobile phone shown inFIG.5may further include various sensors, for example, a gyroscope sensor, a hygrometer sensor, an infrared sensor, and a magnetometer sensor. Details are not described herein. Optionally, the mobile phone shown inFIG.5may further include a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) module, a Bluetooth module, and the like. Details are not described herein. It may be understood that in the embodiments of this application, the terminal device and/or the access network device may perform some or all steps in the embodiments of this application. These steps or the operations are merely examples. In the embodiments of this application, other operations or variations of various operations may be further performed. In addition, the steps may be performed in different sequences presented in the embodiments of this application, and not all operations in the embodiments of this application may be performed. The embodiments of this application may be implemented separately, or may be implemented in any combination. This is not limited in this application. With reference to the wireless communications system shown inFIG.3, an embodiment of this application provides a communication method. The communication method is applied to a scenario in which data is sent via a split bearer. As shown inFIG.6, the method may include S101to S106. S101. When a terminal device sends a first data unit to a first access network device via an MCG split bearer, the terminal device determines that an MCG link failure occurs. In the following embodiment, the MCG split bearer is a bearer used for data transmission between the terminal device and the first access network device, and the first access network device is a master node. Data such as the first data unit transmitted between the terminal device and the first access network device may be a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU), namely, a PDCP PDU. In this embodiment of this application, when the terminal device transmits data via the MCG split bearer or an SCG split bearer, a link failure may occur on an air interface. Specifically, the link failure may include an SCG link failure (SCG link failure) and an MCG link failure (MCG link failure). It may be understood that, this embodiment of this application mainly relates to reporting MCG link failure information or an MCG link failure report when the MCG link failure occurs, to notify the first access network device that the MCG link failure occurs between the terminal device and the first access network device. Optionally, in this embodiment of this application, a cause of the MCG link failure may include at least one of the following: an MCG radio link failure, an MCG reconfiguration failure, a mobility from NR failure, an integrity check failure, an RRC connection reconfiguration failure, and the like. This is not specifically limited in this embodiment of this application. S102. The terminal device sends a second data unit to a second access network device via the SCG split bearer, where the second data unit includes information used to indicate the MCG link failure. In this embodiment of this application, the SCG split bearer is a bearer used for data transmission between the terminal device and the second access network device, and the second access network device is a secondary node. Data such as the second data unit transmitted between the terminal device and the second access network device may be a PDCP PDU. When the terminal device determines that the MCG link failure occurs, the terminal device cannot continue to send the first data unit to the first access network device via the MCG split bearer. When the terminal device reports an event that the MCG link failure occurs to the first access network device, the terminal device sends, to the second access network device via the SCG split bearer, the second data unit that carries the information used to indicate the MCG link failure, so that the second access network device sends the second data unit to the first access network device, and the first access network device can learn of the MCG link failure. The information used to indicate the MCG link failure is MCG link failure information or an MCG link failure report (in the following embodiment, the MCG link failure report is the MCG link failure information, and the MCG link failure report and the MCG link failure information are no longer distinguished). S103. The second access network device receives the second data unit from the terminal device via the SCG split bearer. S104. The second access network device sends the second data unit to the first access network device via the SCG split bearer. Optionally, in this embodiment of this application, that the second access network device sends the second data unit to the first access network device via the SCG split bearer may specifically include: The second access network device sends the received second data unit from an RLC layer of the second access network device to a PDCP layer of the first access network device via an SCG RLC bearer in the SCG split bearer. For example,FIG.7shows a process of receiving the MCG link failure information from perspectives of the first access network device and the second access network device. As shown inFIG.7, when an MCG link corresponding to the first access network device fails, the first access network device cannot receive the second data unit via the MCG split bearer. After the second access network device receives the second data unit via the SCG split bearer, the second data unit is processed by a PHY layer, a MAC layer, and the RLC layer of the second access network device, and then the second data unit is sent from the RLC layer of the second access network device to the PDCP layer of the first access network device. S105. The first access network device receives the second data unit from the second access network device via the SCG split bearer. It should be understood that, that the first access network device receives the second data unit from the second access network device is specifically: The first access network device receives, at the PDCP layer of the first access network device, the second data unit sent by the second access network device from the RLC layer of the second access network device. The second data unit is a PDCP PDU. S106. The first access network device processes the second data unit. In this embodiment of this application, that the first access network device processes the second data unit includes: The first access network device completes processing (including at least one of PDCP SN maintenance, data packet header compression and decompression, encryption and decryption, integrity protection, integrity check, PDCP header adding, data routing or replication, and the like) on the second data unit at the PDCP layer of the first access network device, sorts all received data units (including the second data unit) based on PDCP SNs, and then delivers the processed data units (which may be referred to as PDCP SDUs or may be referred to as MCG link failure information) to an RRC layer of the first access network device in a sequence of the PDCP SNs. The RRC layer further processes the MCG link failure information included in the processed data units. The communication method provided in this embodiment of this application is applied to a scenario in which data is sent via a split bearer. When the terminal device sends the first data unit to the first access network device via the MCG split bearer, the terminal device determines that the MCG link failure occurs. The terminal device sends the second data unit to the second access network device via the SCG split bearer, so that the second access network device sends the second data unit to the first access network device, and the first access network device can complete processing of the second data unit, where the second data unit includes the information used to indicate the MCG link failure. According to the technical solutions provided in this embodiment of this application, the MCG link failure information can be successfully reported. As shown inFIG.8, in this embodiment of this application, before the MCG link failure occurs, the communication method provided in this embodiment of this application may further include the following steps. S1101. The first access network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a type of an SRB via which the second data unit is sent. In this embodiment of this application, the first access network device may indicate the type of the SRB via which the terminal device sends the data unit to the second access network device. Specifically, the second indication information may indicate the terminal device to send the second data unit or the MCG link failure information via an SCG split SRB1, an SCG split SRB2, an SRB3, or another newly defined SRB. In this way, when the terminal device sends the second data unit to the second access network device via the SCG split bearer, the terminal device may send the MCG link failure information via a corresponding SRB. Optionally, the second indication information may be carried in an RRC reconfiguration message, or may be carried in an RRC connection reconfiguration message, or may be carried in another message. This is not specifically limited in this embodiment of this application. S1102. When the terminal device detects the MCG link failure, the terminal device sends the second data unit to the second access network device via the SRB indicated by the second indication information. It may be understood that, in this embodiment of this application, alternatively, a specific type of the SRB via which the terminal device sends the MCG link failure information may be predefined in a protocol. For example, it is predefined in the protocol that the MCG link failure information is sent via the SCG split SRB1. In this way, when the terminal device determines that the MCG link failure occurs, the terminal device may send, via the SCG split SRB1predefined in the protocol, the second data unit that carries the MCG link failure information. (Optional) S1103. The terminal device starts a timer. In this embodiment of this application, when the terminal device determines that the MCG link failure occurs or the terminal device sends the second data unit including the MCG link failure information to the second access network device, the terminal device may start the timer. If the timer expires and the terminal device does not receive a response message from the first access network device or the second access network device, the terminal device considers that MCG link recovery fails. If the terminal device receives a response message from the first access network device or the second access network device while the timer is running, the terminal device stops the timer. Optionally, when the timer expires and the terminal device does not receive a response message from the first access network device or the second access network device, the terminal device performs an RRC reestablishment procedure, to reestablish an MCG link, so as to recover data transmission via the MCG link. It may be understood that running duration of the timer may be a value received by the terminal device from the first access network device, or may be a value predefined in a protocol. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application. As shown inFIG.9, in an implementation, a communication method provided in this embodiment of this application may be used in a scenario in which data is sent via an SCG split bearer without duplication. The method specifically includes the following steps. S201. When a terminal device sends a first data unit to a first access network device via an MCG split bearer, the terminal device determines that an MCG link failure occurs. For a related description of S201, refer to the related description of S101in the foregoing embodiment. Details are not described herein again. S202. When the terminal device does not receive an acknowledgment message that is for the first data unit and that is sent by the first access network device, the terminal device sends the first data unit to a second access network device via an SCG split bearer. When the SCG split bearer is configured as a split bearer without duplication and only an MCG path is configured, the terminal device may send the first data unit only on the MCG split bearer. When the terminal device determines that the MCG link failure occurs, the terminal device resends, via the SCG split bearer, the first data unit for which no acknowledgment message is received. In this case, the terminal device may consider that the SCG split bearer is an SCG split bearer in a split bearer allowing duplication. S203. The second access network device receives the first data unit from the terminal device via the SCG split bearer. S204. The second access network device sends the first data unit to the first access network device via the SCG split bearer. S205. The first access network device receives the first data unit from the second access network device via the SCG split bearer. In this embodiment of this application, when the terminal device sends the first data unit to the first access network device via the MCG split bearer, the terminal device detects the MCG link failure. In this case, the first data unit sent by the terminal device to the first access network device via the MCG split bearer may fail to be sent to the first access network device, and further, the terminal device may not receive the acknowledgment message that is for the first data unit and that is sent by the first access network device. To ensure continuity of sequence numbers of data units received by the first access network device, the terminal device sends the first data unit to the second access network device via the SCG split bearer, so that the second access network device sends the first data unit to the first access network device. Likewise, the process in which the first data unit is sent to the second access network device via the SCG split bearer, and then the second access network device sends the first data unit to the first access network device is similar to the process in which the second data unit is sent to the second access network device via the SCG split bearer, and then the second access network device sends the second data unit to the first access network device in the foregoing embodiment. For specific details, refer to related descriptions in the foregoing embodiment. Details are not described herein again. In this embodiment of this application, when the terminal device receives no acknowledgment message for the first data unit, the terminal device may resend the first data unit to the first access network device via the SCG split bearer in S202to S205. In this way, it can be ensured that the first access network device successfully receives the first data unit. S206. The terminal device sends a second data unit to the second access network device via the SCG split bearer, where the second data unit includes information used to indicate the MCG link failure. S207. The second access network device receives the second data unit from the terminal device via the SCG split bearer. S208. The second access network device sends the second data unit to the first access network device via the SCG split bearer. S209. The first access network device receives the second data unit from the second access network device via the SCG split bearer. Through S206to S209, the terminal device may successfully send, to the first access network device via the SCG split bearer, the second data unit that carries the MCG link failure information. For other descriptions of S206to S209, refer to the related descriptions of S102to S105in the foregoing embodiment. Details are not described herein again. It should be noted that a sequence of performing S202to S205and S206to S209may not be limited in this embodiment of this application. S202to S205may be performed before S206to S209, or S206to S209may be performed before S202to S205, or S202to S205and S206to S209are simultaneously performed.S210. The first access network device processes the first data unit.S211. The first access network device processes the second data unit. In an implementation, all the steps of S201to S211need to be performed. To be specific, when the terminal device determines that the MCG link failure occurs, the terminal device needs to send the second data unit via the SCG split bearer, and also needs to send the first data unit via the SCG split bearer. When the terminal device sends the first data unit and the second data unit via the SCG split bearer, a time sequence of receiving the first data unit and the second data unit by the first access network device via the SCG split bearer is not limited in this embodiment of this application. However, it should be understood that the first data unit is actually a data unit that is sent by the terminal device to the first access network device via the MCG bearer before the terminal device detects the MCG link failure. It can be learned that a PDCP SN of the first data unit is less than a PDCP SN of the second data unit. The first access network device delivers, in order, data units (which may be referred to as PDCP SDUs or MCG link failure information) processed at a PDCP layer, that is, delivers the data units to an RRC layer of the first access network device in ascending order of PDCP SNs. For example, the first access network device first delivers the processed first data unit, and then delivers the processed second data unit. It should be understood that, the foregoing delivered data units (including the delivered first data unit and/or the delivered second data unit) mean that the first access network device delivers, to the RRC layer of the first access network device, a data unit (which may be referred to as a PDCP SDU or MCG link failure information) obtained after a PDCP SN is removed from a PDCP PDU of the PDCP layer of the first access network device and processing such as decoding, integrity protection, and integrity check is performed. This is also similar in the following embodiments, and details are not described. In the communication method in this embodiment of this application, if the terminal device detects the MCG link failure when the terminal device sends the first data unit, the first access network device sends, to the first access network device via the SCG split bearer, the information used to indicate the MCG link failure. In addition, the terminal device also sends the first data unit to the first access network device via the SCG split bearer, or the terminal device resends the first data unit to the first access network device via the SCG split bearer, so that the second access network device sends the second data unit and the first data unit to the first access network device. It can be learned that according to this solution, continuity of data units received by the first access network device can be ensured. In this way, the MCG link failure information can be successfully reported. In another implementation, S202to S205may not be performed. To be specific, when the terminal device determines that the MCG link failure occurs, the terminal device sends only the second data unit via the SCG split bearer, and the terminal device does not send the first data unit via the SCG split bearer. Even if the first data unit is still stored in buffer of a PDCP layer of the terminal device in a case of the MCG link failure, the terminal device does not send the first data unit via the SCG split bearer, either. It may be understood that, when the SCG split bearer is configured as a split bearer without duplication and only an MCG path is configured, usually, the first access network device cannot receive, from the second access network device, data transmitted via the SCG split bearer. However, this embodiment of this application may specify that: If the first access network device receives the second data unit from the second access network device, the first access network device preferentially delivers the processed second data unit to the RRC layer of the first access network device. It may also be understood as follows: When the first access network device receives the second data unit via the SCG split bearer, the first access network device determines, by default, that the second data unit includes the information used to indicate the MCG link failure. Regardless of whether SNs of PDCP PDUs of the first access network device are continuous, the PDCP layer of the first access network device does not perform a reordering function and/or an in-order delivery function, or the PDCP layer of the first access network device does not perform a reordering function and/or an in-order delivery function on the second data unit, but delivers the processed second data unit to the RRC layer. According to the communication method provided in this embodiment of this application, the terminal device sends, to the first access network device via the SCG split bearer, the data unit including the information used to indicate the MCG link failure. According to this solution, it can be ensured that after receiving the data unit, the first access network device preferentially processes the data unit. In this way, the MCG link failure information can be successfully reported. As shown inFIG.10, in another implementation, a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application may include the following steps. S301. When a terminal device sends a first data unit to a first access network device via an MCG split bearer, the terminal device determines that an MCG link failure occurs. For a related description of S301, refer to the related description of S101in the foregoing embodiment. Details are not described herein again. Optionally, in S302, when the terminal device does not receive an acknowledgment message that is for the first data unit and that is sent by the first access network device, the terminal device sends the first data unit to a second access network device via an SCG split bearer. Optionally, in S303, the second access network device receives the first data unit from the terminal device via the SCG split bearer. Optionally, in S304, the second access network device sends the first data unit to the first access network device via the SCG split bearer. Optionally, in S305, the first access network device receives the first data unit from the second access network device via the SCG split bearer. S306. The terminal device sends a second data unit to the second access network device via the SCG split bearer, where the second data unit includes information used to indicate the MCG link failure and first indication information. The information used to indicate the MCG link failure may be referred to as MCG link failure information or an MCG link failure report. The first indication information is used to indicate to preferentially process the second data unit, or the first indication information is used to indicate that reordering and/or in-order delivery do not need to be performed, or the first indication information is used to indicate that the second data unit is used to send the MCG link failure information. When receiving the second data unit, a PDCP layer of the first access network device does not need to perform reordering and/or in-order delivery based on the first indication information, or a PDCP layer of the first access network device does not perform a reordering function and/or an in-order delivery function on the second data unit. Instead, after receiving the second data unit, the PDCP layer of the first access network device preferentially processes the second data unit, and delivers the processed second data unit to an RRC layer. In an implementation, the first indication information is carried in one or more of the following information: a MAC CE header, an RLC header, or a PDCP header. This is not specifically limited in this embodiment of this application. In another implementation, the second data unit is a PDCP control protocol data unit (namely, a PDCP control PDU) for a signalling radio bearer. It may be understood that, when the second data unit is a PDCP control protocol data unit, the second data unit may include the information used to indicate the MCG link failure and the first indication information, or include only the information used to indicate the MCG link failure. The PDCP control protocol data unit is introduced into a signalling radio bearer, and the information (for example, an MCG link failure report) used to indicate the MCG link failure and the first indication information are carried in the PDCP control protocol data unit. Specifically, one or more reserved bits in a header of the PDCP control protocol data unit are defined to carry the first indication information, and a payload of the PDCP control protocol data unit includes the information used to indicate the MCG link failure. Optionally, the first bit in the reserved bits (for example, four reserved bits) in the header of the PDCP control protocol data unit may be used to carry the first indication information, or one or more other reserved bits may be used to carry the first indication information. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application. It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application, a format of the PDCP control protocol data unit in the SRB is similar to a format of a PDCP control protocol data unit (namely, a PDCP control PDU) in a DRB. For the format of the PDCP control protocol data unit, refer to a format of a PDCP data protocol data unit.FIG.10Ashows an existing PDCP data PDU format for SRBs (PDCP Data PDU format for SRBs). Four bits marked as “R” are four reserved bits. It may be understood that, during specific implementation, when only the first bit in the reserved bits is used for indication, the first bit is used as a D/C field parameter, and the D/C field parameter is used to indicate whether the data unit is a PDCP control PDU or a PDCP data PDU. In this embodiment of this application, when a value of a D/C field is “C”, it indicates that the data unit is a PDCP control PDU, and a payload of the data unit includes the information used to indicate the MCG link failure, and indicates that the data unit needs to be preferentially processed, that is, indicates that the MCG link failure information needs to be preferentially processed. Optionally, if a remaining reserved bit is further used, the remaining bit may be used as a “PDU type” parameter (that is, a data unit type) to indicate a type of control information included in the PDCP control PDU. In this embodiment of this application, one possible value of the “PDU type” is set to the MCG link failure information, and other possible values of the “PDU type” may be reserved for future extension such as a PDCP status report (PDCP status report). Other possible extension is not limited in this embodiment of this application. S307. The second access network device receives the second data unit from the terminal device via the SCG split bearer. S308. The second access network device sends the second data unit to the first access network device via the SCG split bearer. S309. The first access network device receives the second data unit from the second access network device via the SCG split bearer. For related descriptions of S307to SD309, refer to the related descriptions of S103to S105in the foregoing embodiment. Details are not described herein again. S310. The first access network device preferentially processes the second data unit. After receiving the second data unit, the first access network device parses a header of the second data unit to obtain the first indication information, then preferentially processes the second data unit based on the indication of the first indication information, and delivers the processed second data unit to the RRC layer. In this embodiment of this application, because the second data unit carries the first indication information or the second data unit is a corresponding PDCP control PDU, the first access network device does not need to determine whether the first data unit is successfully received, and directly preferentially processes the second data unit. A PDCP SN of the first data unit is less than a PDCP SN of the second data unit. For example, the first access network device receives the first data unit and the second data unit, where a sequence number PDCP SN of the first data unit is a, and a sequence number PDCP SN of the second data unit is a+1. The first access network device determines that the second data unit carries the first indication information, and the first access network device preferentially processes the second data unit whose PDCP SN is a+1. Alternatively, the first access network device does not successfully receive the first data unit, but receives the second data unit. Similarly, a sequence number PDCP SN of the first data unit is a, and a sequence number PDCP SN of the second data unit is a+1. The second data unit carries the first indication information, and the first access network device directly processes the second data unit. It should be understood that, in a scenario in which data is sent via a split bearer without duplication, S302to S305are optional steps. To be specific, when determining that the MCG link failure occurs, the terminal device sends only the second data unit via the SCG split bearer, and uses the second data unit to carry the first indication information, to indicate to preferentially process the second data unit, and the terminal device does not send the first data unit via the SCG split bearer. In a scenario in which data is sent via a split bearer allowing duplication, all steps of S302to S310need to be performed. To be specific, when determining that the MCG link failure occurs, the terminal device sends the second data unit (that carries the first indication information) via the SCG split bearer, and also sends the first data unit via the SCG split bearer. However, after receiving the first data unit and the second data unit, the first access network device preferentially processes the second data unit based on the first indication information. The foregoing mainly describes the solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention from a perspective of interaction between network elements. It may be understood that, to implement the foregoing functions, the network elements, such as the terminal device and the first access network device, include a corresponding hardware structure and/or software module for performing each of the functions. A person skilled in the art should be easily aware that units, algorithms, and steps in the examples described with reference to the embodiments disclosed in this specification can be implemented by hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software in the embodiments of the present invention. Whether a function is performed by hardware or hardware driven by computer software depends on particular applications and design constraints of the technical solutions. A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of this application In this embodiment of the present invention, the terminal device, the first access network device, or the like may be divided into function modules based on the foregoing method example. For example, each function modules may be obtained through division based on each corresponding function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module may be implemented in a form of hardware, or may be implemented in a form of a software function module. It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present invention, division into the modules is an example, and is merely logical function division. During actual implementation, another division manner may be used. When each function module is obtained through division based on each corresponding function,FIG.11is a possible schematic structural diagram of a terminal device in the foregoing embodiments. As shown inFIG.11, a terminal device1000may include a determining module1001and a sending module1002. The determining module1001may be configured to support the terminal device1000in performing S101, S201, and S301in the foregoing method embodiments. The sending module1002may be configured to support the terminal device1000in performing S102, S1102, S202, S206, S302, and S306in the foregoing method embodiments. Optionally, as shown inFIG.11, the terminal device1000may further include a receiving module1003. The receiving module1003may be configured to support the terminal device1000in receiving the second indication information sent by the first access network device. All related content of the steps in the foregoing method embodiments may be cited in function descriptions of corresponding function modules, and details are not described herein again. When an integrated unit is used,FIG.12is a possible schematic structural diagram of the terminal device in the foregoing embodiments. As shown inFIG.12, a terminal device2000may include a processing module2001and a communications module2002. The processing module2001may be configured to control and manage an action of the terminal device2000. For example, the processing module2001may be configured to support the terminal device2000in performing S101, S1103, S201, and S301in the foregoing method embodiments and/or another process of the technology described in this specification. The communications module2002may be configured to support the terminal device2000in communicating with another network entity. For example, the communications module2002may be configured to support the terminal device2000in performing S102, S1102, S202, S206, S302, and S306in the foregoing method embodiments. Optionally, as shown inFIG.12, the terminal device2000may further include a storage module2003, configured to store program code and data of the terminal device2000. The processing module2001may be a processor or a controller (for example, may be the processor31shown inFIG.5). For example, the processing module2001may be a central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or another programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. The processing module2001may implement or execute various example logical blocks, modules, and circuits described with reference to content disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention. The processor may alternatively be a combination of processors implementing a computing function, for example, a combination of one or more microprocessors, or a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor. The communications module2002may be a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, a communications interface, or the like (for example, may be the RF circuit32shown inFIG.5). The storage module2003may be a memory (for example, may be the memory34shown inFIG.5). When the processing module2001is the processor, the communications module2002is the transceiver, and the storage module2003is the memory, the processor, the transceiver, and the memory may be connected through a bus. The bus may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus may be classified into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. When each function module is obtained through division based on each corresponding function,FIG.13is a possible schematic structural diagram of a first access network device in the foregoing embodiments. As shown inFIG.13, the first access network device3000may include a receiving module3001and a processing module3002. The receiving module3001may be configured to support the first access network device3000in performing S105, S205, S209, S305, and S309in the foregoing method embodiments. The processing module3002may be configured to support the first access network device3000in performing S106, S210, S211, and S310in the foregoing method embodiments. Optionally, as shown inFIG.13, the first access network device3000may further include a sending module3003. The sending module3003may be configured to support the first access network device3000in performing S1101in the foregoing method embodiments. All related content of the steps in the foregoing method embodiments may be cited in function descriptions of corresponding function modules, and details are not described herein again. When an integrated unit is used,FIG.14is a possible schematic structural diagram of the first access network device in the foregoing embodiments. As shown inFIG.14, the first access network device4000may include a processing module4001and a communications module4002. The processing module4001may be configured to control and manage an action of the first access network device4000. For example, the processing module4001may be configured to support the first access network device4000in performing S106, S210, S211, and S310in the foregoing method embodiments. The communications module4002may be configured to support the first access network device4000in communicating with another network entity. For example, the communications module4002may be configured to support the first access network device4000in performing S105, S1101, S205, S209, S305, and S309in the foregoing method embodiments. Optionally, as shown inFIG.14, the first access network device4000may further include a storage module4003, configured to store program code and data of the first access network device4000. The processing module4001may be a processor or a controller (for example, may be the processor in the part21shown inFIG.4), and for example, may be a CPU, a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or another programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. The processing module4001may implement or execute various example logical blocks, modules, and circuits described with reference to content disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention. The processor may alternatively be a combination of processors implementing a computing function, for example, a combination of one or more microprocessors, or a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor. The communications module4002may be a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, a communications interface, or the like (for example, may be the radio frequency unit in the part20shown in FIG.4). The storage module4003may be a memory (for example, may be the memory in the part21shown inFIG.4). When the processing module4001is the processor, the communications module4002is the transceiver, and the storage module4003is the memory, the processor, the transceiver, and the memory may be connected through a bus. The bus may be a PCI bus, an EISA bus, or the like. The bus may be classified into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. All or some of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When a software program is used to implement the embodiments, all or some of the embodiments may be implemented in a form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, all or some of the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, or another programmable apparatus. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or may be transmitted from a computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired (for example, a coaxial cable, an optical fiber, or a digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, radio, or microwave) manner. The computer readable storage medium may be any usable medium accessible by a computer, or a data storage device, such as a server or a data center, integrating one or more usable media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a magnetic disk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a digital video disc (DVD)), a semiconductor medium (for example, a solid state drive (SSD)), or the like. The foregoing descriptions about implementations allow a person skilled in the art to clearly understand that, for the purpose of convenient and brief description, division into only the foregoing function modules is used as an example for illustration. In actual application, the foregoing functions can be allocated to different function modules for implementation based on a requirement. That is, an inner structure of an apparatus is divided into different function modules to implement all or some of the functions described above. For a detailed working process of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, refer to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments. Details are not described herein again. In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the foregoing apparatus embodiments are merely an example. For example, the division into modules or units is merely logical function division. During actual implementation, another division manner may be used. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented through some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units may be implemented in electrical, mechanical, or another form. The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments. In addition, function units in the embodiments of this application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in a form of hardware, or may be implemented in a form of a software function unit. When the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software function unit and sold or used as an independent product, the integrated unit may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of this application essentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, or all or some of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) or a processor to perform all or some of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of this application. The foregoing storage medium includes any medium that can store program code, such as a flash memory, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk, or a compact disc. The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementations of this application, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of this application. Any variation or replacement within the technical scope disclosed in this application shall fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims. | 70,521 |
11943832 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.1throughFIG.12, discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged system or device. The following documents are hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure as if fully set forth herein: 3GPP TS 38.211 v.16.1.0, “Physical channels and modulation”; 3GPP TS 38.213 v16.1.0, “NR; Physical Layer Procedures for Control”; 3GPP TS 38.214: v.16.1.0, “Physical layer procedures for data”; 3GPP TS 38.321 v16.0.0, “Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification”; 3GPP TS 38.322 v.16.0.0, “Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol specification”; 3GPP TS 38.323 v.16.0.0, “Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) specification”; 3GPP TS 38.331v.16.0.0, “Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification”; 3GPP TS 37.324 v.16.0.0, “Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) specification”; and 3GPP TR 38.885 v.16.0.0: “Study on NR Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X).” FIGS.1-3below describe various embodiments implemented in wireless communications systems and with the use of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication techniques. The descriptions ofFIGS.1-3are not meant to imply physical or architectural limitations to the manner in which different embodiments may be implemented. Different embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably-arranged communications system. FIG.1illustrates an example wireless network according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the wireless network shown inFIG.1is for illustration only. Other embodiments of the wireless network100could be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure. As shown inFIG.1, the wireless network includes a gNB101(e.g., base station, BS), a gNB102, and a gNB103. The gNB101communicates with the gNB102and the gNB103. The gNB101also communicates with at least one network130, such as the Internet, a proprietary Internet Protocol (IP) network, or other data network. The gNB102provides wireless broadband access to the network130for a first plurality of UEs within a coverage area120of the gNB102. The first plurality of UEs includes a UE111, which may be located in a small business; a UE112, which may be located in an enterprise (E); a UE113, which may be located in a WiFi hotspot (HS); a UE114, which may be located in a first residence (R); a UE115, which may be located in a second residence (R); and a UE116, which may be a mobile device (M), such as a cell phone, a wireless laptop, a wireless PDA, or the like. The gNB103provides wireless broadband access to the network130for a second plurality of UEs within a coverage area125of the gNB103. The second plurality of UEs includes the UE115and the UE116. In some embodiments, one or more of the gNBs101-103may communicate with each other and with the UEs111-116using 5G/NR, LTE, LTE-A, WiMAX, WiFi, or other wireless communication techniques. Depending on the network type, the term “base station” or “BS” can refer to any component (or collection of components) configured to provide wireless access to a network, such as transmit point (TP), transmit-receive point (TRP), an enhanced base station (eNodeB or eNB), a 5G/NR base station (gNB), a macrocell, a femtocell, a WiFi access point (AP), or other wirelessly enabled devices. Base stations may provide wireless access in accordance with one or more wireless communication protocols, e.g., 5G/NR 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) NR, long term evolution (LTE), LTE advanced (LTE-A), high speed packet access (HSPA), Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, etc. For the sake of convenience, the terms “BS” and “TRP” are used interchangeably in this patent document to refer to network infrastructure components that provide wireless access to remote terminals. Also, depending on the network type, the term “user equipment” or “UE” can refer to any component such as “mobile station,” “subscriber station,” “remote terminal,” “wireless terminal,” “receive point,” or “user device.” For the sake of convenience, the terms “user equipment” and “UE” are used in this patent document to refer to remote wireless equipment that wirelessly accesses a BS, whether the UE is a mobile device (such as a mobile telephone or smartphone) or is normally considered a stationary device (such as a desktop computer or vending machine). Dotted lines show the approximate extents of the coverage areas120and125, which are shown as approximately circular for the purposes of illustration and explanation only. It should be clearly understood that the coverage areas associated with gNBs, such as the coverage areas120and125, may have other shapes, including irregular shapes, depending upon the configuration of the gNBs and variations in the radio environment associated with natural and man-made obstructions. As described in more detail below, one or more of the UEs111-116include circuitry, programing, or a combination thereof, for UE assistance information report for sidelink communication. In certain embodiments, and one or more of the gNBs101-103includes circuitry, programing, or a combination thereof, for UE assistance information report for sidelink communication. AlthoughFIG.1illustrates one example of a wireless network, various changes may be made toFIG.1. For example, the wireless network could include any number of gNBs and any number of UEs in any suitable arrangement. Also, the gNB101could communicate directly with any number of UEs and provide those UEs with wireless broadband access to the network130. Similarly, each gNB102-103could communicate directly with the network130and provide UEs with direct wireless broadband access to the network130. Further, the gNBs101,102, and/or103could provide access to other or additional external networks, such as external telephone networks or other types of data networks. FIG.2illustrates an example gNB102according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the gNB102illustrated inFIG.2is for illustration only, and the gNBs101and103ofFIG.1could have the same or similar configuration. However, gNBs come in a wide variety of configurations, andFIG.2does not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particular implementation of a gNB. As shown inFIG.2, the gNB102includes multiple antennas205a-205n, multiple RF transceivers210a-210n, transmit (TX) processing circuitry215, and receive (RX) processing circuitry220. The gNB102also includes a controller/processor225, a memory230, and a backhaul or network interface235. The RF transceivers210a-210nreceive, from the antennas205a-205n, incoming RF signals, such as signals transmitted by UEs in the network100. The RF transceivers210a-210ndown-convert the incoming RF signals to generate IF or baseband signals. The IF or baseband signals are sent to the RX processing circuitry220, which generates processed baseband signals by filtering, decoding, and/or digitizing the baseband or IF signals. The RX processing circuitry220transmits the processed baseband signals to the controller/processor225for further processing. The TX processing circuitry215receives analog or digital data (such as voice data, web data, e-mail, or interactive video game data) from the controller/processor225. The TX processing circuitry215encodes, multiplexes, and/or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate processed baseband or IF signals. The RF transceivers210a-210nreceive the outgoing processed baseband or IF signals from the TX processing circuitry215and up-converts the baseband or IF signals to RF signals that are transmitted via the antennas205a-205n. The controller/processor225can include one or more processors or other processing devices that control the overall operation of the gNB102. For example, the controller/processor225could control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals by the RF transceivers210a-210n, the RX processing circuitry220, and the TX processing circuitry215in accordance with well-known principles. The controller/processor225could support additional functions as well, such as more advanced wireless communication functions. For instance, the controller/processor225could support beam forming or directional routing operations in which outgoing/incoming signals from/to multiple antennas205a-205nare weighted differently to effectively steer the outgoing signals in a desired direction. Any of a wide variety of other functions could be supported in the gNB102by the controller/processor225. The controller/processor225is also capable of executing programs and other processes resident in the memory230, such as an OS. The controller/processor225can move data into or out of the memory230as required by an executing process. The controller/processor225is also coupled to the backhaul or network interface235. The backhaul or network interface235allows the gNB102to communicate with other devices or systems over a backhaul connection or over a network. The interface235could support communications over any suitable wired or wireless connection(s). For example, when the gNB102is implemented as part of a cellular communication system (such as one supporting 5G/NR, LTE, or LTE-A), the interface235could allow the gNB102to communicate with other gNBs over a wired or wireless backhaul connection. When the gNB102is implemented as an access point, the interface235could allow the gNB102to communicate over a wired or wireless local area network or over a wired or wireless connection to a larger network (such as the Internet). The interface235includes any suitable structure supporting communications over a wired or wireless connection, such as an Ethernet or RF transceiver. The memory230is coupled to the controller/processor225. Part of the memory230could include a RAM, and another part of the memory230could include a Flash memory or other ROM. AlthoughFIG.2illustrates one example of gNB102, various changes may be made toFIG.2. For example, the gNB102could include any number of each component shown inFIG.2. As a particular example, an access point could include a number of interfaces235, and the controller/processor225could support the UE assistance information report for sidelink DRX. As another particular example, while shown as including a single instance of TX processing circuitry215and a single instance of RX processing circuitry220, the gNB102could include multiple instances of each (such as one per RF transceiver). Also, various components inFIG.2could be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components could be added according to particular needs. FIG.3illustrates an example UE116according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the UE116illustrated inFIG.3is for illustration only, and the UEs111-115ofFIG.1could have the same or similar configuration. However, UEs come in a wide variety of configurations, andFIG.3does not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particular implementation of a UE. As shown inFIG.3, the UE116includes an antenna305, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver310, TX processing circuitry315, a microphone320, and receive (RX) processing circuitry325. The UE116also includes a speaker330, a processor340, an input/output (I/O) interface (IF)345, a touchscreen350, a display355, and a memory360. The memory360includes an operating system (OS)361and one or more applications362. The RF transceiver310receives, from the antenna305, an incoming RF signal transmitted by a gNB of the network100. The RF transceiver310down-converts the incoming RF signal to generate an intermediate frequency (IF) or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is sent to the RX processing circuitry325, which generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding, and/or digitizing the baseband or IF signal. The RX processing circuitry325transmits the processed baseband signal to the speaker330(such as for voice data) or to the processor340for further processing (such as for web browsing data). The TX processing circuitry315receives analog or digital voice data from the microphone320or other outgoing baseband data (such as web data, e-mail, or interactive video game data) from the processor340. The TX processing circuitry315encodes, multiplexes, and/or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. The RF transceiver310receives the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from the TX processing circuitry315and up-converts the baseband or IF signal to an RF signal that is transmitted via the antenna305. The processor340can include one or more processors or other processing devices and execute the OS361stored in the memory360in order to control the overall operation of the UE116. For example, the processor340could control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals by the RF transceiver310, the RX processing circuitry325, and the TX processing circuitry315in accordance with well-known principles. In some embodiments, the processor340includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller. The processor340is also capable of executing other processes and programs resident in the memory360, such as processes for UE assistance information report for sidelink DRX. The processor340can move data into or out of the memory360as required by an executing process. In some embodiments, the processor340is configured to execute the applications362based on the OS361or in response to signals received from gNBs or an operator. The processor340is also coupled to the I/O interface345, which provides the UE116with the ability to connect to other devices, such as laptop computers and handheld computers. The I/O interface345is the communication path between these accessories and the processor340. The processor340is also coupled to the touchscreen350and the display355. The operator of the UE116can use the touchscreen350to enter data into the UE116. The display355may be a liquid crystal display, light emitting diode display, or other display capable of rendering text and/or at least limited graphics, such as from web sites. The memory360is coupled to the processor340. Part of the memory360could include a random access memory (RAM), and another part of the memory360could include a Flash memory or other read-only memory (ROM). AlthoughFIG.3illustrates one example of UE116, various changes may be made toFIG.3. For example, various components inFIG.3could be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components could be added according to particular needs. As a particular example, the processor340could be divided into multiple processors, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs) and one or more graphics processing units (GPUs). Also, whileFIG.3illustrates the UE116configured as a mobile telephone or smartphone, UEs could be configured to operate as other types of mobile or stationary devices. To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having increased since deployment of 4G communication systems and to enable various vertical applications, 5G/NR communication systems have been developed and are currently being deployed. The 5G/NR communication system is considered to be implemented in higher frequency (mmWave) bands, e.g., 28 GHz or 60 GHz bands, so as to accomplish higher data rates or in lower frequency bands, such as 6 GHz, to enable robust coverage and mobility support. To decrease propagation loss of the radio waves and increase the transmission distance, the beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, an analog beam forming, large scale antenna techniques are discussed in 5G/NR communication systems. In addition, in 5G/NR communication systems, development for system network improvement is under way based on advanced small cells, cloud radio access networks (RANs), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, moving network, cooperative communication, coordinated multi-points (CoMP), reception-end interference cancellation and the like. The discussion of 5G systems and frequency bands associated therewith is for reference as certain embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in 5G systems. However, the present disclosure is not limited to 5G systems or the frequency bands associated therewith, and embodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized in connection with any frequency band. For example, aspects of the present disclosure may also be applied to deployment of 5G communication systems, 6G or even later releases which may use terahertz (THz) bands. A communication system includes a downlink (DL) that refers to transmissions from a base station or one or more transmission points to UEs and an uplink (UL) that refers to transmissions from UEs to a base station or to one or more reception points. A time unit for DL signaling or for UL signaling on a cell is referred to as a slot and can include one or more symbols. A symbol can also serve as an additional time unit. A frequency (or bandwidth (BW)) unit is referred to as a resource block (RB). One RB includes a number of sub-carriers (SCs). For example, a slot can have duration of 0.5 milliseconds or 1 millisecond, include 14 symbols and an RB can include 12 SCs with inter-SC spacing of 15 KHz or 30 KHz, and so on. DL signals include data signals conveying information content, control signals conveying DL control information (DCI), and reference signals (RS) that are also known as pilot signals. A gNB transmits data information or DCI through respective physical DL shared channels (PDSCHs) or physical DL control channels (PDCCHs). A PDSCH or a PDCCH can be transmitted over a variable number of slot symbols including one slot symbol. For brevity, a DCI format scheduling a PDSCH reception by a UE is referred to as a DL DCI format and a DCI format scheduling a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission from a UE is referred to as an UL DCI format. A gNB transmits one or more of multiple types of RS including channel state information RS (CSI-RS) and demodulation RS (DMRS). A CSI-RS is primarily intended for UEs to perform measurements and provide CSI to a gNB. For channel measurement, non-zero power CSI-RS (NZP CSI-RS) resources are used. For interference measurement reports (IMRs), CSI interference measurement (CSI-IM) resources associated with a zero power CSI-RS (ZP CSI-RS) configuration are used. A CSI process includes NZP CSI-RS and CSI-IM resources. A UE can determine CSI-RS transmission parameters through DL control signaling or higher layer signaling, such as radio resource control (RRC) signaling, from a gNB. Transmission instances of a CSI-RS can be indicated by DL control signaling or be configured by higher layer signaling. A DMRS is transmitted only in the BW of a respective PDCCH or PDSCH and a UE can use the DMRS to demodulate data or control information. FIG.4andFIG.5illustrate example wireless transmit and receive paths according to this disclosure. In the following description, a transmit path400may be described as being implemented in a gNB (such as the gNB102), while a receive path500may be described as being implemented in a UE (such as a UE116). However, it may be understood that the receive path500can be implemented in a gNB and that the transmit path400can be implemented in a UE. In some embodiments, the receive path500is configured to support sidelink measurements in V2X communication as described in embodiments of the present disclosure. The transmit path400as illustrated inFIG.4includes a channel coding and modulation block405, a serial-to-parallel (S-to-P) block410, a size N inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block415, a parallel-to-serial (P-to-S) block420, an add cyclic prefix block425, and an up-converter (UC)430. The receive path500as illustrated inFIG.5includes a down-converter (DC)555, a remove cyclic prefix block560, a serial-to-parallel (S-to-P) block565, a size N fast Fourier transform (FFT) block570, a parallel-to-serial (P-to-S) block575, and a channel decoding and demodulation block580. As illustrated inFIG.400, the channel coding and modulation block405receives a set of information bits, applies coding (such as a low-density parity check (LDPC) coding), and modulates the input bits (such as with quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)) to generate a sequence of frequency-domain modulation symbols. The serial-to-parallel block410converts (such as de-multiplexes) the serial modulated symbols to parallel data in order to generate N parallel symbol streams, where N is the IFFT/FFT size used in the gNB102and the UE116. The size N IFFT block415performs an IFFT operation on the N parallel symbol streams to generate time-domain output signals. The parallel-to-serial block420converts (such as multiplexes) the parallel time-domain output symbols from the size N IFFT block415in order to generate a serial time-domain signal. The add cyclic prefix block425inserts a cyclic prefix to the time-domain signal. The up-converter430modulates (such as up-converts) the output of the add cyclic prefix block425to an RF frequency for transmission via a wireless channel. The signal may also be filtered at baseband before conversion to the RF frequency. A transmitted RF signal from the gNB102arrives at the UE116after passing through the wireless channel, and reverse operations to those at the gNB102are performed at the UE116. As illustrated inFIG.5, the down-converter555down-converts the received signal to a baseband frequency, and the remove cyclic prefix block560removes the cyclic prefix to generate a serial time-domain baseband signal. The serial-to-parallel block565converts the time-domain baseband signal to parallel time domain signals. The size N FFT block570performs an FFT algorithm to generate N parallel frequency-domain signals. The parallel-to-serial block575converts the parallel frequency-domain signals to a sequence of modulated data symbols. The channel decoding and demodulation block580demodulates and decodes the modulated symbols to recover the original input data stream. Each of the gNBs101-103may implement a transmit path400as illustrated inFIG.4that is analogous to transmitting in the downlink to UEs111-116and may implement a receive path500as illustrated inFIG.5that is analogous to receiving in the uplink from UEs111-116. Similarly, each of UEs111-116may implement the transmit path400for transmitting in the uplink to the gNBs101-103and may implement the receive path500for receiving in the downlink from the gNBs101-103. Each of the components inFIG.4andFIG.5can be implemented using only hardware or using a combination of hardware and software/firmware. As a particular example, at least some of the components inFIG.4andFIG.5may be implemented in software, while other components may be implemented by configurable hardware or a mixture of software and configurable hardware. For instance, the FFT block570and the IFFT block515may be implemented as configurable software algorithms, where the value of size N may be modified according to the implementation. Furthermore, although described as using FFT and IFFT, this is by way of illustration only and may not be construed to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other types of transforms, such as discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) functions, can be used. It may be appreciated that the value of the variable N may be any integer number (such as 1, 2, 3, 4, or the like) for DFT and IDFT functions, while the value of the variable N may be any integer number that is a power of two (such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or the like) for FFT and IFFT functions. AlthoughFIG.4andFIG.5illustrate examples of wireless transmit and receive paths, various changes may be made toFIG.4andFIG.5. For example, various components inFIG.4andFIG.5can be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components can be added according to particular needs. Also,FIG.4andFIG.5are meant to illustrate examples of the types of transmit and receive paths that can be used in a wireless network. Any other suitable architectures can be used to support wireless communications in a wireless network. In 3GPP wireless standards, NR has been being discussed as a 5G wireless communication. One of NR features under the discussion is V2X. FIG.6illustrate an example V2X communication over sidelink600according to embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of the V2X communication over sidelink600shown inFIG.6is for illustration only. FIG.6illustrates an example scenario of vehicle to vehicle communication. Two or multiple vehicles can transmit and receive data/control over direct link/interface between vehicles. The direct link/interface between vehicles or between vehicle and other things is named as a sidelink (SL) in 3GPP. Note that theFIG.6describes the scenario where the vehicles still can communicate with a gNB in order to acquire SL resources, SL radio bearer configurations, etc., however it is also possible even without interaction with the gNB, vehicles still communicate each other over the SL. In the case, the SL resources, the SL radio bearer configurations, etc., are preconfigured (e.g., via V2X server or any other core network entity). In 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) wireless standards, new radio access technology (NR) is discussed as 5G wireless communication. One of NR features under the discussion is vehicle-to-everything (V2X). FIG.6illustrates an example V2X communication over sidelink600according to embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of the V2X communication over sidelink600shown inFIG.6is for illustration only. FIG.6illustrates the example scenario of vehicle to vehicle communication. Two or multiple vehicles can transmit and receive data/control over direct link/interface between vehicles. The direct link/interface between vehicles or between vehicle and other thing (e.g., pedestrian device or any device related to transportation system) or between other things is named as SL (Sidelink) in 3GPP. In various embodiments, the vehicles communicate each other and the vehicles are located in in-coverage of NR network. Vehicles communicate with the gNB in order to acquire SL related resource information (e.g., SL resource pool configuration, etc.), SL radio bearer configurations (SL medium access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), radio resource control (RRC) related configurations), etc. The vehicles transmit/receive the data/control each other over SL once the vehicles acquire SL related configurations from the gNB. It notes that it is also possible even without interaction with the gNB (e.g., vehicles are located in out-of-coverage of NR network), vehicles still communicate each other over SL. In the case, SL resources, SL radio bearer configuration, etc. are preconfigured (e.g., via V2X server or any other core network entity). For more detailed V2X scenarios and studies are captured in 3GPP standard specification. For SL communication, the radio interface layer1/layer 2/layer 3 (L1/L2/L3) protocols comprise, as specified in 3GPP standard specification, physical (PHY) protocol, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and SDAP. FIG.7Aillustrates an SL control plane radio protocol stack700according to embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of the SL control plane radio protocol stack700shown inFIG.7Ais for illustration only. FIG.7Billustrates an SL user plane data radio protocol stack750according to embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of the SL user plane data radio protocol stack750shown inFIG.7Bis for illustration only. A physical protocol layer handles physical layer signals/channels and physical layer procedures (e.g., physical layer channel structures, physical layer signal encoding/decoding, SL power control procedure, SL channel status information (CSI) related procedure). Main physical SL channels and signals are defined as follow: (1) a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) indicates resource and other transmission parameters used by a UE for PSSCH; (2) a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmits the transport blocks (TBs) of data themselves and CSI feedback information, etc.; (3) a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) transmits HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission; (4) a sidelink synchronization signal includes sidelink primary and sidelink secondary synchronization signals (S-PSS, S-SSS); and (5) a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) indicates the required essential system information for SL operations. A MAC protocol layer performs packet filtering (e.g., determine whether the received packet is actually destined to the UE (based on the L2 source and destination ids in the MAC header), SL carrier/resource pool/resource within the resource pool (re)selection, priority handling between SL and UL (Uplink) for a given UE, SL logical channel prioritization, the corresponding packet multiplexing (e.g., multiplexing multiple MAC SDUs into a given MAC PDU) and SL HARQ retransmissions/receptions. An RLC protocol layer performs RLC SDU segmentation/SDU reassembly, re-segmentation of RLC SDU segments, error correction through ARQ (only for AM data transfer). PDCP protocol layer performs header compression/decompression, ciphering and/or integrity protection, duplication detection, re-ordering and in-order packet delivery to the upper layer and out-of-order packet delivery to the upper layer. A RRC protocol layer performs transfer of a SL-RRC message between peer UEs, maintenance and release of SL-RRC connection between two UEs, and detection of SL radio link failure for a SL-RRC connection. SDAP protocol layer performs mapping between a quality of service (QoS) flow and a SL data radio bearer. In 3GPP standard specification, the basic SL communication functionalities are supported and specified. For Rel-17 of 3GPP standard specification, it is planned to introduce more enhanced features into SL. One of features is to introduce SL discontinuous reception (DRX) for broadcast, groupcast and unicast. Note in Rel-16 of 3GPP standard specification, a UE DRX operation is specified for downlink (DL) only. Detailed DL DRX operation is specified in 3GPP standard specification (e.g., MAC). For an RRC connected UE, if the UE is involved in SL communication also, the UE may have two DRXs (i.e., one for DL and one for SL). If the UE's active times for DL DRX and SL DRX are coordinated together, it can bring more power saving gains or reduce the interference/collision between DL and SL. Here in order to achieve it, it is provided such a UE reports the observed SL DRX information in which the UE is involved or the gNB requested (e.g., for SL communication involving the gNB's requested source id and/or destination id). FIG.8illustrates a signaling flow800for the coordination between DL DRX and SL DRX according to embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of the signaling flow800shown inFIG.8is for illustration only. One or more of the components illustrated inFIG.8can be implemented in specialized circuitry configured to perform the noted functions or one or more of the components can be implemented by one or more processors executing instructions to perform the noted functions. FIG.8illustrates one example of embodiments to support a coordination between DL DRX and SL DRX. SL TX UE #1 and SL TX UE #2 indicate the different SL UE who has different source id or SL link ID and transmits the SL control/data to the SL UE #3 in RRC connected. A gNB is the serving gNB for SL UE #3. There could be multiple options regarding how to support SL DRX. One option is the SL DRX configuration information is exchanged between SL TX UE and SL RX UE by explicit signaling (e.g., by SL-RRC protocol message, SL MAC control element (CE)/header (HD)), or SL physical control information (e.g., PSCCH or new SL physical control channel)). In this case, for example SL DRX related timing information is configured, e.g., by SL-RRC, between SL TX UE #1 and SL UE #3 and between SL TX UE #2 and SL UE #3. SL DRX related timing information includes an SL DRX on-duration timer, an SL DRX inactivity timer, an SL DRX HARQ retransmission timer, an SL DRX HARQ round trip timer (RTT) timer, an SL DRX cycle length, and an SL DRX start offset, etc. It is note that functions of SL DRX on-duration timer, SL DRX inactivity timer, SL DRX HARQ retransmission timer, SL DRX HARQ RTT timer, SL DRX cycle length, and SL DRX start offset are quite similar to on-duration timer, inactivity timer, HARQ retransmission timer, HARQ RTT timer, DRX cycle length and DRX start offset that are specified for DL DRX in 3GPP standard specification TS38.321 (MAC). However, for SL communication each SL DRX configuration is applied to each SL communication (e.g., SL communication with the corresponding source id, SL communication with the corresponding destination id, or SL communication with the corresponding source id and destination id) and the SL DRX timers and start offset are applied to the SL channel reception, for example physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). If the explicit SL DRX configuration, e.g., by SL RRC, is applied to support SL DRX, the SL UE #3 already have full SL DRX configurations information once it was configured between involved SL UEs. For example, SL UE #3 has full SL DRX configuration for SL communication from SL TX UE #1 and full SL DRX configuration for SL communication from SL TX UE #2 once the SL DRX was configured between the UEs, e.g., by SL RRC. Then SL UE #3 may perform SL DRX operation according to the configured DRX parameters. For instance, for SL PSCCH/PSSCH reception from SL TX UE #1, the SL UE #3 may determine the timing for initial PSCCH/PSSCH reception according to SL DRX start offset (e.g., the first incoming time slot that meets a defined equation using SL DRX start offset), starts SL DRX on-duration timer, monitor PSCCH/PSSCH while SL DRX on-duration timer runs, (re)start SL DRX inactivity timer if PSCCH/PSSCH includes the resource allocation information for initial transmission from SL TX UE #1 (possibly and it is destined to SL UE #3), continue monitoring of PSCCH/PSSCH while SL DRX inactivity timer runs, and if the UE fails to successfully receive the data from the SL TX UE #1's initial transmission, SL UE #3 monitors PSCCH/PSSCH for SL TX UE #1's HARQ retransmission according to SL DRX HARQ RTT and SL DRX HARQ retransmission timers (e.g., SL UE #3 monitors PSCCH/PSSCH during the period SL DRX HARQ retransmission timers runs after SL DRX HARQ RTT expires). The gNB may transmit SL DRX information request (REQ), e.g., by a dedicated RRC message, to request for the UE to report SL DRX configurations. SL DRX information REQ can include the indication whether this request is for all SL links the UE is involved or for only SL links with the requested source id or destination id or both source id and destination id. For example, if all (all SL links the UE is involved) is included, SL UE #3 includes SL DRX configurations for all SL communications in which the UE is participating. For example, in the figure assuming SL communications with SL TX UE #1 and SL TX UE #2 are all SL communications in which SL UE #3 is participating, SL UE #3 includes both SL DRX configuration from SL TX UE #1 and SL DRX configuration from SL TX UE #2 into SL DRX information RES if both SL communications operates in SL DRX. If not all SL communications in which the UE is participating operate in SL DRX (e.g., in the figure if none of SL communications with SL TX UE #1 and SL TX UE #2 operates in SL DRX or only one of SL communications with SL TX UE #1 and SL TX UE #2 operates in SL DRX), SL UE #3 includes an indication indicating SL DRX is not applied to all SL communications in which the UE is participating into SL DRX information RES or alternatively SL UE #3 includes only SL DRX configurations for which the SL communications that operate in SL DRX into SL DRX information RES. Another alternative is SL UE #3 does not respond SL DRX information RES. If SL DRX information REQ includes the requested source id or the source id and destination id and it indicates the SL communication with SL TX UE #1, SL UE #3 includes only SL DRX configuration from SL TX UE #1. When SL UE #3 receives SL DRX information REQ, SL UE #3 sends the configured SL DRX information into SL DRX information RES (Response) message to the gNB if needed. SL DRX configurations reported to the gNB include list of {source id (possibly with destination id), and the corresponding active time information (e.g., SL DRX on-duration timer, SL DRX inactivity timer, SL DRX HARQ retransmission timer, SL DRX HARQ RTT timer, SL DRX cycle length, and SL DRX start offset, etc.). In one r example to reduce the signaling overhead for SL DRX configurations to be included into SL DRX information RES, SL UE #3 includes only SL DRX configurations which are not dependent on the dynamic scheduling (e.g., whether initial transmission is received or whether initial transmission or retransmission is successfully received or not). SL DRX configurations can be divided into two categories. The first category is SL DRX configurations which are not dependent on the dynamic scheduling (e.g., whether initial transmission is received or whether initial transmission or retransmission is successfully received or not). For example, SL DRX start offset, SL DRX cycle length and SL DRX on-duration timer are semi-static and not dependent on the dynamic scheduling (e.g., timers' starting, restarting and terminating does not have any dependency with the dynamic scheduling). The second category is SL DRX configurations which are dependent on the dynamic scheduling (e.g., whether initial transmission is received or whether initial transmission or retransmission is successfully received or not). For example, SL DRX inactivity timer, SL DRX HARQ RTT and SL DRX HARQ retransmission timer have some dependency with the dynamic scheduling (e.g., SL DRX inactivity timer is restarted once SL control information for initial transmission is received, SL DRX HARQ RTT and SL DRX HARQ retransmission timer are applied only if initially transmitted packet or retransmitted packet is not successfully received, etc.). The coordination with DL DRX and SL DRX taking second category SL DRX configurations into account could bring much signaling overheads between the gNB and the UE, SL UE #3 includes only the first category SL DRX configurations into SL DRX information RES. Note SL UE #3 may still need PSCCH/PSSCH reception regardless of data packet receptions from SL TX UE #1 and/or SL TX UE #2, for instance, if SL UE #3 needs to perform SL channel sensing (including PSCCH/PSSCH) in order for own SL transmission to the other UE if the SL UE #3 is also configured for SL transmission. For this case, the SL UE #3 also includes list of {destination id (possibly with source id), the corresponding active time information based on own transmission timing and channel sensing type indication. Channel sensing type indication informs whether full channel sensing or partial channel sensing or random selection is applied to channel sensing purpose. The difference between full channel sensing and partial channel sensing is the time duration the UE needs to monitor the corresponding SL channels for SL channel sensing purpose, e.g., full channel sensing requires longer time the UE needs to monitor the corresponding SL channels (PSCCH/PSSCH) while partial channel sensing requires shorter time the UE needs to monitor the corresponding SL channels (PSCCH/PSSCH). A random selection is the resource allocation for transmission without channel sensing. Since each mechanism needs quite different time duration to monitor SL channel (including PSCCH/PSSCH), this indication helps the gNB to coordinate between DL active time and SL active time. Once the gNB receives SL DRX information RES, the gNB takes the received SL active time and inactive time into account for setting DL DRX configuration, for instance DL active time is set to be closer to SL active time for efficient UE power saving or resource allocation (in PDCCH) for UL transmission is not overlapped with SL active time (if a single radio frequency (RF) chain is used for both UL transmission and SL reception/transmission) for reduction of DL and SL collision/interference, etc. Once DL DRX configuration is set taking the received SL DRX configuration information into account, the gNB transmits the DL DRX configuration to the SL UE #3 by dedicated RRC message (e.g., RRC connection reconfiguration). The aforementioned examples and/or embodiments assumed that the SL DRX configuration is configured by explicit signaling, e.g., SL RRC, MAC CE/HD or physical control information. If an SL DRX configuration is not configured by explicit signaling, then the UE needs to set the SL DRX configuration according to the SL control information and/or SL data reception timing. For example, when the SL UE #3 receives the first PSCCH (SL control information) or the first PSSCH (SL data) from SL TX UE #1, this timing can be used to set SL DRX start offset value and if there is SL TX UE #1's SL HARQ retransmission, this timing can be used to set SL HARQ RTT (e.g., time duration between the initial transmission and HARQ retransmission). If there are multiple HARQ retransmissions (although it's not described in the figure), the time difference between the consecutive retransmissions can be used to set SL DRX HARQ RTT and SL DRX HARQ retransmission timer. For example, if 2nd HARQ retransmission is delayed from (1st HARQ retransmission timing plus HARQ RTT), then an SL DRX HARQ retransmission timer needs to be long enough to cover this delay. Or if 2nd HARQ retransmission is faster than (1st HARQ retransmission timing plus HARQ RTT), then SL DRX HARQ RTT needs to be shorten according to the time distance between 1st HARQ retransmission timing and 2nd HARQ retransmission timing. SL TX UE #1's next initial transmission timing can be included in the physical control information in PSCCH/PSSCH or MAC CE/HD (Header), this timing can be used to set SL DRX cycle length (e.g., time duration between the previous initial transmission and the next initial transmission). When SL UE #3 receives the SL TX UE #1's next initial transmission, if this timing is somewhat delayed compared to the timing included in the physical control information in PSCCH/PSSCH or MAC CE/HD, this timing can be used to set SL DRX on-duration timer and/or SL DRX inactivity timer (e.g., SL DRX on-duration timer and/or SL DRX inactivity timer needs to be long enough to cover this delay). Another example for SL DRX on-duration timer and/or SL DRX inactivity timer is pre-defined value and based on the observed this delay, the aforementioned examples can be extended or shorten. When SL DRX information is requested by the gNB, the UE responses the observed SL DRX configuration to the gNB. Although it is not described in the figure, another example is SL UE #3 sends some indications indicating whether all SL communications in which the UE is participating operate in SL DRX or whether only some SL communications in which the UE is participating operate in SL DRX (which means some other SL communications in which the UE is participating do not operate in SL DRX) or whether all SL communications in which the UE is participating do not operate in SL DRX. The UE sends the indications before SL DRX information REQ from the gNB and the gNB can take the received indications into account when the gNB set the required information in SL DRX information REQ. The UE needs to send the indication whenever the status is changed in the SL communications in which the UE is participating. FIG.9illustrates another signaling flow900for the coordination between DL DRX and SL DRX according to embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of the signaling flow900shown inFIG.9is for illustration only. One or more of the components illustrated inFIG.9can be implemented in specialized circuitry configured to perform the noted functions or one or more of the components can be implemented by one or more processors executing instructions to perform the noted functions. FIG.9illustrates another example of embodiments to support coordination between DL DRX and SL DRX. SL TX UE #1 and SL TX UE #2 indicate the different SL UE who has different source ID or SL link ID and transmits the SL control/data to the SL UE #3 in RRC connected. The gNB is the serving gNB for SL UE #3. The gNB configures DL DRX configuration (and possibly the suggested SL DRX configuration to a SL communication with the source id, destination id or a pair of source and destination id) to the SL UE #3 by dedicated RRC message (e.g., RRC connection reconfiguration). A DL DRX configuration includes an DL DRX on-duration timer, an DL DRX inactivity timer, an DL DRX HARQ retransmission timer, an DL DRX HARQ RTT timer, a DL DRX cycle length, and a DL DRX start offset, etc. For more detailed parameter information for DL DRX, 3GPP standard specification TS38.321 (MAC) can be referred. Once the SL UE #3 receives DL DRX configuration information (possibly and the suggested SL DRX configuration to a SL communication) from the gNB, the SL UE #3 explicitly signals (or forwards) the DL DRX configuration information to all involved SL TX UEs or the indicated SL TX UEs with the corresponding source id, destination id or a pair of source and destination id (if source id, destination id or a pair of source and destination id information is also included), or the SL UE #3 explicitly signals (or forwards) the suggested SL DRX configuration to the indicated SL TX UEs with the corresponding source id, destination id or a pair of source and destination id. This information can be signaled by SL RRC message, SL MAC CE/HD, or SL physical control information. Then the SL TX UE #1 and SL TX UE #2 configure/update SL DRX (or SL active time) taking the informed DL DRX configuration information or suggested SL DRX configuration into account. For instance, SL active time is set to be closer to DL active time or SL active time is not overlapped with the resource allocation (in PDCCH) for UL transmission (if single RF chain is used for both UL transmission and SL reception/transmission). The gNB may include the target SL UE/link information when the gNB configures DL DRX configuration to the SL UE #3. The gNB can request the coordination of SL DRX with DL DRX is applied to all involved SL TX UEs, or only SL TX UEs/links with the requested source id(s) (possibly with the destination id). For example, if all is indicated, the SL UE #3 explicitly signals (or forwards) the DL DRX configuration information to all SL TX UEs (e.g., both SL TX UE #1 and SL TX UE #2) while if the source id indicates SL TX UE #1 only, SL UE #3 signals (or forwards) the DL DRX configuration information only to SL TX UE #1. As an additional example, in bothFIG.8andFIG.9when the SL UE #3 reports SL DRX configuration to the gNB or the SL UE #3 signals DL DRX configuration to the SL TX UEs, SL timing in SL DRX configuration may need to be interpreted to serving cell's DL timing or DL timing in DL DRX configuration may need to be interpreted to SL timing (considering for SL communication, logical SL specific timing is used, which is not exactly same as DL timing). One of NR features in 3GPP standard specification is NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U). NR-U is to enable NR radio access operating with shard spectrum channel access. Since unlicensed spectrum may be shared with other radio access technology (e.g., wireless LAN (WLAN), etc.), the gNB and UE may apply listen-before-talk (LBT) before performing a transmission on NR-U cells. When LBT is applied, the transmitter listens to/senses the channel to determine whether the channel is free or busy and performs transmission only if the channel is sensed free. For the mixed scenarios where the licensed band operation and the unlicensed band NR-U operation can coexist (e.g., two are overlapped in the frequency domain either with defined two separate bands or with defined single band), different format/type of master information block (MIB) and/or system information block (SIB) may be used for different kinds of operation, e.g., existing MIB and/or SIB format/type is used for the legacy licensed band operation while new MIB and/or SIB format/type may be introduced for the unlicensed band operation. Note there is also possibility that only unlicensed band NR-U operation or only licensed band operation may exist. The current system information handling (i.e., existing MIB and SIB) is specified as shown in TABLE 1. TABLE 1 shows a general description in the 3GPP standard specification (e.g., NR and NG-RAN overall description). TABLE 17.3System Information Handling7.3.1OverviewSystem Information (SI) consists of a MIB and a number of SIBs, which are divided intoMinimum SI and Other SI:Minimum SI comprises basic information required for initial access andinformation for acquiring any other SI. Minimum SI consists of:MIB contains cell barred status information and essential physical layerinformation of the cell required to receive further system information, e.g., CORESET #0configuration. MIB is periodically broadcast on BCH.SIB1 defines the scheduling of other system information blocks and containsinformation required for initial access. SIB1 is also referred to as Remaining Minimum SI(RMSI) and is periodically broadcast on DL-SCH or sent in a dedicated manner onDL-SCH to UEs in RRC_CONNECTED.Other SI encompasses all SIBs not broadcast in the Minimum SI. Those SIBs caneither be periodically broadcast on DL-SCH, broadcast on-demand on DL-SCH (i.e., uponrequest from UEs in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE) or sent in a dedicated manner onDL-SCH to UEs in RRC_CONNECTED. Other SI consists of:SIB2 contains cell re-selection information, mainly related to the serving cell;SIB3 contains information about the serving frequency and intra-frequencyneighbouring cells relevant for cell re-selection (including cell re-selection parameterscommon for a frequency as well as cell specific re-selection parameters);SIB4 contains information about other NR frequencies and inter-frequencyneighbouring cells relevant for cell re-selection (including cell re-selection parameterscommon for a frequency as well as cell specific re-selection parameters);SIB5 contains information about E-UTRA frequencies and E-UTRAneighbouring cells relevant for cell re-selection (including cell re-selection parameterscommon for a frequency as well as cell specific re-selection parameters);SIB6 contains an ETWS primary notification;SIB7 contains an ETWS secondary notification;SIB8 contains a CMAS warning notification;SIB9 contains information related to GPS time and Coordinated Universal Time(UTC).For a cell/frequency that is considered for camping by the UE, the UE is not required toacquire the contents of the minimum SI of that cell/frequency from another cell/frequencylayer. This does not preclude the case that the UE applies stored SI from previously visitedcell(s).If the UE cannot determine the full contents of the minimum SI of a cell by receiving fromthat cell, the UE shall consider that cell as barred.In case of BA, the UE only acquires SI on the active BWP. FIG.10illustrates a signaling flow1000for system information provisioning. Elements of TABLE 1 are illustrated inFIG.10. In NR, a UE reporting of cell global identifier (CGI) procedure is specified as part of measurement configuration and UE measurement report in 3GPP standard specification (e.g., RRC). The overall procedure is described as follows. In one example of the overall procedure, a gNB configures measurement configuration for UE CGI reporting, including the corresponding measurement object, measurement report and the measurement ID. A measurement object configuration includes the target reference signal information to be measured (e.g., including synchronization signal blocks (SSBs)/CSI-reference signal (CSI-RS) to be measured, a band indicator, physical cell information to be measured and not to be measured, etc.). A measurement report configuration includes the information how and when the UE triggers measurement reporting procedure (e.g., including the indication whether this measurement reporting is for CGI report or not, physical cell id to indicate for which cell the UE needs to acquire CGI, etc.). A measurement id is reference id to link the corresponding measurement configuration and measurement report configuration. In another example of overall procedure, a UE reads MIB and SIB1 from the cell with the indicated physical cell id and acquire CGI information from the SIB1 if the UE received the measurement configuration to perform CGI measurement reporting via measurement configuration from the gNB. In yet another example, a UE sends measurement report to the gNB (including the acquired CGI information) if the UE acquired CGI information from the indicated cell or the associated timer to acquire CGI information expires. When the licensed band operation and unlicensed band operation can exist in a given band, as described in the earlier, different MIB and/or SIB format/type can be used for each operation. A UE does not know which format/type is used in the target band to be measured for CGI measurement reporting, so the UE would fail to acquire CGI information from the corresponding SIB1 or the UE would need to attempt CGI information acquisition two times (one attempt is based on the assumption existing/current MIB and/or SIB format/type for licensed band operation is used and the other attempt is based on the assumption the new MIB and/or SIB format/type for unlicensed band operation is used). One of example embodiments to solve the problem is to add the information to indicate which MIB and/or SIB format/type is used into the measurement configuration. This information can be included either as one-bit indication (e.g., if not present the existing/current MIB and/or SIB format/type is used and if present the new introduced MIB and/or SIB format/type is used) or as multi-bit indications (e.g., the first indication/code-point indicates MIB and/or SIB format/type #1 is used, the second indication/code-point indicates MIB and/or SIB format/type #2 is used, the third indication/code-point indicates MIB and/or SIB format/type #3 is used, etc.). This information can be included either in measurement object configuration or measurement report configuration. Then the UE attempts to read MIB and/or SIB1 according to the indicated MIB and/or SIB format/type from the cell with the indicated physical cell id when the measurement configuration requested the UE to perform CGI measurement report. Note this embodiment can be applied to any scenario where multiple MIB and/or SIB formats/types may be used for a given band (regardless of purpose, i.e., no restriction only for the scenario between licensed band operation and unlicensed band operation). FIG.11illustrates a flowchart of a method1100for enhanced CGI measurement report according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The method1100as may be performed by a UE (e.g.,111-116as illustrated inFIG.1). An embodiment of the method1100shown inFIG.11is for illustration only. One or more of the components illustrated inFIG.11can be implemented in specialized circuitry configured to perform the noted functions or one or more of the components can be implemented by one or more processors executing instructions to perform the noted functions. As illustrated inFIG.11, a UE receives measurement configuration to request to perform CGI measurement report (at step1101). This measurement configuration includes the information to indicate which MIB and/or SIB format/type is used when the UE acquires CGI from the cell with the indicated physical cell id in the target frequency. This information can be included either as one-bit indication (e.g., if not present the existing/current MIB and/or SIB format/type is used and if present the new introduced MIB and/or SIB format/type is used) or as multi-bit indications (e.g., the first indication/code-point indicates MIB and/or SIB format/type #1 is used, the second indication/code-point indicates MIB and/or SIB format/type #2 is used, the third indication/code-point indicates MIB and/or SIB format/type #3 is used, etc.). This information can be included either in a measurement object configuration or a measurement report configuration. It may be assumed that one-bit indication is used inFIG.11, the UE checks whether new MIB and/or SIB format/type is configured for CGI measurement report (at step1121). If new MIB and/or SIB format/type is configured, the UE attempts to acquire MIB and/or SIB1 according to the new MIB and/or SIB format/type from the target cell with the indicated physical cell id in the target frequency (at step1131). Otherwise, the UE attempts to acquire MIB and/or SIB1 according to the existing/current MIB and/or SIB format/type from the target cell with the indicated physical cell id in the target frequency (at step1133). Although it is not described inFIG.11, if multi-bit indications are used the UE attempts to acquire MIB and/or SIB1 according to the indicated MIB and/or SIB format/type from the target cell with the indicated physical cell id in the target frequency. Once the UE acquired CGI information from the SIB1 or if the associated timer expires before acquisition of CGI information, the UE sends measurement report (including the acquired CGI information in either step1131or1133) to the gNB (step1141). It is noted that MIB and/or SIB format/type includes not only different interpretation on the information included in MIB and/or SIB (e.g., with different MIB and/or SIB format/type, each bit included MIB and/or SIB can be interpreted as the different meaning/purpose) but also different MIB and/or SIB transmission mechanism (e.g., with different MIB and/or SIB format/type, MIB and/or SIB can be transmitted over different frequency and/or time locations). It may be assumed that the UE needs to acquire MIB first (to know how to acquire SIB1), then acquires SIM that includes CGI information, however if the UE does not need to acquire MIB to acquire SIM, the gNB can only configure SIM format/type information in the measurement configuration and in the case the UE directly attempts to acquire SIM (without acquisition of MIB) from the cell with the indicated physical cell id in the target frequency. Note this embodiment can be applied to any scenario where multiple MIB and/or SIB formats/types may be used for a given band (regardless of purpose, i.e., no restriction only for the scenario between licensed band operation and unlicensed band operation). In another example embodiment to solve the problem of avoiding different MIB and/or SIB format/type for each operation between PCell and SCell is restricting the frequency location of SS/PBCH block in the measurement configuration for UE CGI reporting. For one instance, a UE assumes the frequency location of SS/PBCH block for CGI measurement is not aligned with any of the global synchronization channel numbers (GSCNs) associated with the overlapping bandwidth. For another instance, a UE assumes the frequency location of SS/PBCH block for CGI measurement is not aligned with any of GSCNs associated with both of the licensed band and unlicensed band. For yet another instance, a UE assumes that the frequency location of SS/PBCH block for CGI measurement is not aligned with any GSCN corresponding to synchronization raster and within the overlapping bandwidth. For yet another instance, a UE assumes that the frequency location of SS/PBCH block for CGI measurement is not aligned with any GSCN corresponding to synchronization raster for the licensed band or unlicensed band. FIG.12illustrates a flow chart of a method1200for sidelink measurements in V2X communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The method1200as may be performed by a BS (e.g.,101-103as illustrated inFIG.1). An embodiment of the method1200shown inFIG.12is for illustration only. One or more of the components illustrated inFIG.12can be implemented in specialized circuitry configured to perform the noted functions or one or more of the components can be implemented by one or more processors executing instructions to perform the noted functions. As illustrated inFIG.12, the method1200begins at step1202. In step1202, a BS generates a first indicator requesting a report of a set of SL DRX configurations for SL communications among UEs. As described herein, the phrase “a set of” as used, for example, in connection with SL DRX configurations means one or more SL DRX configurations. In one embodiment, in step1202, the report of the set of the SL DRX configurations comprises at least one of a source layer-2 ID or a destination layer-2 ID if a SL DRX operation is applied to a SL communication with a neighbor UE based on the at least one of the source layer-2 ID or the destination layer-2 ID. In another embodiment, in step1203, the report of the set of the SL DRX configurations comprises information for entire SL communications with other UEs in which the UE participates if the SL DRX operation is applied to the entire SL communications, the entire SL communications comprising at least one of a unicast SL communication, a broadcast communication, or a groupcast communication. In one embodiment, at least one of the set of the SL DRX configurations includes at least one of a source layer-2 ID, a destination layer-2 ID, or active time information including a value of a SL DRX on-duration timer, a value of a SL DRX inactivity timer, a value of a SL hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmission timer, a value of a SL HARQ RTT timer, a value of a SL DRX cycle length, and a value of a SL DRX start offset. In one embodiment, at least one of the set of the SL DRX configurations includes at least one of a destination layer-2 ID or active reception time information for the SL communications when the UE is configured for the SL communications with other UEs, the active reception time information being used for a channel sensing operation to select resources for the SL communications. In step1204, the BS transmits a downlink signal including the first indicator. In step1206, the BS receives an uplink signal including the report of the set of the SL DRX configurations based on the first indicator indicating that the report of the set of the SL DRX configurations is requested. In step1208, the BS configures, based on the report of the set of the SL DRX configurations, a network DRX configuration for a Uu interface between a UE and a network entity including the BS. In one embodiment, the BS receives a second indicator via the uplink signal or another uplink signal that is received before receiving the uplink signal, wherein the second indicator indicates whether a SL DRX operation is applied for entire SL communications or part of the entire SL communications in which the UE is participated. In one embodiment, the BS receives the uplink signal including the report of the set of the SL DRX configurations that comprise part of the set of the SL DRX configurations, wherein the part of the set of the SL DRX configurations includes at least one of a value of a SL DRX on-duration timer, a value of a SL DRX cycle length, or a value of a SL DRX start offset. In one embodiment, the BS configures, based on the set of the SL DRX configurations, a value of a Uu DRX active timer of the network DRX configuration, the value of the Uu DRX active timer not overlapping with a value of a SL DRX active timer when the UE is configured with a single RF chain In one embodiment, the BS configures, based on the set of the SL DRX configurations, the value of the Uu DRX active timer of the network DRX configuration, the value of the Uu DRX active timer overlapping with the value of the SL DRX active timer when the UE is configured with multiple RF chains. The above flowcharts illustrate example methods that can be implemented in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure and various changes could be made to the methods illustrated in the flowcharts herein. For example, while shown as a series of steps, various steps in each figure could overlap, occur in parallel, occur in a different order, or occur multiple times. In another example, steps may be omitted or replaced by other steps. Although the present disclosure has been described with exemplary embodiments, various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims. None of the description in this application should be read as implying that any particular element, step, or function is an essential element that must be included in the claims scope. The scope of patented subject matter is defined by the claims. | 66,049 |
11943833 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various exemplary embodiments and details are described hereinafter, with reference to the figures when relevant. It should be noted that the figures may or may not be drawn to scale and that elements of similar structures or functions are represented by like reference numerals throughout the figures. It should also be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the embodiments. They are not intended as an exhaustive description of the invention or as a limitation on the scope of the invention. In addition, an illustrated embodiment needs not have all the aspects or advantages shown. An aspect or an advantage described in conjunction with a particular embodiment is not necessarily limited to that embodiment and can be practiced in any other embodiments even if not so illustrated, or if not so explicitly described. In 3GPP New Radio, NR, with potential future Releases enabling operations in an unlicensed band (also entitled NR-U), it is beneficial to have a control signal for discovery (e.g. a discovery reference signal, DRS) that may include several types of control information, and one or more combined sets of control information. Transmissions on unlicensed bands require a clear channel access procedure to be performed prior to the transmission, in order to provide fair coexistence between wireless electronic devices attempting to utilize the unlicensed band. A benefit of potentially defining a discovery reference signal as a combination of multiple control signals is the possibility to combine transmissions of several types of control information into transmission occasions. If one transmission occasion comprises two or more types of control information, that otherwise would be transmitted individually, the number of clear channel access attempts needed for the transmission of the control information can be reduced. This enables a more efficient control channel transmission with fewer CCA attempts required by the system. The disclosed combined signal based on types of control information included into a transmission occasion may be denoted a discovery signal, or a discovery reference signal. Hence the transmission of the discovery signal may be a series of transmissions of multiple individual signals, where the transmission of the multiple individual signals occurs in a single transmission occasion. The control information may include for example cell acquisition information, synchronization information (e.g. a primary synchronization signal, PSS, and/or a secondary synchronization signal, SSS), one or more broadcast signals (e.g. a Cell-Specific reference signal on a Physical Broadcast Shared Channel, PBSCH, a Channel State Information, CSI reference signal), on-demand system information, and/or paging information. In 3GPP systems with operations in the unlicensed band, several different types of signaling, including specific control signals for different purposes are planned for the specification. The number of control signals appear to be increasing in the latest developments. The inventors have found that as the different types of control information to include in the control signal for discovery (e.g. the discovery signal or the discovery reference signal) increases, the more control information would need to be decoded by each wireless electronic device listening for the control signal for discovery, causing additional energy consumption for wireless electronic devices listening for control signal for discovery. And, it may be envisaged that the wireless electronic device may unnecessarily decode control information that is not needed and thereby unnecessarily use spectrum resources and power consumption. In other words, not all the wireless electronic devices listening to the channel may find that the control information included in the same control signal for discovery is relevant. The present disclosure proposes to optimize the transmission of control information between the network node and the wireless electronic device by generating an indicator based on the control information type to be included as content of the control signal for discovery and by including the indicator in the control signal. This may allow a selective inclusion of relevant control information type as content of the control signal and an indication of the selection by including the indicator in the control signal. This may lead to performing selective decoding at the wireless electronic device based on the indicator. Further, since the transmissions on an unlicensed band typically requires a clear channel access, CCA, procedure to be performed prior to the actual transmission, there may be an uncertainty in when (in time) the CCA procedure is finalized and hence when (in time) the transmission of the control signalling for discovery occurs. With the use of the disclosed indicator as a preamble to the control signal, a wireless electronic device attempting to receive the control signal may use the preamble as an indicator of the upcoming control information, which may lead to a more power efficient detection in the wireless electronic device. As discussed in detail herein, the present disclosure relates to a wireless communications network comprising a cellular network operating on an unlicensed band. The network node refers to a wireless node operating in the network, such as a base station, an evolved Node B, eNBs, a global Node B, gNBs. The wireless communications network described herein may comprise one or more wireless electronic devices, and one or more network nodes, such as one or more of: a base station, an eNB, a global Node B and/or an access point. A wireless electronic device may refer to as a mobile device and/or a user equipment, UE. The figures are schematic and simplified for clarity, and they merely show details that are helpful in providing an understanding of the example embodiments, while other details have been left out. Throughout, the same reference numerals are used for identical or corresponding parts. FIG.1is a flow diagram of an exemplary method100according to the disclosure. The method100is performed at a network node of a wireless communications network, for discovery signalling. The method100comprises generating S102an indicator based on one or more control information to be transmitted in a control signal for discovery (e.g. a discovery reference signal). In other words, generating S102the indicator may comprise selecting the indicator based on the one or more control information to be transmitted in the control signal for discovery. The indicator may be seen as an indicator of control signal type. Stated differently, generating S102the indicator may comprise generating the indicator depending on what control information is to be transmitted in the control signal. In one or more exemplary methods, generating S102the indicator may comprise generating the indicator depending on what type of control information is to be transmitted in the control signal. In other words, different indicators can be generated depending on what type of control information is to be transmitted in the control signal. In one or more exemplary methods, generating S102the indicator may comprise generating the indicator depending on whether a type of control information (e.g. control information type) is to be transmitted in the control signal or not. In other words, the indicator may be generated and transmitted in case a specific type of control information is to be transmitted. In one or more exemplary methods, generating S102the indicator may comprise determining one or more control information type is to be included in the control signal, and generating the indicator based on the determining. Control information as disclosed herein may refer to information or data related to signalling or part of a control plane. The control information may refer to control information for discovery. For example, the control information comprises one or more of: cell acquisition information including synchronization information (e.g. a primary synchronization signal, PSS, and/or a secondary synchronization signal, SSS), one or more broadcast signals (e.g. a reference signal such as Cell-Specific reference signal on a Physical Broadcast Shared Channel, PBSCH, a Channel State Information, CSI reference signal), basic system information, additional system information, on-demand system information, paging information, occupied bandwidth information, remaining system information, automatic neighbour relations information, and channel occupancy time information. In one or more exemplary methods, generating S102an indicator based on one or more control information comprises identifying S102B one or more control information types based on the control information to be transmitted in the control signal for discovery, and generating S102C the indicator based on the one or more control information types. This allows for example to generate an indicator when e.g. paging information type is to be transmitted in the control signal for discovery. A control signal for discovery (e.g. a discovery signal or a discovery reference signal) may refer to a signal transmitted by a network node for the purpose of other devices to perform discovery signalling, such as one or more of system detection, cell identification, time synchronization, frequency synchronization, antenna configuration or calibration, receiving paging indication, receiving system information or similar. The discovery signalling may be performed by transmitting one or more control information types. A control information type as disclosed herein may refer to a type of control information amongst the plurality of types of control information involved in discovery signalling. The control information type corresponds to a control information to be included as content in the control signal. For example, the control information type comprises a cell acquisition information type, a synchronization information type (e.g. corresponding to the following control information to be transmitted in the control signal: a primary synchronization signal, PSS, and/or a secondary synchronization signal, SSS), broadcast information type (e.g. corresponding to the following control information to be transmitted: a reference signal type, e.g. Cell-Specific reference signal on a Physical Broadcast Shared Channel, PBSCH), a Channel State Information, CSI, type (e.g. corresponding to the following control information to be transmitted: a CSI reference signal or a CSI pilot), a basic system information type corresponding to basic system information to be transmitted, an additional system information type corresponding to additional system information to be transmitted, an on-demand system information type corresponding to on-demand system information to be transmitted, paging information type corresponding to paging information to be transmitted, occupied bandwidth information type corresponding to occupied bandwidth information to be transmitted, remaining system information type corresponding to remaining system information to be transmitted, automatic neighbour relations information type corresponding to automatic neighbour relations information to be transmitted, and channel occupancy time information type corresponding to channel occupancy time information to be transmitted. The method100comprises transmitting S104the indicator as a preamble to the control signal for discovery in a transmission occasion. The indicator is indicative of the content of the control signal. In other words, the indicator is indicative of the control information to be transmitted in the control signal. The content of the control signal may comprise control information carried by the control signal. The content of the control signal may comprise control information corresponding to the one or more control information to be transmitted in the control signal and thereby indicated by the indicator generated. It may be appreciated that the disclosed preamble may be transmitted prior to an NR-U transmission which is beneficial for indication on whether a type of control information (e.g. stated differently: a certain type of control information) is included in the NR-U signal transmission. For example, the disclosed indicator transmitted as a preamble may be advantageously used as a wake up signal prior to a synchronization signal burst or a more general discovery reference signal transmission, e.g. to indicate that the DRS includes a specific signal or control element. For example, the disclosed preamble or disclosed indicator indicates which type of signal(s) is included in the NR-U signal transmission. In one or more exemplary methods, the indicator is used to detect a DL transmission burst. For example, the indicator transmitted as a preamble is beneficial for detection of DL transmission burst and results in a reduction of the power consumption caused by frequent PDCCH monitoring at the wireless electronic device In one or more exemplary methods, generating the indicator may be performed based on PSS and/or SSS to be transmitted. In one or more exemplary methods, the control information comprises a cell identity, cell ID, and/or a parameter associated with a beam/transmission point. In one or more exemplary methods, the control signal for discovery comprises one or more individual signals. The content of the control signal may include one or more separate or individual signals corresponding to the one or more control information as specified by a wireless communication standard combined into a transmission occasion, such as a single transmission occasion. Further the content of the control signal may include one or more control information types, e.g. carried in one or more individual signals. In one or more exemplary methods, the indicator is indicative of the length of the control signal. In one or more exemplary methods, the control signal for discovery comprises a discovery reference signal. In one or more exemplary methods, the discovery reference signal comprises one or more of: a reference signal to be sent in an unlicensed band. A reference signal, RS, refers to a signal that supports channel signalling, such as uplink, UL, channel signalling, such as downlink, DL, channel signalling, such as channel acquisition, such as scheduling. The control signal refers to a control signal that is configured to provide control information to the wireless electronic device in e.g. NR-U. Depending on the control information type, the control signal may include one or more of the following control information: cell acquisition information including synchronization information (e.g. a primary synchronization signal, PSS, and/or a secondary synchronization signal, SSS), one or more broadcast signals (e.g. a reference signal such as Cell-Specific reference signal on a Physical Broadcast Shared Channel, PBSCH, a Channel State Information, CSI reference signal), basic system information, additional system information, on-demand system information, paging information, occupied bandwidth information, remaining system information, automatic neighbour relations information, and channel occupancy time information. For example, paging information is to be included when paging is performed in one or more upcoming time slots at the network node. Cell acquisition information is not required to be transmitted as often as reference signals such as Cell-specific reference signal, CRS. It may be envisaged that cell acquisition information is included in every N transmission occasions of a control signal for discovery in order to save signaling resources (where N is an integer, e.g. an integer between 2 and 4). For example, identifying S102B the one or more control information types based on control information to be transmitted in the control signal for discovery may be performed based on the periodicity and/or request of a specific control information to be sent in the control signal. In one or more exemplary methods, generating S102the indicator based on the one or more control information types comprises selecting S102D the indicator, amongst a plurality of indicators, based on the one or more control information types. Stated differently, each indicator of the plurality of indicators is mapped to one or more control information types to be transmitted in the control signal, e.g. to a specific content of the control signal for discovery. Each indicator may be defined in the form of a sequence. In other words, the indicator may be generated using a sequence, such as a base sequence, which in turn can be further spread into a sequence of bits with e.g. a cross correlation performance. The indicator may be seen as a sequence number. An exemplary plurality of indicators may be of the following form e.g.: TABLE 1Indicators and corresponding control informationtypes for discovery signallingControl information types to beincluded in the control signal asIndicatorcontent0Pilot(s) (CSI-RS), basic systeminformation1Pilot(s) (CSI-RS), basic systeminformation, Additional systeminformation2Pilot(s) (CSI-RS), basic systeminformation, on-demand systeminformation3Pilot(s) (CSI-RS), basic systeminformation, paging information4Pilot(s) (CSI-RS), basic systeminformation, on-demand systeminformation, paging information In an illustrative example where the disclosed technique is applied, the network node identifies the control information types corresponding to: a Cell-Specific reference signal (e.g. Pilots (CSI-RS)), basic system information, and paging information. In this example, the network node generates an indicator based on a sequence which is indicative of the control information types to be transmitted in the control signal as a discovery reference signal. The sequence generation may be performed by mapping a base sequence to the indicator “3”, and may further be performed by spreading the base sequence with a spreading sequence. The sequence generation may be performed in order to facilitate certain detection performance upon the detection to be performed by a receiver e.g. by creating a sequence which has a given cross correlation performance with respect to other sequences generated for other combination of control information types. The network node transmits the indicator as a preamble to the control signal comprising the following control information in the same transmission occasion: a Cell-Specific reference signal (e.g. Pilots (CSI-RS)), the basic system information, and the paging information. In this example, the network node transmits the generated indicator indicative of the indicator “3” as a preamble to the control signal comprising a Cell-Specific reference signal (e.g. Pilots (CSI-RS)), the basic system information, and the paging information. In one or more exemplary methods, transmitting S104the indicator as the preamble to the control signal comprises applying S104A a first modulation or coding scheme on the preamble and a second modulation or coding scheme on the control signal, wherein the second modulation or coding scheme is different from the first modulation or coding scheme. Following on the example in the preceding paragraph, the network node applies a first modulation or coding scheme on the preamble which may be a generated bit sequence indicative of the indicator “3” and a second modulation or coding scheme on the control signal which includes the Cell-Specific reference signal (e.g. Pilots (CSI-RS)), the basic system information, and the paging information. It may be appreciated that in one or more exemplary methods, the one or more control signal types comprise individual control signals and/or reference signals which may in turn apply different modulation and coding schemes. This enables the wireless electronic device to perform a selective decoding dependent on the indicator. When none of control information carried by the control signal (in this example: the Cell-Specific reference signal, the basic system information, and the paging information) are of interest to the wireless electronic device, the wireless electronic device identifies the content of the control signal by simply demodulating and decoding the indicator, e.g. the specifically generated detection sequence for the indicator which indicates “3” corresponding to control information deemed irrelevant for the wireless electronic device. This way, power consumption may be saved at the wireless electronic device. In one or more exemplary methods, applying S104A a first modulation or coding scheme on the preamble and a second modulation or coding scheme on the control signal comprises applying S104C an ON/OFF keying (or other low complexity modulation such as binary phase shift keying) modulation scheme to the preamble. In one or more exemplary methods, the indicator transmission may be encoded by e.g. adding redundancy bits or by applying a channel coding scheme, such as convolutional coding. In one or more exemplary methods, the indicator transmission may be uncoded (e.g. may not be coded). In one or more exemplary methods, an ON/OFF keying modulation scheme may comprise an amplitude shift keying modulation scheme. In other words, the indicator may be generated using ON/OFF keying, and thereby can be demodulated and detected early in a receiver chain of the wireless electronic device. This allows the control signal for discovery to be used as a wake-up signal for wireless electronic devices listening for a specific control information type. In one or more exemplary methods, the method100comprises determining S101whether the one or more control information to be transmitted in the control signal is to include control information additional to a first set of control information. The first set of control information may be predetermined by a specification of a radio system, e.g. specified by the 3GPP. In other words, the first set of control information may comprise a minimum set of control information and/or a default set of control information. The first set of control information may comprise Pilots (CSI-RS), and basic system information. In one or more exemplary methods, the method100comprises: in accordance with a determination that the one or more control information to be transmitted in the control signal is to include control information additional to the first set of control information, performing the generating S102and the transmitting S104. In one or more exemplary methods and network nodes, the present disclosure allows generating an indicator that could be applied only to control signals which incorporates control information that is additional to a first set of control information. This allows to save signaling resources in the wireless communications network. Since a UE listening for a certain information element would have no specific use of the most empty configuration and the other networks detecting the usage of the unlicensed band don't need so frequent DRS detections, it could possibly be considered that the benefits of the usage of the sequence is achieved even if the baseline DRS would be undetected by a base sequence detection unit. The indicator can therefore be used as a wake-up signal for wireless electronic devices listening for a specific type of information only, an indicator of the content and/or indicative of the length of the control signal, an easy-to-detect signal indicative of that new radio, NR, is being using the unlicensed band. In one or more exemplary methods, the method100comprises: in accordance with a determination that the one or more control information to be transmitted in the control signal is not to include control information additional to the first set of control information, forgoing the generating S102and transmitting S108the control signal. In one or more exemplary methods, the method100comprises determining whether the one or more control information to be transmitted in the control signal is to include control information different from a second set of control information and in accordance with a determination that the one or more control information to be transmitted in the control signal is to include control information different from the second set of control information, performing the generating S102and the transmitting S104. The second set of control information may be predetermined by the regulations. For example, the network node may generate the indicator according to step S102and transmit according to step S104when the one or more control information to be transmitted in the control signal is to include control information different from the second set of control information (e.g. only when the control signal does not comprise any dedicated and/or UE-specific control information). In one or more exemplary methods, the method100comprises transmitting S108the control signal to a wireless electronic device by transmitting, in a single transmission occasion, a series of a plurality of individual signals forming the control signal. The control signal transmitted may occupy a different frequency bandwidth depending on the control information included in the control signal and the length of the control signal. FIG.2is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary network node200according to this disclosure. The present disclosure relates to a network node200of a wireless communication network. Examples of a network node include a base station, an evolved NodeB, and/or an access point. The network node200comprises a memory module201, a processor module202, and a wireless interface203. The network node200is configured to perform any of the methods disclosed herein, such as any of the methods shown inFIG.1. The processor module202is configured to generate, e.g. using an indicator generator module202A, an indicator based on one or more control information to be transmitted in a control signal for discovery. The processor module202is configured to transmit, e.g. using the wireless interface203, the indicator as a preamble to the control signal for discovery, wherein the indicator is indicative of the content of the control signal and optionally of a length of the control signal. The processor module202may be configured to perform any of the steps S101, S102A, S102B, S102C, S102D, S104A, S1404AA and S108(disclosed inFIG.1). The wireless interface203is configured for wireless communications via a wireless communications network, such as a 3GPP system, such as a 3GPP system with operations in the unlicensed band, such as a 3GGP system with New Radio and unlicensed band operations. The wireless interface203may be configured to transmit the indicator as a preamble to the control signal and the control signal to a wireless electronic device (such as a wireless electronic device disclosed herein). The processor module202is optionally configured to perform any of the operations disclosed inFIG.1. The operations of the network node200may be embodied in the form of executable logic routines (e.g., lines of code, software programs, etc.) that are stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., the memory module201) and are executed by the processor module202). Furthermore, the operations of the network node200may be considered a method that the network node200is configured to carry out. Also, while the described functions and operations may be implemented in software, such functionality may as well be carried out via dedicated hardware or firmware, or some combination of hardware, firmware and/or software. The memory module201may be one or more of a buffer, a flash memory, a hard drive, a removable media, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a random access memory (RAM), or other suitable device. In a typical arrangement, the memory module201may include a non-volatile memory for long term data storage and a volatile memory that functions as system memory for the processor module202. The memory module201may exchange data with the processor module202over a data bus. Control lines and an address bus between the memory module201and the processor module202also may be present (not shown inFIG.2). The memory module201is considered a non-transitory computer readable medium. The memory module201may be configured to store a look-up table associating an indicator to corresponding control information types in a part of the memory. FIG.3schematically illustrates transmissions of a plurality on control signals for discovery by an exemplary network node according to the disclosure. In one or more exemplary methods and network nodes, the network node determines whether the one or more control information to be transmitted in the control signal is to include control information additional to a first set of control information, and in accordance with a determination that the one or more control information to be transmitted in the control signal is to include control information additional to a first set of control information, the network node generates the indicator based on control information The first set may be seen as predetermined set, a default set or a minimum set. InFIG.3, the legend provides that the first set of control information is represented by reference sign10, a first indicator is represented by reference sign12, a second indicator is represented by reference sign14, a third indicator is represented by reference sign16, a first control information is represented by reference sign18, a second control information is represented by reference sign20. FIG.3shows that the first set of control information is transmitted periodically by the network node. The first set of control information may comprise Pilots (CSI-RS), and basic system information. FIG.3shows that indicator12is associated with a content comprising the first set of control information and the first control information and that indicator14is associated with a content comprising the first set of control information and the first control information and the second control information.FIG.3shows that indicator16is associated with a content comprising the first set of control information and the second control information. In one or more exemplary methods, the method300comprises waking up S307a main receiver of the wireless electronic device based on processing of the indicator in a wake-up receiver of the wireless electronic device. For example, the wireless electronic device may be configured to wake up a main received based on receiving the indicator in the wake-up receiver part of the wireless electronic device. This allows to save signaling resources in the wireless communications network. For example, a wireless electronic device listening for a certain information element would have no specific use of control signals with the first set of control information referred by10and is capable of identifying relevant control signals based on the indicator, such as12,14,16. Other wireless electronic devices that aim at detecting the usage of the unlicensed band need to listen less frequently to the control signal. FIG.4shows a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method300performed in the wireless electronic device according to this disclosure. The method300is performed for discovery signalling in a wireless communications network. The method300comprises receiving S302a preamble to a control signal for discovery, e.g. from a network node, e.g. from a network node disclosed herein. The preamble comprises an indicator indicative of content of the control signal. The method300comprises determining S304, based on the indicator, the content of the control signal. The method300may comprise receiving S306the control signal in the same transmission occasion as the preamble, e.g. from the network node. In one or more exemplary methods, determining S304, based on the indicator, the content of the control signal for discovery comprises determining S304A whether the indicator indicates that the control signal comprises control information that is needed by the wireless electronic device. In one or more exemplary methods, determining S304, based on the indicator, the content of the control signal for discovery comprises in accordance with a determination that the control signal comprises control information that is needed by the portable electronic device, processing S304B the control signal. In one or more exemplary methods, determining S304, based on the indicator, the content of the control signal for discovery comprises in accordance with a determination that the control signal does not comprise control information that is needed by the portable electronic device, forgoing S304C the processing of the control signal. In one or more exemplary methods, the method300comprises waking up S303a main receiver of the wireless electronic device based on processing of the indicator in a wake-up receiver of the wireless electronic device. For example, the wireless electronic device may be configured to wake up a main received based on receiving the indicator in the wake-up receiver part of the wireless electronic device. In one or more exemplary methods, the method300comprises determining S308the length of the control signal based on the indicator. In one or more exemplary methods, the method300comprises determining that an unlicensed band is used by a new radio, NR-enabled device based on the indicator. FIG.5shows a block diagram of an exemplary wireless electronic device500according to the disclosure. The wireless electronic device500comprises a memory module501, a processor module502, and a wireless interface503. The wireless electronic device501may be configured to perform any of the methods disclosed inFIG.4. The wireless electronic device500is configured to communicate with a network node, such as the network node disclosed herein, using a wireless communications network. The wireless electronic device500is configured to receive, via the wireless interface503, a preamble to a control signal for discovery. The preamble comprises an indicator indicative of content of the control signal. The wireless electronic device500is configured to determine, via the processor module502(e.g. via a determiner module502A), based on the indicator, the content of the control signal, optionally by performing any of the steps S304A,5304B,5304C ofFIG.4. The wireless interface503may comprise a receiver module503A comprising a wake up receiver503D. The wake up receiver503D may comprise an energy detector503B with a correlator503C for the indicator received to be processed accordingly. When processed according to this disclosure, the indicator advantageously provides a wake up signal when the wireless electronic device500listens only to the control signals for discovery. When processed according to this disclosure, the indicator advantageously provides an indicator of both the content and indicative of the length of the control signal. The wireless electronic device500is configured to determine, e.g. using the determiner module502A, that an unlicensed band is used by a NR-enabled device based on the indicator When processed according to this disclosure, the indicator advantageously provides an easily detectable signal indicating to the wireless electronic device500that the 3GPP-NR communication network uses the unlicensed band. The processor module502is optionally configured to perform any of the operations disclosed inFIG.4. The operations of the wireless electronic device500may be embodied in the form of executable logic routines (e.g., lines of code, software programs, etc.) that are stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., the memory module501) and are executed by the processor module502). While the described functions and operations may be implemented in software, such functionality may as well be carried out via dedicated hardware or firmware, or some combination of hardware, firmware and/or software. The memory module501may be one or more of a buffer, a flash memory, a hard drive, a removable media, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a random access memory (RAM), or other suitable device. In a typical arrangement, the memory module501may include a non-volatile memory for long term data storage and a volatile memory that functions as system memory for the processor module502. The memory module501may exchange data with the processor module502over a data bus. Control lines and an address bus between the memory module501and the processor module502also may be present (not shown inFIG.5). The memory module501is considered a non-transitory computer readable medium. The memory module501may be configured to store a look-up table associating an indicator to corresponding control information types in a part of the memory module501. Embodiments of methods and products according to the disclosure are set out in the following items: 1. A method, performed at a network node of a wireless communications network, for discovery signalling, the method comprising:generating (S102) an indicator based on one or more control information to be transmitted in a control signal for discovery, andtransmitting (S104) the indicator as a preamble to the control signal for discovery in a transmission occasion, wherein the indicator is indicative of content of the control signal. 2. The method according to item 1, wherein generating (S102) an indicator based on one or more control information comprises identifying (S102B) one or more control information types based on the control information to be transmitted in the control signal for discovery, and generating (S102C) the indicator based on the one or more control information types. 3. The method according to any of items 1-2, wherein the control signal for discovery comprises one or more individual signals. 4. The method according to any of items 2-3, wherein generating (S102) the indicator based on the one or more control information comprises selecting (S102D) the indicator, amongst a plurality of indicators, based on the one or more control information types. 5. The method according to any of items 1-4, wherein the indicator is indicative of a length of the control signal. 6. The method according to any of items 1-5, the method comprising applying (S106) a first modulation or coding scheme on the preamble and a second modulation or coding scheme on the control signal, wherein the second modulation or coding scheme is different from the first modulation or coding scheme. 7. The method according to item 5, wherein applying (S106) a first modulation or coding scheme on the preamble and a second modulation or coding scheme on the control signal comprises applying (S106A) an ON/OFF keying modulation scheme and coding scheme to the preamble. 8. The method according to any of the previous items, the method comprising: determining (S101) whether the one or more control information to be transmitted in the control signal is to include control information additional to a first set of control information, and in accordance with a determination that the one or more control information to be transmitted in the control signal is to include control information additional to the first set of control information, performing the generating (S102) and the transmitting (S104). 9. The method according to any of the previous items, the method comprising transmitting (S108) the control signal to a wireless electronic device by transmitting, in a single transmission occasion, a series of a plurality of individual signals forming the control signal. 10. A method, performed at a wireless electronic device, for discovery signalling in a wireless communications network, the method comprising:receiving (S302) a preamble to a control signal for discovery, wherein the preamble comprises an indicator indicative of content of the control signal;determining (S304), based on the indicator, the content of the control signal;receiving (S306) the control signal in the same transmission occasion as the preamble. 11. The method according to item 10, wherein determining (S304), based on the indicator, the content of the control signal for discovery comprises determining (S304A) whether the indicator indicates that the control signal comprises control information in the body part that is needed by the wireless electronic device, and in accordance with a determination that the control signal comprises control information that is needed by the wireless electronic device, processing (S304B) the control information. 12. The method according to any of items 10-11, wherein determining S304, based on the indicator, the content of the control signal for discovery comprises: in accordance with a determination that the control signal does not comprise control information that is needed by the wireless electronic device, forgoing (S304C) the processing of the control information. 13. The method according to items 10-12, the method comprising waking up (S303) a main receiver of the wireless electronic device based on processing of the indicator in a wake-up receiver of the wireless electronic device. 14. The method according to items 10-13, the method comprising: determining the length of the control signal based on the indicator. 15. The method according to items 10-14, the method comprising determining that the unlicensed band is used by a new radio, NR-enabled device based on the indicator. 16. A network node (200) of a wireless communication network, the network node (200) comprising a memory module (201), a processor module (202), and a wireless interface (203), wherein the network node (200) is configured to perform a method according to any of items 1-9. 17. A wireless electronic device (500) comprising a memory module (501), a processor module (502), and a wireless interface (503), wherein the wireless electronic device (500) is configured to perform a method according to any of items 9-15. The use of the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. does not imply any particular order, but are included to identify individual elements. Moreover, the use of the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. does not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. Note that the words “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. are used here and elsewhere for labelling purposes only and are not intended to denote any specific spatial or temporal ordering. Furthermore, the labelling of a first element does not imply the presence of a second element and vice versa. It may be appreciated thatFIGS.1-5comprises some modules or operations which are illustrated with a solid line and some modules or operations which are illustrated with a dashed line. The modules or operations which are comprised in a solid line are modules or operations which are comprised in the broadest example embodiment. The modules or operations which are comprised in a dashed line are example embodiments which may be comprised in, or a part of, or are further modules or operations which may be taken in addition to the modules or operations of the solid line example embodiments. It should be appreciated that these operations need not be performed in order presented. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that not all of the operations need to be performed. The exemplary operations may be performed in any order and in any combination. It is to be noted that the word “comprising” does not necessarily exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed. It is to be noted that the words “a” or “an” preceding an element do not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. It should further be noted that any reference signs do not limit the scope of the claims, that the exemplary embodiments may be implemented at least in part by means of both hardware and software, and that several “means”, “units” or “devices” may be represented by the same item of hardware. The various exemplary methods, devices, nodes and systems described herein are described in the general context of method steps or processes, which may be implemented in one aspect by a computer program product, embodied in a computer-readable medium, including computer-executable instructions, such as program code, executed by computers in networked environments. A computer-readable medium may include removable and non-removable storage devices including, but not limited to, Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVD), etc. Generally, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specified tasks or implement specific abstract data types. Computer-executable instructions, associated data structures, and program modules represent examples of program code for executing steps of the methods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executable instructions or associated data structures represents examples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions described in such steps or processes. Although features have been shown and described, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the claimed invention, and it will be made obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense. The claimed invention is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents. | 46,053 |
11943834 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, the disclosure will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. General terms that are currently widely used were selected as terms used in the disclosure in consideration of functions in the disclosure, but may be changed depending on the intention of those skilled in the art or a judicial precedent, the emergence of a new technique, and the like. In addition, in some cases, terms arbitrarily selected. In this case, the meaning of such terms will be mentioned in detail in a corresponding description portion of the disclosure. Therefore, the terms used in the disclosure are to be defined based on the meaning of the terms and the contents throughout the disclosure rather than simple names of the terms. In the disclosure, an expression “have”, “may have”, “include”, “may include”, or the like, indicates existence of a corresponding feature (e.g., a numerical value, a function, an operation, a component such as a part, or the like), and does not exclude existence of an additional feature. An expression “at least one of A and/or B” is to be understood to represent “A” or “B” or “any one of A and B”. Expressions “first”, “second”, or the like, used in the disclosure may indicate various components regardless of a sequence and/or importance of the components, will be used only to distinguish one component from the other components, and do not limit the corresponding components. Singular forms are intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be understood that terms “include” or “formed of” used in the disclosure specify the presence of features, numerals, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof mentioned in the disclosure, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numerals, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof. In the disclosure, a term “user” may refer to a person using an electronic device or a device (e.g., an artificial intelligence electronic device) using an electronic device. Hereinafter, various example embodiments will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG.2Ais a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of an electronic device according to various embodiments. The electronic device100may be an access point (AP). The access point may be a relay device providing a wireless Internet access function to another electronic device. The electronic device100may be a device such as, for example, and without limitation, a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), or a laptop computer, or the like, operating as a software enabled access point (AP). However, the electronic device100is not limited thereto, and may be any device as long as it may operate as an access point. When the number of devices operating as the software enabled access point is plural, a device whose at least one of operation capability or power efficiency is high may be determined as the electronic device100. As illustrated inFIG.2A, the electronic device100includes a communication interface (e.g., including communication circuitry)110, a memory120, and a processor (e.g., including processing circuitry)130. However, the electronic device100is not limited thereto, and may be implemented in a form in which some components are excluded or may further include other components. The communication interface110is a component performing communication with various types of external devices according to various types of communication manners. For example, the electronic device100may perform communication with another electronic device through the communication interface110. Here, another electronic device may include a device operating as a software enabled access point. The communication interface110may include various communication circuitry including, for example, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) module, a Bluetooth module, an infrared communication module, a wireless communication module, and the like. Here, each communication module may be implemented in the form of at least one hardware chip. The WiFi module and the Bluetooth module perform communication in a WiFi manner and a Bluetooth manner, respectively. When the WiFi module or the Bluetooth module is used, various connection information such as a service set identifier (SSID), a session key, and the like, is first transmitted and received, communication is connected using the connection information, and various information may then be transmitted and received. The infrared communication module performs communication according to an infrared data association (IrDA) technology of wirelessly transmitting data to a short distance using an infrared ray positioned between a visible ray and a millimeter wave. The wireless communication module may include at least one communication chip performing communication according to various wireless communication standards such as zigbee, 3rd generation (3G), 3rdgeneration partnership project (3GPP), long term evolution (LTE), LTE advanced (LTE-A), 4th generation (4G), 5thgeneration (5G), and the like, in addition to the communication manner described above. In addition, the communication interface may include at least one of a local area network (LAN) module, an Ethernet module, or wired communication modules performing communication using a pair cable, a coaxial cable, an optical fiber cable, or the like. The memory120may refer, for example, to hardware storing information such as data in an electric or magnetic form so that the processor130may access the memory120. To this end, the memory120may be implemented as at least one hardware of a non-volatile memory, a volatile memory, a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SDD), a random access memory (RAM), or a read only memory (ROM). At least one instruction or module required for an operation of the electronic device100or the processor130may be stored in the memory120. Here, the instruction may include a code unit for instructing the operation of the electronic device100or the processor130, and may be written in a machine language, which is a language that a computer may understand. The module may be an instruction set that performs a specific task in work units. In addition, information for correcting a signal received from each of at least one other electronic device may be stored in the memory120. For example, the memory120may store information for correcting at least one of a received signal strength indication (RSSI), channel state information (CSI), an amplitude, a phase, or a period of a signal received from another electronic device. In addition, the memory120may store information on a reference signal for generating correction information. For example, the memory120may store information on at least one of an amplitude, a phase, or a period of a carrier signal. At least one artificial intelligence model trained to identify information on a user may be stored in the memory120. Here, the artificial intelligence model may include a plurality of neural network layers, each of which includes a plurality of weight values and performs a neural network operation through an operation between an operation result of the previous layer and the plurality of weights. Examples of the artificial neural network include, for example, and without limitation, a convolutional neural network (CNN), a deep neural network (DNN), a recurrent neural network (RNN), a restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), a deep belief network (DBN), a bidirectional recurrent deep neural network (BRDNN), and deep Q-Networks, or the like, and various neural networks as well as the neural networks described above may be used in the disclosure. In addition, the artificial intelligence model may also be configured in an ontology-based data structure in which various concepts, conditions, relationships, or agreed knowledge are expressed in a form that may be processed by a computer. The artificial intelligence model may be trained through the electronic device100or a separate server/system through various training algorithms. The training algorithm may refer, for example, to a method of training a predetermined target device (e.g., a robot) using a plurality of training data to allow the predetermined target device to make a decision or make a prediction by itself. Examples of the training algorithm include, for example, supervised training, unsupervised training, semi-supervised training, or reinforcement training, and various training algorithms may also be used. The memory120may be accessed by the processor130, and reading, recording, correction, deletion, update, and the like, of the instruction, the module, the artificial intelligence model, or the data in the memory120may be performed by the processor130. The processor130may include various processing circuitry and generally controls an operation of the electronic device100. For example, the processor130may be connected to each component of the electronic device100to generally control an operation of the electronic device100. For example, the processor130may be connected to a component such as a display (not illustrated) to control the operation of the electronic device100. According to an embodiment, the processor130may be implemented by, for example, and without limitation, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a time controller (TCON), or the like. However, the processor120is not limited thereto, but may include one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), a micro controller unit (MCU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a controller, an application processor (AP), a communication processor (CP), an ARM processor, a dedicated processor, or the like, or may be defined by these terms. In addition, the processor130may be implemented as a system-on-chip (SoC) or a large scale integration (LSI) in which a processing algorithm is embedded or may be implemented in a field programmable gate array (FPGA) form. The processor130may control the communication interface110to perform communication with another electronic device operating as a software enabled access point, identify another electronic device that has transmitted a signal among a plurality of other electronic devices based on the signal when the signal is received from another electronic device through the communication interface110, and correct the received signal based on correction information corresponding to another electronic device among information stored in the memory120. Such an operation of the processor130will be described in greater detail with reference to various modules ofFIG.2B. FIG.2Bis a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of the electronic device according to various embodiments. FIG.2Bis a block diagram illustrating an example software configuration of the electronic device100according to various embodiments. A plurality of modules may be positioned inside the processor130inFIG.2Bto indicate a state in which the plurality of modules are loaded (or executed) by the processor130and operated in the processor130, and the plurality of modules may be in a state in which they are stored in the memory120. It will be understood that the modules may each include various processing circuitry and/or executable program elements. The processor130may control a general operation of the electronic device100by executing the module or the instruction stored in the memory120. For example, the processor130may read and interpret the module or the instruction, determine a sequence for data processing, and control an operation of another component such as the memory120by transmitting a control signal for controlling the operation of another component accordingly. When the signal is received from another electronic device200operating as the software enabled access point, the processor130may read identification information of another electronic device200from the received signal by executing a device identification module, and identify another electronic device200based on the read information. For example, when the signal is received from another electronic device200operating as the software enabled access point, the processor130may identify a media access control address (Mac address) included in the received signal, and identify another electronic device200corresponding to the identified Mac address based on information on a plurality of other electronic devices stored in the memory130. In this case, the plurality of other electronic devices and a plurality of Mac addresses each corresponding to the plurality of other electronic devices may be stored in a mapped state in the memory120. The processor130may correct the received signal based on correction information corresponding to another electronic device200among the information stored in the memory120by executing a signal correction module. For example, the processor130may correct at least one of an amplitude, a phase, or a period of the received signal based on the correction information. For example, when a signal is received from a television (TV) operating as the software enabled access point, the processor130may increase an amplitude by 0.1 mV based on first correction information corresponding to the TV, and when a signal is received from a refrigerator operating as the software enabled access point, the processor130may delay a phase by 0.2 ms based on second correction information corresponding to the refrigerator. Such correction information may be obtained based on information on a reference signal stored in the memory120. When a first signal is received from another electronic device200through connection of initial communication with another electronic device200, the processor130may compare the first signal with the reference signal through execution of a correction information generation module to obtain correction information for correcting the signal received from another electronic device200, and store the obtained correction information in the memory120. Here, the first signal may be a signal according to a communication protocol or a signal transmitted by another electronic device200according to a request of the processor130. The processor130may receive the reference signal from an access point300and store the received reference signal in the memory120. Here, the access point300may be a device separate from the electronic device100, and the reference signal and the first signal may have the same original data. When the access point300transmits a signal having the same original data and when another electronic device200operating as the software enabled access point transmits a signal having the same original data, waveforms of the two signals may be different from each other. This is because the access point300and another electronic device200are not completely the same as each other and a fine difference thus occurs in a generation process, a modulation process and the like of a carrier signal. The processor130may obtain digital information from the signals received from the access point300and another electronic device200, and when the original data are the same as each other, the digital information obtained from the two signals may also be the same as each other. On the other hand, when the processor130identifies whether a user to be described later exists, the processor130may use a waveform of the received signal itself rather than the digital information of the received signal, and may not obtain a uniform result when the waveform for each device is different. That is, the processor130may perform correction for each device to obtain a uniform result regardless of a device from which the signal is received. For example, even though the original data are the same as each other, a waveform of the signal received from the access point300may have an amplitude greater than that of a waveform of the signal received from the TV by 0.1 mV. In this case, the processor130may generate correction information of the TV through the correction information generation module and store the correction information of the TV in the memory120. Thereafter, when the signal is received from the TV, the processor130may identify that the amplitude of the received signal is greater than 0.1 mV based on the correction information of the TV. It has been described hereinabove that the signal received from the access point300is the reference signal for convenience of explanation, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the processor130may identify a signal received from one of the plurality of other electronic devices rather than the access point300as the reference signal. For example, the processor130may identify a signal having the largest amplitude among a plurality of signals received from the plurality of other electronic devices rather than the access point300as the reference signal. The processor130may identify whether the user exists using the corrected signal. For example, the processor130may identify at least one of whether the user exists or a position of the user by inputting the corrected signal to an artificial intelligence model through execution of a user identification module. Here, the artificial intelligence model may be a model trained to identify information on the user. For example, the processor130may identify at least one of whether the user exists or the position of the user by inputting a plurality of overlapping sections in the corrected signal to the artificial intelligence model. For example, the processor130may identify at least one of whether the user exists or the position of the user by identifying a signal for 10 ms of the corrected signal as one frame and inputting ten frames to the artificial intelligence model at an interval of 3 ms. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and a method of inputting the received signal to the artificial intelligence model may be various, and may be any method as long as it is the same as a method determined at the time of training the artificial intelligence model. Here, the artificial intelligence model may be obtained by training information on the position of the user and a waveform of a signal for each position of the user. In addition, the artificial intelligence model may be trained by further considering positions of the electronic device and at least one other electronic device. For example, when the electronic device100is disposed in the living room and a washing machine operating as the software enabled access point is blocked by a wall or a door, the artificial intelligence model may be obtained by training a signal received after passing through the wall or the door from the washing machine. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the processor130may identify at least one of whether the user exists and the position of the user from the corrected signal based on a rule. For example, when an amplitude of the corrected signal is a first value or more and a second value or less, the processor130may identify that the user exists, and when the amplitude of the corrected signal is less than the first value or exceeds the second value, the processor130may identify that the user does not exist. When the position of the user is spaced apart from a position of another electronic device200by a specified distance or more or a first point in time is reached, the processor130may control another electronic device200to not operate as the software enabled access point by executing a control module. In addition, when the user moves within the specified distance from another electronic device200or a second point in time is reached while another electronic device200does not operate as the software enabled access point, the processor130may control another electronic device200to operate as the software enabled access point by executing the control module. It has been described hereinabove that the processor130generates the correction information through the comparison with the reference signal and corrects at least one of the amplitude, the phase, or the period of the received signal based on the correction information, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the processor130may obtain the correction information based on information of another electronic device200operating as the software enabled access point, and correct at least one of an RSSI or CSI based on the correction information. In this case, at least one of the RSSI or the CSI may be corrected without information on the reference signal. The correction of the RSSI will be described in greater detail. The electronic device100may be in a state in which it stores specification information on another electronic device200operating as the software enabled access point. For example, the electronic device100may store at least one of information on a type of another electronic device200operating as the software enabled access point or information on transmit power (TX power). The transmit power may include hardware specification information, and may actually change depending on an obstacle, a case of the device, and the like. To generate the correction information, the electronic device100and another electronic device200are disposed within a predetermined distance. When a signal is received from another electronic device200, the processor130may obtain the transmit power (TX power) based on the following Equation 1. TXpower—RSSI+10n×logD[Equation 1] Here, RSSI is a strength of a radio signal measured at a receiving side and is information that may be measured by the electronic device100, and n is a free space factor, has a value of 2 to 4, and may be generally set to 2 when there is no obstacle between two devices. In addition, D is a distance between the two devices, and may be information already determined according to the disposition state described above. The processor130may store a difference between the transmit power obtained according to Equation 1 and stored transmit power as the correction information. For example, when it is identified that the transmit power is lower than an average as in the refrigerator, the processor130may generate correction information for increasing the transmit power, and when it is identified that the transmit power is higher than the average as in the TV, the processor130may generate correction information for increasing the transmit power. In this manner, the electronic device100may store the correction information of the transmit power according to a type of each device. Thereafter, the electronic device100and the plurality of other electronic devices200may be disposed in the same place as a home. In this case, the electronic device100may measure a distance to each of the plurality of other electronic devices200according to Equation 2, which is a modified form of Equation 1 as follows. D=10TXpower-RSSI10n[Equation2] Here, the processor130may use the correction information of the transmit power obtained by the method described above. For example, when it is identified from the received signal that a device that has transmitted the signal is the refrigerator, the processor130may increase the stored transmit power corresponding to the refrigerator based on the correction information, and input this information to Equation 2 to obtain a distance to the refrigerator. Thereafter, the processor130may correct the RSSI based on the obtained distance and the correction information of the transmit power. For example, the processor130may correct the RSSI by inputting the obtained distance and the correction information of the transmit power to the following Equation 3. RSSI=−10n×logD+TXpower [Equation 3] It has been described hereinabove that the correction information of the transmit power is obtained, but the processor130may further use correction information of a free space factor. In addition, the processor130may correct the CSI rather than the RSSI. As described above, the electronic device100may correct the signal received from another electronic device200operating as the software enabled access point, and improve accuracy of the identification of whether the user exists and the position of the user based on the corrected signal. Various embodiments of the disclosure will be described in greater detail with reference to the drawings below. FIG.3is a graph illustrating an example signal received from another electronic device200operating as a software enabled access point according to various embodiments. It is assumed, for ease of explanation, that the electronic device100is an access point or a device operating as a software enabled access point. In addition, it is assumed that the electronic device100operates as an anchor device to process a signal received from another electronic device200disposed in the vicinity of the electronic device100and operating as a software enabled access point. In addition, it has been illustrated inFIG.3that a carrier signal having a trigonometric function form is received for convenience of explanation, but the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the received carrier signal may have various forms. The processor130may receive a signal from another electronic device200, and this signal may have a waveform different from that of the reference signal. For example, the processor130may receive a first signal310from the access point300and a second signal320from another electronic device200operating as the software enabled access point. Here, the access point200and another electronic device300perform communication with the electronic device100using the same communication protocol, and carrier signals should thus have the same waveform. That is, the carrier signal of the first signal310and the carrier signal of the second signal320should have the same waveform, but actually, a fine difference occurs between the carrier signals because there is a hardware difference between the access point200and another electronic device300. InFIG.3, for convenience of explanation, examples of the carrier signals have been illustrated and it has been illustrated that only amplitudes of the carrier signals are different from each other. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the carrier signal of the first signal310and the carrier signal of the second signal320may be further different from each other in at least one of phases or periods as well as in amplitudes. The processor130may store the first signal310received from the access point300as a reference signal. In addition, the processor130may compare the second signal320received from the other electronic device200with the reference signal to obtain correction information. In a case ofFIG.3, the processor130may obtain correction information for improving an amplitude of the second signal320. In addition, the processor130may match identification information and correction information on another electronic device200to each other and store the matched information in the memory120. The identification information on another electronic device200may be included as a Mac address in the second signal320, and the processor130may obtain the Mac address from the second signal320. By the method as described above, the processor130may obtain the correction information on the received signal, and the memory120may store correction information on the plurality of other electronic devices. Thereafter, when a signal is received, the processor130may identify a device that has transmitted the signal based on the signal, and correct the received signal based on correction information corresponding to the identified device. FIGS.4A and4Bare graphs illustrating an example method of using a corrected signal according to various embodiments. A corrected signal having a trigonometric function form has been illustrated inFIG.4Afor convenience of explanation, but the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the corrected signal may have various forms. As described above with reference toFIG.3, the processor130may correct the received signal based on the correction information corresponding to the identified device. The processor130may input a plurality of overlapping sections in the corrected signal to the artificial intelligence model. For example, the processor130may input a first frame400-1indicating a first time section of the corrected signal to an n-th frame400-nindicating an n-th time section of the corrected signal to the artificial intelligence model, as illustrated inFIG.4A. Lengths of time sections of a plurality of frames are all the same as each other, and only phases of the plurality of frames are different from each other. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the artificial intelligence model may be implemented in various forms. For example, the artificial intelligence model may receive at least one of an amplitude, a phase, or a period of the corrected signal rather than the plurality of frames of the corrected signal. The processor130may identify at least one of whether the user exists or the position of the user by inputting information on the corrected signal to the artificial intelligence model. For example, the processor130may identify at least one of whether the user exists or the position of the user by correcting a plurality of signals received from the plurality of other electronic devices, inputting each of the plurality of corrected signals to the artificial intelligence model, and performing weighted sum on the results. The processor130may identify at least one of whether the user exists or the position of the user by correcting a plurality of signals received from the plurality of other electronic devices and inputting a signal obtained by performing weighed sum on the plurality of corrected signals to the artificial intelligence model. Accuracy of identified information may be improved using the plurality of signals. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the artificial intelligence model may be trained in consideration of whether all of the plurality of other electronic devices exist. For example, the artificial intelligence model may train at least one of whether signals are received from five other electronic devices and at least one of whether the user exists or the position of the user according to information on the received signals. The processor130may identify at least one of whether the user exists or the position of the user without using the artificial intelligence model. For example, when an amplitude of the corrected signal is a first value or more and a second value or less, the processor130may identify that the user exists, and when the amplitude of the corrected signal is less than the first value or exceeds the second value, the processor130may identify that the user does not exist. The processor130may identify whether the user exists without using the artificial intelligence model, and identify the position of the user using the artificial intelligence model only when the user exists. Through such an operation, power consumption of the electronic device100may be reduced. The processor130may correct the RSSI as in a method using Equations 1 to 3 described above. The processor130may improve an amplitude of a CSI signal by 50 as illustrated inFIG.4B. A method of correcting the CSI signal is similar to the method of correcting the RSSI, and an overlapping description thereof may not be repeated here. FIG.5is a diagram illustrating an example operation of an electronic system according to various embodiments. It has been assumed inFIG.5that the electronic system includes a server and a plurality of other electronic devices. The server may perform wireless fidelity (WiFi) communication with the plurality of other electronic devices, and may receive signals from the plurality of other electronic devices as WiFi fingerprints. The server may perform preprocessing such as noise removal on the received signals, identify the plurality of other electronic devices and positions of each of the plurality of other electronic devices, and obtain a database based on the identified information. In addition, the server may identify another electronic device serving as a reference among the plurality of other electronic devices, and may obtain correction information on signals of the other electronic devices based on a signal of another electronic device serving as the reference. The server may select one of the plurality of other electronic devices as an anchor device based on at least one of operation capability or power efficiency. For example, the server may select an access point of the plurality of other electronic devices as an anchor device. When a signal is received from at least one other electronic device, the anchor device may identify at least one of whether the user exists or the position of the user by comparing the received signal with the database constructed in the server, and update a state of the electronic system based on the identified information. Alternatively, the anchor device may identify a position of another electronic device, in addition to an operation of identifying the user. It has been described hereinabove that the server obtains the database, and the anchor device is a subject of the operation thereafter, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, a role of the server may be implemented in the form of a cloud. The electronic device100may be determined as the anchor device from the beginning, and may perform operations from an operation of obtaining the database to an operation of identifying the user. Here, the electronic device100may be the access point or one of the plurality of other electronic devices operating as the software enabled access point. When an initial electronic system is configured through the method as described above, construction of the database and correction using the database may be performed. FIG.6is a diagram illustrating example correction of a signal according to various embodiments. For convenience of explanation, a general situation is first described. Here, it is assumed that the electronic device100is implemented as the access point inFIG.6. The processor130may receive a signal from an artificial intelligence (AI) speaker Lux and a living room air conditioner A/C. The processor130may compare two signals with each other and correct the other of the two signals. For example, the processor130may correct a signal received from the living room air conditioner to correspond to a signal received from the AI speaker. Here, a difference between the two signals is a case where a hardware difference has the greatest influence. On the other hand, a waveform of the signal may be changed by a wall, a door, a distance, and the like, between the electronic device100and another electronic device. In addition, a case of each device may be a factor that changes the waveform of the signal. For example, the processor130may receive signals from a main room air conditioner A/C and an Air dresser. Here, the main home air conditioner is disposed over a wall from the electronic device100, and the Air dresser is disposed over two walls from the electronic device100. In this case, the signal received from the Air dresser may have an amplitude smaller than that of the signal received from the main home air conditioner, and may have a phase delayed from that of the signal received from the main home air conditioner. The processor130may correct the signals received from the main room air conditioner and the Air dresser based on information on a reference signal. Here, the reference signal may be a signal received from the AI speaker positioned close to the electronic device100and having no obstacle between the AI speaker and the electronic device100. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and a signal received from another electronic device may be the reference signal. The memory120may store information on the signals received from the main room air conditioner and the Air dresser when there is no obstacle. For example, the memory120may store a signal received in a state in which both the main room air conditioner and the Air dresser are disposed in the living room. In this case, the processor130may correct the signals received from the main room air conditioner and the Air dresser based on the signal stored in the memory120. Through the method as described above, the processor130may perform the correction of the signal by further reflecting the surrounding environment as well as characteristics of another electronic device200itself. Only an obstacle such as the wall has been described hereinabove, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the processor130may correct the received signal by further considering an installation position, a distance from the electronic device100, an antenna direction, a case material, and the like. FIG.7is a flowchart illustrating an example method of controlling an electronic device according to various embodiments. Communication with another electronic device operating as the software enabled access point is performed (S710). When a signal is received from another electronic device, another electronic device that has transmitted the signal among a plurality of other electronic devices is identified based on the received signal (S720). The received signal is corrected based on correction information corresponding to another electronic device (S730). In the correcting (S730), at least one of an RSSI, CSI, an amplitude, a phase, or a period of the received signal may be corrected based on the correction information. The method may further include receiving a first signal from another electronic device through connection of initial communication with another electronic device, comparing the first signal with the reference signal to obtain correction information for correcting the signal received from another electronic device, and storing the obtained correction information. The method may further include receiving the reference signal from the access point, and storing the received reference signal, wherein the reference signal and the first signal have the same original data. The method may further include identifying at least one of whether the user exists or the position of the user by inputting the corrected signal to the artificial intelligence model trained to identify information on the user. In the identifying of at least one of whether the user exists or the position of the user, at least one of whether the user exists or the position of the user may be identified by inputting a plurality of overlapping sections in the corrected signal to the artificial intelligence model. The method may further include controlling another electronic device not to operate as the software enabled access point when the position of the user is spaced apart from a position of another electronic device by a predetermined distance or more or a predetermined first point in time is reached. The method may further include controlling another electronic device to operate as the software enabled access point when the user moves within the predetermined distance from another electronic device or a predetermined second point in time is reached while another electronic device does not operate as the software enabled access point. The electronic device operates as the software enabled access point, and may be a device whose at least one of operation capability or power efficiency is improved as compared with another electronic device. In the identifying (S720), another electronic device of the plurality of other electronic devices may be identified based on the Mac address included in the received signal. According to various embodiments of the disclosure as described above, the electronic device may correct the signal received from another electronic device operating as the software enabled access point to remove a fine difference between signals from the plurality of other electronic devices. The electronic device may improve accuracy of the identification of whether the user exists and the position of the user based on the signal received from at least one other electronic device operating as the software enabled access point. According to various embodiments, the embodiments described above may be implemented as software including instructions stored in a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., a computer-readable storage medium). A machine may be a device that invokes the stored instruction from the storage medium and may be operated depending on the invoked instruction, and may include the electronic device (e.g., the electronic device A) according to the disclosed embodiments. When a command is executed by the processor, the processor may directly perform a function corresponding to the command or other components may perform the function corresponding to the command under a control of the processor. The command may include a code generated by a compiler or a code executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. The ‘non-transitory’ storage medium is tangible and may not include a signal, and does not distinguish whether data are semi-permanently or temporarily stored in the storage medium. In addition, according to various embodiments, the methods described above may be included and provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a product between a seller and a purchaser. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a storage medium (e.g., a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)) that may be read by the machine or online through an application store (e.g., PlayStore™). Ina case of the online distribution, at least portions of the computer program product may be at least temporarily stored in a storage medium such as a memory of a server of a manufacturer, a server of an application store, or a relay server or be temporarily created. In addition, according to various embodiments the method described above may be implemented in a computer or a computer-readable recording medium using software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. In some cases, embodiments described in the disclosure may be implemented by a processor itself. According to a software implementation, embodiments such as procedures and functions described in the disclosure may be implemented as separate software modules. Each of the software modules may perform one or more functions and operations described in the disclosure. Computer instructions for performing processing operations of the machines according to various embodiments of the disclosure described above may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium allow a specific machine to perform the processing operations in the machine according to the diverse embodiments described above when they are executed by a processor of the specific machine. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include a medium that semi-permanently stores data and is readable by the device. Examples of the non-transitory computer-readable medium may include a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a hard disk, a Blu-ray disk, a USB, a memory card, a ROM, and the like. In addition, each of components (e.g., modules or programs) according to the diverse embodiments described above may include a single entity or a plurality of entities, and some of the corresponding sub-components described above may be omitted or other sub-components may be further included in the diverse embodiments. Alternatively or additionally, some of the components (e.g., the modules or the programs) may be integrated into one entity, and may perform functions performed by the respective corresponding components before being integrated in the same or similar manner. Operations performed by the modules, the programs, or the other components according to the diverse embodiments may be executed in a sequential manner, a parallel manner, an iterative manner, or a heuristic manner, at least some of the operations may be performed in a different order or be omitted, or other operations may be added. While the disclosure has been illustrated and described with reference to various example embodiments, it will be understood that the various example embodiments are intended to be illustrative, not limiting, and thus the disclosure is not limited to the abovementioned embodiments, but may be variously modified by those skilled in the art to which the disclosure pertains without departing from the true spirit and full scope of the disclosure, including the appended claims and their equivalents. | 45,157 |
11943835 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The following describes implementations of embodiments of this application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may be used in an evolved packet system (EPS) (or referred to as a 4th generation (4G) network). The following uses a system architecture shown inFIG.1as an example to describe the method provided in the embodiments of this application. FIG.1is a diagram of a communications system according to an embodiment of this application. As shown inFIG.1, the communications system may include a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMN) (for example, a PLMN 1 and a PLMN 2 inFIG.1). Each PLMN may include: a terminal, an access network device, a mobility management entity (MME), a serving gateway (SGW), a packet data network gateway (PGW), a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), a home subscriber server (HSS), a V2X control function (V2XCF), and the like. The communications system may further include a data network (DN), and the DN may include a V2X application server. A connection relationship between network elements is shown inFIG.1. The terminal may be connected to the access network device through a Uu interface, the access network device is connected to the MME and the PGW, the PGW is connected to the SGW and the DN, the MME is connected to the SGW and the HSS, the SGW is connected to the PCRF, the HSS and the PCRF are connected to the V2XCF, and the like. The terminal may be referred to as terminal device (terminal equipment), user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), or the like. The terminal may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a computer with a wireless transceiver function, or may be a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a smart home, a vehicle-mounted terminal, or the like. In this embodiment of this application, NR PC5 V2X communication may be performed between terminals. The access network device is mainly configured to implement functions such as resource scheduling, radio resource management, radio access control of the terminal, and functions such as mobility management. The access network device may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) device, or may be an access network (AN)/radio access network (RAN) device, or may be a NodeB (NB), an evolved NodeB (eNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a transmission point (TP), and any node of another access node. The SGW is mainly configured to implement session management functions such as setup, release, and modification of a user plane transmission logical channel (for example, an EPS bearer (bearer)). The PGW may be used as an anchor on the user plane transmission logical channel, and is mainly configured to complete functions such as routing and forwarding of user plane data. For example, the PGW establishes a channel (that is, the user plane transmission logical channel) between the PGW and the terminal, forwards a data packet between the terminal and the DN on the channel, and is responsible for data packet filtering, data forwarding, rate control, generation of charging information, and the like for the terminal. The MME is mainly responsible for all control plane functions, security functions, and the like of user status management, mobility management, and session management. The user status management includes registration status management and connection status management. The mobility management includes user registration and network access, tracking area update, and handover; all control plane functions of the session management include, for example, session establishment, EPC bearer setup/modification/release, and a selection of the PGW and the SGW. The security function includes user authentication and key security management. The PCRF is configured to manage a policy and charging rule (PCC rule) of the terminal. For example, the PCRF is mainly responsible for policy control and charging control of the terminal, and provides a user plane gateway device with control policies such as service data flow detection, gating control, QoS, and charging. The HSS provides subscription data management and authentication functions of a user. The subscription data management function includes storing subscription information and context information, for example, a subscriber identifier, a number, routing information, security information, and location information, of the user. The V2XCF is mainly used to configure, for the terminal, V2X communication parameters for a PC5 interface and the Uu interface. Different V2XCFs may be connected to each other. As shown inFIG.1, the V2XCF in the PLMN 1 may be connected to the V2XCF in the PLMN 2, and the like. In the system shown inFIG.1, the terminal has mobility, and the terminal may be located in a home network, that is, in a non-roaming scenario, or may move to a visited network, that is, in a roaming scenario. As shown inFIG.1, assuming that a subscription network of a terminal1is the PLMN 1, when the terminal1is located in the PLMN 1, the terminal1is in the non-roaming scenario; or when the terminal1moves to the PLMN 2, the terminal1is in the roaming scenario. Regardless of whether the terminal is in the non-roaming scenario or the roaming scenario, when the terminal needs to perform NR PC5 V2X communication with another terminal, to enable the access network device to obtain an NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal and allocate, based on the obtained NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal, a communication resource for the terminal to perform the NR PC5 V2X communication, this embodiment of this application provides the following embodiments. In an embodiment, the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal is carried in subscription data of the terminal, and the HS S sends, by using a sending procedure of the subscription data of the terminal, the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device through the MME. For example, the terminal requests the MME to perform a network registration on the terminal, and the MME requests the subscription data (including the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal) from the HSS, and sends the requested subscription data to the access network device. For the embodiment, refer to the descriptions in the following embodiments corresponding toFIG.4toFIG.6AandFIG.6B. In another embodiment, the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal is carried in the PCC rule, and the PCRF sends, by using a PDN connection setup procedure or a PDN connection modification procedure, the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device through the MME. For example, the PCRF sends the PCC rule including the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal to the PGW, the PGW sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal to the MME through the SGW, and the MME sends the received NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. For an embodiment, refer to the descriptions in the embodiment corresponding toFIG.7AandFIG.7BorFIG.8AandFIG.8B. It should be noted thatFIG.1is merely an example architectural diagram. A quantity of network elements included in the communications system shown inFIG.1is not limited in this embodiment of this application. Although not shown, in addition to the network functional entity shown inFIG.1, the network shown inFIG.1may further include another functional entity. For example, the network may further include a monitoring module, and the monitoring module is configured to monitor a working status of each device in the network. In addition, names of devices inFIG.1and names of interfaces between the devices are not limited. In addition to the names shown inFIG.1, each device may further have another name, for example, may be replaced with a name of a network element that has a same or similar function. This is not limited. In an implementation, the devices (for example, the MME, the HSS, the PCRF, and the V2XCF) shown inFIG.1may use a composition structure shown inFIG.2, or include components shown inFIG.2. FIG.2is a diagram of a communications apparatus200according to an embodiment of this application. The communications apparatus200may be a centralized controller or a chip or a system on chip in a centralized controller, or may be a functional entity or a chip or a system on chip in a functional entity. The communications apparatus200includes a processor201, a communications line202, and a communications interface203. Further, the communications apparatus200may include a memory204. The processor201, the memory204, and the communications interface203may be connected to each other through the communications line202. The processor201may be a central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD), or any combination thereof. Alternatively, the processor201may be any other apparatus having a processing function, for example, a circuit, a component, or a software module. This is not limited. The communications line202is used to transmit information between components included in the communications apparatus200. The communications interface203is configured to communicate with another device or another communications network. The another communications network may be Ethernet, a radio access network (RAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), or the like. The communications interface203may be a module, a circuit, a transceiver, or any apparatus that can implement communication. The memory204is configured to store an instruction. The instruction may be a computer program. The memory204may be a read-only memory (ROM) or another type of static storage device that can store static information and/or an instruction, or may be a random access memory (RAM) or another type of dynamic storage device that can store information and/or an instruction, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or another compact disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compressed optical disc, a laser disc, an optical disc, a digital versatile disc, a Blu-ray disc, or the like), a magnetic disk storage medium or another magnetic storage device, or the like. This is not limited. It should be noted that the memory204may exist independently of the processor201, or may be integrated with the processor201. The memory204may be configured to store an instruction, program code, some data, or the like. The memory204may be located inside the communications apparatus200, or may be located outside the communications apparatus200. This is not limited. The processor201is configured to execute the instruction stored in the memory204, to implement the communication method provided in this application. In an example, the processor201may include one or more CPUs, for example, a CPU 0 and a CPU 1 inFIG.2. In an optional implementation, the communications apparatus200includes a plurality of processors. For example, in addition to the processor201inFIG.2, the communications apparatus200may further include a processor207. In an optional implementation, the communications apparatus200further includes an output device205and an input device206. For example, the input device206is a device, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, or a joystick, and the output device205is a device, for example, a display screen or a speaker. It should be noted that the communications apparatus200may be a desktop computer, a portable computer, a network server, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal, an embedded device, a chip system, or a device with a structure similar to that inFIG.2. In addition, the composition structure shown inFIG.2does not constitute a limitation on the communications apparatus. In addition to the components shown inFIG.2, the communications apparatus may include more or fewer components than those shown in the figure, or combine some components, or have different component arrangements. In this embodiment of this application, a chip system may include a chip, or may include a chip and another discrete device. In addition, for actions, terms, and the like in the embodiments of this application, reference may be made to each other. This is not limited. In the embodiments of this application, names of messages exchanged between devices, names of parameters in the messages, or the like are merely examples. In an implementation, other names may alternatively be used. This is not limited. For example, a general message in the following embodiment may also be replaced with a processing message and the like. This is not limited. The following uses the architecture shown inFIG.1as an example to describe the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application. The network element described in the following embodiment may have the components shown inFIG.2. FIG.3shows a communication method according to an embodiment of this application. The communication method is used to send an NR PC5 QoS parameter of a terminal to an access network device, so that the access network device schedules an NR PC5 V2X communication resource for the terminal based on the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal, and the terminal performs NR PC5 V2X communication on the NR PC5 V2X communication resource scheduled by the access network device. The terminal in the following embodiment may be any terminal in the system shown inFIG.1. The terminal has mobility, and may be in a non-roaming scenario, or may be in a roaming scenario. For example, the terminal in the following embodiment may be the terminal1in the system shown inFIG.1, a home network of the terminal is a PLMN 1, and the terminal1may be located in the PLMN 1 or may roam to a PLMN 2. As shown inFIG.3, the communication method may include the following steps. Step301: A home V2XCF obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal. The home V2XCF may be a V2XCF in a home network (or referred to as a subscription network) of the terminal. The home network of the terminal may be a home PLMN of the terminal. For example, assuming that the terminal is the terminal1inFIG.1, and the home network of the terminal is the PLMN 1, the home V2XCF is a V2XCF in the PLMN 1. It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application, one terminal may correspond to one home V2XCF. The NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal may be used by the terminal to perform the NR PC5 V2X communication. The NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal may also be described as an NR PC5 V2X communications parameter of the terminal, an NR PC5 QoS profile (profile), or another name. This is not limited. The NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal may include one or more pieces of information such as a PC5 quality identifier (PQI), a PC5 flow bit rate, a PC5 link aggregated bit rate, and a communication range of the terminal. For ease of description, in the following embodiments, the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal is referred to as an NR PC5 QoS parameter for short, that is, the NR PC5 QoS parameter in the following is the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal. In this embodiment of this application, based on whether the terminal is roaming, the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal may be divided into the following two parameters: an NR PC5 QoS parameter used by the terminal to perform NR PC5 V2X communication in a visited network (referred to as an NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in the visited network for short), and an NR PC5 QoS parameter used by the terminal to perform NR PC5 V2X communication in the home network (referred to as an NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in the home network). For example, when the terminal is in the roaming scenario, the terminal is located in a visited PLMN, the terminal performs NR PC5 V2X communication with another terminal that is in a roaming area. In this case, the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal is the NR PC5 QoS parameter used by the terminal to perform the NR PC5 V2X communication in the visited network. However, when the terminal is in the non-roaming scenario, the terminal is located in the home PLMN, the terminal performs NR PC5 V2X communication with another terminal that is in the home network. In this case, the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal is the NR PC5 QoS parameter used by the terminal to perform the NR PC5 V2X communication in the home network. The NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in the home network may be pre-configured by an operator in the home V2XCF. It should be noted that, in addition to the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal, another configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the home network may be pre-configured in the home V2XCF. This is not limited. The NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in the visited network may be determined by the home V2XCF based on a configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the home network and a configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network. Configuration parameters allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network may include the PQI of the terminal, the PC5 flow bit rate, the PC5 link aggregated bit rate, the communication range, whether the terminal performs PC5 communication in the visited network, whether the terminal performs multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) communication in the visited network, an identifier of a V2X application service (for example, a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the terminal or an internet protocol address (IP address) of the terminal) used by the terminal in the visited network, geographical information of the V2X application service of the terminal, and the like. For example, the home V2XCF may obtain, from a visited V2XCF, the configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network. For example, the home V2XCF may send a request to the visited V2XCF, to request the configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network. The visited V2XCF receives the request of the home V2XCF, and sends, to the home V2XCF, the configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network. Configuration parameters allowed to be used by the terminal in the home network may include the PQI of the terminal, the PC5 flow bit rate, the PC5 link aggregated bit rate, the communication range, whether the terminal performs PC5 communication in the home network, whether the terminal performs MBMS communication in the home network, an identifier of a V2X application service used by the terminal in the home network, geographical information of the V2X application service of the terminal, and the like. For example, the home V2XCF may determine an intersection set of the configuration parameters allowed to be used by the terminal in the home network and the configuration parameters allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network as the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in the visited network. For example, if the configuration parameters allowed to be used by the terminal in the home network include {a PQI 1 of the terminal, a PC5 flow bit rate 1, and a communication range 1}, and the configuration parameters allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network include {the PQI 1 of the terminal, a PC5 flow bit rate 2, and the communication range 1}, the home V2XCF determines, based on the intersection set of the configuration parameters allowed to be used by the terminal in the home network and the configuration parameters allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network, that NR PC5 QoS parameters of the terminal in the visited network are {the PQI 1 of the terminal and the communication range 1}. Step302: The home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to a first network element that is in an EPS, or this may be described as follows: The home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to a first network element that is in a 4G network. In an embodiment, the first network element is an HSS in the home network of the terminal. In the embodiment, the terminal may be in the non-roaming scenario, or may be in the roaming scenario. This is not limited. For example, it is assumed that the terminal is the terminal1inFIG.1, the home network of the terminal is the PLMN 1, and regardless of whether the terminal1is located in the PLMN 1 or the PLMN 2, the first network element is an HSS in the PLMN 1. In an embodiment, once obtaining the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal, the home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS; or the home V2XCF receives a request that is sent by the HSS and that is used to request the NR PC5 QoS parameter, and sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS based on the request of the HSS. This is not limited. In another embodiment, the first network element is a PCRF. When the terminal is in the non-roaming scenario, the PCRF is a PCRF in the home network of the terminal, that is, a home PCRF (H-PCRF for short) of the terminal. When the terminal is in the roaming scenario, the first network element is a PCRF in the visited network of the terminal, that is, a visited PCRF (V-PCRF for short) of the terminal. For example, assuming that the terminal is the terminal1inFIG.1, and the home network of the terminal is the PLMN 1, when the terminal is in the non-roaming scenario, the first network element is a PCRF in the PLMN 1; when the terminal1roams from the PLMN 1 to the PLMN 2, the first network element is a PCRF in the PLMN 2. In an embodiment, once obtaining the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal, the home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the PCRF. Step303: The first network element obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the home V2XCF. When the first network element is the HSS, the first network element may receive the NR PC5 QoS parameter actively sent by the home V2XCF, or may send a request to the home V2XCF, to request the home V2XCF to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the first network element. This is not limited. For the obtaining process, refer to the descriptions in the following embodiments corresponding toFIG.4toFIG.6AandFIG.6B. When the first network element is the PCRF, the first network element may receive the NR PC5 QoS parameter actively sent by the home V2XCF. The obtaining process may be described in the following embodiments corresponding toFIG.7AandFIG.7BandFIG.8AandFIG.8B. Step304: The first network element sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to an MME. The MME may be an MME that currently provides a core network service for the terminal. For example, when the terminal is in the roaming scenario, the MME is an MME (referred to as a V-MME for short) of the terminal in the visited network. When the terminal is in the non-roaming scenario, the MME is an MME (referred to as an H-MME for short) of the terminal in the home network. For example, the terminal is the terminal1inFIG.1, and the home network of the terminal is the PLMN 1. When the terminal is in the non-roaming scenario, the MME is an MME in the PLMN 1. When the terminal1roams from the PLMN 1 to the PLMN 2, the MME is an MME in the PLMN 2. For example, when the first network element is the HSS, the first network element may send, to the MME, subscription data that is of the terminal and that includes the NR PC5 QoS parameter. For the sending process, refer to the descriptions in the following embodiments corresponding toFIG.4toFIG.6AandFIG.6B. When the first network element is the PCRF, the first network element may send, to a PGW, a PCC rule that is of the terminal and that includes the NR PC5 QoS parameter, and the PGW sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter that is in the PCC rule to the MME. For the sending process, refer to the descriptions in the following embodiments corresponding toFIG.7AandFIG.7BandFIG.8AandFIG.8B. Step305: The MME obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter, and sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. The access network device may be a device that currently provides an access service for the terminal. When the terminal is in the roaming scenario, the access network device is an access device of the terminal in the visited network. When the terminal is in the non-roaming scenario, the access network device is an access device of the terminal in the home network. For example, the terminal is the terminal1inFIG.1, and the home network of the terminal is the PLMN 1. When the terminal is in the non-roaming scenario, the access network device is an access network device in the PLMN 1. When the terminal1roams from the PLMN 1 to the PLMN 2, the access network device is an access network device in the PLMN 2. In an embodiment, that the MME obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter includes: The MME obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the HSS. For example, the NR PC5 QoS parameter is included in the subscription data of the terminal, and the MME receives, from the HSS, the subscription data that is of the terminal and that includes the NR PC5 QoS parameter. For the embodiment, refer to the descriptions in the embodiments corresponding toFIG.4andFIG.5. In an embodiment, that the MME obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter includes: The MME obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the PCRF. For example, the NR PC5 QoS parameter is included in the PCC rule of the terminal, and the MME may obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the PCRF by using a session setup procedure; or the MME may obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the PCRF by using a session modification procedure. For the embodiment, refer to the descriptions in the embodiment corresponding toFIG.7AandFIG.7BorFIG.8AandFIG.8B. For example, after the MME obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter, the MME may send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device through a communication link between the MME and the access network device. Further, optionally, the access network device receives the NR PC5 QoS parameter, and allocates an NR PC5 V2X communication resource to the terminal based on the NR PC5 QoS parameter, so that the terminal performs NR PC5 V2X communication with another terminal based on the NR PC5 V2X communication resource allocated by the access network device. Further, optionally, the MME stores the NR PC5 QoS parameter, for example, stores the NR PC5 QoS parameter in a context of the terminal. Subsequently, the MME may obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter locally and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. The MME does not need to interact with the HSS or the PCRF to obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter, thereby reducing signaling overheads. According to the method shown inFIG.3, the home V2XCF may send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME through the first network element, and the MME sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. This resolves a problem of how to notify the access network device of the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal. With reference toFIG.4, the following describes the method shown inFIG.3by using an example in which the terminal is in the non-roaming scenario and the first network element is the HSS. The MME inFIG.4may be referred to as a home MME (H-MME), and the access network device may be referred to as a home access network device (H-access network device). The NR PC5 QoS parameter in the method shown inFIG.4may be the NR PC5 QoS parameter in the home network of the terminal. FIG.4is a communication method according to an embodiment of this application. As shown inFIG.4, the method may include the following steps. Step401: A home V2XCF obtains an NR PC5 QoS parameter of a terminal. The NR PC5 QoS parameter in the method shown inFIG.4may be an NR PC5 QoS parameter in a home network of the terminal. When the terminal subscribes to a network, an operator may pre-store the NR PC5 QoS parameters of the terminal in the home V2XCF. It should be noted that the NR PC5 QoS parameter in the home V2XCF may be dynamically updated based on a network usage status or other information. For example, the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal corresponds to a V2X service that the terminal subscribes to. If V2X services that the terminal initially subscribes to are a V2X service1, a service2, and a service3, and subsequently, the V2X service that the terminal subscribes to is updated, for example, if a service4and a service5are added, or the service3is deleted, the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal changes. For example, an NR PC5 QoS requirement is higher than an NR PC5 QoS requirement that is in subscription of the terminal, the home V2XCF needs to update in real time, based on the change of the V2X service that the terminal subscribes to, a V2X service that the terminal subscribes to and that is stored in the home V2XCF. In other words, the NR PC5 QoS parameter in step401may be an NR PC5 QoS parameter when the terminal accesses the network, or may be an NR PC5 QoS parameter updated after the terminal subscribes to a network. Step402: The home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to an HSS. For example, the home V2XCF may directly send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS, or the home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS through a service capability exposure function (SCEF). This is not limited. Step403: The HSS receives the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the home V2XCF. Further, optionally, the HSS stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in subscription data of the terminal. Step404: The terminal sends a registration request to an MME. The registration request may be used to request to register the terminal with a network (or referred to as an EPS network). The registration request may be an attach request or a tracking area update (TAU) request. The registration request may include an identifier of the terminal, and may further include other information, for example, may further include V2X capability information of the terminal. The identifier of the terminal may be used to identify the terminal, and the V2X capability information of the terminal may be used to indicate that the terminal has an NR PC5 V2X communication capability. For example, the terminal may send the registration request to the MME through an access network device. Step405: The MME receives the registration request, and sends a first request to the HSS based on the registration request. The first request may be used to request the subscription data of the terminal. A name of the first request is not limited in this embodiment of this application. The first request may be referred to as an update location request or may have another name. This is not limited. The first request may include the identifier of the terminal or other information. This is not limited. For example, that the MME sends the first request to the HSS based on the registration request may include: The registration request is used as a trigger condition for the MME to send the first request to the HSS. Once receiving the registration request of the terminal, the MME sends the first request to the HSS. Alternatively, after receiving the registration request, the MME queries whether the MME stores the subscription data of the terminal. If the MME finds that the MME does not store the subscription data of the terminal, the MME sends the first request to the HSS. Step406: The HSS receives the first request, and sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME based on the first request. The NR PC5 QoS parameter may be carried in the subscription data of the terminal. For example, that the HSS sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME based on the first request may include: The HSS obtains, based on the identifier that is of the terminal that is included in the first request, the subscription data of the terminal from subscription data stored in the HSS, and sends the subscription data to the MME. For example, the HSS uses the identifier of the terminal as an index to query a correspondence between an identifier and subscription data that are of a terminal and that are stored in the HSS, finds subscription data corresponding to the identifier that is of the terminal and that is included in the first request, and sends the found subscription data to the MME. For example, the HSS may send, to the MME, a response that is to the first request and that includes the subscription data of the terminal. When the first request is an update location request, the response to the first request may be an update location ack. For example, Table 1 is the subscription data stored in the HSS. As shown in Table 1, when the first request received by the HSS includes an identifier of a terminal1, the HSS may query Table 1 by using the terminal1as an index, and send found subscription data1to the MME. TABLE 1TerminalSubscription dataTerminal 1Subscription data 1Terminal 2Subscription data 2Terminal 3Subscription data 3 Step407: The MME receives the NR PC5 QoS parameter, and sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. For example, when the NR PC5 QoS parameter is carried in the subscription data of the terminal, after receiving the subscription data of the terminal, the MME may obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the subscription data of the terminal, and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. For example, the MME may send an initial context setup request including the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. Further, optionally, after receiving the NR PC5 QoS parameter, the MME stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in the MME, for example, stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in a context of the terminal. Subsequently, when the MME receives the registration request of the terminal again, the MME may send, to the access network device, the NR PC5 QoS parameter stored in the MME. The MME does not need to interact with the HSS to obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device, thereby reducing signaling overheads. Further, optionally, the access network device receives the NR PC5 QoS parameter sent by the MME, and stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in the access network device. Subsequently, when the terminal performs NR PC5 V2X communication, the access network device may allocate an NR PC5 V2X communication resource to the terminal based on the NR PC5 QoS parameter, so that the terminal performs the NR PC5 V2X communication based on the NR PC5 V2X communication resource allocated by the access network device. It should be noted that, in the method shown inFIG.4, the NR PC5 QoS parameter may further be directly stored in the subscription data that is in the HSS, and the NR PC5 QoS parameter does not need to be stored in the home V2XCF. In this way, the HSS may obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter locally, and there is no need to obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter through signaling interaction between the home V2XCF and the HSS, thereby reducing the signaling overheads. In other words, step401to step403may be replaced with the following: The HSS obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal. A method for obtaining the NR PC5 QoS parameter by the HSS is the same as the process of obtaining the NR PC5 QoS parameter by the home V2XCF in step401. Details are not described again. In addition, in the method shown inFIG.4, after the terminal successfully registers with the network, if the NR PC5 QoS parameter in the home V2XCF is updated, the home V2XCF may send an updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS, the HSS sends the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME, and the MME sends the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device, so that the access network device adjusts, based on the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter, the NR PC5 V2X communication resource allocated by the access network device to the terminal. That the HSS sends the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME may include: The HSS sends a subscription data update message including the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME. Alternatively, the HSS replaces an original NR PC5 QoS parameter that is in the subscription data of the terminal with the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter, and sends the subscription data update message including replaced subscription data of the terminal to the MME. This is not limited. According to the method shown inFIG.4, when the terminal is in a non-roaming scenario, the home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS, the HSS sends the subscription data including the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME, and then the MME sends the subscription data to the access network device. In this way, a problem of how to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device is resolved. In addition, the NR PC5 QoS parameter is sent to the access network device by using an existing registration procedure, thereby reducing the signaling overheads and ensuring system compatibility. In an embodiment, when the terminal is in a roaming scenario, the home V2XCF may send, by using the existing registration procedure, the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in a visited network to the MME through the HSS, and then the MME sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. For the process, refer to the descriptions inFIG.5. It should be noted that the MME inFIG.5may be referred to as a visited MME (V-MME), and the access network device may be referred to as a visited access network device (V-access network device). The NR PC5 QoS parameter in the method shown inFIG.5may be the NR PC5 QoS parameter in the visited network of the terminal. FIG.5is another communication method according to an embodiment of this application. As shown inFIG.5, the method may include the following steps. Step501: A terminal sends a registration request to an MME. The terminal is a terminal in a roaming scenario. As shown inFIG.1, the terminal may be a terminal1roaming to a PLMN 2. The MME is an MME in a visited network of the terminal, and may be referred to as a visited MME (v-MME). As shown inFIG.1, if the terminal is the terminal1roaming to the PLMN 2, the MME may be an MME in the PLMN 2. For related descriptions of the registration request and a method for sending the registration request by the terminal to the MME, refer to the descriptions in step404. Details are not described again. Step502: The MME receives the registration request, and sends a first request to an HSS based on the registration request. For related descriptions of the first request and a specific process of step502, refer to the descriptions in step405. Details are not described again. Step503: The HSS sends a second request to a home V2XCF based on the first request. The second request may be used to request an NR PC5 QoS parameter. It should be noted that the NR PC5 QoS parameter in the method shown inFIG.5may be referred to as an NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in the visited network, and that the second request is used to request the NR PC5 QoS parameter may further be described as the following: The second request is used to request the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in the visited network. The second request may include an identifier of the terminal and information about the visited network of the terminal, and may further include other information. This is not limited. The information about the visited network of the terminal may be used to identify the visited network of the terminal. The information about the visited network of the terminal may be information of about a V-PLMN of the terminal. For example, after receiving the first request sent by the MME, the HSS may compare the information about the MME that sends the first request with information about an MME that the terminal subscribes to when accessing a network, and if the two pieces of information are different, the MME is determined as the MME in the visited network of the terminal. The terminal is located in the visited network, the HSS obtains, from the local storage, information about a network (that is, the visited network of the terminal) in which the MME is located, and then sends the second request including the information about the V-PLMN of the terminal to the home V2XCF. The information about the MME that the terminal subscribes to when accessing the network may be pre-stored in the HSS. Step504: The home V2XCF receives the second request, and sends a third request to a visited V2XCF based on the second request. The visited V2XCF is a V2XCF in the visited network of the terminal. For example, assuming that the terminal1roams to the PLMN 2, the visited V2XCF is a V2XCF in the PLMN 2. The third request is used to request a configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network, and the third request may include the identifier of the terminal or other information. This is not limited. For example, that the home V2XCF sends the third request to the visited V2XCF based on the second request may include: The home V2XCF determines the visited network of the terminal based on information about the v-PLMN in the second request, and sends the third request to the V2XCF in the visited network of the terminal. Step505: The visited V2XCF receives the third request, and sends a response to the third request to the home V2XCF based on the third request. The response to the third request may include the configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network. Step506: The home V2XCF receives the response to the third request, and determines the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal based on the configuration parameter that is allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network and that is included in the response to the third request and a configuration parameter that is allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network and that is stored in the home V2XCF. Step507: The home V2XCF sends a response to the second request to the HSS. The response to the second request may include the NR PC5 QoS parameter. Further, the HSS may locally store the NR PC5 QoS parameter, for example, may correspondingly store the NR PC5 QoS parameter and the information about the visited network. Subsequently, when the terminal roams to the visited network again, the HS S may directly send the locally stored NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME, and the MME sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to an access network device. There is no need to obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter through signaling interaction between the HSS and the home V2XCF and between the home V2XCF and the visited V2XCF, thereby reducing signaling overheads. Alternatively, further, the home V2XCF may locally store the NR PC5 QoS parameter, for example, may correspondingly store the NR PC5 QoS parameter and the information about the visited network. Subsequently, when the terminal roams to the visited network again, the home V2XCF may directly send the locally stored NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS, the HSS sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME, and the MME sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. There is no need to obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter through signaling interaction between the home V2XCF and the visited V2XCF, thereby reducing the signaling overheads. Step508: The HSS receives the response to the second request, and sends a response to the first request to the MME based on the response to the second request. The response to the second request may include subscription data of the terminal, and the subscription data of the terminal may include the NR PC5 QoS parameter and other subscription information. This is not limited. For example, that the HSS sends the response to the first request to the MME based on the response to the second request may include: The HSS obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the response to the second request, and sends, to the MME, the obtained NR PC5 QoS parameter and the other subscription information of the terminal that are jointly used as the subscription data of the terminal. Step509: The MME receives the response to the first request, and sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device based on the response to the first request. For example, the MME may obtain the subscription data of the terminal from the response to the first request, obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the subscription data of the terminal, and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. For example, the MME may send an initial context setup request including the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. Further, optionally, after receiving the NR PC5 QoS parameter, the MME stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in the MME, for example, stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in a context of the terminal. Subsequently, when the terminal moves to the visited network again and sends a registration request to the MME, the MME may send, to the access network device, the NR PC5 QoS parameter stored in the MME. The MME does not need to interact with the HSS to obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device, thereby reducing the signaling overheads. Further, optionally, the access network device receives the NR PC5 QoS parameter sent by the MME, and stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in the access network device. Subsequently, when the terminal performs NR PC5 V2X communication, the access network device may allocate an NR PC5 V2X communication resource to the terminal based on the NR PC5 QoS parameter, so that the terminal performs the NR PC5 V2X communication based on the NR PC5 V2X communication resource allocated by the access network device. Further, optionally, in the method shown inFIG.5, after the terminal successfully registers with the network, if the NR PC5 QoS parameter in the home V2XCF and/or the configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network are/is updated, and as a result, the NR PC5 QoS parameter finally determined by the home V2XCF is updated, the home V2XCF may actively send an updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS, the HSS sends the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME, and the MME sends the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device, so that the access network device adjusts, based on the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter, the NR PC5 V2X communication resource allocated by the access network device to the terminal. According to the method shown inFIG.5, when the terminal is in a roaming scenario, the home V2XCF may be requested to determine the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal based on the configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network and a configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in a home network, and send the determined NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS. The HSS sends the subscription data including the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME by using an existing registration procedure, and then the MME sends the subscription data to the access network device. In this way, a problem of how to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device is resolved. In addition, the NR PC5 QoS parameter is sent to the access network device by using an existing registration procedure, thereby reducing the signaling overheads and ensuring system compatibility. In an embodiment, when the terminal is in the roaming scenario, the terminal may directly request the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in the visited network from the home V2XCF through a PDN connection established by the terminal in the visited network, the home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in the visited network to the MME through the HSS, and then the MME sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. For the process, refer to the descriptions inFIG.6AandFIG.6B. It should be noted that the MME inFIG.6AandFIG.6Bmay be referred to as a visited MME (V-MME), and the access network device may be referred to as a visited access network device (V-access network device). The NR PC5 QoS parameter in the method shown inFIG.6AandFIG.6Bmay be the NR PC5 QoS parameter in the visited network of the terminal. FIG.6AandFIG.6Bare another communication method according to an embodiment of this application. As shown inFIG.6AandFIG.6B, the method may include the following steps. Step601: A terminal roams to a visited network, and the terminal establishes a PDN connection in the visited network. For a process in which the terminal establishes the PDN connection, refer to the conventional technology. Details are not described. Step602: The terminal sends a first parameter request to a home V2XCF through the PDN connection. The first parameter request may be used to request an NR PC5 QoS parameter. For example, when the terminal finds that authorization information (for example, a configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network) of the terminal in the visited network is not stored in the terminal, the terminal is triggered to send the first parameter request to the home V2XCF through the PDN connection. Step603: The home V2XCF receives the first parameter request through the PDN connection of the terminal in the visited network, and sends a second parameter request to a visited V2XCF based on the first parameter request. The visited V2XCF is a V2XCF in the visited network of the terminal. For example, assuming that a terminal1roams to a PLMN 2, the visited V2XCF is a V2XCF in the PLMN 2. The second parameter request may be used to request the configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network, and the second parameter request may include an identifier of the terminal or other information. This is not limited. For example, that the home V2XCF sends the second parameter request to the visited V2XCF based on the first parameter request may include: The first parameter request sent through the PDN connection of the terminal in the visited network may be used as a trigger condition for the home V2XCF to send the second parameter request. Once receiving the first parameter request through the PDN connection in the visited network, the home V2XCF sends the second parameter request to the visited V2XCF. Step604: The visited V2XCF receives the second parameter request, and sends a response to the second parameter request to the home V2XCF based on the second parameter request. The response to the second parameter request may include the configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network. For example, that the visited V2XCF sends the response to the second parameter request to the home V2XCF based on the second parameter request may include: The visited V2XCF obtains, based on the identifier that is of the terminal and that is included in the second parameter request, a configuration parameter corresponding to the identifier of the terminal from a plurality of configuration parameters stored in the visited V2XCF, and sends, to the home V2XCF, the response that is to the second parameter request and that includes the obtained configuration parameter. Alternatively, the visited V2XCF obtains all configuration parameters that are of the terminal and that are applicable to a home network of the terminal, and sends, to the home V2XCF, the response that is to the second parameter request and that includes the configuration parameters. Step605: The home V2XCF receives the response to the second parameter request, and determines the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal based on the configuration parameter that is allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network and that is included in the response to the second parameter request and a configuration parameter that is allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network and that is stored in the home V2XCF. For example, for a process of determining the NR PC5 QoS parameter in step605, refer to the process of determining the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in the visited network in step301. Details are not described again. Step606: The home V2XCF sends a response of the first parameter request to the terminal. The response to the first parameter request may include the NR PC5 QoS parameter and another configuration parameter of the terminal. For example, the home V2XCF may send the response to the first parameter request to the terminal through the PDN connection. Step607: The home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to an HSS. For example, the home V2XCF may send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS through an SCEF. Further, the home V2XCF may locally store the NR PC5 QoS parameter, for example, may correspondingly store the NR PC5 QoS parameter and information about the visited network. Subsequently, when the terminal roams to the visited network again, the home V2XCF may directly send the locally stored NR PC5 QoS parameter to an MME through the HSS, and the MME sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to an access network device. There is no need to obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter through signaling interaction between the home V2XCF and the visited V2XCF, thereby reducing signaling overheads. Step608: The HSS receives the NR PC5 QoS parameter, and sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME. For example, the HSS may send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME by using an insert subscription data (insert subscriber data) request. For example, the HSS may send the insert subscription data request to the MME. The insert subscription data request may include the NR PC5 QoS parameter. Alternatively, the HSS may send the insert subscription data request to the MME. The insert subscription data request includes subscription data of the terminal, and the subscription data of the terminal includes the NR PC5 QoS parameter. It should be noted that, in this application, that the HSS sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME by using the insert subscription data request is not limited, and the HSS may send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME by using another message, for example, send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME by using a subscription data update request. This is not limited. Further, the HSS may receive an insert subscription data ack (insert subscriber data ack) from the MME. Further, the HSS may locally store the NR PC5 QoS parameter, for example, may correspondingly store the NR PC5 QoS parameter and the information about the visited network. Subsequently, when the terminal roams to the visited network again, the HSS may directly send the locally stored NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME, the MME sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device, and there is no need to obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter through signaling interaction between the HSS and the home V2XCF and between the home V2XCF and the visited V2XCF, thereby reducing signaling overheads. Step609: The MME receives the NR PC5 QoS parameter, and sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. For example, the MME may send an initial context setup request including the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. Further, optionally, after receiving the NR PC5 QoS parameter, the MME stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in the MME, for example, stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in a context of the terminal. Subsequently, when the terminal moves to the visited network again and sends a registration request to the MME, the MME may send, to the access network device, the NR PC5 QoS parameter stored in the MME. The MME does not need to interact with the HSS to obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device, thereby reducing the signaling overheads. Further, optionally, the access network device receives the NR PC5 QoS parameter sent by the MME, and stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in the access network device. Subsequently, when the terminal performs NR PC5 V2X communication, the access network device may allocate an NR PC5 V2X communication resource to the terminal based on the NR PC5 QoS parameter, so that the terminal performs the NR PC5 V2X communication based on the NR PC5 V2X communication resource allocated by the access network device. Further, optionally, in the method shown inFIG.6AandFIG.6B, after the terminal successfully registers with the network, if the NR PC5 QoS parameter in the home V2XCF and/or the configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network are/is updated, and as a result, the NR PC5 QoS finally determined by the home V2XCF is updated, the home V2XCF may actively send an updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS, the HSS sends the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME, and the MME sends the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device, so that the access network device adjusts, based on the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter, the NR PC5 V2X communication resource allocated by the access network device to the terminal. According to the method shown inFIG.6AandFIG.6B, when the terminal is in a roaming scenario, the terminal requests, through the PDN connection in the visited network, the home V2XCF to determine the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal based on the configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network and a configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in a home network, and send the determined NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS. The HSS sends the subscription data including the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME by using an existing registration procedure, and the MME sends the subscription data to the access network device. In this way, a problem of how to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device is resolved. In addition, the NR PC5 QoS parameter is sent to the access network device by using an existing registration procedure, thereby reducing the signaling overheads and ensuring system compatibility. The methods shown inFIG.4toFIG.6AandFIG.6Bare described merely by using an example in which the HSS sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME, and the MME sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. In an embodiment, in a PDN connection setup process, a PCRF may further send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME, and the MME sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. For the implementation process, refer toFIG.7AandFIG.7BorFIG.8AandFIG.8B. It should be noted that the MME inFIG.7AandFIG.7Bmay be referred to as a home MME (H-MME), the access network device may be referred to as a home access network device (H-access network device), the SGW may be referred to as a home SGW (H-SGW), the PGW may be referred to as a home (H-PGW), and the PCRF may be referred to as a home PCRF (H-PCRF). The NR PC5 QoS parameter in the method shown inFIG.7AandFIG.7Bmay be the NR PC5 QoS parameter in the home network of the terminal. With reference toFIG.7AandFIG.7B, the following describes the method shown inFIG.3by using an example in which the terminal is in a non-roaming scenario and a first network element is the PCRF.FIG.7AandFIG.7Bare a communication method according to an embodiment of this application. As shown inFIG.7AandFIG.7B, the method may include the following steps. Step701: A home V2XCF obtains an NR PC5 QoS parameter of a terminal. For step701, refer to step401. Details are not described again. Step702: The home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to a PCRF. For example, the home V2XCF may directly send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the PCRF, or the home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the PCRF through an SCEF. This is not limited. Step703: The PCRF receives the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the home V2XCF. Further, optionally, the PCRF stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in a PCC rule of the terminal. Step704: The terminal sends a registration request to an MME. For step704, refer to step404. Details are not described again. Step705: The MME receives the registration request, and sends a session setup request to an SGW based on the registration request. The session setup request is used to request to establish a PDN connection for the terminal. Step706: The SGW receives the session setup request, and sends the session setup request to a PGW. Step707: The PGW receives the session setup request, and sends an IP connectivity access network setup request to the PCRF. The IP connectivity access network setup request is used to request the PCC rule of the PDN connection of the terminal. Step708: The PCRF receives the IP connectivity access network setup request, and sends an IP connectivity access network setup response to the PGW. The IP connectivity access network setup response includes the PCC rule of the terminal, and the PCC rule of the terminal includes the NR PC5 QoS parameter. Alternatively, the IP connectivity access network setup response includes the PCC rule of the terminal and the NR PC5 QoS parameter. Step709: The PGW receives the IP connectivity access network setup response, and sends a session setup response to the SGW. The session setup response includes a bearer context of the PDN connection of the terminal, and the bearer context includes the NR PC5 QoS parameter. Alternatively, the session setup response includes a bearer context of the PDN connection of the terminal and the NR PC5 QoS parameter. Step710: The SGW receives the session setup response, and sends the session setup response to the MME. Step711: The MME receives the session setup response, and sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to an access network device. For example, the MME receives the session setup response, obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the bearer context of the PDN connection of the terminal, and sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. Alternatively, the MME directly obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal from the session setup response, and sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. For example, the MME may send an initial context setup request including the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. Further, optionally, after receiving the NR PC5 QoS parameter, the MME stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in the MME, for example, stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in a context of the terminal. Subsequently, when the MME receives the registration request of the terminal again, the MME may send, to the access network device, the NR PC5 QoS parameter stored in the MME. The MME does not need to interact with the PCRF to obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device, thereby reducing signaling overheads. Further, optionally, the access network device receives the NR PC5 QoS parameter sent by the MME, and stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in the access network device. Subsequently, when the terminal performs NR PC5 V2X communication, the access network device may allocate an NR PC5 V2X communication resource to the terminal based on the NR PC5 QoS parameter, so that the terminal performs the NR PC5 V2X communication based on the NR PC5 V2X communication resource allocated by the access network device. Further, optionally, in the method shown inFIG.7AandFIG.7B, after the terminal successfully registers with a network, when the NR PC5 QoS parameter in the home V2XCF is updated, the home V2XCF may send an updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the PCRF, the PCRF sends the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME, and the MME sends the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device, so that the access network device adjusts, based on the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter, the NR PC5 V2X communication resource allocated by the access network device to the terminal. The PCRF may send the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME by using a session modification procedure. According to the method shown inFIG.7AandFIG.7B, when the terminal is in a non-roaming scenario, the home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the PCRF, the PCRF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME by using a PDN connection setup procedure, and then the MME sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. In this way, a problem of how to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device is resolved. In addition, the NR PC5 QoS parameter is sent to the access network device by using the existing PDN connection setup procedure, thereby reducing the signaling overheads and ensuring system compatibility. In an embodiment, when the terminal is in a roaming scenario, the home V2XCF may send, by using an existing PDN connection modification procedure, the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in a visited network to the MME through the PCRF, and then the MME sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. For the process, refer to the descriptions inFIG.8AandFIG.8B. It should be noted that the MME inFIG.8AandFIG.8Bmay be referred to as a visited MME (V-MME), the access network device may be referred to as a visited access network device (V-access network device), the SGW may be referred to as a visited SGW (V-SGW), the PGW may be referred to as a visited (V-PGW), and the PCRF may be referred to as a visited PCRF (V-PCRF). The NR PC5 QoS parameter in the method shown inFIG.8AandFIG.8Bmay be the NR PC5 QoS parameter in the visited network of the terminal. FIG.8AandFIG.8Bare another communication method according to an embodiment of this application. As shown inFIG.8AandFIG.8B, the method may include the following steps. Step801: A terminal roams to a visited network, and the terminal establishes a PDN connection in the visited network. For step801, refer to step601. Details are not described again. Step802: The terminal sends a first parameter request to a home V2XCF through the PDN connection. For step802, refer to step602. Details are not described again. Step803: The home V2XCF receives the first parameter request through the PDN connection of the terminal in the visited network, and sends a second parameter request to a visited V2XCF based on the first parameter request. For step803, refer to step603. Details are not described again. Step804: The visited V2XCF receives the second parameter request, and sends a response to the second parameter request to the home V2XCF based on the second parameter request. For step804, refer to step604. Details are not described again. Step805: The home V2XCF receives the response to the second parameter request, and determines the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal based on a configuration parameter that is allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network and that is included in the response to the second parameter request and a configuration parameter that is allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network and that is stored in the home V2XCF. For step805, refer to step605. Details are not described again. Step806: The home V2XCF sends a response of the first parameter request to the terminal. For step806, refer to step606. Details are not described again. Step807: The home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to a PCRF. For example, the home V2XCF may send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the PCRF through an SCEF. Further, the home V2XCF may locally store the NR PC5 QoS parameter, for example, may correspondingly store the NR PC5 QoS parameter and information about the visited network. Subsequently, when the terminal roams to the visited network again, the home V2XCF may directly send the locally stored NR PC5 QoS parameter to an MME through the HSS, and the MME sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to an access network device. There is no need to obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter through signaling interaction between the home V2XCF and the visited V2XCF, thereby reducing signaling overheads. Step808: The PCRF receives the NR PC5 QoS parameter, and sends an IP connectivity access network modification request to a PGW. The IP connectivity access network modification request may include a PCC rule of the terminal, and the PCC rule of the terminal includes the NR PC5 QoS parameter. Alternatively, the IP connectivity access network modification request may include the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal. Further, the PCRF may locally store the NR PC5 QoS parameter, for example, may correspondingly store the NR PC5 QoS parameter and the information about the visited network. Subsequently, when the terminal roams to the visited network again, the PCRF may directly send the locally stored NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME, and the MME sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. There is no need to obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter through signaling interaction between the home V2XCF and the visited V2XCF, thereby reducing signaling overheads. Step809: The PGW receives the IP connectivity access network modification request, and sends a session modification request to an SGW. The session modification request may include a bearer context of the PDN connection of the terminal, and the bearer context includes the NR PC5 QoS parameter. Alternatively, the session modification request directly includes the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal. Step810: The SGW receives the session modification request, and sends the session modification request to the MME. Step811: The MME receives the session modification request, and sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. For example, the MME receives the session modification request, obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the bearer context of the PDN connection of the terminal, and sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. Alternatively, the MME directly obtains the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal from the session modification request, and sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. For example, the MME may send an initial context setup request including the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. Further, optionally, after receiving the NR PC5 QoS parameter, the MME stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in the MME, for example, stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in a context of the terminal. Subsequently, when the MME receives a registration request of the terminal again, the MME may send, to the access network device, the NR PC5 QoS parameter stored in the MME. The MME does not need to interact with the PCRF to obtain the NR PC5 QoS parameter and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device, thereby reducing signaling overheads. Further, optionally, the access network device receives the NR PC5 QoS parameter sent by the MME, and stores the received NR PC5 QoS parameter in the access network device. Subsequently, when the terminal performs NR PC5 V2X communication, the access network device may allocate an NR PC5 V2X communication resource to the terminal based on the NR PC5 QoS parameter, so that the terminal performs the NR PC5 V2X communication based on the NR PC5 V2X communication resource allocated by the access network device. Further, optionally, in the method shown inFIG.8AandFIG.8B, after the terminal successfully registers with a network, when the NR PC5 QoS parameter in the home V2XCF is updated, the home V2XCF may send an updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the PCRF, the PCRF sends the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME, and the MME sends the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device, so that the access network device adjusts, based on the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter, the NR PC5 V2X communication resource allocated by the access network device to the terminal. The PCRF may send the updated NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME by using a session modification procedure. According to the method shown inFIG.8AandFIG.8B, when the terminal is in a non-roaming scenario, the home V2XCF sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the PCRF, the PCRF sends subscription data including the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME by using a PDN connection modification procedure, and then the MME sends the subscription data to the access network device. In this way, a problem of how to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device is resolved. In addition, the NR PC5 QoS parameter is sent to the access network device by using the existing PDN connection modification procedure, thereby reducing the signaling overheads and ensuring system compatibility. The foregoing mainly describes the solutions provided in the embodiments of this application from a perspective of interaction between nodes. It may be understood that, to implement the foregoing functions, each node, for example, a centralized controller, a first functional entity, or a second functional entity, includes a corresponding hardware structure and/or software module for performing each function. A person of ordinary skill in the art should easily be aware that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification, algorithm steps may be implemented by hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed by hardware or hardware driven by computer software depends on particular applications and design constraints of the technical solutions. A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of this application. In this embodiment of this application, the centralized controller, the first functional entity, or the second functional entity may be divided into function modules based on the foregoing method examples. For example, function modules may be divided by using corresponding functions, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module may be implemented in a form of hardware, or may be implemented in a form of a software functional module. It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application, module division is an example, and is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, another division manner may be used. FIG.9is a diagram of a communications apparatus90according to an embodiment of this application. The communications apparatus90may be an MME, a chip in an MME, or a system on chip. As shown inFIG.9, the communications apparatus90may include an obtaining unit901and a sending unit902. The obtaining unit901is configured to obtain an NR PC5 QoS parameter that is of a terminal and that is used for NR PC5 V2X communication of the terminal. The sending unit902is configured to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to an access network device. In the embodiments, all related content of the steps related to the MME in the method embodiments shown inFIG.3toFIG.8AandFIG.8Bmay be referenced to function descriptions of corresponding functional modules. Details are not described herein again. The communications apparatus90in the embodiments is configured to execute the function of the MME in the communication method shown inFIG.3toFIG.8AandFIG.8B. Therefore, an effect the same as that of the foregoing communication method can be achieved. It should be noted that in another embodiment, the communications apparatus90shown inFIG.9may include a processing module and a communications module. A function of the obtaining unit901may be integrated into the processing module, and a function of the sending unit902may be integrated into the communications module. The processing module is configured to control and manage an action of the communications apparatus90. For example, the processing module is configured to support the communications apparatus90in performing another process of the technology described in this specification. The communications module is configured to support the communications apparatus90in communicating with another network entity. Further, the communications apparatus90shown inFIG.9may further include a storage module, configured to store program code and data of the communications apparatus90. The processing module may be a processor or a controller. The processing module may implement or execute various example logical blocks, modules, and circuits described with reference to content disclosed in this application. Alternatively, the processor may be a combination of processors implementing a computing function, for example, a combination of one or more microprocessors, or a combination of the DSP and a microprocessor. The communications module may be a transceiver circuit, a communications interface, or the like. The storage module may be a memory. When the processing module is the processor, the communications module is the communications interface, and the storage module is the memory, the communications apparatus90shown inFIG.9may be the communications apparatus shown inFIG.2. FIG.10is a diagram of a communications apparatus100according to an embodiment of this application. The communications apparatus100may be an HSS, a chip in an HSS, or a system on chip. As shown inFIG.10, the communications apparatus100may include an obtaining unit1001and a sending unit1002. The obtaining unit1001is configured to obtain an NR PC5 QoS parameter that is from a home V2XCF and that is used for NR PC5 V2X communication of a terminal. The sending unit1002is configured to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to an MME. In the embodiments, all related content of the steps related to the HSS in the method embodiments shown inFIG.3toFIG.6AandFIG.6Bmay be referenced to function descriptions of corresponding functional modules. Details are not described herein again. The communications apparatus100in the embodiment is configured to execute the function of the HSS in the communication method shown inFIG.3toFIG.6AandFIG.6B. Therefore, an effect the same as that of the foregoing communication method can be achieved. It should be noted that in another embodiment, the communications apparatus100shown inFIG.10may include a processing module and a communications module. A function of the obtaining unit1001may be integrated into the processing module, and a function of the sending unit1002may be integrated into the communications module. The processing module is configured to control and manage an action of the communications apparatus100. For example, the processing module is configured to support the communications apparatus100in performing another process of the technology described in this specification. The communications module is configured to support the communications apparatus100in communicating with another network entity. Further, the communications apparatus100shown inFIG.10may further include a storage module, configured to store program code and data of the communications apparatus100. The processing module may be a processor or a controller. The processing module may implement or execute various example logical blocks, modules, and circuits described with reference to content disclosed in this application. Alternatively, the processor may be a combination of processors implementing a computing function, for example, a combination of one or more microprocessors, or a combination of the DSP and a microprocessor. The communications module may be a transceiver circuit, a communications interface, or the like. The storage module may be a memory. When the processing module is the processor, the communications module is the communications interface, and the storage module is the memory, the communications apparatus100shown inFIG.10may be the communications apparatus shown inFIG.2. FIG.11is a diagram of a communications apparatus110according to an embodiment of this application. The communications apparatus110may be a PCRF, a chip in a PCRF, or a system on chip. As shown inFIG.11, the communications apparatus110may include an obtaining unit1101and a sending unit1102. The obtaining unit1101is configured to obtain an NR PC5 QoS parameter that is from a home V2XCF and that is used for NR PC5 V2X communication of a terminal. The sending unit1102is configured to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to an MME. In the embodiments, all related content of the steps related to the PCRF in the method embodiments shown inFIG.3,FIG.7AandFIG.7B, andFIG.8AandFIG.8Bmay be referenced to function descriptions of corresponding functional modules. Details are not described herein again. The communications apparatus110in the embodiment is configured to execute the function of the PCRF in the communication method shown inFIG.3,FIG.7AandFIG.7B, andFIG.8AandFIG.8B. Therefore, an effect the same as that of the foregoing communication method can be achieved. It should be noted that in another embodiment, the communications apparatus110shown inFIG.11may include a processing module and a communications module. A function of the obtaining unit1101may be integrated into the processing module, and a function of the sending unit1102may be integrated into the communications module. The processing module is configured to control and manage an action of the communications apparatus110. For example, the processing module is configured to support the communications apparatus110in performing another process of the technology described in this specification. The communications module is configured to support the communications apparatus110in communicating with another network entity. Further, the communications apparatus110shown inFIG.11may further include a storage module, configured to store program code and data of the communications apparatus110. The processing module may be a processor or a controller. The processing module may implement or execute various example logical blocks, modules, and circuits described with reference to content disclosed in this application. Alternatively, the processor may be a combination of processors implementing a computing function, for example, a combination of one or more microprocessors, or a combination of the DSP and a microprocessor. The communications module may be a transceiver circuit, a communications interface, or the like. The storage module may be a memory. When the processing module is the processor, the communications module is the communications interface, and the storage module is the memory, the communications apparatus110shown inFIG.11may be the communications apparatus shown inFIG.2. FIG.12is a diagram of a communications apparatus120according to an embodiment of this application. The communications apparatus120may be a home V2XCF, a chip in a home V2XCF, or a system on chip. As shown inFIG.12, the communications apparatus120may include an obtaining unit1201and a sending unit1202. The obtaining unit1201is configured to obtain an NR PC5 QoS parameter of a terminal. The sending unit1202is configured to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to a first network element that is in an EPS. In the embodiments, all related content of the steps related to the home V2XCF in the method embodiments shown inFIG.3toFIG.8AandFIG.8Bmay be referenced to function descriptions of corresponding functional modules. Details are not described herein again. The communications apparatus120in the embodiment is configured to execute the function of the home V2XCF in the communication method shown inFIG.3,FIG.7AandFIG.7B, andFIG.8AandFIG.8B. Therefore, an effect the same as that of the foregoing communication method can be achieved. It should be noted that in another embodiment, the communications apparatus120shown inFIG.12may include a processing module and a communications module. A function of the obtaining unit1201may be integrated into the processing module, and a function of the sending unit1202may be integrated into the communications module. The processing module is configured to control and manage an action of the communications apparatus120. For example, the processing module is configured to support the communications apparatus120in performing another process of the technology described in this specification. The communications module is configured to support the communications apparatus120in communicating with another network entity. Further, the communications apparatus120shown inFIG.12may further include a storage module, configured to store program code and data of the communications apparatus120. The processing module may be a processor or a controller. The processing module may implement or execute various example logical blocks, modules, and circuits described with reference to content disclosed in this application. Alternatively, the processor may be a combination of processors implementing a computing function, for example, a combination of one or more microprocessors, or a combination of the DSP and a microprocessor. The communications module may be a transceiver circuit, a communications interface, or the like. The storage module may be a memory. When the processing module is the processor, the communications module is the communications interface, and the storage module is the memory, the communications apparatus120shown inFIG.12may be the communications apparatus shown inFIG.2. FIG.13is a diagram of a communications system according to an embodiment of this application. As shown inFIG.13, the communications system may include a terminal, an access network device, an MME130, an HSS131, and a home V2XCF132. A function of the MME130is the same as a function of the communications apparatus90. For example, the home V2XCF132is configured to: obtain an NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal, and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS131. A function of the HSS131is the same as a function of the communications apparatus100. For example, the HSS131is configured to: receive the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the home V2XCF132, and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME130. A function of the home V2XCF132is the same as a function of the communications apparatus120. For example, the MME130is configured to: receive the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the HSS131, and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. Further, after receiving the NR PC5 QoS parameter, the access network device schedules an NR PC5 V2X communication resource for the terminal based on the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal, so that the terminal performs NR PC5 V2X communication on the NR PC5 V2X communication resource scheduled by the access network device. Further, optionally, when the terminal is roaming, the MME130is an MME of the terminal in a visited network. As shown inFIG.13,FIG.13further includes a visited V2XCF. That the home V2XCF132is configured to obtain an NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal includes: The home V2XCF132obtains, from the visited V2XCF, a configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network, and determines the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal based on a configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in a home network and the configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network. For example, the home V2XCF may determine an intersection set of the configuration parameters allowed to be used by the terminal in the home network and the configuration parameters allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network as the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in the visited network. Based on the system shown inFIG.13, the home V2XCF132may send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the HSS131, the HSS131sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME130, and then the MME130sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. In this way, a problem of how to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device is resolved. In addition, the NR PC5 QoS parameter is sent to the access network device by using an existing subscription data sending procedure, thereby reducing signaling overheads and ensuring system compatibility. FIG.14is a diagram of a communications system according to an embodiment of this application. As shown inFIG.14, the communications system may include a terminal, an access network device, an MME140, a PCRF141, and a home V2XCF142. A function of the MME140is the same as a function of the communications apparatus90. For example, the home V2XCF142is configured to: obtain an NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal, and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the PCRF141. A function of the PCRF141is the same as a function of the communications apparatus100. For example, the PCRF141is configured to: receive the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the home V2XCF142, and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME140. A function of the home V2XCF142is the same as a function of the communications apparatus120. For example, the MME140is configured to: receive the NR PC5 QoS parameter from the PCRF141, and send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. Further, after receiving the NR PC5 QoS parameter, the access network device schedules an NR PC5 V2X communication resource for the terminal based on the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal, so that the terminal performs NR PC5 V2X communication on the NR PC5 V2X communication resource scheduled by the access network device. Further, optionally, when the terminal is roaming, the MME140is an MME of the terminal in a visited network. As shown inFIG.14,FIG.14further includes a visited V2XCF. That the home V2XCF142is configured to obtain an NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal includes: The home V2XCF142obtains, from the visited V2XCF, a configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network, and determines the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal based on a configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in a home network and the configuration parameter allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network. For example, the home V2XCF may determine an intersection set of the configuration parameters allowed to be used by the terminal in the home network and the configuration parameters allowed to be used by the terminal in the visited network as the NR PC5 QoS parameter of the terminal in the visited network. Further, as shown inFIG.14, the system may further include a PGW and an SGW. That the PCRF141is configured to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME140includes: The PCRF141is configured to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME140through the PGW and the SGW. For a detailed process in which the PCRF141sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME140through the PGW and the SGW, refer to the steps shown inFIG.7AandFIG.7BorFIG.8AandFIG.8B. Based on the system shown inFIG.14, the home V2XCF142may send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the PCRF141, the PCRF141sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the MME140, and then the MME140sends the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device. In this way, a problem of how to send the NR PC5 QoS parameter to the access network device is resolved. In addition, the NR PC5 QoS parameter is sent to the access network device by using a PDN connection setup procedure or a PDN connection modification procedure, thereby reducing signaling overheads and ensuring system compatibility. The foregoing descriptions about implementations allow a person skilled in the art to understand that, for the purpose of convenient and brief description, division of the foregoing function modules is used as an example for illustration. In actual application, the foregoing functions can be allocated to different modules and implemented according to a requirement, that is, an inner structure of an apparatus is divided into different function modules to implement all or some of the functions described above. In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the described apparatus embodiment is merely an example. For example, the module or unit division is merely logical function division and may be other division in actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another apparatus, or some features may be ignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented by using some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms. The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may be one or more physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on different places. Some or all of the units may be selected based on actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments. In addition, functional units in the embodiments of this application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in a form of hardware, or may be implemented in a form of a software functional unit. When the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the integrated unit may be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of this application essentially, or the part contributing to the conventional technology, or all or some of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of a software product. The software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for instructing a device (which may be a single-chip microcomputer, a chip or the like) or a processor to perform all or some of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of this application. The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disc. The foregoing descriptions are merely implementations of this application, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of this application. Any variation or replacement within the technical scope disclosed in this application shall fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims. | 95,000 |
11943836 | The technologies described herein will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from studying the Detailed Description in conjunction with the drawings. Embodiments or implementations describing aspects of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and the same references can indicate similar elements. While the drawings depict various implementations for the purpose of illustration, those skilled in the art will recognize that alternative implementations can be employed without departing from the principles of the present technologies. Accordingly, while specific implementations are shown in the drawings, the technology is amenable to various modifications. DETAILED DESCRIPTION With the advance of wireless communication technologies, the 5G system architecture now adopts service-based interactions between Control Plane (CP) Network Functions. In 5G systems, the User Plane (UP) functions are separated from the CP functions, allowing independent scalability, evolution and flexible deployments. However, communication interfaces with the IMS remain largely unchanged, leading to complexity and overhead in signaling paths. This patent document discloses techniques that can be implemented to leverage the service-based framework in 5G for IMS services to reduce or minimize signaling overhead and transmission delays, providing better flexibility and reliability for voice and communication services over 5G networks. Wireless Communications System FIG.1is a block diagram that illustrates a wireless telecommunication system100(“system100”) in which aspects of the disclosed technology are incorporated. The system100includes base stations102-1through102-4(also referred to individually as “base station102” or collectively as “base stations102”). A base station is a type of network access node (NAN) that can also be referred to as a cell site, a base transceiver station, or a radio base station. The system100can include any combination of NANs including an access point, radio transceiver, gNodeB (gNB), NodeB, eNodeB (eNB), Home NodeB or eNodeB, or the like. In addition to being a WWAN base station, a NAN can be a WLAN access point, such as an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 access point. The NANs of a network formed by the system100also include wireless devices104-1through104-8(referred to individually as “wireless device104” or collectively as “wireless devices104”) and a core network106. The wireless devices104-1through104-8can correspond to or include network entities capable of communication using various connectivity standards. For example, a 5G communication channel can use millimeter wave (mmW) access frequencies of 28 GHz or more. In some implementations, the wireless device104can operatively couple to a base station102over a Long-Term Evolution (LTE)/LTE Advanced (LTE-A) communication channel, which is referred to as a 4G communication channel. In some implementations, the base station102can provide network access to a Fifth-Generation (5G) communication channel. The core network106provides, manages, and controls security services, user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The base stations102interface with the core network106through a first set of backhaul links108(e.g., S1 interfaces) and can perform radio configuration and scheduling for communication with the wireless devices104or can operate under the control of a base station controller (not shown). In some examples, the base stations102can communicate, either directly or indirectly (e.g., through the core network106), with each other over a second set of backhaul links110-1through110-3(e.g., X1 interfaces), which can be wired or wireless communication links. The base stations102can wirelessly communicate with the wireless devices104via one or more base station antennas. The cell sites can provide communication coverage for geographic coverage areas112-1through112-4(also referred to individually as “coverage area112” or collectively as “coverage areas112”). The geographic coverage area112for a base station102can be divided into sectors making up only a portion of the coverage area (not shown). The system100can include base stations of different types (e.g., macro and/or small cell base stations). In some implementations, there can be overlapping geographic coverage areas112for different service environments (e.g., Internet-of-Things (IoT), mobile broadband (MBB), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), machine-to-machine (M2M), machine-to-everything (M2X), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), machine-type communication (MTC)), etc. The system100can include a 5G network and/or an LTE/LTE-A or other network. In an LTE/LTE-A network, the term eNB is used to describe the base stations102and in 5G new radio (NR) networks, the term gNBs is used to describe the base stations102that can include mmW communications. The system100can thus form a heterogeneous network in which different types of base stations provide coverage for various geographical regions. For example, each base station102can provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, and/or other types of cells. As used herein, the term “cell” can relate to a base station, a carrier or component carrier associated with the base station, or a coverage area (e.g., sector) of a carrier or base station, depending on context. A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and can allow access by wireless devices with service subscriptions with a wireless network service provider. As indicated earlier, a small cell is a lower-powered base station, as compared with a macro cell, and can operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) frequency bands as macro cells. Examples of small cells include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells. In general, a pico cell can cover a relatively smaller geographic area and can allow unrestricted access by wireless devices with service subscriptions with the network provider. A femto cell covers a relatively smaller geographic area (e.g., a home) and can provide restricted access by wireless devices having an association with the femto cell (e.g., wireless devices in a closed subscriber group (CSG), wireless devices for users in the home). A base station can support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells (e.g., component carriers). All fixed transceivers noted herein that can provide access to the network are NANs, including small cells. The communication networks that accommodate various disclosed examples can be packet-based networks that operate according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer can be IP-based. A Radio Link Control (RLC) layer then performs packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer can perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer can also use Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) to provide retransmission at the MAC layer, to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer provides establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a wireless device104and the base stations102or core network106supporting radio bearers for the user plane data. At the Physical (PHY) layer, the transport channels are mapped to physical channels. As illustrated, the wireless devices104are distributed throughout the system100, where each wireless device104can be stationary or mobile. A wireless device can be referred to as a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a handheld mobile device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a mobile client, a client, or the like. Examples of a wireless device include user equipment (UE) such as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a handheld mobile device (e.g., wireless devices104-1and104-2), a tablet computer, a laptop computer (e.g., wireless device104-3), a wearable (e.g., wireless device104-4). A wireless device can be included in another device such as, for example, a drone (e.g., wireless device104-5), a vehicle (e.g., wireless device104-6), an augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) device such as a head-mounted display device (e.g., wireless device104-7), an IoT device such as an appliance in a home (e.g., wireless device104-8), a portable gaming console, or a wirelessly connected sensor that provides data to a remote server over a network. A wireless device can communicate with various types of base stations and network equipment at the edge of a network including macro eNBs/gNBs, small cell eNBs/gNBs, relay base stations, and the like. A wireless device can also communicate with other wireless devices either within or outside the same coverage area of a base station via device-to-device (D2D) communications. The communication links114-1through114-11(also referred to individually as “communication link114” or collectively as “communication links114”) shown in system100include uplink (UL) transmissions from a wireless device104to a base station102, and/or downlink (DL) transmissions, from a base station102to a wireless device104. The downlink transmissions can also be called forward link transmissions while the uplink transmissions can also be called reverse link transmissions. Each communication link114includes one or more carriers, where each carrier can be a signal composed of multiple sub-carriers (e.g., waveform signals of different frequencies) modulated according to the various radio technologies. Each modulated signal can be sent on a different sub-carrier and carry control information (e.g., reference signals, control channels), overhead information, user data, etc. The communication links114can transmit bidirectional communications using FDD (e.g., using paired spectrum resources) or TDD operation (e.g., using unpaired spectrum resources). In some implementations, the communication links114include LTE and/or mmW communication links. In some implementations of the system100, the base stations102and/or the wireless devices104include multiple antennas for employing antenna diversity schemes to improve communication quality and reliability between base stations102and wireless devices104. Additionally, or alternatively, the base stations102and/or the wireless devices104can employ multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) techniques that can take advantage of multi-path environments to transmit multiple spatial layers carrying the same or different coded data. Service-Based Architecture (SBA) for Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) The 5G system architecture includes various service-based interfaces, including but not limited to Namf, the service-based interfaced exhibited by Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Nsmf, the service-based interfaced exhibited by Session Management Function (SMF), and Npcf, the service-based interfaced exhibited by Policy Control Function (PCF).FIG.2illustrates an example 5G architecture200. To enable IMS services, the 5G system architecture also supports Rx interface between the PCF and the Proxy-Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF), which is the first contact point for the User Equipment (UE) that uses IMS services. Using the architecture as shown inFIG.2, a network function (NF) service request from a UE, such as a request for AMF service, needs to travel from the P-CSCF to the PCF via the Rx interface, then to the network function (e.g., the AMF) before the Unified Data Management (UDM) function, which stores the UE's serving NF information, gets notified that the NF information needs to be updated. The long signaling path can result in signaling overhead and transmission delays. The overhead and delay can be further exacerbated when the UE is roaming. A subscribed UE uses the operators Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) to gain access to the network. When the UE moves outside of the home network, the UE becomes a roaming user and needs to use the resources from other operators' networks, also referred to as visited PLMN(s). The roaming capability makes it possible to use IMS services in the Visited PLMN (V-PLMN).FIG.3illustrates a model300in which the UE obtains IP connectivity from the V-PLMN. In this model, the P-CSCF in the VPMN is used to connect the UE to the H-PLMN IMS.FIG.4Aillustrates an example 5G system roaming architecture400using local breakout, enabling the user to attach to the V-PLMN network and be anchored by the local gateway in the visited network.FIG.4Billustrates an example 5G system roaming architecture450in the case of home routed scenario. In both scenarios, the PCF, as well as the serving AMF and the serving SMF, are located in the V-PLMN while the UDM is located in the H-PLMN. Any service request from the UE needs to travel through different interfaces, resulting in potentially significant overhead and delay. The service-based architecture of 5G systems enables each NF to interact with other NFs directly if needed. This patent document discloses techniques that can be implemented in various embodiments to enable direct signaling between the P-CSCF and other NFs for IMS services using the unified service-based interface, thereby reducing or minimizing signaling overhead caused by indirect communications via different interfaces. Instead of limiting the interface between P-CSCF and PCF to be the Rx interface, service-based interfaces can be adopted between P-CSCF and other NFs, such as UDM, AMF, or Network Repository Function (NRF). For control plane signaling between the terminal and the IMS as well as between the components within the IMS, 3GPP has chosen the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). The SIP can also be used in service-based control plane signaling between the IMS and the network functions. FIG.5illustrates an example sequence signaling500between the P-CSCF and network functions in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology. Upon the UE sending a registration request, the UDM can be queried to retrieve UE subscription information. A service-based interface exists between the P-CSCF and the UDM (e.g., Npcscf or Nudm) to enable direct communications between the P-CSCF and the UDM. For example, at operation501, P-CSCF determines to obtain the IP address or the Fully-Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of AMF from UDM, where the AMF is selected according to the AMF selection criteria specified in the 3GPP standard. Using the service-based interface, the P-CSCF transmits, at operation502, a GET request to UDM to request AMF information. The UDM responds directly, at operation503, with a response returning the IP address or the FQDN of the AMF. After getting the IP or the FQDN of the AMF, the P-CSCF can determine, at operation504, to query the AMF for specific events. Examples of events include, but are not limited to, location changes associated with a UE, time-zone changes associated with a UE, access type changes, registration state changes, connectivity state changes, reachability status, and/or additional events defined in the 3GPP standard (e.g., TS 23.502). Another service-based interface exists between the P-CSCF and the AMF (e.g., Npcscf or Namf) such that direct communication between the P-CSCF and the AMF is enabled. The P-CSCF transmits, at operation505, a POST request to the AMF requesting event information associated with the UE. An example request is shown in Table 1 below. TABLE 1Example Request to AMFData TypePCardinalityDescriptionRequestUE-M1The information to requestLocationthe location of the UE. The AMF returns, at operation506, the requested event information to the P-CSCF in a response. An example response is shown in Table 2 below. TABLE 2Example Response from AMFResponseData TypePCardinalityCodesDescriptionProvideUE-M1200 OKThis case represents aLocationsuccessful query of theUE location.The AMF returns the relatedinformation in the response. The P-CSCF can cache the received information locally at operation507. The P-CSCF can then subscribe to one or more specific events. At operation508, the P-CSCF transmits a SUBSCRIBE request to the AMF and receives a response from the AMF at operation509. Upon detecting that at least one of the subscribed events has been triggered, the AMF notifies the P-CSCF at operation510. The AMF transmits, at operation511, a notification message to the P-CSCF indicating that at least one event has occurred (e.g., the UE has changed location and/or time-zone). The P-CSCF can transmit, at operation512, an acknowledgement to AMF to indicate that the notification has been received. FIG.6illustrates an example sequence signaling600between the P-CSCF and network functions across different PLMNs in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology. In this example, a roaming UE accesses IMF service via the P-CSCF in the H-PLMN. The P-CSCF determines to obtain the IP address or the Fully-Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of AMF from UDM at operation601. Using the service-based architecture, which enables the P-CSCF to communicate with the UDM in the H-PLMN directly, the P-CSCF transmits a request to UDM at operation602. The UDM responds, at operation503, with a response returning the IP address or the FQDN of the serving AMF in the V-PLMN determined according to the AMF selection criteria specified in the 3GPP standard. Upon obtaining the IP address or the FQDN of the AMF, the P-CSCF can communicate with the AMF via the service-based interface (e.g., Npcscf or Namf) and the N32 interface between the Security Edge Protection Proxies, Home SEPP and Visited SEPP. The P-CSCF can determine, at operation604, to query the AMF for specific events associated with the UE. Examples of events include, but are not limited to, location changes associated with a UE, time-zone changes associated with a UE, access type changes, registration state changes, connectivity state changes, reachability status, and/or additional events defined in the 3GPP standard (e.g., TS 23.502). The P-CSCF transmits, at operation605, a POST request to the AMF via the SBA interface and the N32 interface via H-SEPP and V-SEPP. The AMF returns, at operation606, the requested event information to the P-CSCF via the SBA interface and the N32 interface via H-SEPP and V-SEPP. The P-CSCF can cache or store the received information locally at operation607. For example, location reports or time-zone reports can be stored locally. The P-CSCF can also subscribe to a specific event. At operation608, the P-CSCF transmits a SUBSCRIBE request to the AMF via the SBA interface and the N32 interface via H-SEPP and V-SEPP. The P-CSCF receives a response from the AMF at operation609via the SBA interface and the N32 interface via H-SEPP and V-SEPP. Upon detecting that the subscribed event has been triggered, the AMF determines to send a notification to the P-CSCF at operation610. The AMF transmits, at operation611, a notification message to the P-CSCF indicating that the event has occurred (e.g., the UE has changed location and/or time-zone) via the SBA interface and the N32 interface via H-SEPP and V-SEPP. The P-CSCF can transmit, at operation612, an acknowledgement to AMF to indicate that the notification has been received via the SBA interface and the N32 interface via H-SEPP and V-SEPP. FIG.7is a flowchart representation of a method700for wireless communication in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology. The method700includes, at operation710, retrieving, by a proxy call session control function, an address of an access and mobility management function from a unified data management function. The proxy call session control function is configured to communicate with the unified data management function directly via a first service-based interface (e.g., Npcscf or Nudm). The method700also includes, at operation720, retrieving, by the proxy call session control function, information about one or more events associated with a terminal device from the access and mobility management function using the address of the access and mobility management function. Examples of events include, but are not limited to, location changes associated with a UE, time-zone changes associated with a UE, and so on. The proxy call session control function is configured to communicate with the access and mobility management function directly via a second service-based interface (e.g., Npcscf or Namf). In some embodiments, retrieving the information about the one or events associated with the terminal device from the access and mobility management function includes transmitting, by the proxy call session control function, a query to the access and mobility management function requesting information about a specific event, and receiving, by the proxy call session control function in response to the query, information about the specific event. In some embodiments, the method further includes storing the information about the specific event by the proxy call session control function. In some embodiments, retrieving the information about the one or events associated with the terminal device from the access and mobility management function includes subscribing to the one or more events associated with the terminal device by transmitting a request to the access and mobility management function, and receiving, by the proxy call session control function, a notification from the access and mobility management function. The notification includes the information indicating that one of the one or more events has been triggered. In some embodiments, the one or more events includes a change of a location or a time zone of the terminal device. In some embodiments, the proxy call session control function is located in a visited Public Land Mobile Network for a user equipment (e.g., as shown inFIG.6). In some embodiments, the proxy call session control function and the unified data management function are located in a Home Public Land Mobile Network (e.g., as shown inFIG.5). FIG.8is a flowchart representation of a method800for wireless communication in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology. The method800includes, at operation810, receiving, by a network function (e.g., the AMF), a first message from a proxy call session control function to query information about one or more events associated with a service provided by the network function. The proxy call session control function is configured to communicate directly with the network function based on a service-based architecture (e.g., via a service-based interface Npcscf or Namf). The method800includes, at operation820, transmitting, by the network function, a second message to the proxy call session control function. The second message includes the information about the one or more events associated with the service provided by the network function. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving, by the network function, a third message from the proxy call session control function to subscribe to the one or more events associated with the service provided by the network function. In some embodiments, the method further includes notifying the proxy call session control function by the network function that at least one of the one or more events has been triggered. In some embodiments, the service provided by the network function comprises a mobility service. In some embodiments, the one or more events comprise a change of a location or a time zone of a terminal device. In some embodiments, the proxy call session control function and the network function are located in a same Public Land Mobile Network. In some embodiments, the proxy call session control function and the network function are located in different Public Land Mobile Networks. In another example aspect, a wireless communication system includes a proxy call session control function configured to provide connectivity to an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem to a user equipment and a first network function configured to communicate directly with the proxy call session control function based on a service-based architecture. The proxy call session control function is configured to obtain information about one or more events associated with a service provided by the first network function. For example, the first network function can be the AMF that manages mobility information for the UE. In some embodiments, the system also includes a second network function configured to communicate directly with the proxy call session control function based on a service-based architecture. The proxy call session control function is configured to obtain information about the first network function from the second network function. For example, the second network function includes a unified data management function that manages serving NF information for the UE. In some embodiments, the service provided by the first network function comprises a mobility service, and the one or more events comprise a change of a location or a time zone of a terminal device. In some embodiments, the proxy call session control function and the second network function are located in different Public Land Mobile Networks. In some embodiments the proxy call session control function and the first network function are located in a same Public Land Mobile Network. It is appreciated that, using the techniques disclosed herein, signaling between the P-CSCF and other network functions for provide IMS services no longer needs to be routed along a long path using multiple interfaces. Direct communication between the P-CSCF and NFs is enabled by the unified service-based interfaces, thereby reducing signaling overhead and delay, particularly in roaming scenarios. Computer System FIG.9is a block diagram that illustrates an example of a computer system900in which at least some operations described herein can be implemented. As shown, the computer system900can include: one or more processors902, main memory906, non-volatile memory910, a network interface device912, video display device918, an input/output device920, a control device922(e.g., keyboard and pointing device), a drive unit924that includes a storage medium926, and a signal generation device930that are communicatively connected to a bus916. The bus916represents one or more physical buses and/or point-to-point connections that are connected by appropriate bridges, adapters, or controllers. Various common components (e.g., cache memory) are omitted fromFIG.9for brevity. Instead, the computer system900is intended to illustrate a hardware device on which components illustrated or described relative to the examples of the figures and any other components described in this specification can be implemented. The computer system900can take any suitable physical form. For example, the computing system900can share a similar architecture as that of a server computer, personal computer (PC), tablet computer, mobile telephone, game console, music player, wearable electronic device, network-connected (“smart”) device (e.g., a television or home assistant device), AR/VR systems (e.g., head-mounted display), or any electronic device capable of executing a set of instructions that specify action(s) to be taken by the computing system700. In some implementation, the computer system900can be an embedded computer system, a system-on-chip (SOC), a single-board computer system (SBC) or a distributed system such as a mesh of computer systems or include one or more cloud components in one or more networks. Where appropriate, one or more computer systems700can perform operations in real-time, near real-time, or in batch mode. The network interface device912enables the computing system900to mediate data in a network914with an entity that is external to the computing system900through any communication protocol supported by the computing system900and the external entity. Examples of the network interface device912include a network adaptor card, a wireless network interface card, a router, an access point, a wireless router, a switch, a multilayer switch, a protocol converter, a gateway, a bridge, bridge router, a hub, a digital media receiver, and/or a repeater, as well as all wireless elements noted herein. The memory (e.g., main memory906, non-volatile memory910, machine-readable medium926) can be local, remote, or distributed. Although shown as a single medium, the machine-readable medium926can include multiple media (e.g., a centralized/distributed database and/or associated caches and servers) that store one or more sets of instructions928. The machine-readable (storage) medium926can include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the computing system900. The machine-readable medium926can be non-transitory or comprise a non-transitory device. In this context, a non-transitory storage medium can include a device that is tangible, meaning that the device has a concrete physical form, although the device can change its physical state. Thus, for example, non-transitory refers to a device remaining tangible despite this change in state. Although implementations have been described in the context of fully functioning computing devices, the various examples are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms. Examples of machine-readable storage media, machine-readable media, or computer-readable media include recordable-type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices910, removable flash memory, hard disk drives, optical disks, and transmission-type media such as digital and analog communication links. In general, the routines executed to implement examples herein can be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module, or sequence of instructions (collectively referred to as “computer programs”). The computer programs typically comprise one or more instructions (e.g., instructions904,908,928) set at various times in various memory and storage devices in computing device(s). When read and executed by the processor902, the instruction(s) cause the computing system900to perform operations to execute elements involving the various aspects of the disclosure. Remarks The description and associated drawings are illustrative examples and are not to be construed as limiting. This disclosure provides certain details for a thorough understanding and enabling description of these examples. One skilled in the relevant technology will understand, however, that the invention can be practiced without many of these details. Likewise, one skilled in the relevant technology will understand that the invention can include well-known structures or features that are not shown or described in detail, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the descriptions of examples. The terms “example”, “embodiment” and “implementation” are used interchangeably. For example, reference to “one example” or “an example” in the disclosure can be, but not necessarily are, references to the same implementation; and, such references mean at least one of the implementations. The appearances of the phrase “in one example” are not necessarily all referring to the same example, nor are separate or alternative examples mutually exclusive of other examples. A feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an example can be included in another example of the disclosure. Moreover, various features are described which can be exhibited by some examples and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which can be requirements for some examples but no other examples. The terminology used herein should be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with certain specific examples of the invention. The terms used in the disclosure generally have their ordinary meanings in the relevant technical art, within the context of the disclosure, and in the specific context where each term is used. A recital of alternative language or synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. Special significance should not be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussed herein. The use of highlighting has no influence on the scope and meaning of a term. Further, it will be appreciated that the same thing can be said in more than one way. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” or any variant thereof means any connection or coupling, either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling or connection between the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import can refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number respectively. The word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list. The term “module” refers broadly to software components, firmware components, and/or hardware components. While specific examples of technology are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processes or blocks are presented in a given order, alternative implementations can perform routines having steps, or employ systems having blocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to provide alternative or sub-combinations. Each of these processes or blocks can be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, these processes or blocks can instead be performed or implemented in parallel, or can be performed at different times. Further, any specific numbers noted herein are only examples such that alternative implementations can employ differing values or ranges. Details of the disclosed implementations can vary considerably in specific implementations while still being encompassed by the disclosed teachings. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific examples disclosed herein, unless the above Detailed Description explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosed examples, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention under the claims. Some alternative implementations can include additional elements to those implementations described above or include fewer elements. Any patents and applications and other references noted above, and any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, except for any subject matter disclaimers or disavowals, and except to the extent that the incorporated material is inconsistent with the express disclosure herein, in which case the language in this disclosure controls. Aspects of the invention can be modified to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further implementations of the invention. To reduce the number of claims, certain implementations are presented below in certain claim forms, but the applicant contemplates various aspects of an invention in other forms. For example, aspects of a claim can be recited in a means-plus-function form or in other forms, such as being embodied in a computer-readable medium. A claim intended to be interpreted as a mean-plus-function claim will use the words “means for.” However, the use of the term “for” in any other context is not intended to invoke a similar interpretation. The applicant reserves the right to pursue such additional claim forms in either this application or in a continuing application. | 37,393 |
11943837 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS FIG.1shows a schematic representation of a mobile end device10according to the invention. In addition to the components of a sending/receiving means15and a user interface16, which can be present in any shape, e.g. in the form of a touch display for visualisation and input of user information, the mobile end device10comprises a security element11. The security element11(sometimes also referred to as an identification module) may be present in the form of a SIM card or a UICC. Alternatively, the security element may also be an embedded security element in the form of an eSIM or an eUICC, which are an integral part of the mobile end device10. Since both the structure and the components of a mobile end device, for example in the form of a mobile phone, and the various principles of a security element are known, a more detailed description will not be given here and merely the components relevant to the invention will be dealt with in detail. The security element11comprises a memory on which a profile manager12and a first subscription profile13(or several first subscription profiles) are loaded. As described in the introduction, the data stored on the security element11are securely stored and enable the user of the mobile end device10(the so-called subscriber) to be uniquely identified. In a manner known to the person skilled in the art, the first subscription profile13serves to allow the services supplied by an MNO (mobile network operator) to be utilized by the user by means of the mobile end device10. By means of known methods, the profile manager12is arranged to load a second subscription profile14into the security element11so that the user of the mobile end device10can utilize services supplied by a different MNO, for example. According to the usual proceeding, regardless of the number of second subscription profiles14loaded on the security element, the first subscription profile13remains contained in the security element11. This is also the case when the original, first subscription profile13is no longer needed by the user. The method described hereinafter enables an automatic profile maintenance which does not have to be actively initiated by the user. This proceeding is described in connection with the schematic sequence of the method according to the invention as shown inFIG.2. After loading a second subscription profile on the security element11on which one or several first subscription profiles are already loaded according to step S1, it is checked according to step S2whether the first subscription profile13satisfies a predetermined condition. The check whether the first subscription profile13satisfies the predetermined condition is performed by the profile manager12. The subsequent step S3, according to which the first subscription profile is put out of operation when the first subscription profile satisfies the predetermined condition, is also performed by the profile manager12. As a profile manager, the Issuer Security Domain Root, ISD-R, defined in the GSMA SGP.22 specification can be employed, for example. Putting the first subscription profile13out of operation may comprise deleting or deactivating the first subscription profile. This can be done by triggering the execution of an APDU command on the first subscription profile, e.g. by means of the known DELETE or DISABLE command. Before the profile manager12effects the deletion or deactivation of the first subscription profile13, user information can optionally be generated by the profile manager12and output on the user interface16of the mobile end device. The user information thus signals to the user of the mobile end device10the planned putting out of operation of the first subscription profile13. The output of the user information by the profile manager12may be effected by an LPA (Local Profile Assistant) which enables a selection screen for managing the subscription profiles, displayable on the user interface16. The user information comprises interaction information the activation of which by the user is monitored, and upon ascertained activation putting the first subscription profile out of operation (deleting or deactivating it) is prevented or performed. Within the framework of the interaction information, the user can thus be offered the choice whether he/she likes to cancel the procedure of putting out of operation or to delete or merely deactivate the first subscription profile. Possible conditions for putting the first subscription profile13out of operation may be one or several of the following criteria: leaving a spatially delimited region, in particular when crossing a national border. Deleting the first subscription profile13may be expedient, for example, when the user of the mobile end device10leaves a holiday destination so that the first subscription profile used during the stay is no longer needed in the future. ascertaining that an identification code (e.g. a PIN, Personal Identification Number) of the security element has been entered incorrectly a predetermined number of times. The number of trials available to a user may be predetermined by the security element. ascertaining that a call has been initiated or performed from the mobile end device to a predetermined number. For example, the putting out of operation can be effected after a so-called one-time call has been performed, which is effected, for example, for emergency calls to a specified subscriber number. ascertaining that a permissible number of authentications of the security element has been performed. In other words, it was ascertained that the maximum number of permissible authentications in the SIM network had been reached. ascertaining that the at least one first subscription profile has been deleted or deactivated in the Home Location Register (HLR). In this case, when the first subscription profile has been deleted or deactivated in the HLR but is still present in the security element11, reject information will be transmitted from the PLMN to the security element. In this case, the first subscription profile13on the security element11can be automatically deleted or deactivated. Here, any boundary conditions can be specified before the putting out of operation is performed. For example, a certain number of rejections can be provided, the putting out of operation being effected only when the predetermined number is exceeded. Similarly, putting out of operation can be made dependent on that information stating the reason being contained in the rejection. The proposed proceeding enables a (partially) automatic deletion or deactivation of subscription profiles that are no longer utilized or needed. Optionally, the putting out of operation may be authorized by the user. As a result, profile maintenance by the user of the mobile end device is not necessary. | 6,890 |
11943838 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.1illustrates two wireless communication networks, each of which may include a number of base stations and other network entities. For simplicity.FIG.1also illustrates four base stations111,112,113and114and two network controllers121and122. A base station may be a fixed station that communicates with the multi-SIM communication devices and may also be referred to as an access point, a node, an evolved node, etc. A base station may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. The overall coverage area of a base station may be partitioned into smaller areas, and each smaller area may be served by a respective base station subsystem. The term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a base station and/or a base station subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. For illustration purpose only, a first wireless communication network includes base stations111and112, and network controller121; a second wireless communication network includes base stations113and114, and network controller122. The first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network, for illustration purpose only, may be operated by a first network operator and a second network operator respectively. Multiple Subscriber Identification Module (multi-SIM) device101may be one of many devices receiving wireless communication services by the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network. Multi-SIM communication device101can be a mobile phone, a router and access terminal (AT), a mobile station (MS), a wireless modem, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber unit, a station, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), or any other networking nodes that have been developed to allow users to manage and use more than one phone number via one device and via more than one SIM card such as SIM card201a-c, SIM card251a-c, SIM card291aand291b, and SIM card262aand262b. This invention may cover physical SIM cards of any size, as well as soft-SIM solutions or virtual-SIM solutions. Multi-SIM communication, device101may be stationary or mobile and may communicate with a base station via the downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the base station to multi-SIM communication device101, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from multi-SIM communication device101to the base station. The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication networks such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other networks. The terms “network” and “system” are often used interchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), CDMA2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. CDMA 2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM). An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (WI-FI), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a UMTS that uses E-UTRA, which employs OFDMA on the downlink and SC-FDMA on the uplink, UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE and GSM are described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP). CDMA 2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). FIG.2Aillustrates one of embodiments according to the present invention. Multi-SIM communication device101A has at least two radio units. There can be more number of SIM card interfaces than the number of radio frequency (RF) units. RF units, such as RF units221aand221b, are connected to embedded/external antennas respectively. A RF unit can be connected to one or more SIM card interface. An external device connected to multi-SIM communication device101may also house RF units and SIM card interfaces, and thus RF units and SIM card interfaces are not housed by multi-SIM communication device101. A SIM card can be placed in the external device. For example, the external device is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3GPP modem. In another example, the external device is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) LTE modem. Multi-SIM device101is capable of connecting to one or more external devices. For example, a USB modem is connected to the USB interface of multi-SIM device101. According to one of the embodiments of the present invention, the RF unit or the multi-SIM device to be reset in order for it to be able to use another SIM card. One of the methods to reset to RF unit is to power-cycle the RF unit. For example RF unit221ais connected to SIM card interface221aonly and RF unit221bis connected to SIM card interfaces211band211c. When RF unit221bis using SIM card201b, RF unit221bcannot use SIM card201c. Processing unit231, for example, can instruct RF unit221bto use SIM cards201band201cin tandem through SIM card interfaces211band211crespectively. In another example, processing unit231can instruct RF unit221bto use only one of SIM cards201band201cuntil an event that triggers processing unit231to instruct RF unit221bto use another SIM card. Memory, such as234,285,297and266may represent one or more devices for storing data in. a volatile state. These devices may include random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory and/or other machine readable mediums for storing volatile data. A storage unit, such as storage unit232,282,296and267may represent one or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM), magnetic disk storage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/or other machine readable mediums for storing information. The term “machine-readable medium” includes, but is not limited to portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels and various other mediums capable of storing, containing or carrying instruction(s) and/or data. A machine-readable medium can be realized by virtualization, and can be a virtual machine readable medium including a virtual machine readable medium in a cloud-based instance. Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description, languages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine readable medium such as storage medium. A processing unit, such as processing unit231,281,295and265may perform the necessary tasks. A code segment may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc. A processing unit(s) can be realized by virtualization, and can be a virtual processing unit(s) including a virtual processing unit in a cloud-based instance. A SIM card interface, such as SIM card interfaces261a-261b,201a-211c,292aand292b, and263aand263b,264aand264bis used to access and write information to and from a SIM card. There are many SIM card interfaces available from different manufacturers. Some of the SIM card interfaces provide functions of power supply, card reset signal, card clock signal and data exchange. A data exchange can be performed between the SIM card and processing unit231, SIM Card Interface Selector284or RF units221. Some of SIM card interfaces can only be connected with one SIM card while some can be connected to a plurality of SIM cards. Examples of SIM card interface include ON Semiconductor's NCN6804 and NCN8024, and Fairchild Semi-conductor's FXLP4555. A network interface, such as network interface233a,233B,283a,283b,294a,294b,268aand268bin multi-SIM communication device101, may be an Ethernet interface, a frame relay interface, a fibre optic interface, a cable interface, a DSL interface, a token ring interface, a serial bus interface, an universal serial bus (USB) interface, Firewire interface, Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) interface, etc. There may be more than one network interface in multi-SIM communication device101. A network interface may be used as a local area network (LAN) interface or a wide area network (WAN) interface. System bus such as240,241,242and243allows multi-SIM communication device101to have increased modularity. For example, System bus240couples processing unit231to storage unit232, SIM card201a, network interface233a, and RF unit221b. System bus can be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. Multi-SIM communication device101A may be within the coverage of multiple base stations. More than one of base stations may be selected from these multiple base stations to serve multi-SIM communication device101a. The selection of one or more serving base stations may be referred to as server selection. The selection of base station, to server multi-SIM communication device101a(server selection) may be initiated by multi-SIM communication device101a, by a base, station, and/or by the wireless communication network. Multi-SIM communication device101amay request to be served by a base station. The base station may accept or reject the request. The wireless communication network may also accept or reject the request. A base station or wireless communication network may consider one or more factors to determine whether to accept or reject the request, including network capacity, processing capacity, number of concurrent connections, and etc. In one example, when the server selection is initiated by a base station, multi-SIM communication device101amay or may not be able to reject the server selection if multi-SIM communication device101adecides to connect to the same network. Then base station111or base station112may instruct multi-SIM communication device101ato connect to base station111when multi-SIM communication device101ahas already been connected with base station112. If multi-SIM communication device101arefuses to connect to base station111, multi-SIM communication device101awill not be able to connect to the first wireless communication network through base station112as base station112will later disconnect with multi-SIM communication device101a. In one example, multi-SIM communication device101amay try to connect to a particular base station, such as base station112. Multi-SIM communication device may send the request to the first wireless communication. If the request is authorized, then multi-SIM communication device can then connect to base station111. A base station is a qualified base station if the received signal quality from the base station, is above a threshold and multi-SIM communication device101acan be authorized to connect to the base station by using information from one of SIM cards201. In one variant, if a base station can only be connected through a RF unit that is capable of establishing a wireless connection with a LTE network, the base station can only be a qualified base station when using the RF unit. The base station may not be a qualified base station when using another RF unit, which is not capable of establishing a wireless connection with a LTE network. When processing unit231determines to establish a wireless connection with a base station, the base station is the Selected Base Station. The Selected Base Station is connected using one of RF units221using authentication information retrieved from a corresponding SIM card. It is possible that a Selected Base Station cannot be connected to because of many reasons, including lack of capacity at the Selected Base Station, refusal by the Selected Base Station, etc. A RF unit is available when it has not established any wireless connection. If a RF unit is not available, the RF unit cannot be used to establish an additional wireless connection. In one example, in order to have a RF unit that is originally unavailable to become available, the RF unit may need to disconnect established wireless connection before establishing another wireless connection. FIG.3Aillustrates one of the embodiments according to the present invention. At step301, processing unit231instructs one of RF units221(Scanning RF Unit) to scan for base stations that multi-SIM communication device101acan be connected to. Although multi-SIM communication device101amay find many base stations during the scan, multi-SIM communication device101aonly observes received signal quality for those base stations that multi-SIM communication device101acan connect to. Multi-SIM communication device101acan only connect to base stations operated by network operators that authorize SIM cards201to connect to. For example, use of SIM cards201a,201band201callows multi-SIM communication device101ato connect to a base station of a wireless communication network operated by a first network operator, a second network operator and a third network operator respectively. As base stations111and112are operated by the first network operator and base stations113and114are operated by the second network operator, multi-SIM communication device101acan connect to base stations111-114by using SIM cards201aor201b. In another example, a plurality of SIM cards201may be used by processing unit231to enable multi-SIM communication device101ato establish more than one wireless connection with a base station. When processing unit231selects SIM cards211bor221cfor RF unit221bfor use, processing unit231instructs RF unit221bto select SIM card interface211bor211cfor SIM cards211bor211crespectively according to the instruction sent by processing unit231. Alternatively, RF unit221bdoes not connect to SIM card interfaces211band211cdirectly. Instead, SIM card interfaces211band211care connected to bus240. In such case, SIM card information is retrieved from SIM card interfaces211band/or211cand then sent to RF unit221b. Alternatively, there could be a SIM card interface selector, like the one illustrated inFIG.7for the embodiment illustrated inFIG.2B, connects SIM card interfaces211band211cto RF unit221band is controlled by processing unit231. Examples of a SIM card interface selector for two SIM card interfaces include TXS02326 Dual-Supply 2:1 SIM Card Multiplexer/Translator supplied by Texas Instruments and LTC4557 Dual SIM/Smart Card Power Supply and interface supplied by Linear Technology. At step302, the Scanning RF Unit observes received signal quality of the base stations111,112,113and114. Both RF units221aand221bcan be the Scanning RF Unit. For example, RF unit221bis the Scanning RF Unit, while RF unit221ais not Scanning RF Unit and will not perform received signal quality observation. In one example, RF unit221ais a Scanning RF Unit for a period of time and then not being the Scanning RF Unit for another period of time. Therefore, RF unit221amay be able to perform other non-received signal quality observation functions when RF unit221ais not a Scanning RF Unit. It is preferred that only one of RF units221aand221bis a Scanning RF Unit at any particular moment as the benefits of more than one RF units to observe received signal quality is limited. As some RF units may not be able to provide data communication functions when being a Scanning RF Unit, the shorter period of time a RF unit is a Scanning RF, the more time the RF unit can provide data communication functions. In one variant, as different RF units are used as Scanning RF Units, it is possible that observed received signal qualities associated with a base station are different. Processing unit231may average the observed received signal qualities or choose the most recent observed received signal quality before further processing. Steps301and302may be performed all the time, periodically and/or upon an instruction received by processing unit231. The more frequent step301is performed, the sooner multi-SIM communication device101amay be able to connect to a base station that has better received signal quality and may result in higher data throughput. If a RF unit is not able to perform steps301and/or step302while being wirelessly connected with a base station, step301and/or step302should be not performed. If a RF unit is not able to perform scanning while transmitting or receiving data from the wireless connected base station, step301and/or step302should be performed less frequently in order to avoid interruptions to data transmission and receiving. In one variant, the frequency of performing steps301and302can be different. The frequency of performing step302is preferred to be performed more frequently than of step301. The number of base stations available to be connected does not change significantly if multi-SIM communication device101adoes not move much. However, received signal quality may change even if multi-SIM communication device101ais stationary. After step301is performed, step302may be performed a number of times before step301is performed again. In one example, step301is performed every thirty seconds and step302is performed ten times every thirty seconds. At step303, processing unit231transmits data packets based in part on observed received signal quality after observing received signal quality of base stations111-114. The Scanning RF Unit may be able to observe received signal quality of base stations other than base stations111-114. It is preferred that processing unit231does not transmit data packets based in part on observed received signal quality of base stations other than base stations111-114because multi-SIM communication device101acannot connect to base stations other than base stations111-114. For example, when processing unit231determines that received signal quality with base station111is the best among the received signal qualities with base stations111-114, processing unit231transmits more data packets through base station111than through base stations112,113and114. In another example, when processing unit231determines that received signal quality with base station111and base station113are the best among the received signal qualities with base stations111-114, processing unit231transmits data packets through base stations111and113. In one variant, as RF unit221acan only connect to one of base stations111and112and RF unit221bcannot connect to any of base stations111and112, multi-SIM communication device101acan only connect one of base stations111and112through SIM card201aand RF unit221a. Therefore, even if received signal qualities with base stations111and112are better than received signal qualities with base stations113and114, processing unit231will transmit data packets through RF units221awith one of base stations111and112and through RF unit221bwith one of base stations113and114 FIG.3Billustrates one of the embodiments according to the present invention. The difference between the processes inFIG.3BandFIG.3Ais that step303is replaced by step313. At step303, processing unit231adjusts data transmission performance metric monitoring frequency based in part on observed received signal quality. As received signal quality of a wireless connection changes and if a RF unit is transmitting and/or receiving through the wireless connection, data transmission performance metric may be affected by the received signal quality change. When the received signal quality is good, there is less need to monitor the data transmission performance metric frequently. On the other hand, when the received signal quality is below a threshold, the data transmission performance metric monitoring should be performed more frequently as it is possible that the wireless connection can become unstable quickly. In one example, RF unit221ais the Scanning RF Unit and RF unit221bis transmitting data packets through a wireless connection established between RF unit221band base station114. When RF unit221ahas observed the received signal quality of the wireless connection between RF unit221band base station114has dropped below a threshold, processing unit231monitors data transmission performance metric for data packets transmitted through RF unit221bmore frequently. When the received signal quality of the wireless connection between RF unit221band base station114has improved and is above the threshold, processing unit231monitors data transmission performance metric for data packets transmitted through RF unit221bat a regular frequency. When processing unit231has found a wireless connection is unstable, it stops transmitting data packets through the wireless connection. In one variant, if the wireless connection with base station114is unstable, processing unit231then disconnects the wireless connection with base station114and tries to establish another wireless connection with another base station. FIG.3Cillustrates one of the embodiments according to the present invention. The difference between the processes inFIG.3BandFIG.3Ais that step303is replaced by steps323and324. At step323, processing unit231selects a base station (Selected Base Station) based in part on observed received signal quality. The better the observed received signal quality with a base station being observed, the more likely the base station is selected. The Selected Base Station should also be a base station that can be connected by one of RF units221. If received signal quality with a base station is highest among all received signal qualities observed but the base station cannot be connected through any of RF units221, the base station will not be selected by processing unit231and cannot be a Selected Base Station. In one variant, in order for processing unit231to select a base station to be the Selected Base Station, the received signal quality with the base station has to be higher than a threshold. At step324, processing unit231instructs one of RF units221to connect to the Selected Base Station if processing unit231decides so. For example, if the Selected Base Station is base station114and only RF unit221bcan be used to connect to base station114. Processing unit231will then instruct RF unit221bto connect to base station114. In one variant, processing unit231will only instruct RF unit221bto connect to base station114if RF unit221bhas not established any wireless connection with another base station in order to avoid breaking established communication. In one variant, processing unit231will only instruct RF unit221bto connect to base station114if RF unit221bhas established a wireless connection, with another base station but the received signal quality with the another base station is lower than a threshold. The received signal quality with the another base station is observed at step302. In one variant, processing unit231will only instruct RF unit221bto connect to base station114if the received signal quality with RF unit221bis above a threshold. In one variant, steps301and302are being performed continuously after multi-SIM communication device101ais powered up therefore processing unit231can continuously find base stations that are qualified to be the Selected Base Station. FIG.2Billustrates one of the embodiments according to the present invention. Multi-SIM communication device101bhas at least two radio units. There can be more number of SIM card interfaces than the number of radio frequency (RF) units. RF units, such as271aand271b, are connected to embedded/external antennas respectively. SIM card interface selector284provides access for RF units271to connect to SIM card interfaces261. Instructed by processing unit281, one or more SIM card interfaces261may be selected by SIM card interface selector284to establish wireless connections using RF units271. In this example, SIM card interface selector284may select SIM card interface261a,261bor261cfor use by RF unit271b. Furthermore, SIM card interface selector284may select SIM card interface261a,261bor261cfor use by RF unit271a. Therefore, SIM card interface selector284is capable of allowing any RF unit271to use any SIM cards251by using multiplexing technique known to those skilled in the art. Processing unit281instructs RF unit271bto perform other tasks when RF unit is not used to establish a wireless connection. Other tasks may include serving as a Scanning RF Unit to scan for base stations or to establish a wireless connection. In one example, SIM card interface selector284is a multiplexer that allows RF unit271aand RF271bconnects to any of SIM card interfaces261a,261band261cas illustrated inFIG.7. Preferably, when a SIM card interface is already connected to one of RF units271, the other of RF unit271cannot connect to the same SIM card interface as most wireless communication networks only allow one SIM card to establish one wireless connection at any time. However, there is no limitation that one SIM card interface must be connected to one RF unit only. There is no limitation on the number of SIM card interfaces that a SIM card interface selector can connect to. Similarly, there is no limitation on the number of RF units that a SIM card interface selector can connect to. In another embodiment, multi-SIM communication device101bperforms according to the steps illustrated inFIG.3C. At step301, processing unit281instructs one of RF units271(Scanning RF Unit) to scan for base stations that multi-SIM communication device101bcan be connected to. Although multi-SIM communication device101bmay find many base stations during the scan, multi-SIM communication device101bonly observes received signal quality for those base stations that multi-SIM communication device101bcan connect to or may observe no signal at all. Multi-SIM communication device101bcan only connect to base stations operated by network operators that authorize SIM cards251to connect to. For example, use of SIM cards251a,251band251callows multi-SIM communication device101bto connect to a base station of a wireless communication networks operated by a first network operator, a second network operator and a third network operator respectively. As base stations111and112are operated by the first network operator and base stations113and114are operated by the second network operator, multi-SIM communication device101bcan connect, to base stations111-114by using SIM cards251aand251b. Multi-SIM communication device101bmay not be able to connect to the third wireless communication network using SIM card251cwhen there are no base stations providing wireless communications service from the third wireless communication network. In one example, a plurality of SIM cards251may be selected by SIM Card Interface Selector284, and used by processing unit281to enable multi-SIM communication device101bto establish more than one wireless connection with a base station. The selection may also be performed by processing unit281. For example, processing unit281may instruct RF unit271aand RF unit271bto use SIM card251aand SIM card251bto establish wireless connections with base station111and base station113respectively. Processing unit281instructs SIM card interface selector284to provide RF units271access to SIM card interface261. This may allow multi-SIM communication device101bto have at least one wireless connection established with a wireless communication network. For example, when multi-SIM communication device101bis out of coverage of the second wireless communication network, multi-SIM communication device101bcan stay connected with the first wireless communication network using SIM card251b. In one variant, since SIM card251bis operating without the coverage of its authorised communication network which is the second wireless communication network, multi-SIM communication device101bmay be configured to be operating on a roaming network and may incur network roaming charges. At step302, the Scanning RF Unit observes received signal quality of the base stations111,112,113and114. Both RF units271aand271bcan be the Scanning RF Unit. For example, RF unit271bis the Scanning RF Unit while RF unit271ais not Scanning RF Unit and will not perform received signal quality observation. In one example, RF unit271ais a Scanning RF Unit for a period of time and then is not for another period of time. Therefore, RF unit271amay be able to perform other non-received signal quality observation functions when RF unit271ais not a Scanning RF Unit. It is preferred that only one of RF units271aand271bis a Scanning RF Unit at any particular moment as the benefits of more than one RF units to observe received signal quality is limited. As some RF units may not be able to provide data communication functions when being a Scanning RF Unit, the shorter period of time a RF unit is a Scanning RF Unit, the more time the RF unit can provide data communication functions. In one variant, as different RF units are used as Scanning RF Units, it is possible that observed received signal qualities associated with a base station are different. Processing unit281may average the observed received signal qualities or choose the most recent observed received signal quality before further processing. At step323, processing unit281selects a base station (Selected Base Station) based in part on observed received signal quality. The better the observed received signal quality with a base station being observed, the more likely the base station is selected. The base station may also be selected by processing unit281based in part on policies or algorithms or centralised management methods. The Selected Base Station should also be a base station that can be connected by one of RF units271. If received signal quality with a base station is highest among all received signal qualities observed but the base station cannot be connected through any of RF units271, the base station will not be selected by processing unit281and cannot be a Selected Base Station. In one variant, in order for processing unit281to select a base station to be the Selected Base station, the received signal quality with the base station has to be higher than a threshold. At step324, processing unit281through SIM card interface selector284, instructs RF units271to use SIM cards251through at least one of SIM card interface261to connect to the Selected Base Station. Alternatively, processing unit281instructs SIM card interface selector284to provide information retrieved from one of SIM cards251to one of RF units271and processing unit281also instructs the one of RF units271to connect to the Selected Base Station based in part on the information retrieved at the same time if processing unit281decides so. For example, the Selected Base Station is base station114and any RF unit271can be used to connect to base station114because any of RF unit271can use any of the SIM cards251. In one example, base stations113and114belong to the second wireless communication network and is operated by the second network operator. Base station114is the Selected Base Station based in part on the threshold. Processing unit281also determines RF unit271bwill be used to establish a wireless connection with Selected Base Station114. Processing unit281then instructs SIM card interface selector284to select SIM card interface261bto connect with a SIM card that has the corresponding authentication information, in this example, SIM card251b. In one variant, processing unit281will only instruct SIM card interface selector284to select SIM card251bto be served by RF unit271bto connect to base station114if RF unit271bhas established a wireless connection with another base station and the received signal quality is below the threshold. The received signal quality with the another base station is observed at step302. This ensures that multi-SIM communication device101bestablishes wireless connections with qualified base stations that have observed signal qualities above the threshold. FIG.4Aillustrates one of the embodiments according to the present invention. At step401, processing unit has already observed received signal quality of the base stations111,112,113and114through a Scanning RF Unit. At step430, processing unit231selects a base station from the list of base stations that are qualified to be the Selected Base Station based in part on observed received signal quality. A base station is qualified if the received signal quality with the base station is higher than a threshold. When there is more than one base station qualified, processing unit231selects one of the base stations to be Selected Base Station. The selection may be performed according to received signal quality, predefined priority, preferences, price and etc., in case after step437, the Selected Base Station cannot be used, processing unit231will select another base station from the qualified base stations. For illustration purpose, base station114is the Selected Base Station. At step431, processing unit231determines whether a RF unit is available to connect to the Selected Base Station. When there is no RF unit available to connect to the Selected Base Station, processing unit231determines whether any of received signal quality with each connected base station, which has established a wireless connection with multi-SIM communication device101a, is below a threshold at step432. In an example, for illustration purpose, when RF units221aand221bhave already established wireless connections with base stations111and113respectively, there is no RF unit available at step431. Then processing unit231determines whether the received signal quality of the wireless connection established by RF unit221aand base station111or the received signal quality of the wireless connection established by RF unit221band base station113is below than a threshold at step432. If none of the received signal quality is below the threshold, the Selected Base Station is not used to establish a wireless connection and the process stops at step402. If one of the received signal qualities with the base stations is below the threshold, for example, the received signal quality of wireless connection established by RF unit221band base station113is below the threshold, step434is performed. For illustration purpose, when the received signal quality of wireless connection established by RF unit221band base station113is lower than the threshold, then at step434, processing unit231instructs RF unit221bto terminate the wireless connection with base station113. The termination frees resources at RF unit221band allows RF unit221bto establish a new wireless connection. At step435, processing unit231instructs RF unit221bto connect to the Selected Base Station. At step436, processing unit231checks whether RF unit221bis able to establish a wireless connection with the Selected Base Station which is base station114. If RF unit221bhas successfully established a wireless connection with base station114, processing unit231can then transmitting and receiving IF packets through RF unit221band base station114at step438. Those who are skilled in the arts would appreciate that IP packets can be transmitted using transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), or other protocols. If RF unit221bcannot establish a wireless connection with base station114, processing unit231checks if there is another qualified base station to be the Selected Base Station at step437. If there is at least one more qualified base station, step430is performed to select the at least one more qualified base station. If there is no more qualified base station, the process stops at step402. In one variant, when there is no more base station qualified to be connected to at step437, processing unit231will attempt to connect to the base station that was disconnected from at step434. This allows processing unit231to try to return to have the same number of wireless connections. In one variant, if a RF unit is capable of establishing a wireless connection without disconnection another wireless connection that has already been established, steps431,432and434will then be performed after step438in order not to terminate an established wireless connection too early. In one variant step430is preferred to be performed after step431or step434as shown inFIG.4B. As there is no RF unit available and none of the received signal quality for established wireless connection is worse than a threshold, step434is avoided in order to reduce the probability of interrupting ongoing data communications and step430is also not performed in order to reduce computing resources. FIG.4Billustrates one of the embodiments according to the present invention. At step401, processing unit has already observed received signal quality of the base stations111,112,113and114through a Scanning RF Unit At step431, processing unit281determines whether any RF unit is available to connect to the Selected Base Station. When there is no RF unit available to connect to the Selected Base Station, processing unit281determines whether any of received signal quality with each connected base station, which has established a wireless connection with multi-SIM communication device101b, is below a threshold at step432. In an example, for illustration purpose, when RF units271aand271bhave already established wireless connections with base stations111and113respectively, there is no RF unit available at step431. Then processing unit281determines whether the received signal quality of the wireless connection established by RF unit271aand base station111or the received signal quality of the wireless connection established by RF unit271band base station113is below a threshold at step432. If none of the received signal quality is below the threshold, the selected base station is not used to establish a wireless connection and the process stops at step402. If one of the received signal qualities with the base stations is below the threshold, for example, the received signal quality of wireless connection established by RF unit271band base station113is below the threshold, step434is performed. At step434, processing unit281instructs RF unit271bto disconnect from base station113so that RF unit271bcan become an available RF unit. At step430, processing unit281selects a base station from the list of base stations that are qualified to be the Selected Base Station based in part on observed received signal quality. When there are more than one base stations qualified, processing unit281selects one of the base stations to be Selected Base Station. The selection may be performed according to received signal quality, predefined priority, preferences, price etc. At step430, base station114is the selected base station after processing unit281determines the observed signal quality of base station114to be above the threshold. In one variant, at step436the Selected Base Station is found not capable of being used and there is no more qualified base station at step437, step430restarts and processing unit281will select another base station from the qualified base stations. This is to try to ensure multi-SIM communication device101balways has at least one established wireless connection with the qualified base station that has the observed received signal quality above the threshold. In one variant, if there is no base station that can offer wireless communication service with observed received signal quality above the threshold, multi-SIM communication device101bmay attempt to establish wireless connections with a base station with the highest observed received signal quality. At step435, SIM card251bis connected to SIM card interface261band is authorised to connect with the second wireless communication network and base station114. Processing unit281instructs SIM card interface selector284to select SIM card interface261b, which is connected to SIM card251b, to establish a wireless connection with the Selected Base Station114through RF unit271b. At step436, processing unit281instructs SIM card interface selector284to select a SIM card interface261, then verifies whether RF unit271is able to establish a wireless connection with a Selected Base Station. If RF unit271successfully establishes a wireless connection a base station, processing unit281can then transmit and receive IP packets through RF unit271and the base station at step438. If RF unit271bsuccessfully establishes a wireless connection with base station114, processing unit281then transmits and receives IP packets through RF unit271band the base station114at step438. If RF unit271bcannot establish a wireless connection with base station114, processing unit281checks if there is another qualified base station to be the Selected Base Station at step437. If there is at least one more qualified base station, step430is performed to select the at least one more qualified base station. If there is no more qualified base station, the process stops at step402. In one variant, when there is no more base station qualified to be connected to at step437, processing unit281may instruct RF unit271to connect to the base station, that was disconnected from at step434. This allows multi-SIM communication device101bto try to have at least one established wireless connection with the qualified base station that has the observed signal quality above the threshold. In one variant, if a RF unit is capable of establishing a wireless connection without disconnecting another wireless connection that has already been established, steps431,432and434will then be performed after step438in order not to terminate the established wireless connection too early. In one variant, step430is preferred to be performed after step431or step434. As there is no RF unit available and none of the received signal quality for established wireless connection is worse than a threshold, step434is avoided in order to reduce the probability of interrupting ongoing data communications and step430is also not performed in order to reduce computing resources. FIG.1also illustrates a network environment that a multi-SIM is capable of transmitting and receiving data packets through an aggregated tunnel according to one of the embodiments of the present invention. Multi-SIM communication device101, such as multi-SIM communication device101a,101band101d, that has more than one RF unit, and has established at least two wireless connections between at least two RF units and at least one base station. Multi-SIM communication device101ccannot be used for this embodiment as it only has one RF unit293aunless RF unit293ais able to establish more than one wireless connection. An aggregated tunnel is then established through the at least two wireless connections. Within each of the established wireless connections, a tunnel is established between multi-SIM communication device101and network node119for transmitting and receiving data packets. The data packets may be encapsulated by using a tunneling protocol packet. The aggregated tunnel may be an aggregated virtual private network (VPN) connection. Multi-SIM communication device101and network node119may first negotiate tunnel configuration variables, such as address assignments, compression parameters and encryption methods before transmitting and receiving data packets. Multi-SIM communication device101transmits the encapsulated data packets across interconnected networks117. Network node119may decapsulate the encapsulated data packets to retrieve the data packets upon receiving the encapsulated data packets. In one example, multi-SIM communication device101establishes a tunnel using RF unit221awith base station111on the first wireless communication network and another tunnel with RF unit221bwith base station113on the second wireless communication network. For the purpose of illustration, the tunnel established using RF unit221ais referred to as tunnel A and the tunnel established using RF unit221bis referred to as tunnel B. Tunnel A and tunnel B together are used to form an aggregated tunnel. When the established wireless connections between multi-SIM communication device101and both base station111and113are stable, multi-SIM communication device101are able to transmit data packets through the aggregated tunnel using both tunnel A and tunnel8without many packet drops. When tire established wireless connection between multi-SIM communication device101and base station111is stable but the established wireless connection between multi-SIM communication device101aand base station113is unstable, tunnel B may become broken. Multi-SIM communication device101then transmits data packets through the aggregated tunnel using tunnel A and stops transmitting data packets through tunnel B. In one variant, after the wireless connection between multi-SIM communication device101aand base station113is stable again and tunnel B is re-established, multi-SIM communication device, then transmits data packets using both tunnel A and tunnel B. In one variant, when the Scanning RF Unit has observed that received signal quality of the wireless connection between multi-SIM communication, device101aand base station113is worsening, multi-SIM communication device101may not use tunnel B even though tunnel B is not broken in order to reduce packet toss. FIG.5is a flowchart illustrating the steps according to various embodiments of the present invention. Multi-SIM communication devices101a101band101ccan be viewed in conjunction withFIG.5respectively to illustrate how event triggers could be used to select one of more SIM cards. Event triggers include but are not limited to a geographic location trigger, a data usage trigger, a received signal quality trigger, a time trigger, a duration of usage trigger, a billing cycle trigger etc. Event triggers may be referred to as a first event trigger and a second event trigger as illustrated inFIG.5, step501and503respectively. In one variant, a plurality of triggers can be combined to form an event trigger. For example, the first event trigger can be based on a geographic location trigger and a data usage trigger. In another example, the second event trigger can be based on the duration of usage trigger and the billing cycle information trigger. In one variant, the first event trigger and the second event trigger can be based on the same trigger(s). Multi-SIM communication device has two SIM cards291aand291b, two SIM card interfaces292aand292b, one processing unit295, one storage unit295and one RF unit293a. There are also two wireless communication networks available where SIM291ais authorised for a first wireless communication network, and SIM291bis authorised for a second wireless communication network. Multi-SIM communication device101coriginally uses SIM card291a, for illustration purpose only, as the first SIM card to establish a wireless communication. At step505, when a first event trigger has occurred, SIM card291acannot be used. The wireless connection established using SIM card291aand RF unit293amay have been broken or terminated. At step502, multi-SIM communication device101cuses a second SIM card to establish a wireless connection, which is SIM card291bin this example. After RF unit293ahas disconnected from the established wireless connection with the first wireless communication network, it can be used to establish another wireless connection with another wireless communication network as SIM291bis authorised to establish wireless connections with the second wireless communication network, therefore it is selected by processing unit295to be served by RF unit293athrough SIM card interface292bto establish a wireless connection with the second wireless communication network. As there are two SIM cards, SIM card291aand291b, SIM card291bis the only SIM card that can be the second SIM card in step502. If multi-SIM communication device101chas more SIM cards, one of SIM card291band the more SIM cards and can be selected to be the second SIM card in step502. The selection can be based on one or more criteria. For example, the least used SIM card is selected to be the second SIM card. In another example, the SIM card that has the corresponding lowest tariff price is selected to be the second SIM card. In another example, the SIM card that has the expected network performance is selected to be the second SIM card. In another example, each of the SIM card is assigned with a priority and the selection is based on the priority. The priority can be entered by a user of multi-SIM communication device101c, the manufacturer of multi-SIM communication device101c, the position of the SIM sockets used to house the SIM cards, or retrieved from a remote server. The network performance may be determined by using results reported by a Scanning RF Unit. At step503, processing unit monitors for a second event trigger or is notified by a second event trigger. The second event trigger may occur clue to but not limited to the following reasons: a duration of usage, conditions of the current connection, reaching the cap of a data usage plan, and geographical location. When the second event trigger does not occur, processing unit295continues monitoring for the second event trigger and multi-SIM communication device101ccontinues using SIM card291b. On the other hand, when the second event trigger occurs, for example, after a duration of usage has been reached, processing unit295will perform step504. One example for the second event trigger may be based on duration of usage trigger. The duration of usage may be set by the vendor of multi-SIM communication device101c, a user of multi-SIM communication device101cor retrieved from a remote server. One such purpose may be due to a preference in the use of a specific wireless communication network. The user may specify that the second wireless communication network should only be used for sixty minutes per session. In one variant, if multi-SIM communication device101cdisconnects from the second wireless communication network, the sixty minute session ends and is restarted when another wireless connection is established with the second wireless communication network at a later dine. After sixty minutes has been reached, the second event trigger occurs and step504is performed. Similarly, the first event trigger can also be based on the duration of usage, for example, when the duration of usage has been reached, the first event trigger occurs. In another variant, it is known that while received signal quality may be above the threshold, it is possible that data packets cannot be transmitted. There are many reasons for this but one example may be when multi-SIM terminal101chas already established a wireless connection with base station111, but the connection between network controller and interconnected networks117is slow. Processing unit295may use the observed signal quality as a trigger, in conjunction with a network performance trigger. The network performance trigger may be based on the bandwidth and packet drop rate with network node119. For example, if the wireless connection established with SIM291ahas signal quality above the threshold but the network performance is below another threshold, the second event trigger occurs. If the signal quality is above a threshold and the network performance above another threshold, the second event trigger does not occur. In another example, the second event trigger may be based on geographic location data. Geographic location data may include geographic coordinate data based on the geographic coordinate system. The geographic location data may be received by the RF unit such as RF unit293a. It may also be received by an embedded or external GPS receiver which is not illustrated inFIG.2C. The geographic location data may be predefined as a trigger. This may be set by the vendor of multi-SIM communication device101c, the user of multi-SIM communication device101cor the data may be retrieved from a remote server. For example, it is possible to locate multi-SIM communication device101con a map in real-time as it receives geographic location data. Similarly, the first event trigger can also be based on geographic location data, for example when the geographic location is known to be without of the coverage area of a wireless communication network, the first event trigger occurs. One scenario where this may be used is when the multi-SIM communication device is without the coverage area of a wireless communication network. In order to continue transmitting data and not incur wireless communication network roaming charges or to incur charges from another wireless communication network with a higher tariff pricing, the second event trigger occurs as soon as its geographic location data matches the predefined geographic location trigger. For example, the predefined threshold is a location fence for geographic location A. The geographic location data received by multi-SIM communication device101cis determined by processing unit295to be above the threshold when it is outside of the geographic location A and therefore the second event trigger occurs so that multi-SIM communication device101cmay select another operational SIM card. In one example, the second event trigger is based on tariff pricing information. The tariff pricing information typically includes at least the monthly cellular subscription cost, the monthly data usage limit, the premium for exceeding the monthly data usage limit, and the premium for using a roaming network. The tariff pricing information may be inputted by a user or retrieved from a remote server, and then stored in storage unit296for later retrieval. For illustration purpose only, when processing unit295has determined that the tariff price of the second SIM card, which is SIM card291b, is not the cheapest, a second event trigger occurs. Those who are skilled in the art would appreciate that there are myriad of reasons why the tariff price of SIM card291bis not the cheapest. Similarly, the first event trigger can also be based on tariff pricing information, for example when the tariff price of SIM card291ais no longer the cheapest, the first event trigger occurs. In one variant, processing unit295monitors tariff pricing information from network operators corresponding to SIM cards291aand291bas it is possible that network operators may change tariff prices. Those who are skilled in the art would appreciate that there are myriad of reasons why network operators change tariff prices. For example, due to congested network environment, a network operator may increase the tariff price in real-time. When processing unit295has discovered that the tariff price of the SIM card291bis not the cheapest, the second event trigger occurs. In another variant, the second trigger occurs based on both the tariff pricing information and the data usage for both SIM cards291aand291b. For example, network operators may have different tariff prices based on data usage especially after the data usage limit has been reached. When processing unit295determines that SIM card291bis no longer the cheapest based on data usage, the second event trigger occurs. In another example, the second event trigger may be based on the billing cycle information. A billing cycle is when the period of a cellular subscription for communication service, usually monthly. It is common that once a billing cycle ends, the data usage counter ceases for the month and a new billing cycle begins. Similarly, the first event trigger can also be based on the billing cycle information. For example, when the billing cycle is about to end, the first event trigger occurs. The billing cycle period may be set by the vendor of multi-SIM communication device101c, a user of multi-SIM communication device101cor the trigger data may be retrieved from a remote server. One scenario where this may be used is when data traffic per month is capped and a balanced data usage across two SIM cards may be desirable. For the purpose of illustration, the first wireless communication network and second wireless communication network each allows for one gigabyte of data to be transmitted per month and data exceeding the allowance is charged at a high premium. The billing cycle of the first wireless communication network is from the first day to the last day of every month and the billing cycle of the second wireless communication network is from the fourteenth day of the current month to the fourteenth day of the nest month. The user estimates that SIM291awould be nearing its data usage allowance by the end of the month and hence sets a higher priority based on usage for the second wireless communication network when it is near the end of the month. Similarly, the user sets a higher priority based on usage for the first wireless communication network near the middle of the month as he estimates that SIM291bwould be nearing its data usage allowance by the middle of the month, when its billing cycle is nearing its end. Therefore, the second event trigger occurs near the end of the month and multi-SIM communication device101cattempts to use SIM291b. Similarly, the second event trigger occurs near the middle of the month and multi-SIM communication device101cattempts to use SIM291a. In one variant the user sets the billing cycle as above, as well as sets communication network priority based on data usage according to the billing cycle. So while SIM291bhas higher priority based on usage near the end of a month, if the data usage on the second wireless communication network is already nearing one gigabyte which is the limit in this illustration, SIM291amay be selected for use. In another example, processing unit295may receive the second event trigger from RF unit293awhen the observed signal quality is below a threshold. For the purpose of illustration, RF unit293ais capable of activating the second event trigger when it has determined that the signal quality has fallen to less than the threshold. One example of the threshold is −100 dB. Similarly, the first event trigger can also be based on the observed signal quality. For example, when the observed signal quality is below a threshold, the first event trigger occurs. In another example, processing unit295receives the second event trigger which is based on geographic location data from the operating system, processing unit295then collects signal quality data from RF unit293aand stores both sets of data to storage unit296. For the purpose of illustration, processing unit295combines both sets of data over a period of time, creating a record of different geographic areas and their prevailing signal quality. With this information, multi-SIM communication device101cmay be able to anticipate areas where the signal quality is below a threshold and activate the second event trigger in order to use another wireless communication network. Another example for the second event trigger may be based on a time trigger. The time trigger may be set by the vendor of multi-SIM communication device101c, the user of multi-SIM communication device101c, retrieved from a remote server or retrieved internally from the multi-SIM communication device. The user may set for the second trigger to occur based on time. There are many reasons why this may be used but one example may be when the second network operator sets its tariff prices to be more expensive between certain time of the day. The user may set the time trigger to occur at a specific time for SIM292b, when SIM292bwas used by RF unit293ato establish a wireless connection with the second communication network. Similarly, the first event trigger can also be based on the time trigger, for example, when a specified time of the day has been reached, the first event trigger occurs. In one embodiment of the present invention, a trigger monitor is implemented into multi-SIM terminal101. The trigger monitor monitors for how frequent the SIM cards are being selected based on a predefined time period. There are many reasons for why the SIM cards are being selected frequently such as when the first and second event triggers are occurring frequently. For example, when a SIM card such as SIM card295a fromFIG.2Cis no longer operational, the first event trigger occurs as step501. A second SIM card such as SIM card291bis used in step502. When SIM card291bis no longer operational, the second event trigger occurs at step503. At step504, an operational SIM card may be SIM291a, SIM291bor another SIM card. When the selected operation SIM card is no longer operational again, the first event trigger may occur again, leading to the second event trigger and so on. The reason why the SIM card may no longer be operational could be due but not limited to failure of the wireless communication networks, failure of the SIM card, being outside of the coverage area of any base station etc. When the SIM card selection frequency reaches a threshold and a specified period of time has lapsed, the processing unit may apply a time delay to one or both event triggers so that the performance of step504is delayed. If after another predefined period of time, the frequency of SIM card selection still has the characteristics of for example, a SIM card failure, processing unit may instruct the RF units to perform an action such as power-cycle, enter sleep mode, enter a low power mode etc. The purpose of this implementation is to minimize the chance of the first and the second event trigger from occurring repeatedly. After the second event trigger has occurred, step504is performed by processing unit295to select an operational SIM card. The operational SIM card can be the first SIM card, the second SIM card or another SIM card. As there is no SIM card other than SIM cards291aand291bin this example, there is no another SIM card. If there are other SIM cards other than SIM cards291aand291bin multi-SIM communication device101c, the other SIM cards can be the another SIM card. After a SIM card is selected to be the operational SIM card, processing unit295can use the operational SIM card to establish a wireless connection. There can be no SIM card selected to be the operational SIM card and result in no wireless connection being able to be established. In one variant, after step504, processing unit295will go back to step501when the first event trigger is triggered. This allows the first SIM card be used again in case the first event, trigger is triggered. For example, the operational SIM card is SIM card. FIG.6illustrates processes according to one of embodiments of the present invention that an operational SIM card can be selected, in step504. There is no limitation that the processes ofFIG.6are the only processes to perform step504. At step601, processing unit295determines the list of SIM cards that can be used as the operational SIM card. As multi-SIM communication device101chas SIM cards291aand291b, the list of SIM cards is consisted of SIM cards291aand291b. If one of the SIM cards291aand291bis removed, the removed SIM card is not in the list of SIM cards. If a multi-SIM communication device has ten SIM cards, the list of SIM cards is consisted of the ten SIM cards. In one variant, SIM cards that can be included in the list of SIM cards are subject to one or more rules. For example, a rule can be that the second SIM card, which is SIM291bin this embodiment, cannot be in the list of SIM cards as the conditions for triggering the second event trigger may still apply. In another example, SIM card(s) that is(are) being used by other RF unit(s) cannot be in the list of SIM cards as the SIM card(s) has(have) already being used. The rule can be entered by a user of the multi-SIM communication device, the manufacturer of the multi-SIM communication device or retrieved from a remote server. At step602, processing unit295select a SIM card from the list of SIM cards. Multi-SIM communication device101c, for illustration purpose only, selects SIM card291a. The selection can be based on one or more criteria. For example, the SIM card that has the lowest price tariff is selected. In another example, the SIM card that may have the best network performance is selected. The network performance may be determined by using results reported by a Scanning RF Unit. In one variant, the one or more criteria at step602may be the same as the one or more criteria at step502. At step603, if there is no SIM card can be selected, the selection process stops at step607that no operational SIM card is selected. When all the SIM cards in the list of SIM cards have been used to establish corresponding wireless connections at step604and no wireless connection can be established at605, there will be no further SIM card in the list of SIM cards can be selected at step602and results in no operational SIM card is selected. At step604, the selected SIM card is used to establish a wireless connection. For example, selected SIM card at step603is SIM card291a, then processing unit295tries to use RF unit293aand SIM card291ato establish a wireless connection. If a wireless connection can lie established, this indicates that the SIM card selected, i.e., SIM card291ain this example, can be the operational SIM card at step606. If no wireless connection can be established, then step602will be performed to select another SIM card from the list of SIM cards. There are myriads reasons why a wireless connection cannot be established. For example, multi-SIM communication device101cis out of the coverage area of the network of the network operator corresponding to SIM card291aor the quota of SIM card291ais used up. In one embodiment, multi-SIM communication device101amay apply the processes inFIG.5andFIG.6to RF unit221band SIM cards201band201cthat RF unit221bare capable of connecting to through SIM card interfaces221band211crespectively. However, multi-SIM communication device101adoes not apply the processes inFIG.5andFIG.6to RF unit221aand SIM cards201aas RF unit221ais only accessible to SIM card201a. For illustration purpose only, in this embodiment, SIM card201bis the first SIM card and SIM card201cis the second SIM card. In one variant, RF unit221acan be used as a Scanning RF Unit to provide received signal qualify information for processing unit231to select operational SIM card at step502and/or step504when received signal qualify is a criteria for step502and/or step504. In one variant, RF unit221ais not used as a Scanning RF Unit and instead is used to establish a wireless connection. This allows two wireless connections established at multi-SIM communication device101a. In one embodiment, multi-SIM communication device101amay apply the processes inFIG.5andFIG.6to SIM cards201a,201band201c. For illustration purpose only, in this embodiment, SIM card201ais the first SIM card and SIM card201bis the second SIM card. When SIM card201ais used, RF unit221ais used to establish a wireless connection while RF unit221bis not used to establish a wireless connection or is used as a Scanning RF Unit. When SIM card201bused at step502, RF unit2221bis used to establish a wireless connection while RF unit221ais not used to establish a wireless connection or is used as a Scanning RF Unit. Therefore, only one of SIM cards201a,201band201cis used to establish a wireless connection and other two SIM cards can be used as backups. In one embodiment, multi-SIM communication device101amay apply the processes inFIG.5andFIG.6to SIM cards201a,201band201c. For illustration purpose only, in this embodiment, SIM card201bis the first SIM card, SIM card201ais the second SIM card and operational SIM card can be selected from SIM card201bor SIM card201c. This allows SIM card201ato be used quickly when SIM card201bis not used due to the first event trigger. This also allows processing unit295to have adequate time to determine whether to use SIM cards201bor201cas the operational SIM card as only one of SIM cards201band201ccan be used by RF unit221bat any moment to establish a wireless connection. In one variant, RF unit221acan be used as a Scanning RF Unit to provide received signal qualify information for processing unit231to select operational SIM card at step502and/or step504when received signal qualify is a criteria for step502and/or step504. In one embodiment, multi-SIM communication device101bmay apply the processes inFIG.5andFIG.6to RF units271aand271band SIM cards251a,251band251cthat RF units271aand271bare capable of connecting to through SIM card interface selector284, and then SIM card interfaces261a,261band261crespectively. When processing unit281selects SIM cards for use as the first SIM card, the second SIM card and the operational SIM card, processing unit281can instruct SIM card interface selector284to select one of SIM cards251a,251band251cfor RF units271aor271b. In one example, SIM cards251ais the first SIM card and the operational SIM card; SIM card251bis the second SIM card and SIM card251cis used for a Scanning RF unit to allow frequent observation of received signal quality. In one variant, multi-SIM communication device101bis configured in such a way where RF unit271ais able to use SIM cards251aand251bas the first SIM card, the second SIM card and the operational SIM card. RF unit271bis able to use SIM card261conly. When processing unit281selects SIM cards251aand251bto the first SIM card, the second SIM card and the operational SIM card, processing unit281can instruct SIM card interface selector284to perform the selection. Therefore, multi-SIM communication device101bis capable of establishing two wireless connections. A plurality of tunnels can be established in the two wireless connections. Data packets can be transmitted and received through the plurality of tunnels. Further, the plurality of tunnels can be aggregated to form one aggregated VPN connection. There, is no limitation for number of RF units in a multi-SIM communication device for the present invention. The number of SIM cards is at least two. It is preferred to have more SIM cards and RF units as a RF unit needs at least one SIM card in order to establish a wireless connection. FIG.8illustrates how electronic device801transmits and/or receives data with wireless networks. The network environment ofFIG.8is similar toFIG.1, except that multi-sim terminal101is replaced by electronic device801. Electronic device801can be any electronic device sends and/or receives data through wireless communication technologies. For example, electronic device801is a temperature sensor that sends temperature readings through at least one of its RF units. In another example, electronic device801is a security camera that is capable of streaming images and/or videos with or without audio to a remote electronic device, such as a server. The plurality of RF units901allow the security camera to use one or more wireless networks to stream. FIG.9Aillustrates one of the embodiments of the present invention. Electronic device900is a detailed illustration of electronic device801and comprises of parts and components such as RF units901, SIM card slots903and antennae902. Electronic device900can be a physical device for monitoring and automation and is capable of connecting to one or more wireless networks through RF units901. Each RF units of901is capable of connecting to a SIM card from the SIM cards of SIM interface903. RF units901are further capable of establishing a wireless connection with a wireless network using a corresponding base station not illustrated herein. Antennae902are used by RF units901to communicate with base stations. The SIM cards connected to SIM interface903can belong to various operators and can be used according to the user's preference and performance parameters of corresponding cellular networks. For example, RF unit901amay connect to the SIM card plugged in SIM card903afor a suitable usage limit. Similarly rest of the SIM cards plugged in SIM card slot903can be preferred for other criteria such as service provider, usage limit, geographical location, time, user identity, and communication technology. The selection criteria can be entered by an administrator or retrieved from a remote device. The selection is performed by a processing unit of electronic device900. There are no limitations that electronic device900requires a plurality of SIM cards in SIM card slots903. Electronic device900can comprise of a single SIM card slot with a SIM card plugged in and yet operate seamlessly. As electronic device900has a plurality of SIM slots903a-dto use, selection criteria and trigger discussed in earlier part of this invention can be used as the selection criteria here for selecting one or more SIM cards inserted into SIM lots903a-903d. FIG.10Aillustrates parts and components of electronic device900. I/O module1005is an input module and/or output module. For example, I/O module1005is a camera, a speaker, a microphone, a meter, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, and a sensor. There is no limitation of sensors as long as the sensors are capable of generating outputs. Examples of sensor include light sensor, temperature sensor, humidity sensor, and chemical sensor. Alternatively, I/O module1005is connected to an input device, such a camera module. Alternatively, I/O module1005is a microphone array or is connected to a microphone array module. I/O module1005can also be an output device or connect to an output device module. For example, I/O module1005connects to a monitor through a HDMI cable. There is no limitation that there is only one I/O module1005. For example, there is a plurality of I/O modules1005, including a plurality of cameras and a plurality of temperature sensors. There is also no limitation that I/O module1005is only capable of connecting to one I/O device. For example, I/O module1005is capable of connecting to a plurality of speakers. Bus1040is a data bus for different parts and components of electronic device900. For example, processing unit1003receives software instructions from non-transitory computer readable storage unit1006. Further processing unit1003controls selectors1002through bus1040. In one variant, processing unit1003controls selector directly without using bus1040. Selector1002ais controlled by processing unit1003to select one of SIM card interfaces903aand903bfor RF unit901a. Similarly, selector1002bis for selecting one of SIM card interfaces903cand903dunder the control of processing unit1003. Processing unit1003control selectors1002directly or through bus1040. In one example, only one of RF units901a-bis being used at one time. For illustration purpose, RF unit901ais used first with one of SIM cards1001aor1001b. In case RF unit901ais not able to transmit and/or receive data through a first wireless network for whatever reason, RF unit901bwill take over and start transmitting and/or receiving data through a second wireless network. When RF unit901bis being used, one of SIM cards1001cor1001dis used for connecting to the second wireless network. The first wireless network and the second wireless network may be different or may be the same. The selection of SIM cards1001cor1001dis determined by processing unit1003based on instructions received or policy entered. Processing unit1003controls1002bto select SIM card interface903cor903d, which host SIM cards1001cand1001drespectively. In one example, only one of RF units901a-bis being used first. For illustration purpose, RF unit901ais used first. When more bandwidth is required to transmit and/or receive data, such as for streaming higher resolution video, processing unit1003enables RF unit901bfor transmitting or receiving data as well. Therefore both RF units901a-bare being used by processing unit concurrently. In one variant, data connections established by RF units901aand901bare bonded together for more bandwidth and better reliability. When only one of RF units901a-bis required, the other RF unit is then disabled or suspended for conserving power and/or reducing the wireless data transmission tariffs. FIG.9Billustrates one of the embodiments of the present invention.FIG.9Bcomprise of electronic device910. The parts and components of electronic device910is similar to of electronic device900. There is only SIM card slot903ain electronic device910, comparing to a plurality of SIM card slots903in electronic device900. As there is only SIM card slot903a, only one of RF units901aand901bcan use the SIM card inserted in SIM card slot903a. This embodiment allows one of RF units901a-bto be used a backup. In case one of RF units901a-bis out of order, the remaining RF units901aor901bcan then be used instead. FIG.10Billustrates parts and components of electronic device910. Selector1012, which is controlled by processing unit1003, selects one of RF units901aand901bto connect to SIM card interface903a. FIG.9Cillustrates one of the embodiments of the present invention. The parts and components of electronic device920are also similar to ofFIG.9A. However, electronic device920comprises of only one RF unit i.e. RF unit901a. Apart from the single RF unit901a, electronic device920also comprise of a plurality of SIM card slots903a-c.FIG.100illustrates parts and components of electronic device920. Selector1022selects one of SIM card interfaces903a-cto connect to RF unit901a. Selector1022is controlled by processing unit1003. At any one time, only one of SIM cards1001a-cis used for establishing a wireless communication through RF unit901a. The plurality of SIM cards1001a-callows flexibility of using different SIM card for different usage scenario. For example, electronic device920originally uses SIM card1001ato connect to a wireless network operated by operator A. When electronic device920is moved to another city, processing unit1003may select SIM card100cto connect to another wireless network operated by operator B. The change of SIM card allows reducing wireless network tariffs. In another example, when data communication quota of SIM card1001ais used up, processing unit can switch to SIM card1001b, which may still have data communication quota. This also allows the user of electronic device920to pay lower tariffs. FIG.10Dillustrates one of the embodiments of the present invention of architecture of electronic device900.FIG.10Dprovides a detailed illustration, which is different from the illustration inFIG.10A, of the parts and components of electronic device900. Selector1042is controlled by processing unit1023through1040and is used for selecting an input each for RF units901. Inputs to selector1042are from SIM card interfaces903and processing unit1023. Selector1042comprise of six inputs and two outputs. Two of the six inputs connect to processing unit1023. Rest of the inputs connect to SIM card interfaces903as illustrated inFIG.10D. Selector1042further comprise of two pins for selecting the I/O not illustrated herein. Selector1042can be implemented by a multiplexer and is programmed to select one of SIM card interfaces903a-dfor each of RF units901according to the instructions received from processing unit1023. SIM interfaces903connect to corresponding SIM cards1001. In one usage scenario, using selector1042, one of RF units901such RF unit901aselect one of SIM cards1001through SIM interfaces903such as SIM card1001athrough SIM interface903a. After selecting SIM card1001athrough SIM interface903a, RF unit901aconnects to a corresponding cellular network. Then RF unit901bhas the option to be kept disabled and not connect to any of the available SIM cards1001through SIM card interfaces903. When one of the RF units from RF units901is disabled, processing unit1023may instruct that RF unit to perform other tasks such as to serve as a scanning RF unit to scan for base station or to establish a wireless connection. For reliability selector1042selects a SIM card for RF unit901bsuch as SIM card1001bthrough SIM card interface903baccording to the instructions received from processing unit1023. Then RF unit901balso connects to a corresponding cellular network. This allows resilience to failovers since one the RF units from RF units901can always serve as a backup when the other is down. In case none of the SIM cards connected to SIM interfaces903is feasible or desirable for use, or when change of SIM cards are needed, a user may need to open electronic device900and change the SIM cards connected to SIM interface903manually. In order to avoid the hassle of changing SIM cards manually and configuring electronic device900again, remote SIM cards are used. The SIM bank can be a network device including one or a plurality network interfaces and is connected to the Internet. The SIM bank further houses a plurality of SIM cards from various operators connected to a plurality of SIM card interfaces. For electronic device900to connect with the SIM bank, electronic device900first connects with a network wirelessly. The wireless connection is made using an RF unit from RF units901such as RF unit901aand a corresponding first SIM card from SIM cards connected to SIM card interfaces903. For example, the SIM card connected to SIM card interface903a. After electronic device900connects to a network, electronic device900can send a registration request to the SIM bank using the IP protocol. After registration, electronic device900sends its identification information to the SIM bank and asks to use a second SIM card from the SIM bank for RF unit901b. Identification information of electronic device900may include identity of the registered network, identification of RF unit901b, the serial number of electronic device900and its location. Since there are multiple SIM cards connected to the SIM card interfaces of the SIM Bank, the SIM bank determines and selects a second SIM card for RF unit901b. After selecting the second SIM card, information associated to the second SIM card is transmitted to electronic device900. SIM card information may include network-specific information used to authenticate and identify subscribers on the network, such as unique serial number (ICCID), international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), Authentication Key (Ki), ciphering information, Local Area Identity (LAI) and operator-specific emergency number. The SIM card also stores other carrier-specific data such as the SMSC (Short Message Service Center) number, Service Provider Name (SPN), Service Dialing Numbers (SDN), Advice-Of-Charge parameters and Value Added Service (VAS) applications. SIM card information may also include messages and, contacts, such as Short Message Service (SMS) message and phone book contacts. Electronic device900then stores the information associated to the selected second SIM card in memory1004. RF unit901bis then initiated and its corresponding selector1002bconnects to processing unit1003. Processing unit1003then extracts the information associated to the selected second SIM card and transmits to RF unit901b. RF unit901bthen uses the information associated to the selected second SIM card to establish a connection with a corresponding wireless network and the SIM bank. After RF unit901bestablishes a data connection with the SIM bank, the use of RF unit901aand the corresponding first SIM card can be discontinued. Then, using the second data connection, a third SIM card can be determined and selected for RF unit901ain a way identical to how the second SIM card was determined and selected for RF unit901b. After assigning the third selected SIM card to RF unit901a, RF unit901ais then reset. After resetting RF unit901aalso uses the information associated to the selected second SIM card from memory1004via processing unit1003using selector1002a. RF unit901athen establishes a connection with a corresponding wireless network and the SIM bank. In one variant, after RF unit901bestablishes a data connection with the SIM bank, the use RF unit901ais discontinued. Electronic device900maintains connection to the wireless network using RF unit901band the corresponding selected second SIM card. Electronic device900is capable of connecting to a plurality of SIM banks concurrently when required. There is no limitation to the RF units electronic device900can comprise of. When the number of RF units exceeds the number SIM card interfaces, electronic device900can consecutively connect to the SIM cards connected to SIM card interfaces of one or a plurality of SIM banks accordingly. FIG.9Dillustrates one of the embodiments of the present invention. Electronic device950is similar to electronic device900but does not comprise selector. Electronic device950can be a physical device for monitoring and automation and is capable of connecting to one or more wireless networks through RF units901. In this particular embodiment, no selector is available to the RF units. Each RF units of901uses and connects to the SIM card from the SIM cards of SIM interface903that is only available to it. RF units901are further capable of establishing a wireless connection with a wireless network using a corresponding base station not illustrated herein. The SIM cards connected to SIM interface903can belong to various operators and can be used according to the user's preference and performance parameters of corresponding cellular networks. When one RF unit is used, its corresponding SIM card is used. FIG.10Eillustrates parts and components of electronic device950. RF unit901a, when operational, uses SIM card1001aconnected to SIM card interface903a. Similarly, RF unit901b, when operational, uses SIM card1001cconnected to SIM card interface903c. Comparing toFIG.10A, selectors are not used by the processing unit1003in this embodiment as RF units901aand901bdo not have option to use SIM cards other than SIM card1001aand SIM card1001crespectively. FIG.11illustrates the detailed architecture of selector1042illustrated inFIG.10D. FIG.11comprise of selector1100. Selector1100is identical to selector1042comprising six inputs and two outputs.FIG.11further illustrates I/O selector pins SEL_1and SEL_2that are not illustrated inFIG.10D. Using SEL_1, data exchange can be performed between RF unit901aand one of the SIM cards connected to SIM card interfaces903or processing unit1023. Similarly, using SEL_2, data exchange can be performed between RF unit901band one of the SIM cards connected to SIM card interfaces903or processing unit1023available to it. SEL_1and SEL_2basically provides access for each of RF units901aand901brespectively to connect to one of SIM card interfaces903or processing unit1023according to instructions received from processing unit1023. Selector1100receives instructions from processing unit1023through connection1101. Connection1101connects to bus1040. Bus1040further connects to processing unit1023in addition to other components not illustrated here inFIG.11. The reason that two inputs of selector1100connect to the processing unit1023is so that SEL_1and SEL_2can connect to processing unit1023concurrently when selector1100receives such instructions for connecting both RF units901to processing unit1023. Processing unit1023can then extract SIM card information stored in memory1004and transmit to RF units901through SEL_1and SEL_2. RF units901can then use the received SIM card information to establish wireless connections to corresponding cellular networks. In one usage scenario when as per instructions received from processing unit1023through connection1101, selector1042connects RF unit901ato SIM card interface903ausing SEL_1. After RF unit901ais connected to SIM card interface903a, RF unit901areceives SIM card information of a SIM card connected to SIM card interface903avia SEL_1. RF unit901athen establishes a wireless connection with a cellular network corresponding to the SIM card. | 88,535 |
11943839 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The ensuing description provides preferred exemplary embodiment(s) only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention. Rather, the ensuing description of the preferred exemplary embodiment(s) will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention. It is being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. Specific details are given in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits may be shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments. Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a process which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed, but could have additional steps not included in the figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function. Embodiments, or portions thereof, may be embodied in program instructions operable upon a processing unit for performing functions and operations as described herein. The program instructions making up the various embodiments may be stored in a storage medium. The program instructions making up the various embodiments may be stored in a storage medium. Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “storage medium” may represent one or more devices for storing data, including read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, flash memory devices, a memory card and/or other machine-readable mediums for storing information. The term “machine-readable medium” includes, but is not limited to portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels and various other mediums capable of storing, containing or carrying instruction(s) and/or data. A machine-readable medium can be realized by virtualization, and can be a virtual machine-readable medium including a virtual machine-readable medium in a cloud-based instance. Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description, languages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine-readable medium such as storage medium. The term computer-readable medium, main memory, secondary storage, or other storage medium as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to a processing unit for execution. The processing unit reads the data written in the primary storage medium and writes the data in the secondary storage medium. Therefore, even if the data written in the primary storage medium is lost due to a momentary power failure and the like, the data can be restored by transferring the data held in the secondary storage medium to the primary storage medium. The computer-readable medium is just one example of a machine-readable medium, which may carry instructions for implementing any of the methods and/or techniques described herein. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks. Volatile storage includes dynamic memory. Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infrared data communications. A volatile storage may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by a processing unit. A non-volatile storage or static storage may be used for storing static information and instructions for processor, as well as various system configuration parameters. The storage medium may include a number of software modules that may be implemented as software codes to be executed by the processing unit using any suitable computer instruction type. The software code may be stored as a series of instructions or commands, or as a program in the storage medium. Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk from a remote computer. Alternatively, a remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions to the system that runs one or more sequences of one or more instructions. A processing unit may be a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), any combination of those devices, or any other circuitry configured to process information. A processing unit executes program instructions or code segments for implementing embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the program instructions to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. A processing unit(s) can be realized by virtualization, and can be a virtual processing unit(s) including a virtual processing unit in a cloud-based instance. Embodiments of the present invention are related to the use of a computer system for implementing the techniques described herein. In an embodiment, the inventive processing units may reside on a machine such as a computer platform. According to one embodiment of the invention, the techniques described herein are performed by computer system in response to the processing unit executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in the volatile memory. Such instructions may be read into the volatile memory from another computer-readable medium. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in the volatile memory causes the processing unit to perform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the invention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. Alternatively, hardware circuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with, software instructions to implement processes consistent with the principles of the invention. Thus, implementations consistent with principles of the invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. A network interface may be implemented by a standalone electronic component or may be integrated with other electronic components. A network interface may have no network connection or at least one network connection depending on the configuration. A network interface, such as network interfaces135and136in WCD100may be an Ethernet interface, a frame relay interface, a fiber optic interface, a cable interface, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) interface, a token ring interface, a serial bus interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, Firewire interface, Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) interface, cellular network interface, etc. A network interface may connect to a wired or wireless access network. An access network may carry one or more network protocol data. A wired access network may be implemented using Ethernet, fiber optic, cable, DSL, frame relay, token ring, serial bus, USB, Firewire, PCI, or any material that can pass information. A wireless access network may be implemented using infrared, High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), HSPA+, Long Term Evolution (LTE), WiMAX, General packet radio service (GPRS), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Code division multiple access (CDMA), Wi-Fi, CDMA2000, Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Time Division CDMA (TD-SCDMA), BLUETOOTH, WiBRO, Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO); Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT); Digital AMPS (IS-136/TDMA); Integrated Digital Enhanced (iDEN) or any other wireless technologies. For example, a network interface may be used as a local area network (LAN) interface or a wide area network (WAN) interface. As disclosed herein the term “wireless communication module” may represent a transceiver module to provide network capabilities to a power controller or power controller server using 3G, GPRS or GPS modules, through wires or through an Ethernet cable. The wireless communication module lows a processing unit to obtain user information and communications port of the wireless communication module can connect to a personal computer or other power controller or power controller server (PCS) through wires or wirelessly by using serial bus or Ethernet or using 2G/3G/4G or LTE technology. The wireless communication module can be used as a network interface for applications that require data to be shared between a power controller and an intelligent device such as a host computer and/or a server. FIG.1Ais a schematic block diagram illustrating the hardware blocks of Wireless Communication Device (WCD)100. WCD100comprises a plurality of SIM card interfaces117and a plurality of Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Cards (eUICCs)116. Each of the plurality of SIM card interfaces117is configurable to connect one or more removable SIMs. For illustration purposes, one removable SIM is described herein for each of the SIM card interfaces. For example, SIM card interface117ais connected to removable SIM112aand SIM card interface117bis connected to removable SIM112b. A removal SIM may be a Universal Integrated Circuit Card. Each of the SIM card interfaces may be connected to a SIM slot for placing the removable SIM. eUICCs116may be built into the WCD and are not removable. Each of the eUICCs116is configurable to implement one or more electronic SIMs (eSIMs). For illustration purposes, one eSIM is described herein for each of the eUICCs. For example, eUICC116ais used to implement eSIM111aand eSIM111c; and eUICC116bis used to implement eSIM111band eSIM111d. An eSIM may represent a SIM profile. The SIM profile may be derived from a remote eSIM subscription management server based on the information provided by a wireless carrier network. A SIM profile contains information which provides access to a specific wireless carrier network for wireless communication. eSIMs111a-dmay be from the same or different wireless carrier networks. eSIMs111and removable SIMs112, hereinafter, are also referred to as local SIMs (L-SIMs). A local SIM (L-SIM) is a SIM that is placed in WCD100. There is no limitation on the number of SIMs that may be placed in WCD100. WCD100is also configurable to connect one or more remote SIMs (R-SIMs) through the Internet. A remote SIM (R-SIM) is a SIM that is placed in a SIM bank. For illustration purposes, R-SIMs113aand113bare shown. R-SIMs113aand113bmay be placed in one or more SIM banks configurable to connect with WCD100through one or more data connections. There is no limitation on the number of SIMs that may be placed in a SIM bank. There is no limitation on the number of SIM banks that may be connected to WCD100. For example, R-SIMs113aand113bmay be placed in two different SIM banks. WCD100further comprises a plurality of wireless communication modules (WCMs), such as WCMs101a-101c. Each of the plurality of WCMs101is configurable to connect any one of the L-SIMs or R-SIMs at a time. The Wireless communication modules, such as WCMs101, may be connected to embedded/external antennas and perform wireless communication via the antennas. An example of WCM is Sierra Wireless EM7511. A processing unit, such as processing unit160, executes program instructions or code segments for implementing embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the program instructions to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Processing unit160may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), any combination of those devices, or any other circuitry configurable to execute the program instructions for implementing the embodiments disclosed herein. In one exemplary embodiment, processing unit160has an adequate number of input/output pins and processing power. Therefore, processing unit160may be directly connected to SIM card interfaces117, eUICCs116, WCMs101and other hardware components, such as, main memory132and system bus137. In another exemplary embodiment, as shown inFIG.1B, processing unit160does not have an adequate number of input/output pins to connect to all hardware components. Therefore, a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), for example, CPLD150is connected to processing unit160in order to provide an adequate number of input/output pins. Some of the hardware components such as eUICCs116, SIM card interfaces117and WCMs101may be connected to the processing unit through the CPLD while the other hardware components, such as main memory132and system bus137may be connected to the processing unit directly, through another circuit, and/or through another CPLD. There are no limitations that a CPLD must be used. Any logic circuit configurable to realize multiplexing may be used. For example, an FPGA or a multiplexer may also be used. Network interfaces135and136may be connected to processing unit160through system bus137. System bus137can be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. In one variant, WCM101a-c, eUICC116a-b, SIM interfaces117a-band main memory132are not connected to processing unit160directly. Instead they are connected to processing unit160indirectly through a bus, such as system bus137. In one variant, they are connected to processing unit160indirectly through multiple buses. FIG.2Ais a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary network environment operable to utilize a plurality of SIMs for data communication in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein.FIG.2Aincludes three wireless carrier networks, for example, wireless carrier networks201a-201c. Each wireless carrier network may provide communication coverage for a corresponding particular geographic area using cellular technologies. Wireless carrier networks201a-201cmay be operated by the same company or different companies. WCD100may communicate with web server208, network node210, SIM banks212, SIM bank management server216and eSIM subscription management server214through interconnected networks217. For readability, the eSIM subscription management server is hereinafter referred to as eSIM server. WCD100may connect with interconnected network217through one or more wireless carrier connection(s) established through wireless carrier networks201a-201c. WCD100may establish the wireless carrier connection(s) by using any SIMs including L-SIMs and R-SIMs discussed underFIG.1A. Optionally,FIG.2Aalso includes a satellite carrier network, for example, satellite carrier network205. Satellite carrier network205may be realized using a geostationary satellite or a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite which provides communication coverage for a larger geographic area compared to a wireless carrier network. For example, WCD100may be under respective coverage of satellite carrier network205and may connect with interconnected network217optionally through one or more satellite data connections established through satellite carrier network205. Optionally, WCD100is also capable of being connected with one or more wired communication networks. An example wired communication network may include network nodes209. WCD100may connect to interconnected network217optionally through one or more wired data connections established using one or more network nodes including, but not limited to,209. WCD100may be connected with one or more local hosts directly or through a connected local area network (LAN). For illustration purposes, WCD100is connected to local host Laptop206directly and to local host IoT204through LAN202. Each of the local hosts204and206may connect to interconnected network217through WCD100. Thus, WCD100acts as a gateway to allow data packets to be routed through one or more wireless carrier connection(s) established through wireless carrier networks201a-201c. According to one embodiment of the present invention, when a first group of data packets is received at WCD100from a local host which is destined for a remote host reachable through any of the wireless carrier connections established, WCD100first decides which wireless carrier connections should be used for sending the data packets. For illustration purposes, WCD100receives data packets from laptop206which are destined for website server208. The decision for selecting the wireless carrier connection(s) to send the data packets may be based on a policy. The policy may be based on one or more of the following criteria: network performance, network security, user access, user preference, device preference, signal strength, billing cycle, time. FIG.1Cis a schematic block diagram of an exemplary SIM bank according to one embodiment of the present invention. For example, the exemplary SIM bank is SIM bank212a. SIM bank212acomprises at least one processing unit153and at least one main memory154. Processing unit153may be connected with main memory154directly and with other hardware components, for example, with at least one secondary storage155, one or more network interfaces156and a plurality of SIM interfaces152, through a system bus, such as system bus157. System bus157may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus, a peripheral bus or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architecture. Each of the plurality of SIM interfaces152may be connected with a corresponding SIM slot, such as SIM slots151to place or to connect to a SIM. A SIM interface, such as SIM interfaces152, is used to access and write information to and from a SIM. There are many SIM interfaces available from different manufacturers. Some of the SIM interfaces provide functions of power supply, card reset signal, card clock signal and data exchange. A data exchange may be performed between the SIM and the processing unit of SIM bank212athrough the SIM interfaces. Some of the SIM interfaces may only be connected with one SIM, while some may be connected with a plurality of SIMs. In one variant, hardware components such as secondary storage155, network interfaces156, and SIM interfaces152may be directly connected with processing unit153when the processing unit has an adequate number of I/O pins. System bus157may be omitted. Alternatively, when processing unit153does not have an adequate number of I/O pins, some or all of the hardware components may be connected to the processing unit using one or more CPLDs. There is no limitation that CPLDs must be used. Multiplexers, FPGAs or any logic circuits which serve the purpose of providing the required number of I/O pins may also be used. The one or more SIM banks may be managed by one or more SIM bank management servers. For example, one SIM bank management server216is shown inFIG.2A. SIM bank management server216may be remotely or locally coupled to the SIM banks. Connection of WCD100to SIM bank212amay be managed through a SIM bank management server, for example, SIM bank management server216shown inFIG.2A. There is no limitation that a SIM bank and a SIM bank management server must be separated. A device may comprise a SIM bank and a SIM bank management server together. The SIM bank management server may perform a device authentication procedure before providing access to WCD100to any of the SIM banks. For availing the device authentication information, WCD100may need to be registered with the SIM bank management server. The registration may be performed online, such as through a user interface (e.g. web page or web form) or offline. The authentication information to authenticate WCD100may be duly provided by WCD100or by an administrator of WCD100to SIM bank management server216. SIM bank management server216may store necessary information including, but not limited to, WCD information, administrator information, registration information, authentication information, number of SIM banks connected, SIM banks' location and information of SIMs placed in the SIM banks. WCD100may communicate with SIM bank management server216for accessing information of SIM banks212. At first, WCD100may not have access information of a SIM bank, after communicating with the SIM bank management server216, WCD100may receive access information, such as IP address and hostname of a SIM bank and/or a security code. After receiving the access information, WCD100may become able to access the corresponding SIM bank. FIG.1Dis a schematic block diagram of an exemplary SIM bank management server216shown inFIG.2A. SIM bank management server216comprises at least one processing unit161and at least one main memory162. Processing unit161may be connected with main memory162directly and with other components, for example, with at least one secondary storage163and one or more network interfaces164aand164b, through a system bus165. System bus165may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus, a peripheral bus or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architecture. FIG.2Billustrates how a wireless carrier connection carries different logical data connections. Wireless carrier connection230may be one of the wireless carrier connections established by WCD100over any of wireless carrier networks201a-201c. Wireless carrier connection230may be established using 2G/3G/4G/5G, LTE, Wi-Fi, or any other wireless communication technologies. Logical data connections231-233may be established using TCP/IP, UDP/IP, IP or any logical data connection protocol. For example, logical data connection231may be established between WCD100and network node210; logical data connection232may be established between WCD100and SIM bank212a; and logical data connection233may be established between WCD100and SIM bank212b. There is no limitation that all logical data connections231-233must be established using the same or different logical data connection protocols. There is no limit on the number of logical data connections that may comprise in a wireless carrier connection. A logical data connection may also be a tunnel to encapsulate another logical data connection. A plurality of logical data connections may also be aggregated together to form an aggregated logical data connection. As WCD100may have established a plurality of wireless carrier connections concurrently, WCD100may establish a logical data connection with a device reachable through interconnected networks217through any of the plurality of wireless carrier connections. WCD100may also establish a plurality of logical data connections with a device reachable through interconnected networks217through the plurality of wireless carrier connections concurrently. FIG.3Ais a process flowchart illustrating a method performed at WCD100, SIM bank212and/or SIM bank management server216to select R-SIM. In process311, the processing unit determines the identities of wireless carrier networks that are being used by WCD100. WCD100may be using no, one or a plurality of wireless carrier networks. In process312, the processing unit determines the number of R-SIMs to be selected, which should be equal to or fewer than the number of WCMs available. The selected R-SIMs will be used by the WCMs to establish wireless carrier connection(s). In process313, the processing unit determines the wireless carrier networks to be used, which will be based on the wireless carrier networks identified at the location of WCD100. In process314, the processing unit selects R-SIMs that satisfy a SIM selection policy per wireless carrier network with the goal to maximize the number of wireless carrier networks. When trying to maximize the number of wireless carrier networks, the processing unit may take into account the wireless carrier network(s) identified in process311. The number of R-SIMs selected may be zero, one or more than one. In an example scenario, WCD100inFIG.2Ahas three WCMs, namely WCMs101a-cinFIG.1A. WCM101ahas already established a wireless carrier connection with wireless carrier network201ausing L-SIM112a. Therefore, the wireless network carrier determined in process311is wireless carrier network201a. Therefore, there are still two available WCMs, namely WCM101band WCM101c. In process312, the number of R-SIMs to be selected will be two, i.e. two R-SIMs may then be selected for the WCM101band WCM101c. In process313, the wireless networks determined to be used are wireless carrier network201a-201cas these three networks are identified at the location of WCD100. In process314, when selecting the two R-SIMs, the processing unit takes into account wireless carrier network A in order to maximize the number of different wireless carrier networks. The selected R-SIMs should also satisfy the SIM selection policy. If a selected R-SIM is a roaming R-SIM, the wireless carrier networks available to use the roaming R-SIM will also be considered to maximize the number of different wireless carrier networks. For example, there are a plurality of R-SIMs that satisfy the SIM selection policy, R-SIMs that are capable to be used for establishing wireless carrier connections with wireless carrier network201a, wireless carrier network201band wireless carrier network201cmay be selected. However, in order to maximize the number of wireless carrier networks, only one R-SIM that is capable of establishing wireless carrier connections over wireless carrier network201band one R-SIM that is capable of being used for establishing wireless carrier connections over wireless carrier network201care selected. Further, International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of the selected R-SIMs may then be forwarded by the SIM bank212or SIM bank management server216to WCD100in process314. There is no limitation that the number of R-SIMs selected must be two. The number of R-SIMs selected may be different depends on the number of WCMs available. When the number of wireless carrier networks at the location of WCD100is smaller than the number of R-SIMs to be selected, at least two R-SIMs may belong to one same wireless carrier network. If a selected R-SIM is a roaming R-SIM, the roaming R-SIM may be configured to use the same wireless carrier network with another R-SIM. Processes311to314may be performed by the processing unit of WCD100, the processing unit of SIM bank212or the processing unit of WCD100individually or together. For example, process311may be performed by processing unit160of WCD100to determine the wireless carrier networks using one of WCMs101. Process311may also be performed by the processing unit of SIM bank212or the processing unit of WCD100. The processing unit of SIM bank212or the processing unit of WCD100may search a database for wireless carrier networks based on location information provided by WCD100. In one variant, the processes shown inFIG.3Aalso applies to L-SIM. FIG.3Bis a process flowchart illustrating a method performed by SIM bank212and/or SIM bank management server216to provide authentication information to WCD100. At process321, SIM bank212and/or SIM bank management server216receives one or more authentication requests from WCD100. An authentication request is originally sent by a wireless carrier network to a WCM in WCD100for an R-SIM selected. When the WCM100sends an IMSI or IMEI to a wireless carrier network, the wireless carrier network may send the authentication request, such as a random challenge (RAND), to the WCM. At process321, SIM bank212forwards the authentication request to the selected SIM, which is accessible by the SIM bank212. In the case that the authentication request is sent to SIM management server216, SIM management server216will forward the authentication request to a corresponding SIM bank, such as SIM212, for processing. At process322, the selected SIM processes the authentication request and then creates the authentication information, such as signed response (SRES), in response to the authentication requests. SIM bank212athen forwards the authentication information received from the selected SIM to WCD100in process323. In one variant, WCD100may send a plurality of authentication requests together. When SIM bank212aand/or SIM bank management server216receives the authentication requests in process321, it may process processes322and323in parallel or in sequence for each authentication request. In one variant, when a plurality of authentication requests is sent to SIM bank management server216, SIM bank management server216may forward the authentication requests to a plurality of SIM banks based on where the selected SIMs are located. FIG.4Ais a process flowchart illustrating a method according to one embodiment of the present invention. The method may be performed at processing unit160of WCD100.FIG.4Ashould be viewed in conjunction withFIG.1AandFIG.2A. The method begins at process400. At process401, processing unit160selects an L-SIM from a plurality of available L-SIMs as a starter SIM to establish a starter wireless carrier connection with a starter wireless carrier network, for example, wireless carrier network201c. The starter SIM is the first SIM in sequence being selected and used. An available L-SIM is an L-SIM placed in WCD100and is not assigned with a WCM yet. A starter SIM refers to a SIM that is selected to establish a starter wireless carrier connection with a wireless carrier network. Once the connection is established, the wireless carrier network is referred to as the starter wireless carrier network and the connection is referred to as the starter wireless carrier connection. The selection of the L-SIM to be the starter SIM may be based on instructions manually provided by an administrator of the WCD or maybe be based on a starter SIM selection policy. The starter SIM selection policy may be configured by the administrator of WCD100or retrieved from a remote server. The starter SIM selection policy may be based on one or more of the following criteria: geolocation of WCD100, position of SIM placed in WCD100, SIM category, network performance history of a SIM, identity of wireless carrier network issuing a SIM, services offered by wireless carrier network of a SIM, service quality of wireless carrier network of a SIM, administrator's preference, tariffs, remaining using usage quota of available L-SIMs, billing cycle information and time. In one variant, in the case that one or more L-SIMs are eSIM(s) from eUICC(s), wireless carrier networks configured in the eSIM(s), may be used for selection. When an eSIM, which is a SIM profile, is added, changed or deleted in the eUICC(s), the starter SIM selection policy will take into account of the modification. When geolocation of WCD is used for starter SIM selection policy, longitude and latitude information based on GPS information obtained from a GPS receiver at WCD100may be used to look-up for available wireless carrier networks at the geographical location of WCD100. When a SIM is selected based on the position of SIM placed in WCD100, a SIM that is positioned first will be selected first. For example, SIMs placed in WCD100may be positioned in a numerical or alphabetical order. For example, when a SIM is selected based on the tariff price, a SIM with the lowest tariff may be selected. It is possible that wireless carrier networks may change tariffs. A SIM with the lowest tariff may no longer be the SIM with the lowest tariff. Therefore, the processing unit of WCD100, may monitor the tariff price information from time to time and whenever a change in tariff is detected, the processing unit redetermines on which SIM having the lowest tariff price. A SIM may also be selected based on billing cycle information. A billing cycle is the period of a cellular subscription for communication service. A billing cycle may be weekly, monthly or yearly. In one example scenario, where using billing cycle information may be beneficial is, data usage limit per billing cycle may be capped and exceeding the allowed data usage limit may incur high premiums. Therefore, when a SIM is selected based on billing cycle information, the SIM for which data usage limit of a billing cycle is about to reach, may not be selected. A SIM may also be selected based on the time of a day. There are many reasons for selecting a SIM based on time, one example may be for the changes in tariff pricing. Some wireless carrier networks may offer different tariff prices for different times of the day. It is very common that wireless carrier networks offer lower tariff rates during off-peak periods. Therefore, a SIM from the wireless carrier network which offers the lowest tariff price for a specific time of the day may be selected when the selection occurs during that specified time period. A SIM may be selected based on administrator's preference. An administrator of WCD100or SIM banks212may assign priority level to each SIM. Thus, when selecting a SIM based on the administrator's preference, a SIM with higher priority assigned will be selected. An administrator may assign priority level to a SIM based on different bases including the conditions of R-SIM selection criteria disclosed herein. A SIM may also be selected based on service quality of the wireless carrier network of a SIM. When selecting a SIM based service quality, a SIM from the wireless carrier network which provides better quality of service will be selected. The service quality of a wireless carrier network may be evaluated based on different criteria including, but not limited to, signal strength, network coverage, security and simplicity of configuration. At process402, the processing unit160assigns an available WCM from a plurality of WCMs101to use the starter SIM. An available WCM is a WCM which is not assigned to any SIM yet and is operable. For illustration purposes, the starter SIM is SIM112aand the available WCM is WCM101a. Processing unit160assigns WCM101ato SIM112a. At process403, processing unit160initiates actions to establish a starter wireless carrier connection using WCM101aand SIM112a. An assigned WCM may become un-assigned when it fails to establish a wireless carrier connection or its established wireless carrier connection is disconnected. At process404, processing unit160determines whether the starter wireless carrier connection has been established or not. If the starter wireless carrier connection has not been established, processing unit160loops back to process401and selects another SIM as starter SIM from the plurality of L-SIMs and performs processes401-404. Processes401-404are iterated until the starter wireless carrier connection is successfully established. If each of the plurality of L-SIMs is attempted and the starter wireless carrier connection is not established, no further attempt will be performed. Optionally, a message is sent to its administrator informing that establishing a starter wireless carrier connection has failed and the method is stopped. In one variant, the loop between processes401to404will not be performed after a preset number of iterations has reached or a specific period of time is reached. In another variant, the method is restarted after a predetermined time interval. The time interval may be set as a default time interval by the manufacturer or may be manually set by the administrator of the WCD. The message may be displayed on a user interface (UI) of the WCD. When the starter wireless carrier connection is established, WCD100connects a remote SIM bank, for example, SIM bank212aby establishing a logical data connection through the starter wireless carrier connection at process405. The logical data connection may be established using TCP, UDP or other communication protocols. The logical data connection with SIM bank212amay be used to carry authentication request and authentication information while establishing one or more subsequent wireless carrier connection(s), thus, the logical data connection hereinafter is referred to as starter authentication connection. In process406, another SIM is selected from available L-SIMs and R-SIMs. An available R-SIM is a SIM in a SIM bank that is not assigned with a WCM yet. The selection of the another SIM may be performed manually by an administrator of WCD100or maybe be based on a SIM selection policy, which is different from the starter SIM selection policy. The SIM selection policy is similar to the starter SIM selection policy. However, the SIM selection policy may also select R-SIM while the starter SIM selection policy does not select R-SIM. The SIM selection policy may have the same or different selection criteria. At process407, an available WCM is assigned with the SIM selected at process406and a wireless carrier connection is established using the SIM selected at process406and the assigned WCM. In the course of establishing the wireless carrier connection, if the SIM selected at process406is an R-SIM, authentication request and authentication information related to the R-SIM selected at process406are transmitted between WCD100and SIM bank212ausing the starter authentication connection. On the other hand, if the SIM selected at process406is an L-SIM, the starter authentication connection may not be used as authentication request and authentication information with L-SIM does not go through the authentication connection. The starter authentication connection may be continued to be used onwards for transmitting authentication requests and authentication information when required. In one variant, the starter authentication connection is replaced by a replacement authentication connection, which will be described later. In one variant, the starter authentication connection is only used for sending and receiving authentication requests and authentication information only. The starter authentication connection is not used for providing communication services to devices connected to WCD100. In one variant, the starter authentication connection is allowed for providing communication services to devices connected to WCD100. At process408, the processing unit of WCD100determines whether a threshold is reached. When the threshold is reached, the process ends at process409. The threshold may be evaluated based on one or more conditions including, but not limited to, the number of WCMs being used, the number of R-SIMs being used and/or the total number of WCMs in WCD100. In one example, when the threshold is based on the number of WCMs being used, the processing unit of WCD100determines whether the number of WCMs being used is equal to the threshold number of WCMs being used. If the number of WCMs being used is equal to the threshold number of WCMs being used, the process ends at process409. If the number of WCMs being used is smaller than the threshold number of WCMs being used, the processing unit of WCD100will go back to process406and continue to establish an additional wireless carrier connection using another SIM and another available WCM. The loop from process406-408is iterated until the threshold is reached. There is no limitation on how many wireless carrier connections may be established. In one variant, the total number of wireless carrier connections to be established is the total number of WCMs placed in WCD100. In another example, when the threshold is based on the number of SIMs being used, the method determines whether the number of SIMs being used is equal to the threshold. If the number of SIMs being used is equal to the threshold number of SIMs being used, the method ends. If the number of SIMs being used is not equal to the threshold number of SIMs being used, then the method moves back to process406for selecting another SIM from a plurality of available L-SIMs and R-SIMs and iterates loop406-408until the threshold is reached. In one variant, a predetermined time is set to reach the threshold, when the threshold is not met within the predetermined time, the method stops looping back to process406and ends. Setting a predetermined time to reach the threshold is beneficial for saving energy and resources. For example, in some scenarios, it may happen that the threshold may not be met because while looping back to process406there may be no SIM available to select. As a result, the loop from process406to process408may continue running until more SIM(s) are inserted into the SIM bank or the WCD, and waste energy and resources. FIG.4Bis a process flowchart illustrating a method according to one example embodiment of the present invention. The method may be performed at processing unit160of WCD100.FIG.4Bshould be viewed in conjunction withFIG.1AandFIG.2A. The method begins at process420. In process421, the method selects a plurality of available L-SIMs as starter SIMs. The method illustrated inFIG.4Bis similar to the method illustrated inFIG.4A. The selection of the first plurality of available L-SIMs to be starter SIMs may be performed in the same manner discussed in process401inFIG.4A, except that, in this example embodiment, multiple SIMs are selected as starter SIMs. In process422, each starter SIM of the plurality of starter SIMs is assigned with an available WCM. For example, inFIG.1A, WCMs101a-101care shown, if WCM101ais already in use, the available WCMs are WCM101band101c. In process423, the processing unit of WCD100initiates actions to establish starter wireless carrier connections using the plurality of starter SIMs and their corresponding WCMs assigned. In process424, the processing unit of WCD100determines whether at least one starter wireless carrier connection has been established or not. If at least one starter wireless carrier connection is successfully established, the processing unit of WCD100will use the at least one starter wireless carrier connection(s) to connect at least one SIM bank, such as SIM bank212a, by establishing at least one starter authentication connection(s), in process425. If, in process424, it is determined that no starter wireless carrier connection has been established, the method moves from process424back to process421and selects another plurality of L-SIMs as starter SIMs from available L-SIMs and iterates processes421-423until at least one starter wireless carrier connection is established. The another plurality of L-SIMs should not include L-SIMs which have already been attempted and failed to establish a connection with. In one variant, attempted L-SIMs may be selected again after a certain period of time. In another variant, attempted L-SIMs may be selected again if all the L-SIMs are attempted at least once still no starter wireless carrier connection is established. In process425, if a plurality of starter wireless carrier connection is established, the processing unit of WCD100may use any one of the starter wireless carrier connections for connecting a SIM bank by establishing a starter authentication connection and the other starter wireless carrier connection(s) may be used for data communication. In one variant, when the use of an L-SIM may incur roaming charges and an authentication connection is already established using a less expensive wireless carrier connection, the wireless carrier connection of the L-SIM will be disconnected to save cost. In another variant, at least two logical data connections are aggregated together to form an aggregated logical connection for connecting to the SIM bank. The aggregated logical connection may be used as an authentication connection. In one variant, if a plurality of starter wireless carrier connections is established, the processing unit of WCD100may use a plurality of starter wireless carrier connections for connecting to a plurality of SIM banks by establishing a plurality of starter authentication connections. In the case that after all L-SIMs are tried and no starter wireless carrier connection is established, WCD100sends a message to its administrator informing that establishing a starter wireless carrier connection has failed and stops the process. In one variant, the message may be displayed on the user interface (UI) of the WCD. In one variant, WCD100stops the method without sending the message. In another variant, a predetermined waiting time is set for establishing at least one starter wireless carrier connection. If no starter wireless carrier connection is established after the predetermined waiting time, WCD100sends a message to its administrator informing that establishing a starter wireless carrier connection has failed and stops the method. The message may be displayed on a user interface (UI) of the WCD. In another variant, the method is restarted after a predetermined time interval. The time interval may be set as a default time interval by the manufacturer or maybe manually set by the administrator of WCD100. In process426, the processing unit of WCD100selects another plurality of SIMs from available L-SIMs and R-SIMs as SIMs. However, it is preferable that when R-SIMs are selected in process426, the R-SIMs are selected only from available R-SIMs which are provided by local wireless carrier networks in order to avoid roaming charges. The selection of the SIMs at process426may be performed in the same manner discussed in process406ofFIG.4A, however in this example embodiment, a plurality of SIMs is selected. In another variant, R-SIMs have higher priority than L-SIMs to be selected at process426. In process427, the processing unit of WCD100assigns a corresponding available WCM with each of the plurality of SIMs selected at process426and establishes wireless carrier connections using the plurality of SIMs selected at process426and the corresponding WCMs. In the course of establishing the wireless carrier connections, authentication requests and authentication information regarding the L-SIMs and R-SIMs are communicated according to the same process as described earlier in process407ofFIG.4A. In process428, the processing unit of WCD100determines whether a threshold is reached. When the threshold is reached, the method proceeds to process429and ends. The threshold may be evaluated in the same process as discussed in process408ofFIG.4A. When the threshold is not reached, the method loops back to process426and selects another plurality of SIMs from available L-SIMs and R-SIMs then iterates processes427-428. Processes426-428are iterated until the threshold is reached. In one variant, WCD100may connect to a plurality of SIM banks at process425. WCD100may connect to each SIM bank of the plurality of SIM banks by establishing one or more logical data connection(s) through one or more wireless carrier connection(s). When WCD100connects to a SIM bank through a plurality of logical data connections, the plurality of logical data connections may be carried by a plurality of wireless carrier connections. Therefore, WCD100may establish a plurality of aggregated logical data connections for connecting to the plurality of SIM banks. In one variant, a SIM bank management server is used to manage the plurality of SIM banks. For example, a SIM bank management server216shown inFIG.2A. WCD100may communicate with SIM bank management server216first for accessing the SIM banks. Before communicating with SIM bank management server216, WCD100may not have the access information of one or more SIM banks212. After having the access information of SIM banks212, WCD100is then able to communicate with SIM banks212. The embodiments described inFIGS.4A and4Bare applicable for establishing a plurality of wireless carrier connections in any geographical area where the WCD is being used regardless of whether the WCD is being used in its home geographical area in a visited geographical area (i.e. foreign geographical area). The home geographical area is the geographical area where the user/subscriber has their wireless carrier account. The visited or foreign geographical area is the geographical area where the user's or subscriber's WCD is not otherwise considered local. For illustration purposes only, application of the embodiment described inFIG.4A, in home location and in a visited location, is demonstrated in the following paragraphs. In one example scenario, WCD100is being used in its home geographical area. There may be a plurality of wireless carrier networks available in its home geographical area. For example, wireless carrier networks201a-201care available in the home geographical area. WCD100may access the wireless carrier networks using SIMs from the respective wireless carrier networks. The SIMs may be placed in WCD100or in one or more remote SIM banks. For illustration purposes, L-SIMs111and112are placed in WCD100, and R-SIMs113are placed in one or more SIM banks212, for example in SIM bank212a. Also, for illustration purpose, an eSIM, such as eSIM111afrom eUICC116aand eSIM111bfrom eUICC116b, are from wireless carrier network201aand201brespectively, and L-SIMs112aand112bare from wireless carrier network201c. R-SIMs113aand113bare from wireless carrier network201aand wireless carrier network201brespectively. In one variant, R-SIM113amay be placed in SIM bank212aand R-SIM113bmay be placed in SIM bank212b. Alternatively, both of the R-SIMs113aand113bmay be placed in SIM bank212b. There is no limitation on the number of SIMs that can be placed in a SIM bank. Continuing with this exemplary scenario, eSIM111ais selected as the starter SIM for establishing a starter wireless carrier connection using a WCM, for example, WCM101a. As a result, a starter wireless carrier connection is established through wireless carrier network201a. WCD100then connects SIM bank212athrough the starter wireless carrier connection by establishing a starter authentication connection through the starter wireless carrier connection. The starter wireless carrier connection may be reserved for carrying authentication requests and authentication information or may also be used for data communication by establishing more logical data connections. After establishing the starter authentication connection, another SIM is selected from available L-SIMs and R-SIMs for establishing another wireless carrier connection. The selection of the another SIM may be performed manually by an administrator of WCD100or maybe be based on a SIM selection policy For example, R-SIM113bis selected from SIM bank212aand WCM101bis assigned with R-SIM113b. Then another wireless carrier connection is established using R-SIM113band WCM101bthrough wireless carrier network201b. Continuing with this exemplary scenario, when establishing the wireless carrier connection using R-SIM113b, wireless carrier network201bmay send a request for authentication information to WCM101bregarding R-SIM113b. The authentication request is then forwarded by WCD100to SIM bank212athrough the starter authentication connection. SIM bank212areplies to the authentication request by providing authentication information regarding R-SIM113band sends the authentication information to WCD100. WCD100forwards the reply sent by SIM bank212ato the authentication request to wireless carrier network201b. Based on the authentication information provided in the reply, wireless carrier network201bmay then accept or refuse R-SIM113bfor establishing the wireless carrier connection. If accepted, the wireless carrier connection using R-SIM113bwill be established. If refused, the establishment of the wireless carrier connection using R-SIM113bfails and WCD100may select another R-SIM, for example, R-SIM113aand attempts to establish a wireless carrier connection over wireless carrier network201afollowing the same process. For illustration purposes, the wireless carrier connection using R-SIM113bhas been successfully established. After that, the starter wireless carrier connection may optionally be disconnected and a replacement authentication connection is established through the wireless carrier connection established using R-SIM113b. When the starter wireless carrier connection is disconnected, WCM101amay be unassigned from eSIM111aand become available to be assigned with another SIM to establish another wireless carrier connection. In the case that the another SIM is an R-SIM, the replacement authentication connection may be used for carrying authentication information and authentication requests. In the case that the another SIM, is an L-SIM, there is no need for an authentication connection, as local SIMs are placed in the WCD and the authentication information regarding local SIMs can be accessed directly. After successful establishment of the wireless carrier connection using R-SIM113b, the processing unit of WCD100determines whether a threshold is reached. When a threshold is reached the process ends and the wireless carrier connections are used for data communications which is described later. On the other hand, if the threshold is not reached, the processing unit of WCD100keeps establishing another wireless carrier connection using another L-SIM or R-SIM until the threshold is reached. In another exemplary scenario, WCD100is being used in a visited geographical area. Wireless carrier networks201a-201cmay not be available in the visited geographical area. For example, wireless carrier networks P, Q, R, S are available in the visited geographical area. However, WCD100may still place SIMs from wireless carrier networks201a-201cand does not have any SIMs from wireless carrier networks P, Q, R and S. For example, eSIMs111aand111bare from wireless carrier network201aand wireless carrier network201brespectively, and L-SIMs112aand112bare from wireless carrier network201c. R-SIM113ais from wireless carrier network201aand R-SIM113bis from wireless carrier network P. Different from the previous exemplary scenario where both of R-SIMs113were from wireless carrier networks of home geographical area, in this exemplary scenario, R-SIM113ais from a wireless carrier network of home geographical area and R-SIM113bis from wireless carrier network of the visited geographical area. Each of the SIM banks212may place SIMs from different wireless carrier networks of different geographical areas. For illustration purposes, R-SIMs113aand113bare placed in SIM bank212a. In one variant, the SIM banks may be managed through a SIM bank management server. For example, eSIM111ais selected as the starter SIM and WCM101ais assigned with it. As eSIM111ais from wireless carrier network201aand WCD100is in a visited geographical area, eSIM111ais now a foreign SIM as it's not from a local wireless carrier network of the visited geographical area. WCD100then initiates establishing a starter wireless carrier connection using eSIM111aand WCM101a. For establishing the starter wireless carrier connection, WCD100first generates a request for data connection using authentication information of eSIM111a. The request for data connection may be received by one or more local wireless carrier networks of the visited geographical area. For example, wireless carrier network Q has received the request for data connection. In one variant, the request for data connection may be mechanically generated by WCD100when it opens or enters in the visited geographical area. If wireless carrier networks201aand Q have a roaming agreement, then wireless carrier network Q may check the validity of the authentication information provided by communicating with wireless carrier network201aand decide on whether to provide Internet access to WCD100based on the authentication information. If the authentication information is valid, then the starter wireless carrier connection will be established. If the authentication information is not valid, wireless carrier network Q may not provide Internet access to WCD100and the establishment of the starter wireless carrier connection may be failed. WCD100may again try to establish wireless carrier connection following the same process using another L-SIM from a different wireless carrier network, for example, using L-SIM112afrom wireless carrier network201c. For illustration purposes, the starter wireless carrier connection using eSIM111ais successfully established. Since the starter wireless carrier connection is established using eSIM111aand eSIM111ais from wireless carrier network201awhich is a non-local wireless carrier network of the visited geographical area, as a result, data communication using the starter wireless carrier connection will involve roaming charges. Therefore, after successful establishment of the starter wireless carrier connection, WCD100connects with a remote SIM bank, for example, SIM bank212a, by establishing a starter authentication connection through the starter wireless carrier connection. An R-SIM is then selected from SIM bank212a. It should be noted that, in this exemplary scenario, after establishing the starter authentication connection, the subsequent SIMs (SIMs that are selected after the establishment of the starter wireless carrier connection) are selected only from available R-SIMs based on the SIM selection policy unlike to the previous exemplary scenario where the subsequent SIMs were selected from available L-SIMs and R-SIMs. This is due to avoid roaming charges, as in this exemplary scenario, WCD100is being used in a visited geographical area, therefore, using of L-SIMs may involve roaming charges since the L-SIMs are from the wireless carrier networks of home geographical area. The selection of R-SIM may be performed by a processing unit of WCD100, SIM bank212aor SIM bank management server216. When the selection is performed by the processing unit of SIM bank212aor SIM bank management server216, after selecting an R-SIM, the selection information is sent to WCD100. The processing unit of WCD100then assigns the selected R-SIM with an available WCM. For example, R-SIM113bis selected and is assigned with WCM101b. The SIM selection policy may be based on one or more of the following criteria: position of an R-SIM placed in a SIM bank, R-SIM category, tariff price of an R-SIM, network's performance history of a SIM, services offered by the wireless carrier network of an R-SIM, service quality of the wireless carrier network of an R-SIM, administrator's preference, geolocation of WCD100, billing cycle information and time. For example, when an R-SIM is selected based on the geolocation of WCD100, the R-SIM should be selected from a local wireless carrier network corresponding to the current location of or wireless carrier networks available at WCD100. In this case, R-SIM113bis selected as it is from wireless carrier network P which is a local wireless carrier network of the visited geographical area. For illustration purposes, R-SIM113bis from wireless carrier network P. When establishing the wireless carrier connection using R-SIM113b, wireless carrier network P may send a request to WCM101bfor authentication information regarding R-SIM113b. The authentication request is then forwarded by WCD100to SIM bank212athrough the starter authentication connection. SIM bank212areplies to the authentication request by providing authentication information regarding R-SIM113bto WCD100. The authentication information may also include other information depending on the requirements. WCD100forwards the authentication information to wireless carrier network P as a reply to the authentication request. Based on the authentication information provided in the reply, wireless carrier network P may accept or refuse the establishment of the wireless carrier connection using R-SIM113b. If accepted, the wireless carrier connection over wireless carrier network P is successfully established. If refused, the establishment of the wireless carrier connection using R-SIM113bfails. After that, another R-SIM may be selected and attempted to establish a wireless carrier connection using it according to the same processes as disclosed above. For illustration purposes, wireless carrier connection using R-SIM113bis successfully established. The processing unit of WCD100then determines whether a threshold is reached. When a threshold is reached the process ends and wireless carrier connections are used for data communications which is described later. On the other hand, if the threshold is not reached, the processing unit of WCD100keeps establishing another wireless carrier connection using another R-SIM until the threshold is reached. In one variant, after successful establishment of the wireless carrier connection using R-SIM113b, the starter wireless carrier connection is retained standby and not used or disconnected in order to reduce roaming charges and save resources. In that case, a replacement authentication connection is established through the wireless carrier connection established using R-SIM113bfor transmitting authentication information and authentication requests. There is no limitation on the number of SIM banks may be utilized. When one SIM bank is used for placing all R-SIMs, the SIM bank may be placed in a centralized location, for example, in the home geographical area of the WCD and may place SIMs from different wireless carrier networks of the home geographical area and foreign geographical area. If multiple SIM banks are used, some of the SIM banks may be placed in the home geographical area and some may be placed in different foreign geographical areas. When SIM banks are placed in different foreign geographical areas, each SIM bank may place SIMs from the local wireless carrier networks of the corresponding geographical area. For example, SIM bank212amay be placed in the home geographical area of WCD100and places SIMs from different local wireless carrier networks of the home geographical area. On the other hand, SIM bank212bmay be placed in a foreign geographical area and has SIMs from different local wireless carrier networks of the foreign geographical area. In one variant, there is no restriction that an authentication connection must also be used for data communication when not being used to communicate SIM authentication information. For example, the authentication connection may be used for data communication, such as web browsing and file transfer, when the bandwidth provided by non-authentication connection(s) is not adequate or below a threshold. When the bandwidth provided by the non-authentication connection(s) is adequate or above the threshold, the authentication connection will not be used for data communication. In another example, when WCD100is being used in a foreign country or may incur roaming charges, the authentication connection will not be used for data communication unless there is no other wireless carrier connection could be established. This may reduce roaming charges. In one variant, the authentication connection is also used for data connection without any limitation. After the establishment of the second data connection, the first and the second data connection may also be used to carry authentication information for establishing additional wireless carrier connections, such as the third data connection and so on. In one variant, any wireless carrier connection or a plurality of wireless carrier connections may be used to carry for establishing one or more authentication connections. There is also no limitation on the number of connections to be used as an authentication connection, any one or more established data connections may be used as authentication connection(s). In one variant, only the first data connection established using the starter SIM is used as an authentication connection. In another variant, WCD100is being used in a foreign country the data connection established using the starter SIM is disconnected after successfully establishing the second wireless carrier connection in order to avoid roaming charges and the second data connection is used as authentication connection. In another variant, both the first and the second data connections are used as authentication connections. The process flowcharts illustrated byFIGS.5A,5B and5Care to allow WCD100to use one or more R-SIMs to provide communication service to devices and users over wireless carrier networks but not the starter wireless carrier network. The starter wireless carrier network may not be the most preferred wireless carrier network to use in terms of tariffs, network performance, time and location. Therefore, once the starter wireless carrier connection is established, the processing unit of WCD100starts trying to establish other wireless carrier connections to replace starter wireless carrier connection or to reduce the usage of the starter wireless carrier connection.FIG.5Ais a process flowchart illustrating a method according to one example embodiment of the present invention. The method may be performed at processing unit160of WCD100. FIG.5Ashould be viewed in conjunction withFIG.1A,FIG.2AandFIG.4A.FIG.5Amay also be viewed in conjunction withFIG.1A,FIG.2AandFIG.4B. After process408or process427, there should be at least two wireless carrier connections established with at least two wireless carrier networks. For clarity, the authentication connection over a wireless carrier network using the starter SIM is referred to as the starter authentication connection, and the wireless carrier network is referred to as the starter wireless carrier network. For example, the processing unit has used a starter SIM to establish a wireless carrier connection with wireless carrier network201c. Then the processing unit of WCD100may connect to SIM bank212athrough a logical data connection over wireless carrier network201cto carry authentication requests and authentication information. Therefore, wireless carrier network201cis the starter wireless carrier network; the wireless carrier connection established with wireless carrier network201cis the starter wireless carrier connection; and the logical data connection is referred to as the starter authentication connection. FIG.5Ais a process flowchart illustrating a method according to one example embodiment of the present invention. The processes inFIG.5Aillustrates how the starter authentication connection is replaced by a replacement authentication connection. Under different circumstances, there may be one or more motivations not to continue to use the starter authentication connection over the starter wireless carrier network. The motivations may include: the network performance of the starter wireless carrier network is not adequate; the cost of using the starter wireless carrier network is expensive; the availability of the starter wireless carrier network is not stable. By using a replacement authentication connection over a replacement wireless carrier connection, which is established using an R-SIM with a wireless carrier network, may enjoy better network performance, lower tariffs and/or more stable network availability. At process501, the processing unit of WCD100selects one wireless carrier network that is already connected to using an R-SIM to be the replacement wireless carrier network. For illustration purposes, WCD100has already established one wireless carrier connection with wireless carrier network201ausing an R-SIM from SIM bank212a, and selects wireless carrier network201ato be the replacement wireless carrier network. The wireless carrier connection established with the replacement wireless carrier network becomes the replacement wireless carrier connection. For illustration purposes, SIM bank212ais the SIM bank that the starter authentication connected to. At process502, the processing unit of WCD100then establishes a logical data connection, over the replacement wireless carrier connection, with SIM bank212a. The logical data connection then becomes the replacement authentication connection. At process503, the processing unit of WCD100then starts using the replacement authentication connection to carry SIM authentication requests and SIM authentication information that is originally carried through the starter authentication connection. At process504, the processing unit of WCD100disconnects the starter wireless carrier connection established over wireless carrier network201c. It is preferred that the processing unit of WCD100disconnects the starter authentication connection gracefully before disconnecting the starter wireless carrier connection. When the starter wireless carrier connection is disconnected, the starter authentication connection will also be terminated. Once the starter wireless carrier connection is disconnected, there will be no more connection with the wireless carrier network201c. This may be cost-saving if wireless carrier network201chas more expensive tariffs than wireless carrier network201ausing the R-SIM. At process505, the processing unit of WCD100may start to or continue to transmit and receive data packets through a plurality of logical data connections using the remaining wireless carrier connections. The remaining wireless carrier connections are connections already established with wireless carrier networks, excluding the replacement wireless carrier connection. For example, when there is a plurality of wireless carrier connections established before process501, one wireless carrier connection of the plurality of wireless carrier connections has become the replacement wireless carrier connection and the rest of the plurality of wireless carrier connections are remaining wireless carrier connections. By only using logical data connections over the remaining wireless carrier connections to transmit data packets, not related to authentication, allows the replacement wireless carrier connection to be exclusively to carry the replacement authentication connection. This may improve stability and speed of the replacement authentication connection compared to allowing other logical data connections to be established over the replacement wireless carrier connection. In one variant, other logical data connections are allowed to be established over the replacement wireless carrier connection. This may increase data throughput between WCD100and interconnected networks217. In one variant, process504is not performed. Therefore, the starter wireless carrier connection will still be available. The starter wireless carrier connection may still be used to carry the starter authentication connection. This may improve the network performance between WCD100and SIM bank212a. The starter wireless carrier connection may also be used to carry other logical data connections. This may improve the network performance between WCD100and interconnected networks217. In one variant, after the starter wireless carrier network is disconnected at process504, the processing unit of WCD100will establish a wireless carrier connection using the WCM that was originally used for the starter wireless carrier network with an R-SIM. Then logical data connections and/or an authentication connection may be established over this newly established wireless carrier connection. As a result, the overall network performance of WCD100may improve. FIG.5Bis a process flowchart illustrating a method according to one example embodiment of the present invention. The method may be performed at processing unit160of WCD100.FIG.5Bshould be viewed in conjunction withFIG.1A,FIG.2AandFIG.4A.FIG.5Bmay also be viewed in conjunction withFIG.1A,FIG.2AandFIG.4B. After process408or process427, there should be at least two wireless carrier connections established with at least two wireless carrier networks. The method illustrated inFIG.5Bis similar to the method illustrated inFIG.5A. In the method illustrated inFIG.5B, a plurality of wireless carrier connections, which are already established with respective wireless carrier networks using a plurality of L-SIMs and/or R-SIMs, to be the replacement wireless carrier connections. In the method illustrated inFIG.5A, there is one replacement wireless carrier connection. At process511, the processing unit of WCD100selects a plurality of wireless carrier networks, which are already connected to using a plurality of L-SIMs and/or R-SIMs, to be the replacement wireless carrier networks. For illustration purpose, WCD100has already established a wireless carrier connection with wireless carrier network201ausing an R-SIM from SIM bank212a; a wireless carrier connection with wireless carrier network201busing an R-SIM from SIM bank212b; and a wireless carrier connection with wireless carrier network201cusing an L-SIM. Also for illustration purposes, the processing unit of WCD100selects wireless carrier networks201aand201bto be the replacement wireless carrier network; wireless carrier network201cis the starter wireless carrier network; the wireless carrier connection established with wireless carrier network201cis the starter wireless carrier connection; and SIM bank212ais the SIM bank that the starter authentication connection connected to. Wireless carrier connections established with the replacement wireless carrier networks, i.e. wireless carrier networks201aand201b, become the replacement wireless carrier connections. At process512, the processing unit of WCD100then establishes two logical data connections through the replacement wireless carrier connections established over the replacement wireless carrier networks201aand201b, with SIM bank212a. The logical data connections then become the replacement authentication connections. At process513, the processing unit of WCD100then starts using the two replacement authentication connections to carry SIM authentication requests and SIM authentication information that are originally carried through the starter authentication connection. At process514, the processing unit of WCD100disconnects the starter wireless carrier connection established using wireless carrier network201c. It is preferred that the processing unit of WCD100disconnects the starter authentication connection gracefully before disconnecting the starter wireless carrier connection. When the starter wireless carrier connection is disconnected, the starter authentication connection will also be terminated. Once the starter wireless carrier connection is disconnected, there will be no more connection with wireless carrier network201c. At process515, the processing unit of WCD100may start to or continue to transmit and receive data packets through a plurality of logical data connections using the remaining wireless carrier connections. In one variant, the replacement authentication connections are aggregated together to form an aggregated authentication connection. The aggregated authentication connection may be an aggregated tunnel that comprises a plurality of tunnels. Each tunnel of the plurality tunnel is established over a replacement wireless carrier connection. There is no limitation on the number of authentication connections or tunnels that may be established over a replacement wireless carrier connection. For example, one replacement authentication tunnel with SIM bank212aand one replacement authentication tunnel with SIM bank212bmay be established over a wireless carrier connection with wireless carrier network201b. In one variant, process514is not performed. Therefore, the starter wireless carrier connection will still be available. The starter wireless carrier connection may also be used to carry other logical data connections. The starter wireless carrier connection may continue to be an authentication connection. In one variant, after the starter wireless carrier network is disconnected at process514, the processing unit of WCD100will establish a wireless carrier connection using the WCM that was originally used for the starter wireless carrier network with an R-SIM. Then logical data connections and/or an authentication connection may be established over this newly established wireless carrier connection. FIG.5Cillustrates one example embodiment for managing authentication connections over wireless carrier networks after at least one replacement authentication connection is established, over at least one replacement wireless carrier network. At process531, the processing unit of WCD100establishes a starter authentication connection over a starter wireless carrier network. At process532, the processing unit of WCD100establishes a first replacement authentication connection over a first replacement wireless carrier network. The first replacement wireless carrier network is a wireless carrier network firstly connected and used to connect to the SIM bank, which is the SIM bank that the starter authentication connection connects to. At process533, the processing unit of WCD100disconnects the starter wireless carrier network and therefore the starter authentication connection is also disconnected. When the starter authentication connection is disconnected, authentication requests and authentication information are carried using the first replacement authentication connection. At process534, the processing unit of WCD100establishes a second replacement authentication connection over a second replacement wireless carrier network. The second replacement wireless carrier network is a wireless carrier network connected and used to connect to the SIM bank after the first replacement wireless carrier network. The second replacement wireless carrier network may be any of the replacement wireless carrier networks except the first replacement wireless carrier network and starter wireless carrier network. The processing unit of WCD100uses the second replacement authentication connection to connect to the same SIM bank that the starter authentication connection connects to and the first replacement authentication connection connects to. At process535, the processing unit of WCD100disconnects the first replacement wireless carrier network and therefore the first replacement authentication connection is also disconnected. The details of establishing the starter authentication connection and the replacement authentication connections have been already disclosed in earlier embodiments of the present invention. Further, the details of using L-SIM and R-SIMs for establishing wireless carrier connections with wireless carrier networks have also been already disclosed in earlier embodiments of the present invention. For example, the starter wireless carrier network may be connected to using an L-SIM while the first and the second wireless carrier networks may be connected to using R-SIMs. The WCM used for using the L-SIM to connect to the starter wireless carrier network may be reused for the R-SIM to connect to the second replacement wireless carrier network. There is no limitation that process534must be performed after process533. For example, process534may be performed before process533. Further process533may be performed after process535. In one variant, when there is a plurality of replacement wireless carrier networks, the processing unit of WCD100may establish a plurality of replacement authentication connections at process534. In one variant, transmitting and receiving of data by devices, such as IoT204and laptop206, connected directly or through a LAN to WCD100may be started after the starter wireless carrier connection is established. This allows the devices to communicate with hosts reachable through interconnected networks217as soon as possible. In one variant, transmitting and receiving of data by devices may be limited or not allowed through the starter wireless carrier connection. Transmitting and receiving of data by the devices may be started only after the first replacement authentication connection over the first replacement wireless carrier network is established at process532, in order to reduce the use of the starter wireless carrier connection. This may reduce tariffs and/or roaming charges imposed by the starter wireless carrier or improving network performance. The use of R-SIMs at the SIM banks may reduce tariffs and/or roaming charges as the R-SIMs selected may not incur roaming charges and may offer better network performance. In one variant, transmitting and receiving of data by devices may be limited or not allowed through the starter wireless carrier connection and/or the first replacement authentication connection. Transmitting and receiving of data by the devices may be started only after the second replacement wireless carrier connection over the second replacement wireless carrier network is established at process534, in order to reduce the use of the starter wireless carrier connection and/or the first replacement wireless carrier connection. In addition to the possibility of reducing tariffs and/or roaming charges imposed by the starter wireless carrier network, performance may be improved and more flexibility on selecting wireless carrier networks may be achieved. FIG.6is a process flowchart illustrating a method according to one embodiment of the present invention. The processing unit of WCD100is used to determine when to disconnect a logical data connection and establish a new logical data connection.FIG.6should be viewed in conjunction withFIG.1AandFIG.2A. In process601, The processing unit of WCD100establishes a plurality of logical data connections through one or more wireless carrier connections. The one or more wireless carrier connections may be established over one or more wireless carrier networks according to any of the methods described inFIGS.4A and4B. In one variant, one or more of the logical data connections may also be established through one or more wired network connections established through one or more wide area network (WAN) interfaces of WCD100. In process602, the processing unit of WCD100allows data communications through the plurality of logical data connections established through the one or more wireless carrier connections. For illustration purposes, data communications may be performed between a host connected directly or through a local area network to WCD100and another host reachable via interconnected networks217. For example, a host connected to WCD100may be laptop206or IoT device204and another host reachable via interconnected network217may be web server208, SIM banks212, SIM bank management server216, eSIM server214, or a host connected to the network node210. In one variant, the plurality of logical data connections may be aggregated to form an aggregated tunnel. In process603, the processing unit of WCD100monitors the one or more wireless carrier connections for satisfaction criteria. The satisfaction criteria may include, but not limited to, connection type, tariff cost, latency, bandwidth and network congestion. In process604, the processing unit of WCD100determines whether there is any wireless carrier connection(s) not satisfying the satisfaction criteria. When the determination result is “No”, indicating the satisfaction criteria are met, “No” branch is followed and processes603-604are iterated. In one variant, the processing unit of WCD100waits for a predetermined time before each iteration of loop603-604, as this would help to reduce the processing workload of the processor and save energy and resources. If in process604, the result is “Yes”, indicating satisfaction criteria are not met, “Yes” branch is followed and process605is performed. In process605, the processing unit of WCD100disconnects the wireless carrier connection(s) not fulfilling the satisfaction criteria. However, in some example scenarios, it is possible that all wireless carrier connections are failing to fulfill the satisfaction criteria, in such cases, one wireless carrier connection is retained operational while the rest of the wireless carrier connections are disconnected. It is preferable that comparatively the best performing wireless carrier connection is retained operative. In one variant, each item of the satisfaction criteria may be assigned with a priority level that is configured by an administrator or a user of WCD100. For example, when tariff cost is given top priority, the connection(s) with high tariff cost should be disconnected first. If all the wireless carrier connections fail to fulfill at least one criterion of the satisfaction criteria, the wireless carrier connection having the least priority level should be retained operative. In process606, the processing unit of WCD100establishes a replacement wireless carrier connection each of the disconnected wireless carrier connections. After establishing the replacement wireless carrier connection(s), the processing unit of WCD100establishes another logical data connection of the plurality of logical data connections through the replacement wireless carrier connection(s) at process601. The another plurality of logical data connections then may be used for data communication in process602. In one variant, a replacement wireless carrier connection is established for each of the wireless carrier connections not satisfying the satisfaction criteria even though it is not disconnected. Processes605and606may be performed interchangeably. As such, replacement wireless carrier connection(s) may be established at process606before disconnecting the wireless carrier connections at process605. FIG.7is a progress flowchart illustrating one embodiment of the present invention. At process701, a starter SIM is used with one of WCMs of WCD100and the WCM is referred to as the first WCM as it is the first WCM used sequentially. The starter SIM may be an L-SIM, R-SIM or a roaming R-SIM. It is known that a roaming SIM is a SIM card that is capable of operation on more than one network. A roaming R-SIM, as referred in this present invention, is an R-SIM placed in a SIM bank and is capable of operating on more than one wireless carrier network. If there is no logical data connection able to be established with a SIM bank or SIM bank management server, the starter SIM should be an L-SIM as WCD100could not be able to use an R-SIM. A starter authentication connection is established with a SIM bank using the starter SIM with the first WCM. In process702, as an authentication connection is now established, an R-SIM from a SIM bank could be used to establish a wireless carrier connection using a second WCM. As the R-SIM is the first in sequence, the R-SIM is referred to as the first R-SIM and the wireless carrier connection is referred to as the first wireless carrier connection. Authentication requests and authentication information may be transmitted and received through the starter authentication connection. In process703, a next R-SIM, referred to as the second R-SIM, will be used to establish a second wireless carrier connection using a next WCM, referred to as the third WCM. Authentication requests and authentication information may be transmitted and received through the starter authentication connection and/or through a replacement authentication connection established through the first wireless carrier connection. In process704, a (n−1) th R-SIM, will be used to establish a n th wireless carrier connection using a (n−1) th WCM. Authentication requests and authentication information may be transmitted and received through one or a combination of the authentication connections established through the wireless carrier connections. The processes may continue unless n reaches a threshold or n reaches the number of WCMs in WCD100. As there are usually numerous R-SIMs in a SIM bank and WCD100may connect to a plurality of SIM banks, the number of R-SIMs available should be more than WCMs available. The purpose of these processes is to use as many WCMs as possible. The authentication connection is not used for transmitting and receiving data for network devices connected to WCD100, such as local area network202, IoT204and laptop206. Data to and from network devices connected to WCD100is allowed to be transmitted and received through one or a combination of the (n−1) th data connections. In one variant, the first m th wireless carrier connections are not used for transmitting and receiving data for network devices connected to WCD100. Data to and from network devices connected to WCD100is allowed to be transmitted and received through one or a combination of the (m+1) th to (n−1) th data connections. For illustration purposes, m is five and n is ten, then data to and from network devices connected to WCD100is allowed to be transmitted and received through one or a combination of the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth data connections, but not the first to the fourth wireless carrier connections. FIG.8Ais a process flowchart that illustrates an R-SIM selection and authentication process of one exemplary embodiment. When an R-SIM is to be selected by a SIM bank or processing unit of WCD100, a SIM selection policy may be used to select an R-SIM. Information may be required for the SIM selection policy. At process801, the information for the SIM selection policy is collected by the processing unit of WCD100. At process802, an R-SIM is selected according to the R-SIM selection process, as illustrated inFIG.3B, based on the information collected. When the R-SIM selection process is performed by SIM bank, the information collected will be transmitted to the SIM bank through a logical connection, a plurality of logical connection or an aggregated logical connection. The logical connection, the plurality of logical connections or the aggregated logical connection may or may not be a starter. For example, the logical data connection connecting to the SIM bank may be a starter authentication connection or a replacement authentication connection. Information of the selected R-SIM will then be sent to WCD100. When the R-SIM selection process is performed by the processing unit of WCD100, information of a plurality of R-SIMs in at least one SIM bank will be sent to WCD100. Then the processing unit of WCD100will select an R-SIM according to the SIM selection policy with the information collected. Once an R-SIM is selected, authentication requests received from the corresponding wireless carrier network and authentication information from the R-SIM will be transmitted through an authentication connection established between the SIM bank and WCD100. There is no limitation that the authentication connection must be a starter or a replacement authentication connection. FIG.8Bis a more detailed process flowchart for further exemplary embodiments of processes801and802. At process811, the processing unit of WCD100identifies available wireless carrier networks by using at least one WCM of a plurality of WCMs. At process812, the processing unit of WCD100determines signal quality of each of the available wireless carrier networks identified by the at least one WCM. The availability of wireless carrier networks and the corresponding signal quality are then used for the SIM selection policy. In one variant, process812is not performed and only the availability of wireless carrier networks is used for the SIM selection policy. At process813an R-SIM or a roaming R-SIM is selected based on wireless carrier networks that meet the signal quality requirement and further based on the tariffs and/or allowed usage of wireless carrier networks. If the signal quality of an available wireless carrier network does not meet a signal quality requirement, the available wireless carrier should not be used and R-SIMs and roaming R-SIMs that have to use that available wireless carrier network will not be selected. In one example, when there are two available wireless carrier networks meeting the signal quality requirement, an R-SIM which uses the wireless carrier network with lower tariffs will be selected. For illustration purposes, the two available wireless carrier networks are201aand201b. When wireless carrier network201ahas lower tariffs than the tariffs of wireless carrier network201b, an R-SIM or a roaming R-SIM which uses wireless carrier network201awill be selected. In one variant, there are three available wireless carrier networks201a-201cmeet the signal quality requirement and WCD100has two available WCMs. For illustration purposes, wireless carrier networks201aand201cboth have the same tariffs and are less expensive than the wireless carrier network201b. Therefore, only R-SIMs and roaming R-SIMs using wireless carrier networks201aand/or201cwill be selected and R-SIMs and roaming R-SIMs using wireless carrier network201bwill not be selected. For roaming R-SIMs that are configurable to use any of the three wireless carrier networks, they may still be selected but will be configured to use wireless carrier networks201aand/or201cin process814. The R-SIM selection process may be performed by the processing unit of WCD100, a processing unit of a SIM bank212or a processing unit of a SIM bank management server216. When the R-SIM selection process is performed by the processing unit of WCD100, information, such as identity of the wireless carrier networks, tariffs and allowed usage of the R-SIMs and roaming R-SIMs, will be sent to the WCD100by the processing unit of SIM bank212or SIM bank management server216for the processing unit to select. Similarly, when the R-SIM selection process is performed by the processing unit of the SIM bank management server, the information will also be sent to SIM bank management server216. In one example, a SIM bank may select a plurality of R-SIMs and/or roaming R-SIMs first, then the processing unit of WCD100may select one or more R-SIMs and/or roaming R-SIMs from the plurality of R-SIMs and/or roaming R-SIMs selected by the SIM bank. FIG.8Cis a more detailed process flowchart for further exemplary embodiments of processes801and802. At process821, the processing unit of WCD100identifies its geographical location. Geographical location may be determined by using GPS. At process822, an R-SIM or a roaming R-SIM is selected based on the geographical location information and is further based on the tariffs and/or data usage allowance. A database or a look-up table may be used to search for wireless carrier networks that may be used in the geographical location. The database or the look-up table may be stored in WCD100, a SIM bank, a plurality of SIM banks and/or a SIM bank management server. For example, longitude and latitude information, based on GPS information obtained from a GPS receiver at WCD100, may be used to look-up for available wireless carrier networks at the geographical location of WCD100. Similar to the processes illustrated inFIG.8B, there is no limitation that only one R-SIM or roaming R-SIM is selected. For example, a plurality of R-SIMs and/or roaming R-SIMs may be selected. In one example, based on the GPS location information of WCD100, a database is searched for available wireless carrier networks. For illustration purposes, the records in the database indicate that there are two available wireless carrier networks at the location of WCD100. For example, the two available wireless carrier networks are201aand201band wireless carrier network201ahas a lower tariff than the tariffs of wireless carrier network201b, thus, an R-SIM or a roaming R-SIM using wireless carrier network201awill be selected. In one variant, there are three available wireless carrier networks201a-201c, according to the database records and WCD100has two available WCMs. For illustration purposes, wireless carrier networks201aand201cboth have the same tariffs and are less expensive than the tariffs of wireless carrier network201b. Therefore, only R-SIMs and roaming R-SIMs using wireless carrier networks201aand/or201cwill be selected and R-SIMs and roaming R-SIMs using wireless carrier network201bwill not be selected. For roaming R-SIMs that are configurable to use any of the three wireless carrier networks, they may still be selected but will be configured to use wireless carrier networks201aand/or201cin process823. FIG.8Dillustrates a method for configuring WCMs when a roaming R-SIM is selected in processes813and822. When a roaming R-SIM is selected, mobile country code (MCC) and mobile network node (MNC) of the wireless carrier network selected will be first determined at process831and then will be sent from SIM bank212to WCD100over an authentication connection in process832. Then WCD100will configure an available WCM with the MCC and MNC in process833to allow the WCM to use the wireless carrier network selected. The authentication connection may be a starter authentication connection, a replacement authentication connection or an aggregated authentication connection. For example, wireless carrier network201ais the wireless carrier network selected in the USA, then MCC and MNC of wireless carrier network201awill be determined in process831. MCC and MNC will be sent in process832and will be used to configure an available WCM in process833. In one variant, MCC and MNC information is already stored in WCD100, and the process unit of WCD100may be able to determine the MCC and MNC information itself and is not required to retrieve MCC and MNC information from SIM bank212. Therefore, process832is skipped. One of the benefits of using MCC and MNC is to reduce the process of identifying geographical location of WCD100. In another detailed example, an access point name (APN) of an R-SIM or a roaming R-SIM may be sent from SIM bank212to WCD100to allow an available WCM to establish a desired connection with a wireless carrier network. For example, WCD100may be able to access a private network using the APN. In one variant, APN information is already stored in WCD100, and WCD100may be able to provide the APN itself and is not required to retrieve APN information from SIM bank212. The R-SIM selection process may be performed by the processing unit of WCD100, a processing unit of a SIM bank212or a processing unit of a SIM bank management server216. In one variant, the SIM selection policy is aimed to diversify the use of wireless carrier networks that meet the selection criteria. For example, one R-SIM is needed, three R-SIMs from wireless carrier networks201a-201cmeet the selection criteria respectively and WCD100has a WCM that has already established a wireless carrier connection using an R-SIM from wireless carrier network201a. Thus, SIM bank212will not select the R-SIMs belonging to wireless carrier network201aamong the three R-SIMs due to diversification. SIM bank212will select the R-SIM from either wireless carrier network201bor201c. FIG.9Ais a process flowchart illustrating a method performed at WCD100according to one example embodiment of the present invention. Processes901to908may be performed solely or jointly at WCD100, at one or more SIM banks212, and SIM bank management server216. For illustration purposes, the processing unit of WCD100performs processes901to908. The processes start at process901. For illustration purposes, WCD100has three WCMs. Each WCM uses one R-SIM from SIM bank212ato establish a wireless carrier connection with one of wireless carrier networks201a-201c. Therefore, WCD100has established three wireless carrier connections. WCD100communicates with SIM bank212ausing one or more logical data connections established over one or more of the three wireless carrier connections. At process902, the processing unit of WCD100monitors at least one condition associated with R-SIMs being used. For example, the at least one condition is less than 2% packet drop rate of a wireless carrier connection. Therefore, the processing unit monitors the packet drops rate for each of the three wireless carrier connections. At process903, determines whether the at least one condition associated with one or more R-SIMs is failed or not. As according to the example, the at least one condition is less than 2% packet drop rate of a wireless carrier connection, thus, the at least one condition fails when the packet drop rate of a wireless carrier connection is more than 2%. For example, packet drop rate of the wireless carrier connection established with wireless carrier network201bhas increased to 3%. Therefore, wireless carrier connection established with wireless carrier network201bfails the at least one condition. For illustration purposes, (m+2) R-SIM is used to establish the wireless carrier connection with wireless carrier network201band therefore becomes a failed R-SIM. A failed R-SIM is an R-SIM used for connecting to the wireless carrier network that failed to satisfy at least one condition. At process904, the processing unit of WCD100determines if WCD100may still communicate with SIM bank212aover the wireless carrier connections established with wireless carrier networks201aand/or201c. If WCD100is able to communicate with SIM bank212athrough one or both of the wireless carrier connections established with wireless carrier networks201aor201c, the processing unit of WCD100will stop using the failed R-SIM at process905. The processing unit of WCD100will select another R-SIM, for example, (m+1) R-SIM to replace the failed R-SIM at step906and start using (m+1) R-SIM at step907. If determined at process904that there are no other wireless carrier connections that could be used to communicate with SIM bank212a, the processing unit may continue to use the wireless carrier connection established with wireless carrier network201band end the processes at process908. There is no limitation that all the processes inFIG.9Amust be performed by the processing unit of WCD100. Some or all of the processes could be performed by the processing unit of SIM bank212and/or SIM bank management server216. In one example, the condition at step902may be the amount of data usage allowed per R-SIM is approaching the limit. The process to verify the amount of data usage may be performed by the processing unit of WCD100, the processing unit of SIM bank212and/or SIM bank management server216. In another example, the selection of R-SIM at step906may be performed by the processing unit of SIM banks212and/or SIM bank management server216. In one variant, a same wireless carrier network may be used by a plurality of WCMs. For example, WCMs101aand101bmay both connect to wireless carrier network201bconcurrently through corresponding R-SIMs. When the wireless carrier network is performing at a lower quality, both WCMs101aand101bmay experience the same lower quality performance and the corresponding R-SIMs may also fail the condition at process903. Therefore, at process905, the processing unit of WCD100will stop using the R-SIMs corresponding to WCMs101aand101b. At processes906and907, two R-SIMs will be selected and used. In one variant, the failed R-SIM is a roaming R-SIM. When a condition associated with the roaming R-SIM fails, the processing unit of WCD100or the processing unit of SIM banks212may be able to continue to use the same roaming R-SIM to establish another wireless carrier connection with another wireless carrier network. Therefore, processes905,906and907are replaced by processes915to917shown inFIG.9B. For example, the roaming R-SIM is capable of using wireless carrier network201aor201b, where201bwas the original wireless carrier network that was being used. When WCD100is moved to an area that has no wireless carrier network201bcoverage, the condition of receiving coverage may fail at process903. Therefore, at process915, the processing unit of WCD100will disconnect the roaming R-SIM from wireless carrier network201b. At process916, the processing unit of WCD100will select another wireless carrier network for connecting with the roaming R-SIM. At process917, the processing unit of WCD100will start using the roaming R-SIM by establishing another wireless carrier connection using the roaming R-SIM and the selected wireless carrier network. There is no limitation that all the processes inFIG.9Bmust be performed by the processing unit of WCD100. Some or all of the processes could be performed by the processing unit of SIM bank212and/or SIM bank management server216. There is no limitation that processes915to917are limited to one roaming R-SIM. Processes915to917may also be applied to plurality of roaming R-SIMs. There is also no limitation that a roaming R-SIM is capable of using only two wireless carrier networks. There may be more than two wireless carrier networks for selection. In a detailed example, when a roaming R-SIM is selected, mobile country code (MCC) and mobile network node (MNC) of the wireless carrier network selected may be sent from SIM bank212to WCD100over an authentication connection. Then WCD100will configure an available WCM with the MCC and MNC to allow the WCM to use the wireless carrier network selected. The authentication connection may be a starter authentication connection, a replacement authentication connection or an aggregated authentication connection. For example, wireless carrier network201ais the wireless carrier network selected in the USA, then MCC and MNC of wireless carrier network201awill be used to configure the available WCM. In one variant, MCC and MNC information is already stored in WCD100, and WCD100may be able to provide the MCC and MNC information itself and is not required to retrieve MCC and MNC information from SIM bank212. In another detailed example, an access point name (APN) of an R-SIM or a roaming R-SIM may be sent from SIM bank212to WCD100to allow an available WCM to establish a desired connection with a wireless carrier network. For example, WCD100may be able to access a private network using the APN. In one variant, APN information is already stored in WCD100, and WCD100may be able to provide the APN itself and is not required to retrieve APN information from SIM bank212. FIG.10illustrates maintenance of SIM bank connections when multiple wireless carrier connections are established according to the embodiments. For illustration purposes, a first wireless carrier connection is established using WCM1001and a first SIM over the wireless carrier network of the SIM, wherein the first SIM is a local SIM. At1021, the processing unit of WCD100sends authentication request1051through a starter authentication connection established with SIM bank1010through the first wireless carrier connection. Wherein authentication request1051was initially received at WCD100from a wireless carrier network and then forwarded to SIM bank1010by the WCD. At1022, WCD100receives authentication information1052through the starter authentication connection in response to authentication request1051. Wherein authentication information1052contains necessary information corresponding to an R-SIM (second SIM) for establishing a second wireless carrier connection. The processing unit of WCD100forwards authentication information1052to the wireless carrier network from which authentication request1051was initially received. The second wireless carrier connection is then successfully established using a WCM from the available WCMs and the second SIM. For example, WCM1002is used from available WCMs1002-1004. After successful establishment of the second wireless carrier connection, the first wireless carrier connection may be disconnected. Therefore, WCM1001becomes available for being used to establish another wireless carrier connection. At1023, the processing unit of WCD100sends another authentication request, for example authentication request1053, to SIM bank1010. Authentication request1053may be sent through a replacement authentication connection established through the second wireless carrier connection. Authentication request1053was initially received at WCD100from a wireless carrier network and then forwarded to SIM bank1010by the WCD. At1024, WCD100receives authentication information1054in response to authentication request1053through the replacement authentication connection established through the second wireless carrier connection. Wherein authentication information1054contains necessary information corresponding to an R-SIM (third SIM) for establishing a third wireless carrier connection. The processing unit of WCD100forwards authentication information1054to the wireless carrier network from which authentication request1053was initially received. The third wireless carrier connection is then successfully established using a WCM from the available WCMs and the third SIM. For example, WCM1003is used from available WCMs1001,1003and1004. At1025, the processing unit of WCD100sends another authentication request, for example authentication request1055, to SIM bank1010. Authentication request1055may be sent through the replacement authentication connection established through the second wireless carrier connection or a replacement authentication connection established through the third wireless carrier connection. For illustration purposes, authentication request1055is sent through the replacement authentication connection established through the third wireless carrier connection. Authentication request1055was initially received at WCD100from a wireless carrier network and then forwarded to SIM bank1010by the WCD. At1026, WCD100receives authentication information1056in response to authentication request1055through the replacement authentication connection established through the third wireless carrier connection. Wherein authentication information1056contains necessary information corresponding to an R-SIM (fourth SIM) for establishing a fourth wireless carrier connection. The processing unit of WCD100forwards authentication information1056to the wireless carrier network from which authentication request1055was initially received. The fourth wireless carrier connection is then successfully established using a WCM from the available WCMs and the fourth SIM. For example, WCM1001is used from available WCMs1001and1004. At1027, the processing unit of WCD100sends another authentication request, for example authentication request1057, to SIM bank1010. Authentication request1057may be sent through the replacement authentication connection established through the second wireless carrier connection, the replacement authentication connection established through the third wireless carrier connection or a replacement authentication connection established through the fourth wireless carrier connection. For illustration purposes, authentication request1057is sent through the replacement authentication connection established through the fourth wireless carrier connection. Authentication request1057was initially received at WCD100from a wireless carrier network and then forwarded to SIM bank1010by the WCD. At1028, WCD100receives authentication information1058in response to authentication request1057through the replacement authentication connection established through the fourth wireless carrier connection. Wherein authentication information1058contains necessary information corresponding to an R-SIM (fifth SIM) for establishing a fifth wireless carrier connection. The processing unit of WCD100forwards authentication information1058to the wireless carrier network from which authentication request1057was initially received. The fifth wireless carrier connection is then successfully established using an available WCM, for example, WCM1004and the fifth SIM. There is no limitation that the first wireless carrier connection should be disconnected after the second wireless carrier connection is established, it may be disconnected later (e.g. after establishing the third, fourth, fifth or a following wireless carrier connection) or it may not be disconnected at all. In one variant, when the first wireless carrier connection is not disconnected, authentication request and authentication information for the third, fourth, fifth or a following wireless carrier connection may also be carried through the starter authentication connection established through the first wireless carrier connection. | 114,000 |
11943840 | Corresponding reference numerals may indicate corresponding (but not necessarily identical) parts throughout the several views of the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. An industrial wireless remote control system may include an operator control unit (OCU) configured for wireless communication with a machine control unit (MCU). The OCU may include a user interface (e.g., pushbutton(s), joystick(s), touchscreen, etc.) that allows a user to input commands to be transmitted to the machine control unit for controlling operation of a machine. The OCU may be configured for wireless communication with a machine control unit (MCU) via Bluetooth (e.g., Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), etc.), other short-range wireless communication protocol (e.g., a radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), Wi-Fi, Zig-Bee, Ultra-Wide Band, Near Field Communication (NFC), radio-frequency identification (RFID), etc.), etc. By way of example, the OCU may be usable for controlling operation of an overhead crane, such as start, stop, speed control (e.g., hoist speed, trolley speed, bridge speed, etc.), motion control (e.g., hoist up, hoist down, bridge forward, bridge reverse, trolley forward, trolley reverse, etc.), etc. In exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, an OCU is configured for wireless communication with a machine control unit (MCU) via Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE). The OCU and MCU (broadly, Bluetooth devices or industrial wireless remote control devices) may be associated with each other by securely gathering, exchanging, and/or learning the unique public media access control address (Public MAC address) of the OCU and MCU by using a shared private media access control address (Shared Private MAC address) as disclosed herein. Also disclosed herein are exemplary methods of associating devices (e.g., Bluetooth devices, OCUs, MCUs, industrial wireless remote control devices, other wireless devices, etc.) that include the devices securely gathering, exchanging, and/or learning each other's unique Public MAC address by using a Shared Private MAC address. In exemplary embodiments, a method of associating devices includes using a Shared Private MAC address (48 bit Shared Private MAC address) that is known to all devices to initiate a learning interchange. During the learning interchange, the devices securely gather, exchange, and/or learn each other's unique Public MAC address (48 bit Public MAC address). After the devices' unique Public MAC addresses have been exchanged and the devices associated with each other, each device may then only be responsive to other associated devices. For example, the devices may include an OCU and MCU of a crane remote control system. In this example, the OCU and MCU may only respond to each other after the OCU and MCU have been associated with each other after the exchange of their unique Public MAC addresses as disclosed herein. In exemplary embodiments, the association method may be triggered by user request (e.g., the user pushing and holding down a pushbutton switch, etc.), and the Private MAC address is part of the common firmware of each device. The Private MAC address may comprise software programmed into the memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash ROM, etc.) of each device. For example, the Private MAC address may comprise software permanently programmed in the ROM of each device. Advantageously, exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may allow diverse devices (e.g., Bluetooth devices, OCUs, MCUs, other devices, etc.) to be easily configured as a system, network, etc. of associated devices after the devices have exchanged their unique Public MAC addresses, e.g., via pushbutton pairing without requiring programming input, address management, or frequency management by the user, etc. With reference now to the figures,FIG.1illustrates example method100of associating diverse Bluetooth devices according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example method100, the Bluetooth devices comprise an operator control unit (OCU)104and a machine control unit (MCU)108of an industrial wireless remote control system for controlling operation of a machine (e.g., overhead crane, etc.). The OCU and MCU are configured for wireless communication via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) short-range wireless communication protocol. In other exemplary embodiments, the method100may be used for associating other devices, such as other devices that are configured for communication via a different wireless communication protocol other than Bluetooth, other industrial wireless remote control devices, devices that are not an OCU and MCU of an industrial wireless remote control system, etc. As shown inFIG.1, the method100generally includes an association process112and an OCU-MCU Linking process116thereafter. After boot-up is complete for the OCU104and the MCU108, the association process112may be initiated and requested upon user request via a switch (broadly, user interface) of the OCU104while the MCU108is idle and/or waiting for a receive Association or Start Sequence request. The MCU108may be prioritized for association with the OCU104upon user request via a switch (broadly, user interface) of the MCU108. In this example, the association process112is initiated and requested by the user pressing and holding down a pushbutton switch of the OCU104(e.g., pushbutton switch218of OCU204inFIG.2, etc.) for a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 10 seconds, more than 10 seconds, less than 10 seconds, etc.). The user interface of the OCU104may indicate that the association process has been initiated, e.g., via a multicolored status LED222(FIG.2) illuminating blue light, etc. Also in this example, the MCU108is prioritized for association with the OCU104by a user pressing a pushbutton switch of the MCU108(e.g., pushbutton switch240of the MCU208inFIG.2, etc.). If the pushbutton switch of the MCU108is not pressed to prioritize the MCU108for association to the OCU104, then the OCU104will associate with the MCU having the highest received signal strength. In which case, the OCU104should be located closest to the MCU that the user wants to associate with the OCU104(than to any other MCUs) before the association process is initiated. After the association process112is initiated and requested, the OCU104shares its OCU private MAC address with the MCU108. The OCU104then waits for a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 10 seconds, more than 10 seconds, less than 10 seconds, etc.) for any association response from any MCUs, e.g., whether or not the shared OCU private MAC address is also available in the MCU configured MAC list. If the shared OCU private MAC address is available in the MCU configured MAC list of the MCU108and prioritization was requested (e.g., prioritization button pressed, etc.) by the MCU108, then the OCU104shares its public MAC address with the MCU108. If prioritization was not requested, then the OCU104shares its public MAC address with the MCU having the highest received signal strength (e.g., RSSI greater than 65 dbm, etc.). In response to receiving the OCU public MAC address, the MCU108shares its public MAC address with the OCU104. The OCU104will register the MCU public MAC address of the MCU108or other MCU depending on which MCU requested priority, has a sufficiently high RSSI (e.g., RSSI greater than 65 dbm, etc.), and which MCU public MAC address was received first. The user interface of the OCU104may indicate whether or not the association process was successful, e.g., via a multicolored status LED (e.g., LED226of OCU204(FIG.2, etc.) flashing green for 1 second if successful and flashing red for 5 seconds if unsuccessful, etc. At this point, the user may confirm that the OCU104is associated with the correct MCU108by using the OCU104to perform a non-critical function, e.g., alarm, etc. After the OCU104has been successfully associated with the MCU108, the OCU-MCU linking process116is initiated. The OCU104sends a start sequence telegram or command to the MCU108, which is identified by its MCU Public MAC address previously shared with the OCU104during the association process112. The MCU108validates that the OCU Public MAC address is available in MCU Association MAC List. The OCU104may also send additional telegrams (e.g., function telegrams, ESTOP telegram, etc.) to the MCU108, which telegrams may include commands for controlling operation of a machine. Accordingly, the exemplary method100may advantageously allow the OCU104and MCU108to be associated with each other for use in an industrial remote control system via pushbutton pairing without requiring programming input, address management, or frequency management by the user. In addition, more than one OCU may be associated and linked to the MCU108via the method100. For example, eight OCUs may be associated to the MCU108at a single time. Each OCU, however, may only be able to associate to a single MCU such that the OCU will disassociate from a first MCU if the OCU is associated to a second MCU. In addition, the user interface of the MCU108may be configured to allow a user to disassociate the MCU108from the OCU104such that the disassociated OCU104is inoperable for transmitting commands to the MCU108for controlling operation of the machine. In which case, the MCU108will not be responsive to the disassociated OCU104as the MCU108is only responsive to OCUs associated to the MCU108. By way of example, the MCU108may include a pushbutton switch (e.g., a pushbutton switch240(FIG.2), etc.) that the user may press and hold down for a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 20 seconds, more than 20 seconds, less than 20 seconds, etc.) to disassociate the MCU108from the OCU104when the MCU108is in a passive state. The MCU108may indicate to the user when the OCU104has been disassociated from and forgotten by the MCU108, e.g., via a multicolored status LED illuminating red light (e.g., LED242(FIG.2), etc.), etc. FIG.2illustrates examples of an OCU204and MCU208(broadly, devices) of a crane remote control system (broadly, a system) that may be associated with each other via the method100show inFIG.1according to an exemplary embodiment. In this exemplary embodiment, the OCU204and MCU208are configured for wireless communication via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) short-range wireless communication protocol. In other exemplary embodiments, the system may include an OCU, MCU, or other devices that are configured for communication via a different wireless communication protocol other than Bluetooth and/or that are configured for use in another industrial and/or non-industrial wireless remote control systems, etc. The OCU204includes a user interface configured to allow a user to input commands to be transmitted to the MCU208for controlling a machine. In this exemplary embodiment, the OCU user interface include a plurality of pushbutton switches for controlling operation of an overhead crane. As shown inFIG.2, the OCU user interface includes a stop pushbutton switch, an ON/alarm pushbutton switch218, hoist motion and speed control pushbutton switches, trolley motion and speed control pushbutton switches, and bridge motion and speed control pushbutton switches. The OCU user interface also includes multicolored (e.g., bi-colored, tri-colored, etc.) status LEDs222,226for indicating status information to the user. Accordingly, this example OCU204comprises a handheld pushbutton remote control device usable for controlling operation of an overhead crane, including start, stop, speed control (e.g., hoist speed, trolley speed, bridge speed, etc.), and motion control (e.g., hoist up, hoist down, bridge forward, bridge reverse, trolley forward, trolley reverse, etc.). In alternative embodiments, the OCU may include other suitable user interfaces for receiving commands and/or other inputs from a user, including a touch screen interface, keypad, etc. The operator control unit may include a display, lights, light emitting diodes (LEDs), indicators, etc. for displaying information to the user. The operator control unit (OCU) may also include one or more processors, memory (e.g., one or more hard disks, flash memory, solid state memory, random access memory, read only memory, etc.), etc. configured to operate the OCU and store information related to operation of the OCU. For example, the shared Private MAC Address may be part of the common firmware stored within memory of the OCU204. With continued reference toFIG.2, the MCU208includes a user interface configured to allow a user to prioritize the MCU208for association with the OCU204. In this exemplary embodiment, the MCU user interface includes a pushbutton switch240to prioritize the MCU208. The OCU204may then be associated to the MCU208by pressing and holding the OCU pushbutton218and the MCU pushbutton240, to thereby initiate the associate process and prioritize the MCU208for association to the OCU204. If the MCU pushbutton240is not pressed and held down, then the OCU204will be paired to the MCU208or other MCU that has the highest received signal strength. In which case, the user should locate the OCU204closest to the MCU that the user wants to associate to the OCU204. Advantageously, this exemplary embodiment allows the OCU204to be associated to the MCU208via pushbutton pairing without requiring programming input, address management, or frequency management by the user. The MCU user interface may also be configured to allow a user to disassociate the MCU208from the OCU204. In this exemplary embodiment, the user may press and hold down the MCU pushbutton switch240. In this exemplary embodiment, the MCU208includes the pushbutton switch240that the user may press and hold down for a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 20 seconds, more than 20 seconds, less than 20 seconds, etc.) to disassociate the MCU208from the OCU204when the MCU208is in a passive state. The MCU208may indicate to the user when the OCU204has been disassociated from and forgotten by the MCU208, e.g., by the multicolored status LED242illuminating red light. With continued reference toFIG.2, the MCU208also includes a housing244and a hinged lockable transparent lid248. Within the housing244, the MCU208generally includes a power supply terminal252, an AC switch mode power supply256, and RF module260, a printed F antenna264, two main safety relays268, function relays272, auxiliary relays276, and two changeover relays280. But as disclosed herein, aspects of the present disclosure should not be limited to the specific OCU204and MCU208shown inFIG.2as exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may be configured for associating a wide range of other devices. The present disclosure generally relates to associating diverse Bluetooth devices, such as associating an operator control unit (OCU) with a machine control unit (MCU) of an industrial wireless remote control system for an overhead crane, etc. An exemplary method relates to associating diverse devices each including a unique public media access control address (Public MAC address). The exemplary method includes providing a plurality of devices with a shared private media access control address (Shared Private MAC address) such that the Shared Private MAC address is known to each of the devices and usable for initiating a learning interchange during which the devices exchange their unique Public MAC addresses with each other and are thereby associated with each other; and/or using a shared private media access control address (Shared Private MAC address) known to each of a plurality of devices to initiate a learning interchange that includes the devices exchanging their unique Public MAC addresses with each other and thereby associating the devices with each other. In exemplary embodiments, the method includes providing the Shared Private MAC address as part of the common firmware of each of the devices. In exemplary embodiments, the method includes programming the Shared Private MAC address into memory of each of the devices. In exemplary embodiments, the Shared Private MAC address is a 48 bit Private MAC address known to each of the devices. The unique Public MAC addresses of the devices are 48 bit Public MAC addresses unique to each corresponding device. In exemplary embodiments, the method associates the devices with each other by the exchange of their unique Public MAC addresses without requiring programming input, address management, or frequency management by a user. In exemplary embodiments, the method is triggered upon user request that is input via at least one of the devices. In exemplary embodiments, the method is triggered by a user pushing a pushbutton switch of at least one of the devices. In exemplary embodiments, the devices are configured for wireless communication via Bluetooth short-range wireless communication protocol, such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) short-range wireless communication protocol, etc. In exemplary embodiments, the devices comprise wireless remote control devices of an industrial wireless remote control system. In exemplary embodiments, the devices comprise a machine control unit (MCU) having a unique Public MAC address and an operator control unit (OCU) having a unique Public MAC address. After the OCU and the MCU have exchanged their unique Public MAC addresses with each other such that the OCU is associated with the MCU, the OCU is operable for transmitting commands input by a user to the MCU for controlling operation of a machine. In such exemplary embodiments, the method may include associating the OCU to an MCU having a highest received signal strength when more than one MCU is available to be associated with the OCU. The OCU may include a switch to allow a user to initiate the learning interchange and have the OCU and MCU exchange their unique Public MAC addresses with each other to thereby associate the OCU with the MCU. The MCU may include a switch to allow a user to prioritize the MCU for association with the OCU. And, the method may include associating the OCU to the MCU when the switch of the OCU and the switch of the MCU have both been activated; or associating the OCU to an MCU having a highest received signal strength when the switch of the OCU is activated but the switch of the MCU is not activated. The method may further include disassociating the OCU from the MCU such that the disassociated OCU is inoperable for transmitting commands to the MCU for controlling operation of the machine and/or such that the MCU is no longer responsive to the disassociated OCU as the MCU is only responsive to operator control units that are associated with the MCU. The machine may comprise an overhead crane including a hoist, trolley, and a bridge. The method may include after the OCU is associated with the MCU, using the OCU to transmit commands to the MCU for controlling operation of the overhead crane including one or more of starting, stopping, controlling speed of one or more of the hoist, trolley, and/or bridge, and/or controlling motion of one or more of the hoist, trolley, and/or bridge. In exemplary embodiments, a system comprises a machine control unit (MCU) having a unique public media access control address (Public MAC address), and an operator control unit (OCU) having a unique Public MAC address different than the unique Public MAC address of the MCU. The MCU and OCU each have a same private media access control address (Shared Private MAC address). The system is configured such that the Shared Private MAC address is usable for initiating a learning interchange during which the OCU and MCU exchange their unique Public MAC addresses with each other to thereby associate the OCU with the MCU whereby the OCU is operable for transmitting commands to the associated MCU for controlling operation of a machine. In exemplary embodiments, the Shared Private MAC address comprises a part of the common firmware of the OCU and the MCU; and/or the Shared Private MAC address is stored within memory of the OCU and within memory of the MCU. In exemplary embodiments, the Shared Private MAC address is a 48 bit Private MAC address known to the OCU and the MCU. The unique Public MAC address of the MCU is a 48 bit Public MAC address. The unique Public MAC address of the OCU is a 48 bit Public MAC address different than the 48 bit Public MAC address of the MCU. In exemplary embodiments, the OCU and MCU are configured for wireless communication with each other via Bluetooth short-range wireless communication protocol, such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) short-range wireless communication protocol, etc. In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to associate the OCU to an MCU having a highest received signal strength when more than one MCU is available to be associated with the OCU. In exemplary embodiments, the OCU includes a user interface configured to allow a user to input commands to be transmitted to the machine control unit for controlling a machine. The user interface is further configured to allow the user to initiate the learning interchange during which the OCU and MCU exchange their unique Public MAC addresses with each other to thereby associate the OCU with the MCU without requiring programming input, address management, or frequency management by the user. In exemplary embodiments, the OCU includes a switch to allow a user to initiate the learning interchange during which the OCU and MCU exchange their unique Public MAC addresses to thereby associate the OCU with the MCU. The MCU includes a switch to allow a user to prioritize the MCU for association with the OCU. The system is configured to: associate the OCU with the MCU when the switch of the OCU and the switch of the MCU have both been activated; or associate the OCU to an MCU having a highest received signal strength when the switch of the OCU is activated but the switch of the MCU is not activated. In exemplary embodiments, the OCU includes a switch to allow a user to disassociate the OCU from the MCU such that the disassociated OCU is inoperable for transmitting commands to the MCU for controlling operation of the machine and/or such that the MCU is no longer responsive to the disassociated OCU as the system is configured such that the MCU is only responsive to operator control units that are associated with the MCU. In exemplary embodiments, the MCU is configured such that more than one OCU may be associated to the MCU at a given time. The OCU is configured to be associated with only a single MCU such that the OCU will dissociate from a first MCU when the OCU is associated to a second MCU. In exemplary embodiments, the machine comprises an overhead crane including a hoist, trolley, and a bridge. The method includes after the OCU is associated with the MCU, using the OCU to transmit commands to the MCU for controlling operation of the overhead crane including one or more of starting, stopping, controlling speed of one or more of the hoist, trolley, and/or bridge, and/or controlling motion of one or more of the hoist, trolley, and/or bridge. Aspects of the present disclosure should not be limited to only Bluetooth devices or Bluetooth (BLE) devices as exemplary embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to and/or used with other IP based addressing schemes. For example, exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may be configured for associating diverse devices configured for wireless communication via another short-range wireless communication protocol (e.g., a radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), Wi-Fi, Zig-Bee, Ultra-Wide Band, Near Field Communication (NFC), radio-frequency identification (RFID), etc.), etc. Aspects of the present disclosure should also not be limited to OCUs and MCUs of industrial wireless remote control systems as exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may be configured for associating other device types by securely exchanging and/or gathering the devices' unique Public MAC addresses by using a Shared Private MAC address as disclosed herein. In addition, aspects of the present disclosure should also not be limited to overhead cranes as exemplary embodiments may be configured for use with other industrial and non-industrial applications, e.g., other overhead cranes and hoists, conveyor systems, steel stockholders, concrete pumps, screening machines, vacuum trucks, pumping equipment, loader cranes, crawler cranes, terrain cranes, on and off highway mobile equipment, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing equipment and machinery, etc. Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. For example, when permissive phrases, such as “may comprise”, “may include”, and the like, are used herein, at least one embodiment comprises or includes the feature(s). As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “have,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed. When an element or layer is referred to as being “on”, “engaged to”, “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to”, “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The term “about” when applied to values indicates that the calculation or the measurement allows some slight imprecision in the value (with some approach to exactness in the value; approximately or reasonably close to the value; nearly). If, for some reason, the imprecision provided by “about” is not otherwise understood in the art with this ordinary meaning, then “about” as used herein indicates at least variations that may arise from ordinary methods of measuring or using such parameters. For example, the terms “generally”, “about”, and “substantially” may be used herein to mean within manufacturing tolerances. Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments. Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements, intended or stated uses, or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure. | 30,138 |
11943841 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.1illustrates wireless User Equipment (UE)100that uses Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) controller141to deliver mobile data services and control radios101-105. The mobile data services comprises messaging, machine-control, and the like. In some examples, wireless UE100comprises a wearable device like a watch, armband, headgear, clothing, or footwear. In UE100, circuitry110hosts TCP controller (CNT)141. Circuitry110is coupled to radios101-105. Under the control of circuitry110, radios101-105and wireless communication networks121-125communicate over respective wireless links111-115. Wireless communication networks121-125and TCP controller142communicate over respective network links131-135. Thus, TCP controllers141-142exchange TCP packets over radios101-105, links111-115, networks121-125, and links131-135. The TCP packet exchange includes Acknowledgement messages (ACKs), error messages, and packet retransmissions. Wireless communication networks121-125comprise networking equipment that uses Bluetooth (BT), Fifth Generation New Radio (5GNR), Low-Power Wide Area Network (LP-WAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (WIFI), and/or some other type of Radio Access Technologies (RATs). TCP controller142is hosted by a computer system that use Internet Protocol (IP). For example, TCP142may be hosted by an internet server or smartphone. Wireless links111-115use BT, 5GNR, LP-WAN, LTE, WIFI, and/or some other type of RATs. Wireless links111-115may use frequencies in the low-band, mid-band, high-band, or some other part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Network links131-135may use IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet), Time Division Multiplex (TDM), Data Over Cable System Interface Specification (DOCSIS), Internet Protocol (IP), 5GNR, WIFI, LTE, or some other data communication protocol. In wireless UE100, radios101-105comprise antennas, amplifiers, filers, modems, analog/digital interfaces, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), memory, and bus circuitry. Radios101-105are coupled to circuitry110over bus circuitry or some other data link. Radios101-105use BT, 5GNR, LP-WAN, LTE, WIFI, and/or some other type of RATs over wireless links111-115. Circuitry110comprises microprocessor, memory, software, power-supply, and bus circuitry. The microprocessor comprises a Central Processing Unit (CPU), Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), DSP and/or the like. The memory comprise Random Access Memory (RAM), flash circuitry, disk drive, and/or the like. The memory stores software like operating system, user applications, and network applications. The network applications include TCP controller141. The power-supply comprises a battery, solar-cell, power port, and/or some other energy supply for UE100. In circuitry110, the microprocessor executes the software to drive radios101-105to wirelessly exchange data with wireless communication networks121-125over links111-115. As indicted by the arrows, wireless UE100moves around a geographic area and delivers the mobile data services over radios101-105and circuitry110. The geographic area is for reference and may take on various shapes and sizes. While at a current location in the geographic area, radios101-105detect the Received Signal Strength (RSS) from respective wireless communication networks121-125over wireless links111-115. Radios101-105transfer the detected RSS information to circuitry110. Circuitry110qualifies individual radios101-105that have adequate RSS at the current location. For example, circuitry110may compare the RSS for radio101to a strength threshold for radio101and compare the RSS for radio102to a strength threshold for radio102. Radios101-105that exceed their individual RSS thresholds are qualified. Circuitry110then estimates TCP retransmission rates at the current location and time for the qualified radios. To estimate TCP retransmission rates, circuitry100tracks past TCP retransmissions by radio, location, and time. Circuitry110may then calculate average distance from the current location to the locations of past TCP retransmissions for a qualified radio and then process the average distances and retransmission quantity to estimate the TCP retransmission rate for the qualified radio at the current location. Other clustering techniques could be used to score the proximity of UE100to geographic sites that had heavy TCP retransmissions for a given radio at a given time. Circuitry110identifies individual qualified radios that have adequate TCP retransmission rate estimates. For example, circuitry110may compare the TCP retransmission rate estimate for radio103to a rate threshold for radio103and compare the TCP retransmission rate estimate for radio104to a rate threshold for radio104. The qualified radios with rate estimates below their individual retransmission rate thresholds are identified. Circuitry110then selects one of these identified radios that consumes the least amount of power. For example, radios102-104may be qualified by their RSS, and qualified radios103-104may be identified by their retransmission rates. Circuitry110may then select radio103over radio104, because radio103consumes less power than radio104. TCP controller141exchanges TCP packets with TCP controller142over the selected one of radios101-105. The selected radio wirelessly exchanges the TCP packets with the corresponding one of wireless networks121-125over the corresponding one of wireless links111-115. The corresponding wireless network exchanges the TCP packets with TCP controller142over the corresponding one of network links131-135. During the TCP packet exchange, TCP controllers141-142detect TCP errors and participate in TCP retransmissions. For example, TCP controller141may time-out waiting for an ACK and retransfer a TCP packet to TCP control142. TCP controller141may detect missing packets in the sequence and request retransmission of the missing TCP packets from TCP controller142. TCP controller142may detect a checksum failure in a received TCP packet and request retransmission of the corrupt TCP packet from TCP141. Other triggers for TCP retransmissions could be used. TCP controller141stores the resulting TCP retransmission data for the selected radio, location, and time in circuitry110. The location may comprise geographic coordinates from satellite system or some other navigation tool. The time may comprise time-of-day, day-of-week, day-of-year, and/or some other time increment. TCP controller141stores the TCP retransmission data for the selected radio, location, and time in association with one another. TCP controller141subsequently uses the stored TCP retransmission data to estimate TCP retransmission rates. Some user applications may not be suitable for all radios101-105. TCP controller141may host a data structure that it enters with the currently executing user applications to yield radio selection instructions that may eliminate some radios from selection when serving specific user applications. For clarity, the description herein assumes that all radios101-105in UE100are suitable for the user applications. In many cases, wireless UE100is a very small and low-power wearable that has optimized user applications are for the smaller and lighter form-factor. FIG.2illustrates the operation of wireless UE100to use TCP controller141to deliver the mobile data services and control radios101-105. As indicted by the arrows, wireless UE100moves around the geographic area and delivers the mobile data services using TCP controller141and radios101-105. Circuitry100tracks past TCP retransmissions by radio, location, and time. The past TCP retransmissions are indicated onFIG.2by an X along with a number that denotes the participating radio. For example, the term “X3” indicates a TCP retransmission at the location to or from radio103, and the term “X4” indicates a TCP retransmission at the location to or from radio104. The TCP retransmission tracking is extended to the time domain by developing data like that shown onFIG.2for individual time periods (like one-hour) and then maintaining and using the separate data stores for each time period. The TCP retransmission data from other time periods may still be used on a time-weighted basis. While at various locations in the geographic area, radios101-105detect and report their RSS. UE100qualifies individual radios101-105that have adequate RSS. UE100estimates TCP retransmission rates for the qualified radios at the locations and times. To estimate a retransmission rate for an individual qualified radio, UE100typically processes the distances from its current location to past locations of TCP retransmissions for that individual qualified radio. UE100processes the amount and distance of the past TCP retransmissions for the qualified radios. Newer past TCP retransmissions are often weighted more than older past retransmissions. Past TCP retransmissions that occur at near the current time-of-day and day-of-week may be weighted more than past retransmissions that occur at other times. In some examples, UE100individually scores each qualified radio based on their past TCP retransmissions. UE100then identifies the qualified radios that should have an acceptable TCP retransmission rate at the current location and time based on the scores. An exemplary TCP retransmission rate estimate might equal the product of “A” divided by the average distance to the retransmissions plus the product of “B” times the total number of retransmissions where A and B are normalizing variables. Other clustering techniques could be used to score the UEs current proximity to past locations having heavy TCP retransmissions for a qualified radio at a given time. After identifying radios based on the TCP retransmission estimates, UE100selects the one of the identified radios that uses the least power. For example, radios101-104may be qualified by RSS, and then radios103-104may be identified by retransmission rate. UE100could then select radio103because radio103consumes less power than radio104. TCP controller141drives UE100to exchange TCP packets with TCP controller142over the selected radio. The selected radio wirelessly exchanges the TCP packets with the corresponding one of wireless networks121-125over the corresponding one of wireless links111-115. The corresponding wireless network exchanges the TCP packets with TCP controller142over the corresponding one of network links131-135. During the TCP packet exchange, TCP controllers141-142detect and correct TCP errors which entails TCP retransmissions. For example, TCP controller142may time-out waiting for an ACK and retransfer a TCP packet. TCP controller142may detect a missing packet and request retransmission of the missing TCP packet from TCP141. TCP controller141may detect a checksum failure in a received packet, and request retransmission of the corrupt TCP packet from TCP142. TCP controller141stores the TCP retransmission data for the selected radio, location, and time. TCP controller141subsequently uses the stored TCP retransmission data to estimate TCP retransmission rates. FIG.3illustrates the operation of wireless UE100to use TCP controller141to deliver the mobile data services and control radios101-105. In wireless UE100, circuitry110qualifies individual radios101-105that have adequate RSS at the current geographic location (301). Circuitry110estimates TCP retransmission rates for the qualified radios at the current geographic location (302). To estimate a retransmission rate for a radio, circuitry110processes data that characterizes past locations of TCP retransmissions for the radio. Circuitry110identifies the qualified radios that should have acceptable TCP retransmission rates at the current location (303). Circuitry110selects one of the identified radios that consumes the least power (304). Circuitry110may use a power rating for radios101-105to compare power consumption or the power supply may transfer actual power usage data. Circuitry110exchanges TCP packets the selected radio (305). The selected radio wirelessly exchanges the TCP packets with the corresponding one of wireless networks121-125over the corresponding one of wireless links111-115(306). Circuitry110stores TCP retransmission data for the selected radio and geographic location307. The operation repeats (301), and circuitry110may use the newly stored data to estimate TCP retransmission rates for the selected radio (302). FIG.4illustrates the operation of wireless UE100to use TCP controller141to deliver the mobile data services and control radios101-105. Wireless communication networks111-115transfer pilot signals for reception by respective radios101-105. Radios101-105receive and process the pilot signals to detect the Received Signal Strength (RSS) from respective wireless communication networks121-125. Radios101-105transfer the detected RSS to circuitry110. Circuitry110executes TCP controller141to operate as follows. Circuitry110qualifies individual radios101-105that have adequate RSS at the current location. Circuitry110then estimates TCP retransmission rates for the qualified radios, the current location, and the current time. Circuitry110identifies the qualified radios that have adequate TCP retransmission rate estimates. Circuitry110selects one of the identified radios based on least power consumption. Circuitry110exchange TCP packets with TCP controller142over the selected one of radios101-105. The selected radio wirelessly exchanges the TCP packets with the corresponding one of wireless networks121-125, and the corresponding wireless network exchanges the TCP packets with TCP controller142. During the TCP packet exchange, TCP controllers141-142detect TCP errors and participate in TCP retransmissions. Circuitry110stores TCP retransmission data for the selected radio, location, and time in association with one another. Circuitry110uses the stored TCP retransmission data to estimate TCP retransmission rates for the selected radio. Advantageously, wireless UE100efficiently and effectively uses TCP controller141to select radios101-105and to deliver mobile data services like messaging and machine communications over the selected radios. FIG.5illustrates wireless UE500that uses TCP to deliver mobile data services and control Bluetooth (BT) radio501, Fifth Generation New Radio (5GNR) radio502, Low-Power Wide Area Network (LP-WAN) radio503, Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio504, and Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (WIFI) radio505. BT wirelessly exchanges data over short distances using spectrum near 2.4 gigahertz or some other radio band that is suitable for Personal Area Networks (PANs). BT is described in IEEE and BT Special Interest Group (SIG) publications. LTE uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) to wirelessly exchange data with user devices like smartphones and tablets over large Wide Area Networks (WANs). LTE is described in Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) publications. 5GNR optimizes OFDM capabilities beyond LTE to wirelessly exchange data with more devices over a broader spectrum. 5GNR is described in 3GPP publications. LP-WAN uses low-power to wirelessly exchange low bit-rate data over long-range links. LP-WAN is described in IEEE, 3GPP, and Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) publications. WIFI wirelessly exchanges data over moderate distances to support wireless Local Area Networks (LANs). WIFI is described in IEEE publications. Wireless UE500comprises an example of wireless UE100, although UE100may differ. Wireless UE500comprises radios501-505, user interface circuitry506, Central Processing Unit (CPU) circuitry510, and memory circuitry540that are coupled over bus circuitry507. Radios501-505comprise antennas, amplifiers (AMPS), filters, modulation, analog-to-digital interfaces, Digital Signal Processors (DSP), and memory that are coupled over bus circuitry. Radios501-505may share some components like antennas or memory. User interface circuitry506comprises audio/video components, sensors, controllers, transceivers, and/or some other user appliance circuitry. The antennas of radios501-505are wirelessly linked to corresponding wireless access nodes for BT, 5GNR, LTE, LP-WAN, and WIFI. Memory circuitry540stores an operating system (OS), user applications (USER), and several network applications. CPU circuitry510executes the OS and network applications to exchange user data for the user applications in TCP packets over radios501-505. The network applications comprise Physical Layer (PHY), Media Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), N1, Non-Access Stratum (NAS), Logical Layer Control Adaptation Protocol (L2CAP), Link Management Protocol (LMP), Radio interface (RADIO), TCP controller (CNT), TCP transmitter (XMIT), TCP receiver (RCV), TCP error correction (ERROR), geographic module (GEO), and time module (CLK). In radios501-505, the antennas receive Downlink (DL) wireless signals from their corresponding wireless access nodes. The antennas transfer corresponding electrical DL signals through duplexers to the amplifiers. The amplifiers boost the received DL signals for filters which attenuate unwanted energy. In modulation, demodulators down-convert the DL signals from their carrier frequencies. The analog/digital interfaces convert the analog DL signals into digital DL signals for the DSP. The DSP recovers DL symbols from the DL digital signals. CPU circuitry510executes the network applications to process the DL symbols and recover the DL data. CPU circuitry510transfers the DL data to the user applications. CPU circuitry510receives Uplink (UL) data from the user applications. CPU circuitry510executes the network applications to generate corresponding UL symbols. In radios501-505, the DSPs process the UL symbols to generate corresponding digital signals for the analog-to-digital interfaces. The analog-to-digital interfaces convert the digital UL signals into analog UL signals for modulation. Modulation up-converts the UL signals to their carrier frequencies. The amplifiers boost the modulated UL signals for the filters which attenuate unwanted out-of-band energy. The filters transfer the filtered UL signals through duplexers to the antennas. The electrical UL signals drive the antennas to emit corresponding wireless signals to the wireless access nodes. RRC functions comprise authentication, security, handover control, status reporting, Quality-of-Service (QoS), network broadcasts and pages, and network selection. SDAP functions comprise QoS marking and flow control. PDCP functions comprise security ciphering, header compression/decompression, sequence numbering/resequencing, and de-duplication. RLC functions comprise Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ), sequence numbering/resequencing, segmentation and assembly. MAC functions comprise buffer status, power control, channel quality, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARM), user identification, random access, user scheduling, and QoS delivery. PHY functions comprise packet formation/deformation, windowing/de-windowing, guard-insertion/guard-deletion, parsing/de-parsing, control insertion/removal, interleaving/de-interleaving, Forward Error Correction (FEC) encoding/decoding, rate matching/de-matching, scrambling/descrambling, modulation mapping/de-mapping, channel estimation/equalization, Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs)/Inverse FFTs (IFFTs), channel coding/decoding, layer mapping/de-mapping, precoding, Discrete Fourier Transforms (DFTs)/Inverse DFTs (IDFTs), and Resource Element (RE) mapping/de-mapping. MINAS interact with Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs), Mobility Management Entities (MMEs), and possibly other network controllers to authenticate, authorize, and establish data services. L2CAP handles data multiplexing, segmentation and reassembly, multicast, and QoS. Link Management Protocol handles link establishment, device capabilities, and power control. Some additional standard network applications and functions are usually present but are omitted for clarity. Wireless UE500moves around and delivers the mobile data services over radios501-505. While at a current location, the PHYs in radios101-105detect and report their RSS to the TCP controller which is stored in memory circuitry540and is executed by CPU circuitry510. The TCP controller qualifies radios501-505that have adequate RSS. The TCP controller also receives the current time from the time module and receives the current location from the geographic module. The TCP controller estimates TCP retransmission rates at the current location and time for the qualified radios. To estimate TCP retransmissions, the TCP controller tracks past TCP retransmissions by radio, location, and time. The TCP controller processes the number of past TCP retransmissions and the distance from the current location to the locations of the past TCP retransmissions. The TCP controller may then normalize, combine, and translate the amount/distance data into an estimated TCP retransmission rate. Various clustering techniques could be used to score the amount and proximity of past TCP retransmissions for a given radio and to estimate the retransmission rates based on the scores. The TCP controller identifies individual qualified radios that have adequate TCP retransmission rate estimates. The TCP controller then selects one of the identified radios that consumes the least power. For example, radios501-504may be qualified by their RSS, and radios501and503may be identified by their rate estimates. The TCP controller then selects Bluetooth radio501over LTE radio503, because Bluetooth radio501consumes less power than LTE radio503. The TCP controller141directs the TCP transmitter and TCP receiver to exchange TCP packets over the radio interface with the selected one of radios501-505. The selected one of radios501-505wirelessly exchanges the TCP packets with its corresponding wireless access node. During the TCP packet exchange, the TCP error correction module detects TCP errors and directs the TCP transmitter/receiver to participate in the TCP retransmissions to correct the TCP errors. The TCP error correction module transfers resulting TCP retransmission data for the selected radio to the TCP controller. The TCP controller stores the TCP retransmission data for the selected radio in association with the current location and time. The TCP controller subsequently uses the stored TCP retransmission data to estimate TCP retransmission rates for the selected radio. FIG.6illustrates the operation of wireless UE500to use TCP to deliver the mobile data services and control the BT radio501, 5GNR radio502, LP-WAN radio503, LTE radio504, and WIFI radio505. In the TCP applications, the TCP controller maintains a database of past TCP retransmissions for UE500by radio, location, and time. Wireless UE500receives pilot signals from the Bluetooth, 5GNR, LTE, WIFI, and LP-WAN networks. In the network applications, the PHYs process data symbols that are derived from the pilot signals to determine Received Signal Strength (RSS) from the various networks. The PHYs continually detect and transfer their current RSS to the TCP controller in the TCP applications. The TCP controller qualifies the radios that have adequate RSS at the current location. The TCP controller also receives the current time from the time module and receives the current location from the geographic module. The TCP controller estimates the TCP retransmission rates at the current location and time for the qualified radios. To estimate the TCP retransmission rates for the qualified radios, the TCP controller processes past TCP retransmission data for the qualified radios to assess the proximity and amount of past TCP retransmissions near the current location and time. For example, the TCP controller may determine an amount of TCP retransmissions and the average distance to past TCP retransmissions for a radio and then enter a pre-configured data structure with the amount and distance to yield a TCP retransmission estimate for the radio. The TCP controller identifies the qualified radios that also have adequate TCP retransmission rate estimates. The TCP controller then selects one of these radios based on which radio consumes the least amount of power. The TCP controller directs the TCP transmitter and TCP receiver to exchange TCP packets with the radio interface for exchange with the network applications for the selected radio. The PHYs in the network applications exchange the TCP packets with the selected radio. The selected radio wirelessly exchanges the TCP packets with a corresponding wireless network. During the TCP packet exchange, the TCP error correction module detects TCP errors and directs error recovery. The TCP transmitter and receiver participate in TCP retransmissions to correct the TCP errors. The TCP error correction module transfers resulting TCP retransmission data for the selected radio to the TCP controller. The TCP controller stores the TCP retransmission data for the selected radio in association with the current location and time. The TCP controller subsequently uses the stored TCP retransmission data to estimate TCP retransmission rates for the selected radio. The wireless data network circuitry described above comprises computer hardware and software that form special-purpose network circuitry to select wireless radios based on their individual TCP retransmission history. The computer hardware comprises processing circuitry like CPUs, DSPs, GPUs, transceivers, bus circuitry, and memory. To form these computer hardware structures, semiconductors like silicon or germanium are positively and negatively doped to form transistors. The doping comprises ions like boron or phosphorus that are embedded within the semiconductor material. The transistors and other electronic structures like capacitors and resistors are arranged and metallically connected within the semiconductor to form devices like logic circuitry and storage registers. The logic circuitry and storage registers are arranged to form larger structures like control units, logic units, and Random-Access Memory (RAM). In turn, the control units, logic units, and RAM are metallically connected to form CPUs, DSPs, GPUs, transceivers, bus circuitry, and memory. In the computer hardware, the control units drive data between the RAM and the logic units, and the logic units operate on the data. The control units also drive interactions with external memory like flash drives, disk drives, and the like. The computer hardware executes machine-level software to control and move data by driving machine-level inputs like voltages and currents to the control units, logic units, and RAM. The machine-level software is typically compiled from higher-level software programs. The higher-level software programs comprise operating systems, utilities, user applications, and the like. Both the higher-level software programs and their compiled machine-level software are stored in memory and retrieved for compilation and execution. On power-up, the computer hardware automatically executes physically-embedded machine-level software that drives the compilation and execution of the other computer software components which then assert control. Due to this automated execution, the presence of the higher-level software in memory physically changes the structure of the computer hardware machines into special-purpose network circuitry to control the network architecture of wireless mesh networks. The above description and associated figures teach the best mode of the invention. The following claims specify the scope of the invention. Note that some aspects of the best mode may not fall within the scope of the invention as specified by the claims. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described above can be combined in various ways to form multiple variations of the invention. Thus, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but only by the following claims and their equivalents. | 28,303 |
11943842 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Exemplary embodiments briefly summarized above will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. These descriptions are provided by way of example to explain the subject matter to those skilled in the art, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the subject matter to only the embodiments described herein. More specifically, examples are provided below that illustrate the operation of various embodiments according to the advantages discussed above. Furthermore, the following terms are used throughout the description given below:Radio Node: As used herein, a “radio node” can be either a “radio access node” or a “wireless device.”Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” (or “radio network node”) can be any node in a radio access network (RAN) of a cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly transmit and/or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a 3GPP Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP LTE network), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, or the like), a relay nod, access point (AP), radio AP, remote radio unit (RRU), remote radio head (RRH), a multi-standard BS (a.k.a. MSR BS), multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (MCE), base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), network controller, Node B, etc. Such terms can also be used to reference to components of a node, such as a gNB-CU and/or a gNB-DU.Core Network Node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), User Plane Function (UPF), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), etc.Wireless Device: As used herein, a “wireless device” is any type of device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a cellular communications network by wirelessly transmitting and/or receiving signals to a radio access node(s). Some examples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, a UE in a 3GPP network and a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device.User Equipment: As used herein, a user equipment (or UE, for short) can be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with network node or another UE over radio signals. The UE may also be radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) UE, machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), a sensor equipped with UE, iPAD, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) etc.Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is either part of the radio access network (e.g., a “radio network node” or “radio access node”) or the core network (e.g., a “core network node”) of a cellular communications network/system. Note that the description given herein focuses on a 3GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3GPP system. And to the extent that the descriptions of various embodiments refer to NR, such described embodiments are not limited to NR, but can be adapted in other radio access technologies including LTE, UTRA, LTE-Advanced, 5G, NX, NB-loT, WiFi, BlueTooth, etc. Furthermore, although the term “cell” is used herein, it should be understood that (particularly with respect to 5G NR) beams may be used instead of cells and, as such, concepts described herein apply equally to both cells and beams. As discussed above, for a UE-initiated (or UE-requested) PDU session establishment based on home-routed roaming, functions in the VPLMN often need to exchange information about the user with their peer and/or corresponding function in the HPLMN. However, various problems and/or difficulties can arise due to the VPLMN function (e.g., V-SMF) lacking necessary information about the corresponding HPLMN function (e.g., H-SMF). These are discussed below in more detail. FIG.7shows an exemplary signalling flow of an establishment procedure for a UE-requested PDU session based on home-routed roaming. Although the operations shown inFIG.7are labelled with numbers, this labelling is only to facilitate clarity of description, and should not be interpreted as limiting the operations to occur in the order of their numerical labelling. In other words, unless expressly noted otherwise, the operations shown inFIG.7can occur in different orders than shown, and can be combined and/or divided to form other operations. The operations shown inFIG.7are described as follows. To the extent that this description refers to 3GPP standards, the relevant portions of these standards are incorporated herein by reference. 1. From UE to AMF: NAS Message (S-NSSAI(s), DNN, PDU Session ID, Request type, Old PDU Session ID, N1 SM container (PDU Session Establishment Request)). In order to establish a new PDU Session, the UE generates a new PDU Session ID. The UE initiates the UE Requested PDU Session Establishment procedure by the transmission of a NAS message containing a PDU Session Establishment Request within the N1 SM container. The PDU Session Establishment Request includes a PDU session ID, Requested PDU Session Type, a Requested SSC mode, 5GSM Capability PCO, SM PDU DN Request Container, Number Of Packet Filters, and optionally Always-on PDU Session Requested. The Request Type indicates “Initial request” if the PDU Session Establishment is a request to establish a new PDU Session and indicates “Existing PDU Session” if the request refers to an existing PDU Session switching between 3GPP access and non-3GPP access or to a PDU Session handover from an existing PDN connection in EPC. If the request refers to an existing PDN connection in EPC, the S-NSSAI is set as described in 3GPP TS 23.501 clause 5.15.7.2. When Emergency service is required and an Emergency PDU Session is not already established, a UE shall initiate the UE Requested PDU Session Establishment procedure with a Request Type indicating “Emergency Request”. The Request Type indicates “Emergency Request” if the PDU Session Establishment is a request to establish a PDU Session for Emergency services. The Request Type indicates “Existing Emergency PDU Session” if the request refers to an existing PDU Session for Emergency services switching between 3GPP access and non-3GPP access or to a PDU Session handover from an existing PDN connection for Emergency services in EPC. The 5GSM Core Network Capability is provided by the UE and handled by SMF as defined in 3GPP TS 23.501 clause 5.4.4b. The 5GSM Capability also includes the UE Integrity Protection Maximum Data Rate. The Number Of Packet Filters indicates the number of supported packet filters for signalled QoS rules for the PDU Session that is being established. The number of packet filters indicated by the UE is valid for the lifetime of the PDU Session. The NAS message sent by the UE is encapsulated by the AN in a N2 message towards the AMF that should include User location information and Access Type Information. The PDU Session Establishment Request message may contain SM PDU DN Request Container containing information for the PDU Session authorization by the external DN. The UE includes the S-NSSAI from the Allowed NSSAI of the current access type. If the Mapping of Allowed NSSAI was provided to the UE, the UE shall provide both the S-NSSAI from the Allowed NSSAI and the corresponding S-NSSAI from the Mapping Of Allowed NSSAI. If the procedure is triggered for SSC mode3operation, the UE shall also include the Old PDU Session ID which indicates the PDU Session ID of the on-going PDU Session to be released, in NAS message. The Old PDU Session ID is an optional parameter which is included only in this case. The AMF receives from the AN the NAS SM message (built in operation 1) together with User Location Information (e.g., Cell Id in case of the NG-RAN). The UE shall not trigger a PDU Session establishment for a PDU Session corresponding to a LADN when the UE is outside the area of availability of the LADN. If the UE is establishing a PDU session for IMS, and the UE is configured to discover the P-CSCF address during connectivity establishment, the UE shall include an indicator that it requests a P-CSCF IP address(es) within the SM container. The PS Data Off status is included in the PCO in the PDU Session Establishment Request message. If the UE requests to establish always-on PDU session, the UE includes an Always-on PDU Session Requested indication in the PDU Session Establishment Request message. 2. The AMF determines that the message corresponds to a request for a new PDU Session based on that Request Type indicates “initial request” and that the PDU Session ID is not used for any existing PDU Session(s) of the UE. If the NAS message does not contain an S-NSSAI, the AMF determines a default S-NSSAI for the requested PDU Session either according to the UE subscription, if it contains only one default S-NSSAI, or based on operator policy. When the NAS Message contains an S-NSSAI but it does not contain a DNN, the AMF determines the DNN for the requested PDU Session by selecting the default DNN for this S-NSSAI if the default DNN is present in the UE's Subscription Information; otherwise the serving AMF selects a locally configured DNN for this S-NSSAI. If the AMF cannot select an SMF (e.g. the UE provided DNN is not supported by the network, or the UE provided DNN is not in the Subscribed DNN List for the S-NSSAI and wildcard DNN is not included in the Subscribed DNN list), the AMF shall reject the NAS Message containing PDU Session Establishment Request from the UE with an appropriate cause The AMF selects an SMF as described in 3GPP TS 23.501 clause 6.3.2 and TS 23.502 clause 4.3.2.2.3. In particular, the AMF selects an H-SMF in HPLMN using the S-NSSAI with the value defined by the HPLMN, as described in 3GPP TS 23.502 clause 4.3.2.2.3. The AMF may also receive alternative H-SMFs from the NRF. The AMF stores the association of the S-NSSAI, the DNN, the PDU Session ID, the SMF ID in VPLMN as well as Access Type of the PDU Session If the Request Type indicates “Initial request” or the request is due to handover from EPS or from non-3GPP access serving by a different AMF, the AMF stores an association of the S-NSSAI(s), the DNN, the PDU Session ID, the SMF ID as well as the Access Type of the PDU Session. If the Request Type is “initial request” and if the Old PDU Session ID indicating the existing PDU Session is also contained in the message, the AMF selects an SMF as described in clause 4.3.5.2 and stores an association of the new PDU Session ID, the S-NSSAI, the selected SMF ID as well as Access Type of the PDU Session. If the Request Type indicates “Existing PDU Session”, the AMF selects the SMF based on SMF-ID received from UDM. The case where the Request Type indicates “Existing PDU Session”, and either the AMF does not recognize the PDU Session ID or the subscription context that the AMF received from UDM during the Registration or Subscription Profile Update Notification procedure does not contain an SMF ID corresponding to the PDU Session ID constitutes an error case. The AMF updates the Access Type stored for the PDU Session. If the Request Type indicates “Existing PDU Session” referring to an existing PDU Session moved between 3GPP access and non-3GPP access, then if the S-NSSAI of the PDU Session is present in the Allowed NSSAI of the target access type, the PDU Session Establishment procedure can be performed in the following cases:the SMF ID corresponding to the PDU Session ID and the AMF belong to the same PLMN;the SMF ID corresponding to the PDU Session ID belongs to the HPLMN;Otherwise the AMF shall reject the PDU Session Establishment Request with an appropriate reject cause. NOTE 2: The SMF ID includes the PLMN ID that the SMF belongs to. The AMF shall reject a request coming from an Emergency Registered UE and the Request Type indicates neither “Emergency Request” nor “Existing Emergency PDU Session”. When the Request Type indicates “Emergency Request”, the AMF is not expecting any S-NSSAI and DNN value provided by the UE and uses locally configured values instead. The AMF stores the Access Type of the PDU Session. If the Request Type indicates “Emergency Request” or “Existing Emergency PDU Session”, the AMF selects the SMF as described in 3GPP TS 23.501, clause 5.16.4. In local breakout roaming case, if V-SMF responds to AMF indicating that V-SMF is not able to process some part of the N1 SM information, the AMF proceeds with home routed case from this operation and may select an SMF in the VPLMN different from the V-SMF selected earlier. 3a. As in operation 3 of 3GPP TS 23.502 clause 4.3.2.2.1 with the addition that: The AMF also provides the identity of the H-SMF it has selected in operation 2 and both the S-NSSAI from the Allowed NSSAI and the corresponding Subscribed S-NSSAI. The H-SMF is provided when the PDU Session is home-routed. The AMF may also provide the identity of alternative H-SMFs, if it has received in operation 2.The V-SMF does not use DNN Selection Mode received from the AMF but relays this information to the H-SMF. The AMF may include the H-PCF ID in this operation and V-SMF will pass it to the H-SMF in operation 6. This will enable the H-SMF to select the same H-PCF in operation 9a. 3b. This operation is the same as operation 5 of 3GPP TS 23.502 clause 4.3.2.2.1. 4. The V-SMF selects a UPF in VPLMN as described in 3GPP TS 23.501, clause 6.3.3. 5. The V-SMF initiates an N4 Session Establishment procedure with the selected V-UPF: a. The V-SMF sends an N4 Session Establishment Request to the V-UPF. If CN Tunnel Info is allocated by the SMF, the CN Tunnel Info is provided to V-UPF in this operation.b. The V-UPF acknowledges by sending an N4 Session Establishment Response. If CN Tunnel Info is allocated by the V-UPF, the CN Tunnel Info is provided to V-SMF in this operation. 6. V-SMF to H-SMF: Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Request (SUPI, GPSI (if available), DNN, S-NSSAI with the value defined by the HPLMN, PDU Session ID, V-SMF ID, V-CN-Tunnel-Info, PDU Session Type, PCO, Number Of Packet Filters, User location information, Access Type, PCF ID, SM PDU DN Request Container, DNN Selection Mode, [Always-on PDU Session Requested]). Protocol Configuration Options may contain information that H-SMF may needs to properly establish the PDU Session (e.g. SSC mode or SM PDU DN Request Container to be used to authenticate the UE by the DN-AAA as defined in clause 4.3.2.3). The H-SMF may use DNN Selection Mode when deciding whether to accept or reject the UE request. If the V-SMF does not receive any response from the H-SMF due to communication failure on the N16 interface, depending on operator policy the V-SMF may create the PDU Session to one of the alternative H-SMF(s) if additional H-SMF information is provided in operation 3a, as specified in detail in TS 29.502 [36]. 7-12. These operations are the same as operations 4-10 in 3GPP TS 23.502 clause 4.3.2.2.1 with the following differences:These operations are executed in Home PLMN;The H-SMF stores an association of the PDU Session and V-SMF ID for this PDU Session for this UE;The H-SMF does not provides the Inactivity Timer to the H-UPF as described in operation 9a in 3GPP TS 23.502 clause 4.3.2.2.1;The H-SMF registers for the PDU Session ID with the UDM using Nudm_UECM_Registration (SUPI, DNN, S-NSSAI with the value defined by the HPLMN, PDU Session ID); andOperation 5 of 3GPP TS 23.502 clause 4.3.2.2.1 is not executed. When PCF is deployed, the SMF shall further report the PS Data Off status to PCF if the PS Data Off event trigger is provisioned, the additional behaviour of SMF and PCF for 3GPP PS Data Off is defined in 3GPP TS 23.503. Operation 8 (PDU Session Authentication/Authorization) is described in more detail below with reference toFIG.8. 13. H-SMF to V-SMF: Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Response (QoS Rule(s), QoS Flow level QoS parameters if needed for the QoS Flow(s) associated with the QoS rule(s), PCO including session level information that the V-SMF is not expected to understand, selected PDU Session Type and SSC mode, H-CN Tunnel Info, QFI(s), QoS profile(s), Session-AMBR, Reflective QoS Timer (if available), information needed by V-SMF in case of EPS interworking such as the PDN Connection Type, User Plane Policy Enforcement). If the PDU Session being established was requested to be an always-on PDU Session, the H-SMF shall indicate to the V-SMF whether the request is accepted or not via the Always-on PDU Session Granted indication in the response message to V-SMF. If the PDU Session being established was not requested to be an always-on PDU Session but the H-SMF determines that the PDU Session needs to be established as an always-on PDU Session, the H-SMF shall indicate it to the V-SMF by including Always-on PDU Session Granted indication that the PDU Session is an always-on PDU Session. The information that the H-SMF may provide is the same as defined for operation 11 shown in 3GPP TS 23.502 FIG. 4.3.2.2.1-1. The H-CN Tunnel Info contains the tunnel information for uplink traffic towards H-UPF. Multiple QoS Rules and QoS Flow level QoS parameters for the QoS Flow(s) associated with the QoS rule(s) may be included in the Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Response. 14-18. These operations are the same as operations 11-15 in 3GPP TS 23.502 clause 4.3.2.2.1 with the following differences: These operations are executed in Visited PLMN;The V-SMF stores an association of the PDU Session and H-SMF ID for this PDU Session for this UE;If the H-SMF indicates the PDU Session can be established as an always-on PDU Session, the V-SMF shall further check whether the PDU Session can be established as an always-on PDU Session based on local policies. The V-SMF notifies the UE whether the PDU Session is an always-on PDU Session or not via the Always-on PDU Session Granted indication in the PDU Session Establishment Accept message. 19a. The V-SMF initiates an N4 Session Modification procedure with the V-UPF. The V-SMF provides Packet detection, enforcement and reporting rules to be installed on the V-UPF for this PDU Session, including AN Tunnel Info, H-CN Tunnel Info and V-CN Tunnel Info. 19b. The V-UPF provides a N4 Session Modification Response to the V-SMF. After this operation, the V-UPF delivers any down-link packets to the UE that may have been buffered for this PDU Session. 20. This operation is the same as operation 17 in 3GPP TS 23.502 clause 4.3.2.2.1 except that SMF is V-SMF. 21. This operation is same as operation 18 in 3GPP TS 23.502 clause 4.3.2.2.1. 22. H-SMF to UE, via H-UPF and V-UPF in VPLMN: In case of PDU Session Type IPv6 or IPv4v6, the H-SMF generates an IPv6 Router Advertisement and sends it to the UE via N4 and the H-UPF and V-UPF. 23. If the V-SMF received in operationl8 an indication that the (R)AN has rejected some QFI(s) the V-SMF notifies the H-SMF via a Nsmf_PDUSession_Update Request. The H-SMF is responsible of updating accordingly the QoS rules and QoS Flow level QoS parameters if needed for the QoS Flow(s) associated with the QoS rule(s) in the UE. 24. Unsubscribe/Deregistration: This operation is the same as operation 20 in 3GPP TS 23.502 clause 4.3.2.2.1 except that this operation is executed in the HPLMN. NOTE: The H-SMF can initiate operation 21 already after operation 13. FIG.8shows an exemplary signalling flow of a PDU session establishment authentication/authorization procedure by a DN AAA server. This procedure can correspond to operation 8 shown inFIG.7above, for example. for a UE-requested PDU session based on home-routed roaming. Although the operations shown inFIG.8are labelled with numbers, this labelling is only to facilitate clarity of description, and should not be interpreted as limiting the operations to occur in the order of their numerical labelling. In other words, unless expressly noted otherwise, the operations shown inFIG.8can occur in different orders than shown, and can be combined and/or divided to form other operations. The operations shown inFIG.8are described as follows. To the extent that this description refers to 3GPP standards, the relevant portions of these standards are incorporated herein by reference. 0. The SMF determines that it needs to contact the DN-AAA server. This can occur, for example, if the SMF is an H-SMF that is contacted by a V-SMF regarding establishment of a PDU session for a user roaming into the VPLMN, such as illustrated inFIG.7. The SMF identifies the DN-AAA server based on local configuration, possibly using the SM PDU DN Request Container provided by the UE in its NAS request. 1. If there is no existing N4 session that can be used to carry DN-related messages between the SMF and the DN, the SMF selects a UPF and triggers N4 session establishment. 2. The SMF provides a SM PDU DN Request Container received from the UE to the DN-AAA via the UPF. 3. When available, the SMF provides the GPSI in the signalling exchanged with the DN-AAA. The UPF transparently relays the message received from the SMF to the DN-AAA server. NOTE 2: The content of SM PDU DN Request Container is defined in 3GPPTS 33.501. 3a. The DN-AAA server sends an Authentication/Authorization message towards the SMF. The message is carried via the UPF. 3b. Transfer of DN Request Container information received from DN-AAA towards the UE. In non-roaming and LBO cases, the SMF invokes the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer service operation on the AMF to transfer the DN Request Container information within N1 SM information sent towards the UE. In the case of Home Routed roaming, the H-SMF initiates a Nsmf_PDUSession_Update service operation to request the V-SMF to transfer DN Request Container to the UE and the V-SMF invokes the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer service operation on the AMF to transfer the DN Request Container information within N1 SM information sent towards the UE. 3c. The AMF sends the N1 NAS message to the UE. 3d-e. Transfer of DN Request Container information received from UE towards the DN-AAA. When the UE responds with a N1 NAS message containing DN Request Container information, the AMF informs the SMF by invoking the Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext service operation. The SMF issues an Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext response. In the case of Home Routed roaming, the V-SMF relays the N1 SM information to the H-SMF via a Nsmf_PDUSession_Update service operation. 3f. The SMF (In HR case it is the H-SMF) sends the content of the DN Request Container information (authentication message) to the DN-AAA server via the UPF. The operations 3a-f may be repeated until the DN-AAA server confirms the successful authentication/authorization of the PDU Session. 4. The DN-AAA server confirms the successful authentication/authorization of the PDU Session. The DN-AAA server may provide: an SM PDU DN Response Container to the SMF to indicate successful authentication/authorization;authorization information as defined in 3GPP TS 23.501 clause 5.6.6;a request to get notified with the IP address(es) allocated to the PDU Session and/or with N6 traffic routing information or MAC address(es) used by the UE for the PDU Session; andan IP address (or IPV6 Prefix) for the PDU Session. The N6 traffic routing information is defined in 3GPP TS 23.501 clause 5.6.7. After the successful DN authentication/authorization, a session is kept between the SMF and the DN-AAA. 5. The PDU Session establishment continues and completes. 6. If requested so in operation 4 or if configured so by local policies, the SMF notifies the DN-AAA with the IP/MAC address(es) and/or with N6 traffic routing information allocated to the PDU Session together with the GPSI. Subsequently, the SMF can notify the DN-AAA if the DN-AAA had requested to get notifications about actions and/or conditions such as:Allocation or release of an IPV6 Prefix for the PDU Session of IP type orAddition or removal of source MAC addresses for the PDU Session of Ethernet type (e.g. using IPV6 multi-homing as defined in 3GPP TS 23.501 clause 5.6.4.3;Change of N6 traffic routing information; and/orRelease of the PDU session (as described in 3GPP TS 23.502 clause 4.3.4. The DN-AAA server may revoke the authorization for a PDU Session or update DN authorization data for a PDU Session. According to the request from DN-AAA server, the SMF may release or update the PDU Session. At any time after the PDU Session establishment, the DN-AAA server or SMF may initiate Secondary Re-authentication procedure for the PDU Session as specified in 3GPP TS 33.501 clause 11.1.3. Operations 3a-f are performed to transfer the Secondary Re-authentication message between the UE and the DN-AAA server. The Secondary Re-authentication procedure may start from operation 3a (DN-AAA initiated Secondary Re-authentication procedure) or operation 3b (SMF initiated Secondary Re-authentication procedure). For the DN-AAA server initiated Secondary Re-authentication, the message in operation 3a shall include GPSI, if available, and the IP/MAC address(es) of the PDU session, for SMF to identify the corresponding UE and PDU session. Nevertheless, there are certain problems in the signalling for the home-routed roaming scenario illustrated inFIGS.7-8. For example, in operation 3e shown inFIG.8, the V-SMF is not able to send Nsmf_PDUSession_Update request to the H-SMF because the V-SMF does not have an identifier (e.g., URI) of the resource created in H-SMF for the PDU session (referred to as “hsmfPDUSessionUri”). This problem is illustrated in the simplified signalling flow shown inFIG.9. For example, in conventional operation, the V-SMF does not receive the hsmfPDUSessionUri from the H-SMF until the PDU_Session_Create Response, as illustrated inFIG.9. Even so, merely sending the hsmfPDUSessionUri to the V-SMF in an earlier message (e.g., in PDU_Session_Update Request) is not feasible, because the V-SMF may not support such earlier delivery and/or may be unprepared to accept the information. Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure address these and other problems, challenges, and/or issues by providing techniques for updating the V-SMF with the hsmfPDUSessionUri information in a manner that is both timely and under control of the V-SMF, so that the V-SMF is expecting to receive the hsmfPDUSessionUri when it is delivered. These techniques provide various other advantages, including facilitating correct operation of the secondary authentication/authorization by a DN-AAA server during PDU session establishment for home-routed roaming scenarios. It is noted that the present application defines that the second request comprises one or more indicators of whether the V-SMF supports respective one or more indicators of whether the V-SMF supports respective one or more features related to receiving, from the H-SMF, an identifier of a resource in the H-SMF that is associated with the PDU session. It is noted that the present disclosure may also be enabled even if the above information is not comprised by the second request. It is noted that the V-SMF may also receive the third request comprising the identifier of the resource in the H-SMF, wherein the third request being received before receiving any other messages from the H-SMF, irrespective of whether the one or more indicators are present in the second request. The present disclosure is directed to a method, performed by a session management function, V-SMF, of a visited public land mobile network, VPLMN, for establishing a user-requested PDU session to be routed through a user's home PLMN, HPLMN, the method comprising:receiving, for example from an access management function, AMF, in the VPLMN, a first request to establish a home-routed PDU session, wherein the first request identifies an SMF, H-SMF, in the HPLMN; andsending, to the H-SMF, a second request to create the home-routed PDU session, wherein the second request includes an identifier of a resource in the V-SMF that is associated with the PDU session. The above enables the H-SMF to address the services of the V-SMF related to the PDU session e.g. PDUSession_Update Request from H-SMF to V-SMF. In an example, the method comprises the step of receiving, from the H-SMF, a third request that includes an identifier of a resource in the H-SMF that is associated with the PDU session and allows the V-SMF to address services of the H-SMF related to the PDU session. It was the insight of the inventor that the V-SMF is not able to send a PDU session update request to the H-SMF, in the home routed roaming, because the V-SMF does not have the resource URI of the resource in the H-SMF. The present method enables the V-SMF to contact the H-SMF in these situations as it has received, in the third request, an identifier of the resource in the H-SMF that is associated with the PDU session. In a further example, the method comprises the step of sending by the V-SMF, to the H-SMF, a fourth request for transferring an authentication response from the UE using the identifier of the resource in the H-SMF that is associated with the PDU session. In another example, the third request being received before receiving any other messages from the H-SMF. In a further example, any of:the first request comprises a PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request;the second request comprises a PDUSession_Create Request; andthe third request comprises a PDUSession_Update Request. Following the above, the present disclosure enables the H-SMF to address the services of the V-SMF related to the PDU session, e.g. PDUSession_Update Request from H-SMF to V-SMF. In context of the present disclosure, the resource in the H-SMF that is associated with the PDU session is, for example, directly related to the Session Management, SM, Context for service operations related with this PDU Session. In another example, the method further comprises the step of sending, to the H-SMF, a PDUSession_update message for transferring an authentication response from the UE using the identifier of the resource in the H-SMF that is associated with the PDU session. Examples of the disclosure are presented here below. In an example, the third request being received before receiving any other messages from the H-SMF. In a further example, the first request comprises a PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request, the second request comprises a PDUSession_Create Request; and the third request comprises a PDUSession_Update Request. In another example, the method further comprises the step of sending, to the H-SMF, a PDUSession_update message for transferring an authentication response from the UE using the identifier of the resource in the H-SMF that is associated with the PDU session. In a second aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method, performed by a session management function, H-SMF, of a home public land mobile network, HPLMN, for establishing a user-requested Protocol Data Unit, PDU, session to be routed from a user's visited PLMN, VPLMN, through the HPLMN, the method comprising:receiving, from an SMF of the VPLMN, V-SMF, a second request to create a home-routed PDU session, wherein the second request includes an identifier of a resource in the V-SMF associated with the PDU session, andsending, to the V-SMF, a third request that includes the identifier of a resource in the H-SMF that is associated with the PDU session. In an example, the third request is sent to said V-SMF before sending any other messages to the V-SMF. In a further example, the second request comprises a PDUSession_Create Request; and the third request comprises a PDUSession_Update Request. In an example, the method further comprises the step of receiving, from the V-SMF, a PDUSession_update message for transferring an authentication response from the UE. In a further aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a session management, SMF, node arranged to operate in a public land mobile network, PLMN, the session management node comprising:a network interface configured to communicate with at least one other SMF in at least one other PLMN;processing circuitry operably coupled to the network interface and configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods; andpower supply circuitry configured to supply power to the SMF node. In an example, the session management, SMF, node is arranged to operate in a public land mobile network, PLMN, the SMF node being arranged to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods in accordance with the present disclosure. In a further aspect, there is provided a non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry comprising a session management, SMF, node in a public land mobile network, PLMN, configure the SMF node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods in accordance with the present disclosure. In another aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry comprising a session management, SMF, node in a public land mobile network, PLMN, configure the SMF node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods in accordance with the present disclosure. In some embodiments, an identifier of a resource to be created in the H-SMF for a PDU session (e.g., hsmfPDUSessionUri) can be included in the PDUSession_Update Request message sent from the H-SMF after receiving the PDUSession_Create Request message from the V-SMF containing an identifier of a resource in the V-SMF for the PDU session (e.g., vsmfPDUSessionUri). This PDUSession_Update Request message corresponds to operation 3b shown inFIG.8. In addition, however, the PDUSession_Create Request message of these embodiments includes an indicator of whether the V-SMF supports such early delivery of hsmfPDUSessionUri in the PDUSession_Update Request message. Upon receiving the PDUSession_Create Request message, the H-SMF can determine from the indicator whether the V-SMF supports early deliver of hsmfPDUSessionUri. If it determines that the V-SMF supports early delivery, the H-SMF includes the hsmfPDUSessionUri in the PDUSession_Update Request message. If the indicator is absent or indicates that the V-SMF does not support early delivery, the H-SMF does not include the hsmfPDUSessionUri in the PDUSession_Update Request message. For example, the H-SMF can instead include hsmfPDUSessionUri in the PDUSession_Create Response message, where the V-SMF conventionally expects to receive it. FIG.10shows an exemplary signalling flow diagram according to these exemplary embodiments. InFIG.10, the indicator is called “supportedFeatures.” For example, the indicator can be a particular sub-field of a “supportedFeatures” field that relates to various features supported by the V-SMF on the interface with the H-SMF. In other embodiments, before the H-SMF sends a PDUSession_Create Response message including hsmfPDUSessionUri, the H-SMF can send a PDUSession_Update message to the V-SMF to update the resource already being created in V-SMF for the same PDU session (e.g., by addressing vsmfPduSessionUri). In such embodiments, however, the V-SMF should send a PDUSession_Update Response message only after it receives a response from UE that include an authentication response, which is transferred via the PDUSession_Update SmContext Request message sent from the AMF. This is because the V-SMF has to use PDU Session update response message to transfer the PDU Session authentication complete message from UE, since the V-SMF is not able to initiate a PDUSession_Update (to transfer the authentication response) towards the H-SMF before it receives PDUSession_Create response which contains hsmfPDUSessionUri. In these embodiments, two other indicators can be used in the messages to indicate support for such features. First, the PDUSession_Update Request message sent by the V-SMF can include a first indicator that the V-SMF should delay sending the PDUSession_Update Response message until after receiving the authentication response from the UE via the AMF. Second, the PDUSession_Create Response message sent by the V-SMF can include a second indicator of whether the V-SMF supports: 1) processing a PDU Session Update request from the H-SMF for a PDU session for which the resource has not been fully established in the H-SMF (i.e., H-SMF has not sent PDU Session Create Response with hsmfPDUSessionUri, together with 2) a delayed response under control of the H-SMF via the first indicator. For convenience, these two features will be referred to collectively as “delayed sending” or “delayed response.” Upon receiving the PDUSession_Create Request message, the H-SMF can determine from the second indicator whether the V-SMF supports delayed sending of the PDUSession_Update Response message. If it determines that the V-SMF supports delayed sending, the H-SMF can include the first indicator in the PDUSession_Update Request message. If the second indicator is absent or indicates that the V-SMF does not support delayed sending, the H-SMF does not include the first indicator in the PDUSession_Update Request message. Upon receiving the PDUSession_Update Request message, the V-SMF can determine whether the first indicator is present and, if so, whether it indicates that the V-SMF should delay sending the PDUSession_Update Response message. If it determines that the H-SMF requests delayed sending, the V-SMF can delay sending the message accordingly. If the first indicator is absent or indicates that the H-SMF does not request delayed sending, the V-SMF can send the message without waiting for the UE response, in the manner expected by the H-SMF. FIG.11shows an exemplary signalling flow diagram according to these exemplary embodiments. InFIG.11, the first indicator is called “delayedResponse” and the second indicator is called “supportedFeatures,” similar toFIG.10. For example, the first indicator can be a particular sub-field of a “supportedFeatures” field that relates to various features supported by the V-SMF on the interface with the H-SMF. In other exemplary embodiments, the H-SMF can respond to the presence or absence of the “supportedFeatures” indicator in the PDUSession_Create Request message in the manner discussed above with respect to the various embodiments. In some embodiments, the H-SMF can also perform additional actions if the indicator is absent or indicates that neither of the two alternatives (e.g., early deliver or delayed response) are supported by the V-SMF. For example, the H-SMF can defer and/or delay communication towards AAA for the authentication procedure. In other words, the H-SMF can proceed with PDU session creation as if the authentication was successful, and then trigger AAA procedure after the PDU session is created, i.e., after sending PDU Session Create response with acceptance. This is illustrated inFIG.11by the optional delay of the AAA Request/Response messages. FIG.12illustrates an exemplary method and/or procedure for establishing a user-requested PDU session to be routed through the user's HPLMN, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method and/or procedure shown inFIG.12can be performed by a session management function (e.g., SMF) or node in a visited PLMN that is different that the HPLMN of the user establishing the PDU session. Although the exemplary method and/or procedure is illustrated inFIG.12by blocks in a particular order, this order is exemplary and the operations corresponding to the blocks can be performed in different orders, and can be combined and/or divided into blocks and/or operations having different functionality than shown inFIG.12. Furthermore, the exemplary method and/or procedure shown inFIG.12can be complementary to other exemplary methods and/or procedures disclosed herein, such that they are capable of being used cooperatively to provide the benefits, advantages, and/or solutions to problems described hereinabove. Optional blocks and/or operations are indicated by dashed lines. The exemplary method and/or procedure can include the operations of block1210, where the V-SMF can receive, from an access management function (AMF) in the HPLMN, a first request to establish a home-routed PDU session, wherein the first request identifies an SMF (H-SMF) in the HPLMN. The exemplary method and/or procedure can also include the operations of block1220, where the V-SMF can send, to the H-SMF, a second request to create the home-routed PDU session. The second request can include an identifier of a resource in the V-SMF associated with the PDU session. The second request can also include one or more indicators of whether the V-SMF supports respective one or more features related to receiving, from the H-SMF, an identifier of a resource in the H-SMF that is associated with the PDU session. In some embodiments, the one or more indicators can include an indicator that the V-SMF supports early delivery of the identifier of the resource in the H-SMF. In such embodiments, the exemplary method and/or procedure can also include the operations of block1230, where the V-SMF can receive from the H-SMF, a third request that includes the identifier of the resource in the H-SMF, the third request being received before receiving any other messages from the H-SMF. In some embodiments, the one or more indicators can include an indicator that the V-SMF supports delayed sending of a response to a third request. In such embodiments, the exemplary method and/or procedure can also include the operations of block1240, where the V-SMF can receive, from the H-SMF, a third request comprising a further indicator that the V-SMF should delay sending a response to the third request until after receiving, from the AMF, authentication information relating to the user. In such embodiments, the exemplary method and/or procedure can also include the operations of block1250, where the V-SMF can, after receiving the authentication information from the AMF, send the response to the third request to the H-SMF. In such embodiments, the exemplary method and/or procedure can also include the operations of block1260, where the V-SMF can subsequently receive a response, to the second request, comprising the identifier of the resource in the H-SMF. In some embodiments, the first request comprises a PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request, the second request comprises a PDUSession_Create Request, and the third request comprises a PDUSession_Update Request. FIG.13illustrates an exemplary method and/or procedure for establishing a user-requested PDU session to be routed from a user's VPLMN through the user's HPLMN, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method and/or procedure shown inFIG.13can be performed by a session management function (e.g., SMF) or node in a HPLMN (e.g., a H-SMF) that is different from the VPLMN where the user is initiating the PDU session. Although the exemplary method and/or procedure is illustrated inFIG.13by blocks in a particular order, this order is exemplary and the operations corresponding to the blocks can be performed in different orders, and can be combined and/or divided into blocks having different functionality than shown inFIG.13. Furthermore, the exemplary method and/or procedure shown inFIG.13can be complementary to other exemplary methods and/or procedures disclosed herein, such that they are capable of being used cooperatively to provide the benefits, advantages, and/or solutions to problems described hereinabove. Optional blocks and/or operations are indicated by dashed lines. The exemplary method and/or procedure can include the operations of block1310, where the H-SMF can receive, from the V-SMF, a second request to create a home-routed PDU session. The second request can include an identifier of a resource in the V-SMF that is associated with the PDU session. The second request can also include one or more indicators of whether the V-SMF supports respective one or more features related to receiving, from the H-SMF, an identifier of a resource in the H-SMF that is associated with the PDU session. The exemplary method and/or procedure can also include the operations of block1320, where the H-SMF can, based on the one or more indicators, send one or more messages to the V-SMF, with each message including one of the following: a further indicator; and the identifier of the resource in the H-SMF. In some embodiments, the one or more indicators can include an indicator that the V-SMF supports early delivery of the identifier of the resource in the H-SMF. In such embodiments, the operations of block1320can include the operations of sub-block1322, where the H-SMF can send, to the V-SMF, a third request that includes the identifier of the resource in the H-SMF, the third request being sent before sending any other messages to the V-SMF. In other words, the third request can be one of the one or more messages. In some embodiments, the one or more indicators can include an indicator that the V-SMF supports delayed sending of a response to a third request. In such embodiments, the operations of block1320can include the operations of sub-block1324, where the H-SMF can send, to the V-SMF, a third request comprising a further indicator that the V-SMF should delay sending a response to the third request until after receiving authentication information relating to the user. In other words, the third request can be one of the one or more messages. In such embodiments, the operations of block1320can include the operations of sub-block1326, where the H-SMF can receive the response to the third request from the V-SMF. In such embodiments, the one or more messages sent to the V-SMF include a response, to the second request, comprising the identifier of the resource in the H-SMF, with the response to the second request being sent after receiving the response to the third request. In some embodiments, the exemplary method and/or procedure can also include the operations of block1330, where the H-SMF can delay an authentication procedure related to the PDU session until after sending the one or more messages. In such embodiments, the delaying can be based on the one or more indicators being absent from the second request, or the one or more indicators having values that indicate that the V-SMF does not support the respective one or more features. In some embodiments, the first request comprises a PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request, the second request comprises a PDUSession_Create Request, and the third request comprises a PDUSession_Update Request. Although the subject matter described herein can be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustrated inFIG.14. For simplicity, the wireless network ofFIG.14only depicts network1406, network nodes1460and1460b, and WDs1410,1410b, and1410c. In practice, a wireless network can further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node1460and wireless device (WD)1410are depicted with additional detail. The wireless network can provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices' access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wireless network. The wireless network can comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network can be configured to operate according to specific standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless network can implement communication standards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and/or Zig Bee standards. Network1406can comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices. Network node1460and WD1410comprise various components described in more detail below. These components work together in order to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network can comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the wireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations can be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and can then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station can be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node can also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station can also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs. As another example, a network node can be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. More generally, however, network nodes can represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with access to the wireless network or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless network. InFIG.14, network node1460includes processing circuitry1470, device readable medium1480, interface1490, auxiliary equipment1484, power source1486, power circuitry1487, and antenna1462. Although network node1460illustrated in the example wireless network ofFIG.14can represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments can comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods and/or procedures disclosed herein. Moreover, while the components of network node1460are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a network node can comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium1480can comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules). Similarly, network node1460can be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which can each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which network node1460comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components can be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC can control multiple NodeB's. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, can in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node1460can be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components can be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium1480for the different RATs) and some components can be reused (e.g., the same antenna1462can be shared by the RATs). Network node1460can also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node1460, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies can be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node1460. Processing circuitry1470can be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry1470can include processing information obtained by processing circuitry1470by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Processing circuitry1470can comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node1460components, such as device readable medium1480, network node1460functionality. For example, processing circuitry1470can execute instructions stored in device readable medium1480or in memory within processing circuitry1470. Such functionality can include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry1470can include a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, processing circuitry1470can include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry1472and baseband processing circuitry1474. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry1472and baseband processing circuitry1474can be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry1472and baseband processing circuitry1474can be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or other such network device can be performed by processing circuitry1470executing instructions stored on device readable medium1480or memory within processing circuitry1470. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality can be provided by processing circuitry1470without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry1470can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry1470alone or to other components of network node1460, but are enjoyed by network node1460as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally. Device readable medium1480can comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that can be used by processing circuitry1470. Device readable medium1480can store any suitable instructions, data or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry1470and, utilized by network node1460. Device readable medium1480can be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry1470and/or any data received via interface1490. In some embodiments, processing circuitry1470and device readable medium1480can be considered to be integrated. Interface1490is used in the wired or wireless communication of signalling and/or data between network node1460, network1406, and/or WDs1410. As illustrated, interface1490comprises port(s)/terminal(s)1494to send and receive data, for example to and from network1406over a wired connection. Interface1490also includes radio front end circuitry1492that can be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna1462. Radio front end circuitry1492comprises filters1498and amplifiers1496. Radio front end circuitry1492can be connected to antenna1462and processing circuitry1470. Radio front end circuitry can be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna1462and processing circuitry1470. Radio front end circuitry1492can receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry1492can convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters1498and/or amplifiers1496. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna1462. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna1462can collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry1492. The digital data can be passed to processing circuitry1470. In other embodiments, the interface can comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain alternative embodiments, network node1460may not include separate radio front end circuitry1492, instead, processing circuitry1470can comprise radio front end circuitry and can be connected to antenna1462without separate radio front end circuitry1492. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry1472can be considered a part of interface1490. In still other embodiments, interface1490can include one or more ports or terminals1494, radio front end circuitry1492, and RF transceiver circuitry1472, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface1490can communicate with baseband processing circuitry1474, which is part of a digital unit (not shown). Antenna1462can include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna1462can be coupled to radio front end circuitry1490and can be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna1462can comprise one or more omni-directional, sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni-directional antenna can be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sector antenna can be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna can be a line of sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna can be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna1462can be separate from network node1460and can be connectable to network node1460through an interface or port. Antenna1462, interface1490, and/or processing circuitry1470can be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals can be received from a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna1462, interface1490, and/or processing circuitry1470can be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals can be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Power circuitry1487can comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry and can be configured to supply the components of network node1460with power for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry1487can receive power from power source1486. Power source1486and/or power circuitry1487can be configured to provide power to the various components of network node1460in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source1486can either be included in, or external to, power circuitry1487and/or network node1460. For example, network node1460can be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry1487. As a further example, power source1486can comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry1487. The battery can provide backup power should the external power source fail. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, can also be used. Alternative embodiments of network node1460can include additional components beyond those shown inFIG.14that can be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node1460can include user interface equipment to allow and/or facilitate input of information into network node1460and to allow and/or facilitate output of information from network node1460. This can allow and/or facilitate a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node1460. As used herein, wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD can be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE). Communicating wirelessly can involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. In some embodiments, a WD can be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a WD can be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network. Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE). a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc. A WD can support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and can in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device. As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (loT) scenario, a WD can represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node. The WD can in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which can in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the WD can be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD can represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above can represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device can be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above can be mobile, in which case it can also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal. As illustrated, wireless device1410includes antenna1411, interface1414, processing circuitry1420, device readable medium1430, user interface equipment1432, auxiliary equipment1434, power source1436and power circuitry1437. WD1410can include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD1410, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wireless technologies can be integrated into the same or different chips or set of chips as other components within WD1410. Antenna1411can include one or more antennas or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface1414. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna1411can be separate from WD1410and be connectable to WD1410through an interface or port. Antenna1411, interface1414, and/or processing circuitry1420can be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data and/or signals can be received from a network node and/or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna1411can be considered an interface. As illustrated, interface1414comprises radio front end circuitry1412and antenna1411. Radio front end circuitry1412comprise one or more filters1418and amplifiers1416. Radio front end circuitry1414is connected to antenna1411and processing circuitry1420, and can be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna1411and processing circuitry1420. Radio front end circuitry1412can be coupled to or a part of antenna1411. In some embodiments, WD1410may not include separate radio front end circuitry1412; rather, processing circuitry1420can comprise radio front end circuitry and can be connected to antenna1411. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry1422can be considered a part of interface1414. Radio front end circuitry1412can receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry1412can convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters1418and/or amplifiers1416. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna1411. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna1411can collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry1412. The digital data can be passed to processing circuitry1420. In other embodiments, the interface can comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. Processing circuitry1420can comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other WD1410components, such as device readable medium1430, WD1410functionality. Such functionality can include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry1420can execute instructions stored in device readable medium1430or in memory within processing circuitry1420to provide the functionality disclosed herein. As illustrated, processing circuitry1420includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry1422, baseband processing circuitry1424, and application processing circuitry1426. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry can comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain embodiments processing circuitry1420of WD1410can comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry1422, baseband processing circuitry1424, and application processing circuitry1426can be on separate chips or sets of chips. In alternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry1424and application processing circuitry1426can be combined into one chip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry1422can be on a separate chip or set of chips. In still alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry1422and baseband processing circuitry1424can be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processing circuitry1426can be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet other alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry1422, baseband processing circuitry1424, and application processing circuitry1426can be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry1422can be a part of interface1414. RF transceiver circuitry1422can condition RF signals for processing circuitry1420. In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by a WD can be provided by processing circuitry1420executing instructions stored on device readable medium1430, which in certain embodiments can be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality can be provided by processing circuitry1420without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry1420can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry1420alone or to other components of WD1410, but are enjoyed by WD1410as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally. Processing circuitry1420can be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, as performed by processing circuitry1420, can include processing information obtained by processing circuitry1420by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD1410, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Device readable medium1430can be operable to store a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry1420. Device readable medium1430can include computer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that can be used by processing circuitry1420. In some embodiments, processing circuitry1420and device readable medium1430can be considered to be integrated. User interface equipment1432can include components that allow and/or facilitate a human user to interact with WD1410. Such interaction can be of many forms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment1432can be operable to produce output to the user and to allow and/or facilitate the user to provide input to WD1410. The type of interaction can vary depending on the type of user interface equipment1432installed in WD1410. For example, if WD1410is a smart phone, the interaction can be via a touch screen; if WD1410is a smart meter, the interaction can be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected). User interface equipment1432can include input interfaces, devices and circuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interface equipment1432can be configured to allow and/or facilitate input of information into WD1410, and is connected to processing circuitry1420to allow and/or facilitate processing circuitry1420to process the input information. User interface equipment1432can include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface equipment1432is also configured to allow and/or facilitate output of information from WD1410, and to allow and/or facilitate processing circuitry1420to output information from WD1410. User interface equipment1432can include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibrating circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, of user interface equipment1432, WD1410can communicate with end users and/or the wireless network, and allow and/or facilitate them to benefit from the functionality described herein. Auxiliary equipment1434is operable to provide more specific functionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This can comprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary equipment1434can vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario. Power source1436can, in some embodiments, be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or power cells, can also be used. WD1410can further comprise power circuitry1437for delivering power from power source1436to the various parts of WD1410which need power from power source1436to carry out any functionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry1437can in certain embodiments comprise power management circuitry. Power circuitry1437can additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case WD1410can be connectable to the external power source (such as an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power circuitry1437can also in certain embodiments be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source1436. This can be, for example, for the charging of power source1436. Power circuitry1437can perform any converting or other modification to the power from power source1436to make it suitable for supply to the respective components of WD1410. FIG.15illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE can represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE can represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which can be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE15200can be any UE identified by the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-loT UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. UE1500, as illustrated inFIG.15, is one example of a WD configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards. As mentioned previously, the term WD and UE can be used interchangeable. Accordingly, althoughFIG.15is a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, and vice-versa. InFIG.15, UE1500includes processing circuitry1501that is operatively coupled to input/output interface1505, radio frequency (RF) interface1509, network connection interface1511, memory1515including random access memory (RAM)1517, read-only memory (ROM)1519, and storage medium1521or the like, communication subsystem1531, power source1533, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Storage medium1521includes operating system1523, application program1525, and data1527. In other embodiments, storage medium1521can include other similar types of information. Certain UEs can utilize all of the components shown inFIG.15, or only a subset of the components. The level of integration between the components can vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs can contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc. InFIG.15, processing circuitry1501can be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuitry1501can be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute machine instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry1501can include two central processing units (CPUs). Data can be information in a form suitable for use by a computer. In the depicted embodiment, input/output interface1505can be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, output device, or input and output device. UE1500can be configured to use an output device via input/output interface1505. An output device can use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port can be used to provide input to and output from UE1500. The output device can be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. UE1500can be configured to use an input device via input/output interface1505to allow and/or facilitate a user to capture information into UE1500. The input device can include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display can include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor can be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another like sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device can be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor. InFIG.15, RF interface1509can be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna. Network connection interface1511can be configured to provide a communication interface to network1543a. Network1543acan encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network1543acan comprise a Wi-Fi network. Network connection interface1511can be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communication network according to one or more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, or the like. Network connection interface1511can implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate to the communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiver functions can share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively can be implemented separately. RAM1517can be configured to interface via bus1502to processing circuitry1501to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as the operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM1519can be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry1501. For example, ROM1519can be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory. Storage medium1521can be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives. In one example, storage medium1521can be configured to include operating system1523, application program1525such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and data file1527. Storage medium1521can store, for use by UE1500, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems. Storage medium1521can be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppy disk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium1521can allow and/or facilitate UE1500to access computer-executable instructions, application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system can be tangibly embodied in storage medium1521, which can comprise a device readable medium. InFIG.15, processing circuitry1501can be configured to communicate with network1543busing communication subsystem1531. Network1543aand network1543bcan be the same network or networks or different network or networks. Communication subsystem1531can be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network1543b. For example, communication subsystem1531can be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such as another WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN) according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.15, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, or the like. Each transceiver can include transmitter1533and/or receiver1535to implement transmitter or receiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to the RAN links (e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further, transmitter1533and receiver1535of each transceiver can share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively can be implemented separately. In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of communication subsystem1531can include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, communication subsystem1531can include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. Network1543bcan encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network1543bcan be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near-field network. Power source1513can be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE1500. The features, benefits and/or functions described herein can be implemented in one of the components of UE1500or partitioned across multiple components of UE1500. Further, the features, benefits, and/or functions described herein can be implemented in any combination of hardware, software or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem1531can be configured to include any of the components described herein. Further, processing circuitry1501can be configured to communicate with any of such components over bus1502. In another example, any of such components can be represented by program instructions stored in memory that when executed by processing circuitry1501perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any of such components can be partitioned between processing circuitry1501and communication subsystem1531. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components can be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions can be implemented in hardware. FIG.16is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment1600in which functions implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which can include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device or any other type of communication device) or components thereof and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks). In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein can be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments1600hosted by one or more of hardware nodes1630. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node can be entirely virtualized. The functions can be implemented by one or more applications1620(which can alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications1620are run in virtualization environment1600which provides hardware1630comprising processing circuitry1660and memory1690. Memory1690contains instructions1695executable by processing circuitry1660whereby application1620is operative to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein. Virtualization environment1600, comprises general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware devices1630comprising a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry1660, which can be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors. Each hardware device can comprise memory1690-1which can be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions1695or software executed by processing circuitry1660. Each hardware device can comprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs)1670, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interface1680. Each hardware device can also include non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage media1690-2having stored therein software1695and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry1660. Software1695can include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers1650(also referred to as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines1640as well as software allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. Virtual machines1640, comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and can be run by a corresponding virtualization layer1650or hypervisor. Different embodiments of the instance of virtual appliance1620can be implemented on one or more of virtual machines1640, and the implementations can be made in different ways. During operation, processing circuitry1660executes software1695to instantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer1650, which can sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer1650can present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to virtual machine1640. As shown inFIG.16, hardware1630can be a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware1630can comprise antenna16225and can implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware1630can be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO)16100, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications1620. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment. In the context of NFV, virtual machine1640can be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of virtual machines1640, and that part of hardware1630that executes that virtual machine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or hardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtual machines1640, forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE). Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more virtual machines1640on top of hardware networking infrastructure1630and corresponds to application1620inFIG.16. In some embodiments, one or more radio units16200that each include one or more transmitters16220and one or more receivers16210can be coupled to one or more antennas16225. Radio units16200can communicate directly with hardware nodes1630via one or more appropriate network interfaces and can be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signalling can be effected with the use of control system16230which can alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes1630and radio units16200. With reference toFIG.17, in accordance with an embodiment, a communication system includes telecommunication network1710, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises access network1711, such as a radio access network, and core network1714. Access network1711comprises a plurality of base stations1712a,1712b,1712c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area1713a,1713b,1713c. Each base station1712a,1712b,1712cis connectable to core network1714over a wired or wireless connection1715. A first UE1791located in coverage area1713ccan be configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station1712c. A second UE1792in coverage area1713ais wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station1712a. While a plurality of UEs1791,1792are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the Telecommunication network1710is itself connected to host computer1730, which can be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. Host computer1730can be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or can be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections1721and1722between telecommunication network1710and host computer1730can extend directly from core network1714to host computer1730or can go via an optional intermediate network1720. Intermediate network1720can be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; intermediate network1720, if any, can be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network1720can comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown). The communication system ofFIG.17as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs1791,1792and host computer1730. The connectivity can be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection1750. Host computer1730and the connected UEs1791,1792are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via OTT connection1750, using access network1711, core network1714, any intermediate network1720and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. OTT connection1750can be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which OTT connection1750passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, base station1712may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from host computer1730to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE1791. Similarly, base station1712need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE1791towards the host computer1730. Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference toFIG.18. In communication system1800, host computer1810comprises hardware1815including communication interface1816configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system1800. Host computer1810further comprises processing circuitry1818, which can have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuitry1818can comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer1810further comprises software1811, which is stored in or accessible by host computer1810and executable by processing circuitry1818. Software1811includes host application1812. Host application1812can be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as UE1830connecting via OTT connection1850terminating at UE1830and host computer1810. In providing the service to the remote user, host application1812can provide user data which is transmitted using OTT connection1850. Communication system1800can also include base station1820provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware1825enabling it to communicate with host computer1810and with UE1830. Hardware1825can include communication interface1826for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system1800, as well as radio interface1827for setting up and maintaining at least wireless connection1870with UE1830located in a coverage area (not shown inFIG.18) served by base station1820. Communication interface1826can be configured to facilitate connection1860to host computer1810. Connection1860can be direct or it can pass through a core network (not shown inFIG.18) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, hardware1825of base station1820can also include processing circuitry1828, which can comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Base station1820further has software1821stored internally or accessible via an external connection. Communication system1800can also include UE1830already referred to. Its hardware1835can include radio interface1837configured to set up and maintain wireless connection1870with a base station serving a coverage area in which UE1830is currently located. Hardware1835of UE1830can also include processing circuitry1838, which can comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. UE1830further comprises software1831, which is stored in or accessible by UE1830and executable by processing circuitry1838. Software1831includes client application1832. Client application1832can be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE1830, with the support of host computer1810. In host computer1810, an executing host application1812can communicate with the executing client application1832via OTT connection1850terminating at UE1830and host computer1810. In providing the service to the user, client application1832can receive request data from host application1812and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection1850can transfer both the request data and the user data. Client application1832can interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides. It is noted that host computer1810, base station1820and UE1830illustrated inFIG.18can be similar or identical to host computer1730, one of base stations1712a,1712b,1712cand one of UEs1791,1792ofFIG.17, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities can be as shown inFIG.18and independently, the surrounding network topology can be that ofFIG.17. InFIG.18, OTT connection1850has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between host computer1810and UE1830via base station1820, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure can determine the routing, which it can be configured to hide from UE1830or from the service provider operating host computer1810, or both. While OTT connection1850is active, the network infrastructure can further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network). Wireless connection1870between UE1830and base station1820is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE1830using OTT connection1850, in which wireless connection1870forms the last segment. More precisely, the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein can improve flexibility for the network to monitor end-to-end quality-of-service (QoS) of data flows, including their corresponding radio bearers, associated with data sessions between a user equipment (UE) and another entity, such as an OTT data application or service external to the 5G network. These and other advantages can facilitate more timely design, implementation, and deployment of 5G/NR solutions. Furthermore, such embodiments can facilitate flexible and timely control of data session QoS, which can lead to improvements in capacity, throughput, latency, etc. that are envisioned by 5G/NR and important for the growth of OTT services. A measurement procedure can be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other network operational aspects on which the one or more embodiments improve. There can further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection1850between host computer1810and UE1830, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection1850can be implemented in software1811and hardware1815of host computer1810or in software1831and hardware1835of UE1830, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) can be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which OTT connection1850passes; the sensors can participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software1811,1831can compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of OTT connection1850can include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect base station1820, and it can be unknown or imperceptible to base station1820. Such procedures and functionalities can be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements can involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating host computer1810's measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements can be implemented in that software1811and1831causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using OTT connection1850while it monitors propagation times, errors etc. FIG.19is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method and/or procedure implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which, in some exemplary embodiments, can be those described with reference toFIGS.17and18. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references toFIG.19will be included in this section. In step1910, the host computer provides user data. In substep1911(which can be optional) of step1910, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step1920, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step1930(which can be optional), the base station transmits to the UE the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step1940(which can also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer. FIG.20is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method and/or procedure implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which can be those described with reference toFIGS.17and18. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references toFIG.20will be included in this section. In step2010of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown) the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step2020, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission can pass via the base station, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step2030(which can be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission. FIG.21is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method and/or procedure implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which can be those described with reference toFIGS.17and18. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references toFIG.21will be included in this section. In step2110(which can be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step2120, the UE provides user data. In substep2121(which can be optional) of step2120, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In substep2111(which can be optional) of step2110, the UE executes a client application which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application can further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE initiates, in substep2130(which can be optional), transmission of the user data to the host computer. In step2140of the method, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. FIG.22is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method and/or procedure implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which can be those described with reference toFIGS.17and18. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references toFIG.22will be included in this section. In step2210(which can be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step2220(which can be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step2230(which can be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station. The term unit, as used herein, can have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and can include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein. | 110,589 |
11943843 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Gateway devices are devices that include a modem, a network access point, and a router. For example, a gateway device may include a modem (e.g., cable modem), and router with wired networking circuitry (e.g., Ethernet, MoCA) and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) communication circuitry (e.g., Wi-Fi), as well as associated circuitry such as memories. Gateway devices generally require a lot of sheet metal shielding, e.g., copper shielding, in order to reduce interference among components and interference with other devices. Chipsets for gateway devices often integrally include circuitry for modem functionality as well as circuitry for local area networking including WLAN (e.g., Wi-Fi). The chipset in a gateway device emits a lot of electro-magnetic noise (hereafter sometimes referred to simply as noise) during operation. Disclosed herein are techniques for lowering such noise and thereby reducing the need for, or amount of, sheet metal shielding. The chipset in a gateway device often includes a Double Data Rate (DDR) memory, such as Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (DDR SDRAM). The double data rate means that the memory is able to operate on a double data rate for each cycle. For example, for a 533 MHz clock of the chipset, the data rate out of the DDR is 1067 MHz, and likewise, for an 800 MHz clock, the data rate out of the DDR is 1600 MHz. This concept is often abbreviated as DDR-1067 and DDR-1600, etc. DDR memories exhibit electro-magnetic noise (measured in dB) during operation. When the chipset in the gateway device also includes circuitry for wireless communication, such as Wi-Fi, the noise generated by the memory can cause interference with the wireless communication and a corresponding lowering of throughput in the wireless communication. Many chipsets used in gateway devices have a pedigree beginning in the past for use in modems, and today have been further developed into chipsets for use in gateway devices that include wired and wireless routers. However, as discussed in detail below, the operating frequency of some such chipsets cause noise that is surprisingly focused in the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band. The hardware configurations disclosed herein reduce the DDR memory noise, and improve the wireless communication throughput without causing any degradation in performance of the memory or communication hardware without use of sheet metal shielding. While sheet metal shielding may still be used, the configurations disclosed herein reduce the electro-magnetic noise and interference caused by the memory in their own right. In the past, gateway devices often included a 64 bit DDR memory. This will be described in greater detail with reference toFIGS.1-2. FIG.1illustrates a prior art Wi-Fi communication system within a residence102. As shown in the figure, the prior art Wi-Fi communication system includes a network device104and a client device106. Network device104is configured to wirelessly communicate with client device106over a wireless communication channel108. In this example, network device104is a gateway that is able to wirelessly communicate with client device106over the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band. FIG.2illustrates client device106and an exploded view of network device104. As shown in the figure, network device104includes a controller202, a 64 bit double data rate (DDR) memory204, a radio206and a clock208. Controller202may be implemented as a hardware processor such as a microprocessor, a multi-core processor, a single core processor, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or other similar processing device capable of executing any type of instructions, algorithms, or software for controlling the operation and functions of network device104in accordance with the embodiments described in the present disclosure. 64 bit DDR memory204can store various programming, and user content, and data. Radio206may include a WLAN interface radio transceiver that is operable to communicate with client device106. Radio206includes one or more antennas and communicates wirelessly via one or more of the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, 6 GHz band, and 60 GHz band, or at the appropriate band and bandwidth to implement any IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi protocols, such as the Wi-Fi 4, 5, 6, or 6E protocols. Radio206can also be equipped with a radio transceiver/wireless communication circuit to implement a wireless connection in accordance with any Bluetooth protocols, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), or other short range protocols that operate in accordance with a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances using any licensed or unlicensed band such as the CBRS band, 2.4 GHz bands, 5 GHz bands, 6 GHz bands or 60 GHz bands, RF4CE protocol, ZigBee protocol, Z-Wave protocol, or IEEE 802.15.4 protocol. In this example, radio206operates in the 2.4 GHz band. Clock208provides an operating clock signal for controller202, radio206and 64 bit DDR memory204. In this example, clock208provides an 800 MHz clock signal. As such, 64 bit DDR memory204operates at 1600 MHz. Thereafter, through technical developments, gateway devices were able to achieve comparable performance using a 32 bit DDR memory, which is less expensive than 64 bit DDR memory. This will be described in greater detail with reference toFIGS.3-4. FIG.3illustrates another prior art Wi-Fi communication system within a residence302. As shown in the figure, the prior art Wi-Fi communication system includes a network device304and a client device306. Network device304is configured to wirelessly communicate with client device306over a wireless communication channel308. In this example, network device304is a gateway that is able to wirelessly communicate with client device306over the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band. FIG.4illustrates client device306and an exploded view of network device304. As shown in the figure, network device304includes a controller402, a 32 bit DDR memory404, a radio406and a clock408. The system disclosed inFIGS.3-4differs from the system disclosed inFIGS.1-2in that the system disclosed inFIGS.3-4uses a 32 bit DDR memory as opposed to the 64 bit DDR memory inFIGS.1-2. Controller402may be implemented as a hardware processor such as a microprocessor, a multi-core processor, a single core processor, a FPGA, a microcontroller, an ASIC, a DSP, or other similar processing device capable of executing any type of instructions, algorithms, or software for controlling the operation and functions of network device304in accordance with the embodiments described in the present disclosure. 32 bit DDR memory404can store various programming, and user content, and data. 32 bit DDR memory404operates at 1600 MHz, in a manner similar to 64 bit DDR memory204discussed above with reference toFIG.2. Radio406may include a WLAN interface radio transceiver that is operable to communicate with client device306. Radio406includes one or more antennas and communicates wirelessly via one or more of the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, 6 GHz band, and 60 GHz band, or at the appropriate band and bandwidth to implement any IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi protocols, such as the Wi-Fi 4, 5, 6, or 6E protocols. Radio406can also be equipped with a radio transceiver/wireless communication circuit to implement a wireless connection in accordance with any Bluetooth protocols, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), or other short range protocols that operate in accordance with a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances using any licensed or unlicensed band such as the CBRS band, 2.4 GHz bands, 5 GHz bands, 6 GHz bands or 60 GHz bands, RF4CE protocol, ZigBee protocol, Z-Wave protocol, or IEEE 802.15.4 protocol. In this example, radio406operates in the 2.4 GHz band. Clock408provides an operating clock signal for controller402, radio406and 32 bit DDR memory404. In this example, clock408provides an 800 MHz clock signal. As such, 32 bit DDR memory404operates at 1600 MHz. It should be noted that a 32 bit DDR memory, and the memory bus, is more active than a 64 bit DDR memory and bus, which results in a higher amount of noise. In other words, with a 32 bit DDR memory, compared to a 64 bit DDR memory, the bus is more active in getting the data back and forth between the processor and the DDR memory. This additional activity creates more noise. Of course, a 64 bit DDR memory and bus also have this type of noise as well, but the 32 bit DDR memory and bus exhibit relatively more noise compared to a 64 bit DDR memory and bus. As discussed above, gateway chipsets often include Wi-Fi circuitry. Wi-Fi communications utilize several frequency bands, including what is referred to as the 2.4 GHz band (i.e., from around 2.4 GHz to 2.4835 GHz) including plural channels across the band. The clock speed used in the chipsets of many gateway devices is approximately 800 MHz. The third harmonic of 800 MHz is 2.4 GHz. Further, this third harmonic is a relatively powerful harmonic. Thus, the third harmonic, 2.4 GHz, of the 800 MHz chipset clock, falls into the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi communication band. This interference from the third harmonic causes degradation on the order of multiple decibels in communication signals in the channels of the 2.4 GHz band. The degradation is worse on the lower channels in the 2.4 GHz band, but all channels are negatively affected to some degree. This will be described in greater detail with reference toFIG.5. FIG.5illustrates a graph500of noise of DDR memories of prior art gateway devices. As shown in the figure, graph500includes a Y-axis502, an X-axis504, a function506, a function508and a function510. Y-axis502represents noise measured in −dBm, which is the power ratio in decibels (dB) of the measured power of the noise reference to one milliwatt. X-axis504represents frequency measured in GHz. Function506represents the noise generated by a 32 bit DDR memory operated at a 1600 MHz clock. Function508represents the noise generated by a 64 bit DDR memory operated at a 1600 MHz clock. Function510represents the noise floor. By comparing function506with function508,FIG.5clearly highlights the discrepancy between the two variants. In particular, the gateway device with an 800 MHz clock and 32 bit DDR (DDR1600) exhibits higher noise than the gateway device with an 800 MHz clock and 64 bit DDR (DDR1600) in the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band (e.g., 2.4 GHz to 2.48 GHz). The use of a 32 bit DDR memory allows a cost reduction as opposed to a 64 bit DDR memory, but also results in more noise which requires more shielding. This will be described in greater detail with reference toFIG.6. FIG.6illustrates the client device ofFIG.3and an exploded view of another prior art network device604. As shown in the figure, network device604includes controller402, 32 bit DDR memory404, radio406, shielding602, and clock408. The system disclosed inFIG.6differs from the system disclosed inFIG.4in that the system disclosed inFIG.6includes shielding602. Shielding602decreases interference between signals transmitted from/received by radio406in the 2.4 GHz band and the third harmonic derived from the 1600 MHz signal driving 32 bit DDR memory404. In this example, shielding is illustrated as surrounding radio406. However, in some examples, a shielding may alternatively surround 32 bit DDR memory404. Further, in some examples, a shielding may merely be disposed between radio406and 32 bit DDR memory404. Shielding adds to the cost of manufacturing a gateway device and negatively impacts the cost savings of using the 32 bit memory and bus. What is needed is a system and method for reducing noise from a 32 bit DDR in network device transmitting in the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band without introducing additional shielding. A system and method in accordance with the present disclosure reduces noise from a 32 bit DDR in network device transmitting in the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band without introducing additional shielding. In accordance with the present disclosure, in order to reduce the noise of the 32 bit DDR in the 2.4 Gz Wi-Fi band, the clock frequency of the gateway device with the 32 bit DDR is lowered in a manner that the band, 2.4 GHz to 2.48 GHz, is not impacted, but rather falls between, the harmonics of the clock. In a non-limiting example embodiment, the 32 bit DDR is operated at 1067 MHz as opposed to the 1600 MHz as in the prior art as discussed above with reference toFIGS.2-6. An example method of operating a 32 bit DDR in the 2.4 Gz Wi-Fi band in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure will now be described in greater detail with reference toFIGS.7-16C. FIG.7illustrates an example Wi-Fi communication system within a residence702, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the Wi-Fi communication system includes a network device704and a client device706. Network device704is configured to wirelessly communicate with client device706over a wireless communication channel708. In this example, network device704is a gateway that is able to wirelessly communicate with client device706over the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band. FIG.8illustrates client device706and an exploded view of network device704. As shown in the figure, network device704includes a controller802, a 32 bit DDR memory804, radio406and a clock808. In this example, controller802, 32 bit DDR memory804, radio606and clock808are illustrated as individual devices. However, in some embodiments, at least two of controller802, 32 bit DDR memory804, radio606and clock808may be combined as a unitary device. Further, in some embodiments, at least one of controller802and clock808may be implemented as a computer having tangible computer-readable media for carrying or having computer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such non-transitory computer-readable recording medium refers to any computer program product, apparatus or device, such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, solid-state storage device, memory, programmable logic devices (PLDs), DRAM, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired computer-readable program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Disk or disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media. For information transferred or provided over a network or another communications connection (either hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to a computer, the computer may properly view the connection as a computer-readable medium. Thus, any such connection may be properly termed a computer-readable medium. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Example tangible computer-readable media may be coupled to a processor such that the processor may read information from and write information to the tangible computer-readable media. In the alternative, the tangible computer-readable media may be integral to the processor. The processor and the tangible computer-readable media may reside in an integrated circuit (IC), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or large scale integrated circuit (LSI), system LSI, super LSI, or ultra LSI components that perform a part or all of the functions described herein. In the alternative, the processor and the tangible computer-readable media may reside as discrete components. Example tangible computer-readable media may be also coupled to systems, non-limiting examples of which include a computer system/server, which is operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with computer system/server include, but are not limited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thick clients, handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set-top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframe computer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like. Such a computer system/server may be described in the general context of computer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Further, such a computer system/server may be practiced in distributed cloud computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer system storage media including memory storage devices. Components of an example computer system/server may include, but are not limited to, one or more processors or processing units, a system memory, and a bus that couples various system components including the system memory to the processor. The bus represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus. A program/utility, having a set (at least one) of program modules, may be stored in the memory by way of example, and not limitation, as well as an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data or some combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networking environment. The program modules generally carry out the functions and/or methodologies of various embodiments of the application as described herein. Controller802may be implemented as a hardware processor such as a microprocessor, a multi-core processor, a single core processor, a FPGA, a microcontroller, an ASIC, a DSP, or other similar processing device capable of executing any type of instructions, algorithms, or software for controlling the operation and functions of network device304in accordance with the embodiments described in the present disclosure. 32 bit DDR memory804can store various programming, and user content, and data. 32 bit DDR memory404operates at 1067 MHz, as opposed to the manner in which 32 bit DDR memory404operates as discussed above with reference toFIG.4. 32 bit DDR memory804additionally includes instructions, that when executed by controller802, enable network device704to operate 32 bit DDR memory804at 1067 MHz; instruct radio406to transmit data to be transmitted in the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band; and instruct radio406to receive data to be received in the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band. Clock808provides an operating clock signal for controller802, radio406and 32 bit DDR memory804. In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, clock808provides a 533 MHz clock signal. As such, 32 bit DDR memory804operates at 1067 MHz. Further, in some embodiments, clock808is configurable to alternatively provide an 800 MHz clock signal. However, in such embodiments, 32 bit DDR memory additionally includes instructions, that when executed by controller802, enable controller802to cause clock808to provide a 522 MHz clock signal as opposed to the 800 MHz clock signal. FIG.9illustrates a graph900of noise of a prior art gateway device and a gateway device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, graph900includes a Y-axis902, an X-axis904, function506, a function908and function510. Y-axis502represents noise measured in −dBm, which is the power ratio in decibels (dB) of the measured power of the noise reference to one milliwatt. X-axis904represents frequency measured in GHz. As discussed above with reference toFIG.9, function908represents the noise generated by a 32 bit DDR memory operated at a 1067 MHz clock. As mentioned above with reference toFIG.5, function508represents the noise generated by a 64 bit DDR memory operated at a 1600 MHz clock. Further, as mentioned above with reference toFIG.5, function510represents the noise floor. By comparing function506with function908,FIG.9clearly shows that running a 32 bit DDR memory at a 533 MHz clock speed greatly reduces the noise levels in the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band, i.e., 2.4 GHz to 2.48 GHz. In particular, a gateway device with an 533 MHz clock and 32 bit DDR (DDR1067) exhibits around 15 to 20 dB less noise than a gateway device with an 800 MHz clock and 32 bit DDR (DDR1600). FIG.10illustrates a graph1000of noise of a prior art gateway device and a gateway device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, graph1000includes a Y-axis1002, an X-axis1004, function508, function908and function510. Y-axis1002represents noise measured in −dBm, which is the power ratio in decibels (dB) of the measured power of the noise reference to one milliwatt. X-axis1004represents frequency measured in GHz. As discussed above with reference toFIG.5, function506represents the noise generated by a 32 bit DDR memory operated at a 1600 MHz clock. Function908represents the noise generated by a 32 bit DDR memory operated at a 1067 MHz clock. Further, as mentioned above with reference toFIG.5, function510represents the noise floor. FIG.10shows the difference, and similarity, between gateway device with an 800 MHz clock and 64 bit DDR (DDR1600) and a gateway device with a 533 MHz clock and 32 bit DDR (DDR1067). By comparing function908with function508,FIG.10clearly shows that the gateway device with an 533 MHz clock and 32 bit DDR (DDR1067) is comparable to the gateway device with an 800 MHz clock and 64 bit DDR (DDR1600). By configuring the memory and bus on a gateway device as discussed above, the frequency harmonics of the clock of the DDR memory and bus are moved away from the band of interest, i.e., the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band. The clock speed can be configured in the firmware of the chipset, via a bootloader for example. FIGS.11A-Dshows attenuator test comparisons. FIG.11Aillustrates a graph1100of upstream attenuation. As shown in the figure, graph1100includes a Y-axis1102, an X-axis1104, a function1106, a function1108and a function1110. Y-axis1002represents throughput of upstream data measured in megabits per second (Mbps). X-axis1004represents attenuation of the upstream data measured in decibels (dB). Function1106represents wireless communication data throughput from a gateway device, operating with an 800 MHz clock and having a 32 bit DDR, to a client device over a range of attenuations. Function1108represents wireless communication data throughput from a gateway device, operating with a 533 MHz clock and having a 32 bit DDR, to a client device over a range of attenuations. Function1110represents wireless communication data throughput from a gateway device, operating with an 800 MHz clock and having a 64 bit DDR, to a client device over a range of attenuations. FIG.11Billustrates a graph1112of upstream attenuation in a logarithmic scale. As shown in the figure, graph1112includes a Y-axis1114, an X-axis1116, a function1118, a function1120and a function1122. Y-axis1114represents a log scale of throughput of upstream data from graph1100ofFIG.11A. X-axis1116represents a log scale of attenuation of the upstream data from graph1100. Function1118represents the log-scale of function1106from graph1100. Function1120represents the log-scale of function1108from graph1100. Function1122represents the log-scale of function1110from graph1100. FIG.11Cillustrates a graph of downstream attenuation. As shown in the figure, graph1124includes a Y-axis1126, an X-axis1128, a function1130, a function1132and a function1134. Y-axis1126represents throughput of downstream data measured in megabits per second (Mbps). X-axis1128represents attenuation of the downstream data measured in decibels (dB). Function1130represents wireless communication data throughput from a gateway device, operating with an 800 MHz clock and having a 32 bit DDR, to a client device over a range of attenuations. Function1132represents wireless communication data throughput from a gateway device, operating with a 533 MHz clock and having a 32 bit DDR, to a client device over a range of attenuations. Function1134represents wireless communication data throughput from a gateway device, operating with an 800 MHz clock and having a 64 bit DDR, to a client device over a range of attenuations. FIG.11Dillustrates a graph1136of downstream attenuation in a logarithmic scale. As shown in the figure, graph1136includes a Y-axis1138, an X-axis1140, a function1142, a function1144and a function1146. Y-axis1138represents a log scale of throughput of upstream data from graph1124ofFIG.11A. X-axis1140represents a log scale of attenuation of the upstream data from graph1124. Function1142represents the log-scale of function1130from graph1124. Function1144represents the log-scale of function1132from graph1124. Function1146represents the log-scale of function1134from graph1124. InFIGS.11A-D, each trace represents wireless communication data throughput from the gateway device to a client device over a range of attenuations. The attenuator test was completed in a Wi-Fi test house setting, at a distant location (˜52 feet away). Attenuation was then added to the client device and adjusted to take the readings. The gateway device having a 64 bit DDR running with an 800 MHz clock (corresponding to function1110inFIG.11A, function1122inFIG.11B, function1134inFIG.11C, and function1146inFIG.11D) greatly outperformed the gateway device having a 32 bit DDR running with an 800 MHz clock (corresponding to function1106inFIG.11A, function1118inFIG.11B, function1130inFIG.11C, and function1142inFIG.11D). However, the gateway device with a 533 MHz clock and 32 bit DDR (DDR1067) (corresponding to function1108inFIG.11A, function1120inFIG.11B, function1132inFIG.11C, and function1144inFIG.11D) exhibits performance similar to the gateway device with an 800 MHz clock and 64 bit DDR (DDR1600)(corresponding to function1110inFIG.11A, function1122inFIG.11B, function1134inFIG.11C, and function1146inFIG.11D). As can be seen inFIG.11A-D, as the attenuation is increased the gateway device with an 800 MHz clock and 32 bit DDR (DDR1600)(corresponding to function1106inFIG.11A, function1118inFIG.11B, function1130inFIG.11C, and function1142inFIG.11D) drops off rather quickly. Consider a data throughput requirement of 20 Mbps. At 10 dB of attenuation the gateway device with an 800 MHz clock and 32 bit DDR (DDR1600) fails to provide the 20 Mbps of throughput. However, the gateway device with a 533 MHz clock and 32 bit DDR (DDR1067)(corresponding to function1108inFIG.11A, function1120inFIG.11B, function1132inFIG.11C, and function1144inFIG.11D) can provide the 20 Mbps at nearly 20 dB of attenuation. Thus, a system in accordance with the present disclosure allows in this example a nearly 10 dB increase in attenuation that can be handled by the gateway device. Such an increase in attenuation handling ability represents the ability to use the Wi-Fi in an additional room in a house, beyond the available range without the improvement. Moreover, in addition to the above benefits, the solution disclosed herein does not adversely affect other performance parameters of the gateway device. FIG.12illustrates a chart1200of Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) to Ethernet downstream results. As shown in the figure, chart1200includes columns1204,1206,1208,1210, and rows1214,1216,1218,1220and1222. Columns1204,1206,1208, and1210are for TCP protocols, whereas column1212is for a UDP protocol. Row1214lists protocols of chart1200. Row1216lists the flow count for one gigabit ethernet (Gbe) port. Row1218lists the flow count for 2.5 Gbe port. Row1220lists the DOCSIS to Ethernet downstream results for an 800 MHz clock, with a DDR operating at 1600 MHz. Row1222lists the DOCSIS to Ethernet downstream results for a 533 MHz clock, with a DDR operating at 1067 MHz. The results within chart1200are comparable between the two DDR clock speeds (800 MHz clock (DDR1600) and 533 MHz clock (DDR1067)). All test cases were performed similarly and show only minor differences between the tests. FIG.13illustrates a chart1300of Wi-Fi throughput results. As shown in the figure, chart1300includes rows1302and1304, a set of columns1308and a set of columns1310. Row1302corresponds to an 800 MHz clock, with a DDR operating at 1600 MHz. Row1304corresponds to a 533 MHz clock, with a DDR operating at 1067 MHz. Set of columns1308corresponds to downstream communication of Wi-Fi through put from a gateway to a client. Set of columns1308includes a column1312, a column1314, and a column1316. Column1312corresponds to 2×2 160 MHz radio. Column1314corresponds to 3×3 160 MHz radio. Column1316corresponds to 4×4 160 MHz radio. Set of columns1310corresponds to upstream communication of Wi-Fi through put from the client to the gateway. Set of columns1310includes a column1318, a column1320, and a column1322. Column1318corresponds to 2×2 160 MHz radio. Column1320corresponds to 3×3 160 MHz radio. Column1322corresponds to 4×4 160 MHz radio. Similar to the results within chart1200discussed above, the results within chart1300are comparable between the two DDR clock speeds (800 MHz clock (DDR1600) and 533 MHz clock (DDR1067)). All test cases were performed similarly and show only minor differences between the tests. FIG.14illustrates a chart1400of thermal test results. As shown in the figure, chart1400includes a set of columns1404, a set of columns1406, and a set of columns1408. Set of columns1404corresponds to an 800 MHz clock, with a 64 bit DDR operating at 1600 MHz and includes a downstream column1414and an upstream column1416. Set of columns1406corresponds to an 800 MHz clock, with a 32 bit DDR operating at 1600 MHz and includes a downstream column1418and an upstream column1420. Set of columns1408corresponds to a 533 MHz clock, with a 32 bit DDR operating at 1067 MHz and includes a downstream column1422and an upstream column1424. Chart1400additionally includes a column1426, a column1428and a column1430. Column1426corresponds to the internal temperature of a gateway having an 800 MHz clock, with a 64 bit DDR operating at 1600 MHz. Column1428corresponds to the internal temperature of a gateway having an 800 MHz clock, with a 32 bit DDR operating at 1600 MHz. Column1430corresponds to the internal temperature of a gateway having a 533 MHz clock, with a 32 bit DDR operating at 1067 MHz. Chart1400additionally includes a group of rows1410and a group of rows1412. Group of rows1410corresponds to data rates and includes a data rates row1432, a total row1434, an Ethernet row1436, a 2.4G row1438, a 5G row1440, and an Ethernet 2 row1442. Group of rows1412corresponds to the unit internal temperature and includes a PUMA temp row1444, a 2.4G temp row1446, a 5G temp row1448, a Zone 0 row1450, a Zone 1 row1452, and a Zone 2 row1454. The thermal test setup and use case for was used to compare the three types of units. Three different units were tested. Tests were conducted at 40° C. All three units performed equivalently. It should be noted that Wi-Fi temperatures are a bit higher and likely increased the overall temperature of the system. FIGS.15A-Cillustrate antenna scans on three different antennas, respectively. As shown inFIG.15A, a graph1500includes a Y-axis1502, an X-axis1504, a plot1506and a plot1508. Y-axis1502represents a percentage of samples, whereas X-axis1504is a measure noise level, measure in negative dBM. Plot1506corresponds to a 32 bit DDR operating at 1067 MHz. Plot1508corresponds to a 32 bit DDR operating at 1600 MHz. As shown inFIG.15B, a graph1510includes a Y-axis1512, an X-axis1514, a plot1516and a plot1518. Y-axis1512represents a percentage of samples, whereas X-axis1514is a measure noise level, measure in negative dBM. Plot1516corresponds to a 32 bit DDR operating at 1067 MHz. Plot1518corresponds to a 32 bit DDR operating at 1600 MHz. As shown inFIG.15C, a graph1520includes a Y-axis1522, an X-axis1524, a plot1526and a plot1528. Y-axis1522represents a percentage of samples, whereas X-axis1524is a measure noise level, measure in negative dBM. Plot1526corresponds to a 32 bit DDR operating at 1067 MHz. Plot1528corresponds to a 32 bit DDR operating at 1600 MHz. FIGS.15A-Cshow three different antenna scans. Specifically,FIGS.15A-Cshow a distribution of the noise collected over a period of time. On all 3 antennas it can be seen that that the gateway device running with an 800 MHz clock (i.e., the DDR at DDR1600) shows an elevated ‘bursty’ profile. The noise is fairly evenly distributed between −96 dBm and −85 dBm. Changing from 800 MHz to 533 MHz (DDR from DDR1600 to DDR1067) drastically reduces the noise picked up by the antennas, and the noise is more constant with the majority of readings being +/−1 dB of each other. FIGS.16A-Cillustrate additional antenna scans on three different antennas, respectively. As shown inFIG.16A, a graph1600includes a Y-axis1602, an X-axis1604, a plot1606and a plot1608. Y-axis1602represents a percentage of samples, whereas X-axis1604is a measure noise level, measure in negative dBM. Plot1606corresponds to a 32 bit DDR operating at 1067 MHz. Plot1608corresponds to a 32 bit DDR operating at 1067 MHz with a load. As shown inFIG.16B, a graph1610includes a Y-axis1612, an X-axis1614, a plot1616and a plot1618. Y-axis1612represents a percentage of samples, whereas X-axis1614is a measure noise level, measure in negative dBM. Plot1616corresponds to a 32 bit DDR operating at 1067 MHz. Plot1618corresponds to a 32 bit DDR operating at 1067 MHz with a load. As shown inFIG.16C, a graph1620includes a Y-axis1622, an X-axis1624, a plot1626and a plot1628. Y-axis1622represents a percentage of samples, whereas X-axis1624is a measure noise level, measure in negative dBM. Plot1626corresponds to a 32 bit DDR operating at 1067 MHz. Plot1628corresponds to a 32 bit DDR operating at 1067 MHz with a load. FIGS.16A-Cshow three different antenna scans and a distribution of the noise collected over a period of time with the DDR noise script running. The plots inFIGS.16A-Cshow that the addition of the DDR noise script hardly shifts the noise profiles when running the gateway device at a 533 MHz clock (DRR at DDR1067). The above description at times focuses on a gateway device because such a device encompasses a wide consideration of data throughput spanning from data entering the home all the way through to client devices receiving the data via router of the gateway device, including via a wired network (e.g., Ethernet, MoCA) or wireless local area network (WLAN), such as Wi-Fi. However, the concepts disclosed herein also provide improvements to modems without router functionality, and to other electronic devices generally. The operations disclosed herein may constitute algorithms that can be affected by software, applications (apps, or mobile apps), or computer programs. The software, applications, computer programs can be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium for causing a computer, such as the one or more processors, to execute the operations described herein and shown in the drawing figures. The foregoing description of various preferred embodiments have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The example embodiments, as described above, were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto. | 37,025 |
11943844 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter provide compact assemblies of heat exchanger tubes or integral panels, utilizing electro-thermal polymer coatings, to form a lightweight fluid heaters. Lightweight and construction simplicity is made possible by the use of heat-generating electro-thermal polymer coating applied to each side of modular panels that are used singularly or stacked (laminated) to make a pile. Various additives (e.g., carbon black, graphene, carbon nanotubes, carbon fibrils, carbon fibers, metal particles, etc.) are incorporated in the coating to provide high-resistance conductivity resulting in heat generation. FIG.1shows a first representative embodiment of a modular fluid heater element100according to the present disclosure. The heater element100includes a plurality of conduits102, each conduit having an inlet104configured to receive a flow of fluid to be heated and an outlet104configured to discharge the heated fluid. The conduits102are made from a material with a high thermal conductivity to facilitate heat transfer through the conduits into the fluid passing therethrough. In some embodiments, the conduits are formed from1100aluminum alloy, however, any suitable material or combination of materials having sufficient heat transfer properties can be used. In some embodiment a fin108comprises a web that extends between one or more pairs of adjacent conduits102. The fins108may be integrally formed with the conduits102, as shown inFIG.1, or may be discrete components coupled to the conduits102by welding, brazing, mechanical fasteners, adhesives, or any suitable manufacturing process. In illustrated embodiment, the conduits are cylindrical tubes, however, as will be discussed in further detail, any suitable cross-sectional profile may be used. The fins108may be formed of the same material as the conduits102or from different materials that the conduits. In some embodiments, the conduits102and fins108are integrally formed as a single extrusion. Still referring toFIG.1, the conduits102and fins108are covered with an electrical insulation layer110comprising electrical insulator with a high thermal conductivity, e.g., an epoxy or silicone coating or a porcelain (ceramic) enamel. An electrothermal coating112is applied to the electrical insulation layer110. The electrothermal coating112generates heat in response to an applied electrical current. In one embodiment, the electrothermal coating112consists of high-temperature resistive polymeric insulation coatings encasing a polymer infused with conductive particles (e.g., carbon black, graphene, carbon nanotubes, carbon fibrils, carbon fibers, metal particles, etc.). One exemplary material suitable for use as the electrothermal coating112is manufactured by NanoRidge Materials, Inc., of Houston, Texas. The thickness of the electrothermal coating112can be uniform or varied depending on the panel configuration, design requirements and heater application. In some embodiments electrothermal coating112is applied by a spray-on method or a roll-on method. Electrical leads114are electrically connected to the electrothermal coating112and are configured to supply an electric current to the electrothermal coating. In some embodiments, the electrical leads114are placed on the electrical insulation layer110before the electrothermal coating112is applied. In some embodiments, a conductive material, such as copper foil, is attached to any part of the heater element100to be electrically connected to the electrothermal coating. In operation, fluid to be heated passes through the conduits102of the heater element100. An electric current, which can be either AC or DC, is applied across the heater element100via the electrical leads114. The electrothermal coating112generates heat in response to the electric current. The electrical insulation110isolates the conduits102from the electrical charge. The heat generated by the electrothermal coating112is transferred by conduction through the electrical insulation110and the conduits102to heat the fluids passing through the conduits. The illustrated heater element100can be used in a variety of different configurations to provide a compact, lightweight, and efficient heater. As shown inFIG.2, the heater element100configuration allows multiple heater elements to be stacked into a pile118in order to provide higher heating capacity. The channels102of each heater element100are arranged such that channels of one heater element in the stack nest between the channels of an adjacent heater element. As a result, the overall thickness of a stack of a number N of heater elements100is less than the sum of the thicknesses of N heater elements. Further, the nested configuration of the heater elements100reduces heat loss through convection, which results in a more efficient heater assembly180. WhileFIG.2shows a heater assembly180that includes 3 similar heater elements100, it will be appreciate that the number of heater elements and the configuration of individual heater elements may vary within the scope of the present disclosure. In this regard, a single heater element100or any suitable number of heater elements100may be included in a heater assembly to accommodate the size, heating requirements, and/or power requirements for a given application. Further, some embodiments of a heater assembly180may include a combination of heater elements100that have different numbers, sizes and spacings of conduits102. In some embodiments, the heater elements102include integral fins108, while other heater elements include discrete fins. These and other variations are contemplated and should be considered within the scope of the present disclosure. Referring now toFIG.3, a single panel heater assembly160is shown. The heater assembly160is suitable for use by itself or as part of a pile in which multiple heater elements are stacked in a nested (or “un-nested”) configuration. The heater assembly160includes a heater element100and first and second manifolds120, i.e., headers, that provide an inlet and an outlet, respectively, of the heater element. In this regard, the first manifold120is positioned at the inlet end of the heater element100receives fluid to be heated from a source (not shown) and distributes the fluid to the inlet of each conduit102of the heater element100. The second manifold120is positioned at the outlet end of the heater element100collects the heated fluid from the outlet of each conduit102and discharges the heated fluid. In the illustrated embodiment, the manifolds are the same, however, it will be appreciated that in some embodiments, the manifolds are differently configured. Each manifold120includes an elongate hub126with a plurality of branches124extending laterally therefrom. In the illustrated embodiment, the hub126is a cylindrical tube extending perpendicular to the conduits102of the heating element100, and each of the branches124corresponds to one of the conduits. The hub126includes an aperture128at one end to receive to be provided to the heater element100and to discharge heated fluid from the heater element. In some embodiments, the diameter of the hub126and branches124is smaller than the diameter of the conduits102so that manifolds120of adjacent heater elements100do not interfere when multiple heater elements100are stacked in a nested configuration (as shown inFIG.2). For such embodiments, the manifold120further includes an expander-reducer122is positioned between each branch124and the corresponding conduit102to provide a transition between the smaller diameter of the branch and the larger diameter of the conduits. When the manifold120is an inlet manifold providing fluid to the heating element100, the expander-reducer122functions as an expander. When the manifold120is an outlet manifold receiving heated fluid to the heating element100, the expander-reducer122functions as a reducer. Referring now toFIG.4, another embodiment of a single panel heater assembly162is shown. The heater assembly162is suitable for use by itself or as part of a pile in which multiple heater elements are stacked in a nested (or “un-nested”) configuration. The heater assembly160includes a heater element100and a plurality of end fittings130that route the fluid through the heater element along a serpentine path. Each end fitting130includes a curved portion134that receives fluid from a conduit102of the heater element100and directs the fluid to an adjacent conduit of the heater element. An inlet138is positioned at one end of the heater element100to provide fluid to a first conduit102, which is located at one end of the heater element. An outlet140is positioned an opposite end of the heater element100and provides a discharge path for the fluid from a conduit102located at an end of the heater element opposite the inlet138. In the illustrated embodiment, the end fittings130, inlet138, and outlet140cooperate to define a single serpentine path through the heater element100. In some embodiments, additional inlets138and outlets140are included to provide multiple serpentine paths through the heater element100. For such embodiments, manifolds may be provided each end of the heater element100to provide and collect fluid to and from, respectively, the multiple fluid paths. In some embodiments, the diameter of the curved portion134is smaller than the diameter of the conduits102so that end fittings130of adjacent heater elements100do not interfere when multiple heater elements100are stacked in a nested configuration (as shown inFIG.2). For such embodiments, the end fittings130further includes a reducer132and an expander136positioned at opposite ends of the curved portion134to provide a transition between the smaller diameter of the curved portion and the larger diameter of the conduits. More specifically, the reducer132provides a transition between a discharge end of an associated conduit102and the curved portion134, and the expander136provides a transition between the curved portion134and the inlet end of an adjacent conduit102. FIGS.5and6show an embodiment of a panel heater assembly162that includes a plurality of heater elements100. In the illustrated embodiment, the heater assembly162includes three nested heater elements100wherein the number of conduits102in the heater elements varies. Embodiments are also contemplated in which the number of heater elements100and the number of conduits102in each heater element varies, and such embodiments should be considered within the scope of the present disclosure. The panel heater assembly162includes a manifold150positioned at each end of the nested heater elements100. A first manifold150acts as an inlet that provides fluid to the inlet of each of the heater elements100, and a second manifold150collects fluid from the heater elements. As best shown inFIG.6, each manifold150includes a housing152with base that acts as a frame to position the heater elements relative to each other. A side wall extends from the base and engages an end cap154so that the housing152and the end cap define a cavity in fluid communication with the conduits102. An aperture156is formed in the end cap154to provide fluid to or discharge fluid from the manifold150, depending upon whether the manifold is an inlet manifold or an outlet manifold. FIG.7shows an embodiment of a modular heater element200that includes a single conduit202. In the illustrated embodiment, the conduit202is an elongate cylinder with an inlet204configured to receive fluid and an outlet206configured to discharge heated fluid. The conduit202is formed from similar materials as the conduit102shown inFIG.1. The heater element200includes and electrical insulation layer210applied to the conduit202and an electrothermal coating212applied to the electrical insulation later210. The electrical insulation layer210and the electrothermal coating212are similar to the previously described insulation layer110and electrothermal coating112, respectively. For the sake of brevity, these components will not be described again with the understanding that unless otherwise noted, they are similar to the corresponding parts of the previously described heater element100. A conductive ring216, formed from copper foil or another suitable material, is positioned at each end of the heater element200. An electrical lead214is mounted to each conductive ring216so that when the leads214are connected to a power sourced, an electric current flows across the electrothermal coating112from one ring the other. The flow of current generates heat, which is transferred by conduction through the insulation layer210and the conduit202to heat the fluid. Referring now toFIGS.8and9, a heater assembly230that uses modular heater element200is shown. The heater assembly230includes a housing234, with an end plate236positioned at each end. As best shown inFIG.9, a plurality of modular heater elements200are bundled within the housing234in a generally parallel orientation. A frame232at each end of the bundle engages the heater elements200to maintain the position of the heater elements relative to each other. A manifold220is positioned at each end of the bundle of heater elements200and includes a hub226in fluid connection with a plurality of branches224. Each branch224corresponds to one of the heater elements200and is configured to provide a fluid connection between the hub226and the conduit202of the corresponding heater element200. In the illustrated embodiment, fluid enters the manifold220at one end of the heater assembly230and is distributed through the individual heater elements200to be heated. The heated fluid exits the heater elements200and is collected by the branches224of the second manifold220to be discharged from the hub226. FIG.10shows another embodiment of a modular fluid heater element300. The heater element300is similar to the previously described heater element200shown inFIG.7except that the cross-sectional profile of the conduit302of heater element300is hexagonal instead of circular. The remaining components of heater element300are similar to the components of heater element200, wherein components of heater element300having a reference number 3XX correspond to components of heater element200having a reference number 2XX, e.g., electrothermal coating312corresponds to electrothermal coating212. While the cross-sectional profile of the conduit302and, therefore, the heater element300, is hexagonal, it will be appreciated that any suitable profile may be used, including but not limited to: elliptical, triangular, square, octagonal, or any other profile. FIG.11shows an embodiment of a heater assembly330that utilizes a plurality of heater elements300shown inFIG.10. The heater assembly330includes a plurality of hexagonal heater elements300arranged in a honeycomb pattern. The honeycomb pattern reduces or eliminates space between adjacent heater elements300so that heat lost to convection is reduced, and overall heater efficiency is increased. A frame332is positioned at each end of the plurality of heater elements300and engages each heater element to maintain the position of the heater element relative to the other heater elements. A plate352is positioned parallel to each frame332and has a hub356coupled thereto. When the heater assembly330is assembled, the frames332, the plates352, the hubs356, and the cover334cooperate to define a manifold350at each end. Similar to previously described manifolds, one of the illustrated manifolds350provides fluid to the heater elements300from a single source, and the other manifold discharges heated fluid collected from the heater elements. The disclosed heater elements are lightweight, durable, and corrosion resistant, and provide uniform heating across a variety of surfaces and profiles. The electrical conductivity of the heater elements also provides static dissipation, averting undesirable electrostatic discharges. With applications in aerospace, refining, offshore oil piping and numerous commercial products. One possible use for the disclosed heater elements and/or assemblies is illustrated inFIG.12, which shows a schematic diagram of a humidifying unit. An exemplary embodiment of a humidifier is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,815,557, “Aircraft Humidifier,” issued to Nelson et al. on Nov. 14, 2017, and currently assigned to Humbay Health, LLC, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety. Referring toFIG.12, the humidifier400includes a fan406that draws ambient air in through an inlet402. The air passes into a cyclone chamber408, wherein the air is mixed with a mist of pressurized, atomized water that is injected into the chamber by a nozzle412. The air/water vapor mixture is then discharged into the surrounding area through an outlet404. A heater410heats water414received from a water source (not shown) and supplies the heated water to the nozzle412for injection into the cyclone chamber408. The heated water promotes atomization and rapid evaporation of water mist droplets, which provides enhanced delivery of humidified air (air plus clear water vapor) to the aircraft cabin. The heaters described in the present disclosure are particularly suited for use in the humidifier by virtue of being lightweight, compact, and efficient. Depending on the required application and the related fluid heating requirements, embodiments of disclosed heaters may include one or more modular heater elements (panel and/or tube) having any suitable length and channel cross-sectional profile and dimensions. The heater assemblies may include inlet and outlet manifolds or tubular headers, electrical wiring, temperature sensors and other components, such as pressure sensors and micro-controllers, encased with high-resistance value thermal insulation to divert the supplied thermal energy to the fluid flowing through the modular fluid heater elements. Fluids suitable for used with the disclosed heaters include water (up to and past the boiling point), oils, and other fluids. In some applications, air or gasses can be heated. The disclosed heater elements and assemblies provide improved durability as compared to known heaters. In this regard, local degradation of electrical conduction paths is limited to nano-scale zones. When such degradation occurs, electrical current will be conducted in surrounding undamaged nano-coating material with insignificant loss of overall heat production. By comparison, known elastomeric pads with heating wires completely fail to heat if there is a break and/or burnout of the wire anywhere in the pad. The heat-generating polymer coating of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied with basic shop skills as exists in remote locations. In contrast, fabricating NiChrome (or comparable heat-generating metals) requires metal working and welding skills. In addition, the metallic elements of the disclosed embodiments can be integrated into elements of an application's load-carrying structure thereby, offering weight reduction. The detailed description set forth above in connection with the appended drawings, where like numerals reference like elements, are intended as a description of various embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to represent the only embodiments. Each embodiment described in this disclosure is provided merely as an example or illustration and should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. The illustrative examples provided herein are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. In the foregoing description, specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without embodying all of the specific details. Further, it will be appreciated that embodiments of the present disclosure may employ any combination of features described herein. The present application may reference quantities and numbers. Unless specifically stated, such quantities and numbers are not to be considered restrictive, but exemplary of the possible quantities or numbers associated with the present application. Also, in this regard, the present application may use the term “plurality” to reference a quantity or number. In this regard, the term “plurality” is meant to be any number that is more than one, for example, two, three, four, five, etc. The term “about,” “approximately,” etc., means plus or minus 5% of the stated value. Throughout this specification, terms of art may be used. These terms are to take on their ordinary meaning in the art from which they come, unless specifically defined herein or the context of their use would clearly suggest otherwise. The principles, representative embodiments, and modes of operation of the present disclosure have been described in the foregoing description. However, aspects of the present disclosure, which are intended to be protected, are not to be construed as limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. Further, the embodiments described herein are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. It will be appreciated that variations and changes may be made by others, and equivalents employed, without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all such variations, changes, and equivalents fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as claimed. | 21,612 |
11943845 | The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features. Examples are provided to fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as types of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of variations of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed and that the examples provided herein, may include alternative embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some examples, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail. Referring toFIG.1, a ceramic heater10constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure is shown. In one form, the ceramic heater10comprises a substrate110made of a ceramic material, such as aluminum nitride (AlN), a heating layer130for generating heat, a termination layer132, a via134, and a conductive via140. The via134is disposed between the heating layer130and the termination layer132for connecting the heating layer130to the termination layer132. As shown, the ceramic heater10is used as a part of a support pedestal in semiconductor processing. However, it should be understood that the ceramic heater may be employed in other applications, such as by way of example, extruder equipment, injection molding equipment, chemical reactors, among others, while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. The substrate110defines a first surface112for heating a target thereon and a second surface114from which terminal wires (FIG.3) extend. To form a support pedestal, a tubular shaft (FIG.3) may be bonded to the second surface114of the ceramic heater10and surround the terminal wires. The substrate110may include a plurality of plate members122,124,126. The plurality of plate members122,124,126each have a generally flat configuration, and while three plate members122,124, and126are shown in the illustrative example, the substrate110may include any number of plate members. Although in this exemplary form the plate members are flat, it should be understood that the teachings of the present disclosure may be applicable to a variety of geometries, including curved or non-linear geometries while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. The average surface roughness of adjacent surfaces between the first and second plate members122,124and between the second and third plate members124,126in one form is less than 5 μm, for example between 100 nm and 5 μm. In some forms, the average surface roughness on any one surface is between 100 nm and 1.5 μm, for example between 100 nm and 750 nm or between 100 nm and 500 nm. The heating layer130is embedded within or between the first plate member122and the second plate member124. In some forms of the present disclosure, the heating layer130is embedded within the first plate member122and/or the second plate member124. That is, the heating layer130may be disposed in the first plate member122, in the second plate member124, or in the first plate member122and the second plate member124, while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. The termination layer132is embedded within the second plate member124and/or the third plate member126. In some forms, the termination layer132may be disposed in the second plate member124and/or the third plate member126. That is, the termination layer132may be disposed in the second plate member124, in the third plate member126, or in the second plate member124and the third plate member126, while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. In one form of the present disclosure, at least one of the heating layer130, the termination layer132, and the via134are molybdenum or a molybdenum alloy. As further shown, the conductive via140in one form includes a head142, a shaft144, and a cap146. The cap146in one form takes on a nut configuration, and the shaft144is threaded inside the via134, wherein the cap146is threaded onto the shaft144. In at least one form, the head142, shaft144, and cap146are molybdenum or a molybdenum alloy. Additionally, the head142, shaft144, and cap146comprise the same or different molybdenum materials. In one form a recess150(or cavity) is between the conductive via140and the first plate member122and/or a space152is between conductive via140and second plate member124. It should be understood that such recesses or spaces150,152accommodate thermal expansion between the conductive via140and the AlN substrate110. In another form, a recess or cavity is not present between the conductive via140and the first plate member122and/or between conductive via140and second plate member124. In such a form, at least a portion of the head142is bonded (e.g., brazed or transient liquid phase bonded) to the third plate member126and/or at least a portion of the cap146is bonded to the first plate member122. According to the teachings of the present disclosure, at least one of the heating layer130and the termination layer132are transient liquid phase (TLP) bonded to at least one of plate members122,124, and126as described in greater detail below. Also, the conductive via140may or may not be transient liquid phase bonded to at least one of the heating layer130, the termination layer132, and the plate members122,124,126. In at least one form of the present disclosure, the heating layer130is transient liquid phase bonded within the substrate110such that the heating layer130, termination layer132and conductive via140are hermetically sealed within the substrate110, thereby eliminating the need for hermetic isolation, which would otherwise be required in certain applications. The heating layer130in one form has a thickness between 5 and 200 μm, for example between 20 μm and 50 μm, between 50 μm and 100 μm, between 100 μm and 150 μm or between 150 μm and 200 μm. The termination layer132is generally thicker than the heating layer130, which results in a lower watt density, to direct greater watt density within the heating layer130and to reduce watt density in the termination layer132. Referring now toFIGS.2A-2I, a method of manufacturing ceramic heater10according to the teachings of the present disclosure is provided. As shown inFIG.2A, the method includes providing second plate member124at step202. Among other features, the second plate member124comprises a first surface123disposed opposite a second surface125. As shown inFIG.2B, at least one first trench124a, via124b, and second trench124care formed in the second plate member124at step204. The first trench124ais formed in the first surface123and the second trench124cis formed in the second surface125. That is, the first trench124aextends from the first surface123towards (+z direction) the second surface125and the second trench124cextends from the second surface125towards (−z direction) the first surface123. The via124bextends between the first trench124aand the second trench124c. It should be understood that the first trench124a, second trench124cand via124b, and other trenches and vias disclosed herein, can be formed using any known or yet to be developed material removal technique. Non-limiting examples of material removal techniques include grinding, laser cutting, etching, machining, photolithography, and sand or grit blasting, among others. As shown inFIG.2C, at least one molybdenum (Mo) layer50is deposited on or within the first surface123, the first trench124a, the second trench124c, and the second surface125at step206. While not shown inFIG.2C, the molybdenum layer50can be deposited at least partially in via124b. It should be understood that the molybdenum layer50, and other layers disclosed herein, can be deposited using any known or yet to be developed material layer deposition technique(s). Non-limiting examples of material layer deposition techniques include cathodic arc discharge, cold spray, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques, physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques, sol-gel techniques, sputtering, and vacuum plasma spray, among others. As shown inFIG.2D, at least a portion or thickness (z direction) of the molybdenum layer50extending over or deposited onto the first surface123and the second surface125is removed at step208. In some forms, the molybdenum layer50is substantially removed from the first surface123and the second surface125. However, and as shown in the figure, the molybdenum layer50remains in the first trench124aand the second trench124c. In one form of the present disclosure an average surface roughness of the second plate member124after the molybdenum layer50is removed from the first surface123and the second surface125is less than 5 μm, for example between 100 nm and. It should be understood that the molybdenum layer50, and other layers disclosed herein, can be removed using any known or yet to be developed layer removal technique. Non-limiting examples of layer removal techniques include lapping, polishing, and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), among others. As shown inFIG.2E, at least one silicon (Si) layer52is deposited on the molybdenum layer50disposed within the first and second trenches124a,124c, and on the first surface123and the second surface125at step210. While not shown, the silicon layer52can be deposited at least partially in via124b. As shown inFIG.2F, at least a portion or thickness (z direction) of the silicon layer52extending over or deposited onto the first surface123and the second surface125is removed at step212. In some forms, the silicon layer52is substantially removed from the first surface123and the second surface125. However, and as shown in the figure, the silicon layer52remains over the molybdenum layer50disposed in the first trench124aand the second trench124c. Accordingly, a molybdenum layer50with a thin silicon layer52disposed thereon is provided in the first trench124aand the second trench124c. Non-limiting examples of the thickness of the molybdenum layer50range from 5 μm to 200 μm, for example between 10 μm to 40 μm. Non-limiting examples of the thickness of the silicon layer52range from 100 nm to 10 μm, for example between 0.5 μm to 3 μm. In some aspects of the present disclosure an average surface roughness of the second plate member124after the silicon layer52is removed from the first surface123and the second surface125is less than 5 μm, for example between 100 nm and 5 μm. In variations of the present disclosure, step208is combined with step212. That is, the molybdenum layer50is deposited at step206, step208is omitted, the silicon layer52is deposited onto the molybdenum layer50at step210, and the molybdenum layer50and the silicon layer52extending over or deposited onto the first surface123and the second surface125are removed at step212. As shown inFIG.2G, the shaft144of the conductive via140is positioned within the via124bat step214. The head142is disposed over and in contact with the silicon layer52deposited over the molybdenum layer50in the second trench124cand the cap146is disposed over and in contact with the silicon layer52deposited over the molybdenum layer50in the first trench124a. As shown inFIG.2H, the first plate member122and the third plate member126are provided at step216. In some aspects of the present disclosure, the first plate member122comprises an inner surface121and a trench122aformed within the inner surface121, and the third plate member126comprises an inner surface127and a trench126aformed within the inner surface127. Also, the first plate member122, second plate member124, and third plate member126are assembled such that the trench122ais disposed over (+z direction) and aligned with the head142of the conductive via140and the trench126ais disposed under (−z direction) and aligned with the cap146of the conductive via140. Referring now toFIG.2I, the first plate member122, second plate member124, and third plate member126are positioned in contact with each other at step218and heated to an elevated temperature such that the silicon layers52melt and a transient liquid phase bond is formed between the plate members122,124,126to produce the ceramic heater10ofFIG.1. For example, the assembly of the first plate member122, second plate member124, third plate member126and conductive via140depicted inFIG.2Ican be placed in a furnace ‘F’ and heated to above the melting temperature of silicon (1414° C.). The silicon in the silicon layers52melts and diffuses into adjacent molybdenum layers50and adjacent plate members122,126, and a transient liquid phase bond is formed therebetween. Particularly, the silicon layer52disposed over the molybdenum layer50in the first trench124amelts and diffuses into the molybdenum layer50and the overlapping inner surface127of the third plate member126such that a transient liquid phase bond is formed between the molybdenum layer50and the third plate member126. Also, the silicon layer52disposed over the molybdenum layer50in the second trench124cmelts and diffuses into the molybdenum layer50and the overlapping inner surface121of the first plate member226such that a transient liquid phase bond is formed between the molybdenum layer50and the third plate member126. In some forms of the present disclosure, the silicon layer52disposed over the molybdenum layer50in the first trench124amelts and diffuses into the cap146of the conductive via140and the silicon layer52disposed over the molybdenum layer50in the second trench124cmelts and diffuses into the head142of the conductive via140such that transient liquid phase bonds are formed therebetween. Not being bound by theory, it should be understood that diffusion of the silicon into the molybdenum layers50results in the formation of a Mo—Si diffusion layer which may or may not comprise a Mo—Si alloy or Mo—Si intermetallic. For example, diffusion of the silicon into the molybdenum layers50can result in the formation of a transient liquid phase bond with a molybdenum disilicide (MoSi2) layer or a Mo—Si diffusion layer comprising MoSi2precipitates. Also, diffusion of the silicon into the inner surfaces121,127of the first plate member122and the third plate member126, respectively, results in the formation of an AlN—Si diffusion layer which may or may not comprise an Al—Si alloy, Al—Si intermetallic and/or AlN—Si intermetallic. It should also be understood that diffusion of the silicon into the molybdenum layers50and adjacent inner surfaces121,127results in isothermal solidification of the silicon, e.g., when MoSi2precipitates form and a bonding interface (i.e., a transient liquid phase bond) is created between the molybdenum layers50and adjacent inner surfaces121,127. In this manner the plate members122,124,126are bonded together to form the substrate110with the molybdenum heating layer130and the molybdenum termination layer132. p WhileFIGS.2A-2Idepict transient liquid phase bonding of the plate members122,124,126together, it should be understood that brazing of portions of the ceramic heater10can be included. For example, outer diameter surfaces of the plate members122,124, and/or126can be brazed together to seal the outer diameter of the substrate110and thereby prevent leaks or outgassing vapors from the heater heating layer130, termination layer132and conductive via140into a semiconductor wafer processing chamber during use of the ceramic heater10. In a form, trenches can be formed in one or more of the plate members122,124,126in order to contain flow of a brazing alloy outside of a desired braze area and reduce the desired braze area. Now referring toFIG.3, in another from of the present disclosure a ceramic heater30constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure is shown. The ceramic heater30comprises a substrate310made of ceramic materials, such as aluminum nitride (AlN), a heating layer330for generating heat, a routing layer340, one or more first conductive vias350, one or more second conductive vias370, and a substrate shaft380. The first conductive vias350are disposed between the heating layer330and the routing layer340for connecting the heating layer330to the routing layer340, and the second conductive vias370are disposed between the routing layer340and at least one terminal wire390. The ceramic heater30may be used as a part of a support pedestal in semiconductor processing. The substrate310defines a first surface312for heating a target thereon and a second surface314from which the at least one terminal wire390extends. To form a support pedestal, the substrate shaft380is bonded to the second surface314of the substrate310via a bonding layer382(e.g., a transient liquid phase binding layer) and surrounds the at least one terminal wire390. The substrate310may include a plurality of plate members322,324,326. The plurality of plate members322,324,326each have a flat plate configuration, and while three plate members322,324, and326are shown in the illustrative example, the substrate310may include any number of plate members. The average surface roughness of adjacent surfaces between the first and second plate members322,324and between the second and third plate members324,326is less than 5 μm, for example between 100 nm and 5 μm. The heating layer330is embedded within the first plate member322and/or the second plate member324. In some forms of the present disclosure, the heating layer330is disposed in the first plate member322and/or the second plate member324. That is, the heating layer330may be disposed in the first plate member322, the second plate member324, or the first plate member322and the second plate member324, while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. The routing layer340is embedded within the second plate member324and/or the third plate member326. In some forms, the routing layer340may be disposed on or partially in the second plate member324and/or the third plate member326. That is, the routing layer340may be disposed in the second plate member324, the third plate member326, or the second plate member324and the third plate member326, while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. At least one of the first conductive vias350within the second plate member324between heating layer330and the routing layer340and/or at least one of the second conductive vias370within the third plate member326may be a trench (not shown) along a side of second plate member324or third plate member326, respectively. In some forms of the present disclosure, at least one of the heating layer330, the routing layer340, first conductive vias350and second conductive vias370are molybdenum or a molybdenum alloy. In one form of the present disclosure, the heating layer330includes at least one heating element332and the routing layer340includes a plurality of routing layer elements342. For example, the heating layer330can include a plurality of circular-arranged heating elements332and/or a plurality of serpentine-arranged heating elements332, among others. Also, the heating layer330can define a plurality of distinct and independently controlled heating zones as discussed in greater detail below. In some forms of the present disclosure, the first conductive vias350include a fastener360that comprise a head362, a shaft364, and a cap366. In such forms, the fasteners360extend through the second plate member324and in at least one aspect, the head362, shaft364, and cap366are molybdenum or a molybdenum alloy. The second conductive vias370may include fasteners (not shown). In the alternative, or in addition to, the first conductive vias350and/or the second conductive vias370may be formed from a rod, pin, shaft, among others, disposed in the second plate member324and the third plate member326, respectively. It should be understood that the substrate310is manufactured using transient liquid phase bonding as described above with respect to substrate110. For example, in one form of the present disclosure trenches and vias (not labeled) are formed in the second plate member324, and molybdenum layers are deposited in the trenches and removed from outer surfaces of the second plate member324. Silicon layers are deposited onto the molybdenum layers in the trenches and removed from outer surfaces of the second plate member322, and the conductive vias370are inserted through the vias in the second plate member324. Trenches and vias (not labeled) are formed in the third plate member326, and the plate members322,324,326are assembled and transient liquid phase bonded together. Also, trenches (not labeled) are formed in the substrate shaft380and Mo—Si bonding layers are deposited into the trenches such that the substrate shaft380is assembled and transient liquid phase bonded to the third plate member before, during or after transient liquid phase bonding of the plate members322,324,326together. Referring now toFIG.4, a top view (−z direction) of the ceramic heater30according to one form of the present disclosure is shown. The first plate member322is not shown inFIG.4in order to show the heating layer330in greater detail. The ceramic heater30shown inFIG.4includes a plurality of molybdenum heating elements332, a plurality of routing layers340, and a plurality of conductive vias350extending between and electrically connecting the plurality of molybdenum heating elements to the plurality of routing layers340. Also, the ceramic heater30shown inFIG.4includes six (6) distinct and independently controlled heat zones334. Referring now toFIG.5, a top view (−z direction) of the ceramic heater30(without the first plate member322) according to another form of the present disclosure is shown. Similar to the ceramic heater30shown inFIG.4, the ceramic heater30shown inFIG.5includes a plurality of molybdenum heating elements332, a plurality of routing layers340, and a plurality of conductive vias350extending between and electrically connecting the plurality of molybdenum heating elements to the plurality of routing layers340. Also, the ceramic heater30shown inFIG.5includes six (6) distinct and independently controlled heat zones336. Referring now toFIG.6, a perspective view of the ceramic heater inFIG.5is shown with the six heat zones336, substrate shaft380and terminal wires390. While the figures have generally been described with Mo—Si layers or compositions being used to transient liquid phase bond the plate members together, it should be understood that the teachings of the present disclosure include other compositions to transient liquid phase bond the plate members together. Non-limiting examples of compositions that can be used to transient liquid phase bond plate members together as described herein include titanium-aluminum layers, palladium-aluminum layers, manganese-aluminum layers, niobium-silicon layers, and tungsten-silicon layers, among others. When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” or “coupled to,” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer and/or section, from another element, component, region, layer and/or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section, could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example forms. Furthermore, an element, component, region, layer or section may be termed a “second” element, component, region, layer or section, without the need for an element, component, region, layer or section termed a “first” element, component, region, layer or section. Spacially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above or below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C. Unless otherwise expressly indicated, all numerical values indicating mechanical/thermal properties, compositional percentages, dimensions and/or tolerances, or other characteristics are to be understood as modified by the word “about” or “approximately” in describing the scope of the present disclosure. This modification is desired for various reasons including industrial practice, manufacturing technology, and testing capability. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example forms only and is not intended to be limiting. The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed. The description of the disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, examples that do not depart from the substance of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure. Such examples are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent upon a study of the drawings, the specification, and the following claims. | 28,108 |
11943846 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.1shows in perspective view a wire mesh1with a plurality of wire strands2which are interwoven with each other. The wire strands2each extend at right angles to each other and are alternately passed through above and beneath one another, so that the mesh results in the typical manner. At the intersection points of the wire strands, upper and lower discrete support points arise with which the wire mesh, which is an embodiment of an electrical conductor element provided with through holes, abuts in a punctiform but nevertheless planar manner against the oppositely disposed layers of a layer structure to be described below. FIG.2shows a top view onto a film that has been provided with a mass; corresponding to this,FIG.3ashows a longitudinal sectional view of an enlarged detail of the film with the mass, where the film is marked with reference numeral4and the mass with reference numeral5. This film is cut off from a stock as a uniform piece of length. The stock contains a film4previously coated with the mass5. The film4can be a polyimide film. The mass is two-component silicone which is provided with a thinner for setting a relatively low viscosity. Therefore, the mass5is relatively flowable. The mass5is already in part cross-linked in the starting material supplied. It has a shore-A hardness of between 25 and 40. As illustrated byFIGS.2band3b, electrical conductor elements6are placed onto this mass5. The electrical conductor elements6are identically formed cut-outs of the wire mesh shown inFIG.1provided with a connection lug8. The film4with the mass applied to it is evidently wider than the conductor element. The film4with the mass5therefore projects over the conductor element6in the width direction on both sides. The film4with the mass5has a corresponding projection also on the free face sides. There is a free space between the two conductor elements6. The conductor elements6are spaced from each other. As compared byFIG.3b, the conductor element is not only placed onto the mass5, but is additionally pressed into the mass5. The conductor element6is pressed into the mass5such that discrete support points marked with reference numerals10at the intersection points of the wire strands2come to lie approximately at the same height as the outer surface of the mass5marked with reference numeral12. FIGS.2cand3c, respectively, illustrate the embodiment after placement of the PTC element, which is marked with reference numeral14, onto the conductor element6aon the right-hand side. The base area of the PTC element14is larger than the base area of the conductor element without the connection lugs8. The dimensional relationships are evident fromFIG.2cin that the contour of the conductor element6aon the left-hand side is dotted.FIG.2cor3c, respectively, also illustrates a rod16that is made of insulating material and is placed at the end side against the PTC element14and between the two conductor elements6onto the mass5. Shown inFIG.2cis the embodiment in a top view after the film4has been folded over. The oppositely disposed film sections4cover each other. They form the outer surface of the heat-generating element marked with reference numeral18which has only the two connection lugs8projecting over the former. The connection lugs8inFIG.2bprovided in the longitudinal direction staggered relative to each other have the same extension in the longitudinal direction of the heat-generating element18, but are in the width direction provided staggered relative to each other, whereby the air and creep distance between the two connection lugs8, which serve to energize the heat-generating element18with the power current, is increased. As illustrated inFIG.3d, also the other conductor element6b, illustrated inFIGS.2band2con the right-hand side, with its associated support points10abuts against the surface of the PTC element14. As illustrated by the sectional view according toFIG.3d, the rod16abuts with a straight outer circumferential section against the substantially straight face surface of the PTC element14. The rod16is a semicircular rod. The convex region is enclosed by the film4. | 4,163 |
11943848 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which currently preferred embodiments of the disclosure are shown. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided for thoroughness and completeness, and fully convey the scope of the disclosure to the skilled person. FIG.1shows a schematic view of an embodiment of a controller1according to the disclosure and being connected to a light emitting device4. Generally, and irrespective of the embodiment, the controller1according to the invention comprises a control device2and a processing unit3. The control device2enables a user to select a color point of a light emitting device4, by giving a single input to the control device2. The color point is a point in color space defined based on a tint and a color temperature. The color point of the light emitted from the light emitting device4may be changed along a meandering curve extending along the black body locus (BBL). The color point is a two-dimensional point in color space, where the two dimensions specify color temperature and standard deviation of color matching (SDCM). The light emitting device4may comprise red light emitting diode(s) (LED), green LED(s) and blue LED(s), and the meandering curve may be adapted to individually control the LED(s), thereby allowing control over different color tints. The light emitting device4may also comprise warm white LED(s), e.g. 2200K, and/or cool white LED(s), e.g. 5000K. The warm white LED(s), and cool white LED(s), may be added for mainly driving the color temperature, while the RGB LED(s) may mainly control the tints, thereby reducing the complexity needed for the processing unit3, since mainly one parameter needs to be controlled per LED. The black body locus (BBL) (also known as Planckian locus, or white line) is the path or locus that the color of an incandescent black body would take in a particular chromaticity space (e.g., in a chromaticity diagram) as the temperature of the black body changes. The locus goes from deep red at relatively low temperatures (at about 700 K), on through orange, yellowish white, white, and finally bluish white at higher temperatures. A so-called MacAdam ellipse is used in a system of color measurement to measure how much color variation is possible around the axe of a MacAdam ellipse before the human eye detects a color change. A series of concentric MacAdam ellipses may be drawn around any target color, and the closer any given light output is to the target, the less color deviation will be experienced when these lamps are placed side by side in an installation. The distance from the target point in each MacAdam ellipse is measured in SDCM (Standard Deviation of Color Matching). An SDCM of 1 means that there is no visible color difference, 2-3 SDCM means that there is hardly any visible color difference, while 4 or more SDCM is readily noticeable by the human eye. The lower the number of SDCM, the smaller the color shift. The processing unit3is configured to change the color point of light emitted from the light emitting device4based on the single input received via the control device2. When receiving the single input, the processing unit3will change the color point5of light emitted from the light emitting device4, change of the color point5will follow along a meandering curve in color space. The meandering curve will be elaborated on further below. The change of the color point5may follow continuously along the meandering curve or it may jump or shift abruptly along the curve. The processing unit is configured to increase or decrease the color temperature while oscillating the SDCM to achieve different tints at different color temperatures. A meandering curve may be any type of curve following a winding course. By way of a non-limiting example, the meandering curve may be a sinusoidal curve. The processing unit3and the light emitting device4may be connected or connectable wirelessly, e.g. through a wireless local area network, WLAN, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or similar. The processing unit3and the light emitting device4may also or alternatively be connected or connectable through a wired connection, e.g. a plug and socket connection, a local area network or similar. The control device2may be represented as a button, a dial, a slider, a lever or similar. Alternatively the controller1may be provided with a control device2in the form of a user interface where a virtual representation may be provided of a button, a dial, a slider, a lever or similar, and where the user of the controller1may then interact with the virtual representation of the control device to select a color point via a single input to allow the processing unit3to change the properties of light emitted from a light emitting device4connected or connectable to the processing unit3based on the single input. Such a user interface may for instance be a touch screen, e.g. a touch screen of a mobile telephone, tablet computer, laptop computer or the like. Reference is now made toFIG.2andFIG.3,FIG.2shows an embodiment of a control device2according to the invention, andFIG.3shows a meandering curve6in color space according to the invention. The control device2shown is in the form of a slider21. The slider21allows a user to deliver a single input to the control device21by moving the slider21. The meandering curve6in the shown embodiment is adapted along the BBL. Different adaptations may be made, and some of these will be presented later. The control device21may have the meandering curve6directly associated with it, which may be carried out by having the ends of the slider21corresponding to two different curve values on the meandering curve6, with a first slider end211corresponding to a first curve value61with a high color temperature and the second slider end212corresponding to a second curve value62with a low color temperature. The slider steps in-between the two ends then corresponds to color temperature values in-between the first curve value61and the second curve value62. Similar implementations may be achieved with different types of control devices2, such as a lever, a dial or similar. Such a set-up allows for an easy overview of the setting available and gives an intuitive control of the properties of light. In the case of the control device being a control device of a type where the control device itself does not define a range as provided with the two ends of a slider as described above, the meandering curve may be predetermined with a high and low threshold value for the color temperature, e.g. the first curve value61and the second curve value62being the high and low threshold value respectively. The processing unit3may then be configured such that a push of the control device2, e.g. being a button, signals the processing unit3to change the color point towards the first curve value61. When the first curve value61is then reached, the processing unit3may be configured to change the color point towards the second curve value62thereby allowing a user to reach all color temperatures in-between the first curve value61and the second curve value62. E.g. in the case of the processing unit3increasing the color temperature when the control device2is pressed, then when the first curve value61is reached it may be configured to start to decrease the color temperature when the control device2is pressed again. Referring now toFIG.4andFIG.5, two different possibilities for predetermined curves are shown, both being meandering curves adapted to the BBL. OnFIG.4the meandering curve7is adapted centrally around the BBL, so the average value of one period of the meandering curve7is zero. By having the meandering curve7centrally adapted around the BBL a large number of tints are available for a user.FIG.5shows a meandering curve8which is non-centrally arranged around the BBL, meaning that the average value of one period of the meandering curve8differs from zero. This may be advantage if an emphasis is wanted on particular tints. Referring toFIG.6, another possibility for a meandering curve9adapted to the BBL is shown. The meandering curve9shown has a half period of 500 K. A half period of a meandering curve adapted to the BBL may be in the range of 300 K to 1000 K, it may also be in the range of 350 K to 700 K or in the range of 400 K to 600 K. The meandering curve9shown intersects the BBL in 6000 K, 5500 K, 5000 K, 4500 K, 4000 K, 3500 K, 3000 K or 2500 K, though different curve adaptations may intersect the BBL in different points, intersections may also happen at 2700 K and 2300 K. The amplitude of a meandering curve adapted to the BBL may be at least 10 SDCM, 15 or 20 SDCM. Referring toFIGS.7and8, two other meandering curves adapted to the BBL are shown. The meandering curve10seen onFIG.7is adapted to have a gradually decreasing amplitude with decreasing color temperatures. The amplitude may alternatively be gradually increasing with decreasing color temperature. The amplitude change may also be done in steps instead of having it gradually. The decrease of the amplitude may be configured to be at least 10% over one period of the meandering curve10, when going from warmer colors to colder colors or vice versa. The meandering curve11seen onFIG.8is adapted to gradually decrease the period of the meandering curve11when the color temperature decreases. The period may alternatively be gradually increasing with decreasing color temperature. The period change may also be done in steps instead of gradually. The decrease of the period may be configured to be at least 10% over one period of the meandering curve11when going from warmer colors to colder colors. FIG.9shows another adaptation of a meandering curve12a,12balong the BBL according to the disclosure. The processing unit3may be adapted to phase shift the adapted curve, as shown inFIG.9. The processing unit3may be provided with a threshold point in color space, where the processing unit3is adapted to phase shift the meandering curve when reaching the threshold point, or it may be done as a response to the time derivative of the color temperature changing sign. The processing unit3may be configured to phase shift the meandering curve by π, 0.5π, 0.25π, etc. By phase shifting the meandering curve it may allow for a wider variety of tints to be selected by a user. The threshold value for phase shifting the predetermined curve may also indicate that the processing unit3should start to decrease the color temperature instead of increasing when receiving the single input or vice versa, allowing for wider range of tints being available for a user. In the case where the control device already has a range indicated on it, e.g. as seen with a slider with its two ends, the processing unit3may be configured to phase change the meandering curve whenever an end value of the range is reached, e.g. when a slider is moved to either of the ends of the slider. The processing unit3may be configured to phase shift the meandering curve whenever it goes from decreasing to increasing the color temperature or vice versa, as is illustrated by the two meandering curves12aand12bonFIG.9. FIGS.10aand10bshows a meandering curve adapted to the BBL with an associated luminous flux curve. The processing unit3may be provided with additional curves besides a meandering curve associated with it.FIG.10bshows an example of such an additional curve14. The additional curve14may control additional properties of the light emitted from the light emitting device4, these additional properties may be associated with the color point of the light or may relate to other properties of the light emitted. The additional curve14seenFIG.10bdetermines the luminous flux of the light emitting device4as a function of color temperature, with the luminous flux decreasing with decreasing color temperature. The additional curve14may also be set to increase the luminous flux of the light emitting device4when color temperature decreases. Referring now toFIGS.11and12, different light emitting devices4, with which the controller1according to the disclosure may be communicatively connected or connectable to, are shown. A lamp41is shown onFIG.11and a luminaire42is shown onFIG.12as examples of light emitting devices4with a light exit surface emitting the emitted light, though the disclosure is not limited to this and may be carried out with a wide variety of different light fixtures. The disclosure as described also covers a method for controlling properties of light emitted from a light emitting device,FIG.13shows a flowchart exemplifying an embodiment of such a method. The method comprising three steps, a first step100of providing a controller according to the disclosure, a second step200of providing a single input to the user interface of the controller to control the properties of light emitted from the light emitting device, and a third step300of changing the color point of light emitted from the light emitting device based on the single input received at the user interface. Specific embodiments of the invention have now been described. However, several alternatives are possible, as would be apparent for someone skilled in the art. For example, the processing unit3may be configured to adapt the color point of the light emitted from the light emitting device4by combining the different adaptations presented, e.g. a curve may be non-centralized and also experience a phase shift, therefore different combinations of the meandering curves presented must be considered to be within the scope of the present invention, as it is defined by the appended claims. | 13,840 |
11943849 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS FIG.1aschematically shows a lighting system100according to the present invention, the lighting system100comprising an LED driver110according to the present invention and an LED light engine120according to the present invention. In the embodiment as shown, the LED driver110comprises an input terminal110.1for receiving a supply power Pin, and an output terminal110.2for outputting a required power Pout for powering the light engine120. Pin can e.g. be provided via a rectified mains supply power or a DC power source. The output power Pout can e.g. be a DC current or a pulsed DC current for powering the LED or LEDs120.1of the LED light engine120. The output power Pout as generated by the LED driver110can e.g. be provided to the light engine120via the input terminal120.2of the LED light engine120. In the embodiment as shown, the LED driver110comprises a power converter110.3that is configured to convert the supply power as received via the input terminal110.1to the required output power Pout for powering the light engine120. The power converter110.3can e.g. be a switched mode power converter such as a Buck, Boost or hysteretic converter. The power converter110.3can e.g. be configured to supply a suitable current to the light engine120for powering the LED or LEDs120.1. The supplied current may return to the power converter either via a ground terminal, in which case the LED or LEDs120.1are connected between the input terminal120.2and the ground terminal120.5, or via a dedicated return terminal (not shown). In the embodiment as shown, the power converter110.3can be controlled by a control unit or controller110.4, e.g. comprising a processor or microcontroller. In accordance with the present invention, the LED driver110further comprises a control terminal110.5which can be applied by the control unit or controller110.4for retrieving information of the light engine120and/or for communicating with the light engine120. In this respect, the control terminal110.5may also be referred to as a communication terminal. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine120further comprises a control terminal120.3which is configured to be connected to the control terminal110.5of the LED driver110. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the LED driver may be configured to perform an initialization method when the control terminal110.5of the LED driver110is connected to the control terminal120.3of the LED light engine120. Unlike incandescent conventional lighting applications, light engines comprising LEDs or LED groups may come with a large variety of power requirements. As such, depending on the type of light engine used, the LED driver powering the light engine needs to provide the required power in the appropriate manner for the particular light engine. In particular, the output voltage of the output terminal may e.g. depend on the number of LEDs of the light engine arranged in series. The current requirements may e.g. depend on the number of LEDs that are applied in parallel. In general, an LED driver may be designed to supply a power within a certain range, e.g. specified as an available voltage range for the output voltage and an available current range for the output current, i.e. the current that can be supplied to the light engine. In order to ensure that an LED driver provides a suitable power (e.g. both voltage and current matching the light engine requirement) for the light engine, an initialisation of the LED driver is typically performed. One possible manner to initialize and LED driver is to manually control the possible output of the LED driver, e.g. setting a maximum output voltage and a maximum output current, thus ensuring that the light engine is not damages. It has also been proposed to initialise a light engine by providing it with a resistor having a predetermined value, whereby, when an LED driver is connected to the light engine, the LED driver can readout the resistance value, and based on the determined value, initialize an operation of the LED driver, thereby ensuring providing the appropriate power to the light engine. Such a resistor may e.g. be referred to as an R-init resistor, as it enables a setting or initialisation of a desired or required output power for the LED driver. Alternatively, a light engine can be provided with a tag or even with a processor or processing unit whereby information about the light engine can be exchanged via the tag or processor with the control unit of the LED driver. Within the meaning of the present invention, a tag refers to a device which can store data, e.g. in a memory of the tag. The tag is further configured such that the data as stored may be retrieved via a terminal of the tag, e.g. by means of digital communication. The initialisation data or configuration data that may be derived from an R-init value or which may be retrieved from a tag may e.g. include values for a nominal current, a maximum current, maximum or nominal output voltage or maximum or nominal power. In addition, the initialisation data or configuration data may also provide details on how the particular light engine should be powered. In particular, the initialisation data or configuration data may include information on the modulation method that is to be applied to control the light engine. According to an aspect of the present invention, a method has been devised enabling an LED driver to initialize irrespective of whether the light engine has been provided with a resistor to set the power requirements or with a tag or processor. The method is schematically depicted inFIG.2.FIG.2schematically shows a method of initializing an LED driver according to an embodiment of the present invention, the method comprises:connecting a control terminal of the LED driver to a control terminal of the LED light engine,10;determining whether the control terminal of the LED light engine is a communication terminal by outputting a communication signal from the control terminal of the LED driver to the control terminal of the LED light engine,20;establishing that the control terminal of the LED light engine is a communication terminal if a reply communication signal to the communication signal is received within a predetermined period,30;if the control terminal of the LED light engine is a communication terminal, perform an initialisation of the LED driver by exchanging configuration data between the LED driver and the LED light engine,40;if the control terminal of the LED light engine is not a communication terminal, determining an impedance value observed at the control terminal of the LED light engine and performing an initialisation of the LED driver based on the impedance value,50. The method according to present invention may be described with reference toFIGS.1aand2as follows: In a first step10of the initialization method according to the present invention, a control terminal110.5of the LED driver110is connected to a control terminal120.3of the LED light engine120. In a second step20, the method comprises determining whether or not the control terminal120.3of the LED light engine120is a communication terminal or not. This can be realised by transmitting or outputting a communication signal from the control terminal110.5of the LED driver110to the control terminal120.3of the LED light engine120. In a third step30, the method comprises establishing that the control terminal120.3of the LED light engine120is a communication terminal if a reply communication signal to the communication signal is received within a predetermined period. By doing so, the control terminal110.5of the LED driver can establish that the LED light engine120that is to be powered is equipped with a tag or processor which has the ability to communicate with the LED driver110. In case the control terminal120.3of the LED light engine is identified as a communication terminal, the method comprises:a fourth step40of perform an initialisation of the LED driver110by exchanging configuration data between the LED driver110and the LED light engine120. In this step, the control unit110.4of the LED driver110may e.g. be configured to retrieve, via the control terminal110.5, information regarding the required power settings for powering the LED light engine with which it communicates. Such power settings may e.g. include a maximum output voltage, a maximum output current, a nominal current value, etc. As will be appreciated by the skilled person, various lighting communication protocols may be applied to communicate between the LED driver110and the LED light engine120. Such protocols e.g. include 0-10V, Dali, DMX, or any dedicated communication protocol agreed between the LED driver manufacturer and the LED light engine manufacturer. In case the control terminal120.3of the LED light engine is identified as not being a communication terminal, the method comprises the step50of determining an impedance value observed at the control terminal120.3of the LED light engine and performing an initialisation of the LED driver based on the impedance value. In the embodiment shown inFIG.1a, the LED based light engine or LED light engine120comprises an impedance120.4that is connected to the control terminal120.3. When the LED driver110has established that the control terminal120.3is not a communication terminal, when no reply to the communication signal is received within the predetermined period, the control unit110.4can assess the impedance value, e.g. a resistance value, of the impedance120.4. Such an assessment can e.g. include supplying a current to the control terminal120.3of the LED light engine120and measuring the voltage at the communication terminal120.3. Alternatively, the control terminal110.5may provide a voltage to the control terminal120.3and determine the impedance120.4based on a current measurement of a current to the control terminal120.3. In yet another embodiment, use can be made of a voltage supply available in the LED driver, whereby said voltage supply is connected to the control terminal120.3of the light engine through a resistor of the LED driver, thus obtaining a voltage divider. Such an embodiment is schematically illustrated inFIG.1b. FIG.1bschematically shows a lighting system200according to the present invention, the lighting system200comprising an LED driver210according to the present invention and an LED light engine120according to the present invention. In the embodiment as shown, the LED driver210comprises an input terminal210.1for receiving a supply power Pin, and an output terminal210.2for outputting a required power Pout for powering the light engine120. Pin can e.g. be provided via a rectified mains supply power or a DC power source. The output power Pout can e.g. be a DC current or a pulsed DC current for powering the LED or LEDs120.1of the LED light engine120. The output power Pout as generated by the LED driver210can e.g. be provided to the light engine120via the input terminal120.2of the LED light engine120. In the embodiment as shown, the LED driver210comprises a power converter210.3that is configured to convert the supply power as received via the input terminal210.1to the required output power Pout for powering the light engine120. The power converter210.3can e.g. be a switched mode power converter such as a Buck, Boost or hysteretic converter. The power converter210.3can e.g. be configured to supply a suitable current to the light engine120for powering the LED or LEDs120.1. The supplied current may return to the power converter either via a ground terminal, in which case the LED or LEDs120.1are connected between the input terminal120.2and the ground terminal120.5, or via a dedicated return terminal (not shown). In the embodiment as shown, the power converter110.3can be controlled by a control unit or controller110.4, e.g. comprising a processor or microcontroller. In accordance with the present invention, the LED driver210further comprises a control terminal210.5which can be applied by the control unit or controller210.4for retrieving information of the light engine120and/or for communicating with the light engine120. In an embodiment of the present invention, the control terminals as applied, e.g. control terminals210.5and120.3or terminal110.5may be single wire terminals or single terminals. In such case, the LED driver and the LED based light engine may have a common ground or ground terminal. In the embodiment as shown, LED driver210further comprises a circuit for determining a value of a resistance, e.g. an R-init resistance that is connected to the control terminal210.5. In particular, the LED driver as shown comprises a resistor210.6that is connected to a supply voltage V of the LED driver and which voltage V can be connected, through resistor210.6to the control terminal210.5of the LED driver210. In order to provide this connection, the control unit or controller210.4of the LED driver210may be configured to control the operation of a switch210.7. When switch210.7is closed, the resistor210.7and the R-init resistor of the light engine120form a voltage divider. Switch210.7may e.g. be a MOSFET or the like. As such, when the supply voltage V and the resistor210.6are known, the value of the resistor R-init can be determined, based on the voltage at the control terminal210.5. In the embodiment as shown, said voltage is provided to the control unit210.4via and A/D converter210.8. Based on the received signal from the A/D converter210.8, the control unit210.4may determine the value of the R-init resistor of the light engine and determine, e.g. by accessing a database, any configuration data for the LED driver, in order to power the particular light engine120in a suitable manner. In the embodiment as shown inFIGS.1aand1b, component120.4is referred to as an impedance, e.g. a resistor, which value can be determined by the LED driver110or210and which value can be used in an initialisation of the LED driver110or210. It can be pointed out that the impedance120.4need not be a single component but may be a combination of components. By doing so, the information that can be deduced from a value of the impedance which is measured or determined by the LED driver can be increased. This increased or additional information may e.g. be applied to further configure or initialise the LED driver, so as to better drive the LED light engine. As an example, the impedance can e.g. be a resistor with a parallel capacitor. By suitable application of a current to the terminal120.3and monitoring the voltage at the terminal, or applying a voltage to the terminal120.3and monitoring the current to the terminal, one can assess both the values of the resistor and the capacitor. In this particular example, the values can e.g. be determined based on a time constant at which the generated voltage or current changes. In particular the rise or fall timing can be used to determine the time constant of the RC (resistor-capacitor) circuit that is applied as impedance. Known measurement methods for determining an impedance value or values can be applied. In such embodiment, the resistor value can e.g. be used to set a nominal current to be supplied to the light engine, whereas the capacitor value may e.g. be applied to define a nominal color set point to be generated or another parameter associated with the operation of the LED driver. As will be appreciated, other examples of impedances having multiple components can be considered as well, e.g. including more complex arrays or resistors or capacitors or other components such as Zener diodes. Based on the impedance value, the LED driver110or210may thus be configured or initialized for powering the LED light engine120. Such a configuration or initialization may e.g. involve comparing the determined impedance value with a list of impedance values in a database, e.g. a lookup table. For the example of the resistor and capacitor, the LED driver can e.g. be provided with a lookup table have a list of possible resistor and capacitor values and the associated operating parameters. Such a lookup table may e.g. comprise, for each of the possible impedance values, the required power settings for powering the LED light engine. Such power settings may e.g. include a maximum output voltage, a maximum output current, a nominal current value, a color set point, etc. Such a database may be readily available in the LED driver, e.g. in a memory unit of the control unit110.4. Alternatively, the LED driver110or210may be configured to access an external database via any suitable means of communications. In such embodiment, the determined impedance value can be used as an identifier for selecting one or more operating parameters for the LED driver. By doing so, a more detailed set of operating parameters can be selected. This can be illustrated as follows: the detection of an impedance value or values can be considered an analog detection. In order for this detection or determination to be reliable, the amount of values that can be chosen may be rather limited, e.g. in a range between 5 and 10 or 15. In case of a one to one correspondence between a determined impedance value and an operating parameter, the selection of values for the operating parameter (e.g. an nominal current) would be limited as well. Alternatively, the impedance value or values as determined can be used as identifiers which can be associated with sets of operating parameters that are e.g. stored in a remote database or in a memory unit of the LED driver. In such case, a particular resistance value may e.g. be associated with a particular set of operating parameters, e.g. including a nominal current, a maximum current, a nominal color set point, a control range for the color set point, a path in a color space to be followed, etc. Such a set of parameters may e.g. be referred to as an illumination profile. In such case, the database or the LED driver memory unit can e.g. comprise n different illumination profiles that can be used by the LED driver, whereby an impedance value, e.g. a resistance value or an capacitor value, or a combination of both values, is used to select the appropriate illumination profile. In an embodiment of the present invention, the LED light engine may be configured in such manner that the initialization method according to the present invention can be performed using only a single connection between the LED driver and the LED light engine. In such embodiment, the initialization method is thus performed by connecting a single control terminal of the LED driver to a single control terminal of the LED light engine. In such embodiment, the LED light engine may still include a tag or even a processor or processing unit. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, such a tag or processor can then be powered or supplied with a supply voltage via the single connection. FIG.3schematically shows such an embodiment of an LED light engine220according to the present invention. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine220comprises one or more LEDs220.1which can e.g. be powered via a power input terminal220.2. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine220further comprises a control terminal220.3which can be used for communicating with an LED driver, e.g. for exchanging information230during an initialization process of the LED driver. The control terminal220.3is connected to a processing or control unit220.4of the LED light engine, said processing or control unit220.4being configured to communicate, via the communication terminal220.3with an LED driver to which it can be connected. The processing or control unit220.4comprises a power-supply pin or terminal220.41. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine further comprises an energy storage element220.5, e.g. a capacitance or capacitor, which can be charged via the control terminal220.3and which is connected to the power-supply pin or terminal220.41of the processing or control unit220.4. In the embodiment as shown, the processing or control unit220.4may thus be powered by the energy storage element220.5, the energy storage element220.5being chargeable via the control terminal220.3. In order to apply the above described initialisation method to an LED light engine220as shown inFIG.3, the initialisation method may e.g. comprises the step of outputting, prior to the outputting of a communication signal as provided in step20of the initialisation method, a power supply signal from the control terminal of the LED driver, e.g. terminal110.5, to the control terminal of the LED based light engine, e.g. control terminal220.3. The outputting of a power supply signal may e.g. comprise providing a sufficiently high DC voltage at the control terminal of the LED driver, in order to charge the energy storage element220.5. It can be noted that the power supply signal used to charge the energy storage element220.5can also be considered to be part of the communication signal. By doing so, the voltage at the power-supply pin or terminal220.41can be raised up to a level at which the processing or control unit220.4may start operating, e.g. start communicating with the LED driver. By enabling the LED light engine to be powered via the control terminal, there is no longer a need to connect the LED driver and the LED light engine via two connections; a single connection is thus sufficient. In addition to being provided with a tag or control unit or R-init resistor or impedance, LED based lighting applications such as LED light engines may also be equipped with temperature sensors. Such sensor or sensors may e.g. be used to assess the operating temperature of the LED or LEDs of the LED light engine. Knowledge of the operating temperature may e.g. be used to adjust or control the current to the LED or LEDs, in order to ensure a desired or required lifetime of the LED or LEDs. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an LED based light engine or LED light engine that further includes a temperature sensor, e.g. a temperature dependent resistor such as an NTC (negative temperature coefficient) resistor. Such an LED light engine may e.g. be combined with an LED driver according to the present invention, to form a lighting system according to the present invention. A temperature sensor such as an NTC may be applied in an LED based light engine according to the present invention to determine or monitor a temperature of the LED based light engine. By doing so, one can ensure that the LED based light engine is not operated above a maximum temperature. Based on the temperature as sensed, the LED driver may, when needed, adjust the power supplied to the LED based light engine, in order to keep the LED based light engine in a safe operating area. In an embodiment, a temperature sensor such as an NTC may be used in an LED based light engine according to the present invention to determine a die temperature of one or more LEDs of the LED based light engine. Knowledge of the die temperature of an LED may be used by the LED driver to determine the amount of light or light intensity emitted or generated by the LED, as the generated amount of light depends both on the temperature of the die and the current through the LED. An accurate knowledge of the amount of light as generated, obtained by means of the die temperature measurement, enable a more accurate generation of a desired colour by the LED based light engine; a desired colour is typically generated by a combination or mixing the generated light of a plurality of LEDs having a different colour. As such, the more accurate the actual amount of light as generated by such plurality of LEDs is known, the more accurate a desired or required combination or mixing of generated light can be obtained. In an embodiment of the present invention, the temperature sensor (or sensors) is arranged in such manner in the LED light engine that no additional or separate terminal is required to assess or read-out the temperature sensor. Various options exist to realise such an arrangement. A first example of an LED light engine according to the present invention that includes a temperature sensor is schematically shown inFIG.4. FIG.4schematically shows an LED light engine320that comprises one or more LEDs320.1which can e.g. be powered via a power input terminal320.2. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine320further comprises a control terminal320.3which can be used for communicating with an LED driver. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine320comprises a temperature sensor330that is connected to the control terminal320.3. In the embodiment as shown, the temperature sensor330is assumed to be a temperature dependent resistor, i.e. a resistor of which the resistance value changes. As such, assuming a temperature operating range from T1to T2, (e.g. from −10° C. to 90° C.), the resistance value of the temperature sensor330will vary from a value R1to R2. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine does not comprise an R-init resistor or impedance, nor does it include a processing or control unit such as control unit220.4as shown inFIG.3. Nevertheless, the LED light engine320as schematically shown may still be applied in an initialisation method according to the present invention. As illustrated inFIG.2, the initialisation method according to the present invention comprises the step50of initialising an LED driver based on a detected impedance value. As described above, such a configuration or initialization may e.g. involve comparing the determined impedance value with a list of impedance values in a database, e.g. a lookup table. Such a database may e.g. comprise, for each of the possible impedance values, the required power settings for powering the LED light engine. When the resistance value of the temperature sensor330is selected in such manner that it does not correspond to any value available in the impedance value database, the initialisation method may involve initialising the LED driver according to its nominal setting or operating conditions. As such, an embodiment of the initialisation method according to the present invention may involve the following steps: In case it is determined that the control terminal of the LED light engine is not a communication terminal, the LED driver may:determine an impedance value observed at the control terminal andperform an initialisation of the LED driver based on the impedance value by:comparing the impedance value with a set or range of impedance values in a database, andif the impedance value does not correspond to a value of the set of impedance values or is outside the range of impedance values, initialise the LED driver according to its nominal settings. In order to determine the resistance value of the temperature sensor330, similar methods as described above with respect to the determination of the R-init value may be applied. In particular, the LED driver (not shown) that needs to be initialised may apply a suitable signal (a voltage or current)325to the control terminal320.3, in order to determine the resistance value. By applying the above, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an LED driver may be configured, based on a senses impedance value of a temperature sensor, e.g. a temperature resistor. As will be appreciated by the skilled person, the temperature dependency of the temperature resistor may need to be taken into account to assess whether or not the sensed impedance is an R-init resistor or a temperature dependent resistor such as an NTC. With reference to the above given example, the resistance range or characteristic of the temperature sensor330, i.e. the resistance range from R1to R2, should be selected in such manner that it does not overlap with resistance values present in the database of R-init values that is applied or accessed by the LED driver. In an alternative embodiment, illustrated inFIG.5, the LED based light engine according to the present invention comprises both a tag or processing unit and a temperature sensor. Such embodiment can e.g. be considered a combination of the embodiments ofFIGS.3and4. In the embodiment as shown, the LED based light engine320comprises one or more LEDs220.1which can e.g. be powered via a power input terminal220.2. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine320further comprises a control terminal220.3which can be used for communicating with an LED driver, e.g. for exchanging information230during an initialization process of the LED driver. The control terminal220.3is connected to a processing or control unit220.4of the LED light engine, said processing or control unit220.4being configured to communicate, via the control terminal220.3with an LED driver to which it can be connected. The processing or control unit220.4comprises a power-supply pin or terminal220.41. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine further comprises an energy storage element220.5, e.g. a capacitance or capacitor, which can be charged via the control terminal220.3and which is connected to the power-supply pin or terminal220.41of the processing or control unit220.4. In the embodiment as shown, the processing or control unit220.4may thus be powered by the energy storage element220.5as described above, with reference toFIG.3. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine320further comprises a temperature sensor330, which can e.g. be similar or the same as the temperature sensor330ofFIG.4. The temperature sensor330may e.g. be a temperature dependent resistor, i.e. a resistor of which the resistance value changes. As such, assuming a temperature operating range from T1to T2, (e.g. from −10° C. to 90° C.), the resistance value of the temperature sensor330will vary from a value R1to R2. In the embodiment as shown, the temperature sensor330is connected to the control terminal220.3of the LED light engine320and can be read-out in a similar manner as discussed with reference toFIG.4. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine further comprises a diode320.1that is configured to ensure that the energy storage element220.5, e.g. a capacitance, is not discharged or depleted via the temperature sensor330. InFIG.6, yet another embodiment of a LED light engine according to the present invention is schematically shown.FIG.6schematically shows an LED light engine420that comprises one or more LEDs420.1which can e.g. be powered via a power input terminal420.2. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine420further comprises a control terminal420.3which can be used for communicating with an LED driver (not shown), as indicated by the arrow425. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine420comprises an R-init resistor430connected to a control terminal420.3, in a similar manner as in the LED light engine120as described above. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine420further comprises a temperature dependent resistor440which is connectable in parallel to the R-init resistor430. In the embodiment as shown, the LED light engine420comprises a circuit442,444.1,444.2, that is configured to connect the temperature sensing element440in parallel to the R-init resistor430. In the embodiment as shown, the circuit442,444.1,44.2comprises a switch442and a resistor pair444.1,444.2forming a voltage divider, the circuit being configured to connect the temperature dependent resistor420in parallel to the R-init resistor430, when a supply voltage for the LED light engine420is provided to the supply terminal420.2. In particular, the resistor divider444.1,444.2and switch442are configured to close the switch442when a supply voltage is present at terminal420.2, thereby connecting the temperature sensing element440, e.g. an NTC, in parallel to the R-init resistor430. In case no supply voltage is present at the terminal420.2, switch442will be in an open state. In such state, the temperature sensing element440cannot be detected or observed at the control terminal420.3. By doing so, the circuit442,444.1,444.2ensures that, during an initialisation, only the R-init resistor430is observed or detected at the control terminal420.3. As such, the aforementioned initialisation process may be performed, whereby an LED driver that is connected to the control terminal420.3may be initialised based on a sensed or determined value of the R-init resistor430. Once the initialisation process of the LED driver is performed, the LED driver's power output terminal may be connected to the power input terminal420.2of the LED based light engine420. As a result, from then on, the impedance as measured at the control terminal430also includes the impedance of the temperature sensing element440, e.g. an NTC resistor. As such, during normal operation, the sensed impedance can then be used to assess the temperature of the LED light engine that is operated. Note that in this case, the same control terminal of the LED light engine has a dual functionality, depending on the operating mode:during initialisation, the control terminal420.3of the LED light engine420can be used to read-out the resistance value of resistor430, thus enabling the initialisation of the LED driver.during normal operation, when both the control terminal420.3and the power terminal420.2of the LED light engine are connected to an LED driver, the control terminal can be used to read-out the resistance value of the combination of resistor430and440, which resistance value characterises an operating temperature of the LED based light engine420. By doing so, there is no additional terminal needed at the LED driver or at the LED based light engine to assess, during normal operation, the temperature of the LED based light engine. The design and manufacturing of both the LED driver and the LED based light engine may thus be simplified, more compact and less expensive. In the embodiment as shown inFIG.6, the LED light engine420comprises an R-init resistor430which can be sensed, during an initialisation process, in order to initialize an LED driver that is connected to the control terminal420.3. Alternatively, the LED based light engine420can be equipped with a tag or processing unit, in a similar manner as e.g. shown inFIG.3orFIG.5. In a similar manner as described with respect toFIG.6, such an embodiment may be combined with a temperature resistor and circuit as shown inFIG.6, thereby enabling the control terminal of the LED light engine to have a dual functionality. The various embodiments of the LED driver and LED light engine as describe above enable to minimize the number of terminals for the LED driver and LED light engine, while still maintaining the flexibility of initializing the LED driver, i.e. ensuring that the power as supplied by the LED driver matches or suits the LED light engine. As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting, but rather, to provide an understandable description of the invention. The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. The term plurality, as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term another, as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms including and/or having, as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language, not excluding other elements or steps). Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims or the invention. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. The term coupled, as used herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. A single processor or other unit may fulfil the functions of several items recited in the claims. The terms program, software application, and the like as used herein, are defined as a sequence of instructions designed for execution on a computer system. A program, computer program, or software application may include a subroutine, a function, a procedure, an object method, an object implementation, an executable application, an applet, a servlet, a source code, an object code, a shared library/dynamic load library and/or other sequence of instructions designed for execution on a computer system. A computer program may be stored and/or distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems. | 37,330 |
11943850 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS The invention will be described with reference to the Figures. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating exemplary embodiments of the apparatus, systems and methods, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the apparatus, systems and methods of the present invention will become better understood from the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the Figures are merely schematic and are not drawn to scale. It should also be understood that the same reference numerals are used throughout the Figures to indicate the same or similar parts. The invention provides a LED circuit which comprises a current drive circuit for driving a current through the parallel combination of a LED arrangement and an output capacitor. An override arrangement overrides the current level setting to a default current level during start-up, and the override arrangement is disabled when a current flow is sensed (directly or indirectly) by a sensor. The current setting of the driver is ignored until a threshold current is sensed through the LED arrangement. The delay associated with initial start-up charging of the output capacitor is thereby avoided. FIG.1shows one example of a LED circuit10in accordance with the invention. The circuit10comprises a mains input, represented by voltage source V1. A resistor R1is provided downstream of the input, and is an inrush current limiting resistor that also acts as a fuse. The mains input connects to a full bridge rectifier of diodes D1to D4. The rectifier output is a bus (or line) voltage VBUS. The rectifier output is also provided to a series circuit comprising a current drive circuit B1and a parallel combination of a LED arrangement D10and an output capacitor C2. The capacitor C2is a large (e.g. 100 uF) electrolytic capacitor for smoothing the rectified output. The current drive circuit is adapted to drive a current through the parallel combination of the LED arrangement D10and the output capacitor C2. The LED arrangement may be a series arrangement of LEDs or indeed multiple parallel branches of LEDs. A control signal PWM is used for setting the current level delivered by the current drive circuit B1. The average current of current source B1is regulated by the PWM signal. Depending on the implementation of the current source, the current shape is either a constant current, or a shaped current waveform, to limit the losses in the current source B1. A high voltage across B1will lead to a lower instantaneous current setting of B1, while keeping the average value at the preset level. A Zener diode D8is in parallel with the current source, to absorb the high voltage between two the transistors Q1and Q2(which are discussed further below). This potentially allows use of a lower voltage rating (Vce) of the transistor Q1hence a lower cost. The current through the LED arrangement D10is measured using a current sensor, in particular a current sense resistor R3. The current sensor R3is placed in series with the LED arrangement D10and the series arrangement of the current sensor R3and the LED arrangement D10is placed in parallel with the output capacitor C2. The current sensor R3may be placed such that only the current flowing through the LED arrangement D10is sensed. Based on the current flowing through the LED arrangement D10, a user-defined current level may be implemented by the current drive circuit B1, for example for achieving a user-selected dimming level setting, or else this setting may be overridden to allow more current to flow and hence charge the output capacitor C2more quickly. This overriding takes place during start-up of the circuit. For this purpose, there is an override arrangement20for overriding the current level setting to a default current level. The override arrangement20either forces the current drive circuit B1to deliver a default, e.g. maximum, current (thereby overriding the user setting of the current level) or else it allows the user current setting to be used. A deactivating switch Q1is provided for deactivating the override arrangement20when a threshold current is sensed by the current sensor R3. Thus, until a sufficient current flows through the LED arrangement, the override arrangement20is active. The LED circuit D10thus has an override arrangement20which ignores the current setting of the driver until a threshold current is sensed through the LED arrangement D10. In this way, the current level of the current drive circuit B1can be set to a high level while the parallel output capacitor C2charges. The current drive circuit B1reverts to the user-selected current level as soon as a small current is flowing through the LED arrangement D10itself, thus avoiding overdriving the LED arrangement D10, or creating flashes. However, the delay associated with initial start-up charging of the output capacitor C2is minimized to approximately the same time as the delay in the full light output startup. The threshold current is for example smaller than the minimum dimming level (of 2%) by a factor of 5 to 20. This means the threshold current may be between 0.1%)=0.02/20) to 0.4% (0.02/5) of the full output current. This will lead to a relatively high ohmic resistor R3, but the total voltage drop across resistor R3will never exceed the base emitter voltage Vbe of Q1, once this is fully on. The expected voltage across resistor R3will clip around 0.7V and the current will primarily flow through the emitter-base diode of transistor Q1. This will minimize the losses in the current measurement circuit R3. The transistor Q1is more generally a deactivating switch. The control gate (base) terminal voltage is set by the voltage across the current sense resistor R3. In the example shown, it is turned off during start-up. As the current increases, the base voltage is pulled down (by the increasing voltage drop across R3) until at a certain current, the pnp transistor turns on. The override function is then deactivated in the manner explained below, and normal current control resumes. A capacitor C3in parallel with the current sense resistor R3stores the base voltage. The override arrangement20for example comprises a circuit which receives the control signal PWM as an input, as shown. The control signal PWM is generated by a (typically wireless controlled) microcontroller unit (MCU). It may be an RF MCU using Zigbee, or infrared or WiFi communication, for example. The source of the control signal PWM is represented inFIG.1as a voltage source V3. Normally, the control signal would be provided to the current drive circuit B1directly. The invention provides the additional override arrangement. The override arrangement20in the example shown has a pull up transistor Q3for pulling up the control signal PWM to a default voltage V2(through resistor R9) when turned on, and isolating the default voltage V2from the control signal when turned off. The default voltage V2thus overrides the normal current control signal. The resistor R9is part of a resistor divider R8, R9between the pull up transistor Q3and the voltage source V3. For example the output from the voltage source V3may be a PWM signal between 0V and 3.3V (i.e. the voltage rails of the controller IC). V2may be a constant voltage of 16V. Thus, when Q3is off, the control signal is a 0V to 3.3V PWM signal. When Q3is on, the voltage divider of R8and R9means the control signal PWM is either 3.2V (when V3=0) or 5.8V (when V3=3.3V). Both of these correspond to a maximum drive current when applied to the current drive circuit. The current drive circuit reacts in the same way to a 3.2V input as to a 5.8V input. The control signal PWM thus has a pulse width modulation profile when the pull up transistor is turned off, and the duty cycle of the pulse width modulation profile defines the current level. Initially, the deactivating switch Q1is turned off. The transistor Q2is off, and the base of Q3is pulled high through base resistor R7. The deactivating switch Q1, when turned on, turns off the pull up transistor Q3. This allows the control signal to operate without being overridden. In particular, when Q1is turned on, Q2is turned on because a current is delivered to the base through Q1, and through the Zener diode D11and resistor R5. Q2in turn pulls down the base of Q3, turning it off. It can be seen that the function of the override arrangement is to implement an OR function between the control signal and an override signal (i.e. the voltage source V2when fed through transistor Q3). This OR function takes place before application of the current setting signal to the current drive circuit. The PWM signal may for example be for setting a very low current, corresponding to a low dimming level of 2-5%. However, initially, the current drive circuit may deliver a 100% current level, until a small threshold current starts flowing through the LED arrangement. Note thatFIG.1is just one example of an implementation. Some or all of the circuits may be integrated into the current drive circuit. The current sensing may be performed internally of the drive IC or externally. In an IC implementation, the current sensing can be done as well in different ways. For example, the analog circuitry with Q2and Q3can be replaced with a logic circuit, in which the override signal forces the PWM to a logical 1 in similar manner to that explained above. Q1needs to have sufficient voltage rating (combined with D11), which relates to a certain amount of cost. The aim of the invention is to stop quick-charging as soon as a current starts to flow through the LEDs. Direct sensing of the LED current by means of resistor R3is only one option. An alternative is to place the LED side of an optocoupler in series with the LEDs, the detection current can then activate the output transistor of the optocoupler directly, with the same functionality as Q2. This is an alternative implementation of the sensing circuit. This option uses generation and detection of light. A further alternative is to implement detection of the light from the LED arrangement using a photodiode or phototransistor. In these cases, the sensor for sensing that current flows through the LED makes use of an optical sensor which senses light caused by the current flow, rather than detecting the current directly. Some component values are shown inFIG.1. These are simply to provide an example of orders of magnitude and are not intended to be limiting in any way. FIG.2shows a LED driving method, comprising: in step30, receiving a current level setting; in step32, during start-up, overriding the current level setting to a default current level; in step34, driving the default current level through a parallel combination of the LED arrangement D10and the output capacitor C2; in step36, sensing when a current flows through the LED arrangement; in step38, deactivating the override function in response to the sensing; and in step40, after deactivation, driving the received current level setting. through the parallel combination of the LED arrangement D10and the output capacitor C2. Sensing when a current flows may involve sensing when a particular threshold current flows, either directly or based on optical sensing of a corresponding light output. This method avoids the initial delay at start-up of the circuit, associated with charging of the output capacitor. The example above is based on a linear current driver. However, the invention may be applied to drivers which make use of switch mode power supplies as well. The example above is based on an analog override circuit and deactivating switch. However, the LED current may be sensed (as the voltage across the current sense resistor) and the signal may then be provided to a signal processor instead of a deactivating switch, which then implements all of the functions explained above digitally. The invention is of interest generally for linear drivers for LED lamps (IC based or with discrete components), or SMPS drivers, such as IC driver circuits, independent of the topology. Variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims. In the claims, the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. If the term “adapted to” is used in the claims or description, it is noted the term “adapted to” is intended to be equivalent to the term “configured to”. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope. | 13,090 |
11943851 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS In the following description, for purposes of explanation, specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the invention can be practiced without these details. Furthermore, one skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments of the present invention, described below, may be implemented in a variety of ways, such as a process, an apparatus, a system, a device, or a method on a tangible computer-readable medium. Components, or modules, shown in diagrams are illustrative of exemplary embodiments of the invention and are meant to avoid obscuring the invention. It shall also be understood that throughout this discussion that components may be described as separate functional units, which may comprise sub-units, but those skilled in the art will recognize that various components, or portions thereof, may be divided into separate components or may be integrated together, including integrated within a single system or component. It should be noted that functions or operations discussed herein may be implemented as components. Components may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, connections between components or systems within the figures are not intended to be limited to direct connections. Rather, data between these components may be modified, re-formatted, or otherwise changed by intermediary components. Also, additional or fewer connections may be used. It shall also be noted that the terms “coupled,” “connected,” or “communicatively coupled” shall be understood to include direct connections, indirect connections through one or more intermediary devices, and wireless connections. Reference in the specification to “one embodiment,” “preferred embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or “embodiments” means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or function described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention and may be in more than one embodiment. Also, the appearances of the above-noted phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or embodiments. The use of certain terms in various places in the specification is for illustration and should not be construed as limiting. A service, function, or resource is not limited to a single service, function, or resource; usage of these terms may refer to a grouping of related services, functions, or resources, which may be distributed or aggregated. The terms “include,” “including,” “comprise,” and “comprising” shall be understood to be open terms and any lists the follow are examples and not meant to be limited to the listed items. Any headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and shall not be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. Each reference mentioned in this patent document is incorporate by reference herein in its entirety. It shall be noted that embodiments described herein are discussed in the context of LED driver circuits, but one skilled in the art shall recognize that the teachings of the present disclosure are not limited to any specific driver circuit, voltage or current regulators, or LED applications and may equally be used in other contexts and to drive non-LED loads. In this document the terms “regulator” and “converter,” and the terms “LED string” and “LED array,” are used interchangeably. “Control circuit” comprises microcontrollers, logic elements, amplifiers, comparators, and any other control elements recognized by one of skilled in the art. As indicated in the Background, certain applications require very short pulse times, i.e., narrow pulse widths. One existing method for achieving such relatively short widths in LED systems utilizes shunt dimming. An exemplary switched-mode LED driver circuit that uses shunt dimming is shown inFIG.2. The shunt dimming circuit200comprises shunting FET110, which is used as a shunting device that is placed in parallel with the string of LEDs104. In operation, shunting FET110creates a controllable short circuit across the string of LEDs104. Shunting FET110can turn the LEDs off during an off period in which LED driver102continues to drive a current through an inductor (not shown inFIG.2) located within LED driver102. Compared to PWM dimming methods using a circuit such as that shown inFIG.1, the shunt dimming method used in connection with circuit200inFIG.2is able to achieve shorter pulse times and higher contrast ratios since a continuous inductor current can be maintained. This is mainly due to the fact that no time is wasted in having to build up a magnetic field in the inductor from scratch, rather one can take advantage of a continuous current flow through the inductor in the driver. One major drawback of existing shunt dimming methods using a circuit such as that inFIG.2, however, is that the output capacitor106is discharged when the string of LEDs104is shunted by FET110. Buck LED driver topologies typically have a small output capacitor having a relatively small capacitance and, therefore, this does not present a serious problem in such applications. Other applications, however, require topologies that utilize a relatively larger output capacitor106, such that the benefit of a continuous inductor current is negated by the fact that output capacitor106needs to be constantly recharged, e.g., from zero to a forward voltage of the LED string104inFIG.2. Output capacitor106, thus, needs to be isolated or disconnected from circuit200during shunting dimming such that output capacitor106does not discharge and cause an unwanted drop in the output voltage. Accordingly, it is desirable to have low-cost systems and methods that allow to maintain a continuous inductor current to accommodate short pulse widths without negatively affecting overall circuit performance. Various embodiments herein allow for the use of shunt dimming, while achieving narrow PWM pulse durations without the need for dedicated shunting switch, or switched coupled in series with the output capacitor to prevent it from discharging in H-bridge buck-boost converters and related applications.FIG.3shows a common H-bridge buck-boost LED driver circuit As depicted inFIG.3, H-bridge buck-boost LED driver circuit300comprises H-bridge302that is energized by power source130and comprises FETs132-138and inductor140. Circuit300comprises output capacitor106that is coupled to a ground potential via FET108. Circuit300further comprises bypass FET120that is coupled to optionally shunt LED string104to ground potential. In operation, when LEDs string104conducts current, FET108is closed, FET120is open, and a feedback loop (not shown) in H-bridge buck-boost LED driver circuit300controls the switching of FETs132through138to regulate a desired current through LED string104, as indicated inFIG.4, which depicts current paths during shunt dimming. Same numerals as inFIG.3denote similar elements. When the LEDs in string104are turned off, FET108is open, FET120is closed, and FETs132through138are controlled to maintain the current through inductor140. Once FET120is closed, H-bridge302operates in a buck mode since the output voltage, which assumes a ground potential, will always be less than the input voltage. FIG.5illustrates a dimming method for an H-Bridge, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. H-bridge buck-boost LED driver circuit500comprises H-bridge520, which is energized by power source130and comprises switches502-508and inductor510. Circuit500further comprises LED string516, switch514, and output capacitor512, which is coupled to a ground potential. It is noted that unlike circuit400inFIG.4, output capacitor512is directly coupled to ground. In other words, output capacitor512does not require a switching element to shunt LED string516to a ground potential during operation. Further, unlike the high-side PWM dimming configuration inFIG.4, the circuit inFIG.5, in addition to benefitting from the continuous inductor current of shunt dimming, takes advantage of a reduced number of circuit components, thereby reducing the complexities involved therewith and also reducing manufacturing cost. This is made possible by the fact that switch506, in a shunting mode, is open and behaves like an isolation switch, while switch508remains closed, acting similar to bypass FET120inFIG.4, and alternately switches502and504. In this manner, a continuous current flowing through inductor510may be maintained in shunting mode. Dashed lines inFIG.5indicate the current flow through inductor510when switches502and504alternate. For comparison, the phases of dashed lines522and524correspond respective phases of dashed lines402and404inFIG.4. In effect, the topology illustrated inFIG.5combines the functions of FETs120and138into those of switch508and combines the functions of FETs108and136into those of switch506. In embodiments, it may be advantageous to have a current flowing through the inductor510inFIG.5that is not only continuous but is also regulated to the same value irrespective of whether LEDs in string516are in a conducting mode or turned off. To accomplish this, in embodiments, an average current mode control architecture, such as that shown inFIG.6may be implemented. FIG.6illustrates an exemplary H-bridge buck-boost converter circuit that utilizes average current mode control, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. For clarity, components similar to those shown inFIG.5are labeled in a same manner. For purposes of brevity, a description or their function is not repeated here. In embodiments, driver circuit600inFIG.6may comprise current sense amplifier624, error amplifiers630-632, comparators634-636, clock-based logic circuitry640-642, and gate driver644. As depicted, driver circuit600comprises two feedback loops. A first loop (hereinafter, “inner loop”) that may comprise switch502,504,508, error amplifier630, comparators634-636, e.g., a pair of PWM comparators, logic circuitry640-642, and gate driver644; and a second loop (hereinafter, “outer loop”) that may comprise switch502-508, resistor622, current sense amplifier624, error amplifiers630-632, comparators634-636, logic circuitry640-642, and gate driver644. In embodiments, current sense amplifier624and error amplifier632in the outer loop may be used to set a desired current through LED string516, e.g., as determined by reference voltage650that may be user-programmable. As depicted, the output of error amplifier632may be used to control the input of error amplifier630. In embodiments, once the LEDs in string516are conducting, the inner loop may generate an error voltage between the outer loop and the sensed current flowing through switch506. The obtained error voltage may be input to the pair of PWM comparators634-636, which may set the duty cycle of one or more of switches502-508of H-bridge520to regulate an average current through switch506. In embodiments, since switch506is coupled in series with LED string516, the feedback arrangement inFIG.6may adjust the average current flowing through switch506and the current flowing through LED string516to have substantially the same value. For example, the average current flowing through switch506may be substantially equal to the current flowing through LED string516. In embodiments, once the LEDs in string516are turned off, e.g., by switch514, the outer loop error amplifier632may be disconnected to maintain the same value at the non-inverting input of the inner loop error amplifier630. The inner loop amplifier630may then be switched, via switch638, to sense the current flowing through switch508. In this manner, the same average current that is regulated through switch506in a non-shunting mode may now be the average current that is regulated through switch508in a shunting mode. In embodiments, when H-bridge520operates in buck mode when the LEDs in string516are conducting, the average current through inductor510may, thus, be substantially the same as the average current through LED string516. For example, the average current through inductor510may be substantially equal to the average current through LED string516. Therefore, the average current in inductor510during shunting mode may also be substantially the same since H-bridge520is also operating in a buck configuration. It is understood that the H-bridge buck-boost converter topology, including its control circuit illustrated in driver circuit600, are not limited to the constructional detail shown there or described in the accompanying text. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, any suitable control circuit may be used to accomplish the objectives of the present disclosure. Similarly, those skilled in the art will recognize that a number of the elements described above may be physically and/or functionally separated into sub-modules or combined in various configurations. It is further understood that, in a non-shunting mode, the H-bridge buck-boost converter may operate in buck mode, boost mode, and buck-boost mode, while achieving the objectives of the present disclosure. Experimental results demonstrate that such control schemes are expected to achieve LED current pulse widths in the order of less than a microsecond.FIG.7shows exemplary simulation results that illustrate the effect of average current mode control as applied to a switched-mode LED driver circuit, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. It shall be noted that these experiments and results are provided by way of illustration and were performed under specific conditions using a specific embodiment or embodiments; accordingly, neither these experiments nor their results shall be used to limit the scope of the disclosure of the current patent document. The results inFIG.7demonstrate that a very narrow PWM dimming pulse704and LED current708can be achieved using a topology similar to that shown inFIG.6to switch from the outer loop to the inner loop during a dimming phase. In various embodiments, this is accomplished without the need for an additional shunting FET or a grounding FET for the output capacitor. As shown inFIG.7, a substantially continuous inductor current706of about 1 A and an output voltage702of about 7V can be maintained, free of unwanted drops and other perturbations that otherwise could negatively affect circuit performance, including ESR performance, and the like. FIG.8is a flowchart of an illustrative process for generating short load current pulses using an H-bridge in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. In embodiments, process800for generating short load current pulses may begin at step802when, in a shunting mode, a low-side switch of an H-bridge is controlled to drive a first average current. At step804, in a non-shunting mode, a high-side switch of the H-bridge may be controlled to drive a second average current. The first and second average switch currents are substantially the same, thereby, gaining the advantage of shunt dimming by maintaining the energy in the inductor without the disadvantage of discharging the output capacitor. In embodiments, in a buck mode, the current flowing through the inductor will be the same in both shunting mode and non-shunting mode, e.g., when LEDs that represent a load are conducting. One skilled in the art shall recognize that: (1) certain steps may optionally be performed; (2) steps may not be limited to the specific order set forth herein; (3) certain steps may be performed in different orders; and (4) certain steps may be done concurrently. FIG.9is a flowchart of an alternative process for generating short load current pulses using an H-bridge in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. In embodiments, process900may begin at step902when, an average current mode control circuit is used to obtain an error voltage from a first circuit loop that comprises a low-side switch, e.g., in an H-bridge buck-boost converter circuit. At step904, information about a load current may be used, e.g., from a second circuit loop comprising the high-side switch of the H-bridge buck-boost converter circuit. Finally, at step906, a first average current, which in a shunting mode flows through the low-side switch in the converter circuit, may be adjusted to be substantially the same as a second average current, which in a non-shunting mode flows through the high-side switch. Aspects of the present invention may be encoded upon one or more non-transitory computer-readable media with instructions for one or more processors or processing units to cause steps to be performed. It shall be noted that the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media shall include volatile and non-volatile memory. It shall be noted that alternative implementations are possible, including a hardware implementation or a software/hardware implementation. Hardware-implemented functions may be realized using application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable arrays, digital signal processing circuitry, or the like. Accordingly, the terms in any claims are intended to cover both software and hardware implementations. Similarly, the term “computer-readable medium or media” as used herein includes software and/or hardware having a program of instructions embodied thereon, or a combination thereof. With these implementation alternatives in mind, it is to be understood that the figures and accompanying description provide the functional information one skilled in the art would require to write program code (i.e., software) and/or to fabricate circuits (i.e., hardware) to perform the processing required. It shall be noted that embodiments of the present invention may further relate to computer products with a non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium that have computer code thereon for performing various computer-implemented operations. The media and computer code may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind known or available to those having skill in the relevant arts. Examples of tangible computer-readable media include, but are not limited to: magnetic media such as hard disks; optical media such as CD-ROMs and holographic devices; magneto-optical media; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store or to store and execute program code, such as ASICs, programmable logic devices (PLDs), flash memory devices, and ROM and RAM devices. Examples of computer code include machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that are executed by a computer using an interpreter. Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in whole or in part as machine-executable instructions that may be in program modules that are executed by a processing device. Examples of program modules include libraries, programs, routines, objects, components, and data structures. In distributed computing environments, program modules may be physically located in settings that are local, remote, or both. One skilled in the art will recognize no computing system or programming language is critical to the practice of the present invention. One skilled in the art will also recognize that a number of the elements described above may be physically and/or functionally separated into sub-modules or combined together. It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art that the preceding examples and embodiments are exemplary and not limiting to the scope of the present disclosure. It is intended that all permutations, enhancements, equivalents, combinations, and improvements thereto that are apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings are included within the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It shall also be noted that elements of any claims may be arranged differently including having multiple dependencies, configurations, and combinations. | 20,195 |
11943852 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The disclosure presented in the following written description and the various features and advantageous details thereof, are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting examples included in the accompanying drawings and as detailed in the description, which follow. Descriptions of well-known components have been omitted to not unnecessarily obscure the principal features described herein. The examples used in the following description are intended to facilitate an understanding of the ways in which the disclosure can be implemented and practiced. A person of ordinary skill in the art would read this disclosure to mean that any suitable combination of the functionality or exemplary embodiments below could be combined to achieve the subject matter claimed. The disclosure includes either a representative number of species falling within the scope of the genus or structural features common to the members of the genus so that one of ordinary skill in the art can visualize or recognize the members of the genus. Accordingly, these examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims. FIG.1illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a smart lamp communication system100. The system100can include a first lamp component102, a first processor104, a first LED strip106, a first plurality of LEDs108a-108f, a second LED strip110, a second plurality of LEDs112a-112f, a first PLC transceiver114, a first DIP switches116, a second lamp component118, a second processor120, a third LED strip122, a third plurality of LEDs124a-124f, a fourth LED strip126, a fourth plurality of LEDs128a-128f, a second PLC transceiver130, a second DIP switches132, a signal bungalow134including a surge panel136, terminals138a-138c, a PLC receiver140, and mast inputs142a-142b. The first lamp component102, in an embodiment, can include a reflective covering to illuminate a surrounding environment. For example, the first lamp component102can include a reflective material sufficient for oncoming travelers to identify the system100. The first processor104, in an embodiment, can include any device to perform logic processing. For example, the first processor104can include a microprocessor programmable to include software programs to interface and control various components of the system100. In an example, the microprocessor can include a RASPBERRY PI, ARDUINO, or another type of microprocessor. In another example, the first processor104can be coupled to the first LED strip106, the second LED strip110, the first PLC transceiver114, and the first DIP switches116. In an example, the components of the system100can be independent of another. For example, the first processor104can be housed within a ruggedized housing unit independent of the first LED strip106and the second LED strip110. In another example, the first processor104can receive statuses of the first LED strip106and the second LED strip110. For example, the statuses can indicate whether the first LED strip106and the second LED strip110are operating normally. In an example, the statuses can indicate whether the first LED strip106or the second LED strip110are inoperable. In an example, the statuses can indicate whether the first LED strip106and the second LED strip110are inoperable. The first processor104can generate a communication payload based on the statuses of the first LED strip106and the second LED strip110. For example, the first processor104can include a state machine to convert the statuses to binary representation. In an example, the binary representation can be as follows. StateBinaryMeaning000All LED strips are inoperable101The first LED string 106 is inoperable, the second LEDstring 110 is operable210The first LED string 106 is operable, the second LEDstring 110 is inoperable311The first LED string 106 is operable, the second LEDstring 110 is operable In another example, the first processor104can generate a communication payload corresponding to the statuses. For example, the first processor104can perform various protocol actions across a time window. The protocol actions can include wakeup, delay, transmission, and silence. The wakeup action can include the system100receives power, performs self-diagnostic checks, and prepares the system100for transmitting over the power line. The delay can include activation of a communication timing delay based on a position of the first DIP switches116and standby to transmit a message. The transmission can include an end to the delay and the system100transmits the ID and the statuses. The silence can include a standby to lose power when the time window ends. The time window can include a 1 second duration. The first LED strip106, in an embodiment, can include a housing for the first plurality of LEDs108a-108f. For example, the first LED strip106can include independent structures for each of the first plurality of LEDs108a-108fIn an example, the first LED strip106can include electrical hardware (not shown) to power the first LED strip106. For example, the first LED strip106can receive between 9 and 16 volts (V) either alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC). In another example, the LED strip106can include non-polarity sensitive hardware. In another example, the first LED strip106can transmit statuses corresponding to the first plurality of LEDs108a-108fto the first processor104. For example, the statuses can include the first LED strip106is either operable or inoperable. The first LED strip106can indicate the first plurality of LEDs108a-108fare operable when at least one of the first plurality of LEDs108a-108fare operating normally. The first LED strip106can indicate the first plurality of LEDs108a-108fare inoperable when none of the first plurality of LEDs108a-108fare operating normally. The first plurality of LEDs108a-108f, in an embodiment, can include LEDs of various colors and manufacturing capabilities. For example, the first plurality of LEDs108a-108fcan include at least one LED. In an example, the first plurality of LEDs108a-108fcan each be coupled in series. In another example, the first plurality of LEDs108a-108fcan each be coupled in parallel. The second LED strip110, in an embodiment, can include a housing for the second plurality of LEDs112a-112f. For example, the second LED strip110can include independent structures for each of the second plurality of LEDs112a-112fIn an example, the second LED strip110can include electrical hardware (not shown) to power the second LED strip110. The second plurality of LEDs112a-112f, in an embodiment, can include LEDs of various colors and manufacturing capabilities. For example, the second plurality of LEDs112a-112fcan include at least one LED. In an example, the second plurality of LEDs112a-112fcan each be coupled in series. In another example, the second plurality of LEDs112a-112fcan each be coupled in parallel. The first PLC transceiver114, in an embodiment, can transmit data on a conductive wire that is also used for power transmission. For example, the first PLC transceiver114can transmit statuses of the first LED strip106and the second LED strip110and positions of the first DIP switches116via power-line communications utilizing voltage feed lines powering the smart lamp. The voltage feed lines can include AC power transmission. In an example, the voltage feed lines can include DC power transmission and the first PLC transceiver114can include a converter hardware to convert the DC power for data communications (i.e., modulate the DC power corresponding to bits of the data communications). In another example, the first PLC transceiver114can operate by adding a modulated carrier signal to the power line. For example, the power line transmitting power to the system100can include the modulated carrier signal at a particular frequency. The particular frequency can include a narrowband, a low speed narrowband, and a medium speed narrowband. In an example, the narrowband can include a data rate of 20 bits per second (bit/s). For example, the narrowband can include industry standard protocols such as X10, Consumer Electronics Bus (CEBus), Local Operating Networks (LonWorks), a custom protocol, or another relevant industry standard protocol. The low speed narrowband can include a data rate of 200 to 1200 bit/s. For example, the low speed narrowband can include industry standard protocols such as IEC 61334, Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP), ETSI 103 908, a custom protocol, or another relevant industry standard protocol. The medium speed narrowband can include a data rate of up to 576 kilobits per second (kbit/s). For example, the medium speed narrowband can include industry standard protocols such as G3-PLC (ITU G.9903), a custom protocol, or another relevant industry standard protocol. In an example, the first PLC transceiver114can include a wiring schematic coupled to the PLC receiver134. The first PLC transceiver114can include a first connection and a second connection. For example, the first connection can be coupled to the terminal138aand the second connection can be coupled to the terminal138b. The terminal138bcan alter a polarity of a source corresponding with time. For example, for a first duration the alternating source can transmit a positive current or voltage and for a second duration the alternating source can transmit a negative current or voltage. In another example, the first PLC transceiver114and the first processor104can be included on a single printed circuit board as modules or independent devices. The first DIP switches116, in an embodiment, can include a manual electric switch that is packaged with others in a group in a standard dual in-line package. In an example, the first DIP switches116can refer to each individual switch, or to the unit as a whole. In another example, the first DIP switches116can be used on a printed circuit board along with other electronic components and can be used to customize the behavior of an electronic device for specific situations. The first DIP switches116, in an embodiment, can include a manual electric switch that is packaged with others in a group in a standard dual in-line package. In an example, the first DIP switches116can be used on a printed circuit board along with other electronic components and can be used to customize the behavior of an electronic device for specific situations. In an example, the first DIP switches116can represent an identifier of the first LED strip106and the second LED strip110. In an example, the first DIP switches116can correspond to various positions. For example, the switch positions can correspond to a unique ID corresponding to the first lamp component102. As illustrated inFIG.2, the position of switches is represented based on a position of the white box for each of the DIP switches116, either up or down. In another example, the first switch of the first DIP switches116can correspond to a physical position of the first lamp component102. For example, the first lamp component102can be on a right side or a left side relative to a reference point. In an example, the first lamp component102on the left side of the reference point can include the first switch to be in an up position (“1”) indicating a left lamp. The remaining switches can be used for a unique ID and a time delay value, which can be used for timing of communication. In an example, the first DIP switches116can include at least seven DIP switches. The second lamp component118, in an embodiment, can include a reflective covering to illuminate a surrounding environment. For example, the second lamp component118can include a reflective material sufficient for oncoming travelers to identify the system100. The second processor120, in an embodiment, can include any device to perform logic processing. For example, the second processor120can include a microprocessor programmable to include software programs to interface and control various components of the system100. In an example, the microprocessor can include a RASPBERRY PI, ARDUINO, or another type of microprocessor. In another example, the second processor120can be coupled to the third LED strip122, the fourth LED strip126, the Second PLC transceiver130, and the plurality of second DIP switches132. In an example, the components of the system100can be independent of another. For example, the second processor120can be housed within a ruggedized housing unit independent of the third LED strip122and the fourth LED strip126. In another example, the second processor120can receive statuses of the third LED strip122and the fourth LED strip126. For example, the statuses can indicate whether the third LED strip122and the fourth LED strip126are operating normally. In an example, the statuses can indicate whether the third LED strip122or the fourth LED strip126are inoperable. In an example, the statuses can indicate whether the third LED strip122and the fourth LED strip126are inoperable. The second processor120can generate a communication payload based on the statuses of the third LED strip122and the fourth LED strip126. For example, the second processor120can include a state machine to convert the statuses to binary representation. In an example, the binary representation can be as follows. StateBinaryMeaning000Both LED strips are inoperable101The first LED string 106 is inoperable, the second LEDstring 110 is operable210The first LED string 106 is operable, the second LEDstring 110 is inoperable311The first LED string 106 is operable, the second LEDstring 110 is operable In another example, the second processor120can generate a communication payload corresponding to the statuses. For example, the second processor120can perform various protocol actions across a time window. The protocol actions can include wakeup, delay, transmission, and silence. The wakeup action can include the system100receives power, performs self-diagnostic checks, and prepares the system100for transmitting over the power line. The delay can include activation of a communication timing delay based on a position of the second DIP switches132and standby to transmit a message. The transmission can include an end to the delay and the system100transmits the ID and the statuses. The silence can include a standby to lose power when the time window ends. The time window can include a 1 second duration. The third LED strip122, in an embodiment, can include a housing for the third plurality of LEDs124a-124f. For example, the third LED strip122can include independent structures for each of the third plurality of LEDs124a-124f. In an example, the third LED strip122can include electrical hardware (not shown) to power the third LED strip122. For example, the third LED strip122can receive between 9 and 16 volts (V) either alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC). In another example, the LED strip106can include non-polarity sensitive hardware. In another example, the third LED strip122can transmit statuses corresponding to the third plurality of LEDs124a-124fto the second processor120. For example, the statuses can include the third LED strip122is either operable or inoperable. The third LED strip122can indicate the third plurality of LEDs124a-124fare operable when at least one of the third plurality of LEDs124a-124fare operating normally. The third LED strip122can indicate the third plurality of LEDs124a-124fare inoperable when none of the third plurality of LEDs124a-124fare operating normally. The third plurality of LEDs124a-124f, in an embodiment, can include LEDs of various colors and manufacturing capabilities. For example, the third plurality of LEDs124a-124fcan include at least one LED. In an example, the third plurality of LEDs124a-124fcan each be coupled in series. In another example, the third plurality of LEDs124a-124fcan each be coupled in parallel. The fourth LED strip126, in an embodiment, can include a housing for the fourth plurality of LEDs128a-128fFor example, the fourth LED strip126can include independent structures for each of the fourth plurality of LEDs128a-128fIn an example, the fourth LED strip126can include electrical hardware (not shown) to power the fourth LED strip126. The fourth plurality of LEDs128a-128f, in an embodiment, can include LEDs of various colors and manufacturing capabilities. For example, the fourth plurality of LEDs128a-128fcan include at least one LED. In an example, the fourth plurality of LEDs128a-128fcan each be coupled in series. In another example, the fourth plurality of LEDs128a-128fcan each be coupled in parallel. The second PLC transceiver130, in an embodiment, can transmit data on a conductive wire that is also used for power transmission. For example, the second PLC transceiver130can transmit statuses of the third LED strip122and the fourth LED strip126and positions of the second DIP switches132via power-line communications utilizing voltage feed lines powering the smart lamp. The voltage feed lines can include AC power transmission. In an example, the voltage feed lines can include DC power transmission and the second PLC transceiver130can include a converter hardware to convert the DC power for data communications (i.e., modulate the DC power corresponding to bits of the data communications). In another example, the second PLC transceiver130can operate by adding a modulated carrier signal to the power line. For example, the power line transmitting power to the system100can include the modulated carrier signal at a particular frequency. The particular frequency can include a narrowband, a low speed narrowband, and a medium speed narrowband. In an example, the narrowband can include a data rate of 20 bits per second (bit/s). For example, the narrowband can include industry standard protocols such as X10, Consumer Electronics Bus (CEBus), Local Operating Networks (LonWorks), a custom protocol, or another relevant industry standard protocol. The low speed narrowband can include a data rate of 200 to 1200 bit/s. For example, the low speed narrowband can include industry standard protocols such as IEC 61334, Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP), ETSI 103 908, a custom protocol, or another relevant industry standard protocol. The medium speed narrowband can include a data rate of up to 576 kilobits per second (kbit/s). For example, the medium speed narrowband can include industry standard protocols such as G3-PLC (ITU G.9903), a custom protocol, or another relevant industry standard protocol. In an example, the second PLC transceiver130can include a wiring schematic coupled to the PLC receiver134. The second PLC transceiver130can include a third connection and a fourth connection. For example, the third connection can be coupled to the terminal138band the fourth connection can be coupled to the terminal138c. The terminal138bcan alter a polarity of a source corresponding with time. For example, for a first duration the alternating source can transmit a positive current or voltage and for a second duration the alternating source can transmit a negative current or voltage. In another example, the second PLC transceiver130and the second processor120can be included on a single printed circuit board as modules or independent devices. The second DIP switches132, in an embodiment, can include a manual electric switch that is packaged with others in a group in a standard dual in-line package. In an example, the second DIP switches132can be used on a printed circuit board along with other electronic components and can be used to customize the behavior of an electronic device for specific situations. In an example, the second DIP switches132can represent an identifier of the third LED strip122and the fourth LED strip126. In an example, the second DIP switches132can correspond to various positions. For example, the switch positions can correspond to a unique ID corresponding to the second lamp component118. As illustrated inFIG.2, the position of the second DIP switches132is represented based on a position of the white box for each of the switches, either up or down. In an example, the first switch of the second DIP switches132can correspond to a physical position of the second lamp component118. For example, the second lamp component118can be on a right side or a left side relative to a reference point. In an example, the second lamp component118on the right side of the reference point can include the first switch to be in a down position (“0”) indicating a right lamp. The remaining switches can be used for a unique ID and a time delay value, which can be used for timing of communication. In an example, the second DIP switches132can include at least seven DIP switches. The signal bungalow134, in an embodiment, can provide a housing for the surge panel136, terminals138a-138c, the PLC receiver140, and the mast inputs142a-142b. For example, the housing can include a ruggedized material to protect the internal components from any environmental characteristics and hazards. In an example, the signal bungalow134can correspond to a crossing control house for a railway crossing application. The surge panel136, in an embodiment, can protect against power surges. For example, the power surges can include electrical signals greater than a predetermined voltage or current threshold. The surge panel136can ensure protection of any subsequent components from being short circuited from spikes in electrical activity. For example, the surge panel136can reduce the power surge to a manageable power level corresponding to an appropriate power distribution level for the subsequent electrical components. In an example, the surge panel136can include the terminals138a-138c. The terminals138a-138c, in an embodiment, can include a connector coupling electrical hardware. For example, the terminals138a-138ccan couple the first PLC transceiver114and the second PLC transceiver130to the PLC receiver140. The terminals138a-138ccan include a variety of types including a wire connector, butt connectors, push on terminals, ring terminals, spade terminals, hook terminals, bullet connector, pin terminals, sealed connector, a fastener, or another type of terminal relevant for the application. The terminals138a-138ccan transfer current from a power or grounding source for the application. In an example, the terminals138a-138ccan include wire terminals, creating a secure electrical connection. In another example, the terminals138a-138ccan be insulated or non-insulating. The PLC receiver140, in an embodiment, can receive data on a conductive wire that is also used for power transmission. For example, the power transmission can include AC power. In an example, the power transmission can include DC and the PLC receiver140can include a power converter to convert the DC power to AC for data communications. In another example, the PLC receiver140can operate by adding a modulated carrier signal to the power line. For example, the power line between the components of the system100can include the modulated carrier signal at a particular frequency. The particular frequency can include a narrowband, a low speed narrowband, and a medium speed narrowband. In an example, the narrowband can include a data rate of 20 bits per second (bit/s). For example, the narrowband can include industry standard protocols such as X10, Consumer Electronics Bus (CEBus), Local Operating Networks (LonWorks), a custom protocol, or another relevant industry standard protocol. The low speed narrowband can include a data rate of 200 to 1200 bit/s. For example, the low speed narrowband can include industry standard protocols such as IEC 61334, Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP), ETSI 103 908, a custom protocol, or another relevant industry standard protocol. The medium speed narrowband can include a data rate of up to 576 kilobits per second (kbit/s). For example, the medium speed narrowband can include industry standard protocols such as G3-PLC (ITU G.9903), a custom protocol, or another relevant industry standard protocol. In another example, the PLC receiver140, can receive position information from the first PLC transceiver114and the second PLC transceiver130, ID information corresponding to the first DIP switches116and the second DIP switches132, and statuses of the first LED strip106, the second LED strip110, the third LED strip122, and the fourth LED strip126. The position information can correspond to a relative position of each of the first lamp component102and the second lamp component118. For example, when the first lamp component102is to the left of the second lamp component118, the position information represents the positions of each respective component. In an example, the PLC receiver140can receive electrical signals from the terminals138a-138c. The PLC receiver140can include at least one dual polarity terminal. For example, the terminals138a-138ccan provide power to the first PLC transceiver114and the second PLC transceiver130. In an example, the terminals138a-138ccan correspond to an LXE circuit, LNE circuit, and LE circuit to provide power. The LXE can be a dedicated positive. The LNE can be a dedicated negative. The LE can include dual polarities providing a polarity swapping conductor used to provide positive energy to one component, and act as a negative to another component. In this way, the LE circuit changes polarity, the PLC receiver140can include terminal connections that are not polarity sensitive. In another example, the PLC receiver140can correspond to a web-based graphical user interface (web GUI) allowing a technician to configure and customize the system100to match the application. For example, the system100is exemplary and can extrapolate to any number of PLC transceivers and LED strips. For example, the system100can illuminate a railway crossing with two smart lamps (e.g., the system100) and the web GUI can allocate the unique IDs of the DIP switches to the PLC receiver140such that the PLC receiver140can communicate with the PLC transceivers. In an example, the web GUI can include both configurable labels (i.e. left/right) and fixed objects that are non-configurable, that can be selected (i.e. front/rear). In an example, if an object is selected, a label should be attached. In an example, the PLC receiver140can include the mast inputs142a-142b. The mast inputs142a-142b, in an embodiment, can interface the terminals138a-138cto the PLC receiver140. FIG.2illustrates a schematic view of a smart lamp system200, in accordance with one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The system200can include a smart lamp202having one or more processor(s)204, a memory230, machine-readable instructions206, including an LED input module208, LED identification module210, LED status module212, LED reset module214, switch identification module216, switch update module218, switch reset module220, PLC status module222, characteristics monitoring module224, communication module226, among other relevant modules. The smart lamp202can be operably coupled to a PLC transceiver240and at least one LED strip260. The PLC transceiver240can include network architecture components such as a server, modem, router, or another type of hardware or software for communicating data to the PLC receiver270. In another example, the PLC transceiver240can include an application configured to communicate with the smart lamp202over wired or wireless communication methods. The PLC receiver270can include network architecture components such as a server, modem, router, or another type of hardware or software for communicating data to the network250. In another example, the PLC receiver270can include an application configured to communicate with the PLC transceiver240over wired or wireless communication methods. The LED strip260can include a housing for a plurality of LEDs. The aforementioned system components (e.g., smart lamp202and PLC transceiver240) can be communicably coupled to other smart lamp systems via the network250, such that data can be transmitted. The network250can be the Internet, intranet, a Modbus communication network, or other suitable network. The data transmission can be encrypted, unencrypted, over a VPN tunnel, or other suitable communication means. The network250can be a WAN, LAN, PAN, or other suitable network type. The network communication between the PLC transceiver240, smart lamp202, or any other system component can be encrypted using PGP, Blowfish, Twofish, AES, 3DES, HTTPS, or other suitable encryption. The system200can be configured to provide communication via the various systems, components, and modules disclosed herein via a web GUI, an application programming interface (API), Modbus, PCI, PCI-Express, ANSI-X12, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or other suitable communication protocol or medium. Additionally, third party systems and databases can be operably coupled to the system components via the network250. The data transmitted to and from the components of system200(e.g., the smart lamp202and PLC transceiver240), can include any format, including JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), TCP/IP, XML, HTML, ASCII, SMS, CSV, representational state transfer (REST), remote terminal unit (RTU), or other suitable format. The data transmission can include a variation of the foregoing formats particular for use with the Modbus protocol. The data transmission can include a message, flag, header, header properties, metadata, and/or a body, or be encapsulated and packetized by any suitable format having same. The smart lamp202can be implemented in hardware, software, or a suitable combination of hardware and software therefor, and may include one or more software systems operating on one or more smart lamp202, having one or more processor(s)204, with access to memory230. The smart lamp202can include electronic storage, one or more processors, and/or other components. The smart lamp202can include communication lines, power lines, connections, and/or ports to enable the exchange of information via a network (e.g., the network250) and/or other computing platforms. The smart lamp202can also include a plurality of hardware, software, and/or firmware components operating together to provide the functionality attributed herein to the smart lamp202. For example, the smart lamp202can be implemented in a virtual environment by a cloud of computing platforms operating together as the smart lamp202, including Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) functionality. Additionally, the smart lamp202can include memory230. Memory230can include electronic storage that can include non-transitory storage media that electronically stores information. The electronic storage media of electronic storage can include one or both of system storage that can be provided integrally (e.g., substantially non-removable) with the smart lamp202and/or removable storage that can be removably connectable to the smart lamp202via, for example, a port (e.g., a USB port, a firewire port, etc.) or a drive (e.g., a disk drive, etc.). Electronic storage may include one or more of optically readable storage media (e.g., optical disks, etc.), magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape, magnetic hard drive, floppy drive, etc.), electrical charge-based storage media (e.g., EEPROM, RAM, etc.), solid-state storage media (e.g., flash drive, etc.), and/or other electronically readable storage media. Electronic storage may include one or more virtual storage resources (e.g., cloud storage, a virtual private network, and/or other virtual storage resources). The electronic storage can include a database, or public or private distributed ledger (e.g., blockchain). Electronic storage can store machine-readable instructions206, software algorithms, control logic, data generated by processor(s), data received from server(s), data received from computing platform(s), and/or other data that can enable server(s) to function as described herein. The electronic storage can also include third-party databases accessible via the network250. Processor(s)204can be configured to provide data processing capabilities in the smart lamp202. As such, processor(s)204can include one or more of a digital processor, an analog processor, a digital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuit designed to process information, a state machine, and/or other mechanisms for electronically processing information, such as FPGAs or ASICs. The processor(s)204can be a single entity or include a plurality of processing units. These processing units can be physically located within the same device, or processor(s)204can represent processing functionality of a plurality of devices or software functionality operating alone, or in concert. The processor(s)204can be configured to execute machine-readable instructions206or machine learning modules via software, hardware, firmware, some combination of software, hardware, and/or firmware, and/or other mechanisms for configuring processing capabilities on processor(s)204. As used herein, the term “machine-readable instructions” can refer to any component or set of components that perform the functionality attributed to the machine-readable instructions component206. This can include one or more physical processor(s)204during execution of processor-readable instructions, the processor-readable instructions, circuitry, hardware, storage media, or any other components. The smart lamp202can be configured with machine-readable instructions206having one or more functional modules and a computer-implemented method for operating the smart lamp. The machine-readable instructions206can be implemented on one or more smart lamp202, having one or more processor(s)204, with access to memory230. The machine-readable instructions206can be a single networked node, or a machine cluster, which can include a distributed architecture of a plurality of networked nodes. The machine-readable instructions206can include control logic for implementing various functionality, as described in more detail below. The machine-readable instructions206can include certain functionality associated with the system200. Additionally, the machine-readable instructions206can include a smart contract or multi-signature contract that can process, read, and write data to the database, distributed ledger, or blockchain. FIG.3illustrates a schematic view of a smart lamp system300, in accordance with one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The system300can include an LED system302, DIP switch system304, and PLC interface system306. Although certain exemplary embodiments may be directed to a particular hardware architecture, the system300can be extrapolated to be used for controlling a plurality of smart lamps in various configurations. In one embodiment, the LED system302can include the LED input module208, LED identification module210, and LED status module212. The LED input module208, LED identification module210, and LED status module212can implement one or more algorithms to identify and monitor statuses of LEDs. The algorithms can be programmable to suit a configuration of LEDs for particular applications, such as monitoring the statuses of the LEDs for a railway crossing. The LED input module208, in an embodiment, can interface a processor with a strip of LEDs. For example, the processor204and the strip of LEDs260fromFIG.5. In an example, the LED input module208can receive electrical signals corresponding to the LED strips for a smart lamp. In an example, the LEDs can correspond to a collective electrical signal transmitted to the processor at a particular voltage. The particular voltage can correspond with a manufacturer of the LEDs. For example, a first manufacturer can provide LEDs with a threshold voltage lower than LEDs from a second manufacturer. The LED identification module210, in an embodiment, can identify a particular LED strip of the smart lamp. For example, the LED identification module210can identify the LED strip based on an LED ID corresponding to each of the LED strips. In an example, the LED identification module210can include LED information corresponding to the LEDs present in the smart lamp. The LED identification module210can compare input signals from the LEDs to the LED information to identify the LED strips. The LED status module212, in an embodiment, can identify a status of the LED strips. For example, the LED status module212can identify which of the LED strips is operational. For example, the LED status module212can receive inputs from each of the LED strips indicating an ID and a status of the LEDs. In an example, the LED status module212can identify whether the LED strip is in an inoperable state based on the inputs from the LED strips. Alternatively, the LED status module212can determine whether the LED strips are in an operable state. For example, the LED strips can transmit the inputs including a binary representation of the state of the LEDs. The LED status module212can receive the inputs and classify the LED strips based on the states of the LED strips. In an example, the LED status module212can identify which particular LEDs of the LED strips are inoperable. The LED reset module214, in an embodiment, can reset the LED strips. For example, the LED reset module214can restart the LED strips by transmitting a reset instruction to the LED strips. In an example, the LED reset module214can transmit a communication payload including a sequence of binary symbols indicating to the LED strips to reset a status. The LED reset module214can correspond with a physical button input from a technician. For example, if the LED strip is inoperable or transmitting an incorrect state to the LED system302, the technician can physically press a button to reset the LED strip. In one embodiment, the DIP switch system304can include the switch identification module216, the switch update module218, and the switch reset module220. The LED reset module214, the switch identification module216, and the switch update module218can implement one or more algorithms to determine a state of a plurality of DIP switches in response to communicating information between the smart lamp system300and a PLC receiver. The algorithms and their associated thresholds and/or signatures can be programmable to uniquely suit a particular application for a plurality of smart lamps. The DIP switch system304can be configured to transmit and receive messages related to DIP switch positions, updates, and states from the PLC interface system306. The switch identification module216, in an embodiment, can identify a current state of the DIP switches. For example, the DIP switches can correspond to various states relating to a position of the smart lamp system300. In an example, the DIP switches can generate an electrical signal based on a mechanical position of the DIP switches, relating to the position of the smart lamp system300. For example, when the smart lamp system300is positioned adjacent to another smart lamp system, the DIP switches can include a configuration representing the relative positions of the DIP switches. In an example, the DIP switches can indicate whether the smart lamp system300is to the left or to the right of a common reference position. The DIP switches can represent the position of the smart lamp system300by a position of one of the DIP switches. For example, when the smart lamp system300is on the left of the common reference position, one of the DIP switches can be in an up state, represented as a binary “1” in the corresponding electrical signal. The switch update module218, in an embodiment, can identify when an update to an arrangement of the DIP switches occurs. For example, the DIP switches can change based on an external input, such as a technician physically flipping the DIP switch. In this way, the switch update module218can identify when the change occurs to the DIP switches by comparing a prior state of the DIP switches with a current state of the DIP switches. In an example, the prior state of the DIP switches can be included in local memory such that it can be stored indefinitely. For example, when the smart lamp system300resets, compatibility between the DIP switches and the prior state can be maintained. Alternatively, when the DIP switches change, the prior state can update to a new configuration and store the current state in local memory. The switch reset module220, in an embodiment, can reset any stored DIP switch arrangement. For example, when the DIP switches shift the mechanical positions causing the electrical signal to include inconsistent values, the switch reset module220can clear any stored DIP switch arrangement such that there is no ambiguity. The switch reset module220can correspond to a physical button to reset the values of the DIP switches. For example, the switch reset module220can correspond to a physical position of the DIP switches. In an example, the DIP switch reset module220can reset the stored DIP switch arrangement when all the DIP switches are in an up (“1”) position, or alternatively, in a down (“0”) position. In one embodiment, the PLC interface system306can include the PLC status module222, the characteristics monitoring module224, and the communication module226. The PLC status module222, the characteristics monitoring module224, and the communication module226can implement one or more algorithms to identify whether a PLC receiver is active, monitor characteristics of the smart lamp system300to identify whether to generate an alert and communicate with the PLC receiver. In an embodiment, the PLC interface system306can monitor when the LEDs are in an inoperable state and communicate the statuses of the LEDs and DIP switch positions to the PLC receiver to identify whether action is needed for the LEDs (i.e., to repair or replace any LEDs or the smart lamp). The PLC status module222, in an embodiment, can identify a status of a PLC receiver. For example, the PLC receiver can be disconnected from the smart lamp system300, resulting in no power-line communications transmitted to the smart lamp system300. In this way, the PLC status module222can identify the PLC receiver is inoperable. In another example, the PLC status module222can identify when the PLC receiver is capable of receiving a data transmission. For example, the PLC receiver can receive data transmission when the crossing relay is active. The PLC receiver can generate a notification to the PLC status module222to enable communications between the two components. The PLC status module222can receive the notification from the PLC receiver and begin the data communication process. The characteristics monitoring module224, in an embodiment, can monitor various characteristics of the smart lamp system300. For example, the characteristics monitoring module224can monitor voltage, current, and DIP switch arrangement of the smart lamp system300. In an example, the characteristics monitoring module224can identify a value of the voltage based on power-line transmission between the PLC interface system306and the PLC receiver. In an example, the characteristics monitoring module224can assign a smart lamp configuration based on the DIP switch arrangement. For example, the DIP switch arrangement can correspond with a physical position of the smart lamp system300in relation to other smart lamps. In an example, the DIP switch arrangement can include a DIP switch position indicating a position of the smart lamp relative to a reference point. For example, the DIP switch position can indicate the smart lamp is to the left of the reference point, or to the right of the reference point based on the DIP switch position being up or down, respectively. The characteristics monitoring module224can identify a value of the current based on power-line transmission between the PLC interface system306and the PLC receiver. The characteristics monitoring module224can identify positions of the DIP switches based on the electrical signal from the DIP switches. The electrical signal can include binary representation of the positions of the DIP switches. In another example, the characteristics monitoring module224can detect an activation failure. For example, the characteristics monitoring module224can identify a number of operational LED strips. In an example, when the number of the operational LED strips is below a threshold the characteristics monitoring can generate an alert as the activation failure. The threshold can include a ratio of the operational LED strips to a total number of LED strips. In an example, the threshold can include the ratio to be 50% of the total number of LED strips are operational. The activation failure can correspond to legal compliance with regulations for public safety. For example, the activation failure can correspond to a number of operational LED strips at a railway crossing. The communication module226, in an embodiment, can transmit data between the PLC interface system306and the PLC receiver. For example, the communication module226can generate a communication payload organizing the DIP switch positions and the statuses of the LED strips in a binary format. The communication module226can transmit the data in a time duration corresponding to a particular application. For example, the communication module226can transmit the data in a 1-second time window. In an example, the communication module226can transmit lamp information. The lamp information can include the DIP switch positions and statuses of the LED strips. FIG.7illustrates a flowchart exemplifying smart lamp control logic400, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The smart lamp control logic400can be implemented as an algorithm on a computer processor (e.g., vital logic controller, microprocessor, RASPBERRY PI, ARDUINO, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), server, etc.), a machine learning module, or other suitable system. Additionally, the smart lamp control logic400can be achieved with software, hardware, firmware, a web GUI, an API, a network connection, a network transfer protocol, a Modbus communication protocol, HTML, DHTML, JavaScript, Dojo, Ruby, Rails, other suitable applications, or a suitable combination thereof. The smart lamp control logic400can interface electrical components to control mechanical components using logic processors. In an embodiment, the smart lamp control logic400can include a plurality of DIP switches for representing an identifier of at least one LED strip. The smart lamp control logic400can interface the DIP switches with a power-line transceiver configured to transmit statuses of the at least one LED strip and DIP switch positions via power-line communications utilizing voltage feed lines powering the smart lamp. The smart lamp control logic400can further include a memory for storing the DIP switch positions, the statuses, and configuration enabling information. Additionally, the smart lamp control logic400can interface the memory with a processor that is configured to configured to monitor the statuses of the at least one LED strip. The smart lamp control logic400implementing hardware components (e.g., computer processor) can be capable of executing machine-readable instructions to perform program steps and operably coupled to a memory for storing the DIP switch positions, the statuses, and configuration enabling information. The smart lamp control logic400can leverage the ability of a computer platform to spawn multiple processes and threads by processing data simultaneously. The speed and efficiency of the smart lamp control logic400can be greatly improved by instantiating more than one process for monitoring a status of LEDs. However, one skilled in the art of programming will appreciate that use of a single processing thread may also be utilized and is within the scope of the present disclosure. The smart lamp control logic400can also be distributed amongst a plurality of networked computer processors. The smart lamp control logic400of the present embodiment begins at step402. At step402, in an embodiment, the control logic400can represent an identifier of at least one LED strip. For example, the control logic400can receive electrical signals corresponding to the LED strips for a smart lamp. In an example, the LEDs can correspond to a collective electrical signal transmitted to the processor at a particular voltage. The particular voltage can correspond with a manufacturer of the LEDs. For example, a first manufacturer can provide LEDs with a threshold voltage lower than LEDs from a second manufacturer. For example, the control logic400can identify the LED strip based on an LED ID corresponding to each of the LED strips. In an example, the control logic400can include LED information corresponding to the LEDs present in the smart lamp. The control logic400can compare input signals from the LEDs to the LED information to identify the LED strips. The control logic400then proceeds to step404. At step404, in an embodiment, the control logic400can monitor the voltage, current, and DIP switch arrangement. For example, the control logic400can monitor voltage, current, and DIP switch arrangement of the smart lamp. In an example, the control logic400can identify a value of the voltage based on power-line transmission between the P control logic400and a PLC receiver. The control logic400can identify a value of the current based on power-line transmission between the control logic400and the PLC receiver. The control logic400can identify positions of the DIP switches based on the electrical signal from the DIP switches. The electrical signal can include binary representation of the positions of the DIP switches. The control logic400then proceeds to step406. At step406, in an embodiment, the control logic400can generate a communications payload based on the statuses and the DIP switch positions. For example, the statuses can indicate whether a first LED strip and a second LED strip are operating normally. In an example, the statuses can indicate whether the first LED strip or the second LED strip are inoperable. In an example, the statuses can indicate whether the first LED strip and the second LED strip are inoperable. The control logic400can generate a communication payload based on the statuses of the first LED strip and the second LED strip. For example, the control logic400can include a state machine to convert the statuses to binary representation. In an example, the binary representation can be as follows. StateBinaryMeaning000All LED strips are inoperable101The first LED string is inoperable, the second LEDstring is operable210The first LED string is operable, the second LEDstring is inoperable311The first LED string is operable, the second LEDstring is operable In another example, the control logic400can generate a communication payload corresponding to the statuses. For example, the control logic400can perform various protocol actions across a time window. The protocol actions can include wakeup, delay, transmission, and silence. The wakeup action can include the control logic400receives power, performs self-diagnostic checks, and prepares the control logic400for transmitting over the power line. The delay can include activation of a communication timing delay based on a position of the DIP switches and standby to transmit a message. The transmission can include an end to the delay and the control logic400transmits the unique ID and the statuses. The silence can include a standby to lose power when the time window ends. The time window can include a 1 second duration. The control logic400then proceeds to step408. At step408, in an embodiment, the control logic400can transmit the communications payload to the power-line transceiver. For example, the communications payload can include the unique ID, DIP switch positions, and statuses of the LED strips. The control logic400then proceeds to step410. At step410, in an embodiment, the control logic400can transmit statuses of the at least one LED strip and DIP switch positions via power-line communications utilizing voltage feed lines powering a smart lamp. For example, the control logic400can identify the status of the LED strip based on an input from the LED strip including a binary representation of the status of the LED strip. In another example, the control logic400can identify a current state of the DIP switches. For example, the DIP switches can correspond to various states relating to a position of the smart lamp. In an example, the DIP switches can generate an electrical signal based on a mechanical position of the DIP switches, relating to the position of the smart lamp. For example, when the smart lamp is adjacent to another smart lamp system, the DIP switches can include a configuration representing the relative positions of the DIP switches. In an example, the DIP switches can indicate whether the smart lamp is to the left or to the right of a common reference position. The DIP switches can represent the position of the smart lamp by a position of one of the DIP switches. For example, when the smart lamp is on the left of the common reference position, one of the DIP switches can be in an up state, represented as a binary “1” in the corresponding electrical signal. The control logic400then proceeds to step412. At step412, in an embodiment, the control logic400can assign a smart lamp configuration based on the DIP switch arrangement. For example, the DIP switch arrangement can correspond with a physical position of the smart lamp in relation to other smart lamps. The control logic400then proceeds to step414. At step414, in an embodiment, the control logic400can identify a status of the at least one LED strip. For example, the control logic400can identify which of the LED strips is operational. For example, the control logic400can receive inputs from each of the LED strips indicating an ID and a status of the LEDs. In an example, the control logic400can identify whether the LED strip is in an inoperable state based on the inputs from the LED strips. Alternatively, the control logic400can determine whether the LED strips are in an operable state. For example, the LED strips can transmit the inputs including a binary representation of the state of the LEDs. The control logic400can receive the inputs and classify the LED strips based on the states of the LED strips. In an example, the control logic400can identify which particular LEDs of the LED strips are inoperable. The control logic400then proceeds to step416. At step416, in an embodiment, the control logic400can detect an activation failure. For example, the control logic400can identify a number of operational LED strips. In an example, when the number of the operational LED strips is below a threshold the characteristics monitoring can generate an alert as the activation failure. The threshold can include a ratio of the operational LED strips to a total number of LED strips. In an example, the threshold can include the ratio to be 50% of the total number of LED strips are operational. The activation failure can correspond to legal compliance with regulations for public safety. For example, the activation failure can correspond to a number of operational LED strips at a railway crossing. The present disclosure achieves at least the following advantages: 1. Providing a lighting system with the ability to monitor various states of LEDs using a combination of power-line communications and electrical hardware. 2. Enabling efficient communications between the lighting system and a network using a communication protocol to monitor the states of LEDs. 3. Minimizing light failures by generating an alert in response to a state of the LEDs indicating LED inoperability. Persons skilled in the art will readily understand that advantages and objectives described above would not be possible without the particular combination of computer hardware and other structural components and mechanisms assembled in this inventive system and described herein. Additionally, the algorithms, methods, and processes disclosed herein improve and transform any general-purpose computer or processor disclosed in this specification and drawings into a special purpose computer programmed to perform the disclosed algorithms, methods, and processes to achieve the aforementioned functionality, advantages, and objectives. It will be further understood that a variety of programming tools, known to persons skilled in the art, are available for generating and implementing the features and operations described in the foregoing. Moreover, the particular choice of programming tool(s) may be governed by the specific objectives and constraints placed on the implementation selected for realizing the concepts set forth herein and in the appended claims. The description in this patent document should not be read as implying that any particular element, step, or function can be an essential or critical element that must be included in the claim scope. Also, none of the claims can be intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) with respect to any of the appended claims or claim elements unless the exact words “means for” or “step for” are explicitly used in the particular claim, followed by a participle phrase identifying a function. Use of terms such as (but not limited to) “mechanism,” “module,” “device,” “unit,” “component,” “element,” “member,” “apparatus,” “machine,” “system,” “processor,” “processing device,” or “controller” within a claim can be understood and intended to refer to structures known to those skilled in the relevant art, as further modified or enhanced by the features of the claims themselves, and can be not intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). Even under the broadest reasonable interpretation, in light of this paragraph of this specification, the claims are not intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) absent the specific language described above. The disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. For example, each of the new structures described herein, may be modified to suit particular local variations or requirements while retaining their basic configurations or structural relationships with each other or while performing the same or similar functions described herein. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Accordingly, the scope of the inventions can be established by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. Further, the individual elements of the claims are not well-understood, routine, or conventional. Instead, the claims are directed to the unconventional inventive concept described in the specification. | 59,247 |
11943853 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the present disclosure, when an element is referred to as “connected” or “coupled”, it may mean “electrically connected” or “electrically coupled”. “Connected” or “coupled” can also be used to indicate that two or more components operate or interact with each other. In addition, although the terms “first”, “second”, and the like are used in the present disclosure to describe different elements, the terms are used only to distinguish the elements or operations described in the same technical terms. The use of the term is not intended to be a limitation of the present disclosure. The terms used in the present disclosure are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the embodiments. As used in the present disclosure, the singular forms “a”, “one” and “the” are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that when used in this specification, the terms “comprises (comprising)” and/or “includes (including)” designate the existence of stated features, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but the existence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof are not excluded. A purpose of present disclosure is providing a full voltage sampling circuit, a driving chip, a LED driving circuit and a sampling method, to solve a problem of the sampling result being not accurate when an input voltage is small. In order to clarify and specify purposes, techniques and effects of the present disclosure, embodiments are made with referring to figures to further describe the present disclosure. It is noted that the embodiments are for explaining the present disclosure, and not for limiting the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.2, the full voltage sampling circuit provided by present disclosure includes a main sampling circuit100, an assist sampling circuit200and a processing circuit300. Each of the main sampling circuit100and the assist sampling circuit200is configured to receive a first input voltage VSEN and a second input voltage ISEN. The processing circuit300is connected to the main sampling circuit100and the assist sampling circuit200. A difference between the first input voltage VSEN and the second input voltage ISEN is referred to as a differential voltage. The differential voltage corresponds to a sampling result of the full voltage sampling circuit. Specifically, the main sampling circuit100is configured to output a first sampling signal VCS according to the first input voltage VSEN and the second input voltage ISEN. The first sampling signal VCS represents the differential voltage. The assist sampling circuit200is configured to receive the first input voltage VSEN and the second input voltage ISEN, and is configured to output a second sampling signal Vout according to the first input voltage VSEN and the second input voltage ISEN. The second sampling signal Vout also represents the differential voltage. In various embodiments, the first sampling signal VCS may be a voltage or a current. The processing circuit300is configured to select a larger one of the voltages or the currents of the first sampling signal VCS and the second sampling signal Vout as the sampling result to output. The assist sampling circuit200and the processing circuit300are configured in the full voltage sampling circuit. Each of the main sampling circuit100and the assist sampling circuit200performs sampling according to the first input voltage VSEN and the second input voltage ISEN. Thereafter, the processing circuit300compares magnitudes of voltage values or current values of two sampling signals VCS and Vout. In order to prevent the sampling result, obtained by sampling, from being smaller than an actual differential voltage when the input voltage is too small, the processing circuit300selects a larger one of the voltages or currents of the first sampling signal VCS and the second sampling signal Vout as the sampling result to be outputted, such that the sampling result is not affected by the magnitudes of the input voltages, and thus an accuracy of the sampling result is ensured. In some embodiments, when the first input voltage VSEN is smaller than a reference voltage, the processing circuit300outputs the second sampling signal Vout as the sampling result. When the first input voltage VSEN is larger than the reference voltage, the processing circuit300outputs the first sampling signal VCS as the sampling result. In some embodiments, the reference voltage is not set in advance. A voltage value of the reference voltage is approximately equal to a voltage value of the first input voltage VSEN when the full voltage sampling circuit is transformed from a first state to a second state. At the first state, the second sampling signal Vout is outputted as the sampling result. At the second state, the first sampling signal VCS is outputted as the sampling result. In some embodiments, as the first input voltage VSEN is increased, the transformation from the first state to the second state is not completed in an instant, but needs to go through a transformation time, during which the voltages or the currents of the first sampling signal VCS and the second sampling signal Vout are close to each other. Accordingly, the voltage value of the reference voltage is approximately equal to the voltage value of first input voltage VSEN during the transformation time. In some embodiments, the transformation is completed in an instant, and the value of the reference voltage corresponds to a boundary value during the transformation. A corresponding example is described as follows. In some embodiments, when the first input voltage VSEN is smaller than the reference voltage, a sampling result of the main sampling circuit100is affected by the first input voltage VSEN and has a deviation. When the first input voltage VSEN is larger than the reference voltage, it indicates that the first input voltage VSEN reaches a voltage value sufficient to saturate the devices in the main sampling circuit100, the sampling result of the main sampling circuit100is not affected by the first input voltage VSEN, and the sampling result is accurate. Accordingly, when the first input voltage VSEN is smaller than the reference voltage, the second sampling signal Vout of the assist sampling circuit200is selected as the sampling result. When the first input voltage VSEN is larger than the reference voltage, the first sampling signal VCS of the main sampling circuit100is selected as the sampling result. Therefore, a full voltage sampling is accomplished, and the accuracy of the sampling result is ensured. In some embodiments, when the first input voltage VSEN is smaller than the reference voltage, a difference between the actual differential voltage and the voltage of the first sampling signal VCS is decreased as the first input voltage VSEN is increased, and the first sampling signal VCS derived by sampling of the main sampling circuit100is increased as the first input voltage VSEN is increased. At this stage, the first sampling signal VCS approaches the actual differential voltage gradually, a sampling deviation of the main sampling circuit100is decreased, a sampling accuracy is increased, and the second sampling signal Vout of the assist sampling circuit200is selected as the sampling result to be outputted. In some embodiments, when the first input voltage VSEN is larger than the reference voltage, the difference between the actual differential voltage and the voltage of the second sampling signal Vout is increased as the first input voltage VSEN is increased, and is deviated from the actual differential voltage gradually. At this stage, the first sampling signal VCS of the main sampling circuit100is selected as the sampling result. In some embodiments, the processing circuit300is configured to select a larger one of the voltages or the currents of the first sampling signal VCS and the second sampling signal Vout as the sampling result to be outputted. When the first input voltage VSEN is smaller than the reference voltage, the voltage value of the first sampling signal VCS is clamped as the voltage of the second sampling signal Vout, to ensure the accuracy of the outputted sampling result when the first input voltage VSEN is smaller than the reference voltage. Referring toFIG.3, in some embodiments, the assist sampling circuit200includes a set of divider resistors210and a first operational amplifier220. The set of divider resistors210is configured to receive and divide the first input voltage VSEN and the second input voltage ISEN, and output a first divided voltage V+ corresponding to the first input voltage VSEN and a second divided voltage V− corresponding to the second input voltage ISEN. The first operational amplifier220is connected to the set of divider resistors210, and is configured to output the second sampling signal Vout according to the first divided voltage V+ and the second divided voltage V−. In some embodiments, the assist sampling circuit200is configured to output the second sampling signal Vout by calculations and performing sampling to the first input voltage VSEN and the second input voltage ISEN. Accordingly, the full voltage sampling circuit is able to operate normally to obtain accurate voltage values when the first input voltage VSEN is small. Referring toFIG.4, in some embodiments, the set of divider resistors210includes a first resistor R1, a second resistor R2, a third resistor R3and a fourth resistor R4. A first terminal of the first resistor R1is configured to receive the first input voltage VSEN. Each of a second terminal of the first resistor R1and a first terminal of the third resistor R3is coupled to a positive phase terminal of the first operational amplifier220. A second terminal of the third resistor R3is coupled to a ground. A first terminal of the second resistor R2is configured to receive the second input voltage ISEN. Each of a second terminal of the second resistor R2and a first terminal of the fourth resistor R4is coupled to a negative phase terminal of the first operational amplifier220. A second terminal of the resistor R4is coupled to an output terminal of the first operational amplifier220. In some embodiments, the first resistor R1and the third resistor R3are configured to divide the first input voltage VSEN to derive the first divided voltage V+, and provide the first divided voltage V+ to the positive phase input terminal of the first operational amplifier220. The second resistor R2and the fourth resistor R4are configured to divide the second input voltage ISEN to derive the second divided voltage V−, and provide the second divided voltage V− to the negative phase input terminal of the first operational amplifier220. The first operational amplifier220is configured to output the second sampling signal Vout to the processing circuit300, for the processing circuit300outputting the sampling result. In some embodiments, the processing circuit300includes a second operational amplifier A2. A positive phase terminal of the second operational amplifier A2is configured to receive the second sampling signal Vout, a negative phase terminal of the second operational amplifier A2is coupled to an output terminal of the second operational amplifier A2and configured to receive the first sampling signal VCS, and the output terminal of the second operational amplifier A2is coupled to the main sampling circuit100. When the first input voltage VSEN is smaller than the reference voltage, the second operational amplifier A2is configured to clamp the voltage or the current of the first sampling signal VCS of the main sampling circuit100as the voltage or the current of the second sampling signal Vout. Alternatively stated, the second operational amplifier A2is configured to output the voltage or the current of the second sampling signal Vout as the sampling result. When the first input voltage VSEN is larger than the reference voltage, the second operational amplifier A2is configured to output the voltage or the current of the first sampling signal VCS as the sampling result, to ensure the accuracy of the sampling result. In some embodiments, the main sampling circuit100includes a fifth resistor R5, a sixth resistor R6, a seventh resistor R7, an eighth resistor R8, a ninth resistor R9, a third MOS transistor M3, a fourth MOS transistor M4, a fifth MOS transistor M5, a sixth MOS transistor M6, a seventh MOS transistor M7, an eighth MOS transistor M8, a ninth MOS transistor M9, a tenth MOS transistor M10, an eleventh MOS transistor M11, a twelfth MOS transistor M12, a thirteenth MOS transistor M13and a current source. A first terminal of the fifth resistor R5is configured to receive the first input voltage VSEN at a first signal input terminal. Each of a second terminal of the fifth resistor R5and a source of the thirteenth MOS transistor M13is coupled to a drain of the third MOS transistor M3. Each of a gate of the third MOS transistor M3and a gate of the fourth MOS transistor M4is coupled to a first terminal of the seventh resistor R7and a source of the fifth MOS transistor M5. A source of the third MOS transistor M3is coupled to a drain of the fifth MOS transistor M5. A drain of fourth MOS transistor M4is coupled to a first terminal of the sixth resistor R6. A second terminal of the sixth resistor R6is configured to receive the second input voltage ISEN at a second signal input terminal. A source of the fourth MOS transistor M4is coupled to a drain of the sixth MOS transistor M6. Each of a gate of the sixth MOS transistor M6and a gate of the fifth MOS transistor M5is coupled to a second terminal of the seventh resistor R7and a source of the seventh MOS transistor M7. Each of a source of the sixth MOS transistor M6and a source of the eighth MOS transistor M8is coupled to a gate of the thirteenth MOS transistor M13. Each of a gate of the seventh MOS transistor M7, a gate of eighth MOS transistor M8, a gate of the eleventh MOS transistor M11and a first terminal of the eighth resistor R8is coupled to the current source. Each of a source of the eleventh MOS transistor M11, a gate of the twelfth MOS transistor M12, a gate of the ninth MOS transistor M9and a gate of the tenth MOS transistor M10is coupled to a second terminal of the eighth resistor R8. A drain of the eleventh MOS transistor M11is coupled to a source of the twelfth MOS transistor M12. A drain of the twelfth MOS transistor M12is coupled to the ground. A drain of the seventh MOS transistor M7is coupled to a source of the ninth MOS transistor M9. A drain of the ninth MOS transistor M9is coupled to the ground. A drain of the eighth MOS transistor M8is coupled to a source of the tenth MOS transistor M10. A drain of the tenth MOS transistor M10is coupled to the ground. Each of a drain of the thirteenth MOS transistor M13and a first terminal of the ninth resistor R9is coupled to a first sampling signal VCS output terminal. A second terminal of the ninth resistor R9is coupled to the ground. In some embodiments, the full voltage sampling circuit further includes a sampling resistor Rcs. A first terminal of the sampling resistor Rcs is coupled to an input terminal of the first input voltage VSEN. A second terminal of the sampling resistor Rcs is coupled to an input terminal of the second input voltage ISEN. Voltages of two terminals of the sampling resistor Rcs are the first input voltage VSEN and the second input voltage ISEN, respectively. The full voltage sampling circuit performs sampling according to the first input voltage VSEN and the second input voltage ISEN to derive the voltage at the two terminals of the sampling resistor Rcs. In some embodiments, each of the third MOS transistor M3, the fourth MOS transistor M4, the fifth MOS transistor M5, the sixth MOS transistor M6, the thirteenth MOS transistor M13is a P-channel MOS transistor. Each of the seventh MOS transistor M7, the eighth MOS transistor M8, the ninth MOS transistor M9, the tenth MOS transistor M10, the eleventh MOS transistor M11, the twelfth MOS transistor M12is a N-channel MOS transistor. In some embodiments, width-to-length ratios of the seventh MOS transistor M7, the eighth MOS transistor M8and the eleventh MOS transistor M11are the same. Width-to-length ratios of the ninth MOS transistor M9, the tenth MOS transistor M10and the twelfth MOS transistor M12are the same. Width-to-length ratios of the third MOS transistor M3and the fourth MOS transistor M4are the same. Width-to-length ratios of the fifth MOS transistor M5and the sixth MOS transistor M6are the same. According to principles of a current mirror, each of currents flowing through the ninth MOS transistor M9, the tenth MOS transistor M10, the third MOS transistor M3, the fourth MOS transistor M4and the twelfth MOS transistor M12has a current value of the current Ib provided by the current source. In some embodiments, gate voltages of the third MOS transistor M3and the fourth MOS transistor M4are the same. Gate voltages of the fifth MOS transistor M5and the sixth MOS transistor M6are the same. A voltage V1at the drain of the third MOS transistor M3is approximately equal to a voltage V2at the drain of the fourth MOS transistor M4. In some embodiments, each of the resistance of the resistors R5and R6has a resistance Ra. Accordingly, following equations are derived: ISEN-V2=Ib×Ra, VSEN−V1=VSEN−ISEN+ISEN−V1=VRcs+ISEN−V2=VRcs+Ib×Ra. In which the voltage VRcs is a voltage between two terminals of the sampling resistor Rcs. A current flowing through the thirteenth MOS transistor M13is VRcs/Ra. The voltage of the first sampling signal VCS is (VRcs/Ra)×Ra=VRcs. Accordingly, the sampling to the voltages at the two terminals of the sampling resistor Rcs is performed. Referring toFIG.5, in some embodiments, the assist sampling circuit200further includes a protection circuit230. The protection circuit230is configured to receive the first input voltage VSEN and the second input voltage ISEN, and is coupled to the set of divider resistors210. The protection circuit230is configured for providing overvoltage protection to an output load when the first input voltage VSEN is larger than a supply voltage VDD, to ensure the first operational amplifier220is not broken by the first input voltage VSEN larger than the supply voltage VDD, such that the assist sampling circuit200may performed multiple sampling operations. Referring toFIG.6, in some embodiments, the protection circuit230includes a first MOS transistor M1and a second MOS transistor M2. A source of the first MOS transistor M1is configured to receive the first input voltage VSEN. Each of a gate of the first MOS transistor M1and a gate of the second MOS transistor M2is configured to receive the supply voltage VDD. A drain of the first MOS transistor M1is coupled to the set of divider resistors210. A source of the second MOS transistor M2is configured to receive the second input voltage ISEN. A drain of the second MOS transistor M2is coupled to the set of divider resistors210. In some embodiments, the first MOS transistor M1and the second MOS transistor M2are implemented by high voltage MOS transistors, and are N-channel MOS transistors. Drain voltages of the first MOS transistor M1and the second MOS transistor M2have high tolerance. Gate voltages of the first MOS transistor M1and the second MOS transistor M2are the supply voltage VDD. In some embodiments, when the first input voltage VSEN is high, the first MOS transistor M1and the second MOS transistor M2operate in a saturation region, and block a high voltage of the first input voltage VSEN, such that the first operational amplifier220is not broken and is protected effectively. When the first input voltage VSEN is low, the first MOS transistor M1and the second MOS transistor M2operate in a linear region, have small effective resistances that can be neglected. Accordingly, a voltage V3of the drain of the first MOS transistor M1and a voltage V4of the drain of the second MOS transistor M2are approximately equal to the first input voltage VSEN and the second input voltage ISEN, respectively. In some embodiments, resistances of the resistors R1and R2are approximately equal to resistances of the resistors R3and R4, respectively. According to principles of virtual short circuits and virtual open circuits, following equations are derived: V+=VSEN/2=V−=(ISEN+Vout)/2, Vout=VSEN−ISEN=VRcs. In which the voltage V+ is the voltage of the positive phase terminal of the first operational amplifier220, and the voltage V− is the voltage of the negative phase terminal of the first operational amplifier220. Accordingly, the sampling to two terminals of the sampling resistor Rcs is performed. In some embodiments, when the voltage of the first sampling signal VCS derived by the main sampling circuit100is smaller than the voltage of the sampling resistor Rcs, the second operational amplifier A2outputs the second sampling signal Vout as the sampling result. As the input voltages are increased, voltage values of the source voltages V3and V4of the first MOS transistor M1and the second MOS transistor M2approach the voltage value of the supply voltage VDD, and a difference between the source voltages V3and V4is decreased. At this moment, the voltage of the second sampling signal Vout is decreased, and the voltage of the first sampling signal VCS outputted by the main sampling circuit100is increased to reach the voltage of the sampling resistor Rcs. When the voltage of the first sampling signal VCS is larger than the voltage of the second sampling signal Vout, the second operational amplifier A2is turned off, and the first sampling signal VCS is outputted as the sampling result. In some embodiments, when the first input voltage VSEN is high, the third MOS transistor M3, the fourth MOS transistor M4, the fifth MOS transistor M5, the sixth MOS transistor M6, the thirteenth MOS transistor M13can be implemented by high voltage transistors or low voltage isolation transistors. Drain/source terminals of the third MOS transistor M3, the fourth MOS transistor M4, the fifth MOS transistor M5, the sixth MOS transistor M6, the thirteenth MOS transistor M13consume certain voltage drop to satisfy a requirement of operating in the saturation region. When the input voltage is too low, the main sampling circuit100cannot operate normally. With configuring the assist sampling circuit200and the processing circuit300, the main sampling circuit100can operate normally under high voltages, and the assist sampling circuit200can operate normally under low voltages. Accordingly, the accurate sampling under high and low voltages is achieved, an operating range of the sampling circuit is widened, the sampling in a full voltage range can be performed. In some embodiments, the present disclosure further provides a driving chip. The driving chip includes at least a portion of the full voltage sampling circuit described above. The supply voltage VDD received by the gates of the first MOS transistor M1and the second MOS transistor M2in the full voltage sampling circuit is a supply voltage inside the chip. In some embodiments, the driving chip can be applied in a LED driving circuit or a DC-DC converter. When the driving chip is applied in the DC-DC converter at a current mode, an inductor current is sampled to achieve modulating to output voltages. When the driving chip is applied in the LED driving circuit, an inductor current is sampled to achieve constant current controlling of the LED. Details of the full voltage sampling circuit described above are described above, and not repeated for brevity. Referring toFIG.7, the present disclosure further provides a LED driving circuit. The LED driving circuit includes an inductor L1, the sampling resistor Rcs and the full voltage sampling circuit described above. In the embodiment shown inFIG.7, the full voltage sampling circuit is applied to a LED driving chip20. The inductor L1and a LED light emitting load10are coupled in series. The sampling resistor Rcs and the inductor L1are coupled in series. The full voltage sampling circuit is configured to sense an induced current flowing through the LED light emitting load10through the sampling resistor Rcs, to control the current of the LED light emitting load10. The LED light emitting load10is configured to emit light. In some approaches, only the main sampling circuit100is used by a LED driving circuit. An input voltage VIN is powered slowly, and the first input voltage VSEN is raised from a zero voltage level. When the input voltage VIN is just powered, a differential voltage derived by sampling is smaller than the voltage of the sampling resistor Rcs. If the differential voltage derived by sampling is compared with a benchmark voltage inside the chip, an actual output current is larger than the current for normal operations. As a result, a larger overshoot shown inFIG.8occurs at an enable power stage to break the LED light emitting load10. Compared to previous approaches, in embodiments of present disclosure, when the first input voltage VSEN is low, the second sampling signal Vout corresponds to the voltage of two terminals of the sampling resistor Rcs. Accordingly, the overshoot problem is solved, and safety of the LED light emitting load10and stability of the LED driving circuit are increased. Details of the full voltage sampling circuit are described above, and thus not repeated for brevity. Referring toFIG.9, the present disclosure further provides a sampling method. The sampling method can be applied to the full voltage sampling circuit described above, and includes operations S100and S200. At the operation S100, the first sampling signal VCS outputted by the main sampling circuit100and the second sampling signal Vout outputted by the assist sampling circuit200are derived. At the operation S200, when the voltage or the current of the first sampling signal VCS is smaller than or equal to the voltage or the current of the second sampling signal Vout, the voltage or the current of the second sampling signal Vout is outputted as the sampling result. When the voltage or the current of the first sampling signal VCS is larger than the voltage or the current of the second sampling signal Vout, the voltage or the current of the first sampling signal VCS is outputted as the sampling result. In some embodiments, when the sampling is performed, the first sampling signal VCS outputted by the main sampling circuit100and the second sampling signal Vout outputted by the assist sampling circuit200are derived. The magnitudes of voltage values or current values of two sampling signals VCS and Vout corresponding to the first input voltage VSEN and the second input voltage ISEN are compared. In order to prevent the sampling result, obtained by sampling, from being smaller than the actual differential voltage when the input voltage is too small, the processing circuit300selects a larger one of the voltages or currents of the first sampling signal VCS and the second sampling signal Vout as the sampling result to be outputted, such that the sampling result is not affected by the magnitudes of the input voltages, and thus an accuracy of the sampling result is ensured. In summary, the present disclosure provides a full voltage sampling circuit, a driving chip, a LED driving circuit and a sampling method. The full voltage sampling circuit includes a main sampling circuit, an assist sampling circuit and a processing circuit. The main sampling circuit is configured to receive a first input voltage and a second input voltage, and configured to output a first sampling signal according to the first input voltage and the second input voltage. The first sampling signal represents a differential voltage which indicates a difference between the first input voltage and the second input voltage. The assist sampling circuit is configured to receive the first input voltage and the second input voltage, and configured to output a second sampling signal according to the first input voltage and the second input voltage. The second sampling signal also represents the differential voltage. The processing circuit is coupled to the main sampling circuit and the assist sampling circuit, and configured to select a larger one of currents or voltages of the first sampling signal and the second sampling signal as a sampling result to be outputted, and thus an accuracy of the sampling result is the full voltage range is ensured. Although the present disclosure has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained in the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of the present disclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims. | 29,430 |
11943854 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purposes of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings an embodiment that is presently preferred, in which like numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed. FIG.1is a simplified block diagram of a lighting control system100including an electronic switch110according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The electronic switch110comprises a hot terminal H and a switched hot terminal SH and is adapted to be coupled in series electrical connection between an alternating current (AC) power source102(e.g., 120 VAC @ 60 Hz or 240 VAC @ 50 Hz) and a lighting load104for controlling the power delivered to the lighting load. The electronic switch110generates a switched hot voltage VSHat the switched hot terminal SH, which is coupled to the lighting load104for turning the load on and off. The electronic switch110further comprises a ground terminal G that is adapted to be coupled to earth ground. As shown inFIG.1, the electronic switch110is adapted to be wall-mounted in a standard electrical wallbox. The electronic switch110comprises a faceplate112and a bezel114received in an opening of the faceplate. The electronic switch110further comprises a control actuator116(i.e., a control button) that may be actuated by a user for toggling (i.e., turning off and on) the lighting load104, and a load visual indicator118for providing feedback of whether the lighting load is on or off. Alternatively, the electronic switch110could be implemented as a controllable screw-in module adapted to be screwed into an electrical socket (e.g., an Edison socket) of a lamp, or as a plug-in load control device adapted to be plugged into a standard electrical receptacle for receipt of power and further adapted to have a plug-in electrical load electrically connected thereto. The electronic switch110also operates as an occupancy sensor to turn on the lighting load104in response to the presence of an occupant in the vicinity of the electronic switch (i.e., an occupancy condition), and to turn off the lighting load in response to the absence of the occupant (i.e., a vacancy condition). The electronic switch110comprises a lens120for directing the infrared energy from the occupant to an occupancy detection circuit230(FIG.2), such that the electronic switch is operable to detect the occupancy and vacancy conditions. The electronic switch110further comprises an occupancy visual indicator122that is illuminated when the electronic switch has detected an occupancy condition in the space. Alternatively, the occupancy visual indicator122could be located behind the lens120such that the lens is operable to illuminate when the electronic switch110has detected an occupancy condition. Alternatively, the electronic switch110could operate as a vacancy sensor. When operating as a vacancy sensor, the electronic switch110would only operate to turn off the lighting load104in response to detecting a vacancy condition in the space. The electronic switch110would not turn on the lighting load104in response to detecting an occupancy condition. Therefore, when the electronic switch operates as a vacancy sensor, the lighting load104must be turned on manually (e.g., in response to a manual actuation of the control actuator116). Examples of occupancy and vacancy sensors are described in greater detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/203,500, filed Sep. 3, 2008, entitled BATTERY-POWERED OCCUPANCY SENSOR, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. FIG.2is a simplified block diagram of the electronic switch110. The electronic switch110comprises a controllably conductive device (e.g., a latching relay210) connected in series electrical connection between the hot terminal H and the switched hot terminal SH. The relay210conducts a load current from the AC power source102to the lighting load104when the relay is closed (i.e., conductive) and does not conduct a load current when the relay is opened (i.e., non-conductive). Alternatively, the controllably conductive device could comprise a triac, a field effect transistor (FET) within a bridge, two FETs coupled in anti-series connection, etc. The relay210is independently controlled by a controller214. For example, the controller214may be a microcontroller, but may alternatively be any suitable processing device, such as a programmable logic device (PLD), a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The controller214is coupled to SET and RESET terminals (e.g., SET and RESET coils) of the relay210for causing the relay to become conductive and non-conductive, respectively. A zero-crossing detector222is coupled in series electrical connection between the hot terminal H and the ground terminal G as well as the switched hot terminal SH and the ground terminal G, and the zero-crossing detector determines the zero-crossings of the input AC waveform from the AC power supply102. A zero-crossing is defined as the time at which the AC supply voltage transitions from positive to negative polarity, or from negative to positive polarity, at the beginning of each half-cycle. The zero-crossing information is provided as an input to the controller214. The controller214controls the latching relay210such that the latching relay is rendered conductive near the zero-crossings of the input AC waveform to minimize electrical stress on the contacts of the relay and is used to detect loss of power. The electronic switch110comprises a power supply220to generate a DC supply voltage VCC(e.g., having an average magnitude of approximately three volts). The controller214and other low-voltage circuitry of the electronic switch110are powered from the DC supply voltage VCC. The power supply220is operable to generate the DC supply voltage VCCin response to the leakage current flowing from the hot terminal H to the ground terminal G and from the switched hot terminal SH to the ground terminal G. The controller214is coupled to the control actuator116such that the controller receives inputs in response to actuations of the control actuator116of the electronic switch110. Accordingly, the controller214is operable to control the relay210to toggle the lighting load104on and off in response to actuations of the control actuator116. The controller214is further operable to control the visual indicator118to be illuminated when the lighting load104is on and not illuminated when the lighting load is off. According to an alternate embodiment, the visual indicator118may not be present on the electronic switch. The controller214is also coupled to a memory228for storage of operational characteristics of the electronic switch110. The memory228may be implemented as an external integrated circuit (IC) or as an internal circuit of the controller214. The electronic switch110may further comprise a communication circuit240. The communication circuit240may be coupled to a wired communication link (not shown) such the controller214can receive and/or transmit signals or digital messages from other devices in the lighting control system100. The controller214may be operable to control the relay210in response to the signals or digital messages received via the wired communication link. Alternatively, the communication circuit240may comprise a radio-frequency (RF) transceiver (not shown) and an antenna (not shown) for transmitting and receiving digital messages via RF signals. Examples of RF load control devices and antennas for wall-mounted load control devices are described in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,103, issued Nov. 9, 1999, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,362,285, issued Apr. 22, 2008, both entitled COMPACT RADIO FREQUENCY TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING ANTENNA AND CONTROL DEVICE EMPLOYING SAME, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. As previously mentioned, the electronic switch110comprises the occupancy detection circuit230that includes an internal detector, e.g., a pyroelectric infrared (PIR) detector. The internal detector is mounted in the electronic switch110so as to receive the infrared energy of the occupant in the space through the lens120. The controller214is coupled to the occupancy detection circuit230, such that the controller is operable to process the output of the internal detector to determine whether an occupancy condition or a vacancy condition is presently occurring in the space, for example, by comparing the output of the PIR detector to a predetermined occupancy voltage threshold. Alternatively, the internal detector could comprise an ultrasonic detector, a microwave detector, or any combination of PIR detectors, ultrasonic detectors, and microwave detectors. The controller214operates in an “occupied” state or a “vacant” state in response to the detections of occupancy or vacancy conditions, respectively, in the space. The controller214is operable to control the relay210in response to the occupancy detection circuit230. The electronic switch110also comprises an ambient light detector234(e.g., a photocell) for detecting the level of ambient light around the electronic switch. The controller214is coupled to the ambient light detector234and regularly measures and filters the ambient light level. When an occupancy condition is first detected, a measured ambient light level LMis compared to a predetermined ambient light level threshold LT. If the measured ambient light level LMis less than the predetermined ambient light level threshold LTwhen an occupancy condition is detected by the electronic switch110, the controller214controls the latching relay210to be conductive. On the other hand, if the measured ambient light level LMis greater than the ambient light level threshold LTwhen an occupancy condition is first detected, the controller does not control the latching relay210to be conductive. Accordingly, the electronic switch110does not turn on the lighting load104if the ambient light level in the space is sufficiently high. FIG.3is simplified flowchart of an occupancy detection procedure400performed by the controller214of the electronic switch110. The occupancy detection procedure400is performed in response to the controller214first detecting an occupancy condition (e.g., when the controller transitions from operating in a vacant state to an occupied state). During the occupancy detection procedure400, the controller214of the electronic switch110makes a decision as to whether to automatically turn on the lighting load104based on the ambient light level threshold LT. Then, the controller214subsequently monitors user interactions (e.g, actuations of the control actuator116) to determine whether the user desires to change the state of the lighting load104. In the event that the user does desire to change the state of the lighting load104, the electronic switch110is operable to respond and change the state of the lighting load accordingly (i.e., allow the user to manually override the automatic control). Further, based on the user interactions, the electronic switch110can infer whether the ambient light level threshold LTrequires adjustment to better suit the needs of the user. In other words, the controller214can learn the appropriate value of the ambient light level threshold LTthat best meets user preferences. If the controller214determines that the ambient light level threshold LTdoes require adjustment, then the controller subsequently executes ambient light level threshold adjustment procedures500and600as will be described further below. Additionally, the electronic switch110may be operable to disregard certain user interactions such that spurious events do not impact the ambient light level threshold LT. The occupancy detection procedure400begins after occupancy has first been detected at step401, and the controller214sets and begins decrementing a user-adjust timer (TimerU_ADJ) at step402. The user-adjust timer TimerU_ADJestablishes a time window (e.g., approximately 5 seconds) during which the controller214monitors user interactions after occupancy detection. At step404, the controller214compares the measured ambient light level LMto the predetermined ambient light level threshold LT. The predetermined ambient light level threshold LTmay initially comprise a default value (e.g., 2.5 foot-candles) that is stored in the memory228of the electronic switch110at the time of manufacture. Subsequently, the ambient light level threshold LTmay comprise a value that has already been modified during subsequent executions of ambient light level threshold increase adjustment procedure500and/or ambient light level threshold decrease adjustment procedure600. If the measured ambient light level LMis greater than the ambient light level threshold LT, the controller214maintains the relay210non-conductive (i.e., does not render the latching relay to be conductive) at step406such that the lighting load104remains off. Then, at step408, the controller214checks to see whether the control actuator116has been actuated to turn on the lighting load104. If the control actuator has not been actuated to turn on the lighting load104, the controller then checks whether the user-adjust timer has expired at step414. If the user-adjust timer has not expired, the controller214continues to look for actuations until the user-adjust timer expires at step414at which time the controller214exits the occupancy detection procedure400. If the user does actuate the control actuator116to turn on the lighting load104at step408, then the controller214executes the ambient light level threshold increase adjustment procedure500to increase the value of the predetermined ambient light level threshold LTbefore rendering the relay conductive at step409(to respond to the actuation of the control actuator116) and exiting the occupancy detection procedure400. In other words, the controller214initially determines that there is sufficient ambient light in the space at step404based on the predetermined ambient light level threshold LT, and then accordingly, does not turn on the lighting load104at step406. However, because the user manually turned on the lighting load104at step408(i.e., indicating that there was, in fact, not sufficient ambient light in the space), the controller214may increase the value of the ambient light level threshold LTduring the ambient light level threshold increase adjustment procedure500. Thus, the next time that the occupancy detection procedure400is executed, the controller214may rely upon a slightly increased value of the ambient light level threshold LTsuch that at step404, the controller may be more likely to turn on the lighting load104during conditions when the measured ambient light level LMis approximately equal to the currently measured ambient light level. If the measured ambient light level LMis not greater than the ambient light level threshold LTat step404, the controller214renders the latching relay210to be conductive at step410(i.e., the lighting load104turns on). Then, the controller214checks whether the control actuator116has been actuated to turn off the lighting load104. If the control actuator116has been actuated to turn off the lighting load104, then the controller214executes the ambient light level threshold decrease adjustment procedure600to decrease the predetermined ambient light level threshold LTbefore rendering the relay non-conductive at step413(to respond to the actuation of the control actuator116) and subsequently exiting the occupancy detection procedure400. In other words, the controller214initially determines that there is not sufficient ambient light in the space at step404based on the initial value of the ambient light level threshold LT, and then accordingly, turns on the lighting load104at step410. However, because the user manually turned off the lighting load104at step412(i.e., indicating that there was, in fact, sufficient ambient light in the space before the controller214rendered the relay210conductive), the controller214decreases the value of the ambient light level threshold LTduring ambient light level threshold decrease adjustment procedure600. Thus, the next time that the occupancy detection procedure400is executed, the controller214will use an ambient light level threshold LThaving a slightly decreased value such that at step404, the controller will be less likely to turn on the lighting load104during conditions when the measured ambient light level LMis approximately equal to the currently measured ambient light level. If the controller214does not receive any actuations of the control actuator116at step412, the controller then checks whether the user-adjust timer has expired at step416. If the user-adjust timer has not expired, the controller214continues to look for actuations until the user-adjust timer expires upon which the controller214exits the occupancy detection procedure400. FIG.4Ais a simplified flowchart of the ambient light level threshold increase adjustment procedure500. At step502, the controller214calculates an ambient light level threshold delta by subtracting the ambient light level threshold LTfrom the measured ambient light level LMas shown in the following equation: Delta=|LM−LT|. (Equation 1) At step504, an adjusted ambient light level threshold LT_ADJis calculated using the following equation: LT_ADJ=LM+(Delta*FS_INC) (Equation 2) where FS_INCis a scaling increase factor (e.g., approximately ¼ or ½). Then, at step506, the adjusted ambient light level threshold LT_ADJis compared to a maximum ambient light level LMAX(e.g., approximately 40 foot-candles). If the adjusted ambient light level threshold LT_ADJexceeds the maximum ambient light level LMAX, then at step508, the value of the adjusted ambient light level threshold LT_ADJis set to the maximum ambient light level. Then, at step510the adjusted ambient light level threshold LT_ADJis digitally filtered to determine a new value of the ambient light level threshold LT, for example, using a digital filter characterized by the following equation: LT=[LT_ADJ+LT_1+(LT_2*2)]/4 (Equation 3) where LT_1and LT_2are historical values of the ambient light level threshold. For example, LT_1is the previous value of the ambient light level threshold LTand LT_2is the value of the ambient light level threshold used before the previous value LT_1. Thus, the controller214digitally filters the adjusted ambient light level threshold LT_ADJusing historical ambient light thresholds to avoid grossly adjusting the ambient light level threshold LT. Finally, the controller exits the ambient light level threshold increase procedure500. FIG.4Bis a simplified flowchart of the ambient light level threshold decrease adjustment procedure600. At step602, the controller214calculates the ambient light level threshold delta using Equation 1 as described above. Then at step604, the adjusted value of the ambient light level threshold LT_ADJis calculated using the following equation: LT_ADJ=LM−(Delta*FS_DEC) (Equation 4) where FS_DECis a scaling decrease factor (e.g., approximately ¼ or ½). Then at step606, the adjusted value of the ambient light level threshold LT_ADJis compared to a minimum ambient light level LMIN(e.g., approximately 1 foot-candle). If the adjusted value of the ambient light level threshold LT_ADJis less than the minimum ambient light level LMIN, then at step608, the adjusted ambient light level threshold is set to the minimum ambient light level. Next at step610, the adjusted ambient light level threshold LT_ADJis digitally filtered to determine a new value of the ambient light level threshold LTusing Equation 3 described above before the controller exits the ambient light level threshold decrease procedure600. Additionally, when the user does not adjust or override the automatic response of the electronic switch110during the occupancy detection procedure400, the controller214may be operable to capture that event and apply it to a digital filter. In other words, if the automatic response of the electronic switch based on the present ambient light level threshold LT, did not result in any subsequent user actuations, then it may be valuable to factor that event into the formulation of the ambient light level threshold. More particularly, if the user-adjust timer expires at steps414or416(i.e., actuator is not accessed by a user during the time window) during the occupancy detection procedure400, the controller214is further operable to update a new value of the ambient light level threshold LT, for example, using a digital filter characterized by the following equation: LT=[LT+LT_1+(LT_2*2)]/4 (Equation 5) to appropriately factor the current ambient light level threshold LTinto the digital filter. Equation 5 is essentially the same as equation 4, however, equation 5 relies upon the current ambient light level threshold LTrather than the adjusted ambient light level threshold LT_ADJ. In short, the controller214of the electronic switch110digitally filters historical data of user actuations to appropriately adjust the ambient light level threshold LTbased on usage representative of typical everyday use of the electronic switch. Alternatively, the controller214may process the historical data of user actuations in a different fashion than described above. for example, by using a box car average technique or a box car median technique to update the appropriate ambient light level threshold. While the present invention has been described with reference to the electronic switch110controlling the power delivered to a connected lighting load, the concepts of the present invention could be used in any type of control device of a load control system, such as, for example, a dimmer switch for adjusting the intensity of a lighting load (such as an incandescent lamp, a magnetic low-voltage lighting load, an electronic low-voltage lighting load, and a screw-in compact fluorescent lamp), a remote control, a keypad device, a visual display device, a controllable plug-in module adapted to be plugged into an electrical receptacle, a controllable screw-in module adapted to be screwed into the electrical socket (e.g., an Edison socket) of a lamp, an electronic dimming ballast for a fluorescent load, a driver for a light-emitting diode (LED) light source, a motor speed control device, a motorized window treatment, a temperature control device, an audio/visual control device, or a dimmer circuit for other types of lighting loads, such as, magnetic low-voltage lighting loads, electronic low-voltage lighting loads, and screw-in compact fluorescent lamps. Additionally, the concepts of the present invention could be used in load control systems where the ambient light detector and/or occupancy detector and/or control actuator, etc are located remotely from the controller and are operable to communicate over a wired or wireless communication link. Examples of such load control systems are described in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/845,016, filed Jul. 28, 2010, entitled LOAD CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING AN ENERGY SAVINGS MODE, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims. | 23,954 |
11943855 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Provided herein are lighting devices, systems, and methods. In particular, provided herein are lighting systems configured for use in a variety of medical settings to improve patient and health care worker health, performance, and well-being. The lighting systems described herein are customizable, programmable, and adaptable. The lighting systems provide optimum timing, intensity, and spectrum for each location. In some embodiments, such as a medical setting, individual lighting settings are utilized for specific patients or zones containing certain types of patients to provide optimized lighting for a specific category of patient (e.g., based on disease or condition type, age, stage of healing, etc.). In some embodiments, specific times of day and/or locations utilize specific protocols based on historic incidents of fatigue-related problems or injuries. In some embodiments, the optimization of lighting results in one or more positive outcomes, for example, improving and speed of healing, reducing medical errors, increasing staff alertness, reducing falls, reducing sundowners, and reducing the need for psychotropic medication. The biological and behavioral effects of light are influenced by a distinct photoreceptor in the eye, melanopsin containing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), in addition to the conventional rods and cones (See e.g., Lucas et al., Trends Neurosci. 2014 January; 37(1): 1-9). Accordingly, in certain embodiments, light spectrum is measured using the melanopic/photopic (M/P) ratio. The M/P ratio does not describe color but rather how much blue content (light at 480 nm) is in the light. The M/P ratio is measured at eye level facing the direction the occupant would normally face when completing their tasks during a typical day. A calibrated spectrometer is utilized to measure the light spectrum in μW/cm2/nm (micro watts/centimeter squared/nanometer) at typical eye levels. This data is then collected and analyzed to determine the 5 measurement output values, corresponding to the human retinal photoreceptor complement. The photoreceptor complement includes Cyanopic, Melanopic, Rhodopic, Chloropic, and Erythropic values. Upon determining the μW/cm2/nm for the melanopic value, it is compared to the photopic value yielding an M/P ratio. An M/P ratio above 0.9 is a light source that will suppress melatonin and increase alertness. In some embodiments, the M/P ratio is altered in different locations in a facility in order to optimize patient and staff performance and well-being. For example, in some embodiments, patient rooms are provided with light with lower M/P ratios in the evening in order to promote relaxation and decrease alertness of patients. In some embodiments, the M/P ratio is increased during the day to increase alertness. In general, staff areas such as a nurse's station, hallways, break rooms, and medical procedure rooms (e.g., operating rooms) are kept at a higher M/P ratio at all times to increase staff alertness. In the present disclosure, M/P ratios of lights used in the described systems range from 0.2 to 1.2 (e.g., 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.35, 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, 0.55, 0.60, 0.65, 0.70, 0.75, 0.80, 0.85, 0.9, 0.95, 1.0, 1.2 or fractions thereof) plus or minus no more than 0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 5%, 10%, or 20%, depending on the time of day or subject population. Exemplary lighting protocols for different areas of a facility are provided below. In some embodiments, lights are “tunable.” For example, as used herein a “tunable” light source is a light source (e.g., light emitting diode or other light source or lamp) configured to be tuned to alternative wavelengths of light (e.g., using a controller). Examples of light source suitable for use in the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, light sources with a plurality of LEDs of different wavelengths that can be turned on and off via a controller, broad spectrum lights (e.g., DC arc lamps) with filters or diffraction gratings to tune the wavelength of light emitted, and the like. In some embodiments, tunable commercial lights sources available from a large number of suppliers (e.g., Acuity Brands (Atlanta, GA); Lighting Science (West Warwick, RI) and Elite Lighting (Los Angeles, CA) are utilized in the present disclosure. In some embodiments, light sources comprise dimmers to adjust the intensity of the light (e.g., measured in lux). The lux is the International System of Units derived unit of illuminance and luminous emittance, measuring luminous flux per unit area. In some embodiments, lux values are lux values at the eye level regardless of the individual's position. In some embodiments, the height is the average height of an individual present in the particular region of the facility receiving the light. In some embodiments, the height is the actual height of the individual, as measured by a sensor or pre-programmed based on a known height of the individual. In some embodiments, lighting systems comprise a controller (e.g., comprising a computer processor, computer software, and optionally a user interface such as for example, a computer monitor, a tablet, a smart phone, or smart watch). The controller serves to control all or a portion of the lights in the system. In some embodiments, lights are wired via electrical wires to the system. In other embodiments, lights are controlled wirelessly (e.g., via Bluetooth, near field, WiFi, or a combination thereof). Various different configurations (e.g., a combination of wired and wireless interfaces) are envisioned by the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the controller is programmed to automatically adjust lighting based on the region of the facility or time of day. In some embodiments, a user manually controls the lighting. In some embodiments, the user interface (e.g., voice, touch, or keypad interface) allows a user to alter the automated protocol. In some embodiments, a plurality of protocols is stored in memory and are selected by a user interface. Such protocols include zone-specific protocols, patient specific protocols (based on patient categories such as health status, age, and the like), room specific protocols, and the like. In some embodiments, the processor is located at a site remote from the facility or on-site. For example, in some embodiments, a service provider manages the lighting systems of two or more different facilities remotely. In some embodiments, patient and staff outcome data is collected from one or more such facilities to allow further optimization based on tracked outcomes (e.g., across a large number of facilities using data pooled from the facilities). In some embodiments, experimental protocols are run to identify improved protocols. In some embodiments, a facility is divided into zones with different lighting needs. For example, in some embodiments, facilities comprise first, second, and optionally third (or more) zones. In some embodiments, within a zone, lighting is uniform (e.g., all lights of a given type within a zone are set to the same M/P ratios and lux values), although each zone may include different types of lighting components that vary from other types of lighting components. For example, in a zone comprising a patient room, all of the bed lights in the zone are set to the same parameters bed overhead lights in the rooms are set to different parameters. The present disclosure is not limited to particular lighting zones. In some embodiments, lighting systems comprise a first zone comprising patient care zones (e.g., patient bedrooms, patient apartments, or common areas). In some embodiments, lighting systems comprise a second zone comprising staff areas (e.g., one or more of nurse's station, hallways, staff rooms, or medical procedure rooms). A facility may have any number of different zones depending on the needs of a given facility (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or more zones per facility). The present disclosure is not limited to particular facilities. Examples include, but are not limited to, skilled nursing facilities, long term care facilities, hospitals, hospices, assisted living facilities, clinics, correctional facilities (e.g., prisons, jails, youth facilities, etc.) and outpatient surgery centers. By way of example, the below description provides exemplary zones and lighting protocols illustrated for a skilled nursing home or long-term care facility. The description is for illustrative purposes and does not limit the disclosure. FIGS.1-4show exemplary layouts and specifications of certain rooms described below.FIG.1shows a layout of a dining room ceiling lighting with an M/P of greater than 0.85.FIG.2shows a layout of a hallway ceiling lighting with a daytime M/P of greater than 0.85 and a nighttime M/P of less than 0.35.FIG.3shows a) top and b) side views of a nurse's station with ceiling lighting of an M/P of 0.85 to 1.0 and task lighting of an M/P of 1.0 or greater.FIG.4shows a ceiling view of a resident or patient room with ceiling lights A with an M/P of less than 0.35, bed lighting B configured for an M/P of less than 0.35 during evening and night hours and an M/P of greater than 0.9 during the day, entry lighting C with M/P of less than 0.35, and bathroom lighting D with an M/P of less than 0.35. In some embodiments, lights change color (e.g., M/P ratio) automatically based on the time of day. Patient Room Lights Patient room lighting is enhanced throughout the 24 hour day to improve overall patient health and wellbeing. This results in, for example, reduction of falls, improved healing after illness or medical procedures, and a reduction in medications. In some exemplary embodiments, patient rooms comprise over the bed lights with 2 light sources, an uplight with a minimum M/P ratio of 0.9 and a down light with a maximum M/P ratio of 0.35. In some embodiments, any other resident lights, can lights, ceiling lights, floor lamps have an M/P ratio of 0.35 or below. In some embodiments, bathrooms comprise light with an M/P ratio of less than 0.5 at night and 0.9 during the day. In some embodiments, patient room lights utilize the following protocol: In the morning (e.g., between 6 and 7 AM), the uplight is energized or turned on to start the resident's day. It immediately suppresses melatonin production and encourages cortisol production. This hormone makes the resident more alert and energetic and sets the resident's internal body clock or circadian rhythm. Every cell in the body has a clock and the signal from the photons at a minimum of 0.9 M/P ratio entering the pupil will send a signal to the cells that daytime has started and it is time to start their daytime mode. In some embodiments, the illuminance is 100 lux as measured on a vertical plane near the eye. At the evening meal time (e.g., between 5 and 6 PM), the uplight is turned off to signal the beginning of the night time mode. All the other low M/P (below 0.35) lights remain on all day and into the evening. At bedtime, all lights are turned off and measurable light should be 0 lux. If there is a night light, it should have an M/P ratio below 0.35 and should be directed at the floor. In general, the lighting in the resident rooms should match the color of the light in the hallway during daytime and evening hours. Hallway Lights Hallway lighting is optimized to the time of day, as many different individuals are exposed to the hallway lights. In some exemplary embodiments, in the morning (e.g., between 6 and 7 am), the hallway lights are turned up to 200 lux as measured on a vertical plane near the eye with an M/P ratio of at least 0.9. In some embodiments, at mid-morning (e.g., 10 AM) the hallway lights are increased to 400 lux* measured on a vertical plane near the eye. In some embodiments, mid-afternoon (e.g., 3 PM) illuminance is lowered to 200 lux* measured on a vertical plane near the eye. In some embodiments, at the time of the evening meal (e.g., between 5 and 6 PM), the M/P ratio is lowered to below 0.35 M/P with in an illuminance of 300 lux* as measured on a vertical plane near the eye. At bedtime (e.g. 9:00 PM), the illuminance is 150 lux* as measured on a vertical plane near the eye. Activity Areas In some embodiments, lights in activity areas (e.g., craft areas, game areas, social areas, etc.) are kept at a high M/P ratio at all times. In some embodiments, lights in activity areas are at 200 to 400 lux as measured on a vertical plane near the eye with an M/P ratio of at least 0.9 at all times they are in use. Staff Lighting The goal of enhancing lighting for staff locations is to reduce medical errors and accidents. In some exemplary embodiments staff areas (e.g., break rooms, nurse's stations, medical procedure rooms, etc.) provide rich blue light (e.g., M/P greater than 0.9). Exposing the staff to this light suppresses the production of melatonin and makes them more alert and energetic regardless of the shift they work. In some embodiments, the illuminance at the eye is a minimum of 100 lux as measured on a vertical plane near the eye. In some embodiments, patient areas are isolated from staff areas so that they are not exposed to the high M/P lights. Using the described protocol, the following outcomes were observed: A reduction in the number of falls by 30%, a reduction in the number of sundowners by 35%, a reduction in the need for psychotropic meds by 10%, a reduction in harmful medical errors by 25%, and a reduction in energy consumption by 65%. The foregoing description of illustrative embodiments of the disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and of description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the disclosure. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and as practical applications of the disclosure to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure in various embodiments and with various modifications as suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the disclosure be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents. | 14,314 |
11943856 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.1is a view for conceptually explaining a remote light control device for a large light fixture according to an embodiment. As illustrated inFIG.1, in the light control device100according to the embodiment, as in a conventional light control device, first, light emission of each of many groups of lights and each light of the large light fixture is individually controlled according to preset information input according to key manipulation by an administrator or a control signal of an external console200. In this state, according to the embodiment, a light control board300which is connected to all lights in each of groups of lights of the large light fixture and individually performs light emission of the lights is installed behind the lights for example. Accordingly, when performing light emission of lights, through the light control board300, light emission of multiple different lights in each of groups of lights are remotely performed individually and differently based on a light position according to the preset information or control signal. Through this, the lights of the large light fixture are driven according to various situations. In this case, light emission of lights based on the light position is performed as follows. That is, the light emission of multiple different lights is performed in a matrix format by corresponding to the position of each light on the basis of a preregistered port table in the light control board. In addition, the port table has input/output ports in a matrix format which are differently combined and matched for the light positions of the multiple different lights. For example, a light tower installed in a baseball field or soccer field is located at a high location and is rectangular in shape, and multiple lights are installed in the light tower. Through devices according to the embodiment, brightness of each light is remotely and individually controlled, that is, only in a shaded area such as a shadow appearing due to surrounding objects. Accordingly, a shadow does not easily appear on a part which an administrator intends to control. In addition, to prevent the occurrence of a shadow, light of lights located at the uppermost position is the brightest, and light of lights located at the lowest position is the darkest. Accordingly, in the embodiment, the specific light control board300is placed behind the lights of each of the groups of lights of the large light fixture, and the brightness of each of the lights is controlled according to various situations intended to be controlled by an administrator from a remote place, thereby providing several conveniences. In addition, in high places, or various outdoor places and stages or filming places in which many light fixtures are installed, the light control device allows the brightness of lights of the light fixtures to be easily and rapidly controlled remotely by an administrator, thereby facilitating the maintenance and management of the large light fixture. More detailed description of the light control device will be made below. First, the light control device100according to the embodiment, like a conventional light control device, mainly includes a key signal input part, an information input/output part, a storage part, a control part, and a display part. For reference, the key signal input part receives preset information for the light emission of lights belonging to multiple different groups of lights in a large light fixture in a remote location according to a key manipulation by an administrator. In addition, the information input/output part is connected to the registered console200which mainly controls the light emission of the lights of each of the groups of lights of the large light fixture or to a registered external light drive device so as to input and output each information. The storage part classifies and stores preset information and device registration information for each of the groups of lights and each light of the large light fixture. According to the preset information received from the key signal input part or a control signal input/output by the information input/output part, the control part allows light emission of the groups of lights and lights of the large light fixture to be differently performed, based on a light position. The display part displays information of each of the groups of lights and each light driven by the control part. In this state, according to the embodiment, the control part performs the following operation. First, the control part is preset and registered to be connected with the light control board300when the light control board which is connected to all lights belonging to each of the groups of lights of the large light fixture at a remote location and individually performs light emission of the lights is installed in the large light fixture. In addition, the control part receives preset information or control signal for light emission of the lights for the light control board from the key signal input part or the console200. Accordingly, according to the input preset information or the control signal, the control part allows light emission of the multiple different lights in the groups of lights to be individually and differently performed based on a light position through the light control board. In addition, light emission of a light on the basis of the light position according to the embodiment is performed as follows. That is, each of multiple different lights emits light in a matrix format by corresponding to the position of each light on the basis of the preregistered port table in the light control board300. In addition, the port table has input/output ports in a matrix format which are differently combined and matched for the positions of the multiple different lights. Accordingly, in the embodiment, as described above, a specific light control board300is placed behind the lights of each of the groups of lights of the large light fixture, and the brightness of each light from a remote place is adjusted according various situations as desired by an administrator, thereby providing several conveniences. In addition, in high places, or various outdoor places and stages or filming places in which many light fixtures are installed, the light control device allows the brightness of lights of the light fixtures to be easily and rapidly controlled remotely by an administrator, thereby facilitating the maintenance and management of the large light fixture. FIG.2is a view illustrating the whole of a system applied to the remote light control device for a large light fixture according to the embodiment. As illustrated inFIG.2, the system according to the embodiment includes the remote light control device100for a large light fixture and the light control board300which are connected to each other through a self network. Additionally, the system of the embodiment includes the console200which is a main management device connected to the remote light control device for a large light fixture, and external links, for example, a management device300-1of fault repair place and a management device300-2of a police station. Additionally, in this case, the remote light control device100for a large light fixture and the light control board300are connected to each other by using any one of Wi-Fi, LoRA, RF, and Bluetooth (BT). According to the remote light control device100for a large light fixture, when performing light emission of the multiple different lights of each of groups of lights in the large light fixture, the light emission of the multiple different lights in each of the groups of lights is remotely and individually performed based on the positions of the lights through the light control board300. The light control board300is installed for each of the groups of lights of the large light fixture. Furthermore, the light control board300is connected to all lights belonging to each of the groups of lights and individually performs the light emission of the lights. In addition, the light control board300is installed behind the lights. Additionally, for light emission of the light on the basis of each light position as described above, each of multiple different lights emits light in a matrix format by corresponding to each light position on the basis of the preregistered port table in the light control board300. In this case, the port table has an input/output port in a matrix format matching each light position of the multiple different lights. Accordingly, the brightness of each of the lights of the large light fixture having many groups of lights in a high place or at many distributed positions is remotely controlled according to various situations intended to be controlled by an administrator, so the administrator easily and conveniently controls the brightness of the lights in the large light fixture. FIG.3is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the remote light control device for a large light fixture according to the embodiment. As illustrated inFIG.3, the remote light control device100for a large light fixture according to the embodiment mainly includes the key signal input part101, the information input/output part102, the storage part103, the display part104, and the control part105. In addition, the light control board300according to the embodiment includes an information input/output part301, a storage part302, and a control part303. Additionally, the console200connected to the light control device100mainly includes a key signal input part201, an I/F part202, a storage medium203, a display part204, and a main processing part205. In the remote light control device for a large light fixture, the key signal input part101receives various types of preset information for light emission of lights belonging to multiple different groups of lights in the large light fixture according to key manipulation by an administrator. For example, the key signal input part101receives registration information and control preset information of the groups of lights and the lights, and light position preset information. The information input/output part102is connected to a registered console which mainly controls the light emission of the lights of the groups of lights of the large light fixture, or a registered external light drive device, or the light control board so as to input/output or transmit/receive information. According to the control of the control part105, the storage part103classifies and stores the preset information, device registration information, and light position preset information of the groups of lights and lights of the large light fixture. The control part105allows light emission of lights to be differently performed for each of the groups of lights and each light of the large light fixture according to preset information received from the key signal input part101or a control signal input/output by the information input/output part102. In addition, according to the embodiment, when performing the light emission of the lights of each of the groups of lights in the large light fixture, the control part105allows light emission of multiple different lights in the groups of lights to be remotely and differently performed individually according to various situations based on the positions of the lights through the light control board. The display part104displays information of each group of lights and each light thereof driven by the control part105and position information of the light. In addition, the information input/output part301in the light control board300is connected to the remote light control device100for a large light fixture. Accordingly, the control part105of the remote light control device100for a large light fixture receives an individual control signal for each of multiple lights different from each other. Such an individual control signal is preset to identify the position of the light. The control part303controls the storage part302to classify and store the preset information, light registration information, control information, and light position preset information of each light. The control part303controls each part, and light emission of each light is individually performed according to the control signal based on the position of the light by the control of the control part105. FIG.4is a flowchart of sequentially illustrating the operation of the remote light control device for a large light fixture according to the embodiment. As illustrated inFIG.4, according to the remote light control device for a large light fixture according to the embodiment, first, the light control board is installed in each of many groups of lights of the large light fixture in a high place or at many locations, and the light control device presets and registers information of connection with the light control board at5401. In addition, the light control board is connected to all lights belonging to each of the groups of lights, and individually performs light emission of the lights. In this state, the control part receives preset information or control signal for the light emission of the lights for the light control board from the key signal input part or the console at5402. Accordingly, by the input preset information or the control signal, the control part allows light emission of multiple different lights in groups of lights to be individually performed based on the positions of the lights through the light control board according to various situations intended to be controlled by an administrator at5403. Meanwhile, the light emission of a light on the basis of a light position is performed as follows. That is, the light emission of each light is performed in a matrix format corresponding to the light position of each of multiple different lights on the basis of the preregistered port table in the light control board. Additionally, the port table has input/output ports in a matrix format which are differently combined and matched for the positions of the multiple different lights. For example, a light tower installed in a baseball field or soccer field is located at a high location and is rectangular in shape, and multiple lights are installed in the light tower. Through devices according to the embodiment, brightness of each light is remotely and individually controlled, that is, only in a shaded area such as a shadow appearing due to surrounding objects. Accordingly, a shadow is prevented from easily appearing in a part intended to be controlled by an administrator. In addition, in order to prevent a shadow, the brightness of a light at the uppermost is the highest, and the brightness of a light at the bottom is the lowest. As described above, in the embodiment, light emission of many groups of lights and lights of the large light fixture is individually controlled according to preset information input according to key manipulation by an administrator or the control signal of an external console200. In this state, according to the embodiment, a light control board300which is connected to all lights in each of groups of lights of the large light fixture and individually performs light emission of the lights is installed behind the lights for example. Accordingly, when performing light emission of multiple different lights of each of groups of lights, light emission of the lights in each of the groups of lights is individually and remotely performed based on the light position of each of the different lights according to the preset information or control signal through the light control board. In this case, the light emission of a light on the basis of a light position is performed as follows. That is, the light emission of a light in a matrix format is performed by corresponding to the light position of each of multiple different lights on the basis of the preregistered port table in the light control board. In addition, the port table has an input/output port in a matrix format matching each light position of the multiple different lights. Accordingly, in the embodiment, a specific light control board is placed behind the lights of each of the groups of lights of the large light fixture, and the brightness of each light from a remote place is controlled according to various situations intended to be controlled by an administrator, thereby providing various conveniences. In addition, in high places, or outdoor places and stages or filming stages in which many light fixtures are installed, the brightness of lights of the light fixtures is easily and rapidly controlled remotely by an administrator, thereby facilitating the maintenance and management of the large light fixture. FIG.5is a view for explaining the port table applied to the remote light control device for a large light fixture according to the embodiment. As illustrated inFIG.5, as described above, the port table according to the embodiment has input/output ports in a matrix format which are differently combined and matched for the positions of the multiple different lights. Accordingly, light emission of multiple different lights belonging to a specific group of lights is performed in a matrix format corresponding to the light positions of the multiple different lights. Accordingly, light emission of many lights belonging to a specific group of lights is easily and rapidly performed. For example, as described above, light emission of lights is performed only in a shaded area. In addition, the control part differently combines and matches the input/output ports in a matrix format for multiple different areas, groups, and channels for the positions of the lights in the port table on the light control board. The area, groups, and channels are determined as intended to be grouped by an administrator. Accordingly, when remotely performing the light emission of lights through the port table, the light emission is variously switched from input/output ports in a matrix format for each area, group, and channel. In addition, the control part switches the input/output operation for the input/output ports in a matrix format by corresponding only to each abnormal area, group, and channel when the lights are abnormal when performing the light emission of each of the lights for the area, group, and channel. Accordingly, when the lights are abnormal or malfunctions, the operation of the lamps is easily and appropriately adjusted. For another example, the control part differently combines and matches the input/output ports in a matrix format for the areas, groups, and channels in the port table of the light control board by corresponding to the hardware, software, and line type of an outdoor light. Accordingly, the control part switches input/output operation for the input/output ports in a matrix format by corresponding to the hardware, software, and line type when performing light emission of the lamps for the areas, groups, and channels. For example, the hardware is a management server, a light device, or a light control device, and the software is a method or app for controlling the brightness of a light. In addition, lines are various types of connecting lines used for management of lights. In this case, for example, when the performance of the hardware is good, all lights belonging to the same channel are controlled under certain circumstances. In addition, when the performance of the hardware is normal, some lights belonging to the channel are simply controlled. For another example, the control part differently combines and matches the input/output ports in a matrix format for the areas, groups, and channels in the port table by corresponding to the type of the abnormality of the outdoor light. Through this, the control part switches input/output operation for the input/output ports of the port table by corresponding to the type of the abnormality of the outdoor light when performing the light emission of the lamps for the areas, groups, and channels. For example, the type of abnormality includes abnormality of a server or abnormality of a line, and when a specific channel is abnormal, light emission of lamps belonging to a channel designated as a reserve is simply adjusted. Accordingly, through this method, light emission of lights belonging to a specific group of lights is easily and rapidly controlled under various situations as intended to be controlled by an administrator. Meanwhile, the control part performs the duplexing control of input/output operation for the input/output ports in a matrix format through the console when the outdoor light is detected as being abnormal during the switching, thereby performing the switching operation continuously when the outdoor light is abnormal. For example, when the state of lights is in a preset normal state, the lights are maintained as they are, and when the state of the lights is in an abnormal state, the duplexed control is performed through a current console. In addition, when there are multiple consoles, or when there are multiple main management devices, authority is granted thereto in order of a closest distance such that rapid duplexed control can be performed. Additionally, when controlling the brightness of each light for each of the above-mentioned areas, groups, and channels, broadcasting information is provided for each of the areas, groups, and channels under the circumstances of using a large light device in conjunction with the method below. For example, the large light device is used in stage space or a sports arena. Specifically, when controlling light emission for each area, group, and channel for each of the above-mentioned groups of lights and individual lights, the same area, group, and channel are preset to provide broadcasting information in connection with the lights. For example, only an area A may be individually broadcast, all internal and external areas of A to N may be broadcast, and furthermore, the area A may be broadcast for various groups and channels. In addition, when a malfunction occurs under such a condition of broadcasting for each area, group and channel, only associated area, group, and channel are switched and broadcast through the above-mentioned light control device or console at a remote location or through a broadcasting device. Furthermore, since settings related to the area, group, and channel are synchronized with each other in various related devices, related DBs are matched and maintained in normal times to perform broadcasting which is actually helpful. For reference, before explaining such a switching broadcast, the existing broadcast is first briefly described to help the understanding of the switching broadcast. Specifically, according to a conventional technology, for broadcasting inside, a main information processing device connected to the console, a power divider, and a network I/O master are mainly provided. In addition, multiple amps, a speaker selector, and an audio output part including a speaker are included. In addition, in this case, broadcast is provided directly from a field by further including a remote microphone. Additionally, hubs and gateways for internal and external grouping are included. A little more explanation of this basic configuration is as follows. When broadcasting, the main information processing device performs overall management by presetting and transmitting basic broadcasting information to be broadcast according to key manipulation by an administrator for each area, group, channel desired by an administrator. For example, the basic broadcasting information is provided by a broadcasting company through CD players and tuners, and furthermore, is provided directly by an administrator in a field through a remote microphone. In this case, the main information processing device generally operates a broadcasting system by frequently changing broadcasting preset information with various programs. Additionally, devices related to this, for example, include a speaker selector and a control device that check for abnormalities for each channel of speaker lines and turn on/off while listening to output sound. In addition, when performing public address broadcasting, the main information processing device which has a window-based graphic user interface (GUI), efficiently controls, manages, and searches the public address broadcasting. When broadcasting through the main information processing device, the power divider receives broadcast driving power from multiple different power sources and distributes the power to each internal part. Accordingly, the power divider normally supplies power to rack equipment, and in case of a power outage, converts the power from AC power to DC power (battery) and supplies the DC power preferentially. When transmitting broadcasting information of the main information processing device for different areas, groups and channels inside, the network I/O master receives broadcast information from the main information processing device, multiplexes the broadcast information to a corresponding channel to be broadcast. Meanwhile, in order to send out the broadcast information, the multiple amps, the speaker selector, and the speaker are installed differently for each area, group, and channel, and the information is broadcast only to a location desired by an administrator. For reference, the multiple amps are installed for each of internal and external parts, that is, for each of a network I/O master and a transceiver by corresponding to multiple different area, groups, and channels, thereby amplifying a plurality of broadcasting information. In addition, multiple speaker selectors select broadcasting only to a specific channel when abnormality occurs. In this case, the multiple speaker selectors operates a speaker by selecting switches of each of 16 individual groups and all groups by output signals of up to 8 power amplifiers. Particularly, each channel has the line checker function of a 3-line speaker during normal broadcasting. In addition, each channel also has the function of transmitting audio output signals as a group for remotely monitoring the audio output signals during broadcasting. Furthermore, multiple speakers subdivide broadcasting information and output the subdivided information to respective channels and, for example, are installed for each area and are assigned individual IP addresses. In addition, such a speaker uses a digital amplifier or a speaker having an amplifier provided therein. Meanwhile, when the hub broadcasts inside and outside each facility, the hub broadcasts broadcasting information between each part, for example, relays the broadcasting information from the main information processing device to the network I/O master or from an audio encoder to a gateway. In addition, in this case, the hub includes, for example, a network gateway, and is used in connection with an internal network and an external network. A multicast packet used in the internal network is changed to TCP/IP which can be used in the external network to be transmitted and received. Additionally, when broadcasting is performed in this way, the gateway allows broadcasting information from the outside of each facility to be relayed between the facilities, for example, to be relayed between a facility in an area a and a facility in an area b. Accordingly, in this way, conventional broadcasting is carried out. In addition, in this state, the above-mentioned switching broadcasting is performed. Meanwhile, when controlling the light emission of lights, the light control device collects various pieces of state information from a separate means provided in the light control board, thereby improving monitoring and convenience thereof. Furthermore, the separate means has improved self-diagnosis and watchdog functions for major parts in conjunction with the light control device and rapidly restores the parts even in the event of failures of the parts To this end, the large light fixture operates as follows. First, the large light fixture collects multiple pieces of environment state information different from each other around and provides the same to the light control device and console according to the embodiment. In addition, the large light fixture includes a data input/output module which collects the environment state information in analog and digital formats. Furthermore, the large light fixture includes a communication part which differently transmits the collected environment state information according to a transmission format preset for each control type of the light control device and receives a control signal. Additionally, the large light fixture further includes a control part which controls the transmission and reception of the communication part and differently controls the operation of each part according to the control signal. For example, the large light fixture uses a main control part of the light control board. In this state, when transmitting various types of information, the control part compares the state of each of the main control part of the light control board and a communication device with the preset normal state of each of the control part and device. As a result of the comparison, when the state of the main control part is normal, the main control part is not reset, and when the state of the main control part is abnormal, the main control part is reset. Next, when the state of the communication device is in a preset normal state thereof, the power of the communication device is not turned off, and when the state of the communication device is out of the preset normal state, the power of the communication device is turned off. Additionally, the main control part operates variously as follows. 1) First, when the environment state information is collected, the main control part collects the state information of ambient temperature and humidity to determine state of the current temperature and humidity and differently controls the operation of the fan and heater for the state of current temperature and humidity to properly maintain operation environment (for example, stage space). 2) In addition, when the environment state information is collected, the main control part collects the state information of surrounding fine dust, determines the current state of the fine dust, and provides the state information to the light control device or console according to the embodiment. 3) In addition, when the environment state information is collected in this way, the main control part collects surrounding vibration state information, determines a current vibration state, and provides the vibration state to the light control device or the console according to the embodiment. Accordingly, the main control part notifies external impact and protects various devices. 4) Furthermore, when the environment state information is collected, the main control part collects the illuminance state information of a light to determine a current screen illuminance state. As a result of the determination, when the current screen illuminance state is a preset normal state, the main control part confirms the current screen illuminance state as normal. In addition, when the current screen illuminance state is not a preset normal state, the main control part confirms the current screen illuminance state as malfunctional. Accordingly, the main control part notifies whether the light is malfunctional. 5) When the environment state information is collected, the main control part collects neighboring proximity state information to determine a current neighboring state. As a result of the determination turns, when the current neighboring proximity state is within a preset proximity distance, the main control part turns on an external light. In addition, when the current neighboring proximity state is not within a preset proximity distance, the main control part turns off the external light. Through this, the main control part turns on the external light when a target approaches the surrounding of the external light at night to make the target recognize the presence of the external light, thereby preventing accidents. Meanwhile, when controlling the light emission of lights, a light control device, a console, and a light control board according to another embodiment have the same preset information, registration information, and actual information as the preset information, registration information, and actual information of the light control device, the console, and the light control board according to the above-mentioned embodiment, thereby enabling various types of rapid actions to be taken. 1) To this end, first, a table storing the preset information, registration information (e.g., device registration information), and actual information of the light control device, the console, and the light control board is identically provided, and the matching relationships of the same for the table are preset and preregistered. 2) Next, when any one of three devices changes associated information, remaining two devices change the associated information identically in accordance to the change of the information in the table according to the matching relationship, so that consistent information is maintained between the devices. 3) Additionally, when maintaining consistent information between these devices, I/O ports are configured in a matrix format for multiple different devices from a preset I/O port format such that the I/O ports are made pluralistic. Accordingly, whenever this information is maintained to be consistent, information input/output is performed pluralistically by collectively performing changing operation for each of different devices due to the configuration of the I/O ports. On the other hand, in such a configuration, when providing a control signal from the console to the light control device, information is securely transmitted in a distributed encryption method of the following method such that the information is processed in a secure manner. That is, when providing a control signal, the control signal, that is, control information is first provided in this method by using associated keys according to the number n of light control devices and the characteristic of an exclusive logical sum. Accordingly, by using this information, n partial secret keys are created, and encrypted information is stored in each of the partial secret keys of the n pieces for encryption processing. Briefly explaining this background, as a terminal has high-performance and high-capacity, the importance of protecting and managing important information inside the terminal is emerging. In order to protect and manage such important information, a conventional method of encrypting the important information of a terminal, storing the information in an external storage device, and backing the information up is used. However, in a case in which important information is stored in one external storage device, when the storage device is hacked, the important information may be easily leaked. Therefore, in storing important information in the external storage device, a more secure method is required. Particularly, in the case of the encryption processing, the method of inputting a random initial value and secret keys is blocked by using a scramble, so that distributed encryption can be provided more effectively. To this end, in the case of encryption in this way, information from encryption configuration below is encrypted and provided to an associated device. In addition, the configuration is as follows. 1) That is, when receiving specific control information, one different secret key is selected according to the shape or length of a plaintext based on an advanced encryption standard (AES) encryption method. In addition, a cipher text is obtained by repeatedly executing one of multiple different rounds according to the size of the secret key. Furthermore, an academy research institute agency (ARIA) encryption format including round key addition, substitution layer, and diffusion layer is applied to each round function. 2) Accordingly, before performing the round key addition operation, modulation is performed by first performing an exclusive OR with n−1 scramblers (n is the number of scrambles) from the plaintext and the secret key. 3) Next, such modulation information is preset as n partial secret keys, and one different partial secret key is provided to each of n objects. 4) Accordingly, when the modulation is performed in this way, a cipher text is obtained by repeatedly executing a function for each round including one round of round key addition operation according to the size of the secret key. In addition, whenever the cipher text (format) is obtained, the scrambler systematically disappears in the round key addition operation, and an operation result is obtained in the same format as a commercial AES. On the other hand, in this configuration, when light emitting operation is controlled in this way, the brightness of a light is controlled according to an environment from the following method, thereby controlling the brightness of the light more effectively for various environments. For example, as described above, when there is a light fixture is in a high location such as a baseball field or soccer field, the brightness of each light is remotely controlled by being limited only to a shaded area such as a shadow, thereby preventing a shadow in a part intended to be controlled by an administrator. In this case, the brightness of a shaded part is controlled according to various environments, thereby efficiently controlling the brightness of a light according to various environments. 1) First, in the case of controlling the brightness of lights in this way, a method of classifying and learning for each place and environment type is defined based on environmental information including temperature, humidity, illuminance, noise, and vibration information in each of the installation places of multiple different large light fixtures. 2) Next, for each installation place (or type of installation place), information sets are collected and accumulated according to environmental information or the type thereof. 3) In addition, by using the accumulated information sets, the properties of information are determined for each installation place and environment. 4) Next, the determined information is processed normally. 5) Accordingly, an independent variable and a dependent variable by which information to control the brightness of lights is obtained according to each environment is preset for each of installation places of multiple different large light fixtures. For example, in the above-mentioned situation, an independent variable and a dependent variable are preset for obtaining the area of an upper part to be brightened and the area of a lower part to be darkened. In this case, the independent variable is brightness control information of a light, and the dependent variable includes various installation places and environmental factors with relative to the reference brightness. 6) Accordingly, by learning through this information, the method described above is obtained. Additionally, this method is also as follows. For example, a property status is slightly different according to normal times, a situation in which people are rare, or a situation in which people are crowded, and thus different methods are created to suit such environments. In addition, this method may be made for each place, or a standard may be preset to make several bundles. This allows an appropriate method to be determined according to the characteristics of information. In addition, when information is transmitted to create this method, there are cases in which a large number of information is not collected and in which abnormalities are detected due to errors in equipment. In this case, the information is required to be removed. Accordingly, after creating a basic information set through this, properties are added for additional necessary information. Furthermore, occasionally, when some information is not collected due to the interruption of information, the associated information is removed. Accordingly, next, valid properties are determined for each method, normal values are created, and independent and dependent variables are determined. Meanwhile, when these devices control the brightness of lights in this way, brightness control information is preset differently according to installation purpose and installation target (e.g., a light fixture or light device) for each installation place, so that brightness control suitable for various situations can be performed more efficiently. To this end, in this configuration, the brightness of lights is controlled according to installation purpose, installation place type, and installation target suitable for installation places from registration information set in advance by corresponding to the installation purpose, installation place type, and installation target for each of the installation places, thereby making the brightness control of lights more convenient. For example, a light fixture is installed for a general purpose, protection at a crime zone, and spot lighting, and the installation site of the light fixture includes a general place, a crime zone, and a place for audiences/structures, etc. The detailed operation of the light fixture will be described below. First, the above-described method is preset according to the installation place and environment of the large light fixture which has many groups of lights at high places or many positions. In addition, the presetting for the light control device according to the embodiment is performed in the same way as described above. That is, the light control board is installed on each of the groups of lights of the large light fixture to preset and register connection information. In addition, the light control board is connected to all lights belonging to each of the groups of lights and individually performs light emission of the lights. In this state, the control part receives preset information or a control signal for light emission of lights for the light control board from the key signal input part or the console. Accordingly, by the received preset information or control signal, the control part allows light emission of multiple different lights in each of the groups of lights to be individually performed based on the positions of the lights through the light control board according to various situations intended to be controlled by an administrator. In this case, as described above, light emission of lights is performed by corresponding to various installation places and environment. For example, according to the installation places and environment of the large light fixture, the brightness of lights is increased or decreased relative to reference light emitting operation. Detailed description of light emission will be made below. First, the installation place and environment of the large light fixture are recognized, light brightness control information for the installation place and environment is extracted from the above-described method, and the brightness of lights is increased or decreased from the reference light emitting operation. Accordingly, in the another embodiment, the brightness of lights is controlled according to the installation place and environment of a large light fixture having many groups of lights in a high place or many locations. For reference, the light emission of a light on the basis of the light position is performed as follows. That is, a light emits light in a matrix format corresponding to the light position of each of multiple different lights on the basis of the preregistered port table in the light control board. Furthermore, the port table has input/output ports combined with the multiple different lights by matching light positions of the multiple different lights. As a practical example, in order to prevent shadows from occurring in the installation place and environment of a light fixture such as a baseball field or soccer field, an uppermost part thereof is made relatively small and brightness is also slightly reduced in a relatively bright installation place and in a cool environment. In addition, in a relatively dark and hot environment, the uppermost part is made larger and the brightness is increased a little more. As described above, like a conventional technology, in the embodiment, first, light emission of each of many groups of lights and each light of the large light fixture is individually controlled according to preset information input according to key manipulation by an administrator or the control signal of an external console200. In addition, according to the embodiment, the light control board which is connected to all lights in each of groups of lights of the large light fixture and individually performs light emission of the lights is installed behind the lights for example. Accordingly, when performing light emission of multiple different lights of each of groups of lights, light emission of the lights in each of the groups of lights is individually and remotely performed based on the position of each of the lights according to the preset information or control signal through the light control board. In this state, the brightness of lights is controlled according to the installation place and environment of the large light fixture having many groups of lights in a high place or at many positions. Accordingly, in the embodiment, a specific light control board is placed behind the lights of the large light fixture, and the brightness of each of the lights is remotely controlled according to various situations intended to be controlled by an administrator and according to installation place and environment of the large light fixture, thereby providing more convenience. In addition, in high places or various outdoor places and stages or filming stages in which many light fixtures are installed, the brightness of lights of the light fixtures is easily and rapidly controlled remotely by an administrator according to installation place and environment of a large light fixture, thereby further facilitating the maintenance and management of the large light fixture. | 46,698 |
11943857 | All the figures are schematic, not necessarily to scale, and generally only show parts which are necessary in order to elucidate the invention, wherein other parts may be omitted or merely suggested. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS FIGS.1aand1bshow schematically embodiments of a lighting system100. The lighting system100comprises a lighting unit110, a first control device130for controlling the lighting unit110, a portable control device120for wirelessly controlling the lighting unit110and a controller102for restricting control of the lighting unit110. The system100further comprises a surface140on which the portable control device120can be positioned.FIGS.1aand1bshow examples of system architectures of lighting systems100, wherein in the lighting system100ofFIG.1a, the controller102, the first control device130and the portable control device120communicate directly with the lighting unit110, and wherein in the lighting system100ofFIG.1b, the controller102, the first control device130and the portable control device120communicate directly with the lighting unit110via an intermediary device160, such as a bridge, a smartphone, a cloud application, etc. It should be understood that these system architectures are mere examples, and that the skilled person is able to design alternative system architectures without departing from the scope of the appended claims. The controller102is configured to restrict control of the lighting unit110for the first lighting control device130based on a position of the portable control device120relative to the surface140. The controller comprises one or more processors106configured to determine the position of the portable control device120relative to the surface140. Based on the position of the portable control device120relative to the surface140, the processor106may set the (one or more) lighting unit(s)110to a first control mode or a second control mode. In the first control mode, the lighting unit110is configured to be controlled by both the first control device130and the portable control device120. In the second control mode, the lighting unit110is configured to be controlled by the portable control device120, and control of the lighting unit110by the first control device130is at least partially restricted. The controller102may be comprised in any device configured to restrict control of the lighting unit110. The controller102may, for example, be comprised in an intermediary device160such as a bridge, a server connected via the internet, a smartphone, etc. Alternatively, the controller102may be comprised in the lighting unit110, or in the portable control device120. The position of the controller102may depend on the system architecture of the lighting system100. The controller102may comprise a communication unit104configured to receive and/or transmit signals to and/or from the devices in the lighting system. Various wired and wireless communication protocols may be used, for example Ethernet, DMX, DALI, USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Li-Fi, 3G, 4G, 5G or ZigBee. The processor106may be configured to receive a signal indicative of the position of the portable control device120relative to the surface140. The signal may be received from the portable control device120, from an intermediary device160such as a bridge, from a device comprising the surface140, etc., depending on the system architecture of the lighting system100. In a first example, wherein the controller102is comprised in an intermediary device160such as a bridge, the controller102may receive the signal from the portable control device120or from a device comprising the surface140(e.g. a docking station). The signal may, for example, be indicative of that the portable control device120has been positioned on the surface140, and the processor106may set the lighting unit110to the second control mode. The processor106may, for example, be further configured to control the lighting unit110. Based on the restrictions of control of the lighting unit110in the second control mode, the processor106may determine whether to transmit lighting control commands to the lighting unit110when signals from the first control device130are received. Alternatively, the processor106may send a mode command to the lighting unit to change the mode of the lighting unit110. The lighting unit110may still receive lighting control commands from the first control device130, but a control unit of the lighting unit may determine whether to execute these lighting control commands based on the restrictions of the second control mode. In a second example, wherein the controller102is comprised in the lighting unit110, the lighting unit110may still receive lighting control commands from the first control device130when set to the second control mode, but the processor106of the controller102comprised in the lighting unit may determine whether to execute these lighting control commands based on the restrictions of the second control mode. In another example, the processor106may set the lighting unit110to the second control mode by communicating a restriction message to the first control device130to inform the first control device130about its restrictions regarding control of the lighting unit110. A control unit in the first control device130may then determine whether to transmit lighting control commands to the lighting unit110based on the restrictions. It should be understood that the above-mentioned examples of system architectures and ways of setting the lighting unit110to the first or second control mode are mere examples, and that the skilled person is able to design alternatives without departing from the scope of the appended claims. The first control device130may be any lighting control device configured to control the lighting unit110. Examples include but are not limited to a central lighting controller (e.g. a bridge, a cloud application, etc.), a smartphone, a voice assistant, a sensor, a light switch, etc. The first control device130may be portable device. The first control device130is configured to control the lighting unit110, for example by wirelessly communicating lighting control commands to the lighting unit110. The lighting control commands may be communicated when a user input has been received (e.g. when a user presses a button, provides a voice control command, etc.), when a sensor has been triggered (e.g. when a user is present, when an RF beacon is activated, etc.), when a lighting control routine is activated (e.g. when one or more lighting units110are switched on at sunset or at a predefined time), etc. The portable control device120is a device remote from the lighting unit that can be carried by a user, for example a smartphone, a wearable device or a light switch. The portable control device120is configured to wirelessly control the lighting unit110, for example by communicating lighting control commands to the lighting unit110. The lighting control commands may be communicated when a user input has been received at the portable control device120(e.g. when a user presses a button, provides a voice control command, etc.). The lighting unit110may be controlled by communicating (e.g. via a communication module) lighting control commands to the lighting unit110. The lighting unit may be any type of lighting unit arranged for receiving lighting control commands. The lighting unit110comprises one or more light sources (e.g. LED/OLED light sources). The lighting unit may comprise an input configured to receive lighting control commands from the controller102, from the first control device130, from the portable control device120, etc., depending on the system architecture of the lighting system, and the lighting unit110may comprise a control unit to control the one or more light sources based on the lighting control commands. The lighting control commands may relate to one or more light settings, which may for instance be defined as RGB/HSL/HSB color values, CIE color values, intensity (brightness) values, beam angle/shape values, etc. The surface140is a surface for positioning the portable control device130on. The surface140may be a surface140of an object identifiable by a user as a surface140for positioning the portable control device (e.g. a docking surface, a surface of the lighting unit, a (wall) plate, etc.). In the first control mode, the control of the lighting unit110is no different from regular control, i.e. the lighting unit can be controlled by both the first control device130and the portable control device120. When the user repositions the portable control device130(e.g. a light switch) to a (predefined) position relative to the surface140(e.g. by placing the portable control device130on the surface140), the lighting unit110is set to a second control mode. When the system comprises a plurality of lighting units110, the surface140(e.g. a wall plate) may be associated with the plurality of lighting units such that when a user positions the portable control device120on the surface140, the plurality of lighting units are set to the second control mode. The plurality of lighting units may, for example, be grouped. This enables a user to restrict control of the group of lighting units by positioning the portable control device120on the surface140. The plurality of lighting units may, for example, be located in the same space (e.g. a room). This enables a user to restrict control of the lighting units in the space by positioning the portable control device120on the surface140. The lighting system100may comprise a detection means for detecting the position of the portable control device120relative to the surface140. The means may for example be comprised in the portable control device120, in the surface140or comprised in a further device. The detection means may, for example, comprise a magnetic field sensor for detecting the presence of a magnetic field (caused by one or more magnets comprised in the portable control device120and/or the surface140). The magnetic field sensor may provide a signal indicating a change of the magnetic field, which may be indicative of that the portable control device110has been positioned on/removed from the surface140. The detection means may, for example, comprise a light sensor comprised in the portable control device120or in the surface140, configured to detect light emitted by a light source (e.g. an LED) comprised in the surface140or in the portable control device120, respectively. The light sensor may provide a signal indicating a change of light, which may be indicative of that the portable control device110has been positioned on/removed from the surface140. The detection means may, for example, comprise an Near Field Communication (NFC) module comprised in the portable control device120or in the surface140, configured to detect presence of a (passive or active) NFC tag comprised in the surface140or in the portable control device120, respectively. The NFC module light sensor may provide a signal indicating indicative of that the portable control device110has been positioned on/removed from the surface140. The detection means may, for example, comprise a mechanical switch (e.g. a button) comprised in the portable control device120or in the surface140. The mechanical switch may provide a signal indicative of that the portable control device110has been positioned on/removed from the surface140. It should be understood that the above-mentioned detection means for detecting the position of the portable control device120relative to the surface140are mere examples, and that the skilled person is able to design alternatives without departing from the scope of the appended claims. The processor106may be configured to set the lighting unit110to the second control mode if the portable control device120is positioned on the surface140, and set the lighting unit110to the second control mode if the portable control device120is not positioned on the surface140. This is illustrated inFIG.2a, which shows a docking surface240acomprising an area242afor receiving a light switch220a. The light switch may comprise one or more buttons222afor receiving user inputs for controlling the light output of the lighting unit110. The processor106(not shown) may receive a signal indicative of that the light switch220ahas been positioned on the docking surface240a. The signal may, for example, be received from a communication module comprised in the light switch220aor in the surface240a. This enables a user to restrict control of the lighting unit110by positioning the portable control device222aon the surface240a. The surface140may comprise a first area and a second area, and the processor106may be configured to determine if the portable control device120is located at the first area or at the second area of the surface140. The processor106may be further configured to set the lighting unit110to the first control mode if the portable control device120is located at the first area and set the lighting unit110to the second control mode if the portable control device120is located at the second area. This is illustrated inFIG.2b, which shows a docking surface240bcomprising a first area242band a second area2bfor receiving a light switch220b. The light switch may comprise one or more buttons222bfor receiving user inputs for controlling the light output of the lighting unit110. The processor106(not shown) may receive a signal (which may, for example, be received from a communication module comprised in the light switch220bor in the surface240b) indicative of the position of the light switch220b. If, for example, the signal is indicative of that the light switch220bis located at the first area242b, the processor106may set the lighting unit110to the first control mode. If, for example, the signal is indicative of that the light switch220bis located at the second area2b, the processor106may set the lighting unit110to the second control mode. This enables a user to restrict control of the lighting unit110by moving the portable control device222bfrom the first area242bto the second area2b. The processor106may be further configured to set the lighting unit to the first control mode or the second control mode based on the orientation of the portable control device120relative to the surface. The processor106may be configured to receive a signal indicative of the orientation of the portable control device120. The signal may, for example, be received from a communication module comprised in the portable control device120or in the surface140. This is illustrated inFIGS.3a-3c.FIG.3ashows a portable control device320(e.g. a light switch) which can be positioned on a (docking) surface340comprising an area342for receiving the portable control device320at different orientations. The portable control device320is shown with two icons324,326indicating the different control modes (restricted324and unrestricted326).FIG.3billustrates that the portable control device320has been positioned at a first orientation relative to the surface340, andFIG.3cillustrates that the portable control device320has been positioned at a second orientation relative to the surface340. When the portable control device120has been oriented as indicated inFIG.3b, the processor106may set the lighting unit to the first control mode (i.e. the unrestricted mode as indicated by icon324). When the portable control device120has been oriented as indicated inFIG.3c, the processor106may set the lighting unit to the second control mode (i.e. the restricted mode as indicated by icon326). This enables a user to restrict control of the lighting unit110by changing the orientation of the portable control device320relative to the surface340. The surface140may be a docking surface (as illustrated inFIGS.2a-4) comprising one or more docking elements242a,242b,2b,342,2, configured to receive the portable control device120. The docking element may for example be configured to receive a light switch or a personal device such as a smartphone. This enables a user to switch between the control modes by, for example, positioning the portable control device120on the docking element242a, by reorienting the portable control device relative to the docking element342and/or by moving the portable control device from a first docking element242bto a second docking element2b. The (docking) surface140may be a part of the surface140of a luminaire comprising the lighting unit110. This is illustrated inFIG.4, wherein a luminaire470(in this non-limiting example a table luminaire) comprises a lighting unit410and a surface2for receiving a portable control device420(in this example a light switch). This enables a user to restrict control of the lighting unit110by positioning the portable control device420on the surface2of the luminaire470to select the second control mode. Alternatively, the surface140may be located remote from the lighting unit110. The surface140may, for example, be the surface of a wall plate, or a wireless charger configured to charge the portable control device120. In above-mentioned examples, the processor106may be configured to set the lighting unit110to the second control mode when the portable control device120is positioned on (an area of) the surface140. In other examples, the processor106may be configured to set the lighting unit110to the first control mode when the portable control device120is positioned on (an area of) the surface140, and to set the lighting unit110to the second control mode when the portable control device120is not positioned on (an area of) the surface140. If, for example, the surface140is a wall plate or a part of a luminaire comprising the lighting unit110, the user may remove the portable device120from the surface140to take control of the lighting unit110(and thereby restrict other control devices from controlling the lighting unit). In another example, a user may wish to (fully) restrict control of one or more lighting units110(e.g. when a user leaves home), and the user may remove the portable device120from the surface140to do so. In another example, the processor106may be configured to receive one or more signals indicative of a distance between the portable device120and the surface140, and the processor106may be configured to set the lighting unit110to the second control mode when distance exceeds a (predefined or user-defined) threshold, and set the lighting unit110to the first control mode when the distance does not exceed the threshold. The one or more signals indicative of the distance may, for example, be signals communicated between the portable control device120and a communication module comprised in the surface140. The processor106may be configured to analyze these signals to determine the distance, for example by analyzing the signal strength, signal to noise ratio, etc. of the one or more signals. The lighting system100may comprise a further control device for controlling the lighting unit110, wherein, when the lighting unit110has been set to the second control mode, control of the lighting unit110by the further control device is less restricted than the control of the lighting unit110by the first control device130. The further control device may, for example, be a master control device configured to (always) control the lighting unit110(e.g. by switching off all lights at a certain time of day). The further control device may, for example, be an emergency control device configured to control the lighting unit in case of an emergency (e.g. by switching on the lighting unit in case of an emergency). The lighting system100may comprise a further lighting unit, and, when the lighting unit110has been set to the first control mode, the portable control device120may be configured to control the lighting unit110and a further lighting unit, and, when the lighting unit110has been set to the second control mode, the portable control device120may be configured to only control the lighting unit. The processor106may be configured to set the portable control device120to a first mode (wherein the portable control device120is set to control the lighting unit110and the further lighting unit) when the lighting unit110has been set to the first control mode, and set the portable control device120to a second mode (wherein the portable control device120is set to control the lighting unit110only) when the lighting unit110has been set to the second control mode. Thus, when the portable control device120(e.g. a light switch) is configured to control multiple lighting units of the lighting system100, the portable control device120may be restricted to controlling only the lighting unit when the lighting unit has been set to the second control mode. The processor106may be further configured to control a mode indicator (e.g. LED indicator lights, a display, a loudspeaker) to indicate the current mode of the lighting unit110. The mode indicator may, for example, be comprised in the portable control device120, the surface140or the lighting unit110or a luminaire comprising the lighting unit110. The processor106may communicate a signal to the mode indicator to indicate the current mode (e.g. the first control mode or the second control mode) of the lighting unit110.FIG.5aillustrates a surface540comprising two indicator lights526a,528abelow the surface540. The indicator lights (e.g. LEDs) may indicate the current mode (e.g. by rendering light of a certain color).FIG.5billustrates a portable control device520bcomprising two indicator lights below a surface of the portable control device520b. The portable control device520bcomprises a first icon526band a second icon528bof transparent material for indicating the current state when the respective indicator light is switched on.FIG.5bshows an example wherein the second (restricted) control mode is active. In the second control mode, the lighting unit110is configured to be controlled by the portable control device120, and control of the lighting unit110by the first control device130is at least partially restricted. The restrictions may be predetermined and/or based on user preferences or user input received via a user interface of the lighting system100. Control of the lighting unit110by the first control device130may, for example, be restricted to a selected set of lighting control commands. Certain commands, for example “all lights off” or emergency commands may be communicated to and executed by the lighting unit110. Control of the lighting unit110by the first control device130may, for example, be restricted to a selected set of (types of) user inputs indicative of lighting control commands. In a first example, control of the lighting unit110by the first control device130may, for example, be restricted to control via button presses only and, for example, not via a voice commands. In a second example, control of the lighting unit110by the first control device130may, for example, be restricted to control via touch displays only and, for example, not via a gestures. Control of the lighting unit110by the first control device130may, for example, be restricted to a selected set of automatically generated lighting control commands. For instance, certain preprogrammed routines may be executed (e.g. to turn all lights off in at midnight) by the lighting unit while other are not executed (e.g. switching the lighting unit from a certain illumination mode (e.g. task illumination) to another illumination mode (e.g. entertainment illumination). Control of the lighting unit110by the first control device130may, for example, be restricted to a selected set of light properties of the lighting unit110(e.g. color, intensity, beam shape, beam direction, etc.), whereas other light properties may be excluded. Control of the lighting unit110by the first control device130may, for example, be fully restricted. In other words, when the lighting unit110has been set to the second control mode, the lighting unit cannot be controlled by the first lighting control device130. It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. Use of the verb “comprise” and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those stated in a claim. The article “a” or “an” preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer or processing unit. In the device claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Aspects of the invention may be implemented in a computer program product, which may be a collection of computer program instructions stored on a computer readable storage device which may be executed by a computer. The instructions of the present invention may be in any interpretable or executable code mechanism, including but not limited to scripts, interpretable programs, dynamic link libraries (DLLs) or Java classes. The instructions can be provided as complete executable programs, partial executable programs, as modifications to existing programs (e.g. updates) or extensions for existing programs (e.g. plugins). Moreover, parts of the processing of the present invention may be distributed over multiple computers or processors or even the ‘cloud’. Storage media suitable for storing computer program instructions include all forms of nonvolatile memory, including but not limited to EPROM, EEPROM and flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as the internal and external hard disk drives, removable disks and CD-ROM disks. The computer program product may be distributed on such a storage medium, or may be offered for download through HTTP, FTP, email or through a server connected to a network such as the Internet. | 26,370 |
11943858 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The above-described aspects, features and advantages are specifically described hereunder with reference to the accompanying drawings such that one having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains can easily implement the technical idea of the disclosure. In the disclosure, detailed description of known technologies in relation to the disclosure is omitted if it is deemed to make the gist of the disclosure unnecessarily vague. Below, preferred embodiments according to the disclosure are specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, identical reference numerals can denote identical or similar components. Referring toFIG.4, an induction heating apparatus10according to one embodiment may include a case102constituting a main body, and a cover plate104coupled to the case102and configured to seal the case102. The cover plate104may be coupled to an upper surface of the case102and may seal a space, formed in the case102, from the outside. The cover plate104may include an upper plate106on which a container for cooking food is placed. In one embodiment, the upper plate106may be made of tempered glass such as ceramic glass, but a material of the upper plate106may vary depending on embodiments. Heating areas12,14respectively corresponding to working coil assemblies122,124may be formed on the upper plate106. For a user to clearly recognize positions of the heating areas12,14, lines or figures corresponding to the heating areas12,14may be printed or displayed on the upper plate106. The case102may have a hexahedron shape an upper portion of which is open. A working coil assembly122,124for heating a container may be arranged in the space formed in the case102. Additionally, an interface114may be arranged in the case102, and may allow a user to supply power or may adjust a power level of each heating area12,14, and may display information in relation to the induction heating apparatus10. The interface114may be implemented as a touch panel that makes it possible to input information as a result of touch and to display information. However, an interface114having a different structure may be used depending on embodiments. Additionally, the upper plate106may be provided with a manipulation area118at a position corresponding to a position of the interface114. For a user's manipulation, letters or images and the like may be previously printed in the manipulation area118. The user may perform manipulation desired by the user by touching a specific point of the manipulation area118with reference to the letters or images previously printed in the manipulation area118. Information output by the interface114may be displayed though the manipulation area118. The user may set a power level of each heating area12,14through the interface114. The power level may be displayed on the manipulation area118as numbers (e.g., 1, 2, 3, . . . , 9). When a power level of each heating area12,14is set, a required power value and a driving frequency of a working coil corresponding to each heating area12,14may be determined. A controller may drive each working coil such that an actual power value of each working coil matches a required power value set by the user, based on the determined driving frequency. Additionally, a power supply112for supplying power to the working coil assembly122,124or the interface114may be disposed in the space formed in the case102. FIG.4shows two working coil assemblies, i.e., a first working coil assembly122and a second working coil assembly124arranged in the case102as an example. However, three or more working coil assemblies may be disposed in the case102depending on embodiments. The working coil assembly122,124may include a working coil that forms an induction magnetic field using high-frequency alternating current supplied by the power supply112, and a thermal insulation sheet that protects a coil from heat generated by a container. For example, the first working coil assembly122may include a first working coil132for heating a container placed in a first heating area12, and a first thermal insulation sheet130inFIG.4. Though not illustrated in the drawing, the second working coil assembly124may include a second working coil and a second thermal insulation sheet. Depending on embodiments, the thermal insulation sheet may not be provided. Additionally, a temperature sensor may be disposed in a central portion of each working coil. For example, a temperature sensor134may be in a central portion of the first working coil134inFIG.4. The temperature sensor may measure a temperature of a container in each heating area. In one embodiment, the temperature sensor may be a thermistor temperature sensor having a variable resistance whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the container, but is not limited thereto. In one embodiment, the temperature sensor may output a sensing voltage corresponding to a temperature of a container, and the sensing voltage output from the temperature sensor may be delivered to the controller. The controller may check the temperature of the container based on magnitude of the sensing voltage output from the temperature sensor, and when the temperature of the container is a predetermined reference value or greater, may perform an overheat prevention function by lowering an actual power value of a working coil or by stopping driving of a working coil. Though not illustrated inFIG.4, a substrate, on which a plurality of circuits or a plurality of elements including the controller are mounted, may be disposed in the space formed in the case102. The controller may perform a heating operation by driving each working coil according to the user's instruction to start heating, which is input through the interface114. When the user inputs an instruction to end heating through the interface114, the controller may finish the heating operation by stopping the driving of the working coil. FIG.5is a circuit diagram of an induction heating apparatus according to one embodiment. Referring toFIG.5, the induction heating apparatus10according to one embodiment may include a rectifier circuit202, a smoothing circuit L1, C1, an inverter circuit204, a working coil132, a driving circuit22, and a controller2. The rectifier circuit202may rectify an AC input voltage supplied from an input power source20and output a voltage having a pulse waveform. The rectifier circuit202may be a circuit including a plurality of diode elements, e.g., a bridge rectifier circuit. The smoothing circuit L1, C1may smooth the voltage rectified by the rectifier circuit202and output a DC link voltage. The smoothing circuit L1, C1may include an inductor L1and a DC link capacitor C1. The inverter circuit204may convert the DC link voltage output from the smoothing circuit L1, C1into an AC voltage for driving the working coil132. The inverter circuit204may be implemented as a full bridge inverter circuit including four switching elements, i.e., a first switching element SW1, a second switching element SW2, a third switching element SW3and a fourth switching element SW4. Each of the first switching element SW1, second switching element SW2, third switching element SW3and fourth switching element SW4may be turned on or turned off by a first switching signal S1, a second switching signal S2, a third switching signal S3and a fourth switching signal S4. In the present disclosure, the first switching element SW1and the second switching element SW2may be alternatively turned on and turned off, and the third switching element SW3and the fourth switching element SW4may be alternatively turned on and turned off. In the preset disclosure, turning on and turning off two switching elements alternatively may mean that when one switching element is turned on, the other switching element is turned off. For example, when the first switching element SW1and the third switching element SW3are turned on, the second switching element SW2and the fourth switching element SW4are turned off, inFIG.5. When the first switching element SW1and the third switching element SW3are turned off, the second switching element SW2and the fourth switching element SW4are turned on. When the alternative turn-on and turn-off operations of the switching elements, described above, are repeated, a DC link voltage input to the inverter circuit204may be converted into an AC voltage. Accordingly, alternating current for driving of the working coil132may be supplied to the working coil132. In the present disclosure, each of the first switching signal S1, the second switching signal S2, the third switching signal S3and the fourth switching signal S4may be a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal having a predetermined duty ratio. When alternating current output from the inverter circuit204is supplied to the working coil132, the working coil132may be driven. When the working coil132is driven, a container over the working coil132may be heated while eddy current flows inside the container. Magnitude of thermal energy supplied to the container may vary depending on magnitude of power that is actually generated as a result of driving of the working coil when the working coil132is driven, i.e., depending on an actual power value of the working coil. The controller2may determine a driving frequency of the working coil132such that the driving frequency corresponds to a power level of a heating area, set by the user. In one embodiment, the controller2may determine a driving frequency of the working coil132with reference to a table in which a driving frequency corresponding to each power level are recorded or with reference to a relationship equation between each power level and a driving frequency. Additionally, magnitude of power output by the working coil132, i.e., a required power value may be determined based on a power level set by the user. The controller2may supply a control signal corresponding to the determined driving frequency to the driving circuit22. The driving circuit22may output a switching signal S1, S2, S3, S4having a duty ratio corresponding to the driving frequency determined by the controller2, based on the control signal output from the controller2. When the induction heating apparatus10is powered on as a result of the user's manipulation of the interface of the induction heating apparatus10, the induction heating apparatus may be in a driving standby state as power is supplied to the induction heating apparatus from the input power source20. Then the user may place a container over a working coil of the induction heating apparatus and set a power level for the container to give an instruction to start heating to the working coil. When the user makes the instruction to start heating, a power value required by the working coil132, i.e., a required power value may be determined depending on the power level set by the user. Having received the user's instruction to start heating, the controller2may determine a driving frequency corresponding to the required power value of the working coil, and may supply a control signal corresponding to the determined driving frequency to the driving circuit22. Accordingly, the driving circuit22may output switching signals S1, S2, S3, S4, and the working coil132may be driven as the switching signals S1, S2, S3, S4are respectively input to the switching elements SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4. When the working coil132is driven, eddy current may flow to the container, and the container may be heated. In one embodiment, the controller2may compare a required power value of a working coil132with a predetermined reference power value, and as a result of comparison, may set an operation mode of the inverter circuit204to any one of the full bridge mode and the half bridge mode. The reference power value may be set differently depending on embodiments. The controller2may allow the driving circuit22to output switching signals S1, S2, S3, S4having waveforms illustrated inFIG.6or7, thereby setting the operation mode of the inverter circuit204. FIG.6shows waveforms of switching signals input to an inverter circuit when an operation mode of the inverter circuit is a full bridge mode in one embodiment. In addition,FIG.7shows waveforms of switching signals input to an inverter circuit when an operation mode of the inverter circuit is a half bridge mode in one embodiment. InFIGS.6and7, H denotes a high level voltage and L denotes a low level voltage. Magnitude of the high level voltage and magnitude of the low level voltage may be set differently depending on embodiments. When a required power value of a working coil132, set by the user, is greater than or the same as the predetermined reference power value, the controller2may control the driving circuit22such that the driving circuit outputs switching signals S1, S2, S3, S4having waveforms illustrated inFIG.6. Each of the switching signals S1, S2, S3, S4illustrated inFIG.6may be input to each of the switching elements SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4included in the inverter circuit204. A voltage of the switching signal, as illustrated, may be alternatively changed to a high level and a low level based on a predetermined cycle T. When the voltage of the switching signal is at a high level, the switching element may be turned on, and when the voltage of the switching signal is at a low level, the switching element may be turned off. Accordingly, the first switching element SW1and the second switching element SW2may be alternatively turned on and turned off, and the third switching element SW3and the fourth switching element SW4may be alternatively turned on and turned off. As a result, the inverter circuit204may operate in the full bridge mode. When a required power value of a working coil132, set by the user, is less than the predetermined reference power value, the controller2may control the driving circuit22such that the driving circuit outputs switching signals S1, S2, S3, S4having waveforms illustrated inFIG.7. Each of the switching signals S1, S2, S3, S4illustrated inFIG.7may be input to each of the switching elements SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4included in the inverter circuit204. Accordingly, the first switching element SW1and the second switching element SW2may be alternatively turned on and turned off. Additionally, the third switching element SW3may be kept off, and the fourth switching element SW4may be kept on. As a result, the inverter circuit204may operate in the half bridge mode. In one embodiment, the controller2may change a duty ratio of each of the switching signals illustrated inFIG.6or7. Referring toFIG.6, within a first cycle T of the first switching signal S1, a section in which a voltage of the switching signal is at a high level is referred to as an on-duty section t1, and a section in which a voltage of the switching signal is at a low level is referred to as an off-duty section t2. In the present disclosure, a duty ratio of a switching signal may be defined as a ratio of an on-duty section t1within a first cycle T of the switching signal. In an example, under the assumption that a first cycle of a switching signal is 1 second and time of an on-duty section t1is 0.5 second, a duty ratio of the switching signal is 0.5 or 50%. In another example, under the assumption that a first cycle of a switching signal is 1 second and time of an on-duty section t1is 0.2 second, a duty ratio of the switching signal is 0.2 or 20%. FIGS.6and7respectively show waveforms at each switching signal's duty ratio of 50%. As illustrated inFIGS.6and7, the first switching signal S1and the second switching signal S2may have waveforms complementary to each other, and the third switching signal S3and the fourth switching signal S4may have waveforms complementary to each other. Accordingly, when a duty ratio of the first switching signal S1or the third switching signal S3is changed, a duty ratio of the second switching signal S2or the fourth switching signal S4may also be changed. For example, when the duty ratio of the first switching signal S1is changed to 70% inFIG.7, the duty ratio of the second switching signal S2may be changed to 30%. FIG.8is a graph showing driving frequencies and actual power values of a working coil as a result of change in an operation mode of an inverter circuit and change in a duty ratio of a switching signal in one embodiment. InFIG.8, fr denotes a resonance frequency of a working coil132, and fd1and fd2respectively denote randomly set driving frequencies of the working coil132. (fd1>fd2) Additionally, P1to P4respectively denote output power values of the working coil132. (P1>P3>P2>P4) FIG.8shows a graph802of driving frequencies and actual power values of a working coil when the inverter circuit204operates in the full bridge mode, and a graph804of driving frequencies and actual power values of the working coil when the inverter circuit204operates in the half bridge mode, respectively. As illustrated, an output power value of the working coil132in the full bridge-mode operation of the inverter circuit204may be greater than in the half bridge-mode operation of the inverter circuit. For example, when the inverter circuit204operates in the full bridge mode in a state in which a driving frequency of the working coil132is set to fd1, an actual power value of the working coil132may be P1. However, when the inverter circuit204operates in the half bridge mode in a state in which a driving frequency of the working coil132is set to fd1, an actual power value of the working coil132may be P2less than P1. Additionally, a driving frequency of the working coil132in the full bridge-mode operation of the inverter circuit204may be greater than in the half bridge-mode operation of the inverter circuit, as illustrated. For example, to maintain the actual power value of the working coil132to P1when the working coil132operates in the full bridge mode, the driving frequency of the working coil132needs to be set to fd1. However, to maintain the actual power value of the working coil132to P1when the working coil132operates in the half bridge mode, the driving frequency of the working coil132needs to be set to fd2less than fd1. In the present disclosure, an operation mode of the inverter circuit204may be changed based on a required power value of a working coil132considering the above features of the inverter circuit204. That is, when the required power value of the working coil132is set to a value less than a reference power value, the controller2may input switching signals S1, S2, S3, S4having waveforms illustrated inFIG.7to the inverter circuit204to operate the inverter circuit204in the half bridge mode. Accordingly, the controller2may decrease a driving frequency of the working coil132instead of increasing the driving frequency when the required power value of the working coil132decreases. As a result, even when the required power value of the working coil132is set to a value less than the reference power value, the working coil132may be driven according to a linear control method rather than according to an on/off control method. Further, in one embodiment, the controller2may adjust a duty ratio of a switching signal input to the inverter circuit204, thereby adjusting an actual power value of the working coil132. FIG.8shows a graph804in the inverter circuit204's half bridge-mode operation at a first switching signal S1's duty ratio of 50%, a graph814in the inverter circuit204's half bridge-mode operation at a first switching signal S1's duty ratio of 70%, and a graph824in the inverter circuit204's half bridge-mode operation at a first switching signal S1's duty ratio of 30%, respectively. As shown in the graphs804,814,824ofFIG.8, as a duty ratio of the first switching signal S1becomes greater under the condition where a driving frequency of the working coil132is the same value of fd1, an actual power value of the working coil132becomes greater. Based on the above features, the controller2of the induction heating apparatus10according to the present disclosure may adjust a duty ratio of a switching signal in a state where a driving frequency of the working coil132is fixed, to adjust an actual power value of the working coil132. FIG.9is a graph for describing a method of adjusting an actual power value of a working coil as a result of change in an operation mode of an inverter circuit in one embodiment. After power is supplied to the induction heating apparatus10and the user sets a power level of a heating area12and inputs an instruction to start heating, the controller2may confirm a required power value of a working coil132, corresponding to the power level set by the user. If the required power value of the working coil132is greater than or the same as a predetermined reference power value (e.g., 500 W), the controller2may determine an operation mode of the inverter circuit204as the full bridge mode, and may supply a control signal corresponding to a driving frequency corresponding to the required power value of the working coil132to the driving circuit22. Accordingly, the driving circuit22may output switching signals S1, S2, S3, S4having waveforms illustrated inFIG.6, respectively. When the switching signals S1, S2, S3, S4having waveforms illustrated inFIG.6are respectively input to the switching elements SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4of the inverter circuit204, the working coil132may be driven and may output power of the same magnitude as the required power value set by the user. If the required power value P1of the working coil132is less than the predetermined reference power value (e.g., 500 W), the controller2may determine an operation mode of the inverter circuit204as the half bridge mode, and may supply a control signal corresponding to a driving frequency corresponding to the required power value P1of the working coil132to the driving circuit22. In this case, the controller2may control the driving circuit22such that the driving circuit outputs switching signals S1, S2, S3, S4having waveforms illustrated inFIG.7to change the operation mode of the inverter circuit204into the half bridge mode. As illustrated inFIG.9, the driving frequency corresponding to the required power value P1of the working coil132is fd1, based on the graph902in the full bridge-mode operation of the inverter circuit204. However, the controller2of the induction heating apparatus10according to the present disclosure may change the operation mode of the inverter circuit204to the half bridge mode as described above such that the driving frequency is changed to a value less than fd1while the controller adjusts an actual power value of the working coil132to the required power value P1. Accordingly, an output power value of the working coil132may decrease as in the graph904. Additionally, the controller2may change a duty ratio of a first switching signal S1output by the driving circuit22to a predetermined reference duty ratio. In the embodiment ofFIG.9, the reference duty ratio is set to 50%. However, the reference duty ratio may be set differently depending embodiments. In one embodiment, the reference duty ratio may be set to a minimum duty ratio of a switching signal. The minimum duty ratio denotes a smallest duty ratio among duty ratios of the switching signal, which can be set by the controller2. When the driving frequency of the working coil132is maintained at fd1in the state904where the operation mode of the inverter circuit204is changed to the half bridge mode, the actual power value of the working coil132may be P2less than P1. Accordingly, to adjust the actual power value of the working coil132to the required power value P1, the controller2may change the driving frequency of the working coil132from fd1to fd2, where fd2is a target frequency. In this case, the controller2may compare a driving frequency to be changed, i.e., the target frequency fd2of the working coil132, with a predetermined limit frequency fp. The limit frequency fp denotes a minimum value among values that can be set as driving frequencies of the working coil132, and may be set to a value of a resonance frequency fr or greater of the working coil132. When it is determined that the target frequency fd2is greater than the limit frequency fp as illustrated inFIG.9, the controller2may change the driving frequency of the working coil132to the target frequency fd2. Accordingly, the actual power value of the working coil132may become P1the same as the required power value. When the driving frequency of the working coil132is changed to the target frequency fd2, the controller2may supply a control signal corresponding to the target frequency fd2to the driving circuit22. Accordingly, the driving circuit22may supply switching signal S1, S2, S3, S4illustrated inFIG.7to the inverter circuit204, and the working coil132may be driven to output a power value of P1while the switching elements included in the inverter circuit204are turned on and turned off. When the driving frequency of the working coil132is changed to the target frequency fd2less than fd1as described above, it is unlikely that the switching elements included in the inverter circuit204generate heat or are burned out. Accordingly, the controller2may drive the working coil132according to the linear control method. FIG.10is a graph for describing a method of adjusting an actual power value of a working coil as a result of adjustment of a duty ratio of a switching signal in one embodiment. When the user changes the required power value of the working coil132in the state where the driving frequency of the working coil132is changed to the target frequency fd2and the working coil132is driven to output the power value of P1as in the embodiment described with reference toFIG.9, the controller2may change a duty ratio of the first switching signal S1input to the inverter circuit204to adjust an actual output value of the working coil132. For example, when the required power value of the working coil132is changed to P3in the state where the driving frequency of the working coil132is changed to the target frequency fd2and the working coil132is being driven, the controller2may change the duty ratio of the first switching signal S1output by the driving circuit22from 50% to 30%. Accordingly, the actual power value of the working coil132may decrease from P1to P3, as an entire output power value of the working coil132decreases as in the graph906. Though not illustrated in the drawing, the controller2may increase the duty ratio of the first switching signal S1output by the driving circuit22to increase the actual power value of the working coil132. FIG.11is a graph for describing a method of adjusting an actual power value of a working coil when a target frequency of a working coil is less than a limit frequency in one embodiment. Here, it is noted that although the limit frequency is not indicated inFIG.10,FIG.10may illustrate a method of adjusting an actual power value of a working coil when a target frequency of a working coil is equal to or larger than a limit frequency in one embodiment. When the required power value P1of the working coil132, set by the user, is less than the reference power value, the controller2may change the operation mode of the inverter circuit204to the half bridge mode and change the duty ratio of the first switching signal S1to the predetermined reference duty ratio (e.g., 50%). Accordingly, the output power value of the working coil132when the operation mode of the inverter circuit204is the half bridge mode (see graph1004inFIG.11) is lower than the output power value of the working coil132when the operation mode of the inverter circuit204is the full bridge mode. (see graph1002inFIG.11) When the driving frequency of the working coil132is maintained at fd1in the state where the operation mode of the inverter circuit204is changed to the half bridge mode, the actual power value of the working coil132may be P2and may not match the required power value P1. Accordingly, the controller2may determine a target frequency of the working coil132. As illustrated inFIG.11, since the output power value of the working coil132is changed as in the graph1004, the target frequency may be determined as fd2such that the actual power value of the working coil132becomes P1. Then the controller2may compare the target frequency fd2with a limit frequency fp. Since the limit frequency fp denotes a minimum value among settable driving frequencies of the working coil132, the driving frequency of the working coil132may not be set to be a value less than the limit frequency fp. Accordingly, when the target frequency fd2is less than the limit frequency fp as in the embodiment ofFIG.11, the controller2may set the driving frequency of the working coil132to the limit frequency fp rather than the target frequency fd2. When the driving frequency of the working coil132is set to the limit frequency fp as illustrated inFIG.11, the actual power value of the working coil132is P3rather than P1. Accordingly, the controller2may increase the duty ratio of the first switching signal S1from 50% to 70% such that the actual power value of the working coil132matches the required power value P1. As a result, the entire output power value of the working coil132may be changed as in the graph1006, and in the state where the driving frequency of the working coil132is set to the limit frequency fp, the actual power value of the working coil132may become identical with the required output value P1. When the driving frequency of the working coil132is changed to the limit frequency fp less than fd1as described, it is unlikely that the switching elements included in the inverter circuit204generate heat or are burned out. Accordingly, the controller2may drive the working coil132according to the linear control method. In the above method of controlling the induction heating apparatus10, even when the required power value of the working coil132is less than the reference power value, the working coil132may be driven according to the linear control method. Thus, when the working coil132is driven, noise may not be generated, and the actual power value of the working coil132may match the required power value accurately. FIG.12is a flow chart showing a method of controlling an induction heating apparatus according to one embodiment. A controller2of the induction heating apparatus10according to one embodiment may compare a required power value of a working coil132with a reference power value (1202). When the required power value is less than the reference power value as a result of comparison, the controller2may change an operation mode of an inverter circuit204(1204). In one embodiment, the controller2may set the operation mode of the inverter circuit204to a half bridge mode. Though not illustrated in the drawing, when the required power value is greater than or the same as the reference power value, the controller2may set the operation mode of the inverter circuit204to a full bridge mode. Then the controller2may change a duty ratio of a switching signal input to the inverter circuit204to a reference duty ratio (1206). In one embodiment, the reference duty ratio may be set to a minimum duty ratio of the switching signal, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The reference duty ratio may also be set to 50%. Then the controller2may adjust an actual power value of the working coil132to the required power value (1208). In one embodiment, adjusting an actual power value of the working coil132to the required power value (1208) may include changing a driving frequency of the working coil132to a target frequency corresponding to the required power value. Additionally, in one embodiment, adjusting an actual power value of the working coil132to the required power value (1208) may include changing the driving frequency of the working coil132to a predetermined limit frequency when the target frequency corresponding to the required power value is less than the limit frequency, and changing the duty ratio of the switching signal input to the inverter circuit204such that the actual power value of the working coil132matches the required power value. Though not illustrated in the drawing, when the required power value is changed after step1208is performed, the controller2may change the duty ratio of the switching signal input to the inverter circuit204to adjust the actual power value of the working coil132. FIG.13is a flow chart showing a method of controlling an induction heating apparatus according to another embodiment. When a power level of a heating area is set by a user, a required power value of a working coil132may be determined. A controller2may compare a required power value of the working coil132, set by the user, with a reference power value (1302). When the required power value is not less than the reference power value as a result of comparison in step1302, the controller2may perform a heating operation by driving the working coil132without additional control such that an actual power value of the working coil132matches the required power value. When the required power value is less than the reference power value as a result of comparison in step1302, the controller2may change an operation mode of an inverter circuit204(1304), e.g. from a full bridge mode to a half bridge mode. In one embodiment, the controller2may allow a driving circuit22to output switching signals (S1, S2, S3, S4) illustrated inFIG.7to change the operation mode of the inverter circuit204to a half bridge mode. Then the controller2may change duty ratios of the switching signals output from the driving circuit22to a reference duty ratio (1306). In one embodiment, the controller2may change a duty ratio of a first switching signal S1among the switching signals illustrated inFIG.7to the reference duty ratio. The reference duty ratio may be set differently depending on embodiments, and may be set to a minimum duty ratio of a switching signal. Then the controller2may compare a target frequency with a limit frequency (1308). The target frequency denotes a driving frequency of the working coil132when the actual output value of the working coil132matches the required output value set by the user. The limit frequency denotes a minimum value, which can be set by the controller2, among driving frequencies of the working coils132, and may be set differently depending on embodiments. When the target frequency is not less than the limit frequency as a result of comparison in step1308, the controller2may change a driving frequency of the working coil132to the target frequency (1310). Accordingly, the actual power value of the working coil132may be adjusted to the required power value. When the target frequency is less than the limit frequency as a result of comparison in step1308, the controller2may change a driving frequency of the working coil132to the limit frequency (1312). Then the controller2may change a duty ratio of a switching signal of the working coil132(1314) to adjust the actual power value of the working coil132to the required power value. When the actual power value of the working coil132is adjusted to the required power value, the controller2may drive the working coil132according to the linear control method, and a heating operation may be performed. According to the present disclosure, when a required power value of a working coil of the induction heating apparatus is set to be a low value, noise caused by the on/off driving of the working coil may be removed. Additionally, according to the present disclosure, when a required power value of a working coil of the induction heating apparatus is set to be a low value, an actual power value of the working coil may match the required power value accurately. The embodiments are described above with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof. However, the present disclosure is not intended to limit the embodiments and drawings set forth herein, and numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by one skilled in the art without departing from the technical idea of the disclosure. Further, the effects and predictable effects drawn from the configurations in the disclosure are to be included within the range of the disclosure though not explicitly described in the description of the embodiments. Technical Problem An object of the present disclosure is directed to an induction heating apparatus and a method of controlling the same that can remove noise generated due to on/off driving of a working coil when a required power value of the working coil of the induction heating apparatus is set to a low value. Another object of the present disclosure is directed to an induction heating apparatus and a method of controlling the same that can match an actual power value of the working coil and a required power value accurately when the required power value of the working coil of the induction heating apparatus is set to a low value. Aspects according to the present disclosure are not limited to the above ones, and other aspects and advantages that are not mentioned above can be clearly understood from the following description and can be more clearly understood from the embodiments set forth herein. Additionally, the aspects and advantages of the present disclosure can be realized via means and combinations thereof that are described in the appended claims. Technical Solution One or more of these objects are solved by the features of the independent claim. An inverter circuit of an induction heating apparatus according to the present disclosure may be implemented as a full bridge circuit, e.g., a circuit including four switching elements. An individual switching signal may be input to the four switching elements included in the inverter circuit. A controller of the induction heating apparatus according to the disclosure may adjust waveforms of the four switching signals to change an operation mode of the inverter circuit to a full bridge mode and a half bridge mode. In the disclosure, when the inverter circuit operates in the full bridge mode, each of the four switching elements included in the inverter circuit may be alternatively turned on and turned off. In the disclosure, when the inverter circuit operates in the half bridge mode, two of the switching elements included in the inverter circuit may be alternatively turned and turned off while the remaining two switching elements may be kept on or off. The controller of the induction heating apparatus according to the disclosure may compare a required power value of a working coil, set by a user, with a predetermined reference power value to determine an operation mode of the inverter circuit. In one embodiment, when the required power value of the working coil is greater than or the same as the reference power value, the controller may set the operation mode of the inverter circuit to the full bridge mode. When the required power value of the working coil is less than the reference power value, the controller may set the operation mode of the inverter circuit to the half bridge mode. An actual power value of the working coil in the inverter circuit's half bridge-mode operation may be less than in the inverter circuit's full bridge-mode operation, at the same frequency. Accordingly, the controller of the induction heating apparatus according to the disclosure may set the operation mode of the inverter circuit to the half bridge mode when the required power value of the working coil is set to a value less than the reference power value such that a driving frequency of the working coil decreases while the actual power value of the working coil is kept the same as the required power value. The controller of the induction heating apparatus according to the disclosure may adjust a duty ratio of the switching signal input to the switching element included in the inverter circuit to adjust the actual power value of the working coil. As a result of control described above, the working coil may be driven according to the linear control method rather than the on/off control method of the related art when the required power value set by the user is less than the reference power value. Accordingly, noise generated due to the on/off driving of the working coil may be removed, and heat energy desired by the user may be provided. An induction heating apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure may include a working coil, an inverter circuit including a plurality of switching elements and supplying current to the working coil, and a controller configured to compare a required power value of the working coil with a predetermined reference power value, to change an operation mode of the inverter circuit when the required power value is less than the reference power value, to change a duty ratio of a switching signal input to the inverter circuit to a predetermined reference duty ratio, and to adjust an actual power value of the working coil to the required power value. The reference power value is a value that is arbitrarily set and may be set differently according to embodiments. A method of controlling an induction heating apparatus according to another aspect may include comparing a required power value of a working coil with a predetermined reference power value, changing or setting an operation mode of an inverter circuit when the required power value is less than the reference power value, changing a duty ratio of a switching signal input to an inverter circuit to a predetermined reference duty ratio, and adjusting an actual power value of the working coil to the required power value. Here, the duty ratio of the switching signal may be changed, when the operation mode is changed. In one embodiment, the method may be for controlling an induction heating apparatus according to any one of the herein described embodiments or aspects. At least one of these aspects may include one or more of the following preferred features. In one embodiment, the controller may be configured to perform a method according to any one of the embodiments or aspects described herein. In one embodiment, the controller may change or set the operation mode of the inverter circuit to a half bridge mode when the required power value is less than the reference power value. In one embodiment, the reference duty ratio may be set to a minimum duty ratio of the switching signal. In one embodiment, the controller may change a duty ratio of a switching signal input to the inverter circuit to the reference duty ratio. In one embodiment, the controller then may change a driving frequency of the working coil to a target frequency corresponding to the required power value such that an actual power value of the working coil matches the required power value. The target frequency may be a driving frequency at which the actual power value matches the required power value for the reference duty ratio in the set half bridge mode. In one embodiment, the controller may change a duty ratio of a switching signal input to the inverter circuit to the reference duty ratio. Then, when a target frequency corresponding to the required power value is less than a predetermined limit frequency, the controller may change a driving frequency of the working coil to the limit frequency, and/or may change a duty ratio of the switching signal input to the inverter circuit such that an actual power value of the working coil matches the required power value. In one embodiment, the controller may adjust the actual power value of the working coil to match the required power value. Then, when the required power value is changed, the controller may change a duty ratio of a switching signal input to the inverter circuit. In one embodiment, changing or setting an operation mode of an inverter circuit when the required power value is less than the reference power value may include changing the operation mode the inverter circuit into a half bridge mode, e.g. from a full bridge mode. In one embodiment, the reference duty ratio may be set to a minimum duty ratio of the switching signal and/or to 50%. In one embodiment, adjusting an actual power value of the working coil to the required power value may include changing a driving frequency of the working coil to a target frequency corresponding to the required power value. The target frequency may be a driving frequency at which the actual power value matches the required power value for the reference duty ratio in the set half bridge mode. Additionally or alternatively, an actual power value of the working coil to the required power value may include changing the duty cycle to a target duty cycle corresponding to the required power value. The target duty cycle may be a duty cycle at which the actual power value matches the required power value for a predetermined driving frequency, e.g. a predetermined limit frequency or the target frequency, in the set half bridge mode. In one embodiment, adjusting an actual power value of the working coil to the required power value may include changing a driving frequency of the working coil to a predetermined limit frequency when a target frequency corresponding to the required power value is less than the limit frequency, and/or changing a duty ratio of a switching signal input to the inverter circuit such that an actual power value of the working coil matches the required power value. The method of controlling an induction heating apparatus according to one embodiment may further include changing a duty ratio of a switching signal input to the inverter circuit when the required power value is changed. According to the present disclosure, when a required power value of a working coil of an induction heating apparatus is set to be a low value, noise caused by the on/off driving of the working coil may be removed. Additionally, according to the present disclosure, when a required power value of a working coil of an induction heating apparatus is set to be a low value, an actual power value of the working coil may match the required power value accurately. | 46,329 |
11943859 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Of multiple objects available, only one is provided with a reference character in the figures. FIG.1shows a cooking appliance30a. The cooking appliance30ais embodied as an induction oven. The cooking appliance30ahas an external housing44a. The external housing44adefines an outer contour of the cooking appliance30a. The external housing44areceives a user interface48aof the cooking appliance30a. The user interface48ais provided to be operated by an operator to control the cooking appliance30a. The cooking appliance30ahas an internal housing42a. The internal housing42a consist of a ferromagnetic metal. Alternatively, the internal housing42acould have a nonmagnetic material, in particular glass, preferably glass ceramic. In this alternative embodiment, the internal housing42ahas a number of heating elements (not shown), which consist of a ferromagnetic metal. The cooking appliance30ahas an oven door46a. The oven door46ais located in a closed state. The oven door46acovers an opening52aof a cooking compartment28a, which faces an operator. The oven door46aand the internal housing42amutually delimit the cooking compartment28aoutward. The cooking appliance30ahas a cooking appliance device10a. The cooking appliance device10ais embodied as an induction oven device. Part of the cooking appliance device10ais shown in more detail in an exploded view inFIG.2. The cooking appliance device10ahas the internal housing42a. The cooking appliance device10ahas two heating units12a. The heating units12aare embodied to be identical to one another. The heating units12aare arranged on a ceiling wall54aand on a base wall56aof the internal housing42a. Alternatively or in addition it would be conceivable for the heating units12ato be arranged on side walls or a rear wall of the internal housing42a. Only one of the heating units12ais described below. The heating unit12ahas an induction coil14a. During operation of the heating unit12a, alternating current passes through the induction coil14aand generates an electromagnetic alternating field. The induction coil14ais embodied to be plate-shaped. A main extension plane (not shown) of the induction coil14aruns parallel to a main extension plane of the ceiling wall54aand the base wall56a. The induction coil14ahas a conductor16a. The conductor16ais embodied as an individual wire. The conductor16ais embodied as a blank individual wire. Alternatively, the conductor16acould have an insulator. The conductor16ahas aluminum. Alternatively, the conductor16acould have copper. The conductor16ais arranged as a rectangular spiral. The conductor16ais wound around a coil center34aof the induction coil14a. The heating unit12ahas a substrate unit18a. The substrate unit18ais embodied in a mat-like manner. The substrate unit18ais arranged between the induction coil14aand the internal housing42a. The induction coil14arests completely on the substrate unit18a. The substrate unit18ais used to thermally and electrically insulate the induction coil14a. The substrate unit18aconsists at least to a large extent of a material which has at least the chemical elements Si and O. The material is a silicate. The substrate unit18ais fibrous. The substrate unit18aconsists of mineral wool. The substrate unit18ahas basalt fibers. Alternatively or in addition, the substrate unit18acould have spar fibers, dolomite fibers, diabase fibers, anorthosite fibers and/or coke fibers. The substrate unit18acan be penetrated at least partially for fastening the induction coil14a. The substrate unit18aconsists entirely of a two-dimensional textile structure. The substrate unit18aconsists entirely of a basalt tissue. Alternatively, the substrate unit18acould consist partially of the basalt tissue. The substrate unit18ahas a plurality of feedthrough openings24a. The feedthrough openings24aare arranged periodically. The feedthrough openings24aare arranged along a plurality of straight lines. The heating unit12ahas a fastening unit20a(cf.FIG.3). The fastening unit20afastens the induction coil14ato the substrate unit18a. The fastening unit20afastens the conductor16ain a region to the substrate unit18aso as to be movable relative to the substrate unit18a. Here the region extends across an entire extent of the induction coil14a. The fastening unit20ahas a fastening element. The fastening element is embodied as a thread22a. The induction coil14ais fastened to the substrate unit18aby means of a joint having the thread22a. The thread22ais embodied completely from silicate. The thread22ais embodied completely from soluble glass. Alternatively, the thread22acould consist of mineral wool and/or glass fibers. The thread22ais guided through one part of the feedthrough openings24a. The thread22ais guided through the feedthrough openings24ain accordance with a Lockstitch sewing method. The thread22aruns completely laterally adjacent to the conductor16awhen viewed at right angles onto the substrate unit18a. The thread22aruns parallel to the conductor16a. The thread22aruns at a distance from the conductor16a. The fastening unit20ahas a further fastening element. The induction coil14ais fastened to the substrate unit18aby means of a further joint having a further thread32a. The further thread32ais embodied to be identical to the thread22a. The further thread32ahas a further course which is identical to a course of the thread22a. The further thread32ais guided through a further part of the feedthrough openings24a. When viewed at right angles to the substrate unit18a, the further thread32aruns on a side of the conductor16aopposing the thread22a. Prior to operation of the cooking appliance device10aa distance of the thread22afrom the conductor16ais at least largely identical to a further distance of the further thread32afrom the conductor16a. The fastening unit20ahas a cover element26a. Alternatively, the fastening unit20acould have a plurality of cover elements26a. The cover element26ahas a silicate. The cover element26ahas basalt fibers. Alternatively or in addition the cover element26acould have spar fibers, dolomite fibers, diabase fibers, anorthosite fibers and/or coke fibers. The cover element26ais embodied to be identical to the substrate unit18a. The cover element26ais arranged on a side of the induction coil14aopposing the substrate unit18a. The cover element26aand the substrate unit18aare sewn to one another within the region. The cover element26aand the substrate unit18aare sewn to one another by means of the joint having the thread22a. The cover element26aand the substrate unit18aare sewn to one another by means of the further joint having the further thread32a. The cover element26aand the substrate unit18atouch in sections in the region. The cover element26aand the substrate unit18aform a stop with respect to a permitted movement of the conductor16a. The stop is formed by the joint and the further joint. The induction coil14arests entirely on the cover element26a. Alternatively, the induction coil14acould rest exclusively in the region on the cover element26a. The cover element26arestricts a movement of the induction coil14aon this side. The cover element26a, the thread22aand the further thread32atogether define the region. The thread22aand the further thread32aform stops, to which the substrate unit18aand the cover element26aare sewn. The stops restrict a movement of the induction coil14aparallel to a main extension plane of the induction coil14a. In the region the substrate unit18aand the cover element26arestrict a movement of the induction coil14aat right angles to the main extension plane of the induction coil14a. Permitted movements of the conductor16acomprise a movement along a direction40awhich faces away with respect to a coil center34a, which, when viewed at right angles onto the substrate unit18faces away from the coil center34aof the induction coil14a. The length of the permitted movement along the direction40ais identical to a length by which the conductor16aexpands during operation of the cooking appliance device10a. Permitted movements of the conductor16acomprise a movement against the direction40a. FIG.4shows the cooking appliance device10abefore operation of the cooking appliance device10a. For reasons of clarity, the induction coil14ais shown in a simplified form with a reduced number of windings and a hatched conductor16a. In addition, the distance between the thread22aand the further thread32afrom the conductor16ais shown reduced. The region comprises the entire induction coil14a. The fastening unit20ahas an additional thread50a. The additional thread50aruns along a smallest possible rectangle, which just receives a projection of the induction coil14aon the substrate unit18a. The additional thread50apasses entirely around the induction coil14. The additional thread50ais used to stabilize the substrate unit18aand the cover element26a. During operation of the cooking appliance device10athe conductor16aexperiences thermal expansions. The thermal expansions produce expansion movements of the induction coil14ain the direction40a. The expansion movements are movements of the induction coil14awhich are permitted within the region. FIG.5shows a schematic flow chart of a method for producing the cooking appliance device10a. In one winding step100a, the induction coil14ais produced by winding the conductor16a. Alternatively, the induction coil14acould be produced by winding a stranded wire and/or stamping the conductor16afrom a metal plate (not shown). In an insulation step110a, the induction coil14ais placed on the substrate unit18aand covered with the cover element26a. The insulation step110ahere follows on from the winding step100a. In a sewing step120a, the substrate unit18aand the cover element26aare penetrated by a sewing needle. The substrate unit18aand the cover element26aare sewn to one another according to the Lockstitch sewing method. The thread22ais guided here through a part of the feedthrough openings24a. Then the further thread32is guided through further part of the feedthrough openings24ain an identical way. Here the sewing step120afollows on from the insulation step110. In an assembly step130a, the heating unit12ais mounted on the internal housing42a. The heating unit12ais screwed to the internal housing42a. Alternatively, the heating unit12acould also be clamped and/or riveted to the internal housing42a. FIGS.6ato9show further exemplary embodiments of the invention. The subsequent descriptions are essentially restricted to the differences between the exemplary embodiments, wherein with respect to the same components, features and functions, reference can be made to the description of the exemplary embodiment inFIGS.1to5. To distinguish between the exemplary embodiments, the letter a in the reference characters of the exemplary embodiment inFIGS.1to5is replaced by the letters b to i in the reference characters of the exemplary embodiments inFIGS.6ato9. With respect to components of the same type, in particular with respect to components with the same reference characters, reference can basically also be made to the drawings, and/or the description of the exemplary embodiment inFIGS.1to5. For the sake of clarity, covered conductors16b-gare shown hatched in the following figures of cover elements26b-g. FIGS.6a-cshow in each case one part of cooking appliance devices10b,10c,10d. Induction coils14b,14c,14dof the cooking appliance devices10b,10c,10dare fastened to substrate units18b,18c,18dby means of joints having threads22b,22c,22d. Cover elements26b,26c,26dare sewn to one another by means of the joints having the threads22b,22c,22d. In the cooking appliance device10ba thread22bruns along a side of a conductor16b, at a minimal distance from the conductor16b, aligned against a direction40bwhich faces away with respect to a coil center (not shown). The conductor16bis fastened largely immovably to the substrate unit18bagainst the direction40b. The substrate unit18cconsists entirely of glass fibers. In the cooking appliance device10c, a thread22cruns along a side of a conductor16c, at a distance from the conductor16c, aligned along a direction40cwhich faces away with respect to a coil center (not shown). The conductor16cis fastened movably to the substrate unit18calong and against the direction40c. In the cooking appliance device10d, a thread22druns along a side of a conductor16d, at a minimal distance from the conductor16d, aligned along a direction40dwhich faces away with respect to a coil center (not shown). The conductor16dis fastened immovably to the substrate unit18dalong the direction40d. FIGS.7a-cshow in each case a part of cooking appliance devices10e,10f,10g. In the cooking appliance devices10e,10f,10gthreads22e,22f,22gand further threads32e,32f,32grun along opposing sides of conductors16e,16f,16g. In the cooking appliance device10ethe thread22eand the further thread32erun at a minimal distance from the conductor16e. The conductor16eis fastened immovably to a substrate unit18ealong and against a direction40ewhich faces away with respect to a coil center (not shown). A thread22fwith a distance from a conductor16fruns in the cooking appliance device10f. A further thread32fruns at a minimal distance from the conductor16f. The conductor16fis fastened immovably to a substrate unit18fagainst a direction40fwhich faces away with respect to a coil center (not shown). In the cooking appliance device10g, a thread22gruns16gat a minimal distance from a conductor16g. The thread32gruns at a distance from a conductor16g. The conductor16gis immovably fastened to a substrate unit18galong a direction40gwhich faces away with respect to a coil center (not shown). FIGS.8a-bshow in each case a part of cooking appliance devices10h,10i. Induction coils14h14iof the cooking appliance devices10h,10iare sewn to substrate units18h,18icompletely by threads22h,22i. In the cooking appliance devices10h,10i, the threads22h,22irun in each case at periodic intervals across a conductor16h,16i. The threads22h,22irun in each case in a zigzag pattern. Feedthrough openings24h,24iin each case form reversal points of the zigzag pattern. The threads22h,22iare guided in each case through the feedthrough openings24h,24iaccording to a zigzag sewing method. Alternatively, the threads22h,22icould each run in sections parallel to the conductors16h,16i. In the cooking appliance device10h, the conductor16his fastened immovably to the substrate unit18halong a main extension plane of the induction coil14h. The conductor16his embodied as a stranded wire. In the cooking appliance device10i, part of the feedthrough openings24iruns at a distance from the conductor16i. The part of the feedthrough openings24iis arranged on a side of the conductor16iwhich is aligned along a direction40iwhich faces away with respect to a coil center (not shown). The conductor16iis fastened immovably to the substrate unit18iagainst the direction40i. The cooking appliance devices10h,10ihave no cover elements. The joints having the threads22h,22isew the induction coils14h,14iin each case together with one of the substrate units18h,18i. FIG.9shows a flow chart of a method for producing the cooking appliance device10i. In a positioning step140i, the induction coil14iis arranged in an unwound state on the substrate unit18i. In a stitch step150i, the induction coil14iis wound at the same time and the thread22iis guided through the feedthrough openings24iin accordance with the zigzag sewing method. The stick step150ihere follows on from the positioning step140i. In an assembly step160i, the heating unit12iis mounted on the internal housing (not shown). The heating unit12iis screwed to the internal housing. Alternatively, the heating unit12icould also be clamped and/or riveted to the internal housing. | 15,895 |
11943860 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION FIG.1shows, in a sectional illustration in side view, a detail of a core temperature probe1having a signal transmission antenna2, a surface wave temperature measuring device3and a coaxial line4that connects the signal transmission antenna2and the surface wave temperature measuring device3. The signal transmission antenna2takes the form of a helical antenna that is made of a copper wire and merges with a rectilinear inner conductor5, which takes the form of copper wire, of the coaxial line4. The signal transmission antenna2and the inner conductor5may be made in one piece from a single piece of wire. The outer conductor6of the coaxial line4comprises a hollow-cylindrical stainless steel sleeve7that extends—as appropriate with a change in cross sectional shape—as far as over the surface wave temperature measuring device3, or even beyond it. The surface wave temperature measuring device3has a ceramic or FR4 substrate8on the upper side whereof one or more surface wave temperature sensors9are arranged. In particular, the surface wave temperature sensors9may be soldered to the substrate8. The surface wave temperature sensors9may be SMD components. The surface wave temperature measuring device3may generally also have, apart from the surface wave temperature sensors9, at least one microwave filter, in particular a low-pass filter, that is composed of conventional constituent elements (not illustrated). In this arrangement, the fact that the microwave energy arriving at the substrate8is so small that it no longer damages the conventional constituent elements is exploited. The conventional microwave filter may in particular be arranged between the printed conductor and the surface wave temperature sensors9. The end face of the inner conductor5is inserted into a slot-shaped recess12in the substrate8. The stainless steel sleeve7may take a pointed form at its front end (in this case to the right of the surface wave temperature measuring device3, and not illustrated) in order that this can be inserted into food. The stainless steel sleeve7also serves as a shield and prevents the surface wave temperature measuring device3from being able to be irradiated directly by radio waves and microwaves. The surface wave temperature measuring device3may be excited by a radio excitation signal in the 433 MHz ISM band. The radio excitation signal passes over the signal transmission antenna2intended for this purpose, and is conducted through the coaxial line4to the surface wave temperature measuring device3with little loss, or even virtually no loss. The radio excitation signal excites the surface wave temperature sensors9such that they generate a modified radio signal as the temperature signal, and this is conducted back over the coaxial line4to the signal transmission antenna2, which emits it. The modified radio signal contains (temperature) information that was determined by means of the at least one surface wave temperature sensor9. The core temperature probe1is typically inserted into the food so deeply that the at least one surface wave temperature sensor9is inserted into the food and consequently measures a temperature value that corresponds sufficiently precisely to the core temperature of the food. In order to prevent microwave signals or microwave energy passing over the signal transmission antenna2from being able to damage or destroy the surface wave temperature measuring device3, the coaxial line4has two lambda/4 line resonance elements, in the form of hollow-cylindrical ceramic tubes11a,11b, that are set or adjusted to the microwave frequency (of for example 915 MHz or 2.45 GHz). The ceramic tubes11aand11beach have a length of one quarter of the wavelength λcerof the microwave radiation in the ceramic material, for example about ten millimeters. The ceramic material may for example have a dielectric constant εrof between 6 and 15 (e.g.10) and a thermal conductivity κ of at least 20 W/(m·K) (e.g. 25 W/(m·K). The inner conductor5, in the form of a wire, is guided through the inner cavity of the ceramic tubes11aand11bsuch that the two ceramic tubes11aand11bare at a spacing of λair/4 (where λairis the wavelength of the microwave radiation in air) from one another, e.g. approximately 30 mm. As a result, there is formed on the coaxial line4an air line13for the microwaves with a wavelength λair/4 between the two ceramic tubes11aand11b, which also acts as a λ/4 line resonance. The ceramic tubes11aand11beach completely fill the space radially between the inner conductor5and the outer conductor6and so extend as far as the outer conductor6. Moreover, on the underside the substrate8has, at the location where the inner conductor5is inserted, a rectilinear open-ended printed conductor14(indicated in dashed lines), for example a printed copper conductor. The printed conductor14has a length of λ/4 of the microwave, which depends on a permittivity of the substrate8. The printed conductor14and the surface wave temperature sensors9are thus arranged on different flat sides of the substrate8. For the microwaves, this arrangement corresponds from a functional point of view to the equivalent circuit diagram shown underneath. The equivalent circuit corresponds to an HF circuit, wherein a “first” pole P1is provided on the coaxial line4at the point where—taking as a starting point the signal transmission antenna2—there is a first transition from air to the ceramic tube11a(that is, at the end face of the ceramic tube11aon the antenna side). This transition, at which a step change in impedance occurs, corresponds to an HF open circuit for the microwaves. At the end face of the ceramic tube11aremote from the signal transmission antenna2, the step change in impedance at the transition from ceramic to air brings about an HF short circuit, which may also be presented as a series circuit to ground for the ceramic tube11aacting as a capacitor and the metal sleeve7serving as an inductor. This series circuit may represent a further, “second” pole P2of the HF equivalent circuit. Analogously to the first ceramic tube11a, there is a “third” pole P3on the coaxial line4at the point where—taking as a starting point the signal transmission antenna2—there is a first transition from air to the ceramic tube11b(that is, at the end face of the ceramic tube11bon the antenna side). This transition likewise corresponds to an HF open circuit for the microwaves, and in the equivalent circuit it may be presented as a parallel circuit between the ceramic tube11bacting as a capacitor and the metal sleeve7serving as an inductor. At the end face of the ceramic tube11bremote from the signal transmission antenna2, too, the transition from ceramic to air may bring about an HF short circuit, which may be presented as a series circuit to ground for the ceramic tube11bacting as a capacitor and the metal sleeve7serving as an inductor. This series circuit may represent a “fourth” pole P4of the HF equivalent circuit. Consequently, each of the two ceramic tubes brings about a change in impedance for the microwave signals, and on the basis of this change in impedance the microwave signals are markedly reflected back to the signal transmission antenna2. The form taken by the air line13between the two ceramic tubes11aand11b, as a λ/4 open-ended line, can bring about a particularly effective change in impedance. For the purpose of further blocking or filtering the microwave signals, the printed conductor14takes the form of a λ/4 open-ended line whereof the substrate end is open and so transforms a short circuit at the input of the coaxial line4. In an equivalent description of the impedance transformations starting from the printed conductor14, the printed conductor14is an open-ended line that transforms an open circuit into a short circuit at P4. The short circuit at P4is transformed by the ceramic tube11binto an open circuit at P3. The succeeding λ/4 line13converts the open circuit at P3into a short circuit at P2again, and the latter is transformed again by the ceramic sleeve11ainto an open circuit at P1at the antenna2. In this case, the microwave coming from the antenna2in theory sees an open circuit and is reflected in its entirety. Since the quality of the components at this high frequency is finite and so an absolute open circuit or short circuit cannot be produced, as much of the microwave output as possible at the poles P1-P4is to be reflected back to the antenna2. The functioning of this microwave filtering can thus be described from both sides, that is to say from the antenna2or from the printed conductor14. In both cases, changes in impedance occur in particular at joins and so the microwave signal is reflected to a large extent. The HF open circuit comes about in particular because a relatively large change in the impedance of the coaxial line4produces a reflection of the advancing wave. The reflected, returning wave is overlaid on the advancing wave. Depending on the point at which the overlay on the coaxial line4is observed, the wave may be cancelled or amplified depending on the phase position. One case with particularly marked reflection is the λ/4 line in which, as a result of reflection at one end (corresponding to an open circuit) of the λ/4 line, complete cancellation is produced at the input of the λ/4 line, that is to say an open circuit is transformed into a short circuit. With a short circuit at a line end, the reverse is the case. The capacitances and inductances of the coaxial line4determine the impedance of the k/line and hence the size of the reflection factor. In this arrangement, a parallel circuit in series with its theoretically infinite impedance is used in the case of resonance as an equivalent circuit for a transformed open circuit, and a grounded series circuit (with zero impedance) is used as a transformed short circuit for the respective frequency. In particular for this reason too, the core temperature probe1shown is able to keep microwave energy away from the substrate8, since upstream of the location at which microwave signals pass or would pass into the substrate8—that is to say, the substrate end of the λ/4 open-ended line—there are four virtually directly adjoining λ/4 line resonance sections for the microwave frequency, namely (in the order from the substrate8to the helical antenna2) the printed conductor14, the ceramic tube11b, the air line13between the two ceramic tubes11aand11b, and the ceramic tube11a. In this way, it is possible to damp the microwave signals by at least 15 dB, in particular at least 18 dB, in particular at least 20 dB, in particular at least 22 dB, inexpensively and in a compact arrangement. FIG.2shows, in a sectional illustration in side view, a detail of a microwave cooking appliance21having a coaxial line24, and below it a corresponding equivalent circuit diagram. The coaxial line24projects through a wall27of the microwave cooking appliance21and is connected, by its end located in a cooking chamber G, to a signal transmission antenna22in the form of a monopole antenna. The signal transmission antenna22and an inner conductor25of the coaxial line24may be made from a common piece of wire. The other end of the coaxial line24, located outside the cooking chamber G and serving as a terminal29, may be connected for example to an evaluation circuit, taking the form in particular of electronic equipment, and/or a transmitter/receiver circuit, for example by way of a 50-ohm coaxial cable. As an alternative to a monopole antenna, another type of antenna may also be used. The coaxial line24is constructed in a manner similar to the coaxial line4. For example, it likewise has two ceramic tubes11aand11bthat serve as λ/4 line resonance elements and are separated from one another by a λ/4 open-ended line in the form of an air gap or air line23, that serves to provide a λ/4 line resonance. The coaxial line24also has a stainless steel sleeve as the outer conductor26. Consequently, microwaves that pass over the coaxial line24and into the signal transmission antenna22are also reflected back four times at the transitions between air and ceramic. This may be illustrated in the equivalent circuit diagram shown underneath by four poles P11to P14which, depending on the positions of the air/ceramic transitions for the microwaves, take the form alternately of a short circuit (poles P11and P13) and an open circuit (poles P12and P14). Here, the reference point is in particular the terminal of the coaxial line24that is remote from the cooking chamber. In addition, the section28of the outer conductor26that is located in the cooking chamber G takes the form of a λ/4 open-ended line, which makes reflection or filtering even more effective. The coaxial lines4and24take a form that is conductive in respect of radio signals such that there is virtually no loss. The signal transmission antennas2and22are also adapted to the radio frequency. Consequently, in a system comprising the microwave cooking appliance21and a core temperature probe1that is located in the cooking chamber G, signals may be transmitted wirelessly between the signal transmission antennas2and22at the radio frequency that serves as the signal transmission frequency, but microwaves are effectively filtered or blocked. It goes without saying that the present invention is not restricted to the exemplary embodiment shown. Generally speaking, the terms “a” and “one” and similar may be understood as singular or plural, in particular in the context of “at least one” or “one or more”, etc., provided this is not explicitly excluded, for example by the expression “exactly one”, etc. Moreover, a numerical figure may include precisely the stated number and also a conventional tolerance range, provided this is not explicitly excluded. | 13,891 |
11943862 | Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features and structures. MODE FOR INVENTION The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness. The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces. FIG.1is a perspective view of a front surface of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG.2is a perspective view of a rear surface of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIGS.1and2, an electronic device100according to an embodiment may include a housing110including a first surface (or a front surface)110A, a second surface (or a rear surface)110B, and a side surface110C surrounding a space between the first surface110A and the second surface110B, and fastening members150and160connected to at least portions of the housing110and that detachably fastens the wearable electronic device100to a portion (e.g., a wrist or a wrinkle) of the body of a user. In another embodiment (not illustrated), the housing may refer to a structure that defines some of the first surface110A, the second surface110B, and the side surface110C ofFIG.1. According to an embodiment, the first surface110A may be defined by a front plate101(e.g., a glass plate or a polymer plate including various coating layers), at least a portion of which is substantially transparent. The second surface110B may be defined by a substantially opaque rear plate107. The rear plate107, for example, may be formed of coated or colored glass, ceramics, a polymer, a metal (e.g., aluminum (Al), stainless steel (STS), or magnesium (Mg)), or a combination of at least two thereof. The side surface110C may be coupled to the front plate101and the rear plate107, and may be defined by a side bezel structure (or ‘a side member’)106including a metal and/or a polymer. In some embodiments, the rear plate107and the side bezel structure106may be integrally formed and may include the same material (e.g., a metallic material such as aluminum). The fastening members150and160may be formed of various material and have various shapes. A single body or a plurality of unit links that may move with respect to each other may be formed of woven fabric, leather, rubber, urethane, a metal, ceramics, or a combination of at least two thereof. According to an embodiment, the electronic device100may include at least one of a display120(seeFIG.3), audio modules105and108, a sensor module111, key input devices (or buttons)102,103, and104, and a connector hole109. In some embodiments, at least one (e.g., the key input devices102,103, and104, the connector hole109, or the sensor module111) may be omitted from the electronic device100or another component may be additionally included in the electronic device100. The display120, for example, may be exposed through a corresponding portion of the front plate101. The shape of the display120may correspond to the shape of the front plate101, and may include various shapes, such as a circular shape, an elliptical shape, or a polygonal shape. The display120may be coupled to or be disposed to be adjacent to a touch detection circuit, a pressure sensor that may measure an intensity (a pressure) of a touch, and/or a fingerprint sensor. The audio modules105and108may include a microphone hole105and a speaker hole108. A microphone for acquiring external sounds may be disposed in the microphone hole105, and in some embodiments, a plurality of microphones may be disposed to detect the direction of a sound. The speaker hole108may be used for an external speaker and a communication receiver. In some embodiments, the speaker hole108and the microphone hole105may be realized by one hole or a speaker may be included while the speaker hole108is not employed (e.g., a piezoelectric speaker). The sensor module111may generate an electrical signal or a data value corresponding to an operation state of the interior of the electronic device100or an environmental state of the outside. The sensor module111, for example, may include a biometric sensor module111(e.g., a heart rate monitor (HRM) sensor) disposed on the second surface110B of the housing110. The electronic device100may further include a sensor module (not illustrated), for example, at least one of a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a color sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illumination sensor. The key input devices102,103, and104may include a wheel key102disposed on the first surface110A of the housing110and being rotatable in at least one direction, and/or side key buttons103and104disposed on the side surface110C of the housing110. The wheel key102may have a shape corresponding to the shape of the front plate101. In another embodiment, the electronic device100may not include some or all of the above-mentioned key input devices102,103, and104, and the key input devices102,103, and104which are not included, may be realized in different forms, such as a soft key, on the display120. The connector hole109may accommodate a connector (e.g., a USB connector) for transmitting and receiving power and/or data to and from an external electronic device, and may include another connector hole (not illustrated) that may accommodate a connector for transmitting and receiving an audio signal to and from an external electronic device. The electronic device100, for example, may further include a connector cover (not illustrated) that covers at least a portion of the connector hole109to interrupt introduction of external foreign substances through the connector hole109. The fastening members150and160may be detachably fastened to at least a partial area of the housing110by using locking members151and161. The fastening members150and160may include one or more of a fixing member152, a fixing member coupling hole153, a band guide member154, and a band fixing ring155. The fixing member152may be configured to fix the housing110and the fastening members150and160to a portion (e.g., a wrist or a wrinkle) of the body of the user. The fixing member coupling hole153may fix the housing110and the fastening members150and160to a portion of the body of the user in correspondence to the fixing member152. The band guide member154may be configured to restrict a motion range of the fixing member152when the fixing member152is coupled to the fixing member coupling hole153so that the fastening members150and160are fastened to be attached to a portion of the body of the user. The band fixing ring155may restrict motion ranges of the fastening members150and160in a state in which the fixing member152and the fixing member coupling hole153are coupled to each other. FIG.3is an exploded perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG.3, an electronic device300(e.g., the electronic device100ofFIG.1) may include a side bezel structure310(e.g., the side bezel structure106ofFIG.1), a wheel key320(e.g., the wheel key102ofFIG.1), a front plate101, a display120, a first antenna350, a second antenna355, a support member360(e.g., a bracket) a battery370(e.g., a battery1189ofFIG.11), a printed circuit board380(e.g., a printed circuit board (PCB), a printed board assembly (PBA), a flexible PCB (FPCB) or a rigid-flexible PCB (RFPCB)), a sealing member390, a rear plate393(e.g., the rear plate107ofFIG.2), and fastening members395and397(e.g., the fastening members150and160ofFIGS.1and2). At least one of the components of the electronic device300may be the same as or similar to at least one of the components of the electronic device100ofFIGS.1and2, and a repeated description thereof will be omitted. The support member360may be disposed in the interior of the electronic device300to be connected to the side bezel structure310or to be integrally formed with the side bezel structure310. The support member360, for example, may be formed of a metallic material and/or a nonmetallic material (e.g., a polymer). The display120may be coupled to one surface of the support member360, and the printed circuit board380may be coupled to an opposite surface of the support member360. A processor, a memory, and/or an interface may be mounted on the printed circuit board380. The processor, for example, may include one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), a graphic processing unit (GPU), a sensor processor, or a communication processor. The memory, for example, may include a volatile and/or nonvolatile memory. The interface, for example, may include a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universal serial bus (USB), a secure digital (SD) card interface, and/or an audio interface. The interface, for example, may electrically or physically connect the electronic device300to an external electronic device, and may include a USB connector, an SD card/multimedia card (MMC) connector, and an audio connector. The battery370is a device for supplying electric power to at least one component of the electronic device300, and for example, may include a primary battery that cannot be recharged, a secondary battery that may be recharged, or a fuel cell. At least a portion of the battery370, for example, may be disposed on substantially the same plane as the printed circuit board380. The battery370may be integrally disposed in the interior of the electronic device100, and may be disposed to be detachable from the electronic device100. The first antenna350may be disposed between the display120and the support member360. The first antenna350, for example, may include a near field communication (NFC) antenna, a wireless charging antenna, and/or a magnetic secure transmission (MST) antenna. The first antenna350, for example, may perform short-range communication with an external device, may wirelessly transmit and receive electric power that is necessary for charging, and may transmit a short range communication signal or a magnetism-based signal including payment data. In another embodiment, an antenna structure may be formed by one or a combination of the side bezel structure310and/or the support member360. The second antenna355may be disposed between the circuit board380and the rear plate393. The second antenna355, for example, may include a near field communication (NFC) antenna, a wireless charging antenna, and/or a magnetic secure transmission (MST) antenna. The second antenna355, for example, may perform short-range communication with an external device, may wirelessly transmit and receive electric power that is necessary for charging, and may transmit a short range communication signal or a magnetism-based signal including payment data. In another embodiment, an antenna structure may be formed by one or a combination of the side bezel structure310and/or the rear plate393. The sealing member390may be located between the side bezel structure310and the rear plate393. The sealing member390may be configured to interrupt moisture and foreign substances that are introduced into a space surrounded by the side bezel structure310and the rear plate393from the outside. FIG.4is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a board of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG.4, the electronic device300according to the embodiment may include a board480(e.g., the printed circuit board380ofFIG.3), at least one electronic component402, an insulation member405, and a conductive layer410. According to an embodiment, the board480may include nonconductive portions487and conductive portions interposed between the nonconductive portions487. In an embodiment, the nonconductive portion487may include a nonconductive material, for example, an epoxy resin and/or a phenol resin, but the disclosure is not limited by the above-described example. The conductive portions, for example, may include a first conductive line481, a second conductive line482, a conductive via hole483, and a ground plane (or a ground area)489of the board480. In an embodiment, the conductive via hole483may pass through the nonconductive portion487and may electrically connect the first conductive line481and the ground plane489. In an embodiment, the second conductive line482may be electrically separated from the first conductive line481. For example, because the second conductive line482is physically separated from the first conductive line481while an opening485formed in the board480being interposed therebetween, it may be electrically separated from the first conductive line481. In an embodiment, the first conductive line481, the second conductive line482, the conductive via hole483, and the ground plane489, for example, may include copper that is a conductive metal, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the board480may include a first surface480A and a second surface480B that faces an opposite direction to the first surface480A. In an embodiment, various electronic components that are necessary for an operation of the electronic device300may be disposed on the first surface480A and the second surface480B of the board480. For example, at least one electronic component402may be disposed on the first surface480A of the board480. The at least one electronic component402, for example, may include at least one semiconductor element, a passive element, and/or a semiconductor chip that constitutes an integrated circuit. As another example, the at least one electronic component402may include at least one (e.g., a processor1120and a memory1130) of the constituent elements illustrated inFIG.11. In an embodiment, the at least one electronic component402may at least partially overlap the ground plane489when the first surface480A of the board480is viewed. In an embodiment, a thickness of the board480, for example, may be about 350 μm, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the insulation member405may be disposed (or formed) on the first surface480A of the board480to surround the at least one electronic component402. In an embodiment, the insulation member405may cover the at least one electronic component402three-dimensionally, and may protect the at least one electronic component402from an external environment (e.g., moisture, a physical impact, or heat). In an embodiment, the conductive layer410may include a first part411, a second part412, and a third part413. In an embodiment, the first part411may be formed on a surface of the insulation member405, and may surround the insulation member405. In an embodiment, the second part412may extend from at least a portion of an edge of the first part411. In an embodiment, the second part412may extend from the edge of the first part411in a direction (e.g., a first direction1) that becomes farther away from the insulation member405. In an embodiment, at least a portion of the second part412may be disposed on the first surface480A of the board480. For example, the second part412may be formed on the nonconductive portion487and the first conductive line481that form the first surface480A of the board480. In an embodiment, the second part412may contact the first conductive line481exposed through the first surface480A of the board480. In an embodiment, the second part412may be electrically connected to the first conductive line481. In an embodiment, the second part412may be electrically connected to the ground plane489of the board480, through the first conductive line481and the conductive via hole483. In an embodiment, the first part411and the second part412of the conductive layer410, and the ground plane489may provide electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding to the at least one electronic component402. AlthoughFIG.4illustrates only a portion of the board480, the shielding provided by the conductive layer410and the ground plane489may be implemented in a conformal shielding of surrounding all of six surfaces around the at least one electronic component402. In an embodiment, the third part413may be spaced apart from the second part412. For example, the third part413may be spaced apart from the second part412while the opening485formed in the board480being interposed therebetween. In an embodiment, the third part413may be electrically separated from the second part412. In an embodiment, the third part413may be spaced apart from the second part412, and may extend in a direction (e.g., the first direction1) that becomes farther away from the insulation member405. In an embodiment, the third part413may be formed on the first surface480A of the board480. For example, the third part413may be formed on the second nonconductive line482and the nonconductive portion487that form the first surface480A of the board480. In an embodiment, the third part413may contact the second conductive line482exposed through the first surface480A of the board480. In an embodiment, the third part413may be electrically connected to the second conductive line482. In an embodiment, the third part413and the second conductive line482may include a transmission line (e.g., at least one transmission line910, which will be described below) for transmitting and receiving an electrical signal. Although not illustrated, a first protection member for protecting the first conductive line481and the second conductive line482from an external environment may be filled in the opening485formed in the board480. Although not illustrated, a second protection member that covers the third part413may be disposed to prevent an unintended short-circuit of the third part413constituted by the transmission line. The first protection member and the second protection member, for example, may include a liquid resin, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The first protection member and the second protection member may be integrally formed in a form of being deposited on the opening485and the third part413, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In the following, Table 1 represents EMI shielding performances of an electronic device (e.g., an electronic device1202ofFIG.12) according to a comparative example, and the electronic device300according to an embodiment. TABLE 1E-Field @ 750 MHz [dBV/m]Categoriesx-y averagezAverageComparative example−200−200−200Embodiment of the disclosure−200−200−200 Referring to Table 1, the shielding performance of the electronic device300according to the embodiment may be substantially the same as that of the electronic device according to the comparative example. In the electronic device (e.g., the electronic device1202ofFIG.12) according to the comparative example, a part1212of the conductive layer1210for grounding may have a first area. In contrast, the second part412of the conductive layer410of the electronic device300according to the embodiment may have a second area that is smaller than the first area. The electronic device300according to the embodiment may separate a part1212of the conductive layer1210of the electronic device (e.g., the electronic device1202ofFIG.12) according to the comparative example, and may utilized a portion thereof as an area for grounding (e.g., the second part412of the conductive layer410), and utilize another portion thereof as a transmission line (e.g., the third part413of the conductive layer410). Through this, the electronic device300according to the embodiment may save a mounting space of the board480and improve space utility while securing the required shielding performance. FIG.5Ais a cross-sectional view of a main part for illustrating a process of manufacturing a board according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG.5Bis a cross-sectional view of a main part for illustrating a process of manufacturing a board according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG.5Cis a cross-sectional view of a main part for illustrating a process of manufacturing a board according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Hereinafter, a process of manufacturing the board480according to an embodiment will be described with reference toFIGS.5A,5B, and5C. In the following detailed description, configurations that may be easily understood through the preceding embodiment will be endowed with the same reference numerals as those of the preceding embodiments or omitted, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Referring toFIG.5A, the board480including the conductive via hole483that electrically connects the nonconductive portion487, the conductive line581, the ground plate489, and the conductive line581, and the ground plate489may be provided. In an embodiment, the conductive line581may be partially exposed to the first surface480A of the board480through a solder resist (SR) open area ‘R’. In an embodiment, the SR open area ‘R’ may be an area, in which a solder resist deposited on the first surface480A of the board480is removed. In an embodiment, the insulation member405may be formed by injecting a molding resin onto the first surface480A of the board480and curing the molding resin. The insulation member405, for example, may include an epoxy-based forming resin and/or a polyimide-based forming resin. For example, the insulation member405may include an epoxy molding compound. However, the disclosure is not limited by the above-described example. Referring toFIG.5B, in an embodiment, the conductive layer410may be formed to cover the insulation member405. The conductive layer410may include the first part411that covers a surface of the insulation member405, and an extension part415that extends from the first surface480A of the board480in a direction (e.g., the first direction1) that becomes farther away from the insulation member405with respect to the edge of the first part411. In an embodiment, the extension part415of the conductive layer410may extend to the nonconductive portion487via the SR open area ‘R’. In an embodiment, the extension part415of the conductive layer410may be formed to cover the SR open area ‘R’, and may contact the conductive line581. In an embodiment, the conductive layer410may include a conductive material, for example, silver (Ag), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), tin (Sn), stainless steel and/or a combination thereof, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the conductive layer410may be formed through a sputtering process or a spraying process, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. As another example, the conductive layer410may include a conductive film that is formed on a surface of the insulation member405and the first surface480A of the board480in an attachment, adsorption, or thermal pressing method. Referring toFIG.5C, in an embodiment, the opening that partially passes through the board480may be formed. In an embodiment, the opening485may be formed in the SR open area ‘R’. In an embodiment, the opening485, for example, may be formed through laser machining, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the opening485may separate an extension part (e.g., the extension part415ofFIG.5B) of the conductive layer410, and the conductive line581. In an embodiment, the extension part (e.g., the extension part415ofFIG.5B) of the conductive layer410may be separated by the opening485, and the second part412and the third part413of the conductive layer410may be formed. In an embodiment, the conductive line (e.g., the conductive line581ofFIG.5B) may be separated by the opening485to form the first conductive line481and the second conductive line482. In an embodiment, a diameter (or a width) of the opening485formed through laser cutting, for example, may be about 30 μm to 40 μm. As another example, the opening485may have a diameter of 40 μm or more (e.g., 100 μm) to prevent an unintended short-circuit. In an embodiment, a thickness of the conductive layer410, for example, may be about 5 μm. In an embodiment, a thickness of the conductive line (e.g., the conductive line581ofFIG.5B), for example, may be about 12 μm. In this case, a depth of the opening485formed through laser cutting may be 17 μm or more. However, the disclosure is not limited by the above-described numerical example. In an embodiment, a size (e.g., a thickness, an area, a length, or a depth) of the first part411of the conductive layer410, the second part412of the conductive layer410, the first conductive line481, the second conductive line482, and/or the opening485may be selected according to the required shielding performance and/or the required performance of the transmission line. FIG.6is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a board of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Hereinafter, only a difference from the embodiment illustrated inFIG.4will be described with reference toFIG.6. Referring toFIG.6, in an embodiment, the opening485may be formed in an area other than the SR open area ‘R’. For example, the opening485may be formed outside the SR open area ‘R’ (e.g., at a location spaced apart from the SR open area ‘R’ in the first direction). In this case, the opening485may pass through the extension part (e.g., the extension part415ofFIG.5B) of the conductive layer410, the nonconductive portion487of the board480, and the conductive line (e.g., the conductive line581ofFIG.5B). In an embodiment, the conductive line (e.g., the conductive line581ofFIG.5B) may be separated by the opening485to form the first conductive line481and the second conductive line482. In an embodiment, the second part412of the conductive layer410may be electrically separated from the second conductive line482by the opening485and/or the nonconductive portion487. In an embodiment, the third part413of the conductive layer410may be electrically separated from the second conductive line482by the nonconductive portion487. In an embodiment, the second conductive line482may be utilized as a transmission line for transmitting an electrical signal. FIG.7Ais a view of a first surface of a board, viewed from a top, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG.7Bis a view of a first surface of a board, viewed from a top, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG.7Cis a cross-sectional view of a board according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIGS.7A and7B, illustration of the second part (e.g., the second part412ofFIG.4) of the conductive layer410electrically connected to the conductive via hole483is omitted for convenience of description. AlthoughFIGS.7A and7Billustrate that the conductive via hole483is located outside the first part411of the conductive layer410(or the insulation member405), the disclosure is not limited thereto, and at least a portion of the conductive via hole483may at least partially overlap the first part411of the conductive layer410(or the insulation member405). A description of the first part411of the conductive layer410, which will be provided below, also may be applied to the insulation member405in a substantially the same, or similar, or corresponding scheme, in that the first part411of the conductive layer410is at least partially formed along a surface of the insulation member405to have substantially the same or a similar outer shape. Referring toFIG.7A, the first part411of the conductive layer410may include a first edge4111, a second edge4112, a third edge4113, and a fourth edge4114. In an embodiment, the first edge4111and the second edge4112may at least partially face each other. For example, the first edge4111and the second edge4112may be substantially parallel to each other while having substantially the same length, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the third edge4113may connect one end of the first edge4111and one end of the second edge4112. In an embodiment, the fourth edge4114may connect an opposite end of the first edge4111and an opposite end of the second edge4112. In an embodiment, the third edge4113and the fourth edge4114may at least partially face each other. For example, the third edge4113and the fourth edge4114may be substantially parallel to each other while having substantially the same length, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the conductive via hole483may be disposed at least one edge of the first part411of the conductive layer410. For example, the conductive via hole483may be disposed along the first to fourth edges4111to4114of the first part411of the conductive layer410. As another example, referring toFIG.7C, an adjacent conductive via hole may not be disposed at any one edge4115of the first part411of the conductive layer410. In this case, any one edge4115of the conductive layer410may extend along a side surface480C of the board480, and may be electrically connected to the ground plane489. Referring toFIG.7A, in an embodiment, the first part411of the conductive layer410may be electrically connected to the ground plane (not illustrated) (e.g., the ground plane489ofFIG.4) of the board480through the second part (not illustrated) (e.g., the second part412ofFIG.4) extending from the first part411of the conductive layer410and the conductive via hole483electrically connected to the second part. In an embodiment, the third part413may be disposed along at least some of the edges of the first part411of the conductive layer410. For example, the third part413may include a first area4131that is adjacent to the first edge4111, a second area4132that is adjacent to the second edge4112, a third area4133that is adjacent to the third edge4113, and a fourth area4134that is adjacent to the fourth edge4114. In an embodiment, the third part413of the conductive layer410may constitute a transmission line together with the second conductive line (not illustrated) (e.g., the second conductive line482ofFIG.4) electrically connected to the third part413. In another embodiment, referring toFIG.7B, the conductive layer410may further include the fourth part414. In an embodiment, the fourth part414may extend from at least one corner of the first part411of the conductive layer410. For example, the fourth part414of the conductive layer410may extend from the first part411. As another example, the fourth part414of the conductive layer410may be connected to the first part411through the second part (not illustrated) (e.g., the second part412ofFIG.4). As another example, an extension part (e.g., the extension part415ofFIG.5B) of the fourth part414of the conductive layer410, which extends from the first part411, may include a portion, which is not separated through laser machining. In an embodiment, the fourth part414may include at least one of a fifth area4145that is adjacent to the first area4131and the third area4133of the third part413, a sixth area4146that is adjacent to the first area4131and the fourth area4134of the third part413, a seventh area4147that is adjacent to the second area4132and the third area4133of the third part413, and an eighth area4148that is adjacent to the second area4132and the fourth area4134of the third part413. In an embodiment, the fourth part4134may be electrically connected to the ground plane of the board480through another conductive line that is distinguished from the first conductive line481and the second conductive line482. For example, the fourth part414may be directly connected to the ground plane through the other conductive line. As another example, the other conductive line may be electrically connected to the first conductive line (e.g., the first conductive line481ofFIG.4) and the conductive via hole483and thus the fourth part414of the conductive layer410may be electrically connected to the ground plane489of the board480. As another example, the fourth part414may be electrically connected to the ground plane of the board480in a scheme illustrated inFIG.12. As illustrated inFIG.7B, according to an embodiment, through the fourth part414disposed at a corner portion of the first part411of the conductive layer410, an EMI shielding performance of the electronic component (e.g., the at least one electronic component402ofFIG.4) disposed in the board480may be improved. For example, the fourth part414of the conductive layer410may prevent noise that may be induced to or from the corner portion. FIG.8Ais a view illustrating a manufacturing process for using a third part of a conductive layer as a power line according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG.8Bis a view illustrating a manufacturing process for using a third part of a conductive layer as a power line according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG.8Cis a view illustrating a manufacturing process for using a third part of a conductive layer as a power line according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG.8A, the electronic device300according to an embodiment may include a first device ‘A’ and a second device ‘B’ disposed in the board480. In an embodiment, the first device ‘A’ and the second device ‘B’ may be located outside the insulation member405(or the conductive layer410). For example, the first device ‘A’ and/or the second device ‘B’ may be disposed on the first surface480A and/or the second surface (e.g., the second surface480B ofFIG.4) of the board480, outside the insulation member405(or the conductive layer410). In an embodiment, the first device ‘A’ may include a first wring line811, and the second device ‘B’ may include a second line812. In an embodiment, the first line811of the first device ‘A’ and the second line812of the second device ‘B’ may extend toward a first SR open area R1(e.g., the SR open area ‘R’ ofFIG.5A) formed on the first surface480A of the board480. In an embodiment, the first line811and the second line812may be partially exposed through a second SR open area R2formed on the first surface480A of the board480. In an embodiment, the first line811and the second line812may not be electrically connected to the second SR open area R2connected to the ground plane (not illustrated) (e.g., the ground plane489ofFIG.4) of the board480. Referring toFIG.8B, in an embodiment, the conductive layer410may be formed to cover the insulation member405, the first SR open area R1, and the second SR open area R2. Through the conductive layer410, the first line811, the second line812, and the ground plane (not illustrated) of the board480may be electrically connected to each other. Referring toFIG.8C, in an embodiment, laser machining may be performed along a designated path. Through the laser machining, an opening885(e.g., the opening485ofFIG.4) that partially passes through the board480may be formed. In an embodiment, by the opening885, a power line810may be electrically and physically separated from the first part411and the second part (not illustrated) of the conductive layer410. In an embodiment, the first line811of the first device ‘A’ and the second line812of the second device ‘B’ may be electrically connected to each other through the third part413of the conductive layer410. Through this, the power line810that connects the first device ‘A’ and the second device ‘B’ may be formed. In an embodiment, through the power line810, a power signal may be delivered between the first device ‘A’ and the second device ‘B’. FIG.9Ais a view illustrating a process of manufacturing a transmission line in various forms according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG.9Billustrates examples of transmission lines formed in a board according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG.10Ais a view illustrating an example of utilizing a transmission line formed in a board as a first contact structure according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG.10Bis a view illustrating an example of utilizing a transmission line formed in a board as a second contact structure according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG.10Cis a view illustrating an example of utilizing a transmission line formed in a board as a third contact structure according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG.9A, in an embodiment, the board480including the conductive line581and the conductive layer410may be provided. In an embodiment, the conductive layer410may include the extension part415that covers the first part411and the conductive line581. In an embodiment, primary laser machining may be performed along a first path P1of the board480. In an embodiment, the first path P1may be a path in a direction that is substantially parallel to a direction, in which an edge of the first part411(or the second part412) of the conductive layer410extends. Through the primary laser machining, an opening (e.g., the opening485ofFIG.4) may be formed. The conductive line581may be separated by the first opening and thus the first conductive line (not illustrated) (e.g., the first conductive line481ofFIG.4) and the second conductive line482may be formed. The extension part415of the conductive layer410may be separated by the first opening, and thus the second part412and the third part413of the conductive layer410may be formed. In an embodiment, the third part413of the conductive layer410may constitute a first transmission line T1together with the second conductive line482. In an embodiment, secondary laser machining for separating the first transmission line T1along a second path P2may be performed. For example, the second path P2may be a path in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to a direction, in which an edge of the first part411(or the second part412) of the conductive layer410extends. In an embodiment, a second opening may be formed through the secondary laser machining. In an embodiment, by the second opening, the first transmission line T1constituted by the third part413of the conductive layer410and the second conductive line482may be separated. In an embodiment, second transmission lines T2separated from each other by the second opening may be formed. In an embodiment, according to a purpose and/or an objective of a part utilized as a transmission line, laser machining may be performed at least once, and through this, the number, a thickness, and/or an area of parts utilized as transmission lines may be adjusted. For example, referring toFIG.9B, at least one transmission line910may be formed along at least a portion of an edge of the first part411of the conductive layer410. In an embodiment, the at least one transmission line910may be configured to transmit an electrical signal such as a power signal or a radio frequency (RF) signal. In an embodiment, a shape of the at least one transmission line910is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and may be variously determined according to a function, a location, a shape, and/or a size of the device (e.g., the first device ‘A’ and the second device ‘B’). In another embodiment, referring toFIG.10A, at least one transmission line910may be constituted in a first contact structure, by which another constituent element (or another electronic component)1002is to be electrically connected to the board480. The electronic device according to an embodiment may include another constituent element (or another electronic component)1002, which is distinguished from at least one electronic component (e.g., the at least one electronic component402ofFIG.4), and a connection member1020. In an embodiment, the other constituent element1002may be electrically connected to at least one transmission line910through the connection member1020(e.g., a flexible printed circuit board). For example, the at least one transmission line910may be connected to contact points provided in the connection member1020. For example, the first contact structure may include a first connector (e.g., a receptacle) disposed in the board480to be electrically connected to the at least one transmission line910, and a second connector (e.g., a plug) provided in the connection member1020to be coupled to the first connector. In an embodiment, the other constituent element1002may be electrically connected to the board480(or the at least one transmission line910) through the connection member1020, the first connector, and the second connector. In an embodiment, the other constituent element1002, for example, may include at least one of a battery, a key button, and/or a switch. In another embodiment, referring toFIG.10B, the at least one transmission line910may be constituted in a second contact structure for operatively connecting a plurality of constituent elements. The electronic device according to an embodiment may include a first constituent element (or the first electronic component)1004and a second constituent element (or the second electronic component)1006, which are distinguished from at least one electronic component402(e.g., the at least one electronic component402ofFIG.4). The electronic device according to an embodiment may include a first connection member1040and a second connection member1060. The at least one transmission line910according to an embodiment may include a first transmission line911and a second transmission line912. In an embodiment, the first constituent element1004may be electrically connected to the first transmission line911through the first connection member1040. In an embodiment, the second constituent element1006may be electrically connected to the first transmission line911and the second transmission line912through the second connection member1060. For example, the second constituent element1006may be electrically connected to the first transmission line911through a first connector (or a first terminal)1061of the second connection member1060, and may be electrically connected to the second transmission line912through a second connector (or a second terminal)1062of the second connection member1060. In an embodiment, the second constituent element1006may be electrically connected to the first constituent element1004through the first transmission line911, and may be electrically connected to the ground plane (not illustrated) (e.g., the ground plane489ofFIG.4) of the board through the second transmission line912. In an embodiment, the second constituent element1006, for example, may include a battery (e.g., the battery1189ofFIG.11) for supplying electric power that is necessary for the electronic device, and the first constituent element1004may include a power management module (e.g., a power management module1188ofFIG.11) for managing the battery. In an embodiment, when the first constituent element1004is disposed in the board (e.g., the board480ofFIG.4), in which the conductive layer410is located, the first connection member1040may be understood as including the conductive line formed in the board. In an embodiment, the second connection member1060, for example, may include a flexible circuit board or a rigid-flexible printed circuit board. In another embodiment, referring toFIG.10C, the at least one transmission line910may be constituted in a third contact structure using a mechanical structure. For example, the mechanical structure1008may include a structure that supports a configuration (e.g., the board480) of the electronic device or at least partially forms a frame and/or an external shape of the electronic device, together with the bracket (e.g., the support member360ofFIG.3) and/or the housing (e.g., the side bezel structure310ofFIG.3) of the electronic device. In an embodiment, a third connection member1080provided with a connector1081at an end thereof may be disposed on one side of the mechanical structure1008. In an embodiment, the third connection member1030may be disposed between the mechanical structure1008and the board480(or the conductive layer410disposed in the board480). In an embodiment, while the mechanical structure1008is disposed on the board480(or the mechanical structure1008and the board480are assembled or coupled to each other), the connector1081and the at least one transmission line910may be electrically connected to each other. Although not illustrated, through the third connection member1080, a constituent element (or an electronic component) that is distinguished from the at least one electronic component (e.g., the at least one electronic component402ofFIG.4) may be electrically connected to the at least one transmission line910. The electronic device (e.g., the electronic device300ofFIG.4) according to the above-described embodiment may include a board (e.g., the board480ofFIG.4) including a first conductive line (e.g., the first conductive line481ofFIG.4), a second conductive line (e.g., the second conductive line482ofFIG.4) spaced apart from the first conductive line, a ground plane (e.g., the ground plane489ofFIG.4), and a conductive via hole (e.g., the conductive via hole483ofFIG.4) electrically connecting the first conductive line and the ground plane, at least one electronic component (e.g., at least one electronic component402ofFIG.4) disposed on a first surface (e.g., the first surface480A ofFIG.4) of the board to at least partially overlap the ground plane, an insulation member (e.g., the insulation member405ofFIG.4) covering the at least one electronic component, and a conductive layer (e.g., the conductive layer410ofFIG.4), the conductive layer may include a first part (e.g., the first part411ofFIG.4) formed on a surface of the insulation member, a second part (e.g., the second part412ofFIG.4) formed on the first surface of the board to extend from at least a portion of an edge of the first part in a direction (e.g., the first direction1ofFIG.4) that becomes farther away from the insulation member, and electrically connected to the first conductive line, and a third part (e.g., the third part413ofFIG.4) spaced apart from the second part, extending from the first surface of the board in a direction that becomes farther away from the insulation member, and electrically connected to the second conductive line, the first conductive line and the second part of the conductive layer may be spaced apart from the second conductive line and the third part of the conductive layer while an opening (e.g., the opening485ofFIG.4) formed in the board being interposed therebetween, and the electronic device may include at least one transmission line (e.g., the at least one transmission line910ofFIG.9B) including the second conductive line and the third part of the conductive layer that transmit an electrical signal. In an embodiment, at portion of the first conductive line may be exposed through the first surface of the board, and the second part of the conductive layer may contact the portion of the first conductive line. In an embodiment, at portion of the second conductive line may be exposed through the first surface of the board, and the third part of the conductive layer may contact the portion of the second conductive line. In an embodiment, the first conductive line is partially exposed to the first surface of the board through a solder resist (SR) open area in which a solder resist deposited on the first surface of the board is removed. In an embodiment, a portion of the first conductive line may be exposed through the first surface of the board, the exposed portion of the first conductive line may contact the second part of the conductive layer, a portion of the second conductive line may be exposed through the first surface of the board, the exposed portion of the second conductive line may contact the third part of the conductive layer, and the opening may be formed between the portion of the first conductive line and the portion of the second conductive line. In an embodiment, the first part of the conductive layer may include a first edge (e.g., the first edge4111ofFIG.7A), a second edge (e.g., the second edge4112ofFIG.7A) that at least partially faces the first edge, a third edge (e.g., the third edge4113ofFIG.7A) connecting one end of the first edge and one end of the second edge, and a fourth edge (e.g., the fourth edge4114ofFIG.7A) that connects an opposite end of the first edge and an opposite end of the second edge and at least partially faces the third edge, and the first edge, the second edge, the third edge, or the fourth edge may extend along a surface of the insulation member and a side surface (e.g., the side surface480C ofFIG.7C) of the board and may be electrically connected to the ground plane of the board. In an embodiment, the first part of the conductive layer may include a first edge (e.g., the first edge4111ofFIG.7A), a second edge (e.g., the second edge4112ofFIG.7A) that at least partially faces the first edge, a third edge (e.g., the third edge4113ofFIG.7A) connecting one end of the first edge and one end of the second edge, and a fourth edge (e.g., the fourth edge4114ofFIG.7A) that connects an opposite end of the first edge and an opposite end of the second edge and at least partially faces the third edge, the third part of the conductive layer may include a first area (e.g., the first area4131ofFIG.7A) that extends along the first edge, a second area (e.g., the second area4132ofFIG.7A) that extends along the second edge, a third area (e.g., the third area4133ofFIG.7A) that extends along the third edge, and a fourth area (e.g., the fourth area4134ofFIG.7A) that extends along the fourth edge, and the first area, the second area, the third area, and the fourth area may be electrically connected to the second conductive line and may constitute the at least one transmission line. In an embodiment, the board may further include another conductive line that is distinguished from the first conductive line and the second conductive line, the conductive layer may include a fourth part (e.g., the fourth part414ofFIG.7B) that extends from at least one corner of the first part, the fourth part of the conductive layer may include at least one of a fifth area (e.g., the fifth area4145ofFIG.7B) that is adjacent to the first area and the third area of the third part, a sixth area (e.g., the six area4146ofFIG.7B) that is adjacent to the first area and the fourth area of the third part, a seventh area (e.g., the seventh area4147ofFIG.7B) that is adjacent to the second area and the third area of the third part, and an eighth area (e.g., the eighth area4148ofFIG.7B) that is adjacent to the second area and the fourth area of the second part, and the at least one of the fifth area, the sixth area, the seventh area, or the eighth area may be electrically connected to the ground plane of the board, through the other conductive line of the board. In an embodiment, a first device (e.g., the first device ‘A’ ofFIG.8C) and a second device (e.g., the second device ‘B’ ofFIG.8C) disposed on the first surface of the board and/or the second surface (e.g., the second surface480B ofFIG.4) that faces an opposite direction to the first surface, the first device and the second device may be located outside the insulation member and may be electrically connected to each other through the at least one transmission line (e.g., the power line810ofFIG.8C), and the at least one transmission line may be configured to transmit a power signal between the first device and the second device. In an embodiment, an opening configured to partially pass through the board is formed by laser machining such that a power line is electrically and physically separated from the first part and the second part of the conductive layer, the power line electrically connecting the first device and the second device. In an embodiment, the opening may include a first opening (e.g., the first opening formed along the first path P1ofFIG.9A) and a second opening (e.g., the second opening formed along the second path P2), the first opening may be formed in a direction (e.g., the direction of the first path P1ofFIG.9A) that is substantially parallel to a direction, in which an edge of the first part of the conductive layer extends, the second opening may be formed along a direction (e.g., the direction of the second path P2ofFIG.9A) that is substantially perpendicular to the direction, in which the edge of the first part of the conductive layer extends, and the at least one transmission line (e.g., the first transmission line T1and/or the second transmission line T2ofFIG.9A) may be formed by the first opening and the second opening. The electronic device according to an embodiment may include another electronic component (e.g., the other constituent element1002ofFIG.10A) that is distinguished from the at least one electronic component, a connection member (e.g., the connection member1020ofFIG.10A) for electrically connecting the other electronic component and the board, a first connector disposed in the board to be electrically connected to the at least one transmission line, and a second connector disposed in the connection member, and electrically physically coupled to the first connector, and the other electronic component may be electrically connected to the at least one transmission line through the connection member, the first connector, and the second connector. In an embodiment, the other electronic component may include a battery (e.g., the battery370ofFIG.3) or a key button switch (e.g., the key input device102and103ofFIG.1). The electronic device according to an embodiment may include a first electronic component (e.g., the first constituent element1004ofFIG.10B) and a second electronic component (e.g., the second constituent element1006ofFIG.10B) that are distinguished from the at least one electronic component, a first connection member (e.g., the first connection member1040ofFIG.10B) that electrically connects the first electronic component and a first transmission line (e.g., the first transmission line911ofFIG.10B) of the at least one transmission line, and a second connection member (e.g., the second connection member1060ofFIG.10B) that electrically connects the first transmission line and a second transmission line (e.g., the second transmission line912ofFIG.10B) of the at least one transmission line to the second electronic component, and the second electronic component may be electrically connected to the first electronic component through the first transmission line, and may be electrically connected to the ground plane of the board through the second transmission line. In an embodiment, the second electronic component may include a battery (e.g., the battery1189ofFIG.11) for providing electric power that is necessary for an operation of the electronic device, and the first electronic component may include a power management circuit (e.g., the power management module1188ofFIG.11) for managing the battery. In an embodiment, the first electronic component may be disposed in the board, the first connection member may include a conductive pattern formed in the board, and the second connection member may include a flexible printed circuit board or a rigid-flexible printed circuit board. The electronic device according to an embodiment may include a mechanical structure (e.g., the mechanical structure1008ofFIG.10C) that supports the board, a third connection member (e.g., the third connection member1080ofFIG.10C) disposed between the board and the mechanical structure, and an electronic component that is distinguished from the at least one electronic component and is electrically connected to the at least one transmission line through the third connection member, and the electronic component may be electrically connected to the at least one transmission line while the mechanical structure and the board are coupled to each other. The board (e.g., the board480ofFIG.4) of the electronic device (e.g., the electronic device300ofFIG.4) according to the above-described embodiment may include a first conductive line (e.g., the first conductive line481ofFIG.4), a second conductive line (e.g., the second conductive line482ofFIG.4) spaced apart from the first conductive line, a ground plane (e.g., the ground plane489ofFIG.4), a conductive via hole (e.g., the conductive via hole483ofFIG.4) that electrically connects the first conductive line and the ground plane, at least one electronic component (e.g., the at least one electronic component402ofFIG.4) disposed on the first surface (e.g., the first surface480A ofFIG.4) of the board to at least partially overlap the ground plane, an insulation member (e.g., the insulation member405ofFIG.4) that covers the at least one electronic component, and a conductive layer (e.g., the conductive layer410ofFIG.4), the conductive layer may include a first part (e.g., the first part411ofFIG.4) formed on a surface of the insulation member, a second part (e.g., the second part412ofFIG.4) formed on the first surface of the board to extend in a direction (e.g., the first direction1ofFIG.4) that becomes farther away from the insulation member with respect to at least portion of the edge of the first part, and electrically connected to the first conductive line, and a third part (e.g., the third part413ofFIG.4) spaced apart from the second part, extending from the first surface of the board in a direction that becomes farther away from the insulation member, and electrically connected to the second conductive line, the first conductive line and the second part of the conductive layer may be spaced apart from the second conductive line and the third part of the conductive layer while an opening (e.g., the opening485ofFIG.4) formed in the board being interposed therebetween, and the board may include at least one transmission line (e.g., the at least one transmission line910ofFIG.9B) constituted by the second conductive line and the third part of the conductive layer that transmit an electrical signal. In an embodiment, at portion of the first conductive line may be exposed through the first surface of the board, and the second part of the conductive layer may contact the portion of the first conductive line. In an embodiment, at portion of the second conductive line may be exposed through the first surface of the board, and the third part of the conductive layer may contact the portion of the second conductive line. In an embodiment, the opening may be formed between the portion of the first conductive line and the portion of the second conductive line. In an embodiment, a first device (e.g., the first device ‘A’ ofFIG.8C) and a second device (e.g., the second device ‘B’ ofFIG.8C) disposed on the first surface of the board and/or the second surface (e.g., the second surface480B ofFIG.4) that faces an opposite direction to the first surface, the first device and the second device may be located outside the insulation member and may be electrically connected to each other through the at least one transmission line, and the at least one transmission line (e.g., the power line810ofFIG.8C) may be configured to transmit a power signal between the first device and the second device. FIG.11is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device1101in a network environment1100according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG.11, the electronic device1101in the network environment1100may communicate with an electronic device1102via a first network1198(e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or at least one of an electronic device1104or a server1108via a second network1199(e.g., a long-range wireless communication network). According to an embodiment, the electronic device1101may communicate with the electronic device1104via the server1108. According to an embodiment, the electronic device1101may include a processor1120, memory1130, an input module1150, a sound output module1155, a display module1160, an audio module1170, a sensor module1176, an interface1177, a connecting terminal1178, a haptic module1179, a camera module1180, a power management module1188, a battery1189, a communication module1190, a subscriber identification module (SIM)1196, or an antenna module1197. In some embodiments, at least one of the components (e.g., the connecting terminal1178) may be omitted from the electronic device1101, or one or more other components may be added in the electronic device1101. In some embodiments, some of the components (e.g., the sensor module1176, the camera module1180, or the antenna module1197) may be implemented as a single component (e.g., the display module1160). The processor1120may execute, for example, software (e.g., a program1140) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware or software component) of the electronic device1101coupled with the processor1120, and may perform various data processing or computation. According to one embodiment, as at least part of the data processing or computation, the processor1120may store a command or data received from another component (e.g., the sensor module1176or the communication module1190) in volatile memory1132, process the command or the data stored in the volatile memory1132, and store resulting data in non-volatile memory1134. According to an embodiment, the processor1120may include a main processor1121(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor (AP)), or an auxiliary processor1123(e.g., a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a sensor hub processor, or a communication processor (CP)) that is operable independently from, or in conjunction with, the main processor1121. For example, when the electronic device1101includes the main processor1121and the auxiliary processor1123, the auxiliary processor1123may be adapted to consume less power than the main processor1121, or to be specific to a specified function. The auxiliary processor1123may be implemented as separate from, or as part of the main processor1121. The auxiliary processor1123may control at least some of functions or states related to at least one component (e.g., the display module1160, the sensor module1176, or the communication module1190) among the components of the electronic device1101, instead of the main processor1121while the main processor1121is in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state, or together with the main processor1121while the main processor1121is in an active state (e.g., executing an application). According to an embodiment, the auxiliary processor1123(e.g., an image signal processor or a communication processor) may be implemented as part of another component (e.g., the camera module1180or the communication module1190) functionally related to the auxiliary processor1123. According to an embodiment, the auxiliary processor1123(e.g., the neural processing unit) may include a hardware structure specified for artificial intelligence model processing. An artificial intelligence model may be generated by machine learning. Such learning may be performed, e.g., by the electronic device1101where the artificial intelligence is performed or via a separate server (e.g., the server1108). Learning algorithms may include, but are not limited to, e.g., supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or reinforcement learning. The artificial intelligence model may include a plurality of artificial neural network layers. The artificial neural network may be a deep neural network (DNN), a convolutional neural network (CNN), a recurrent neural network (RNN), a restricted boltzmann machine (RBM), a deep belief network (DBN), a bidirectional recurrent deep neural network (BRDNN), deep Q-network or a combination of two or more thereof but is not limited thereto. The artificial intelligence model may, additionally or alternatively, include a software structure other than the hardware structure. The memory1130may store various data used by at least one component (e.g., the processor1120or the sensor module1176) of the electronic device1101. The various data may include, for example, software (e.g., the program1140) and input data or output data for a command related thereto. The memory1130may include the volatile memory1132or the non-volatile memory1134. The program1140may be stored in the memory1130as software, and may include, for example, an operating system (OS)1142, middleware1144, or an application1146. The input module1150may receive a command or data to be used by another component (e.g., the processor1120) of the electronic device1101, from the outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device1101. The input module1150may include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, a keyboard, a key (e.g., a button), or a digital pen (e.g., a stylus pen). The sound output module1155may output sound signals to the outside of the electronic device1101. The sound output module1155may include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker may be used for general purposes, such as playing multimedia or playing record. The receiver may be used for receiving incoming calls. According to an embodiment, the receiver may be implemented as separate from, or as part of the speaker. The display module1160may visually provide information to the outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device1101. The display module1160may include, for example, a display, a hologram device, or a projector and control circuitry to control a corresponding one of the display, hologram device, and projector. According to an embodiment, the display module1160may include a touch sensor adapted to detect a touch, or a pressure sensor adapted to measure the intensity of force incurred by the touch. The audio module1170may convert a sound into an electrical signal and vice versa. According to an embodiment, the audio module1170may obtain the sound via the input module1150, or output the sound via the sound output module1155or a headphone of an external electronic device (e.g., an electronic device1102) directly (e.g., wiredly) or wirelessly coupled with the electronic device1101. The sensor module1176may detect an operational state (e.g., power or temperature) of the electronic device1101or an environmental state (e.g., a state of a user) external to the electronic device1101, and then generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to the detected state. According to an embodiment, the sensor module1176may include, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illuminance sensor. The interface1177may support one or more specified protocols to be used for the electronic device1101to be coupled with the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device1102) directly (e.g., wiredly) or wirelessly. According to an embodiment, the interface1177may include, for example, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a secure digital (SD) card interface, or an audio interface. A connecting terminal1178may include a connector via which the electronic device1101may be physically connected with the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device1102). According to an embodiment, the connecting terminal1178may include, for example, an HDMI connector, a USB connector, an SD card connector, or an audio connector (e.g., a headphone connector). The haptic module1179may convert an electrical signal into a mechanical stimulus (e.g., a vibration or a movement) or electrical stimulus which may be recognized by a user via his tactile sensation or kinesthetic sensation. According to an embodiment, the haptic module1179may include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electric stimulator. The camera module1180may capture a still image or moving images. According to an embodiment, the camera module1180may include one or more lenses, image sensors, image signal processors, or flashes. The power management module1188may manage power supplied to the electronic device1101. According to one embodiment, the power management module1188may be implemented as at least part of, for example, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC). The battery1189may supply power to at least one component of the electronic device1101. According to an embodiment, the battery1189may include, for example, a primary cell which is not rechargeable, a secondary cell which is rechargeable, or a fuel cell. The communication module1190may support establishing a direct (e.g., wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel between the electronic device1101and the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device1102, the electronic device1104, or the server1108) and performing communication via the established communication channel. The communication module1190may include one or more communication processors that are operable independently from the processor1120(e.g., the application processor (AP)) and supports a direct (e.g., wired) communication or a wireless communication. According to an embodiment, the communication module1190may include a wireless communication module1192(e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wireless communication module, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication module) or a wired communication module1194(e.g., a local area network (LAN) communication module or a power line communication (PLC) module). A corresponding one of these communication modules may communicate with the external electronic device via the first network1198(e.g., a short-range communication network, such as Bluetooth™ Wi-Fi direct, or infrared data association (IrDA)) or the second network1199(e.g., a long-range communication network, such as a legacy cellular network, a 5th generation (5G) network, a next-generation communication network, the Internet, or a computer network (e.g., LAN or wide area network (WAN))). These various types of communication modules may be implemented as a single component (e.g., a single chip), or may be implemented as multi components (e.g., multi chips) separate from each other. The wireless communication module1192may identify and authenticate the electronic device1101in a communication network, such as the first network1198or the second network1199, using subscriber information (e.g., international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)) stored in the subscriber identification module1196. The wireless communication module1192may support a 5G network, after a 4G network, and next-generation communication technology, e.g., new radio (NR) access technology. The NR access technology may support enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), or ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC). The wireless communication module1192may support a high-frequency band (e.g., the mmWave band) to achieve, e.g., a high data transmission rate. The wireless communication module1192may support various technologies for securing performance on a high-frequency band, such as, e.g., beamforming, massive multiple-input and multiple-output (massive MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beam-forming, or large scale antenna. The wireless communication module1192may support various requirements specified in the electronic device1101, an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device1104), or a network system (e.g., the second network1199). According to an embodiment, the wireless communication module1192may support a peak data rate (e.g., 20 Gbps or more) for implementing eMBB, loss coverage (e.g., 1164 dB or less) for implementing mMTC, or U-plane latency (e.g., 0.5 ms or less for each of downlink (DL) and uplink (UL), or a round trip of 11 ms or less) for implementing URLLC. The antenna module1197may transmit or receive a signal or power to or from the outside (e.g., the external electronic device) of the electronic device1101. According to an embodiment, the antenna module1197may include an antenna including a radiating element composed of a conductive material or a conductive pattern formed in or on a substrate (e.g., a printed circuit board (PCB)). According to an embodiment, the antenna module1197may include a plurality of antennas (e.g., array antennas). In such a case, at least one antenna appropriate for a communication scheme used in the communication network, such as the first network1198or the second network1199, may be selected, for example, by the communication module1190(e.g., the wireless communication module1192) from the plurality of antennas. The signal or the power may then be transmitted or received between the communication module1190and the external electronic device via the selected at least one antenna. According to an embodiment, another component (e.g., a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)) other than the radiating element may be additionally formed as part of the antenna module1197. According to various embodiments, the antenna module1197may form a mmWave antenna module. According to an embodiment, the mmWave antenna module may include a printed circuit board, an RFIC disposed on a first surface (e.g., the bottom surface) of the printed circuit board, or adjacent to the first surface and capable of supporting a designated high-frequency band (e.g., the mmWave band), and a plurality of antennas (e.g., array antennas) disposed on a second surface (e.g., the top or a side surface) of the printed circuit board, or adjacent to the second surface and capable of transmitting or receiving signals of the designated high-frequency band. At least some of the above-described components may be coupled mutually and communicate signals (e.g., commands or data) therebetween via an inter-peripheral communication scheme (e.g., a bus, general purpose input and output (GPIO), serial peripheral interface (SPI), or mobile industry processor interface (MIPI)). According to an embodiment, commands or data may be transmitted or received between the electronic device1101and the external electronic device1104via the server1108coupled with the second network1199. Each of the electronic devices1102or1104may be a device of a same type as, or a different type, from the electronic device1101. According to an embodiment, all or some of operations to be executed at the electronic device1101may be executed at one or more of the external electronic devices1102,1104, or1108. For example, if the electronic device1101should perform a function or a service automatically, or in response to a request from a user or another device, the electronic device1101, instead of, or in addition to, executing the function or the service, may request the one or more external electronic devices to perform at least part of the function or the service. The one or more external electronic devices receiving the request may perform the at least part of the function or the service requested, or an additional function or an additional service related to the request, and transfer an outcome of the performing to the electronic device1101. The electronic device1101may provide the outcome, with or without further processing of the outcome, as at least part of a reply to the request. To that end, a cloud computing, distributed computing, mobile edge computing (MEC), or client-server computing technology may be used, for example. The electronic device1101may provide ultra low-latency services using, e.g., distributed computing or mobile edge computing. In another embodiment, the external electronic device1104may include an internet-of-things (IoT) device. The server1108may be an intelligent server using machine learning and/or a neural network. According to an embodiment, the external electronic device1104or the server1108may be included in the second network1199. The electronic device1101may be applied to intelligent services (e.g., smart home, smart city, smart car, or healthcare) based on 5G communication technology or IoT-related technology. The electronic device according to various embodiments may be one of various types of electronic devices. The electronic devices may include, for example, a portable communication device (e.g., a smartphone), a computer device, a portable multimedia device, a portable medical device, a camera, a wearable device, or a home appliance. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the electronic devices are not limited to those described above. It should be appreciated that various embodiments of the disclosure and the terms used therein are not intended to limit the technological features set forth herein to particular embodiments and include various changes, equivalents, or replacements for a corresponding embodiment. With regard to the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used to refer to similar or related elements. It is to be understood that a singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more of the things, unless the relevant context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, each of such phrases as “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” “at least one of A or B,” “A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and “at least one of A, B, or C,” may include any one of, or all possible combinations of the items enumerated together in a corresponding one of the phrases. As used herein, such terms as “1st” and “2nd,” or “first” and “second” may be used to simply distinguish a corresponding component from another, and does not limit the components in other aspect (e.g., importance or order). It is to be understood that if an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to, with or without the term “operatively” or “communicatively,” as “coupled with,” “coupled to,” “connected with,” or “connected to” another element (e.g., a second element), it means that the element may be coupled with the other element directly (e.g., wiredly), wirelessly, or via a third element. As used in connection with various embodiments of the disclosure, the term “module” may include a unit implemented in hardware, software, or firmware, and may interchangeably be used with other terms, for example, “logic,” “logic block,” “part,” or “circuitry.” A module may be a single integral component, or a minimum unit or part thereof, adapted to perform one or more functions. For example, according to an embodiment, the module may be implemented in a form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Various embodiments as set forth herein may be implemented as software (e.g., the program1140) including one or more instructions that are stored in a storage medium (e.g., internal memory1136or external memory1138) that is readable by a machine (e.g., the electronic device1101). For example, a processor (e.g., the processor1120) of the machine (e.g., the electronic device1101) may invoke at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it, with or without using one or more other components under the control of the processor. This allows the machine to be operated to perform at least one function according to the at least one instruction invoked. The one or more instructions may include a code generated by a complier or a code executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Wherein, the term “non-transitory” simply means that the storage medium is a tangible device, and does not include a signal (e.g., an electromagnetic wave), but this term does not differentiate between where data is semi-permanently stored in the storage medium and where the data is temporarily stored in the storage medium. According to an embodiment, a method according to various embodiments of the disclosure may be included and provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a product between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or be distributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) online via an application store (e.g., PlayStore™), or between two user devices (e.g., smart phones) directly. If distributed online, at least part of the computer program product may be temporarily generated or at least temporarily stored in the machine-readable storage medium, such as memory of the manufacturer's server, a server of the application store, or a relay server. According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., a module or a program) of the above-described components may include a single entity or multiple entities, and some of the multiple entities may be separately disposed in different components. According to various embodiments, one or more of the above-described components may be omitted, or one or more other components may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality of components (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a single component. In such a case, according to various embodiments, the integrated component may still perform one or more functions of each of the plurality of components in the same or similar manner as they are performed by a corresponding one of the plurality of components before the integration. According to various embodiments, operations performed by the module, the program, or another component may be carried out sequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or heuristically, or one or more of the operations may be executed in a different order or omitted, or one or more other operations may be added. While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. | 83,252 |
11943863 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following detailed description of the invention of exemplary embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings (where like numbers represent like elements), which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific exemplary embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, but other embodiments may be utilized and logical, mechanical, electrical, and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims. In the following description, specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it is understood that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and techniques known to one of ordinary skill in the art have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the invention. Referring to the figures, it is possible to see the various major elements constituting the apparatus of the present invention. Referring toFIG.1, shown is an expanded (or exploded) view of an overall assembly10of a controller device12(e.g. electronic module) electrically connected to conductive pathways80(seeFIG.16) of a textile substrate34(e.g. in the form of a patch, band, shirt, pants, socks, undergarment, blanket, hat, glove, shoe, etc.) by way of a module dock station14. As such, the module dock station14(seeFIG.5) can comprise a dock housing50having a body14awith an aperture52for providing access between an electrical dock connector54(seeFIG.4) coupled to the conductive pathways80and an electrical controller connector26(seeFIG.1) that is connected to electronics22of the controller device12, as further described below. The module dock station14can also have one or more clips55(as an example of a releasably securable mechanism for mechanically coupling with the housing18,24of the controller device12). It is clear that the mating electrical connection between the electrical dock connector54and the electrical controller connector26is also releasably securable, thus facilitating repeated installation and removal of the controller device12with respect to the module dock station14, both mechanically as well as electrically. Periodic removal of the controller device12could be advantageous for recharging of a power source70(seeFIG.1) of the controller device12, replacement/substitution of the controller device12(including the electronics22), and/or temporary removal of the controller device12for washing/cleaning purposes of the textile substrate34(e.g. when washing a garment which integrally incorporates the textile substrate34as part of the overall garment construction). Referring again toFIG.1, the controller device12has a housing18,24(e.g. a top enclosure and a bottom enclosure) providing a moisture resistant housing for the enclosed electronics22. For example, referring toFIG.6, the electronics22can include a power source70(e.g. rechargeable battery) powering a memory72and a computer processor74, such that the computer processor executes instructions store on the memory (e.g. ROM, RAM, etc.). The electrical connections between the electronics22can be by way of conductive pathways76(shown in concept) on a printed circuit board (PCB) or other electronics substrate78. The conductive pathways76can be electrically connected to the electrical controller connector26(e.g. a socket connector—e.g. an 8 socket connector), such that the electrical controller connector26can be considered as integral within the housing18,24(seeFIG.7). As such, the electrical controller connector26can be considered as part of the controller device12. The bottom enclosure24of the housing can include apertures79afor receiving corresponding pins79bmounted on a body54aof the electrical dock connector54(e.g. an 8 pin connector). It is also envisioned that the electrical dock connector54can be a socket connector and the electrical controller connector26can be a pin connector26configured for mating with the socket connector54. It is also recognized that the electrical connectors26,54can have mating electrical connections other than of the pin/socket type (e.g. magnetic), as desired, in so much that the electrical connectors26,54are of the releasably securable type. As shown inFIG.8, the electrical controller connector26can be sealed via a seal82(e.g. adhesive) with respect to an interior surface84(of the housing18,24when assembled). The seal82can be used to inhibit moisture or other foreign matter from entering into the interior86(seeFIG.7) via the apertures79a(seeFIG.7). Referring again toFIG.1, the overall assembly10also includes a first substrate28and a second substrate30for mounting on either side of the textile substrate34. For example, the first substrate28can be a PCB. As shown inFIG.2, the first substrate28has the electrical dock connector54mounted thereon, with conductive pathways43connecting each of the one or more electrical connectors79b(e.g. pins, sockets, etc.) of the electrical dock connector54with corresponding one or more electrical connection locations42mounted on the first substrate28. It is recognized that the one or more electrical connection locations42can be distributed about a surface28aof the first substrate28, such that each of the locations of the one or more electrical connection locations42correspond (e.g. in relative distance from one another) with the conductive pathways80(seeFIG.16) laid out on/in the textile substrate34. The first substrate28can also have one or more electrical components25mounted thereon and thus electrically connected to the electronics22via the mated connectors26,54(pins/sockets) via corresponding conductive pathway(s)43. As shown, the first substrate28can have a plurality of apertures28bcorresponding in spatial distribution with the spatial distribution of holes34bof the textile substrate34(seeFIG.4). The apertures28bare also matching in spatial distribution with a series of apertures30bof a surface30aof the second substrate30(e.g. a PCB). In assembly of the overall assembly10, the first substrate28can be mounted on a corresponding surface34aof the textile substrate34by an adhesive layer A. In assembly of the overall assembly10, the second substrate30can be mounted on a corresponding opposing surface34aof the textile substrate34by a similar adhesive layer A. Referring toFIG.3, the second substrate30is mounted on an opposite surface34aof the textile substrate34to that used to mount the first substrate28, such that the textile substrate34is securely fastened between the substrates28,30, as further described below. The second substrate30also has connection locations42acorresponding to the electrical connection locations42, such that corresponding mechanical fasteners29(e.g. rivets—seeFIG.2) can be used to mechanically fasten the first substrate28to the second substrate30, thus fixedly sandwiching/mounting the textile substrate34there-between). Referring again toFIG.4, an optional pocket35of the textile substrate34can be used to house the first substrate28, as desired. As can be seen inFIG.5, the optional pocket35can also be used to house the module dock station14, when fastened to the first substrate28(further described below). Referring again toFIG.1, the second substrate30can be covered by an optional backing32(e.g. fabric, plastic, padding, laminate, etc.) material, so as to provide for comfort of the wearer of the textile substrate34(e.g. as incorporated into a garment), when the backing32material is in contact with a skin of the wearer. The overall assembly10can also include a light pipe16(for indicating functional status of the electronics22via one or more visual indicators (e.g. LEDs) as well as a positioned magnet20in the interior86of the housing18,24. In summary, the housing18,24of the controller device12, once assembled, can be releasably secured, both mechanically and electrically, with the module dock station14. The module dock station14is fixedly attached to the first substrate28, which is in term fixedly attached to the textile substrate34via the mechanical (e.g. fasteners)/chemical (e.g. adhesive) connection between the first substrate28and the second substrate30when positioned on opposed sides34aof the textile substrate34. Referring again toFIGS.2,3,4, the apertures28b,30band holes34bcan be used to fasten the module docking station14with the substrate(s)28,30to one another, thus fixedly securing the module docking station14to the textile substrate34. For example, one fastening method of the module docking station14with the substrate(s)28,30can be using a staking method (seeFIGS.5,9,15), whereby staking is the process of connecting the two components (the module docking station14with the substrate(s)28,30) by creating an interference fit of a fastener90between the two pieces (the module docking station14with the substrate(s)28,30). One workpiece28,30has a hole28b,30bin it while the other (the module docking station14) has a boss90that fits within the hole28b,30b. It is recognized that one of the workpieces28,30can have the respective hole(s)28b,30bwhile the other of the pieces (the module docking station14) can have the fastener(s)90mounted on the corresponding surface28a,30a. The fastener90(e.g. boss) can be very slightly undersized so that it forms a slip fit with the hole28b,30b. A staking punch can then be used to expand the boss90radially and to compress the boss90axially so as to form an interference fit between the workpieces (the module docking station14with the substrate(s)28,30). This interference fit forms a permanent join(s)/connection(s) between the two pieces, such that the interposed textile substrate34is fixedly secured between the two substrates28,30which in turn is fastened to the module docking station14via the staking. The staking process can also be referred to as thermoplastic staking, also known as heat staking, which is the same process except that it uses heat to deform the plastic boss90, instead of cold forming. A plastic stud90protruding from one component fits into a hole in the second component. The stud90is then deformed through the softening of the plastic to form a head which mechanically locks the two components (the module docking station14with the substrate(s)28,30) together. Unlike welding techniques, staking has the capacity to join plastics to other materials (e.g. metal, PCB's) in addition to joining like or dissimilar plastics, and it has the advantage over other mechanical joining methods in reducing the need for consumables such as rivets and screws. Referring toFIGS.10and11, shown is an example backing32in order to cover the second substrate30after being fastened to the first substrate28. Referring toFIGS.12,13,14, shown is the housing18,24in an unassembled and assembled form, such that the interior86with mounted light pipe16and magnet20are shown by example. Referring toFIG.16, shown is a cross sectional view of the overall assembly10, including an optional piezo sensor mounted between the first substrate28and the body14aof the module dock station14. Referring toFIG.16, shown is an example textile substrate34with the conductive pathways80, as an illustration only, with the locations of the electrical connector locations42(and/or fasteners29) ofFIG.2in ghosted view. It is recognized that an electrical connection between the electrical connector locations42and the conductive pathways80is fixed when the electrical connector locations42(of the first substrate28) come into contact with the conductive pathways80, which is maintained due to 1) the fixed connection (e.g. via fasteners90) between the substrates28,30thus sandwiching the textile substrate34there between and biasing the electrical connectors locations42and the conductive pathways80into physical contact with one another; and/or 2) the connection via the fasteners29(e.g. conductive fasteners such as metal rivets, pins, etc.) between the substrates28,30as the fasteners29are in physical contact with the electrical pathways80as well as the electrical connector locations42. The substrates28,30can be made of flexible or rigid material, as desired, so long as the material retains the interconnection between the locations42by the fasteners29. For example, electrical current to the electronics22follows the electrically conductive path of: a) from the conductive pathways76to b) the electrical controller connector26to c) the electrical dock connector54to d) the conductive pathways43connecting each of the one or more electrical connectors79b(e.g. pins, sockets, etc.) of the electrical dock connector54to e) corresponding one or more electrical connection locations42to finally f) (e.g. via the fasteners29) positioned adjacent to and electrically bonded to the conductive pathways80of the textile substrate34. Similarly, electrical current from the conductive pathways80of the textile substrate34follows the electrically conductive path of: a) (e.g. via the fasteners29) positioned adjacent to and electrically bonded to the conductive pathways80of the textile substrate34to b) corresponding one or more electrical connection locations42to c) the conductive pathways43connecting each of the one or more electrical connectors79b(e.g. pins, sockets, etc.) of the electrical dock connector54to d) the electrical dock connector54to e) the electrical controller connector26to f) the conductive pathways76connected to the electronics22. In fabrication of the overall assembly10, the following example manufacturing processes can be performed.FIG.17shows an example process102for manufacture of the textile substrate34including the conductive pathways80(e.g. circuits containing conductive wires/fibres with attached sensors/actuators applied on or otherwise interlaced, knit/woven, with the fibres of the textile substrate34).FIG.18shows an example method steps104to manufacture the sandwich of the two substrates28,30with the textile substrate34. Referring toFIG.19, shown is a method106to fasten (e.g. mechanical) the module docking station14to the first substrate28underlying and adjacent to the module docking station14. Further, the backing32is fastened (e.g. adhesive) to the second substrate30underlying and adjacent to the backing32.FIG.20is an example manufacture108of the electrical controller connector26onto the housing18,24of the controller device12.FIG.21is a method of manufacture110for the main controller device12, including mounting of the components16,20,22within the interior86of the housing18,24and sealing the housing18,24. As shown above by example, the overall assembly10included the controller device12, the module dock station14fixedly connected to the substrate(s)28,30, and the substrates28,30fixedly connected to the textile substrate34(having the plurality of conductive pathways80). As such, the controller device12, once assembled, is both mechanically and electrically releasably securable to the module dock station14, in order to effect electrical communication between the electronics22of the controller device12and the conductive pathways80of the textile substrate34. Accordingly, described by example only is: (a) light pipe16, (b) top enclosure18, (b) magnet20, (c) main electronics22which can contain (d) the main PCB28, (e) battery70and (f) other electronic components72,74,76, (g) bottom enclosure24, which holds (h) the connector PCB26, (i) module dock14, (j) top textile PCB28which are located above the (j) textile band34and under the (k) textile pocket35and the (l) bottom textile PCB30and (m) fabric and laminate padding32, which are located below the textile band34. Further, the embodiments comprise apparatus and methods to make a reliable interconnection between electronic devices12and smart textiles34. The embodiments facilitate the electronic device12to maintain a robust electrical connection to electrically conductive circuits80on the smart textile34while also being securely mechanically fastened to the smart textile34, thus acquiring the ability to withstand mechanical shock, torsion, stretch and other stresses to which the smart textile34or electronic devices12may be subject to. In some embodiments the textile band34or textile substrate34may contain no electrical or electronic components. In some embodiments, the textile substrate34may contain only electrically conductive circuits80, such as electrically conductive yarn, fiber or printed electronic circuits. In other embodiments, the textile substrate34may contain fully functional and active electronic components, sensors, circuits and the like. For the purposes of a wearable smart textile34worn on the body, the direction of below the textile band34would be interpreted as being closer to the body and above the textile band34would be farther away from the body. The textile pocket35is preferably a structure which is raised above the textile band34and fabricated by knitting into the textile band34knit structure. In some embodiments, the textile substrate34(also called the textile band34) has successfully incorporated health monitoring sensors in the form of ECG sensor pads, respiratory monitoring sensors and bio-impedance monitoring sensors. These sensors are electrically connected to conductive circuits80within the textile band34, which are then connected using rivets29, eyelet or grommets42leading to the hard electronics22(e.g. mounted on the PCB78). In other embodiments, the main electronics PCB78has also successfully incorporated motion sensors and temperature sensors onto the module PCB78, as part of the electronics22. FIG.17illustrates embodiment comprising textile form factors to which the textile substrate34has been successfully applied, including: underwear, bra and shirts. It can be appreciated that the embodiments are applicable to any form of textile substrate34or flexible substrate34exhibiting similar properties to a textile or fabric. FIG.18illustrates the steps relating to assembling the top textile PCB28onto the textile band34with this embodiment comprising steps, including: (1) Placing an adhesive material A on the bottom side of the top textile PCB28, (2) Inserting the top textile PCB28inside the textile pocket35by aligning the holes42on the top textile PCB28to the matching pre-punched rivet holes34bonto the textile band34, (3) Placing double-sided adhesive A on the bottom textile PCB30and placing it on the opposite side34aof the textile band34to the top textile PCB28, also aligning to the pre-punched rivet holes34bin the textile band34, and (4) Pressing the rivets29at the same time as applying even pressure to the PCBs28,30. Steps 1-4, above, create a robust and secure mechanical and electrical connection between the top textile PCB28, the bottom textile PCB30and the textile band34. In regions where an electrical connection is required, the pre-punched rivet holes34bin the textile band34can be located such that an electrical conductive circuit80in the textile band34is physically in contact with the metal rivet29an/or the conductive locations42(e.g. part of the conductive pathways43positioned on the underside of the first substrate28(and thus able to be placed into direct contact with the surface34aof the textile substrate34). It should be noted that rivet29can also mean eyelet, grommet or similar type of metal fastening method. The textile band pocket35, which is fabricated in such a manner as to be raised above the surface34aof the textile band34facilitating just enough room for the module dock housing50to fit snugly within the pocket35, while also facilitating it to be removed when necessary. FIG.19illustrates the steps106relating to assembling the module dock14and dock backing32into the textile band34, with this embodiment comprising steps, including: (1) Applying epoxy to the dock14and placing it inside the pocket35by aligning the heat stacking poles90to the holes28b,30bon the textile PCBs28,30, (2) Heat staking the dock14onto the textile PCB28,30,34assembly, (3) Applying epoxy to the dock backing32and placing it on the back of the bottom textile PCB30, and, (4) Covering the dock backing32with a fabric, preferably laminated. FIG.20illustrates the steps108relating to assembling the connector PCB26into the bottom module enclosure24with this embodiment comprising the steps of: (1) placing and press-fitting the connector PCB target discs26into the bottom module holes79a, (3) heat staking the connector PCB26onto the dock body14a, (4) applying adhesive sealant around the connector PCB26to prevent water ingression between the body14aand the connector26. FIG.21illustrates the steps110relating to assembling the light pipe16and magnet20and corresponding electronics22into the module top enclosure18and assembling the top18and bottom24module enclosures together with this embodiment comprising the steps of: (1) Press fitting and/or gluing the light pipe16into Module Top18, (2) Press fitting and/or gluing the magnet20into Module Top18as well as connecting the electronics22(e.g. via the PCB78together with the connector26) in order to electrically connect the conductive pathways76of the electronics22with the connectors of the connector26), (3) Assembling the Top18and Bottom24of the Module12together, and (4) Ultrasonically welding to seal the edges of the top18and bottom24module. Other options for manufacture can include generally processes such as but not limited to:1) the process of assembly comprises the steps of: assembling the top textile PCB onto the textile band; placing an adhesive material on the bottom size of the top textile PCB; inserting the top textile PCB inside the textile pocket by aligning the holes on the top textile PCB to the matching pre-punched rivet holes onto the textile band; placing double-sided adhesive on the bottom textile PCB and placing it on the opposite side of the textile band to the top textile PCB, also aligning to the pre-punched rivet holes in the textile band; and pressing the rivets at the same time as applying even pressure to the PCBs;2) in regions where an electrical connection is needed, the pre-punched rivet holes in the textile band can be located such that an electrical conductive circuit in the textile band is physically in contact with the metal rivet;3) the textile band pocket can be fabricated in such a manner as to be raised above the surface of the textile band providing just enough room for the module dock housing to fit snugly within the pocket, while also allowing it to be removed when used;4) assembling the module dock and dock backing into the textile band; applying epoxy to the dock and placing it inside the pocket by aligning the heat stacking poles to the holes on the textile PCBs; heat staking the dock onto the textile PCB assembly; applying epoxy to the dock backing and placing it on the back of the bottom textile PCB; and covering the dock backing with a fabric, preferably laminated;5) assembling the connector PCB into the bottom module enclosure; placing and press-fitting the connector PCB target discs into the bottom module holes; heat staking the connector PCB onto the dock; and applying adhesive sealant around the connector PCB to prevent water ingression; and/or6) assembling the light pipe and magnet into the module top enclosure and assembling the top and bottom module enclosures together; press fitting and/or gluing the light pipe into Module Top; press fitting and/or gluing the magnet into Module Top; assembling the Top and Bottom of the Module together; and ultrasonically welding to seal the edges of the top and bottom module. Reference is made toFIG.22, which illustrates an electronic textile system including a textile substrate34, a docking assembly150and a controller device160, in accordance with an example embodiment of the present application. InFIG.22, the textile substrate34may be an undergarment, such as a boxer brief undergarment. It may be appreciated that other types or shapes of undergarments may be contemplated. Further, the textile substrate34may be other types of garments, such as shirts, pants, shorts, hats, socks, undergarments, shirts, pants, shoes, gloves, headbands, belts, brassieres, balaclavas, base layers, jackets, sweatshirts, or outerwear. Other examples of textile substrates34may be contemplated. In some embodiments, the docking assembly150may be the module docking station14(FIG.1) described herein and may include the associated electrical dock connector54(FIG.4), the first substrate28(FIG.1), or the second substrate30(FIG.1) described herein. In some embodiments, the docking assembly150may be provided by other example structures, as will be described herein. InFIG.22, the docking assembly150may be attached to the textile substrate34on the undergarment waistband. In other embodiments, the docking assembly150may be attached to the textile substrate at any other position of the textile substrate34. The docking assembly150may be attached to the textile substrate34for removably receiving the controller device160. The docking assembly150may include a first electrical interface for mating with a complementary second electrical interface of the controller device160. In some embodiments, the electronic textile system may include an input device170attached to the textile substrate34. The input device170may be one or more sensors, such as a temperature sensor, a moisture sensor, a respitatory monitoring sensor, a heart rate sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, an electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor, electromyography (EMG) sensor, an electrocardiography (ECG) sensor, a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor, a ballistocardiograph (BCG) sensor, a galvanic skin response (GSR) sensor, a bio-impedance sensor (or bio-electrical impedance sensor), or chemical sensors (e.g., chemical sensors for sweat, glucose, urine, or the like). Although one input device170is illustrated inFIG.22, the electronic textile system may include any number of input devices positioned at various positions about the textile substrate34. In some embodiments, the electronic textile system may include an output device172attached to the textile substrate. For instance, the output device172may be an actuator. In some embodiments, the output device172may be a heating element, a haptic feedback element, a stimulation element, a visual display element, drug or substance delivery element, or the like. Stimulation elements may include electrical stimulation devices, mechanical stimulation devices, aural stimulation devices, or other types of devices for providing output to the user. In some embodiments, the output device172may provide feedback to a user of the electronic textile system, in response to data from the input device170or signals provided by the controller device160. Although one output device172is illustrated inFIG.22, the electronic textile system may include any number of output devices positioned at any other position about the textile substrate34. The electronic textile system includes an electronic conductive pathway network integrated in the textile substrate34for electrically coupling the input device170, the output device172, and/or the docking assembly150. Accordingly, when the controller device160is received by the docking assembly150, the controller device160may be electrically coupled to the input device170or the output device180via one or more conductive pathways80. The one or more conductive pathways80may include conductive wires or fibers interlaced, knit, or woven with the textile substrate34. In some embodiments, when the controller device160is received by the docking assembly150, the controller device160may receive signals representing data generated by the input device170. Further, the controller device160may transmit signals representing instructions to activate the one or more output device172for providing feedback to a user of the textile substrate34(e.g., clothing). In some embodiments, the controller device160may include an electrical power source, such as a battery. In some embodiments, the battery may be a removable or replaceable battery. In some embodiments, the battery may be a rechargeable battery, such as a lithium-ion battery. When the controller device160is received by the docking assembly150, the controller device160may operate as a power source for supplying electrical power to the input device170or the output device172. In some embodiments, the electrical power may be in the form of electrical current. In some other embodiments, the electrical power may be delivered via a wireless power delivery system, such as an inductive charging system. In some embodiments described herein, the controller device160may be removably positioned within the docking assembly150such that the controller device160may be decoupled from the textile substrate34(e.g., clothing). This may be convenient, for example, when the electrical power source needs to be re-charged or replaced or when the textile substrate34may need to be washed. Referring again toFIG.1, the controller device12may be inserted into the module docking station14(FIG.1) by sliding the module docking station14into the body14a(FIG.5) of the dock housing. The body14amay provide structural support for retaining the controller device12within the module docking station14. InFIG.1, an electrical interface of the controller device12may be slid into contact with the electrical dock connector54(FIG.4) for establishing an electrical connection between the controller device12and the electronic conductive pathway network integrated in the textile substrate34. In some embodiments, the controller device12may include a magnet20for attracting a magnet within the module docking station14to align the electrical interface of the controller device12with the electrical dock connector54. The magnetic attraction forces may retain the controller device120within the module docking station14. In embodiments of the foregoing description with reference toFIG.1, a controller device may be slidably inserted within a docking assembly. The controller device may be mechanically retained within the docking assembly based on magnetic forces from magnet components for establishing an electrical connection between the controller device and an electronic conductive pathway network integrated in a textile substrate. In some other embodiments, other docking assemblies and controller assembly structures may be contemplated. Reference is made toFIG.23, which illustrates an exploded top perspective view of an electronic controller device210and a docking assembly230, in accordance with an example embodiment of the present application. The docking assembly230may be coupled to a textile substrate (not illustrated inFIG.23). In some embodiments, the docking assembly230may be affixed to the textile substrate using adhesive. Other methods of affixing the docking assembly230to the textile substrate may be contemplated. Textile substrates may include shirts, pants, socks, undergarments, blankets, hats, shoes, or other forms of clothing. A textile substrate may include a network of electrical conductive pathways for interconnecting sensors, actuators, or the like embedded with or integrated into the textile substrate. For example, the network of electrical conductive pathways may include one or more conductive wires or fibers that can be interlaced, knit/woven, or integrated into the fibers of the textile substrate. Accordingly, the docking assembly230may be coupled to one or more of the conductive wires or fibers in the textile substrate and may be configured to interconnect the electronic controller device210with the network of electrical conductive pathways. For example, the docking assembly230may be coupled to one or more of the conductive wires or fibers in the textile substrate via a structure that may be similar to the embodiments described herein with reference toFIG.16. In some embodiments, the electronic controller device210may include a controller device cover212, an electronic circuit board214, a power source216(e.g., rechargeable battery, or the like), and an external interface220(e.g., USB-C interface, or the like). The circuit board214may include one or more processors and memory storing processor readable instructions that, when executed, conduct operations of the electronic textile system. In some embodiments, the processor readable instructions, when executed, may conduct operations for retrieving sensory data from one or more input devices (e.g., sensors) included in the electronic textile system or for transmitting instruction signals to one or more output devices (e.g., actuators) included in the electronic textile system. To illustrate, an input device may include a temperature sensor for identifying ambient environment temperature and, in response to identifying that the ambient temperature is less than a threshold value, the processor executable instructions may conduct operations to activate one or more heating elements affixed to the textile substrate. Other embodiments of electronic controller device operations may be contemplated. In some embodiments, the electronic controller device210may include a controller magnet218. The controller magnet218may be a bar magnet having two polarities: north and south. Other types of magnet arrangements having two polarities may be contemplated. For example, the controller magnet218may be a cylindrical magnet. In some embodiments, the controller magnet218may be a diametrically magnetized cylindrical magnet. As will be described, the controller magnet218may be positioned within the electronic controller device210to align with a corresponding magnet in the docking assembly230when a portion of the electronic controller device210is received within the docking assembly230. In some embodiments, the electronic controller device210may include a pair of controller magnets218, where the respective controller magnets218may be laterally spaced magnets within the electronic controller device210. In some embodiments, the electronic controller device230may latch and unlatch from the docking assembly230in a direction substantially perpendicular to an interface plane of the docking assembly230. For instance, the electronic controller device230may be positioned atop the docking assembly230for latch or unlatch operations. As described, the docking assembly230may be coupled to a textile substrate having a network of electrical conductive pathways. The docking assembly230may include a docking cover232, an engagement device250, and a docking base270. The docking base270may include a cam assembly272. In some embodiments, the cam assembly272may include a pair of cam components, as illustrated inFIG.23. In the present example, the cam assembly272includes two cam components respectively positioned near laterally spaced portions of the docking base270. As described herein, when the latch frame262is urged against portions of the cam assembly272, the cam assembly272may configure the pair of latch arms262to spread in opposing directions (e.g., open up). The docking base270includes a first electrical interface274for interfacing with a second electrical interface (not illustrated inFIG.22) of the electronic controller device230. In some embodiments, the first electrical interface274may include a pattern of electrical contact pads on a printed circuit board and the second electrical interface may include a pogo type connector having a 10-pin configuration layout corresponding to the pattern of electrical pads of the first electrical interface274. Accordingly, the first electrical interface may include at least one electrical contact for interfacing with one or more pogo pins of a pogo type connector of the controller device210. In some embodiments, the first electrical interface274may be provided by a base substrate290positioned adjacent a textile substrate facing portion of the docking base270. In some embodiments, the base substrate290may include a first substrate and a second substrate, similar to the first substrate28and the second substrate30ofFIG.1, for coupling the docking assembly230to the textile substrate. When the first electrical interface274is coupled to the second electrical interface, the electronic controller device210may be coupled to the network of electrical conductive pathways within the textile substrate. Other types of electrical interfaces of mating first electrical interface274and second electrical interface may be contemplated. The docking assembly230includes an engagement device250. The engagement device250may be adjustably positioned within the docking base270. For example, the engagement device250may be slidable from an engage or receive position (e.g., first position) to a disengage position (e.g., second position), and vice versa. That is, movement of the engagement device250relative to the docking base may include slidable movement. In some embodiments, the engagement device250may be biased to be normally positioned in the receive position. For example, the engagement device250may be biased to the receive position by a spring device installed within the docking assembly. In some other embodiments, the engagement device250may be biased based on the structural interface between the cam assembly272and the one or more latch arms262. The engagement device250may include an engagement through-hole252or engagement aperture. In the present example, the engagement through-hole may allow pass-through of the second electrical interface of the electronic controller device230such that the second electrical interface can mate with the first electrical interface274, thereby interconnecting the electronic controller device230with the network of electrical conductive pathways in the textile substrate. The engagement device250includes a deformable latch plate. The deformable latch plate260may include a latch frame264and one or more latch arms262attached to the latch frame264. In the illustrated example, the deformable latch plate includes two latch arms262, where each respective latch arm may be positioned on an opposing lateral side of the engagement through-hole252. The deformable latch plate260may be horseshoe-shaped and in communication with the cam assembly272. As will be described, the deformable latch plate may be configured to mechanically engage a plug protrusion (not illustrated inFIG.23) of the electronic controller device210. In some embodiments, the latch frame264or the one or more latch arms262may be constructed of metal. In some embodiments, the engagement device250may be slidable relative to the docking base270and within structure of the docking base270. For example, the engagement device250may be biased in an engage position such that the deformable latch plate260may engage opposing portions of the plug protrusion of the electronic controller device210when the electronic controller device210mates with the docking assembly230. When it is desirable to undock the electronic controller device210from the docking assembly230, the engagement device250may be transitioned to a disengage position such that the latch frame264may be urged against the cam assembly to disengage the plug protrusion of the electronic controller device210. The engagement device250may include a button-like interface and, upon movement of the engagement device away from the engage position, the latch frame264may be urged against portions of the cam assembly and configure the pair of latch arms262to spread in opposing directions to disengage the plug protrusion of the electronic controller device210. The engagement device250may include one or more dual purpose magnets254. In the present example, the engagement device250may include a pair of magnets. In some embodiments, each of the magnets may be a cylindrical magnet. The base of the cylindrical magnet may be magnetized as a north pole, as shown inFIG.23. Each respective magnet may be positioned on an opposing side of the engagement through-hole252. As the engagement device250slides away from the engage position to the disengage position, or vice versa, the respective dual purpose magnets254may transition from being aligned with one of the two polarities of the controller magnet218to the other of the two polarities of the controller magnet218. To illustrate, the portion of the one or more dual purpose magnets254interfacing with the controller device210may have a north magnetic pole. When the engagement device250is in the engage position, the respective dual purpose magnets254may be aligned with the portion of the controller magnet218having a south magnetic pole. The alignment of opposite pole magnets may result in an attraction force contributing to retention of the electronic controller device210to the docking assembly230. When the engagement device250is in the disengage position, the respective dual purpose magnets254(e.g., having a north magnetic pole) may be aligned with the portion of the controller magnet218having a north magnetic pole. The alignment of oppositely polarized magnets may result in a repulsion force contributing to de-coupling of the electronic device210from the docking assembly230. In the present example, alignment of the respective dual purpose magnets254with the portion of the controller magnet218having the same polarity may coincide with the deformable latch plate being urged against the cam assembly to disengage the plug protrusion of the electronic controller device210. Accordingly, when the engagement device250is in the disengage position, the electronic controller device210may be removed from the docking assembly230. In some embodiments described herein, magnets may be made from rare earth materials, such as Neodynium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB), Samarium-cobalt, as are generally available. Such magnets may also be made from iron, nickel, or other suitable alloys. In some embodiments, the engagement device250may be biased to be normally positioned in the engage position. When a user of the electronic textile system desires to remove the controller device210from the docking assembly230, the user may push or slide the engagement device250away from the engage position. Accordingly, the one or more dual purpose magnets254may be aligned with a portion of the one or more controller magnets218having the same magnetic polarity, thereby providing a repulsion force as between the controller device210and the docking assembly230. Substantially simultaneously, when the user pushes or slides the engagement device250away from the engage position, the deformable latch plate in communication with the cam assembly272may urge the pair of latch arms262to spread in opposing directions, thereby mechanically releasing the controller device210from the docking assembly230. The docking cover232may be configured to mate with the docking base270such that the engagement device250is received between the docking cover232and the docking base270. The docking cover232may include a cover through-hole234that substantially aligns with the engagement through-hole252of the engagement device250. In some embodiments, the cover through-hole234may be circular and may have a diameter larger than the engagement through-hole252. In some embodiments, the docking cover232may include a cover protrusion236. The cover protrusion236may be positioned to align with a corresponding indentation of the electronic controller device210when the electronic controller device210is docked to the docking assembly230. That is, the cover protrusion236may be positioned to assist with aligning a position of the electronic controller device210relative to the docking assembly230when the electronic controller device210is docked to the docking assembly230. In the example embodiments described with reference toFIG.23, when the electronic controller device210is docked and aligned to the docking assembly230, the first electrical interface274(e.g., of docking assembly230) may mate with the second electrical interface (not illustrated inFIG.23) to provide an expected or desired electrical connection between the electronic controller device210and a textile substrate. Being able to align the electronic controller device210to the docking assembly230in an expected way may be desirable in embodiments where the first electrical interface274may include a combination of discrete electrical contact pads, where each of the electrical contact pads may have a discrete function. In example embodiments where the first electrical interface274includes dense or small electrical contact pads, a specific alignment with the second electrical interface (e.g., contact pins of a pogo pin connector) on the electronic controller device210may be required. In scenarios where the electronic controller device210is misaligned with the docking assembly230, the electrical contact pads of the first electrical interface274may not mate with corresponding contact pins of the second electrical interface. In such a scenario, an expected electrical connection between the electronic controller device210and the docking assembly230may not be made. Reference is made toFIG.24, which illustrates an exploded bottom perspective view of the electronic controller device210and the docking assembly230ofFIG.23. The electronic controller device210may include a plug protrusion280extending from the electronic controller device210. For example, the plug protrusion280may include a cylindrical structure having a frusto-conical profile. Further, the plug protrusion280may include an undercut portion282having a cross-sectional diameter less than a cross-sectional diameter of an interfacing portion of the plug protrusion280. The interfacing portion of the plug protrusion280may include the second electrical interface284. In some embodiments, the second electrical interface284may include a spring-loaded or tension-biased connector. The spring-loaded or tension-biased connector may be a connector including interface elements that may be biased or compressed in vertical and/or horizontal directions relative to a surface of the second electrical interface284. In some examples, the spring-loaded or tension-biased connector may be a pogo-pin type connector for interfacing with electrical contact pads of the first electrical interface274(FIG.23). The second electrical interface284ofFIG.24includes a 10-pin pogo-pin type connector. In some examples, the spring-loaded or tension-biased connector may include a spring leaf, stamped metal (or other type of material) spring finger, or butterfly structure. The spring-loaded or tension-biased connector may have at least a portion having a spring constant and may be biased in a direction towards a corresponding contact pad of the first electrical interface274. The spring-loaded or tension-biased connector may be based on how a metal portion is stamped or manufactured and may have a spring constant property. Other types of connectors for the second electrical interface284may be contemplated. As described, when the controller device210may be received by the docking assembly230, the one or more latch arms262may mechanically engage the plug protrusion280about the undercut portion282. As described, the undercut portion282may be configured to have a cross-sectional diameter less than a cross-sectional diameter of an interfacing portion of the plug protrusion280. When the engagement device250is in the engage position, the one or more latch arms262may be nestled around the undercut portion282of the plug protrusion280and may mechanically engage the plug protrusion of the controller device210to align the first electrical interface274with the second electrical interface284. In the exploded bottom perspective view of the engagement device250, the portion of the dual purpose magnet254facing the docking base270may have a south magnetic polarity. In some examples, one or a combination of the controller magnets218or the dual purpose magnets254may be arranged in combination with a Hall effect sensor for sensing when the controller device210and the docking assembly230may be in relatively close proximity for indicating that the first electrical interface274may be in contact with the second electrical interface284. When the first electrical interface274may be in contact with the second electrical interface284, the controller device210may establish an electrical connection with the docking assembly230. It may be appreciated that while the controller magnets218may be illustrated as bar magnets and that the dual purpose magnets254may be illustrated as cylindrical magnets, the above-described magnets may be any other shape or type and may be magnetized in any other way (e.g., radially, diametrically, etc.). Further, in some examples, when the controller magnets218or the dual purpose magnets254are provided as magnet pairs or a combination of several magnets, magnets having a smaller size and generating smaller magnetic fields may be used as a combination to achieve a similar magnetic force of attraction as a single large magnet. Reference is made toFIG.25, which illustrates a top cutaway view of the docking assembly230ofFIG.23. InFIG.25, the engagement device250may be biased in an engage or receive position. When the engagement device is in the engage position, the pair of latch arms262may be on opposing sides of the engagement through-hole252. When the controller device210is received by the docking assembly230, the pair of latch arms262may be positioned to surround the undercut portion282of the plug protrusion280of the controller device210. Thus, the first electrical interface274including electrical contact pads may align with the second electrical interface284(FIG.24) such that the controller device210may establish an electrical connection with an electrical conductive pathway network integrated in the textile substrate. Reference is made toFIG.26, which illustrates a partial bottom perspective view of the electronic controller device210engaged with the docking assembly230ofFIG.23. For ease of exposition, portions of the docking assembly230are not illustrated so as to highlight features of the engagement device250for mechanically engaging the plug protrusion280of the electronic controller device210. When the engagement device250is in the engage or receive position, the latch frame264may position the pair of latch arms262to engage opposing portions of the plug protrusion280. In particular, the latch frame264may position the pair of latch arms262to engage opposing portions of the undercut portion282for mechanically engaging the controller device210to the docking assembly230to align the first electrical interface (not illustrated inFIG.26) with the second electrical interface284. As the undercut portion282may have a cross-sectional diameter less than a cross-sectional diameter of an interfacing portion of the plug protrusion280nearer to the second electrical interface284, the pair of latch arms262may be nestled within the undercut portion282to mechanically grasp the electronic controller device210. Reference is made toFIG.27, which illustrates a top cutaway view of the docking assembly230ofFIG.23. InFIG.27, the engagement device250may be in a disengage position. For instance, the user of the electronic textile system may desire to remove the electronic controller device210from the docking assembly230and may move the engagement device250away from the engage or receive position. To illustrate, when the engagement device250is in the receive position, the pair of cam arms may be on opposing sides of the engagement through-hole252. For ease of exposition, when the engagement device250is in the receive position, a cam arm is identified with reference numeral262B. Upon moving the engagement device250away from the receive position (e.g., to a disengage position), the engagement device250may urge the deformable latch plate (including the latch frame264and the pair of latch arms) against cam components of the cam assembly272. When components of the deformable latch plate are urged against cam components of the cam assembly272, the pair of latch arms may spread in opposing directions away from the engagement through-hole252, thereby disengaging the pair of latch arms from the undercut portion282of the plug protrusion. For ease of exposition, inFIG.27, when the engagement device250is moved away from the engage position, a cam arm is identified by reference numeral262C, illustrating the relative position of the spread cam arm to the engagement through-hole252. When the pair of cam arms are spread in opposing directions, the docking assembly230releases mechanical engagement of the plug protrusion of the controller device210. That is, the controller device210may be separated from the docking assembly230. Reference is made toFIG.28, which illustrates an exploded perspective view of the electronic controller device210and the docking assembly230ofFIG.23. When the engagement device250is in the receive position, the one or more dual purpose magnets254may be aligned with an opposing magnetic pole of the corresponding controller magnet218. For ease of exposition, the one or more dual purpose magnets254may have a north magnetic pole facing the electronic controller device210. Further, the one or more controller magnets218may be a bar magnet having a north magnetic pole and a south magnetic pole interfacing with the engagement device250. Thus, when the engagement device250is in the receive position, the one or more dual purpose magnets254(e.g., north magnetic pole portion) may be in alignment with an opposing magnetic pole portion of a controller magnet218. Alignment of opposing magnetic pole portions may cause magnetic attraction forces to mechanically couple the electronic controller device210to the docking assembly230for establishing an electrical connection (e.g., first electrical interface274ofFIG.23mating with the second electrical interface284ofFIG.24). InFIG.28, the magnetic attraction forces are illustrated as arrows having reference numeral276. As illustrated, the engagement device250may include two dual purpose magnets254positioned on opposing lateral sides of the engagement device250. In some embodiments, the dual purpose magnets254may be cylindrical magnets. The electronic controller device210may include two controller magnets218positioned on opposing lateral sides of the electronic controller device210. Accordingly, the positioning and combination of the dual purpose magnets254and the controller magnets218may rotationally align the first electrical interface274to the second electrical interface284. Rotational alignment of the first electrical interface274with the second electrical interface284may be desirable when the respective electrical interfaces include two or more electrical contact points arranged in a fixed configuration. For instance, the first electrical interface274includes electrical contact pads in a fixed footprint arrangement. In some example embodiments, the engagement device250may be movable by a user between the receive position (e.g., when the north pole facing the electronic controller device aligns with a south pole of the controller magnet218of the electronic controller device). In some example embodiments, the engagement device250may be biased to be normally positioned in the receive position, such that the docking assembly230may be configured for latching to a received electronic controller device210. Reference is made toFIG.29, which illustrates an exploded perspective view of the electronic controller device210and the docking assembly ofFIG.23. InFIG.29, the engagement device250may be moved or biased to a position away from the receive position. For instance, a user of the electronic textile system may push (e.g., indicated inFIG.29by reference numeral299) the engagement device250in a direction away from the receive position towards a disengage position. When the engagement device250is biased to a position away from the receive position, the one or more dual purpose magnets254may transition to being aligned with a similar magnetic pole of the corresponding controller magnet218. As inFIG.28, the one or more dual purpose magnets254may have a north magnetic pole facing the electronic controller device210. Further, the one or more controller magnets218may be a bar magnet having a north magnetic pole and a south magnetic pole interfacing with the engagement device250. When the engagement device250is in the disengage position, the one or more dual purpose magnets254(e.g., north magnetic pole portion) may be in alignment with the north magnetic pole portion of a corresponding controller magnet218. Alignment of similar magnetic pole portions may cause magnetic repulsion forces to mechanically repel the electronic controller device210from the docking assembly230. InFIG.29, the magnetic repulsion forces are illustrated as arrows having reference numeral278. Based at least on the foregoing description of the electronic controller device210and the docking assembly230ofFIG.23, the engagement device250may include an arrangement of magnets to provide magnetic attraction forces to mechanically couple the electronic controller device210to the docking assembly230. Further, the arrangement of magnets may assist with rotationally aligning the first electrical interface274(of the docking assembly230) and the second electrical interface284(of the electronic controller device210). Further, the foregoing description of the docking assembly230ofFIG.23includes a deformable latch plate having an arrangement of one or more latch arms that may mechanically engage or disengage an undercut portion282of the plug protrusion282of the electronic controller device210. According, as described, when the engagement device250is biased to move away from the receive position: (1) the arrangement of magnets may cause repulsion forces to separate the electronic controller device210from the docking assembly230; and, substantially simultaneously; or (2) the arrangement of a deformable latch plate of the engagement device250may disengage an undercut portion282of the electronic controller device210allowing the electronic controller device210to be mechanically separated from the docking assembly230. Reference is made toFIG.30, which illustrates a cross-sectional view of the electronic controller device210received by the docking assembly230, in accordance with an example of the present application. InFIG.30, the pair of latch arms262may be positioned on opposing sides of the engagement through-hole252(FIG.23) and may be engaging the undercut portion282of the plug protrusion280. As the cross-sectional diameter of the undercut portion282may be less than a cross-sectional diameter of an interfacing portion of the plug protrusion280, the pair of latch arms262may mechanically engage the plug protrusion about the undercut portion282when the engagement device250is in the receive position within the docking base270. InFIG.30, the docking assembly230may be attached to the textile substrate based on a configuration described with reference toFIG.1. For example, the docking assembly230may include a first substrate28(similar to the first substrate28ofFIG.1) coupled adjacent the first electrical interface274. Further, the docking assembly230may include a second substrate30(similar to the second substrate30ofFIG.1). The textile substrate (not illustrated inFIG.30) may be received between the first substrate28and the second substrate30. Accordingly, the docking assembly230may be electrically coupled to an electrical conductive pathway network integrated in the textile substrate. When the electronic controller device210is received by the docking assembly230, the electronic controller210may be electrically coupled to the electronic conductive pathway network for transmitting or receiving signals to or from devices of the electrical conductive pathway network. Reference is made toFIG.31, which illustrates another cross-sectional view of the electronic controller device210received by the docking assembly230, in accordance with another example embodiment of the present application. InFIG.31, the electronic controller device210includes the controller magnet218and the docking assembly230includes the dual purpose magnets254. A single controller magnet218and a single dual purpose magnet254is illustrated inFIG.31; however, it may be appreciated that the electronic controller device210and the docking assembly230may have magnet pairs. In the scenario when the dual purpose magnet254(e.g., north magnetic pole) is aligned with a portion of the controller magnet218having an opposing magnetic pole (e.g., south magnetic pole), an attraction force illustrated with arrows identified with reference numeral256between the electronic controller device210and the docking assembly230will be experienced. In the electronic controller device210, the second electrical interface284may include a pogo pin connector. A pin of the pogo pin connector may exert a spring biasing force causing a separation force (illustrated by arrows identified with reference numeral258) between the first electrical interface274and the second electrical interface284. Accordingly, substantially simultaneously, the attraction force (illustrated with reference numeral256) based on alignment of the controller magnet218and the dual purpose magnet254may counteract the biasing force (illustrated with reference numeral258) caused by the spring biasing force of the second electrical interface284. Reference is made toFIG.32, which illustrates a perspective view of the electronic controller device210and the docking assembly230ofFIG.23in assembled form, in accordance with an example of the present application. InFIG.32, the engagement device250is assembled between the docking cover232and the docking base270. A user of the electronic textile system may impart slidable movement of the engagement device250relative to the docking base270by pressing the engagement device250in a direction indicated by an arrow identified by reference numeral298. Accordingly, when the engagement device250is moved away from the receive position (e.g., in the direction of the arrow identified by reference numeral298), the electronic controller device210may be unlatched and separated from the docking assembly230. In some scenarios, the electronic controller device210may be latched to the docking assembly230based at least on: (1) one or more latch arms262mechanically engaging a plug protrusion (not illustrated) of the electronic controller device210; or (2) magnetic attraction forces based on alignment of opposite magnetic pole portions of the one or more dual purpose magnets (not illustrated) of the docking assembly230and the one or more controller magnets (not illustrated) of the electronic controller device210. Based on example embodiments described herein, when the engagement device250is slid in the direction of the arrow identified by reference numeral298, the one or more dual purpose magnets (not illustrated inFIG.32) of the engagement device250may be aligned with a similar magnetic pole portion of a corresponding one or more controller magnets (not illustrated inFIG.32) of the electronic controller device210. When the engagement device250is slid in a direction away from the receive position, the arrangement of magnets may cause a repulsion magnetic force, thereby separating the electronic controller device210from the docking assembly230. InFIG.32, the electronic controller device210may latch or unlatch from the docking assembly230in a direction that may be substantially perpendicular to the direction that the engagement device250moves within the docking base270. Reference is made toFIG.33, which illustrates a pinout diagram300of the first electrical interface284and corresponding conductive traces to printed circuit board (PCB) vertical interconnect access (VIA) points, in accordance with an example of the present application. For instance, the PCB may be the first substrate28(FIG.30) positioned adjacent the docking base270. The first electrical interface274may include a combination of electrical contact pads for mating with a 10-pin pogo connecter of the second electrical interface284. For instance, the 10-pin pogo connector may include signals such as power, ground, bio (+ve), bio (−ve), antenna, digital I/O, bio simulation (+ve), vio simulation (−ve), or analog signals. In some embodiments, the one or more signals may be routed to one or more input sensors coupled to the electrical conductive pathway network integrated in a textile substrate. In some embodiments, the one or more signals may be routed to one or more actuators coupled to the electrical conductive pathway network integrated in a textile substrate. It may be appreciated that although the first electrical interface274may be an arrangement of electrical contact pads for interfacing with a 10-pin pogo connector, any other arrangement of one or more electrical contact pads may be contemplated for interfacing with any other type of electrical connector of the electronic controller device210. Reference is made toFIG.34, which illustrates data sheet drawings310of an example 10-pin pogo connector associated with the second electrical interface284. In some embodiments, the second electrical interface284may include the 10-pin pogo connector for establishing an electrical connection with contact pads of the first electrical interface274(e.g., when the electronic controller device210is received by the docking assembly230. Reference is made toFIGS.35A and35B, which illustrate exploded perspective views of a variant controller device400and a variant docking assembly430, in accordance with an example of the present application. The variant controller device400may include features similar to features of the controller device12ofFIG.1and the variant docking assembly430may include features similar to features of the docking station14ofFIG.1. The variant controller device400may include a pair of variant controller magnets418. The variant controller magnets may be bar magnets having a north magnetic pole facing the variant docking assembly430. Although the variant controller magnets418are illustrated as bar magnets, they may be any other type of magnets. For example, the variant controller magnets418may be cylindrical magnets radially magnetized such that the north magnetic pole may face the variant docking assembly430. Further, although a pair of variant controller magnets418is illustrated, the variant controller magnet may be a single magnet or may include any number of magnets arranged as a combination. The variant docking assembly430may include a pair of dock magnets454. The pair of dock magnets454may be magnets having a south magnetic pole facing the variant controller device400and may be positioned within the docking assembly430such that when the controller device400is received within the variant docking assembly430, an attraction force may retain the controller device400within the docking assembly430. In some examples, not illustrated, the dock magnets454may include a combination of two or more magnets arranged in a particular keyed configuration. Accordingly, the docking assembly430may be configured such that only controller devices having magnets arranged in that corresponding keyed configuration with opposite polarity may be received and retained within the docking assembly430. In some examples, it may be desirable to install only pre-selected controller devices with docking assemblies. Dock magnets454arranged in a particular keyed configuration may be used to differentiate some controller devices receivable with a given dock assembly from other controller devices not intended to be received with the given dock assembly. For ease of exposition, if the dock magnets454have a south magnetic polarity facing a controller device, only controller devices having a north magnetic polarity facing the docking assembly430may be received within the docking assembly430. In some other examples, the configuration and arrangement of the magnets may be any other combination. For instance, the pair of dock magnets454may include one south magnetic polarity and one north magnetic polarity facing the controller device400. Any other configurations of the controller magnets and the dual purpose magnets for selectively allowing controller devices to dock with the docking assembly may be contemplated. For example, the dock magnets454and the complementary controller magnets418may be multi-pole magnet arrangements. Reference is made toFIGS.36A and36B, which illustrate a side elevation view and a cross-sectional elevation view, respectively, of the variant controller device400and the variant docking device430ofFIG.35A. InFIG.36A, the variant controller device400is partially inserted into the variant docking device430. The variant controller device400may be inserted into the variant docking device430in a direction indicated by the arrow identified with reference numeral499. InFIG.36B, the cross-sectional view of the variant controller device400and the variant docking device430taken along line A-A is illustrated. When the variant controller device400is fully inserted into the variant controller device400, the controller magnets418having a north magnetic polarity facing the variant docking assembly430may align with the dock magnets454having a south magnetic polarity facing the variant controller device400. When the respective controller magnets418align with a corresponding respective dock magnets454, a retention magnetic force may retain the variant controller device400within the variant docking assembly430. Reference is made toFIG.37, which illustrates the cross-sectional view of the variant controller device400and the variant docking device430as illustrated inFIG.36B. The variant controller device400includes the controller magnets418. In some examples, the variant docking device430may include an electrical dock connector460. The electrical dock connector460may include spring-loaded contact pins for mating with contact pads of the variant controller device400. The spring-loaded contact pins may exert a spring biasing force causing a separation force (illustrated by arrows identified with reference numeral495) between the variant controller device400and the variant docking device430. Accordingly, substantially simultaneously, the attraction force (illustrated with arrows identified with reference numeral493) based on the alignment of the controller magnets418and the dock magnets454may counteract the spring biasing force caused by the spring-loaded contact pins. In some examples, one or a combination of the controller magnets418or the dock magnets454may be arranged in combination with a Hall effect sensor (not illustrated) for sensing when the variant controller device400and the variant docking device430may be in relatively close proximity. When the variant controller device400and the variant docking device430is in substantially close proximity, a signal from the Hall effect sensor may be identified to indicate that an electrical connection may be established between the controller device400and the variant docking device430. Reference is made toFIG.38, which illustrates a schematic diagram of an electronic textile system500, in accordance with an example of the present application. The electronic textile system500may include one or more input devices170. The one or more input devices may include a temperature sensor, a moisture sensor, a respiratory monitoring sensor, a heart rate sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, an electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor, electromyography (EMG) sensor, an electrocardiography (ECG) sensor, a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor, a ballistocardiograph (BCG) sensor, a galvanic skin response (GSR) sensor, a bio-impedance sensor (or bio-electrical impedance sensor), or chemical sensors (e.g., chemical sensors for sweat, glucose, urine, or the like). The one or more input devices170may be attached to the textile substrate. For instance, the one or more input devices170may be coupled to an electrical conductive pathway network80of conductive fibers interwoven, knit, or otherwise integrated in the textile substrate510. The textile substrate510may be one or more shirts, pants, socks, or the like. In some embodiments, the electrical conductive pathway network may supply electrical power to the one or more input devices170or the one or more output devices180. InFIG.38, the textile substrate510may be an athletic shirt. A user of the electronic textile system500may wear the athletic shirt during a training session. During the training session, the input devices170or sensors may generate signals for transmission, via the electrical conductive pathway network80, to the electronic controller device210. When the electronic controller device210is received by the docking assembly230, the electronic controller device210may receive data signals from the input devices170and may transmit data signals or electrical power to the one or more input device170. It may be appreciated that the electronic controller device210may be a data acquisition or processing computing device for tracking fitness related or physiological data during the training session. In some embodiments, the electronic textile system500may include one or more output devices172. The one or more output devices172may be attached to the textile substrate510and electrically coupled to the electrical conductive pathway network80. In some embodiments, the one or more output devices172may include heating elements. For instance, in response to determining that an ambient temperature via data from an input device170is below a threshold temperature, the electronic controller device170may transmit a signal activating a heating element for providing heat to the user of the electronic textile system. Other example output devices172may be contemplated. For example, the one or more output devices172may include haptic feedback devices or visual display elements. It may be appreciated that the electrical conductive pathway network and the configuration/arrangement of the input devices170or the output devices172are illustrative examples only. Other arrangements or configurations for coupling the docking assembly230, the input devices170, or the output devices172may be contemplated. It may be appreciated that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variation in size, materials, shape, form, function, and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the above description are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. Furthermore, other areas of art may benefit from this method and adjustments to the design are anticipated. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. | 75,551 |
11943864 | DESCRIPTION OF NON-LIMITING, EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the invention is a fabrication process to make stretchable, conformable electronic or optoelectronic devices, circuits, or systems. Initially, a custom, wafer-based circuit is designed and manufactured using conventional microelectronics fabrication processes. This circuit will be designed to have multiple segments (islands) that are electrically isolated from each other. These segments/islands may contain one or more devices or circuit elements. Flexible, stretchable, and/or deformable interconnects are then fabricated onto the wafer to provide interconnection between these isolated segments of the circuit. The interconnects may be metallic “wires” fabricated on-top and/or embedded-inside of a polymeric (i.e., plastic, rubber, etc.), thin glass, foil and/or other flexible, stretchable, conformable supporting medium. These “wires” may be printed and/or lithographically defined in conjunction with conventional microelectronics deposition methods including evaporation, sputtering, chemical vapor deposition, electroplating, lithographic patterning, and others as known in the art. The interconnects may be multilayered, allowing for formation of complex interconnection patterns. Different interconnect layers of a multilayered interconnect may be separated by one or more layers of a supporting and/or insulating medium; not all layers will necessarily need to be stretchable if they do not inhibit the flexibility and/or stretchability of the completed device, circuit, or system. The interconnects will provide a flexible handle that will give mechanical support to the wafer segments after the circuit is made stretchable/conformable. Finally, the circuit is made stretchable/conformable by mechanically isolating the wafer segments by dicing, etching-through, or otherwise partitioning the wafer. Etching may be performed all the way through the wafer or only part way through the wafer to achieve the desired flexibility (bendability) for the circuit. The resulting interconnected and stretchable/conformable circuit may be encapsulated and/or packaged and it may be integrated as the whole, or part of, a system or device. The resulting system or device may or may not be flexible, stretchable, or conformable, as such circuits may be included in rigid systems or devices to provide improved mechanical robustness and impact resistance. FIGS.1A-1Bschematically illustrates the fabrication process steps of a stretchable/conformable electronic or optoelectronic circuit30. (FIGS.7A-7Bshow both top and side views on the fabrication steps of the stretchable/conformable electronic or optoelectronic circuit30ofFIGS.1A-1B). In step 1, circuitry is fabricated on a Si wafer10using conventional fabrication techniques (i.e., wafer based techniques such as the CMOS process). This wafer10is complete with electronic/optoelectronic devices12, short-range interconnects24and, when necessary, through-Si-vias (TSVs)16. The sacrificial regions14which will be etched are shown on either side of the Si wafer10. In step 2, thick metal pillars (10 μm, Cu)18are fabricated on designated interconnect points to extend these contacts vertically. As illustrated, these designated interconnect points may be the bottom26of the TSVs16themselves to minimize the footprint of interconnects. These pillars18may be fabricated by a variety of well-known metal deposition techniques including, for example, copper electroplating from a seed layer through a photoresist. In step 3, a polymer coating20is applied to fill in-between the metal pillars18. This polymer20may be an elastomeric material (such as PDMS), a thermo-formable material (such as PET), or other polymer that can provide the desired mechanical properties and be coated to fill between metal pillars18. Polymer coating20may be performed by spin-coating, drop casting, transfer printing, injection molding, etc. Methods such as spin-coating may coat the top of the metal pillars18with polymer20and this can be removed, for example, by plasma etching to provide an electrically accessible interconnect point at the distal end22of the metal pillar18. In step 4, the first interconnect layer24is patterned on top of the polymer layer20formed in step 3. This interconnect24will electrically connect some of the metal pillars18and route signals across the top of the polymer20. This interconnect layer24may be fabricated by lithographic methods similar to conventional patterning on a wafer10(i.e., etching or lift-off techniques) using processes compatible with the mechanical, optical, thermal and chemical stability of the polymer20. Such interconnects24also may be patterned using more novel techniques such as stamp transfer patterning or printing. In step 5, steps 2-4 can be repeated one or more times to form multilayered contacts allowing the formation of complex interconnects24suitable for complex circuits. These interconnects24may connect to multiple designated interconnect points per island, may connect adjacent islands (i.e., intermediate range interconnects), may connect islands to other parts of the polymer backplane20or out from the local circuit (consisting of a multiplicity of Si islands) to external electronics or circuits (i.e., long range interconnects). After completion of the interconnect layers24, additional polymer20may be applied to add thickness to achieve the desired mechanical properties. In step 6, the wafer10is segmented into small, yet interconnected, segments28. The segmentation may be accomplished by dicing, cleaving, etching, laser ablation, focused ion-beam milling, etc. For example, a deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) using the Bosch process is an ideal way to etch through the wafer10with high-aspect ratio allowing for a minimal sacrificial region14, maximum wafer active area and high-density circuitry. Thin wafers10may be utilized to maximize the resolution of such etching and the density of interconnects routed through the wafer10with TSVs16. After the wafer10is segmented, the Si islands28remain affixed in place by adhesion to the flexible polymer backplane20and/or bonding of the embedded metal pillars18to the Si island28. The Si islands28remain electrically interconnected through the flexible polymer backplane20. After completion of etching, the circuit30becomes flexible, conformable and stretchable based on the properties of the polymer backplane20. In step 7, the flexible, conformable and stretchable circuit30can be deformed to the desired shape. The minimum radius of curvature should be much larger than the width of the Si islands28as shown. Island28size can vary depending on circuit requirements, but typically is expected to be in the range of 10-1000 μm for a hemispherical imager. Similarly, the number of designated interconnect points and/or TSVs16can vary, but typically is expected to be in the range of 4-64 for a hemispherical imager. FIG.2AandFIG.2B, respectively, illustrate three interconnect layers32before and after etching the Si wafer10to make it stretchable and conformable. InFIG.2B, the total thickness of the three interconnect layers32is between about 100-200 microns. The total device30thickness is between about 300-800 microns. The device30ofFIGS.2A-2Bcomprises CMOS layers12with IR detectors34. FIG.3schematically illustrates in a perspective view the device30at step 5 inFIG.1B(before wafer segmentation), further showing exemplary dimensions and an array of PbSe pixels36(apprx. 10 μm) on Si10(i.e., Si ROIC) on the interconnected PDMS backing32for an IR imager application. The structure shown above inFIG.3forms a small portion of the overall device30shown below. FIG.4schematically illustrates in a perspective view the device30at step 6 inFIG.1(after wafer segmentation), further showing exemplary dimensions and multiple arrays of pixels36(e.g., apprx. 10 μm PbSe pixels) on isolated Si islands (i.e., segments)28on the interconnected PDMS backing32. The structure shown above inFIG.4forms a small portion of the overall device illustrated below inFIG.4. The overall device30has spacing38between the Si islands28, which provides a configuration to better facilitate deformation to a hemisphere. Ultimately, scaling and interconnect density are a concern. This is especially true for circuit architectures that require TSV interconnects where the relatively large TSV diameter limits the density of interconnections through a wafer. The minimum TSV pitch is approaching 5 μm using thin wafers and is expected to reach ˜1 μm by the year 2020. In the context of a stretchable image sensor utilizing TSV feedthroughs, for example, an individual pixel in the sensor may require anywhere from 2-8 input/output (I/O) lines for power, control and readout; yet, advanced CMOS pixels can be smaller than 1 μm on an edge. Consequently, the footprint required for I/O may be much larger than the desired pixel footprint if pixels are directly connected with TSVs; this would lead to undesirably low imager resolution. The number of I/O lines per pixel can be reduced by including multiplexing capability in the CMOS circuitry and packing numerous pixels onto a single segment of the wafer. Pixels on a single segment can then share TSVs and interconnects across the polymer backplane allowing formation of advanced image sensors with a high density of complex pixels. FIG.5Aschematically illustrates a stretchable/conformable optoelectronic circuit as illustrated inFIG.4stretched over and conformed to a hemispherical lens to form an imager (FIG.8shows a lens assembly46and stretchable FPA30used to form a HFPA40).FIG.5Bshows exemplary metal patterns defined on flat PETg and thermoformed into a spherical cap40. A vacuum mold or other fixture may be used to enable the proper stretching and conformation shapes and sizes. Such a mold could be a permanent component of a finished system as schematically illustrated inFIG.6.FIG.6shows front end electronics42; a Dewar cover44; lens assembly46; flexible FPA48; 3D mold, heat sink, and Dewar base50; and TECs52. A contemplated embodiment of the invention utilizes a thermo-formable (i.e., non-elastomeric) polymer, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), for the stretchable/deformable backplane. The polymer may be applied, for example, by direct polymerization on the wafer, injection molding or other melt-based application process. After fabrication of the polymer backplane and etching of the wafer using a process similar to that shown inFIGS.1A-1B, the circuit could then be permanently thermo-formed to the desired shape, for example, using a heated vacuum mold, enabling fabrication of semi-rigid but highly contoured circuit. The inventors have shown that interconnects fabricated on PET can survive thermos-forming to a variety of shapes using such a mechanism. | 10,855 |
11943865 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION A CNT-based hybrid TCF10,FIG.1, comprises a MM layer13that includes metal traces14-16, and an overlying CNT ink layer18that bonds to the top surface of substrate12and encapsulates MM layer13with a conductive medium. A circuit pattern results after any exposed MM (i.e., the regions where the CNT ink is not printed) is removed via chemical etching. FIGS.2A-2Dillustrate results of a process for creating a TCF of the present disclosure. Note that the dimensions and other aspects ofFIGS.2A-2Dare not to scale and may be exaggerated, for the sake of illustration only. Actual examples are set forth below. Assembly20,FIG.2A, comprises substrate22that carries a MM comprising traces24-27. The MM can be created on the substrate by various means as described herein. Also the MM can comprise various conductive materials (e.g., metals), as further described herein. The MM comprises a series of thin traces (lines) that are electrically connected. The traces are typically but not necessarily laid out in a regular pattern (such as the hexagonal pattern illustrated inFIG.4A). FIG.2Billustrate a further assembly30wherein the MM is over-plated with a second metal (in this non-limiting example the second metal being copper). Thus traces24-27are covered by a generally thicker layer of a second metal comprising portions34-37, to create thickened and less-porous MM traces40-43, respectively. FIG.2Cillustrates a further assembly50wherein CNT ink48is printed or otherwise placed over some or all of the MM layer illustrated inFIG.2B. In this illustration ink48is printed over traces41and42but not over traces40and43. Traces40and43are thus exposed while traces41and42are covered by a conductive medium that creates a conductive line or conductive area49. FIG.2Dillustrates the final TCF60wherein exposed traces40and43have been removed by etching, as explained in more detail elsewhere herein. This leaves conductor49on substrate22. One exemplary method70for producing a TCF is illustrated inFIG.3. In step72a suitable substrate is provided. In step74a metal mesh is printed on a surface of the substrate. In step76a second metal (e.g., copper) is plated on the metal mesh. Step76is optional, as if the MM itself has an acceptable Rs the thickness (i.e., the height) of the MM lines may not need to be increased. The added plated metal increases the volume of the MM traces and so decreases its resistance. Also it may help to make the thin MM more robust and better able to bond with the conductive ink. In step78a conductive medium (termed an “ink”) is printed in selected areas of the MM to form parts of a circuit. In an example the ink comprises carbon nanotubes as its conductive medium, and also contains a binder. CNT inks are further described elsewhere herein. The final step80contemplates etching exposed MM/copper, to leave behind on the substrate only the circuit. The disclosure is elaborated in more detail in the several non-limiting examples set forth below. The examples illustrate aspects of the TCF and its manufacture. Parameters of the TCF and methods of producing the TCF include the following. Metal meshes may be considered to be metallic grids composed of ultra-narrow lines that provide electrical conductivity via the interconnected lines while also allowing for VLT via the spaces between the lines. Metal meshes can be created on a surface of the substrate by any viable method, including but not limited to direct printing, embossing, photo patterning followed by etching, and printing followed by plating. The metal mesh can be created in a width that is sufficient for the ultimate application of the TCF. Widths can be up to 12 inches, 24 inches, or more. The width of the metallic lines comprising the MM will depend on the method by which the MM was made (some methods are capable of making finer line widths) and also the requirements of the application (some applications, like touch screens, require line widths to be small enough that they are not visible to the naked eye). Coarser MM will typically have line widths of about 25 to 50 μm. Finer MM will typically have line widths of about 2 to 10 μm. For the line widths to be relatively invisible, they need to be less than about 6 μm. The spacing between the metallic lines depends on the desired visible light transmittance (VLT), the metal line width and the metallic grid pattern (e.g., hexagonal, rectangular, random, etc.). The metal lines are thick enough to essentially have negligible VLT (i.e., the metal lines either absorb or reflect almost all of the light). Thus the VLT for the MM is defined mainly by the percent open area of the metallic grid pattern. The spacing between the metallic lines can be computed for the various geometries of the metallic grid pattern for a given metallic line width and VLT target. For coarser MM with line width of 30 μm and percent open area of 90%, the spacing between metallic lines is about 550 μm for both hexagonal and square grid patterns. For finer MM with line width of 5 μm and percent open area of 90%, the spacing between metallic lines is about 91 μm for both hexagonal and square grid patterns. Table 1 illustrates calculations of spacing for various combinations of percent open area and metal line width. These are illustrative, not limiting or defining. TABLE 1Open859095859095859095859095859095Area(%)Line222555101010252525505050Width(μm)Spacing24377759921901191843802974595935939191,902(μm) The required metal thickness is dependent on the volume resistivity of the metal, the percent open area and the target sheet resistance for the MM. For a MM with metal volume resistivity of 4 μΩ-cm (typical value for flexo printed nano-silver ink) and metal grid thickness of 0.15 μm and open area of 90%, the resulting sheet resistance for the MM is 6 Ω/□. For the sheet resistance of the MM to be 1 Ω/□ or less (which has been found to be strongly desired for antenna and RF shielding applications), then the thickness for this metal grid would need to be 0.9 μm or higher. For metal grids with open area of 85%, the required metal grid thickness to achieve sheet resistance ≤1 Ω/□ is 0.6 μm or greater. For metal grids with open area of 95%, the required metal grid thickness to achieve sheet resistance ≤1 Ω/□ is 1.8 μm or greater. The literature value for the volume resistivity of copper is 1.72 μΩ-cm and for silver is 1.59 μΩ-cm. These are both lower than typical values achieved for electroplated copper and flexo printed nano-silver due to porosity in the plated or printed lines. But, if one were to achieve the copper literature value for volume resistivity for the fabricated metal grid, then the required metal grid thickness to achieve sheet resistance ≤1 Ω/□ is 0.4 μm or greater. Commercial methods for making the metal grid include direct printing, embossing, photo-patterning followed by etching, etc. Most commercial methods for making MM are not able to achieve sufficient metal thickness to result in a sheet resistance of ≤1 Ω/□ for metal grids with open areas in the range of 85-95%. The thickness of metal grids can be built up by electroplating or by any other viable process. To achieve such low sheet resistance for MM with such high % open area, a very low volume resistivity is required for the material comprising the grid, which makes metals the only practical material. Table 2 illustrates the volume resistivities for various materials in units of Ω-m. To convert these values to μΩ-cm, then one must multiply by 108. TABLE 2ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY FOR COMMON MATERIALSELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY AT 20° C.MATERIALOHM METRESAluminum2.8 × 10−8Antimony3.9 × 10−7Bismuth1.3 × 10−6Brass~0.6-0.9 × 10−7Cadmium6 × 10−8Cobalt5.6 × 10−8Copper1.7 × 10−8Gold2.4 × 10−8Carbon (Graphite)1 × 10−5Germanium4.6 × 10−1Iron1.0 × 10−7Lead1.9 × 10−7Manganin4.2 × 10−7Nichrome1.1 × 10−6Nickel7 × 10−8Palladium1.0 × 10−7Platinum0.98 × 10−7Quartz7 × 1017Silicon6.4 × 102Silver1.6 × 10−8Tantalum1.3 × 10−7Tin1.1 × 10−7Tungsten4.9 × 10−8Zinc5.5 × 10−8 Some of the metals have volume resistivity less than about 10 μΩ-cm. Higher volume resistivity has significant consequences, as it increases the required metal thickness to achieve sheet resistance ≤1 Ω/□. This increases the cost of making the MM and also increases the cost of etching the MM when circuits are patterned. An estimation is that metals with literature values for volume resistivity that are more than two times that of copper will not be so practical. If this selection criterion is applied to the above table, the only metals that would be selected are copper, silver, aluminum and gold. Interestingly, these are all metals that are commonly used in manufacturing printed circuits. Another selection criterion is the ability to etch the MM with a commercially viable etchant. Although it is technically possible to etch gold with aqua regia, it is not commercially practical. Silver is typically etched with ferric nitrate. Copper is typically etched with ferric chloride, but it can also be etched with ferric nitrate (the same etchant used for silver). Aluminum is typically etched with sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. Thus it appears that silver, copper and aluminum are all commercially viable MM compositions, from an etch standpoint. It has been found that the CNT ink formulations that are used in the examples are also suitable as an etch mask material for all of the typical etchants used for silver, copper and aluminum. It is also useful to note that MM made by printing nano-silver ink followed by electroplating copper was successfully etched with a single etchant, ferric nitrate. This makes the manufacturing process more cost efficient than requiring two separate etching processes. As to the CNT ink formulation, the polymer binder type must be soluble in the ink vehicle (ideally, it should be soluble in alcohol), must have good adhesion to the substrate, must have high VLT and low haze and be as colorless as possible, must be able to encapsulate the CNTs and also the MM and must be chemically resistant to the etchants that may be used for etching the MM (i.e., it must enable the CNT ink to act as an etch mask). The ability of the CNT ink to perform as an etch mask is also dependent on the ratio of binder to CNT in the CNT ink. Too little binder can result in the CNT ink not being suitable as an etch mask—it does not sufficiently protect the underlying MM when the exposed MM regions (regions not covered by CNT ink) are being etched. Too much binder can compromise the ability of the CNTs to make good electrical connectivity with each other and/or with the underlying MM and/or the surface of the circuit (for achieving low contact resistance with printed interconnects). It has been found that CNT inks made using similar ink vehicle chemistry as in the international patent application incorporated by reference herein, with CNT concentration of 0.1 g/L, acrylic copolymer binder (DSM B890) and printed at 30 mg/m2ink coverage performed well as an etch mask when binder:CNT ratio was 240:1. Ratios of 60:1 and 120:1 were completely unacceptable (i.e., the underlying MM was etched). A ratio of 180:1 was marginal (sometimes was ok, but not always). It was also found that 240:1 did not seem to compromise the electrical connectivity of the CNTs. It is believed that ratios higher than 240:1 would be acceptable, and that the upper limit would be the percolation threshold for the CNTs in this binder system, which is estimated to be approximately 0.2 wt % CNTs. This would correspond to a binder:CNT ratio of about 400:1. Following are several examples that illustrate aspects of this disclosure. ≤1 OPS AgNW Version Compared to MM Version. <1 OPS AgNW version: A TCF was prepared using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (125 um) as the substrate, coated with a dispersion of 2.0% by weight silver nanowire (AgNW) in isopropyl alcohol (IPA) using ˜40 nm diameter, 15 um length AgNW. The AgNW coating was ˜5 inches wide×7 inches long. The AgNW dispersion was coated onto the PET film using a Mayer rod (40 micron wet-film-thickness) at 632 mg/m2 AgNW coverage. The coating was dried with a hand-held convection dryer set to 177° C. exit air temperature for ˜30 seconds and then baked in a convection oven for 3 minutes at 105° C. After the AgNW coating, the % visible light transmission (% VLT) was 45.6% (subtracting the substrate VLT), and the assembly had a sheet resistance (Rs) of 1 Ω/□. The AgNW coating was screen-printed with a carbon nanotube ink (using a reformulated version of VC101 single wall CNT ink from Chasm Advanced Materials Inc., Canton, MA, US) using a 305 polyester mesh screen (˜30 um wet-film thickness) having a 2.5 inch block pattern. The ink was reformulated to a CNT concentration of 0.1 g/L and included a polymer binder (e.g., a modified methacrylic copolymer). Other binders that can be used in the present TCF are disclosed in International (PCT) Patent Application Publication No. WO 2016/172315, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. The printed CNT layer was dried with a hand-held convection dryer set to 177° C. exit air temperature for ˜30 seconds and then baked in a convection oven for 5 minutes at 105° C. The sample was allowed to cool to ambient temperature (˜25° C.). Using a wash bottle, the sample was then sprayed with a 10% ferric nitrate (Fe(NO3)3) in water solution for 30 seconds. Using a separate wash bottle, the sample was then sprayed with deionized water on both sides of the film for 30 seconds. The film was then patted dry with lint free cloths to remove large water droplets and then baked in a convection oven for 1 minute at 105° C. The CNT layer of this example was printed and etched with two different ratios of binder:CNT (120:1, 240:1). After screen-printing the CNT ink and etching, the % VLT and Rs were 32.2% (subtracting the substrate VLT) and 1 Ω/□ respectively in all cases in the 2.5″ CNT print area. After etching, the exposed area outside of the 2.5″ CNT print area, the % VLT increased to 90.0% (subtracting the substrate) and the sheet resistance was not measurable. Results are summarized in Table 3 below: TABLE 3TCF Performance of <1 OPS AgNW VersionDescriptionRs, (Ω/□)VLT1, (%)Haze, (%)Substrate (5 mil PET-ST505)∞90.01.1AgNW Coating145.636.9CNT Printed AgNW Coating132.242.9Post Etch132.242.9(Within 2.5″ CNT Print Area)Post Etch∞90.01.1(Outside 2.5″ CNT Print Area)1The substrate has been subtracted from the VLT measurements. <1 OPS MM Version: A TCF was prepared using PET (125 um) as the substrate, flexo printed with silver (Ag) ink in a hex pattern (30 micron lines with thickness of about 0.1 to 0.15 micron, 500 micron spacing) at 120 feet per minute using an anilox roll and baked in a convection oven for 5 seconds at 170° C. The hex patterned film was then bath electroplated with copper (Cu). The overlying copper layer had a thickness of about 0.5-1.5 micron (thus about 5-10 times the thickness of the MM layer). The Ag patterned film was screen-printed with a carbon nanotube ink (VC101 single wall CNT ink from Chasm Advanced Materials Inc.) using a 305 polyester mesh screen (˜30 um wet-film thickness) having a 2.5 inch block pattern. The ink was reformulated to a CNT concentration of 0.1 g/L and included the binder described above. The CNT layer of this example was printed and etched with two different ratios of binder:CNT (120:1, 240:1). The printed CNT layer was dried with a hand-held convection dryer set to 177° C. exit air temperature for ˜30 seconds and then baked in a convection oven for 5 minutes at 105° C. The sample was allowed to cool to ambient temperature (˜25° C.). Using a wash bottle, the sample was then sprayed with a 40% ferric nitrate (Fe(NO3)3) in water solution for 15 seconds to etch the exposed Ag patterned film. Using a separate wash bottle, the sample was then sprayed with deionized water on both sides of the film for ˜30 seconds to remove the etchant. The film was then patted dry with lint free cloths to remove large water droplets and then baked in a convection oven for 1 minute at 105° C. After flexo printing the Ag hex pattern, the % visible light transmission (% VLT) was 90.6% (subtracting the substrate VLT), and had a sheet resistance (Rs) of 5 Ω/□. After electroplating with Cu, the % VLT was 90.2% (subtracting the substrate), and had a Rs of <1 Ω/□. After screen-printing the 240:1 binder:CNT ink and etching, the % VLT and Rs remained at 90.6% (subtracting the substrate) and <1 Ω/□ respectively in the 2.5″ CNT pattern area. In the exposed areas outside the 2.5″ CNT pattern area, % VLT and Rs both increased to 99.6% (subtracting the base) and infinity respectively. After screen-printing the 120:1 binder:CNT ink and etching, there was clear evidence of the etchant biting into the 2.5″ CNT square area, starting from the outside border and working its way into the center of the 2.5″ square. In the exposed area outside the 2.5″ CNT square, the % VLT and Rs both increased to 99.6% (subtracting the base) and infinity respectively. Results are summarized in Table 4 below: TABLE 4TCF Performance of <1 OPS MM VersionDescriptionRs, (Ω/□)VLT1, (%)Haze, (%)Substrate (5 mil PET-ST505)∞90.00.9Ag Hex Pattern590.61.3Cu Plated Ag Hex Pattern<190.21.3CNT Printed Cu Plated Ag Hex<190.61.3PatternPost Etch<190.61.3(Within 2.5″ CNT Print Area)Post Etch∞99.60.9(Outside 2.5″ CNT Print Area)1The substrate has been subtracted from the VLT measurements. A comparison of the results for <1 OPS MM vs. AgNW versions using 0.1 g/L 240:1 binder:CNT ink are set forth in Table 5 below: TABLE 5TCF Performance of <1 OPS MM vs. AgNW VersionDescriptionRs, (Ω/□)VLT1, (%)Haze, (%)MM Version<190.61.3AgNW Version132.242.91The substrate has been subtracted from the VLT measurements. MM Flexo Printed Nano Ag+CNT Inks+Etchant/Conditions: Square Ag MM+CNT vs. etch time: A TCF sample was prepared using PET (125 um) as the substrate, flexo printed with silver (Ag) ink in a square mesh pattern at 120 feet per minute using an anilox roll and baked in a convection oven for 5 seconds at 170° C. The Ag patterned film was screen-printed with a carbon nanotube ink (VC101 single wall CNT ink from Chasm Advanced Materials Inc.) using a 305 polyester mesh screen (˜30 um wet-film thickness) having a 2.5 inch block pattern. The ink was reformulated to a CNT concentration of 0.1 g/L and included the binder described above at a 240:1 binder:CNT ratio. The printed CNT layer was dried with a hand-held convection dryer set to 177° C. exit air temperature for ˜30 seconds and then baked in a convection oven for 5 minutes at 105° C. The sample was allowed to cool to ambient temperature (˜25° C.). The sample was then dipped into a 40% by weight solution of ferric nitrate (Fe(NO3)3) in deionized (DI) water, then rinsed with deionized water on both sides of the film for ˜30 seconds using a wash bottle. The samples were then patted dry with lint free cloths to remove large water droplets and baked in a convection oven for 1 minute at 105° C. The initial sheet resistance (Rs) and visible light transmittance (% VLT) of the square Ag mesh with CNT printed prior to etching was 88.7% (subtracting the substrate) and 4 Ω/□ respectively. The TCF of this example was dipped into a 40% by weight solution of ferric nitrate (Fe(NO3)3) in deionized (DI) water for varying etch durations (120, 60, 45, & 10 seconds). Post etching, the Rs measurements for the 120 and 60 second etch durations increased to 15 and 7 Ω/□ respectively, showing degradation in the patterned TCF film while the % VLT remained the same at 88.7% (subtracting the base). The % VLT and Rs measurements for the 45 and 10 second etch durations remained the same as the initial 88.7% (subtracting the substrate) and 4 Ω/□ respectively. MM Flexo Printed Nano Ag+Cu Plating+CNT Inks+Ethanol/Conditions: Cu Plated MM vs. etchant type: A TCF sample was prepared using PET (125 um) as the substrate, flexo printed with silver (Ag) ink in a hex mesh pattern (30 micron lines, 500 micron spaces) at 120 feet per minute using an anilox roll and baked in a convection oven for 5 seconds at 170° C. The hex patterned film was then bath electroplated with copper (Cu) with agitation to a thickness of 1.0 micron. The Ag patterned film was screen-printed with a carbon nanotube ink (VC101 single wall CNT ink from Chasm Advanced Materials Inc.) using a 305 polyester mesh screen (˜30 um wet-film thickness) having a 2.5 inch block pattern. The ink was reformulated to a CNT concentration of 0.1 g/L and included the binder described above at a 240:1 binder:CNT ratio. The printed CNT layer was dried with a hand-held convection dryer set to 177° C. exit air temperature for ˜30 seconds and then baked in a convection oven for 5 minutes at 105° C. The sample was allowed to cool to ambient temperature (˜25° C.) The initial visible light transmittance (% VLT) and sheet resistance (Rs) of the Cu plated Ag mesh with CNT printed prior to etching was 90.6% (subtracting the substrate) and <1 Ω/□, respectively. The TCF of this example was etched using two different etchant solutions (40% ferric nitrate, 20% ferric chloride) and combinations thereof. The samples were then rinsed with deionized (DI) water on both sides of the film for ˜30 seconds using a wash bottle, then patted dry with lint free cloths to remove large water droplets and baked in a convection oven for 1 minute at 105° C. Sample A was dipped in 40% ferric nitrate for 15 seconds. The % VLT and Rs remained at 90.6% (subtracting the substrate) and <1 Ω/□ respectively in the 2.5″ CNT pattern area. In the exposed areas outside the 2.5″ CNT pattern area, % VLT and Rs both increased to 99.6% (subtracting the base) and infinity respectively. The outside edge of the 2.5″ CNT also had a ˜2 mm halo of unetched material. Sample B was dipped in 20% ferric chloride for 10 seconds. The % VLT and Rs remained at 90.6% (subtracting the substrate) and <1 Ω/□ respectively in the 2.5″ CNT pattern area. In the exposed areas outside the 2.5″ CNT pattern area, the % VLT increased to 92.9% (subtracting the base), 6.7% lower than Sample A meaning that the exposed mesh area was not being completely removed even though the Rs was infinity. The ferric chloride cleaned up the halo effect seen in sample A. Sample C was first dipped in 40% ferric nitrate for 15 seconds, rinsed and dried as described above, then dipped into 20% ferric chloride for 10 seconds, and finally rinsed and dried again as described above. The % VLT and Rs remained at 90.6% (subtracting the substrate) and <1 Ω/□ respectively in the 2.5″ CNT pattern area. In the exposed areas outside the 2.5″ CNT pattern area, % VLT and Rs both increased to 99.6% (subtracting the base) and infinity respectively. The post ferric chloride cleaned up the halo effect seen after the initial ferric nitrate etch. Sample D was first dipped in 20% ferric chloride for 10 seconds, rinsed and dried as described above, then dipped into 40% ferric nitrate for 15 seconds, and finally rinsed and dried again as described above. The % VLT and Rs remained at 90.6% (subtracting the substrate) and <1 Ω/□ respectively in the 2.5″ CNT pattern area. In the exposed areas outside the 2.5″ CNT pattern area, the % VLT increased to 96.0% (subtracting the base), 3.6% lower than Sample A meaning that the exposed mesh area was not being completely removed even though the Rs was infinity. The ferric chloride cleaned up the halo effect seen in sample A. Cu plated MM vs. etchant application method: A TCF was prepared using PET (125 um) as the substrate, flexo printed with silver (Ag) ink in a hex pattern (30 micron lines, 500 micron spacing) at 120 feet per minute using an anilox roll and baked in a convection oven for 5 seconds at 170° C. The hex patterned film was then bath electroplated with copper (Cu) with agitation to a thickness of 1.0 micron. The Ag patterned film was screen-printed with a carbon nanotube ink (VC101 single wall CNT ink from Chasm Advanced Materials Inc.) using a 305 polyester mesh screen (˜30 um wet-film thickness) having a 2.5 inch block pattern. The ink was reformulated to a CNT concentration of 0.1 g/L and included the binder described above at a binder:CNT ratio of 240:1. The printed CNT layer was dried with a hand-held convection dryer set to 177° C. exit air temperature for ˜30 seconds and then baked in a convection oven for 5 minutes at 105° C. The sample was allowed to cool to ambient temperature (˜25° C.). The initial % VLT and sheet resistance (Rs) of the CNT printed Cu plated Ag mesh with CNT printed prior to etching was 90.6% (subtracting the substrate) and <1 Ω/□ respectively. The TCF of this example was etched using two different application methods (spray, dip) with 40% ferric nitrate (Fe(NO3)3) in water solution for 15 seconds. Using a separate wash bottle, the samples were then sprayed with deionized water on both sides of the film for ˜30 seconds. The film was then patted dry with lint free cloths to remove large water droplets and then baked in a convection oven for 1 minute at 105° C. In both cases, the % VLT and Rs in the 2.5″ CNT square area remained unchanged at 90.6% (subtracting the substrate) and <1 Ω/□ respectively. Both samples showed good etching of the exposed Cu plated mesh pattern that were not protected by the 2.5″ CNT square, but the dipped sample showed a ˜2 mm halo around the 2.5″ printed square that was not fully etched. The sprayed ferric nitrate did not show any signs of this halo. Chemical Etching of AgNWs Version of AgeNT: Etching of AgeNT-75: A TCF was prepared using PET (125 um) as the substrate, coated with a dispersion of 0.3% by weight silver nanowire solution using aqueous silver nanowire ink (˜40 nm diameter; 15 um length). The AgNW coating was ˜5 inches wide×7 inches long. The AgNW dispersion was coated onto the PET film using a Mayer rod (12 micron wet-film-thickness) at 28 mg/m2 AgNW coverage. The coating was dried with a hand-held convection dryer set to 177° C. exit air temperature for ˜30 seconds and then baked in a convection oven for 3 minutes at 105° C. The AgNW coating was screen-printed with a carbon nanotube ink (VC101 single wall CNT ink from Chasm Advanced Materials Inc.) using a 305 polyester mesh screen (˜30 um wet-film thickness) having a 2.5 inch block pattern. The ink was reformulated to a CNT concentration of 0.1 g/L and included the binder described above at a binder:CNT ratio of 120:1. The printed CNT layer was dried with a hand-held convection dryer set to 177° C. exit air temperature for ˜30 seconds and then baked in a convection oven for 5 minutes at 105° C. The sample was allowed to cool to ambient temperature (˜25° C.) The initial % VLT and sheet resistance (Rs) of the CNT printed AgNW film prior to etching was 99.3% (subtracting the substrate) and 60 Ω/□ respectively. The TCF in this example was sprayed with a 10% ferric nitrate (Fe(NO3)3) in water solution for 15 seconds. Using a separate wash bottle, the sample was then sprayed with DI water on both sides of the film for 30 seconds. The film was then patted dry with lint free cloths to remove large water droplets and then baked in a convection oven for 1 minute at 105° C. After screen-printing the CNT ink and etching, the % VLT and Rs remained 99.3% (subtracting the substrate VLT) and 60 Ω/□ respectively in all cases in the 2.5″ CNT print area. After etching, the exposed area outside of the 2.5″ CNT print area, the % VLT increased to 91.0% (same value as bare substrate) and the sheet resistance was not measurable. Following are summaries of various chemical etchants that can be used to etch copper (Cu) or silver (Ag) materials. To date, the best mode for etching AgNW or MM has been using ferric nitrate as the etchant and using a spraying method vs. dipping. This does not exclude other etchants or other etching methods, now known or developed in the future. Review of Cu and Ag Etching Technology: Copper Etchants: Many wet chemical systems (Table 6) have been used to etch Cu. Parameters that may be important for control and optimization of the of the etching process are pH, temperature, etchant replenishment, and the degree of agitation. One of the most commonly used and least expensive chemical systems is ferric chloride. The mechanism involves oxidizing copper to cuprous chloride. Other chemical species such as HCl are sometimes added to improve etching performance, likely by enhancing the kinetics of cuprous chloride formation which can be a rate controlling step in the overall kinetics of the etching process. Another commonly used etchant is cupric chloride. Copper is reduced to cuprous chloride, which in turn retards the performance of etchant, so regeneration of the CuCl2is important. As in the case of ferric chloride, other chemicals (HCl, KCl, NaCl) are typically added to improve performance. TABLE 6Commonly Used Etchants for Copper.EtchantChemical FormulaRatioFerric ChlorideFeCl330%Cupric ChlorideCuCl2Alkaline etchantsNH4OHHydrogen peroxide-Sulfuric acidH2O2—H2SO4Chromic acid-Sulfuric acidCrO3—H2SO4Sodium ChlorateNaClO3Citric acidAmmonium persulfate(NH4)2S2O8Potassium CyanideKCN20%Nitric acid-waterH2O—HNO31:5Nitric acid-hydrogen peroxideHNO3—H2O21:20Ammonium hydroxide-hydrogen peroxideNH4OH—H2O21:1Ammonia-hydrogen peroxideNH3—H2O24:1Phosphoric acid-nitric acid-acetic acidH3PO4—HNO3—HAc1:1:1Chromic acid-Sulfuric acid-NitricHNO3—H2SO4—CrO3—NH4Cl—H2O5 ml-5 ml 4 g-1:90 mlacid-Ammonium chloride-waterHydrochloric acid-ferric chloride-waterHCL—FeCl3—H2O4:1:5Nitric acid-Ferric chloride-waterHNO3—FeCl3—H2O10:5:85Nitric acid-Ferric Chloride-Bromic acidHNO3—FeCl3—HBr1:1:1 Alkaline etchants such as ammonium hydroxide combine with copper ions to form cupric ammonium complex ions which stabilize the dissolved Cu in solution. While ammonium persulfate is a good etchant for Cu, a heat exchanger is required because the process is exothermic. Further, the etch rate is lower than some of the more aggressive chemical systems, which lends itself to a process that, though it is more easily controlled, may be rate controlling in the overall process scheme. Silver Etchants: While silver and copper are commonly used in many of the same electrical and electronic applications, the number of etchants that have been used for Ag (Table 7) are far fewer, likely due to the extreme cost differential relative to Cu. Typical etchants for silver include nitric acid-water and sulfuric acid-water systems of varying concentrations. TABLE 7Commonly Used Etchants for Silver.EtchantChemical FormulaRatioNitric acid-waterHNO3—H2OvariousSulfuric acid-waterH2SO4—H2OvariousPotassium CyanideKCN—H2O1:10Ammonium hydroxide-waterNH4OH—H2O1:1Hydrochloric acid-nitric acid-waterHCL—HNO3—H2O1:1:1Ammonium hydroxide-hydrogen peroxideNH4OH—H2O215 ml:25 mlSulfuric acid-Chromium oxide-waterH2SO4—Cr2O3—H2O40 g-20 ml-1 literFerric nitrate-ethylene glycol-waterFe(NO3)2—EG—H2O35 g-100 ml-25 ml Additional Examples There are numerous methods that could be used to create MM layers, with various combinations of Rs and VLT properties. One method involves flexographic printing of the MM using nano Ag inks. This method appears to be suitable for creating MM with Rs approximately 10 OPS and VLT approximately 90%. To reduce the Rs of the MM without compromising the VLT, Cu has been electroplated on top of the printed Ag MM, creating a Ag/Cu MM. Other materials could be used both for the printed layer and the overlying plated layer. Other methods can be used to create the MM. This includes using more advance flexo printing plates to achieve MM line widths down to approximately 3 microns. Present examples have MM line widths of approximately 30 microns. Reducing MM line width can make the MM much less visible at the same VLT value. Also, a narrower line can enable finer line widths for the CNT hybrid circuits. A general rule of thumb is that the width of the open area of the mesh needs to be approximately 15-20× the MM line width for the % open area of the MM to be higher than about 90%. The % open area determines the maximum VLT value for the printed CNT hybrid circuit. Thus, a 30 micron MM line width needs to have a width in the open area of about 500 microns. Another general rule of thumb is that the minimum printed CNT hybrid circuit line width should be no smaller than 10× the width of the open area segment of the MM in order to have enough conductive material in the circuit line. Thus, the minimum line width for the circuit must be greater than about 5 mm. This minimum line width is expected to be as small as 0.5 mm if the MM line width can be reduced to 3 microns. It should also be possible to create the MM by printing an appropriate catalyst (e.g., palladium) and using electroless Cu to create the MM. Metals other than Cu may be possible. If Rs is not low enough, then Cu electroplating can be used after electroless Cu deposition. The MM can also be created using lithographic etching methods or various lift-off patterning methods deployed in the printed circuits industry. Laser ablation of a thin metal film can also be used to create the MM. FIGS.4A-4C,5A and5Binclude images describing the printed CNT hybrid (MM version), where the MM was flexo printed Ag (without subsequent Cu electroplating). The SEM image ofFIG.4A(50× magnification) shows a MM hexagonal pattern with Ag line width approximately 30 μm and width across the open spaces of the hexagons of about 500 μm. The SEM image ofFIG.4B(50 k× magnification) shows how the CNTs form a well-connected network in the spaces that would normally have no conductive material. The CNT network has low enough areal density (about 1 to 10 mg/m2) to be transparent, but high enough areal density to allow for charge spreading in the open spaces, which leads to a more uniform electrode. The SEM image ofFIG.4C(100 k× magnification) shows how the CNT network can help strengthen the porous Ag MM lines and also provide redundant conductive pathways to enhance reliability. Note that the CNT inks that were printed on top of the Ag MM shown inFIG.4Adid not have polymer binder in them, only so that the CNT network could be visible in the SEM images ofFIGS.4B and4C. Normally, the polymer binder is at a high enough level to encapsulate the MM and the CNTs, with the CNT network self-assembling within the polymer matrix. This makes it impossible to see the CNT network in SEM imaging. Also note that the CNT network within the polymer matrix also provides electrical connectivity from the surface of the printed CNT hybrid circuit all the way down to the underlying MM. This helps to make reliable and easy electrical connections to the circuits. This situation also happens when the CNT inks are printed on top of AgNW. In both cases, there is good electrical connectivity from the surface of the circuits to the underlying MM or AgNW layers. FIGS.5A and5Billustrate flexo printed Ag MM alone, and this MM plated with copper.FIG.5Aincludes images of both at 10 k× and 25 k× magnification, whileFIG.5Bincludes images of both at 50 k× and 100 k× magnification. Also note that the porous appearance of the flexo printed Ag MM can be “filled in” after Cu electroplating to decrease the porosity. The thickness of the Cu electroplating can be approximately 0.5 to 1.5 microns, whereas the thickness of the flexo printed Ag can be approximately 0.1 to 0.15 micron. The SEM images ofFIGS.5A and5Bclearly illustrate this. Not only does sheet resistance decrease with Cu plating (without compromise of VLT), but it is also believed that reliability is improved, due to lower porosity of the Ag/Cu MM structure vs. Ag MM structure alone. The polymer binder plays a role in enhancing environmental stability and adhesion of the printed CNT hybrid circuit. It also plays a role in protecting the MM or the AgNW from being chemically etched (i.e., it is a component for providing the etch mask functionality). The binder should have good environmental stability and adhesion properties, and should be highly transparent with low haze. It is reasonable to expect that many different binders could be used. Selection criteria for suitable polymer binder candidates include:Good optical properties (high transparency, low haze, low color, refractive index similar to PET)Good adhesion to commonly used plastic film substrates (PET, PC, Acrylic, etc.)Temperature processing requirements compatible with the plastic film substrates (<120 C)Solubility compatible with the ink formulations (e.g., good solubility in alcohol and/or amine components).Chemical resistance to common etchants used for Ag and Cu. The CNT type used in this disclosure was single-wall CNT. However, it is reasonable to expect that good results could also be achieved by substituting double-wall or few-wall or multi-wall CNT. A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that additional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the inventive concepts described herein, and, accordingly, other examples are within the scope of the following claims. | 37,272 |
11943866 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments described herein relate generally to wearable systems, devices and methods for measuring physiological parameters, and in particular to textile-based electrode systems that include sensors for measuring various physiological parameters. Some conventional textile-based electrode systems include electrodes that are stitched or sewn into the textile, which can cause discomfort to a user, for example, by causing chafing or rashes on the skin of the user. Furthermore, stitched or sewn electrodes are prone to wear and tear, for example, because of repeated use or washing, which can reduce the life of the system. Moreover, stitched or sewn electrodes can increase the overall cost of the system. Embodiments of a textile-based electrode system described herein provide several advantages over known textile-based electrode systems such as, for example: (1) providing knitted electrodes and knitted conductive pathways such that no stitching or sewing is required; (2) seamlessly knitting the electrodes and conductive pathways within the fabric of the textile-based electrode systems such that the systems are more economical, efficient and scalable for mass production; (3) providing a plurality of electrodes configured to sense multiple physiological parameters; (4) providing higher comfort level to a user wearing the system by reducing chafing and pressure on skin that can be caused by seams or stitches; and (5) having longer life. Embodiments of the textile based electrode system described herein can be included in a wearable textile, for example, a waist band, a vest, a bra, a shirt, a jersey, an arm band, a thigh band, an ankle band, a belt, a head band, a chest plate, any other wearable textile or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, a textile-based electrode system includes a first fabric layer having an inner surface and an outer surface. The inner surface includes a knitted electrode configured to be placed in contact with the skin of a user. A second fabric layer is disposed and configured to contact the outer surface of the first fabric layer. The second fabric layer includes a knitted conductive pathway configured to be electrically coupled to the knitted electrode. A third fabric layer is configured and disposed to contact the second fabric layer. A connector is disposed on the third fabric layer and is configured to be electrically coupled to the knitted conductive pathway. In some embodiments, the second fabric layer is folded about a first fold axis to place the second fabric layer in contact with the outer surface of the first fabric layer. In some embodiments, the third fabric layer is folded about a second fold axis to place the third fabric layer in contact with the second fabric layer. In some embodiments, a textile-based electrode system can include a first fabric portion which includes a knitted conductive pathway. A second fabric portion is coupled to the first fabric portion and includes a knitted electrode configured to be placed in contact with the skin of a user. The second fabric portion is folded over the first fabric portion along a first fold line such that the knitted electrode is configured to be electrically coupled to the knitted conductive pathway. A third fabric portion is coupled to the second fabric portion and includes a connector region. The third fabric portion is folded over the first fabric portion along a second fold line such that (a) the connector region is configured to be coupled to the knitted conductive pathway, and (b) the first fabric portion is disposed between the second fabric portion and the third fabric portion. In some embodiments, the first fabric portion, the second fabric portion, and the third fabric portion are substantially tubular. In some embodiments, the first fabric portion, the second fabric portion, and the third fabric portion are formed seamlessly. In some embodiments, a method for manufacturing a textile-based electrode system includes knitting a first tubular portion including a conductive pathway. A second tubular portion which includes an electrode is knitted extending from the first tubular portion. A third tubular portion is knitted extending from the second tubular portion. The first tubular portion is folded over the second tubular portion along a first fold line and the conductive pathway is electrically coupled to the electrode. The first tubular portion and the second tubular portion are then folded over the third tubular portion along a second fold line such that the first tubular portion is disposed between the second tubular portion and the third tubular portion. A connector is disposed in the third fabric portion. The conductive pathway is then coupled to the connector. In some embodiments, the method further includes coupling the first tubular portion to the second tubular portion after the first fold. In some embodiments, the method also includes coupling the third tubular portion to the second tubular portion and the first tubular portion adjacent the first fold line such that the first tubular portion and the second tubular portion remain folded over the third tubular portion during use. As used herein, the term “about” and “approximately” generally mean plus or minus 10% of the value stated, for example about 250 μm would include 225 μm to 275 μm, about 1,000 μm would include 900 μm to 1,100 μm. As used herein, the terms “continuously,” “seamless” and “seamlessly” refer to the integration of layers, portions, or components included in a textile-based electrode system without any seams, interruptions, transitions, or indications of disparity resulting in a visually appealing appearance which improves a user comfort by reducing chafing and pressure on the skin that are usually caused by seams. As used herein, the term “knit” or “knitted” refers to layers, portions, or components included in a textile-based electrode system that are formed by interlacing yarn or threads in a series of connected loops with needles. As used herein, the term “electrode” refers to an electrical conductor configured to contact a non-metallic surface including a skin of a user (e.g., a human or an animal) and measure electrical signals corresponding to one or more physiological parameters of the user. FIG.1shows a schematic illustration of a textile-based electrode system100, according to an embodiment. The system100includes an electrode110, a conductive pathway120, and a connector140. Optionally, a connector assembly160can be coupled to the connector140and configured to electrically couple the connector140to a processing module170. The system100is configured to be associated with a user U, for example, worn by the user U such that the electrode110is in contact with the skin of the user. In some embodiment, the system100can include a first fabric layer that has an inner surface and an outer surface. The inner surface can include the electrode110and can be configured to be placed in contact with the skin of the user U such that the electrode110also contacts the skin of the user U. The electrode110can be continuously and seamlessly knitted into the first layer. The electrode110can be knitted from a conductive yarn such as, for example, XSTATIC® silver metalized yarn, stainless steel thread, SCHOELLER® wool, polyaniline yarn, any other suitable conductive yarn or combination thereof. The electrode110can have any suitable size or shape such as, for example, square, rectangular, circular, elliptical, oval, polygonal, or any other suitable shape. While shown as including a single electrode110, in some embodiments, the system100can include a plurality of electrodes110, for example, 2, 3, 4, 5, or even more. In some embodiments, a padding member can be disposed on the outer surface of the first fabric layer adjacent to the electrodes. The padding member can be formed from any suitable material such as, for example, rubbery foam, a sponge, memory foam, a 3-D knitted porous fabric (e.g., a 3-D knitted mesh or 3-D spacer knit), any other suitable material or combination thereof. The padding member can, for example, be configured to urge the electrode110towards the skin of the user U, for example, to enable efficient contact of the electrode110with the skin of the user U. In some embodiments, the padding member can be also be configured to prevent rubbing of the electrode110against a fabric layer adjacent to the electrode, for example, a second fabric layer as described herein, and reduce noise. The electrode110can be configured to contact a skin of the user U and measure an electrical signal corresponding to a physiological parameter of the user U. The physiological parameters that can be measured include but are not limited to a galvanic skin response (GSR), an electrocardiogram (ECG), a heart rate, a breathing rate, a breathing pattern, a rib cage perimeter, a rib cage volume, an electromyelogram, and a body temperature. In some embodiments, the system100can include a second fabric layer that includes the conductive pathway120. In such embodiments, the conductive pathway120can be continuously and seamlessly knitted into the second fabric layer. The second fabric layer can be disposed and configured to contact the outer surface of the first fabric layer such that the conductive pathway120can be electrically coupled to the electrode110. The conductive pathway120can be knitted from a conductive yarn such as, for example, XSTATIC® silver metalized yarn, stainless steel thread, SCHOELLER® wool, polyaniline yarn, any other suitable conductive yarn or combination thereof. While shown as including a conductive pathway120, in some embodiments, the system100can include a plurality of conductive pathways120, for example, 2, 3, 4, 5, or even more, corresponding to the number of electrodes110included in the system100. The conductive pathway120is configured to electrically couple the electrode110to the connector140disposed on a third fabric layer, as described herein. In some embodiments, the connector140can disposed on the second fabric layer and electrically coupled to the conductive pathway120. In some embodiments, the conductive pathway120can be coupled to the electrode110using conductive yarn. In some embodiments, the conductive pathway120can be coupled to the electrode110with stitching, sewing, an adhesive (e.g., with conductive glue or conductive epoxy), a hot wire press, high frequency welding, ultrasonic welding, or any other suitable coupling mechanism. In some embodiments, an insulating member can be disposed on the conductive pathway120, for example, by over printing or laminating the conductive pathway120with any suitable insulating material such as, for example, a heat sealed adhesive, insulating membrane, polymers, plastics, mica, fabric, etc. In some embodiments, the insulating member can be configured to electrically isolate the conductive pathway120from the first fabric layer and/or the third fabric layer, for example, to reduce signal noise caused by rubbing of the conductive pathway against the first and/or the third fabric layer and thereby, improve signal quality. In some embodiments, the insulating member can be configured to provide a moisture impervious barrier, for example, to prevent electrical shorts. In some embodiments, the system100can include a third fabric layer configured and disposed to contact the second fabric layer. The connector140can be disposed on the third fabric layer and configured to be electrically coupled to the knitted conductive pathway120. In some embodiments, the third fabric portion can include an opening. The connector140can be at least partially disposed in the opening such that the connector140can be coupled to the knitted conductive pathway120. The third fabric layer can be disposed and configured to contact the second fabric layer such that the connector140can be electrically coupled to the conductive pathway120using any suitable means, as described herein, for example, mechanical coupling. In some embodiments, the third fabric layer can include one or more connector regions (not shown) configured to be electrically coupled to the knitted conductive pathway120. The connector regions can be knitted from a conductive yarn such as, for example, XSTATIC® silver metalized yarn, stainless steel thread, SCHOELLER® wool, polyaniline yarn, any other suitable conductive yarn or combination thereof. While shown as including a single connector140, in some embodiments, the system100can include a plurality of connectors140, for example, 2, 3, 4, 5, or even more, for example, corresponding to the number of electrodes110included in the system100. The connector140can be configure to be electrically coupled to the conductive pathway using mechanical coupling, an adhesive (e.g., with a conductive adhesive or epoxy), a hot wire press, high frequency welding, ultrasonic welding, sewing or stitching with conductive yarn, any other suitable coupling mechanism or combination thereof. The connector140can include a snap-fit connector (e.g., a male or female connector, a pin socket connector, a DIN connector, a banana connector, etc.), a hook connector, a magnetic connector, any other suitable connector or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the connector140, for example, a portion coupled to the conductive pathway120can be laminated or otherwise insulated with a suitable insulating material such as, for example, a heat sealed adhesive, polymers, plastics, mica, fabric, etc. The connector140can be configured to be removably coupled to a connector assembly160such that the connector region140is in electrical communication with the connector assembly160. The connector assembly160can include one or more connector receivers configured to mate with the connectors140. The connector receivers can be disposed and coupled to an electric circuit, for example, a printed electric circuit that can be disposed on a substrate, for example, a flat substrate. The connector assembly160can be ergonomically designed, have a small size, and light weight such that connector assembly160can be disposed on the system100(e.g., on the third fabric layer) while in use by the user U. In some embodiments, the third fabric layer can include a cover layer (e.g., a pocket) configured to cover at least a portion of the connector assembly160, such that the connector assembly160is hidden from sight. The connector assembly160can be in electrical communication with the processing module170and configured to convey the electrical signals from the electrode110to the processing module170. The processing module170can be configured to analyze the electrical signals received from the electrodes110and correlate the signals to one or more physiological parameters of the user U. In some embodiments, the processing module170can include a transimpedance amplifier circuit configured to convert current to an amplified voltage. In some embodiments, the processing module170can include an analog to digital converter configured to digitize the voltage. For example, the processing module170can include a differential analog to digital converter which can reduce noise in the signal measurement. In some embodiments, the processing module170can include operational amplifiers configured to amplify the measured signal. In some embodiments, the processing module170can include a filtering circuit, for example, a low pass filter, a high pass filter, a band pass filter, any other suitable filtering circuit, or combination thereof, configured to substantially reduce signal noise. In some embodiments, the processing module170can include a processor, for example, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, an ASIC chip, an ARM chip, or a programmable logic controller (PLC). The processor can include signal processing algorithms, for example, band pass filters, low pass filters, any other signal processing algorithms or combination thereof. In some embodiments, the processing module170can include a memory configured to store at least one of an electrical signal data, algorithms, user log data, etc. In some embodiments, the memory can also be configured to store a reference signature, for example, a calibration equation. The first fabric layer, the second fabric layer, and the third fabric layer can be knit from a non-conducting yarn such as, for example, nylon, cotton, silk, ramie, polyester, latex, spandex, any other suitable non-conductive yarn or combination thereof. The knitting can be performed using an SM8-TOP2 knitting machine by SANTONI™ or any other suitable knitting machine. Any suitable knitting pattern can be used, for example, single, double, jersey, interlocked, mock rib, ribbed, two-way stretch fabric, any other suitable knitting pattern or combination thereof. In some embodiments, the knitting pattern can intermesh on both sides of the fabric layer. In some embodiments, the knitted fabric layers can include a float yarn. In some embodiments, the first fabric layer can be continuously formed with the second fabric layer (e.g., seamlessly knitted). In some embodiments, the first fabric layer can also be continuously formed with the third fabric layer (e.g., seamlessly knitted). In some embodiment, the second fabric layer can be folded about a first fold axis to place the second fabric layer in contact with the outer surface of the first fabric layer such that, for example, the conductive pathway120can be electrically coupled to the electrode110. Furthermore, the third fabric layer can be folded about a second fold axis to place the third fabric layer in contact with the second fabric layer such that, for example, the conductive pathway120can be coupled to the connector140. In such embodiments, the first fabric layer can be coupled to the second fabric layer and the third fabric layer along at least one of the first fold axis and the second fold axis using any suitable coupling means such as, for example, stitching, sewing, gluing, hot wire press, high frequency welding, ultrasonic welding, any other suitable coupling mechanism or combination thereof. Any of the non-conductive yarn used for knitting the fabric layers, and the conductive-yarn used for knitting the electrode110, and the conductive pathways120can be inelastic or elastic. For example, elastic conductive yarn and elastic non-conductive yarn can be used to form a textile-based electrode system included in a sports garment or textile. In some embodiments, the system100can include a first fabric portion that includes the knitted conductive pathway120. The system100can include a second fabric portion coupled to the first fabric portion (e.g., continuously formed or seamlessly coupled). The second fabric portion can include the knitted electrode110configured to be placed in contact with the user. The second fabric portion can be folded along a first fold line such that the knitted electrode110is configured to be electrically coupled to the knitted conductive pathway120, for example, using conductive yarn or any other coupling mechanism described herein. The system100can also include a third fabric portion including a connector region and coupled to the second fabric portion (e.g., continuously formed or seamlessly coupled). The third fabric portion can be folded over the first fabric portion along a second fold line such that (a) the connector region is configured to be coupled to the knitted conductive pathway120by the connector140(e.g., by electrically and/or mechanically coupling the connector140to the knitted conductive pathway120), or any other coupling mechanism described herein, and (b) the first fabric portion is disposed between the second fabric portion and the third fabric portion. The first, second, and third fabric portions can be formed a non-conductive yarn, for example, any non-conductive yarn described herein. In such embodiments, the second fabric portion and third fabric portion can be configured to electrically insulate the knitted conductive pathway120from the skin of the user U as well as the outside environment. In some embodiments, the knitted conductive pathway can also be insulated with a laminating or insulating layer, as described herein. In some embodiments, the system100can include a stitch, for example, a first stitch, configured to couple the second fabric portion to the first fabric portion along or otherwise proximate to the second fold line such that the second fabric portion remains proximate to the first fabric portion during use. Furthermore, the system100can include a second stitch configured to couple the third fabric portion to the first fabric portion and the second fabric portion along the first fold line such that the third fabric portion remains proximate to the first fabric portion and the second fabric portion during use. In some embodiments, the first, second and third fabric portions can be substantially tubular, such that the system100resembles a tube, or a band. In some embodiments, the system100can include a one layer band. The one layer band can include the electrode110, the conductive pathway120and the connector140disposed thereon and configured to be coupled to the conductive pathway120. In such embodiments, the conductive pathway120can be electrically insulated by a lamination layer, as described herein. In some embodiments, the electrode110and the conductive pathway can be knitted from conductive yarn. In some embodiments, the electrode110and the conductive pathway120can be printed, for example, using conductive ink. In some embodiments, the system100can include a two layer band. In such embodiments, the system100can include an outer portion that can include the connector140disposed thereon and configured to be coupled to the conductive pathway120, and a skin facing portion that includes the electrode110. The conductive pathway120can be disposed in the outer portion and/or the skin facing portion, and disposed and configured to be electrically coupled to the electrode110and the connector140, for example, disposed in an opening in the third fabric portion. In such embodiments, the conductive pathway120can be electrically insulated by the outer portion and the skin facing portion or a lamination, as described herein. In some embodiments, the two layer band can be configured such that the skin facing portion is folded along a first fold line and at least partially overlaps the outer portion. In some embodiments, the two layer band can be configured such that the skin facing portion is folded about the first fold line and is adjacent to but does not overlap the outer portion. In any of these embodiments, the conductive pathway can be coupled to the electrode using conductive yarn or conductive thread. In some embodiments, the system100can be configured to have a tubular shape. In such embodiments, the system100can be configured to be used by the user U as a waist band, a head band, an arm band, a thigh band, a head band, a wrist band, or an ankle band. Furthermore, the system100can be included in a wearable garment, for example, a shirt, a jersey, a vest, a bra, or any other wearable garment. In some embodiments, the system100can have any other suitable shape or size and can be included in any suitable wearable garment, for example, a glove, a sock, a shoe, etc. Having described above various general principles, several embodiments of these concepts are now described. These embodiments are only examples, and many other configurations of a textile-based electrode system are contemplated. In some embodiments, a textile-based electrode system can include a plurality of fabric layers. Referring now toFIGS.2-4, a textile-based electrode system1100includes a first fabric layer1102, a second fabric layer1104, and a third fabric layer1106. The first fabric layer1102includes a knitted electrode1110, the second fabric layer1104includes a knitted conductive pathway1120, and the third fabric layer1106includes a connector1140. The textile-based electrode system1100is configured to be associated with a user, for example, worn by a user and sense one more physiological parameters of the user. The first fabric layer1102can be formed from a non-conductive material such as, for example, nylon, cotton, silk, ramie, polyester, latex, spandex, any other suitable non-conductive yarn or combination thereof. Furthermore, the first fabric layer1102can be formed from a stretchable material, for example, to conform to the skin of the user and enable sufficient contact between the knitted electrode1110and the skin of the user. The first fabric layer1102includes an inner surface1103and an outer surface1105(FIG.4). The inner surface1103includes the knitted electrode1110and is configured to be placed in the contact with the skin of the user such that the knitted electrode1110can measure an electrical signal corresponding to a physiological parameter of the user (e.g., a galvanic skin response (GSR), an electrocardiogram (ECG), a heart rate, a breathing rate, a breathing pattern, a rib cage perimeter, a rib cage volume, an electromyelogram, and a body temperature). The knitted electrode1110can be continuously and seamlessly knitted in the first fabric layer1102. The knitted electrode1110can be formed from a conductive yarn such as, for example, XSTATIC® silver metalized yarn, stainless steel thread, SCHOELLER® wool, polyaniline yarn, any other suitable conductive yarn or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, a padding member can be disposed on the outer surface1105of the first fabric layer1102adjacent to the knitted electrode1110. In some embodiments, the padding member can be disposed between the first fabric layer1102and the second fabric layer1104. In some embodiments, the padding member can be disposed between the second fabric layer1104and the third fabric layer1106. The padding member can be formed from any suitable material such as, for example, rubbery foam, a sponge, memory foam, a 3-D knitted porous fabric (e.g., a 3-D knitted mesh or 3-D spacer knit), any other suitable material or combination thereof. In some embodiments, the padding member is configured to urge the knitted electrodes1110toward the skin of the user when in use to improve signal quality. While shown as having a square shape, the knitted electrode1110can have any suitable size or shape such as, for example, square, rectangular, circular, elliptical, oval, polygonal, any other suitable shape or size. In some embodiments, the first fabric layer1102can include a plurality of knitted electrodes1110, for example, 2, 3, 4, 5 or even more. The second fabric layer1104is configured to contact the outer surface1105of the first fabric layer1102. The second fabric layer1104can be formed from substantially the same material as the first fabric layer1102. The second fabric layer includes a knitted conductive pathway1120that includes a first end1122and a second end1124. The knitted conductive pathway1120is configured to be coupled to the knitted electrode1110, as described herein. The knitted conductive pathway1120can be formed from substantially the same material as the knitted electrode1110. While shown as including a single knitted conductive pathway1120, any number of knitted conductive pathways can be included in the second fabric layer1104, for example, 2, 3, 4, 5, or even higher corresponding to the number of knitted electrodes1110included in the first fabric layer1102. In some embodiments, an insulating member can be disposed on at least a portion of the knitted conductive pathway1120. The insulating member can be disposed one side or both sides of the knitted conductive pathway1120by laminating or overprinting a suitable insulating material such as, for example, a heat sealed adhesive, an insulating membrane, silicon, plastic, polymer, mica, etc over the knitted conductive pathway1120. The insulating material can, for example, reduce signal noise and thereby, improve signal quality. In some embodiments, the insulating member can also be configured to provide a moisture impervious barrier, for example, to prevent electrical shorts. The third fabric layer1106is configured to contact the second fabric layer. The third fabric layer1106can be formed from substantially the same material as the first fabric layer1102. The connector1140is disposed on the third fabric layer1106and is configured to be electrically coupled to the knitted conductive pathway1120. The connector1140can, for example, be disposed in an opening defined in the third fabric portion1106. The connector1140can be coupled to the knitted conductive pathway using any suitable means, for example, mechanical coupling, stitching or sewing with conductive yarn, with conductive adhesive or epoxy, hot wire press, high frequency welding, ultrasonic welding, any other suitable coupling mechanism or combination thereof. While shown as being disposed on the third fabric layer1106, in some embodiments, the connector1140can disposed on the second fabric layer1104and electrically coupled to the knitted conductive pathway1120. The connector can include a snap-fit connector (e.g., a male or female connector, a pin socket connector, a DIN connector, a banana connector), a hook connector, a magnetic connector, any other suitable connector or a combination thereof. The connector can be configured to be removably coupled to a connector assembly (e.g., the connector assembly160or any other connector assembly described herein) such that the knitted connector region (and thereby the electrode1110) is in electrical communication with the connector assembly. At least a portion of the connector1140, for example, the portion of the connector1140coupled to the knitted conductive pathway1120can be insulated with an insulating material, as described herein. While shown as including a single connector1140, the third fabric portion can include any number of connectors1140, for example, 2, 3, 4, 5, or even more (e.g., corresponding to the number of electrode1110included in the system1100). In some embodiments, the third fabric layer1106can include a knitted connector region configured to be electrically coupled to at least one of the knitted conductive pathway1120and the connector1140. The knitted connector region can be configured to be electrically coupled to the knitted conductive pathway1120, for example, using conductive yarn. The knitted connector region can be formed from substantially the same material as the knitted electrode1110. FIG.2shows the system1110in a first configuration in which the first fabric layer1102, the second fabric layer1104, and the third fabric layer1106are separated from each other. In a second configuration, the second fabric layer1104can be disposed on the outer surface1105of the first fabric layer1102, and the third fabric layer1106can be disposed on the second fabric layer1104as shown inFIG.3. In the second configuration, the inner surface1103of the first fabric portion is configured to contact the skin of the user such that the electrode1110contacts the skin of the user during use. As shown in the side-cross section view ofFIG.4, the knitted conductive pathway1120is disposed between the first fabric layer1102and the third fabric layer1106in the second configuration. In this manner, the first fabric layer1102electrically insulates the second fabric layer1104from a skin of the user and the third fabric layer1106electrically insulates the second fabric layer1104from the outside environment. Furthermore, the first end1122of the knitted conductive pathway1120can be disposed adjacent to but not contacting or otherwise overlapping the knitted electrode1110in the second configuration, as shown inFIG.4. In such embodiments, the first end1122of the knitted conductive pathway1120can be electrically coupled to the knitted electrode1110using conductive yarn or gluing (e.g., by conductive glue or conductive epoxy). Moreover, the second end1124of the knitted conductive pathway1120can be at least partially overlapping the connector1140, such that the second end1124knitted conductive pathway1120can be electrically coupled to the connector1140(e.g., by mechanical coupling, stitching or sewing with conductive yarn, or conductive adhesive). In this manner, the knitted electrode1110can be in electrical communication with the connector1140via the knitted conductive pathway1120and the connector1140in the second configuration In some embodiments, the first end1122and/or the second end1124of the knitted conductive pathway1120can be configured to at least partially overlap the knitted electrode1110in the second configuration. In such embodiments, the first end1122of the knitted conductive pathway1120can be configured to be coupled to the knitted electrode1110using any suitable means such as for example, stitching or sewing with a conductive yarn, gluing (e.g., with a conductive glue or conductive epoxy), hot wire press, high frequency welding, ultrasonic welding, or any other suitable coupling mechanism. In some embodiments, the third fabric layer1106can include a conductive connector region (not shown) configured to be electrically coupled to the second end1124of the knitted conductive pathway1120as described herein. While shown as being separate fabric layers, in some embodiments, the first fabric layer1102can be continuously formed (e.g., seamlessly coupled) with the second fabric layer1104. Furthermore, the second fabric layer1104can be continuously formed (e.g., seamlessly coupled) with the third fabric layer1106such that the textile-based electrode system1110is a single piece textile blank. In such embodiments, the second fabric layer1104can be folded about a first fold axis to place the second fabric layer1104in contact with the outer surface1105of the first fabric layer1102. Moreover, the third fabric layer1106can be folded about a second fold axis to place the third fabric layer1106in contact with the second fabric layer1104, thereby placing the system1110in the second configuration. The first fabric layer1102can be coupled to the second fabric layer1104and the third fabric layer1106along at least one of the first fold axis and the second fold axis (e.g., by stitching, sewing, gluing, hot wire press, high frequency welding, ultrasonic welding, etc.) such that the second fabric layer1104and the third fabric layer1106are maintained in the second configuration (i.e., in a folded state). In some embodiments, a first insulating member can be disposed between the first fabric layer1102and the second fabric layer1104. Furthermore, a second insulating member can be disposed between the second fabric layer1104and the third fabric layer1106. The first and second insulating members can be configured to electrically and mechanically isolate the knitted conductive pathway1120from the first fabric layer1102and the second fabric layer1104. This can reduce signal noise and thereby, enhance overall signal quality. In some embodiments, the first and second insulating members can also be configured to provide a moisture impervious barrier, for example, to prevent electrical shorts. In some embodiments, a textile-based electrode system can include a plurality of portions. Referring now toFIGS.5A-5GandFIG.6, a textile-based electrode system includes a first fabric portion1202, a second fabric portion1204, a third fabric portion1206. The first fabric portion1202includes a knitted conductive pathway1220. The second fabric portion1204extends from the first fabric portion1202and includes a knitted electrode1210. The third fabric portion1206extends from the second fabric portion1204and includes a connector region1230configured to be coupled to the knitted conductive pathway1220by a connector1240. The textile-based electrode system1210is configured to be associated with a user, for example, worn by a user and sense one more physiological parameters of the user. The first fabric portion1202can be formed from a non-conductive yarn, for example, any of the non-conductive yarns described herein. Furthermore, the first fabric portion1202can be formed from a stretchable material, for example, to conform to the skin of the user and enable sufficient contact between the knitted electrode1210and the skin of the user. The knitted conductive pathway1220can be continuously formed (e.g., seamlessly formed) in the first fabric portion1202. The knitted conductive pathway1220can be formed from a conductive yarn, for example, any of the conductive yarns described herein. The second fabric portion1204can be formed from substantially the same material as the first fabric portion1202. The knitted electrode1210is configured to be placed in contact with the skin of the user, as described herein, such that the knitted electrode1210can measure an electrical signal corresponding to a physiological parameter of the user, for example, any of the physiological parameters described herein. The knitted electrode1210can be continuously and seamlessly knitted in the second fabric portion1204. The knitted electrode1210can be formed from substantially the same material as the knitted conductive pathway1220. While shown as having a square shape, the knitted electrode1210can have any suitable size or shape such as, for example, square, rectangular, circular, elliptical, oval, polygonal, any other suitable shape or size. The third fabric portion1206can be formed from substantially the same material as the first fabric portion1202. The connector region1230can include an opening defined in the third fabric portion1206, for example, during knitting of the third fabric portion1206and/or otherwise formed in the third fabric1206after the knitting process. The connector1240can be disposed in the opening1230defined in the third fabric portion1206and can be configured to be electrically coupled to the knitted conductive pathway1220by any suitable method described herein (e.g., mechanical coupling). The connector1240can be substantially similar to the connector140or any other connector described herein. The connector1240can be configured to be removably coupled to a connector assembly (e.g., the connector assembly160or any other connector assembly described herein) such that the knitted conductive pathway1220(and thereby the electrode1210) is in electrical communication with the connector assembly. In some embodiments, the connector1240can be disposed on the second fabric portion1204and electrically coupled to the knitted conductive pathway1220. In some embodiments, the connector region1230can include a conductive portion, for example, a knitted conductive portion configured to be electrically coupled to the knitted conductive pathway1220. The conductive portion can be configured to be electrically coupled to the knitted conductive pathway1220, for example, using conductive yarn. The conductive portion can be formed from substantially the same material as the knitted electrode1110. While shown as being substantially flat, in some embodiments, the first fabric portion1202, the second fabric portion1204, and the third fabric portion1206can be substantially tubular. Furthermore, the first fabric portion1202, the second fabric portion1204, and the third fabric portion1206can be formed seamlessly (e.g., knitted continuously). The system1200can be moved from a first configuration in which the knitted electrode1210and the knitted conductive pathways1220are electrically isolated, to a second configuration in which the knitted conductive pathway1220is configured to be electrically coupled to the knitted electrode1210, and finally to a third configuration in which the knitted conductive pathway1220is configured to be electrically coupled to the connector1240.FIG.5Ashows the system1200in the first configuration. In the first configuration, neither one of the first fabric portion1202, the second fabric portion1204, or the third fabric portion1206is folded. The first fabric portion1202can be folded along a first fold line1203in a direction shown by the arrow C to move the system1200from the first configuration to the second configuration. As shown inFIG.5B, the first fabric portion1202is moved towards the second fabric portion1204until the first fabric portion1202is disposed adjacent to the second fabric portion1204(FIG.5C and5D). Furthermore, a first end1222of the knitted conductive pathway1220is disposed adjacent to but not overlapping the knitted electrode1210. In such embodiments, the first end1222of the knitted conductive pathway1220can be coupled to the knitted electrode1210by stitching or sewing with conductive yarn. The second fabric portion1204can then be folded about a second fold line1205in a direction shown by the arrow D (FIGS.5D and5E) to move the system1200from the second configuration to the third configuration. As shown inFIGS.5D and5E, the first fabric portion1202and the second fabric portion1204are moved towards the third fabric portion1206, until the first fabric portion is disposed adjacent to the third fabric portion1206and the system1200is in the third configuration (FIGS.5F and5G). Furthermore, a second end1224of the knitted conductive pathway1220can overlap the connector region1230. The connector1240can be disposed in the connector region1230and electrically coupled to the knitted conductive pathway1220, for example, using mechanical coupling, conductive adhesive or any other coupling mechanism described herein. While shown as being adjacent and not overlapping in some embodiments, the first end1222of the knitted conductive pathway1220can be configured to at least partially overlap the knitted electrode1210after folding the first fabric portion1202about the first fold line1203. In such embodiments, first end1222of the knitted conductive pathway1220can be coupled to the knitted electrode1210by stitching or sewing with conductive yarn, gluing with conductive adhesive or epoxy, hot wire press, high frequency welding, ultrasonic welding, any other suitable coupling mechanism or combination thereof. As shown inFIG.6, in the second configuration, the knitted conductive pathway1220can be disposed between the second fabric portion1204, and third fabric portion1206. In this way, the knitted conductive pathway1220can be electrically insulated from the skin of the user by the second fabric portion1204, and electrically insulated from the outside environment by the third fabric portion1206. In some embodiments, the system1200can include a first stitch configured to couple the second fabric portion1204to the first fabric portion1202such that the second fabric portion1204remains proximate to the first fabric portion1202during use. Furthermore, the system1200can also include a second stitch configured to couple the third fabric portion1206to the first fabric portion1202and the second fabric portion1204such that the third fabric portion1206remains proximate to the first fabric portion1202and the second fabric portion1204during use. Said another way, the first stitch and the second stitch can ensure that the first fabric layer1202remains folded about the first fold line1203, and the second fabric layer1204remains folded about the second fold line1205such that the system1200is maintained in the second configuration during use. In some embodiments, a padding member (not shown) can be disposed between the first fabric portion1202and the second fabric portion1204adjacent to the knitted electrode1210. In some embodiments, the padding member can be disposed on the first fabric portion1202while the system1200is in the first configuration. In some embodiments, the padding member can be disposed on the first fabric portion1202while the system is1200being moved from the first configuration into the second configuration. In some embodiments, the padding member can be disposed between the first fabric portion1202and the second fabric portion1204when the system is in the second configuration. In some embodiments, the padding member can be disposed between the second fabric portion1204and the third fabric portion1206adjacent to the first end1222of the knitted conductive pathway1220, such that the padding member is adjacent to the knitted electrode1210. In such embodiments, the padding member can be disposed between the second fabric portion1204and the third fabric portion1206when the system1200is in the second configuration, or while the system1200is being moved from the second configuration to the third configuration. The padding member can be formed from any suitable material such as, for example, rubbery foam, a sponge, memory foam, a 3-D knitted porous fabric (e.g., a 3-D knitted mesh or 3-D spacer knit), any other suitable material or combination thereof. In some embodiments, the padding member is configured to urge the knitted electrode1210toward the skin of the user when in use to improve signal quality. In some embodiments, an insulating member can be disposed between the first fabric portion1202and the second fabric portion1204, and/or between the second fabric portion1204and the third portion1206. For example, in some embodiments, a first insulating member can be disposed between the first fabric portion1202and the second fabric portion1204. The first insulating member can be configured to electrically and/or mechanically isolate the knitted conductive pathway1220from the second fabric layer1204. The first insulating member can be disposed while the system1200is in the first configuration. In some embodiments, the first insulating member can be disposed while the system1200is being moved from the first configuration to the second configuration. Moreover, a second insulating member can be disposed between the first fabric portion1202and the third fabric portion1206. The second insulating member can be configured to electrically and/or mechanically isolate the knitted conductive pathway1220from the third fabric layer1206. The second insulating member can be disposed while the system1200is in the first configuration. In some embodiments, the second insulating member can be disposed while the system1200is being moved from the first configuration to the second configuration, while the system1200is in the second configuration, while the system1200is being moved from the second configuration into the third configuration. The electrical and/or mechanical insulation provided by the first and second insulating members can reduce signal noise and thereby, enhance overall signal quality. In some embodiments, the first and second insulating members can also be configured to provide a moisture impervious barrier, for example, to prevent electrical shorts. In some embodiments, a textile-based electrode system can include a plurality of electrodes. Referring now toFIG.7, a textile-based electrode system1300can include a textile blank that includes a skin facing portion1302and an outer portion1304. The skin facing portion1302includes a first electrode1310a,a second electrode1310b,a third electrode1310c(collectively referred to as “the electrodes1310”) and at least a portion of a first conductive pathway1320a,a second conductive pathways1320band a third conductive pathway1320c(collectively referred to as “the conductive pathways1320”). The outer portion1304extends from the skin facing portion1302and includes a first connector region1330a,a second connector region1330b,a third connector region1330c,a fourth connector region1330d,a fifth connector region1330e(collectively referred to as “the connector regions1330”), and at least a portion of the conductive pathways1320which extend from the skin facing portion1302into the outer portion1304. The system1300can be included in any textile or garment, for example, a band, a shirt, a jersey, a vest, a bra, or any other wearable textile, such that, the system1300can measure one or more physiological parameters of a user. The skin facing portion1302and the outer portion1304can be formed from a non-conductive material, for example, any of the materials described with respect to the first fabric layer included in the textile-based electrode system100. Furthermore, the skin facing portion1302can be continuously formed with the outer portion1304(e.g., seamlessly coupled). The skin facing portion1302is configured to folded about a fold line1303such that the skin facing portion1302overlaps the outer portion1304and is configured to contact the skin of the user during use. The system1300can include one or more stitches configured to couple the skin facing portion1302to the outer portion1304, such that the skin facing portion1302remains proximate to the outer portion1304during use. The electrodes1310can be continuously and seamlessly knitted with the skin facing portion1302. The electrodes1310are substantially aligned with each other such that a top edge of each of the electrodes1310is disposed at a distance d from the fold line1303. The electrodes1310can be formed from a conductive material, for example, knitted using conductive yarn, or printed with conductive ink. The electrodes1310can be substantially similar to the electrode110,1110,1210, or any other electrode described herein and is therefore, not described in further detail herein. The electrodes1310are configured to contact the skin of a user and sense an electrical signal corresponding to one or more physiological parameters of the user. In some embodiments, any two of the electrodes1310(e.g., the first electrode1310aand the second electrode1310b) can be used to measuring the signals which are used to determine the physiological parameter of the user. In such embodiments, the remaining electrode1310(e.g., the third electrode1310c) can be used to increase redundancy and robustness of the measurement, reduce noise, and/or amplify signals. While shown as including three electrodes1310, any number of electrodes can be included in the skin facing portion1302, for example, 2, 4, 5, 6 or even more. The conductive pathways1320can be substantially similar to the conductive pathway120,1120,1220, or any other conductive pathway described herein. The conductive pathways1320are seamlessly and continuously coupled to the electrodes1310using conductive yarn along a top edge of the electrodes1310proximal to the fold line1303. The conductive pathways1320extend from the skin facing portion1302into the outer portion1304and are seamlessly and continuously knitted to the connector regions1330. In this manner, the electrodes1310can be in electrical communication with the connector region1330via the conductive pathways1320. The conductive pathways1320can be electrically insulated from the skin of the user and the outside environment by laminating or otherwise coating with an insulating material such as, for example, heat sealed adhesive, insulating membrane, polymers, plastic, mica, etc. The connector regions1330are seamlessly and continuously knitted into the outer portion1304and coupled to the conductive pathways1320as described herein. While not shown, a connector, as described with respect to the system100,1100,1200or any other system described herein, can be coupled to each connector region1330. The connectors can be configured to couple the connector regions1330to a connector assembly, for example, the connector assembly160, or any other connector assembly described herein. As shown herein, the fourth connector regions1330dand the fifth connector regions1330eare not coupled to any conductive pathway1320and are thereby electrically isolated from the electrodes1310. In some embodiments, the fourth connector regions1330dand the fifth connector region1330ecan be configured to be coupled to a respiration sensor, for example, a respiration sensor included in the system1300or part of a separate system. Furthermore, connectors coupled to the connector regions1330dand1330ecan ensure proper alignment of the connector assembly to the connector regions1330. In some embodiment, the connector regions1330can include openings configured to receive the connector. In such embodiments, the connectors can be electrically coupled to the conductive pathways1320, for example, using mechanical coupling or a conductive adhesive. In some embodiments, a textile-based electrode system can include a plurality of electrodes that include conductive pathways electrically coupled to a side edge of the electrode. Referring now toFIG.8, a textile-based electrode system1400includes a textile blank that includes a skin facing portion1402and an outer portion1404. The skin facing portion1402includes a first electrode1410a,a second electrode1410b,a third electrode1410c(collectively referred to as “the electrodes1410”) and at least a portion of a first conductive pathway1420a,a second conductive pathway1420b,and a third conductive pathway1420c(collectively referred to as “the conductive pathways1420”). The outer portion1404extends from the skin facing portion1402, and includes a first connector region1430a,a second connector region1430b,a third connector region1430c,a fourth connector region1430d,a fifth connector region1430e(collectively referred to as “the connector regions1430”), and at least a portion of the conductive pathways1420which extend from the skin facing portion1402into the outer portion1404. The system1400can be included in any textile or garment, for example, a band, a shirt, a jersey, a vest, a bra, or any other wearable textile, such that, the system1400can be used to measure one or more physiological parameters of a user. The skin facing portion1402and the outer portion1404can be formed from a non-conductive material, for example, any of the materials described with respect to the first fabric layer included in the textile-based electrode system100. Furthermore, the skin facing portion1402can be continuously formed with the outer portion1404(e.g., seamlessly coupled). The skin facing portion1402is configured to be folded about a fold line1403such that the skin facing portion1402overlaps the outer portion1404and is configured to contact the skin of the user during use. The system1400can include one or more stitches configured to couple the skin facing portion1402to the outer portion1404, such that skin facing portion1402remains proximate to the outer portion1404during use. The electrodes1410can be continuously and seamlessly knitted into the skin facing portion1402. The electrodes1410are substantially aligned with each other such that a top edge of each of the electrodes1410is disposed at a distance d from the fold line1403. The electrodes1410can be formed from a conductive material, for example, conductive yarn. The electrodes1410can be substantially similar to the electrode110,1110,1210,1310, or any other electrode described herein and are therefore, not described in further detail herein. The electrodes1410are configured to contact the skin of a user and sense an electrical signal corresponding to one or more physiological parameters of the user. While shown as including three electrodes1410, any number of electrodes can be included in the skin facing portion1402, for example, 2, 4, 5, 6 or even more, as described with respect to the electrodes1310included in the system1300. The conductive pathways1420can be substantially similar to the conductive pathway120,1120,1220,1320, or any other conductive pathway define herein. The conductive pathways1420are seamlessly and continuously knitted to the electrodes1410using conductive yarn along a side edge of the electrodes1410proximal to the other electrodes1410. The conductive pathways1420extend from the skin facing portion1402into the outer portion1404and are seamlessly and continuously knitted to the connector regions1430. In this manner, the electrodes1410can be in electrical communication with the connector region1430via the conductive pathways1420. The conductive pathways1420can be electrically insulated from the skin of the user and the outside environment by laminating or otherwise coating with an insulating material such as, for example, heat sealed adhesive, insulating membrane, polymers, plastic, mica, etc. The connector regions1430are seamlessly and continuously knitted into the outer portion1404and coupled to the conductive pathways1420as described herein. While not shown, connectors, as described with respect to the system100,1100,1200,1300, or any other system described herein, can be coupled to each connector region1430. The connectors can be configured to couple the connector regions1430to a connector assembly, for example, the connector assembly160, or any other connector assembly described herein. The connector regions1430can be substantially similar to the connector regions130,1130,1230,1330, or any other connector regions described herein, and are therefore not described in further detail herein. In some embodiment, the connector regions1430can include openings configured to receive the connector. In such embodiments, the connectors can be electrically coupled to the conductive pathways1420, for example, using mechanical coupling or a conductive adhesive. In some embodiments, a textile-based electrode system can include a plurality of electrodes that are not aligned with each other. Referring now toFIG.9, a textile-based electrode system1500can include a textile blank that includes a skin facing portion1502and an outer portion1504. The skin facing portion1502includes a first electrode1510a,a second electrode1510b,a third electrode1510c(collectively referred to as “the electrodes1510”), and at least a portion of a first conductive pathway1520a,a second conductive pathway1520b,and a third conductive pathway1520c(collectively referred to as “the conductive pathways1520”). The outer portion1504extends from the skin facing portion1502and includes a first connector region1530a,a second connector region1530b,a third connector region1530c,a fourth connector region1530d,a fifth connector region1530e(collectively referred to as “the connector regions1530”), and at least a portion of the conductive pathways1520which extend from the skin facing portion1502into the outer portion1504. The system1500can be included in any textile or garment, for example, a band, a shirt, a jersey, a vest, a bra, or any other wearable textile, such that, the system1500can be used to measure one or more physiological parameters of a user. The skin facing portion1502and the outer portion1504can be formed from a non-conductive material, for example, any of the materials described with respect to the first fabric layer included in the textile-based electrode system100. Furthermore, the skin facing portion1502can be continuously formed with the outer portion1504(e.g., seamlessly coupled). The skin facing portion1502is configured to be folded about a fold line1503such that the skin facing portion1502overlaps the outer portion1504and is configured to contact the skin of the user during use. The system1500can include one or more stitches configured to couple the skin facing portion1502to the outer portion1504, such that the skin facing portion1502remains proximate to the outer portion1504during use. The electrodes1510can be continuously and seamlessly knitted into the skin facing portion1302. A first top edge of the first electrode1510ais disposed at a first distance di from the fold line1503, a second top edge of the second electrode1510bis disposed at a second distance d2from the fold line1503, and a third top edge of the third electrode1510cis disposed at a third distance d3from the fold line1503, the first distance di, the second distance d2, and the third distance d3different from each other. In this manner, the electrodes1510are located in the first portion1502such that they are misaligned. Furthermore, the electrodes1510can be configured to contact different portions of the skin of the user for example, the chest, back, near the bottom of the heart, the midriff, etc. In this way, the electrodes1510can measure key physiological signals from different portions of the skin of the user. The electrodes1510can be formed from a conductive material, for example, conductive yarn. The electrodes1510can be substantially similar to the electrode110,1110,1210,1310, or any other electrode described herein and are therefore, not described in further detail herein. The conductive pathways1520can be substantially similar to the conductive pathway120,1120,1220,1320, or any other conductive pathway define herein. The conductive pathways1520are seamlessly and continuously knitted to the electrodes1510using conductive yarn. The conductive pathways1520extend from the skin facing portion1502into the outer portion1504and are seamlessly and continuously knitted to the connector regions1530. In this manner, the electrodes1510can be in electrical communication with the connector region1530via the conductive pathways1520. The conductive pathways1520can be electrically insulated from the skin of the user and the outside environment by laminating or otherwise coating with an insulating material such as, for example, heat sealed adhesive, insulating membrane, polymers, plastic, mica, etc. The connector regions1530are seamlessly and continuously knitted into the outer portion1504and coupled to the conductive pathways1520as described herein. While not shown, a connector, as described with respect to the system100,1100,1200,1300, or any other system described herein, can be coupled to each connector region1530. The connectors can be configured to couple the connector regions1530to a connector assembly, for example, the connector assembly160, or any other connector assembly described herein. The connector regions1530can be substantially similar to the connector regions130,1130,1230,1330, or any other connector region described herein and are therefore, not described in further detail herein. In some embodiment, the connector regions1530can include openings configured to receive the connector. In such embodiments, the connectors can be electrically coupled to the conductive pathways1520, for example, using mechanical coupling or a conductive adhesive. In some embodiments, a textile-based electrode system can be substantially tubular. Referring now toFIG.10, a textile-based electrode system1600includes a skin facing portion1602and an outer portion1604. The skin facing portion1602includes a first electrode1610a,a second electrode1610b,a third electrode1610c(collectively referred to as “the electrodes1610”), and at least a portion of a first conductive pathway1620a,a second conductive pathway1620b,and a third conductive pathway1620c(collectively referred to as “the conductive pathways1620”). The outer portion1604extends from the skin facing portion1602and includes a first connector region1630a,a second connector region1630b,a third connector region1630c,a fourth connector region1630d,a fifth connector region1630e(collectively referred to as “the connector regions1630”), and at least a portion of the conductive pathways1620, which extend from the skin facing portion1602into the outer portion1604. The skin facing portion1602and the outer portion1604can be formed from a non-conductive material, for example, any of the materials described with respect to the first fabric layer included in the textile-based electrode system100. Furthermore, the skin facing portion1602can be continuously formed with the outer portion1604(e.g., seamlessly coupled). As shown inFIG.10, each of the skin facing portion1602and the outer portion1604are substantially tubular. Furthermore, the skin facing portion1602and the outer portion1604are continuously formed such that no seams or stitches, seams, or adhesive are used to form the tubular textile-based electrode system1600. The skin facing portion1602is configured to be folded about a fold line1603such that the skin facing portion1602overlaps the outer portion1604and is configured to contact the skin of the user during use. The system1600can include one or more stitches configured to couple the skin facing portion1602to the outer portion1604, such that skin facing portion1602remains proximate to the outer portion1604during use. The electrodes1610can be continuously and seamlessly knitted into the skin facing portion1602. The electrodes1610can be formed from a conductive material, for example, conductive yarn. The electrodes1610can be substantially similar to the electrode110,1110,1210,1310, or any other electrode described herein and are therefore, not described in further detail herein. The electrodes1610are configured to contact the skin of the user and sense an electrical signal corresponding to one or more physiological parameters of the user. In some embodiments, a padding member can be disposed on the skin facing portion1602behind the electrodes1610. The padding member can be formed from any suitable material such as, for example, rubbery foam, a sponge, memory foam, a 3-D knitted porous fabric, any other suitable material or combination thereof. The padding member can be configured to urge the electrode towards the skin of the user. In some embodiments, the electrodes1610can be spaced equally around the circumference of the tubular skin facing portion1602, for example, by at least about 10 cms, about 11 cms, 12 cms, 13 cms, 14 cms, 15 cms, 16 cms, 17 cms, 18 cms, 19 cms, or at least about 20 cms. This can allow design flexibility and enhance the quality of the measured electrical signals. While shown as including three electrodes1610, any number of electrodes can be included in the skin facing portion1602, for example, 2, 4, 5, 6 or even more. The conductive pathways1620can be substantially similar to the conductive pathway120,1120,1220,1320, or any other conductive pathway described herein. The conductive pathways1620are seamlessly and continuously knitted to the electrodes1610using conductive yarn. The conductive pathways1620extend from the skin facing portion1602into the outer portion1604and are seamlessly and continuously knitted to the connector regions1630. In this manner, the electrodes1610can be in electrical communication with the connector region1630via the conductive pathways1620. The conductive pathways1620can be electrically insulated from the skin of the user and the outside environment by laminating or otherwise coating with an insulating material such as, for example, heat sealed adhesive, insulating membrane, polymers, plastic, mica, etc. In some embodiments, each of the conducting pathways1620can have a width of about 0.2 cm to about 2 cms, for example, about 0.4 cm, about 0.6 cm, about 0.8 cm, about 1 cm, about 1.2 cm about 1.4 cm, about 1.6 cm, or about 1.8 cm. In some embodiments, each of the conducting pathways1620can have a width of about 0.5 cm to about 1 cm. The connector regions1630are disposed in the outer portion1604. The connector regions1630are seamlessly and continuously knitted into the outer portion and coupled to the conductive pathways1620as described herein. While not shown, a connector, as described with respect to the system100,1100,1200,1300, or any other system described herein, can be coupled to each connector region1630. The connectors can be configured to couple the connector regions1630to a connector assembly, for example, the connector assembly160, or any other connector assembly described herein. The connector regions1630can be substantially similar to the connector regions130,1130,1230,1330, or any other connector region described herein, and therefore not described in further detail herein. While shown as including five connector regions1630, any number of connecting regions can be included in the system1600, for example, 2, 3, 4, 6, or even more. Furthermore, while shown as being arranged in a semi-circular array, the connecting regions1630can be included in any suitable configuration in the outer portion, for example, circular, elliptical, square, polygonal, triangular, asymmetric, etc. In some embodiment, the connector regions1630can include openings configured to receive the connector. In such embodiments, the connectors can be electrically coupled to the conductive pathways1620, for example, using mechanical coupling or a conductive adhesive. In some embodiments, a textile-based electrode system can include a two layer band. Referring now toFIGS.11A and11B, a textile-based electrode system1700includes a skin facing portion1702and an outer portion1704. The skin facing portion1702includes a first electrode1710a,a second electrode1710b,a third electrode1710c(collectively referred to as “the electrodes1710”), and at least a portion of a first conductive pathway1720a,a second conductive pathway1720b,and a third conductive pathway1720c(collectively referred to as “the conductive pathways1720”). The outer portion1704extends from the skin facing portion1702and includes a first connector region1730a,a second connector region1730b,a third connector region1730c,a fourth connector region1730d,a fifth connector region1730e(collectively referred to as “the connector regions1730”), and at least a portion of the conductive pathways1720which extend from the skin facing portion1702to the outer portion1704. As shown inFIGS.11A and11Bthe system1700is substantially circular and can be included in any textile or garment, for example, a band, a shirt, a jersey, a vest, a bra, or any other wearable textile, such that the system1700can be used to measure one or more physiological parameters of a user. The skin facing portion1702and the outer portion1704can be formed from a non-conductive material, for example, any of the materials described with respect to the first fabric layer included in the textile-based electrode system100. Furthermore, the skin facing portion1702can be continuously formed with the outer portion1704(e.g., seamlessly coupled). The skin facing portion1702is folded over the outer portion1704such that the skin facing portion1702completely overlaps the outer portion1704and the system1700is a circular band. The system1700can include one or more stitches configured to couple the skin facing portion1702to the outer portion1704, such that skin facing portion1702remains proximate to the outer portion1704during use. The electrodes1710can be continuously and seamlessly knitted into the skin facing portion1702. The electrodes1710can be formed from a conductive material, for example, conductive yarn. The electrodes1710can be substantially similar to the electrode110,1110,1210,1310, or any other electrode described herein and are therefore, not described in further detail herein. The electrodes1710are configured to contact the skin of the user and sense an electrical signal corresponding to one or more physiological parameters of the user during use. The electrodes1710can be disposed along the tubular skin facing portion1702with a predetermined spacing so as to capture biological signals from the user from different locations of the skins of the user. For example, in some embodiments, the electrodes1710can be disposed such that the electrodes are proximate to and/or aligned with the main organs of the user such as, for example, the heart and the lungs, during use. While shown as including three electrodes1710, any number of electrodes can be included in the skin facing portion1702, for example, 2, 4, 5, 6 or even more, as described with respect to the electrodes1310included in the system1300. In some embodiments, the second electrode1710band the third electrode1710ccan be the sensing electrodes, and the first electrode1710acan be a ground electrode. In some embodiments, a fourth electrode can be disposed in the skin facing portion1702proximal to the electrode1710a.In some embodiments, the fourth electrode can be coupled to the first electrode1710aand/or extend from the first electrode1710a.In such embodiments, the fourth electrode can be configured to reduce background noise and thereby, improve signal quality. In some embodiments, a padding member can be disposed on the skin facing portion1702behind the electrodes1710. The padding member can be formed from any suitable material such as, for example, rubbery foam, a sponge, memory foam, a 3-D knitted porous fabric (e.g., a 3-D knitted mesh or 3-D spacer knit), any other suitable material or combination thereof. The conductive pathways1720can be substantially similar to the conductive pathway120,1120,1220,1320, or any other conductive pathway define herein. The conductive pathways1720are seamlessly and continuously knitted to the electrodes1710, for example, using conductive yarn. The conductive pathways1720extend from the skin facing portion1702into the outer portion1704and are seamlessly and continuously knitted to the connector regions1730. In this manner, the electrodes1710can be in electrical communication with the connector region1730via the conductive pathways1720. The conductive pathways1720can be electrically insulated from the skin of the user and the outside environment by laminating or otherwise coating with an insulating material such as, for example, polymers, plastic, mica, etc. The connector regions1730are disposed in the outer portion1704. The connector regions1730are seamlessly and continuously knitted into the outer portion and coupled to the conductive pathways1720as described herein. While not shown, a connector, as described with respect to the system100,1100,1200,1300, or any other system described herein, can be coupled to each connector region1730. The connectors can be configured to couple the connector regions1730to a connector assembly, for example, the connector assembly160, or any other connector assembly described herein. The connector regions1730can be substantially similar to the connector regions130,1130,1230,1330, or any other connector region described herein, and therefore not described in further detail herein. In some embodiment, the connector regions1730can include openings configured to receive the connector. In such embodiments, the connectors can be electrically coupled to the conductive pathways1720, for example, using mechanical coupling or a conductive adhesive. While shown as including seamlessly knitted electrodes, conductive pathways, and connector regions, any of the systems1300,1400,1500,1600, or1700can be formed similar to the systems1100and1200described herein. For example, in some embodiments, any of the systems1300,1400,1500,1600, or1700can include electrodes, conductive pathways, and/or connector regions that are disposed in separate portions, for example, a first fabric portion, a second fabric portion, and a third fabric portion respectively. In such embodiments, the electrodes and the conductive pathways can be electrically isolated from each other in an unfolded configuration in which the fabric portions are not folded. The electrodes, conductive pathways, and/or connector regions can be configured to be electrically coupled to each other in a folded configuration in which the fabric portions are folded. For example, in a partially folded configuration, the first fabric portion can be folded about a first fold axis or fold line and disposed adjacent to the second fabric portion such that the conductive pathways can be electrically coupled to the electrodes, for example, using conductive yarn. In the folded configuration, the second fabric portion can be folded about a second fold axis or fold line such that the first fabric portion is adjacent to the third fabric portion and disposed between the third fabric portion and the second fabric portion. Furthermore, the conductive pathways can be configured to be electrically coupled with the connector regions (e.g., connector regions that include conductive portions) or connectors disposed in opening defined by the connector regions. In some embodiments, the system1700or any other system described herein can be included in a wearable garment. Referring now toFIGS.12A and12B, in some embodiments, a wearable garment10can include the textile-based electrode system1700, a top fabric portion1782and a bottom fabric portion1784. As shown inFIG.12A, a top edge1706of the system1700can be coupled to the top fabric portion1782which is configured to contact the upper torso of a user during use. The top fabric portion1782and the bottom fabric portion1784can be formed from a non-conductive material and can be substantially similar to the material used to form the skin facing portion1702and the outer portion1704of the system1700. A bottom fabric portion1784can also be coupled to a bottom edge1708of the system1700. In some embodiments, the bottom fabric portion1784can be disposed over the outer portion1704, for example, partially or completely overlapping the outer portion1704. In such embodiments, the bottom fabric portion can be coupled to the top edge1706and/or the bottom edge1708of the system1700. The bottom fabric portion1784can be substantially tubular and configured to contact a lower torso, for example, the midriff and or waist of the user during use. In some embodiments, the system1700can be knitted together with the top fabric portion1782, and the bottom fabric portion1784can be coupled to the system1700. In some embodiments, the bottom fabric portion1784can be knitted together with the system1700and the top fabric portion1782can be coupled to the system1700. The top fabric portion1782and/or the bottom fabric portion1784can be coupled to the system1700using any suitable means such as, for example, stitching, sewing, gluing, hot wire press, high frequency welding, ultrasonic welding, any other suitable coupling method or combination thereof. In this manner, the system1700or any other system described herein can be included in a wearable garment or textile. As shown herein, the wearable garment10can be a vest or a sports bra configured to measure one or more physiological parameters of the user as described herein. In some embodiments, the top fabric portion1782can include sleeves such that the wearable garment10can be a shirt, a t-shirt, or a jersey. In some embodiments, a cover layer, for example, a pocket, a sleeve, or a compartment can be included in the top fabric portion1782or the bottom fabric portion1784. The cover layer can be configured to house, hide or otherwise conceal at least a portion of a connector assembly configured to be coupled to the connectors and thereby, to be in electrical communication with the electrodes1710. As described herein, any of the textile-based electrode systems described herein, for example, the system1100,1200,1300,1700, or any other textile-based electrode system described herein can include connectors electrically coupled to the conductive pathways and/or connector regions included in the textile-based electrode systems. Referring now toFIG.13, a textile based electrode system1800includes a skin facing portion1802and an outer portion1804. The skin facing portion1802includes a plurality of electrodes1810and at least a portion of a plurality of conductive pathways1820. The outer portion1804extends from the skin facing portion1802and includes a plurality of connectors1840coupled to the conductive pathways1820which extend from the skin facing portion1802into the outer portion1804. The skin facing portion1802and the outer portion1804can be formed from a non-conductive material, for example, any of the materials described with respect to the first fabric layer included in the textile-based electrode system100. Furthermore, the skin facing portion1802can be continuously formed with the outer portion1804(e.g., seamlessly coupled). The skin facing portion1802is folded over the outer portion1804such that the skin facing portion1802completely overlaps the outer portion1804and the system1800can be a circular band. The system1800can include one or more stitches configured to couple the skin facing portion1802to the outer portion1804, such that skin facing portion1802remains proximate to the outer portion1804during use. The electrodes1810can be substantially similar to the electrodes1710or any other electrode described herein, and are therefore not described in further detail herein. The conductive pathways1820can be substantially similar to the conductive pathway120,1120,1220,1320, or any other conductive pathway define herein. The conductive pathways1820are seamlessly and continuously knitted to the electrodes1810, for example, using conductive yarn. The conductive pathways1820extend from the skin facing portion1802into the outer portion1804. The connectors1840can be disposed in the outer portion1804, for example, in openings defined in the outer portion1804and can be configured to be electrically coupled to the conductive pathways1820(e.g., using mechanical coupling). In this manner, the electrodes1810can be in electrical communication with the connectors1840via the conductive pathways1820. The conductive pathways1820can be electrically insulated from the skin of the user and the outside environment by laminating or otherwise coating with an insulating material such as, for example, heat sealed adhesive, insulating membrane, polymers, plastic, mica, etc. As shown inFIG.13, the connectors1840include male snap or press-fit button connector configured to be coupled to a female snap or press-fit button connector receivers included in a connector assembly (e.g., the connector assembly160, or any other connector assembly described herein). In some embodiments, any other connector can be used, for example, pin-socket connector, a DIN connector, a banana connector, a hook connector, a magnetic connector, any other suitable connector or a combination thereof. The connectors1840can be configured to be removably coupled to the connector receivers with sufficient force such that the connector assembly remains coupled to the connectors1840during a user activity, for example, walking, jogging, running, dancing, sleeping, or any other activity. At the same time, the connectors1840can be configured to uncouple from the connector receivers with sufficient ease such that the user does not exert excessive force to uncouple the connector assembly from the connectors1840(e.g., to prevent excessive wear or tear of the outer portion1804of the system1800). As described herein, a connector assembly can include connector receivers configured to be coupled to connectors included in a system, for example, the system100,1100,1200,1300,1400,1500,1600,1700,1800or any other system described herein to a processing module. Referring now toFIG.14, in some embodiments, a connector assembly1160can include a substrate1162, an electrical circuit1164, a first connector receiver1166a,a second connector receiver1166b,a third connector receiver1166c,a fourth connector receiver1166d, and a fifth connector receiver1166e(collectively referred to as the “connector receivers1166”), and an electric cable1168. The connector assembly1160is configured to electrically couple to connectors included in a textile-based electrode system (e.g., the system100,1100,1200,1300,1400,1500,1600,1700,1800or any other system described herein) such that a plurality of electrodes included in the system can be in electric communication with a processing module1170. The substrate1162can be an insulating substrate that can provide a flat surface on which the electric circuit1164and the connector receivers1166are disposed. The substrate can be formed from any suitable electrically insulating and light weight material for example, plastics. The substrate can have an ergonomic shape such that the connector assembly1160can be disposed on the system (e.g., any of the systems described herein) without causing any discomfort to the user when the system is in use. While shown as being round, the substrate1162can have any suitable shape such as, for example, square, rectangular, triangular, elliptical, oval, polygonal, any other suitable shape or combination thereof. The electrical circuit1164is disposed on the substrate1162and configured to couple the connector receivers1166to the electrical lead1168. The electrical circuit1164can include a printed circuit that can include a plurality of electrodes. Each electrode of the plurality of electrodes can be configured to receive an electrical signal from a single connector receiver1166. The connector receivers1166include female snap-fit or press fit button connectors, configured to be removably coupled to male snap-fit or press fit button connectors (e.g., the connectors1840). In some embodiments, the connector receivers1166can include any male or female connector receiver, for example, a pin socket connector, a DIN connector, a banana connector, a hook connector, a magnetic connector, any other suitable connector or combination thereof. As shown inFIG.14, the connector assembly includes five connector receivers1166disposed in a semi-circular array. In some embodiments, the first connector receiver1166acan be configured to receive an electrical signal from a first electrode included in a textile-based electrode system that is disposed on a front portion of a torso of a user (e.g., the chest proximate to the lungs). The second connector receiver1166bcan be configured to receive an electrical signal from a second electrode included in the system which is disposed near the bottom of the heart of the user (e.g., on the chest or the back), and the third connector receiver1166ccan be configured to receive an electrical signal from a third electrode disposed on the back of the user. Furthermore, the fourth connector receiver1166dand the fifth connector receiver1166ecan be configured to receive electrical signals from a respiration sensor. In such embodiments, the respiration sensor can be included in the system (e.g., any of the systems described herein) or provided as a separate system. In some embodiments, the connector assembly can include any number of connectors, for example, 2, 3, 4, 6, or even more, corresponding to the number of connectors included in a system which is configured to receive the connector assembly1166. Furthermore, the connector receivers1166can be disposed in any suitable orientation or configuration corresponding to the orientation or configuration of the connectors included in the system (e.g., circular, elliptical, square, rectangular, triangular, asymmetric, etc.), such that the connector receivers1166can be coupled to the connector receivers only in a preferred orientation. In this manner, any incorrect or misaligned coupling of the connector receivers1166to the connectors can be prevented. The electric cable1168includes a first end1163coupled to the electric circuit and a second end1165coupled to the processing module1170. The electric cable1168can include a plurality of electrodes configured to receive an electrical signal from each of the connector receiver1166and communicate it to the processing module1170. The processing module1170can be configured to at least one of a filter, amplify, and/or measure an electrical signal. Furthermore, the processing module1170can be configured to communicate the signal data to an external device, for example, smart phone, a tablet, a computer, a remote server, a cloud server, or any other external device. The processing module1170can be substantially similar to the processing module170. In some embodiments, the electronic components included in the processing module1170can be disposed in a sufficiently small and light weight housing such that the processing module1170can be disposed on a user (e.g., in a trouser, worn on an arm band, a thigh band, a wrist band, worn on a belt, disposed in a shirt pocket or a pocket of a system) without causing discomfort to the user or a restriction in movement during use. In some embodiments, the processing module1170can include a smart phone, or a mobile device. FIG.15shows an electric circuit1264that can be included in a connector assembly, for example, the connector assembly1160or any other connector assembly described herein, according to an embodiment. The electric circuit1264includes a first connector receiver portion1261a,a second connector receiver portion1261b,a third connector receiver portion1261c,a fourth connector receiver portion1261d,and a fifth connector receiver portion1261e(collectively referred to as “the connector receiver portions1261”). A connector receiver, for example, the connector receiver1166or any other connector receiver described herein, can be fixedly disposed on each connector receiver portion1261. Each connector receiver portion1261is served by an electrode1267. The connector receiver disposed on the connector receiver portion1261can be coupled to the electrode1267by a solder, a weld, a conductive adhesive, a conductive epoxy, or any other suitable electrical coupling. The electrical circuit1264includes a coupling portion1269configured to be coupled to an electric cable, for example, the electrical cable1168. While not shown, the electrical circuit1264can include electronic components such as, for example, resistors, capacitors, amplifiers, inductors, any other electronic components or combination thereof. In some embodiments, a textile-based electrode system can include a cover layer for covering, hiding or otherwise concealing at least a portion of a connector assembly. Referring now toFIGS.16A and16B, a textile-based electrode system1900includes a cover layer1908. The textile-based electrode system1900can be substantially similar to any of the systems described herein, for example, the system100,1100,1200,1300,1400,1500,1600,1700,1800, or any other system described herein. As shown inFIG.16A, the connector assembly1160(or any other connector assembly described herein) can be disposed on the system1900, for example, coupled to connectors (e.g., the connectors140,1840, or any other connectors described herein) included in the system1900. Once the connector assembly1160is disposed on the system1900, the cover layer1908can be urged to move or slide over the connector assembly1160such that at least a portion of the connector assembly1160can be covered, hidden, or otherwise concealed by the cover layer1908. In some embodiments, the cover layer1908can be a separate layer which can be pulled over the connector assembly1160. In some embodiments, the cover layer1908can include a pocket or a compartment. FIG.17shows a schematic flow diagram of an exemplary method2000of forming a textile-based electrode system, for example, the system100,1100,1200,1300,1400,1500,1600,1700,1800or any other system described herein. The method2000includes knitting a first tubular portion including a conducting pathway2002. The tubular portion can be knitted from a non-conductive material, for example, nylon, cotton, silk, ramie, polyester, latex, spandex, any other suitable non-conductive yarn or combination thereof. The conductive pathway can be continuously formed (e.g., seamlessly knit) with the first tubular portion. In some embodiments, the conductive pathway can be formed from conductive yarn. The conductive pathway can be substantially similar to the conductive pathway120,1120,1220,1320, or any other conductive pathway described herein. The method further includes knitting a second tubular portion extending from the first tubular portion and including an electrode2004. The electrode can be continuously and seamlessly formed with the second tubular portion. In some embodiments, the electrode can be formed from conductive yarn. The electrode can be substantially similar to the electrode110,1110,1210,1310, or any other electrode described herein. A third tubular portion is knitted extending from the second tubular portion2006. In some embodiments, the third tubular portion can include a hole, an aperture, or otherwise an opening configured to receive a connector. In some embodiments, the third tubular portion can include a connector region which can, for example, include conductive portions formed from conductive yarn. In such embodiments, the connector region can be continuously and seamlessly formed with the third tubular region, for example, using conductive yarn. The connector region can be configured to be electrically coupled to the conductive pathway, for example, using conductive yarn. In some embodiments, the first tubular portion, the second tubular portion, and the third tubular portion can be continuously formed (e.g., seamlessly knitted) with each other. The first tubular portion is folded over the second tubular portion along a first fold line2008. The conductive pathway is then electrically coupled to the electrode2010. In some embodiments, a first end of the conductive pathway is electrically coupled to the electrode. For example, the first end of the conductive pathway can be disposed adjacent to but not overlapping the electrode after folding the first tubular portion. In such embodiments, the conductive pathway can be electrically coupled to the electrode using, for example, conductive yarn. The first tubular portion and the second tubular portion are then folded over the third tubular portion such that the first tubular portion is disposed between the second tubular portion and the third tubular portion2012. The connector is disposed in the third fabric portion2014. The connector can include any suitable connector such as, for example, a male snap-fit or press-fit button connector, or any other connector described herein. The conductive pathway is then electrically coupled to the connector2016. In some embodiments, a second end of the conductive pathway is electrically coupled to the connector. In such embodiments, the conductive pathway can be electrically coupled to the connector using any suitable means, for example, mechanical coupling, conductive adhesive or stitching with conductive yarn. In some embodiments, the first tubular portion is coupled to the second tubular portion after the first fold. Furthermore, the third tubular portion can be coupled to the second tubular portion and to the first tubular portion adjacent the first fold line such that the first tubular portion and the second tubular portion remains folded over the third tubular portion during use. The tubular portions can be coupled using any suitable means such as, for example, stitching, gluing, hot fusion bending, high frequency welding, ultrasonic welding, any other suitable coupling method or combination thereof. In some embodiments, a padding member can be disposed adjacent the electrode between the first tubular portion and the second tubular portion. In some embodiments, the padding member can be disposed between the first tubular portion and the third tubular portion. The padding member can be configured to urge the electrode towards the skin of the user during user, for example, to maintain efficient contact between the electrode and the skin of the user and improve signal quality. In some embodiments, the padding member can be disposed between the first tubular portion and the second tubular portion before folding the first tubular portion about the first fold line. The padding member can be formed from any suitable material, as described herein. In some embodiments, an insulating member can be disposed between the first tubular portion and the second tubular portion. The insulating member can be configured to electrically and/or mechanically isolate the conductive pathway from the second tubular portion. In some embodiments, the insulating member can be a first insulating member and a second insulating member can be disposed between the second tubular portion and the third tubular portion. The second insulating member can be configured to electrically and/or mechanically isolate the conductive pathway from the third tubular portion. In some embodiments, the first and second insulating members can be disposed before folding the first tubular portion over the second tubular portion along the first fold line. In some embodiments, the first insulating member can be disposed before folding the first tubular portion along the first fold line, and the second insulating member can be disposed after folding the first tubular portion along the first fold line. In some embodiments, the first and second insulating materials can include sheets or layers of an insulating material disposed between the first and second tubular portions, and the second and third tubular portions respectively. In some embodiments, the first and second insulating members can be disposed by laminating or overprinting a suitable insulating material (e.g., a heat sealed adhesive, insulating member, polymer, plastic, fabric, mica, etc.) over the conductive pathway. While various embodiments of the system, methods and devices have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Where methods and steps described above indicate certain events occurring in certain order, those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure would recognize that the ordering of certain steps may be modified and such modification are in accordance with the variations of the invention. Additionally, certain of the steps may be performed concurrently in a parallel process when possible, as well as performed sequentially as described above. The embodiments have been particularly shown and described, but it will be understood that various changes in form and details may be made. | 97,614 |
11943867 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE Embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present disclosure is not limited to the contents of the following descriptions. In addition, components that will be described below include those that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art and those that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the components that will be described below can be suitably combined. First Embodiment FIG.1is a perspective view of an electronic component according to the first embodiment.FIG.2is a bottom view of the electronic component according to the first embodiment when viewed from a first main surface.FIG.3is a side view illustrating a state where the electronic component according to the first embodiment is placed above a substrate.FIG.4is a side view illustrating a state where the electronic component according to the first embodiment is mounted on the substrate.FIG.5is a side view illustrating a state where the substrate on which the electronic component according to the first embodiment has been mounted (an electronic component module) is heated. As illustrated inFIG.1, an electronic component1according to the first embodiment includes a main body portion2and two connection terminals3that are provided on a first main surface20of the main body portion2. Examples of the electronic component1include a capacitor and an inductor. The two connection terminals3are components having the same shape. The main body portion2has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. Accordingly, the main body portion2has the first main surface20that faces a substrate100(seeFIG.3), four side surfaces that are adjacent to the first main surface20, and a second main surface23that is oriented in a direction opposite to the direction in which the first main surface20is oriented. The first main surface20has four sides. Note that one of the four sides will be referred to as a first side31, and another one of the four sides that is opposite to the first side31will be referred to as a second side32. In addition, one of the four side surfaces of the main body portion2that shares the first side31with the first main surface20will be referred to as a first side surface21. The side surface that shares the second side32with the first main surface20will be referred to as a second side surface22. A direction in which the first side31and the second side32are arranged (a direction in which the connection terminals3extend) will hereinafter be referred to as a first direction X. A direction in which the first side31extends will be referred to as a second direction Y. A direction that is perpendicular to the first direction X and the second direction Y will be referred to as a third direction Z. The first main surface20has two bottom-surface grooves24that are recessed toward the second main surface23. The two bottom-surface grooves24are isolated from each other in the second direction Y. The bottom-surface grooves24extend in the first direction X and reach the first side31and the second side32. Thus, the bottom-surface grooves24partially cut out the first side surface21and the second side surface22. In addition, the bottom-surface grooves24each have a substantially triangular shape when viewed in the first direction X. The connection terminals3are accommodated in the bottom-surface grooves24and extend in the first direction X. Each of the connection terminals3is formed in such a manner that, when viewed in the first direction X, the distance from a center portion of the connection terminal3to the second main surface23is shorter than the distance from each of the two ends of the connection terminal3in the second direction Y to the second main surface23. In other words, each of the connection terminals3has a tapered shape that is tapered in a direction away from the first main surface20. In addition, each of the connection terminals3has a portion extending linearly from one of the two ends of the connection terminal3in the second direction Y to the center portion of the connection terminal3and a portion extending linearly from the other of the two ends to the center portion. Thus, when viewed in the first direction X, each of the connection terminals3is substantially V-shaped so as to correspond to one of the bottom-surface grooves24. Accordingly, each of the connection terminals3of the present embodiment includes a bottom portion4that projects toward the second main surface23at the center portion of the connection terminal3. A surface of each of the connection terminals3that faces one of electrode pads101(seeFIG.3) includes a pair of inclined surfaces3aand3a. Each of the connection terminals3further has a recess6between the pair of inclined surfaces3aand3a, the recess6being recessed in a direction from the first main surface20toward the second main surface23so as to have a substantially triangular shape. The first side surface21has a third side33that is opposite to the first side31. The third side33is shared by the first side surface21and the second main surface23. The first side surface21has two first side-surface grooves7that are recessed toward the second side surface22. When viewed in the third direction Z, each of the first side-surface grooves7has a substantially semicircular shape having a diameter of about 0.05 mm. The first side-surface grooves7extend linearly in the third direction Z. One of the two end portions of each of the first side-surface grooves7, the one end portion extending toward the first side31, reaches the first side31. Thus, each of the first side-surface grooves7cuts out one of the bottom-surface grooves24of the first main surface20(seeFIG.2). Consequently, each of the first side-surface grooves7and a corresponding one of the recesses6communicate with each other. In addition, each of the first side-surface grooves7partially cuts out the bottom portion4of the corresponding bottom-surface groove24. The other of the two end portions of each of the first side-surface grooves7, the other end portion extending toward the third side33, reaches the third side33and partially cuts out the second main surface23. The second side surface22has a fourth side34that is opposite to the second side32. The fourth side34is shared by the second side surface22and the second main surface23. The second side surface22has two second side-surface grooves8that are recessed toward the first side surface21. When viewed in the third direction Z, each of the second side-surface grooves8has a substantially semicircular shape having a diameter of about 0.05 mm. The second side-surface grooves8extend linearly in the third direction Z. One of the two end portions of each of the second side-surface grooves8, the one end portion extending toward the second side32, reaches the second side32. Thus, each of the second side-surface grooves8cuts out one of the bottom-surface grooves24of the first main surface20(seeFIG.2). Consequently, each of the second side-surface grooves8and a corresponding one of the recesses6communicate with each other. In addition, each of the second side-surface grooves8partially cuts out the corresponding bottom portion4. The other of the two end portions of each of the second side-surface grooves8, the other end portion extending toward the fourth side34, reaches the fourth side34and partially cuts out the second main surface23. Side-surface terminals5each of which has electrical conductivity are provided on the inner sides (the inner peripheral surfaces) of the first side-surface grooves7. Each of the side-surface terminals5is an electric conductor layer that is formed by a plating treatment and extends in the third direction Z along the corresponding first side-surface groove7. In addition, each of the side-surface terminals5is provided over the entire inner surface of the corresponding first side-surface groove7. Thus, one of the two end portions of each of the side-surface terminals5, the one end portion extending toward the first side31, is connected to one of the connection terminals3. Similarly, the side-surface terminals5each of which has electrical conductivity are provided on the inner sides (the inner peripheral surfaces) of the second side-surface grooves8. The side-surface terminals5of the second side-surface grooves8are provided over the entire inner surfaces of the second side-surface grooves8. The side-surface terminals5of the second side-surface grooves8each have an end portion that extends toward the first side31and that is connected to one of the connection terminals3. Joining (soldering) of the electronic component1of the first embodiment will now be described with reference toFIG.3,FIG.4, andFIG.5. Note that, regarding the third direction Z in the following description, the direction in which the first main surface20is oriented will be referred to as a downward direction, and the direction in which the second main surface23is oriented will be referred to as an upward direction. As illustrated inFIG.3, the electronic component1is placed above the substrate100first. In addition, the position of the electronic component1is adjusted in such a manner that each of the connection terminals3overlaps one of the electrode pads101in the third direction Z. Note that the substrate100is a substantially plate-shaped component having an insulating property and has a main surface100aonto which the electronic component1is mounted, and wiring lines are arranged inside the substrate100. The two electrode pads101each of which extends in the first direction X are arranged on the main surface100aof the substrate100. Joining members102are joined to the top surfaces of the electrode pads101. Each of the joining members102is made of a solder alloy or an electrically conductive paste. In addition, the length of each of the electrode pads101in the first direction X and the length of each of the joining members102in the first direction X are each the same as the length of each of the connection terminals3. The top surface of each of the joining members102has a substantially semicircular shape. In order to bring the joining members102and the connection terminals3into contact with each other with certainty, the volume of each of the joining members102is slightly larger than the capacity of each of the recesses6. Next, the electronic component1is moved downward (see arrow A illustrated inFIG.3), and the electronic component1is mounted onto the substrate100. Here, in the case where the electronic component1is displaced in the second direction Y, as illustrated inFIG.4, only one of the pair of inclined surfaces3aand3aof each of the connection terminals3is brought into contact with the top surface of the corresponding joining member102. When the electronic component1is further moved downward, the electronic component1moves in the second direction Y by being guided by the one inclined surface3aof each of the connection terminals3(see arrow B illustrated inFIG.4). As a result, each of the joining members102is brought into contact with both the inclined surfaces3aand3aof the corresponding connection terminal3, and the position of the electronic component1is corrected. Next, the substrate100on which the electronic component1has been mounted is heated. As a result, the joining members102melt (reflow), and the recesses6are filled with the joining members102. Then, portions of the joining members102with which the recesses6are filled, the portions being located on the two sides of the connection terminals3in the first direction X, move along the side-surface terminals5toward the first side-surface grooves7and the second side-surface grooves8due to the capillary action thereof (see arrows C illustrated inFIG.5). In this manner, the joining members102partially enter the first side-surface grooves7and the second side-surface grooves8. As a result, the first main surface20of the electronic component1is brought into contact with the electrode pads101. Subsequently, the substrate100on which the electronic component1has been mounted is cooled, and the joining members102are solidified. As a result, the connection terminals3and the electrode pads101are joined to each other, and the soldering is completed. As described above, the electronic component1of the first embodiment includes the main body portion2that has the first main surface20having the first side31and the second side32, which is opposite to the first side31, the second main surface23, which is oriented in the direction opposite to the direction in which the first main surface20is oriented, the first side surface21, which shares the first side31with the first main surface20, and the second side surface22, which shares the second side32with the first main surface20, and has the side-surface grooves (the first side-surface grooves7and the second side-surface grooves8) that are formed in the first side surface21and the second side surface22and that extend from the first main surface20to the second main surface23. In addition, the electronic component1of the first embodiment includes the connection terminals3that have electrical conductivity and that are formed on the first main surface20in such a manner as to be isolated from each other and the side-surface terminals5that have electrical conductivity and that are provided on the inner sides of the side-surface grooves (the first side-surface grooves7and the second side-surface grooves8) of the main body portion2such that each of the side-surface terminals5is electrically connected to at least one of the two end portions of the corresponding connection terminal3. According to the above-described configuration, portions of the melted joining members102move into the side-surface grooves (the first side-surface grooves7and the second side-surface grooves8). Thus, the joining members102interposed between the connection terminals3and the electrode pads101are reduced in amount, and the height of the electronic component1is reduced. The side-surface grooves of the electronic component1of the first embodiment include the first side-surface grooves7formed in the first side surface21and the second side-surface grooves8formed in the second side surface22, and the connection terminals3each extend from the first side31of the first main surface20to the second side32of the first main surface20and each have the one end portion electrically connected to the side-surface terminal5of one of the first side-surface grooves7and the other end portion electrically connected to the side-surface terminal5of one of the second side-surface grooves8. If only the first side surface21has the side-surface grooves, only portions of the joining members102near the first side surface21are reduced in amount, and the electronic component1is inclined. In contrast, according to the first embodiment, each of the joining members102is reduced in amount on both sides in the first direction X. Therefore, inclination of the electronic component1is suppressed. The first main surface20of the electronic component1of the first embodiment has the plurality of bottom-surface grooves24each extending from the first side31to the second side32, and the connection terminals3are accommodated in their respective bottom-surface grooves24. According to the above configuration, the connection terminals3do not project toward the substrate100from the first main surface20. Consequently, the height of the electronic component1is reduced. The bottom-surface grooves24of the electronic component1of the first embodiment each have a width decreasing in the direction from the first main surface20toward the second main surface23. According to the above configuration, the electronic component1has the pairs of inclined surfaces3aand3a. Thus, when the electronic component1is mounted onto the substrate100, misalignment of the electronic component1is corrected, and a contact failure is avoided. In addition, the connection terminals3, each of which has a tapered shape, have the recesses6where the joining members102enter. Thus, the joining members102do not project toward the substrate100from the first main surface20, and the height of the electronic component1is reduced. In the electronic component1of the first embodiment, the side-surface grooves (the first side-surface grooves7and the second side-surface grooves8) and the connection terminals3are connected to one another at the bottom portions4of the bottom-surface grooves24, each of the bottom portions4having a width less than those of the other portions of the bottom surface groove24. According to the above-described configuration, when the recesses6are filled with the joining members102, that is, when the entire inclined surfaces3aand3aof the connection terminals3are brought into contact with the joining members102, the joining members102can move into the side-surface grooves (the first side-surface grooves7and the second side-surface grooves8) via the side-surface terminals5. Thus, a sufficient contact area between the connection terminals3and the joining members102is ensured, and the connection terminals3and the electrode pads101are joined to each other with certainty. Although the first embodiment has been described above, in the electronic component of the present disclosure, the width of each of the side-surface grooves in the second direction Y is not limited to the numerical value mentioned as an example in the description of the first embodiment as long as the melted joining members102can be drawn into the side-surface grooves through the recesses6due to the capillary action thereof. In addition, the cross-sectional shape of each of the side-surface grooves is not limited to a substantially semicircular shape. Furthermore, the shape of each of the connection terminals3when viewed in the first direction X is not limited to that mentioned as an example in the description of the first embodiment. Other embodiments in which the shapes of the connection terminals3and the shapes of the side-surface grooves are changed will be described below. Note that, in the following description, components that are the same as those of the above-described first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference signs, and repeated descriptions will be omitted. Second Embodiment FIG.6is a side view illustrating, in an enlarged manner, a connection terminal that is included in an electronic component according to a second embodiment and the peripheral portion. As illustrated inFIG.6, an electronic component1A of the second embodiment is different from the electronic component1of the first embodiment in that the electronic component1A includes connection terminals3A instead of the connection terminals3. The connection terminals3A each have a substantially semicircular shape when viewed in the first direction X. The connection terminals3A each have a substantially arc-shaped inner peripheral surface3bthat faces the substrate100and that has a substantially arc shape. In other words, each of the connection terminals3A has a tapered shape that is tapered in a direction away from the substrate100. According to the connection terminals3A, in the case where the connection terminals3A are displaced in the second direction Y, the connection terminals3A are guided by the substantially arc-shaped inner peripheral surfaces3bwith which the joining members102are brought into contact, so that misalignment of the electronic component1A is corrected. Third Embodiment FIG.7is a side view illustrating, in an enlarged manner, a connection terminal that is included in an electronic component according to a third embodiment and the peripheral portion. As illustrated inFIG.7, an electronic component1B of the third embodiment is different from the electronic component1of the first embodiment in that the electronic component1B includes connection terminals3B instead of the connection terminals3. In addition, the electronic component1B of the third embodiment is different from the electronic component1of the first embodiment in that the number of side-surface grooves is changed in response to the change to the connection terminals3B. The differences will be described below. When viewed in the first direction X, each of the connection terminals3B has a shape formed by connecting a first substantially triangular portion10having a substantially triangular shape and a second substantially triangular portion11having a substantially triangular shape to each other in the second direction Y. In other words, each of the connection terminals3B is substantially M-shaped when viewed in the first direction X. In each of the connection terminals3B, the portion in which the first triangular portion10and the second triangular portion11are connected to each other forms a projecting portion12that projects toward the substrate100. Note that the top surfaces of the joining members102each have a recess103that has a substantially triangular shape and that is recessed toward the substrate100so as to correspond to the above-described connection terminals3B. In the case where the connection terminals3B are displaced in the second direction Y, the connection terminals3B are guided by inclined surfaces103aof the recesses103with which the projecting portions12are brought into contact, so that misalignment of the electronic component1B is corrected. The first triangular portion10of each of the connection terminals3B has a tapered shape and includes a bottom portion10a. The second triangular portion11of each of the connection terminals3B has a tapered shape and includes a bottom portion11a. In the third embodiment, third side-surface grooves13that cut out the bottom portions10aof the first triangular portions10and fourth side-surface grooves14that cut out the bottom portions11aof the second triangular portions11are formed in the first side surface21and the second side surface (not illustrated inFIG.7) of the electronic component1B. With the above configuration, when the recesses6are filled with the melted joining members102, the joining members102move into both the third side-surface grooves13and the fourth side-surface grooves14, and the height of the electronic component1B is reduced. Fourth Embodiment FIG.8is a side view illustrating, in an enlarged manner, a connection terminal that is included in an electronic component according to a fourth embodiment and the peripheral portion. As illustrated inFIG.8, an electronic component1C of the fourth embodiment is different from the electronic component1of the first embodiment in that the electronic component1C has side-surface grooves15instead of the side-surface grooves (the first side-surface grooves7and the second side-surface grooves8). The side-surface grooves15of the third embodiment have end portions15aon the side on which the third side33is present, and these end portions15ado not reach the third side33. In addition, the side-surface grooves15have end portions15bon the side on which the second side32is present, and these end portions15bcommunicate with the recesses6. Even with such side-surface grooves15, the joining members102, with which the recesses6are filled, move into the side-surface grooves15, and thus, a reduction in the height of the electronic component1C is achieved. Fifth Embodiment FIG.9is a side view illustrating, in an enlarged manner, a connection terminal that is included in an electronic component according to a fifth embodiment and the peripheral portion. As illustrated inFIG.9, an electronic component1D of the fifth embodiment is different from the electronic component1of the first embodiment in that the number of the side-surface grooves and the positions of the side-surface grooves are changed. In the fifth embodiment, side-surface grooves16are formed in such a manner that each pair of the side-surface grooves16are formed at positions that are offset in the second direction Y with respect to the bottom portion4of one of the connection terminals3. Thus, each pair of the side-surface grooves16cut out portions that are offset in the second direction Y with respect to the corresponding bottom portion4. According to the electronic component1D, before the recesses6are filled with the joining members102, that is, before the joining members102reach the bottom portions4, the joining members102move into the side-surface grooves16. As a result, a larger amount of the joining members102move into the side-surface grooves16, and a reduction in the height of the electronic component1D is achieved. Note that the side-surface grooves16of the present embodiment can be applied even to the case of using the connection terminals having different shapes. Each of the side-surface grooves of the present disclosure is not particularly limited to a linear groove and may be a curved groove or a wavy groove. In the above-described embodiments, although the side-surface grooves are formed in both the first side surface21and the second side surface22, the side-surface grooves may be formed in only one of the first side surface21and the second side surface22. Sixth Embodiment FIG.10is a side view illustrating, in an enlarged manner, a connection terminal that is included in an electronic component according to a sixth embodiment and the peripheral portion. As illustrated inFIG.10, an electronic component1E of the sixth embodiment is different from the electronic component1of the first embodiment in that the electronic component1E does not have the bottom-surface grooves24. In addition, the electronic component1E of the sixth embodiment is different from the electronic component1of the first embodiment in that the electronic component1E includes connection terminals3E instead of the connection terminals3. A main body portion2E of the sixth embodiment has the first main surface20that is a flat surface and does not have the bottom-surface grooves24(seeFIG.1). Each of the connection terminals3E has a substantially flat plate-like shape. Center portions of the connection terminals3E in the second direction Y are cut out by side-surface grooves17, and the connection terminals3E are connected to the side-surface terminals5. According to the sixth embodiment, the joining members102that are interposed between the connection terminals3E and the electrode pads101move into the side-surface grooves17via the side-surface terminals5. Thus, the thickness of each of the joining members102can be reduced, and a reduction in the height of the electronic component1E can be achieved. While preferred embodiments of the disclosure have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. The scope of the disclosure, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims. | 26,936 |
11943868 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present disclosure will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings.FIGS.1A to1Hand the like illustrate an electronic apparatus1as an example of the embodiment. In the following description, X1and X2illustrated inFIGS.1A to1Hwill be set as a right direction and a left direction, respectively, Y1and Y2will be set as a forward direction and a rearward direction, respectively, and Z1and Z2will be set as an upward direction and a downward direction, respectively. However, these directions are defined to describe the shape, relative positional relation, movement, and the like of elements (parts, members, and portions) of the electronic apparatus1and do not limit the attitude of the electronic apparatus1at a time of usage. For example, whileFIG.1Aand the like illustrate the electronic apparatus1in a horizontal placement attitude, the electronic apparatus1may be disposed in a vertical placement attitude at a time of usage. (The “vertical placement attitude” is an attitude in which the right side surface or left side surface of the electronic apparatus1is a lower side.) The electronic apparatus1is, for example, an entertainment device that functions as a game device or an audio-visual apparatus. The electronic apparatus1outputs, to a display device such as a television, moving image data generated by executing a game program, video and audio data obtained through a network, and video and audio data obtained from a recording medium such as an optical disk. The electronic apparatus may, for example, be a personal computer. [General Configuration] As illustrated inFIG.2A, the electronic apparatus1includes an apparatus main body10, an upper exterior panel20A that covers the upper side of the apparatus main body10, and a lower exterior panel20B that covers the lower side of the apparatus main body10. As illustrated inFIG.3, the apparatus main body10includes a circuit board50, internal devices such as a heat radiating device70, and a housing30that houses the internal devices. The housing30includes an upper housing member30A that covers the upper side of the circuit board50, and a lower housing member30B that covers the lower side of the circuit board50. These housings are combined with each other in an upward-downward direction. The upper housing member30A forms the upper surface of the apparatus main body10. The lower housing member30B forms the lower surface of the apparatus main body10. The upper exterior panel20A may be detachable from the upper housing member30A. The lower exterior panel20B may be detachable from the lower housing member30B. The exterior panels20A and20B and the housing members30A and30B include, for example, a resin such as an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resin or a polycarbonate. As illustrated inFIG.1A, the apparatus main body10may have a power button2aand an optical disk ejecting button2bin the front surface of the apparatus main body10. The apparatus main body10may also have connectors3aand3bin the front surface thereof. Further, the apparatus main body10may have connectors4ato4e(seeFIG.1G) in the back surface of the apparatus main body10. As illustrated inFIG.3, the apparatus main body10includes, as internal devices, a cooling fan5, the heat radiating device70, and an optical disk drive6in addition to the circuit board50and a power supply unit60. As will be described later, the heat radiating device includes heat sinks71and72(seeFIG.6B) and heat pipes73A to73F (seeFIG.13B). The upper surface of the circuit board50is covered by an upper board shield51that blocks electromagnetic waves from electronic parts mounted on the upper surface. The lower surface of the circuit board50is covered by a lower board shield52that blocks electromagnetic waves from electronic parts mounted on the lower surface. The board shields51and52are respectively attached to the upper surface and lower surface of the circuit board50. The board shields51and52are a metallic plate. The material of the metallic plates may be, for example, iron, stainless steel, aluminum, or the like. [Outline of Part Layout] The power supply unit60and the heat radiating device70are, for example, disposed on the upper side of the circuit board50(more specifically, on the upper side of the upper board shield51). An integrated circuit50a(seeFIG.3) that functions as a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or the like is mounted on the upper surface of the circuit board50. The integrated circuit50ais a heat generating device and is connected to the heat radiating device70. The power supply unit60is also a heat generating device. An airflow generated by the cooling fan5is supplied to the heat radiating device70and the power supply unit60. The layout of internal devices such as the heat radiating device70, the power supply unit60, and the cooling fan5is not limited to the example of the electronic apparatus1. The optical disk drive6is, for example, disposed on the lower side of the circuit board50(more specifically, on the lower side of the lower board shield52). A heat radiating device80(seeFIG.7A) may be disposed on the lower side of the circuit board50. An electronic part (for example, a power transistor that generates driving power for the integrated circuit50a) is mounted on the lower surface of the circuit board50. The heat radiating device80may be connected to this electronic part. [Cooling Fan] As illustrated inFIG.7A, the cooling fan5is disposed such that a rotational center line Cf of the cooling fan is along the thickness direction of the circuit board (upward-downward direction in the electronic apparatus1). In addition, the cooling fan5is disposed on the outside of an outer edge of the circuit board50. The cooling fan5is, for example, disposed on the right side of a right edge of the circuit board50. In the description here, the upward-downward direction of the electronic apparatus1is a direction along a normal to the circuit board50. In addition, directions referred to in the present specification do not limit the attitude of the electronic apparatus1at a time of usage. Hence, in a case where the electronic apparatus1is disposed in a vertical placement attitude, for example, the rotational center line Cf of the cooling fan5is a line along a left-right direction. The cooling fan5may have a part located above a horizontal plane Hp1including the circuit board50and a part located below the horizontal plane Hp1including the circuit board50. More specifically, a plurality of fins that rotate about the rotational center line Cf may each have a part5blocated above the horizontal plane Hp1and a part5clocated below the horizontal plane Hp1. This arrangement of the cooling fan5can generate an airflow F1along the upper surface of the circuit board and an airflow F2along the lower surface of the circuit board50. It is therefore possible to cool heat generating devices arranged or mounted on the upper side of the circuit board50and heat generating devices arranged or mounted on the lower side of the circuit board50without increasing the number of parts. As illustrated inFIG.2A, the upper housing member30A has an upper inlet port31alocated on the upper side of the cooling fan5. As illustrated inFIG.2B, the lower housing member30B has a lower inlet port31blocated on the lower side of the cooling fan5. By thus respectively forming the inlet ports31aand31bin the upper surface and lower surface of the housing30, it is possible to take air into the inside of the housing30efficiently. An amount of heat generation of the heat generating devices arranged on the upper surface of the circuit board50may be larger than an amount of heat generation of the heat generating devices arranged on the lower surface of the circuit board50. For example, a total amount of heat generation of the integrated circuit50aand the power supply unit60arranged on the upper surface of the circuit board50may be larger than a total amount of heat generation of electronic parts50c(for example, a power transistor and an integrated circuit such as a memory) arranged on the lower surface of the circuit board50. When the heat generating devices are thus arranged, a center Ch of the cooling fan5in the upward-downward direction may be located above the horizontal plane Hp1including the circuit board50, as illustrated inFIG.7A. This enables a large amount of air to be supplied to the devices that generate a large amount of heat. As illustrated inFIG.7A, a distance D5between the upper inlet port31aand the lower inlet port31bcorresponds to a width in the upward-downward direction of the cooling fan5. Therefore, air is drawn in from the inlet ports31aand31band smoothly flows in the radial direction of the cooling fan5. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, a lower portion (specifically, a base plate5d, seeFIG.3) of the cooling fan5is attached to the edge of the lower inlet port31b. On the other hand, an upper end (specifically, an upper end of a rotor5e) of the cooling fan5is located at substantially the same height as the edge of the inlet port31a. A distance in the upward-downward direction between the upper housing member30A and the lower housing member30B at the positions of the inlet ports31aand31b, that is, the distance D5(seeFIG.7A) between the inlet ports31aand31b, may be smaller than a distance between the upper housing member30A and the lower housing member30B at other positions. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the upper housing member30A has a recessed plate portion32a(seeFIG.2A) in an upper surface thereof. The recessed plate portion32ais recessed to the circuit board50side with respect to another portion32cin the upper surface. (In the description here, the other portion32cwill be referred to as a “main plate portion.”) The upper inlet port31ais formed in the recessed plate portion32a. The heat radiating device70, the power supply unit60, and the like are arranged between the main plate portion32cand the circuit board50. Similarly to the upper housing member30A, the lower housing member30B has a recessed plate portion32bin a lower surface thereof. As illustrated inFIG.2B, the recessed plate portion32bis recessed with respect to another portion32din the lower surface. (In the description here, the other portion32dwill be referred to as a “main plate portion.”) The lower inlet port31bis formed in the recessed plate portion32b. Fins81(seeFIG.8AandFIG.8B) of the heat radiating device80are arranged between the main plate portion32dand the circuit board50. Then, a distance between the upper and lower recessed plate portions32aand32bcorresponds to the height of the cooling fan5. According to this structure, it is possible to secure a sufficient distance between the upper and lower main plate portions32cand32dand secure a sufficient space for the heat radiating devices70and80arranged between the upper and lower main plate portions32cand32dwhile making the distance between the inlet ports31aand31bcorrespond to the height of the cooling fan5. As illustrated inFIG.3, the cooling fan5includes the rotor5ehaving the plurality of fins5aand the base plate5dthat supports the rotor5e. The rotor5eis rotatable relative to the base plate5d. As illustrated inFIG.8B, the base plate5dmay, for example, have a ring-shaped peripheral portion5f, a central portion5glocated on the inside of the peripheral portion5f, and bridges5ithat couple the peripheral portion5fand the central portion5gto each other. Such a base plate5dmay be attached to the lower housing member30B. Specifically, the ring-shaped peripheral portion5fmay be attached to the edge of the lower inlet port31b. Because such a base plate5dis located on the lower side of the cooling fan5, the air resistance of an upper portion of the cooling fan5is smaller than the air resistance of a lower portion of the cooling fan5. As described above, the amount of heat generation of the heat generating devices arranged on the upper surface of the circuit board50is larger than the amount of heat generation of the heat generating devices arranged on the lower surface of the circuit board50. That is, the cooling fan5is disposed such that the upper portion of the cooling fan5having a small air resistance corresponds to a flow passage in which the devices that generate a large amount of heat are arranged. The circuit board50may have a curved edge50b(see FIG. curved in the shape of an arc as a right edge of the circuit board50. The cooling fan5is disposed on the inside of the curved edge50b. According to this arrangement of the circuit board50and the cooling fan an airflow can be generated on both the upper surface and lower surface of the circuit board50while an increase in size of the electronic apparatus1is suppressed. [Positional Relation Between Cooling Fan and Heat Sink] The power supply unit60and the heat radiating device70may be abreast of each other in the left-right direction. For example, as illustrated inFIG.6B, a first heat sink71is disposed on the right of the power supply unit60. The cooling fan5may be disposed such that the center line Cf of the cooling fan5is located on the right of a right end of the first heat sink71. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the whole of the cooling fan is located on the right of the right end of the first heat sink71. According to this layout, the first heat sink71and the cooling fan5do not interfere with each other even when a size in a front-rear direction of the first heat sink71is increased. It is therefore possible to suppress an increase in size in the front-rear direction of the whole of the electronic apparatus1while securing a sufficient size in the front-rear direction of the first heat sink71. In the description here, the front-rear direction of the heat sink71is a direction in which air passes through the heat sink71. The left-right direction is a direction orthogonal to the direction in which air passes through the heat sink71. In addition, the directions referred to in the present specification do not limit the attitude of the electronic apparatus1at a time of usage. Hence, for example, the power supply unit60and the heat radiating device70may be arranged next to each other in the front-rear direction, and the cooling fan5and the heat sink71may also be arranged next to each other in the front-rear direction. In such a case, a size in the left-right direction of the heat sink71can be increased. As illustrated inFIG.6B, the cooling fan5is located rearward of a front end61nof a power supply unit case61to be described later. In addition, the center line Cf of the cooling fan5is located rearward of a front end of the first heat sink71. As illustrated inFIG.6B, a second heat sink72(heat radiating device) may be disposed on the right of the first heat sink71. Then, at least a part of the cooling fan5may be located in front of the second heat sink72. According to this arrangement of the cooling fan5and the second heat sink72, air flowing rearward from the cooling fan5can also be used effectively. As illustrated inFIG.6B, a width of the second heat sink72in the front-rear direction may be smaller than a width of the first heat sink71in the front-rear direction. Then, the cooling fan5may be disposed in front of the second heat sink72. According to this arrangement of the heat sinks71and72and the cooling fan5, it is also possible to make effective use of air flowing rearward from the cooling fan5while suppressing an increase in size in the front-rear direction of the electronic apparatus1. As will be explained later in detail, the heat radiating device70has a plurality of heat pipes73A to73F (seeFIG.13B). The two heat sinks71and72are thermally connected to each other by the plurality of heat pipes73. In addition, the two heat sinks71and72are fixed to a common base plate75(seeFIG.13A). Incidentally, unlike the example of the electronic apparatus1, the first heat sink71and the second heat sink72may not be coupled to each other by heat transfer means such as the heat pipes. For example, the second heat sink72may be used to cool a heat generating part (for example, an electronic part) different from the integrated circuit50ato which the first heat sink71is connected. In addition, the part disposed on the right of the first heat sink71and in the rear of the cooling fan5may not be the heat sink72. For example, a heat generating part (for example, an electronic part) to be cooled may be disposed in the rear of the cooling fan5. [Air Flow Passages between Housings and Exterior Panels] The upper surface of the housing30is covered by the upper exterior panel20A. A clearance Ua (seeFIG.20A) that allows air to flow to the upper inlet port31amay be formed between the upper surface of the housing30and the upper exterior panel20A. (The clearance Ua will hereinafter be referred to as an upper flow passage.) As described above, the upper surface of the upper housing member30A has the recessed plate portion32a(seeFIG.2A) recessed with respect to the main plate portion32c. The recessed plate portion32ais, for example, formed in a right front portion of the upper housing member30A, and the upper inlet port31ais formed in the recessed plate portion32a. For example, the upper flow passage Ua is secured between the recessed plate portion32aand the upper exterior panel20A. The upper flow passage Ua may, for example, open toward the front side and/or the right side of the electronic apparatus1. That is, an inlet port may be provided between a front edge of the upper surface of the upper housing member30A (specifically, a front edge of the recessed plate portion32a) and a front edge of the upper exterior panel20A, or an inlet port may be provided between a right edge of the upper surface of the upper housing member30A (specifically, a right edge of the recessed plate portion32a) and a right edge of the upper exterior panel20A. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, as illustrated inFIG.1CandFIG.1E, there is provided an inlet port Ea which continues from the upper surface of the upper housing member30A and the front edge of the upper exterior panel20A to the right edge of the upper exterior panel20A. The inlet port Ea may, for example, continue from a center in the left-right direction of the front edge of the upper exterior panel20A to a rear portion of the right edge of the upper exterior panel20A. The upper housing member30A may have louvers33A in the inlet port Ea. The lower surface of the housing30is covered by the lower exterior panel20B. The lower surface of the housing30and the lower exterior panel20B of the electronic apparatus1may have the same structure as the above-described structure of the housing30and the upper exterior panel20A. That is, a clearance Ub (seeFIG.20A) that allows air to flow to the lower inlet port31bmay be formed between the lower surface of the housing30and the lower exterior panel20B. (The clearance Ub will hereinafter be referred to as a lower flow passage Ub.) As described above, the lower surface of the lower housing member30B has the recessed plate portion32b(seeFIG.2B) recessed with respect to the main plate portion32d. The recessed plate portion32bis, for example, formed in a right front portion of the lower housing member30B, and the lower inlet port31bis formed in the recessed plate portion32b. For example, the lower flow passage Ub is secured between the recessed plate portion32band the lower exterior panel20B. The lower flow passage Ub may also, for example, open toward the front side and/or the right side of the electronic apparatus1. That is, an inlet port may be provided between a front edge of the lower surface of the lower housing member30B (specifically, a front edge of the recessed plate portion32b) and a front edge of the lower exterior panel20B, or an inlet port may be provided between a right edge of the lower surface of the lower housing member30B (specifically, a right edge of the recessed plate portion32b) and a right edge of the lower exterior panel20B. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, as illustrated inFIG.1CandFIG.1E, there is provided an inlet port Eb which continues from the lower surface of the lower housing member30B and the front edge of the lower exterior panel to the right edge of the lower exterior panel20B. The inlet port Eb may, for example, continue from a center in the left-right direction of the front edge of the lower exterior panel20B to a rear portion of the right edge of the lower exterior panel20B. The lower housing member30B may have louvers33B in the inlet port Eb. A part other than the recessed plate portion32ain the upper surface of the upper housing member30A, that is, the main plate portion32c, and the upper exterior panel are in proximity to each other. The main plate portion32cand the upper exterior panel20A may be in contact with each other, or a clearance having a smaller width in the upward-downward direction than the upper flow passage Ua may be formed between the main plate portion32cand the upper exterior panel20A. The airflows formed by driving the cooling fan5are discharged rearward from an exhaust port M (seeFIG.1GandFIG.6A) formed in the back surface of the housing Louvers33C and33D may be formed in the exhaust port M. As illustrated inFIG.2A, the main plate portion32cmay have a part32elocated on the rear side of the recessed plate portion32a. According to this structure, the main plate portion32ccan prevent the air exhausted rearward from the exhaust port M from flowing toward the inlet port31aagain. A part other than the recessed plate portion32bin the lower surface of the lower housing member30B, that is, the main plate portion32d, and the lower exterior panel are in proximity to each other. The main plate portion32dand the lower exterior panel20B may be in contact with each other, or a clearance having a smaller width in the upward-downward direction than the lower flow passage Ub may be formed between the main plate portion32dand the lower exterior panel20B. As illustrated inFIG.2B, the main plate portion32dmay have a part32flocated on the rear side of the recessed plate portion32b. According to this structure, the main plate portion32dcan prevent the air exhausted rearward from the exhaust port M from flowing toward the inlet port31bagain. The external surface of the electronic apparatus1is curved such that a width in the upward-downward direction of the electronic apparatus1is increased in a right front portion of the electronic apparatus1in which the inlet ports31aand31bare formed. In other words, the exterior panels20A and20B are curved such that a distance between the exterior panels20A and20B is increased in the right front portion of the electronic apparatus1. This external shape of the electronic apparatus1makes it easy to secure sufficient widths in the upward-downward direction of the above-described flow passages Ua and Ub. The curves of the exterior panels20A and20B will be explained later in detail. Incidentally, the positions of the inlet ports31aand31bformed in the housing30and the positions of the inlet ports Ea and Eb formed between the housing30and the exterior panels20A and20B are not limited to the example illustrated in the electronic apparatus1. For example, the inlet ports31aand31bmay be formed in a left portion of the housing30. In addition, the inlet ports31aand31bmay be formed in only either the upper surface or the lower surface of the housing30. The positions of the inlet ports Ea and Eb may be changed as appropriate according to the positions of the inlet ports31aand31b. As illustrated inFIG.6A, the electronic apparatus1may have a fan guard38A that is attached to the edge of the inlet port31aand covers the upper side of the cooling fan5. Similarly, the electronic apparatus1may have a fan guard38B that is attached to the edge of the inlet port31band covers the lower side of the cooling fan5. As illustrated inFIG.10A, the fan guard38A includes a plurality of rings38a, a central portion38blocated in the center of the plurality of ring38a, and a plurality of spokes38cextending from the outside rings38ato the central portion38b. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the cooling fan5rotates in a clockwise direction as viewed in plan. The spokes38care inclined so as to conform to the direction of rotation of the cooling fan5. Specifically, the spokes38care inclined with respect to a radial direction so as to advance in the clockwise direction toward the center Cf. According to this structure, the spokes38ccan avoid becoming an air resistance. As illustrated inFIG.10B, the positions of the plurality of rings38aand the position of the central portion38bare raised toward the center Cf. In addition, the spokes38cextend obliquely so as to be raised toward the center Cf. This can increase the area of openings formed between the rings38aand the spokes38c. As described above, the spokes38cextend obliquely so as to be raised toward the center Cf. On the other hand, each of the rings38amay have a cross section along a plane perpendicular to the rotational center line Cf of the cooling fan5(plane Hp5inFIG.10B). This can increase the area of the openings formed between the rings38aand the spokes38c. The upper exterior panel20A is disposed on the upper side of the fan guard38A. As described above, the upper exterior panel20A is curved. The fan guard38A may be curved in conformity with the curve of the upper exterior panel20A. The fan guard38B that covers the lower side of the cooling fan5may have the same structure as the upper fan guard38A. That is, the fan guard38B may be obtained by inverting the upper surface and lower surface of the fan guard38A. [Power Supply Unit] As illustrated inFIG.7B, the power supply unit60includes a power supply circuit62and a power supply unit case61that houses the power supply circuit62. The power supply unit case61has a wall portion61alocated in front of the first heat sink71. A plurality of air intake holes61bmay be formed in the wall portion61a. (The wall portion61awill hereinafter be referred to as an “intake air wall.”) As illustrated inFIG.6B, the heat sinks71and72have a plurality of fins71aand72aabreast of one another in the left-right direction. Therefore, air passes through the heat sinks71and72in the front-rear direction. The intake air wall61ais disposed obliquely with respect to the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. The external surface of the intake air wall61afaces the first heat sink71. Here, the “external surface of the intake air wall61afaces the first heat sink71” means that a straight line extending from the external surface and perpendicular to the external surface intersects the first heat sink71. The cooling fan5is disposed so as to send air to the intake air wall61a. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the cooling fan5is separated rightward from the external surface of the intake air wall61a. An airflow from the cooling fan5to the intake air wall61ais formed by flow passage walls34A and34B to be described later. According to the shape and disposition of the power supply unit case61, as illustrated inFIG.6B, a part of the air reaching the intake air wall61apasses through the air intake holes61band enters the inside of the power supply unit case61. In addition, another part of the air reaching the intake air wall61amoves to the first heat sink71while guided by the intake air wall61a. That is, the intake air wall61amakes it possible to secure an airflow to be supplied to the first heat sink71, and cool the power supply unit60by a cold air (air not warmed by another heat generating device or heat radiating device) at the same time. When the power supply unit60can be cooled by the cold air, a clearance between circuit parts62aand62bincluded in the power supply circuit62(for example, a transformer and a capacitor) can be reduced, so that the power supply unit60can be miniaturized. The power supply unit case61includes a case rear portion61clocated on the left side of the first heat sink71and a case front portion61dextending frontward beyond the position of the front end of the first heat sink71. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the intake air wall61ais a right side wall of the case front portion61dand extends obliquely frontward and rightward from a right side wall61fof the case rear portion61c. On the other hand, a left side wall61eof the power supply unit case61extends frontward in a straight manner from the case rear portion61cto the case front portion61d. Hence, a width in the left-right direction of the case front portion61dincreases gradually toward the front. As illustrated inFIG.11B, the air intake holes61bmay be formed obliquely with respect to the intake air wall61a. That is, a center line Ch1of an air intake hole61bmay be inclined with respect to the intake air wall61a. For example, the center line Ch1of the air intake hole61bmay be along the left-right direction. This makes it easy for the air discharged from the cooling fan5to pass through the intake air wall61a. Incidentally, the structure of the air intake hole61bis not limited to the example of the electronic apparatus1. The center line Ch1of the air intake hole61bmay be inclined with respect to both the left-right direction and the front-rear direction in conformity with the direction of the airflow. For example, the center line Ch1may extend obliquely frontward and rightward from the intake air wall61a. As illustrated inFIG.11AandFIG.11B, air intake holes61mmay also be formed in the right side wall61fof the case rear portion61c. In such a case, a direction in which the air intake holes61mpenetrate the right side wall61f, that is, the direction of a center line Ch2of an air intake hole61m, may be the same as that of the air intake holes61bin the intake air wall61a. This can facilitate formation of the two kinds of air intake holes61band61m. As illustrated inFIG.7B, a part of the power supply circuit62may be disposed in a space provided within the case front portion61dand secured by the inclination of the intake air wall61a, that is, a space Sf (seeFIG.6B) formed on the inside of the intake air wall61a. Circuit parts62bincluded in the power supply circuit62are housed in this space and are located in front of the first heat sink71. According to such a layout, it is possible to make effective use of the volume of the power supply unit case61. The circuit parts62barranged in the space formed on the inside of the intake air wall61amay have a smaller size than other parts62a. This can facilitate an airflow within the power supply unit case61. A plurality of exhaust holes61gand61hmay be formed in the case rear portion61c. More specifically, as illustrated inFIG.7C, the plurality of exhaust holes61gmay be formed in a rear wall61iof the case rear portion61c, and the plurality of exhaust holes61hmay be formed in a rear portion61kof an upper wall61jof the power supply unit case61. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the rear portion61kof the upper wall61jis recessed with respect to a front portion of the upper wall61j. Due to this recess, an air flow passage Se is secured between the upper housing member30A and the rear portion61k. The positions of the exhaust holes61gand61hare not limited to the example illustrated in the electronic apparatus1. For example, the exhaust holes61hformed in the upper wall61jmay not be present. A plurality of exhaust holes may be formed in a rearmost portion of the left side wall61e. [Flow Passage Walls Defining Air Flow Passage] The heat radiating device70includes the first heat sink71and the second heat sink72abreast of each other in the left-right direction. The cooling fan5is located in front of the second heat sink72. As illustrated inFIG.4andFIG.6B, the upper housing member30A may have a flow passage wall34A that defines the flow passage of the airflow sent out from the cooling fan5and guides the airflow toward the first heat sink71. The flow passage wall34A has a part curved along the outer circumference of the cooling fan5. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the whole of the flow passage wall34A is curved. As illustrated inFIG.6B, as a distance from a starting point34aof the flow passage wall34A increases in the extending direction of the flow passage wall34A, a distance from the cooling fan5to the flow passage wall34A (distance in the radial direction of the cooling fan5) increases. The flow passage wall34A extends from the periphery of the cooling fan5toward the intake air wall61aof the power supply unit case61. The intake air wall61ais located on an extension of an end34bof the flow passage wall34A. Such a flow passage wall34A enables the air from the cooling fan5to be sent to the intake air wall61asmoothly. The intake air wall61amay be curved similarly to the flow passage wall34A. For example, the flow passage wall34A is formed along a curve defined by a predetermined function. The intake air wall61amay be disposed along the same curve. For example, the flow passage wall34A is formed along a clothoid curve having the rotational center line Cf of the cooling fan5as an origin. In such a case, the intake air wall61amay also be curved along the same clothoid curve. Thus, a smooth airflow is formed from the cooling fan5to the intake air wall61aand the first heat sink71. Incidentally, the curve on which the curving of the flow passage wall34A and the intake air wall61ais based may be, for example, an involute curve, a logarithmic spiral, a Nielsen spiral, or the like instead of the clothoid curve. The flow passage wall34A surrounds the periphery of the cooling fan5located on the outside of the outer edge of the circuit board50. The flow passage wall34A extends downward from a part forming the upper surface of the apparatus main body10in the upper housing member30A (the part is the recessed plate portion32ain the example of the electronic apparatus1). A lower edge of the flow passage wall34A may reach the lower housing member30B. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, as illustrated inFIG.4andFIG.8B, a flow passage wall34B that projects upward is formed on the lower housing member30B. Similarly to the flow passage wall34A, the flow passage wall34B defines the flow passage of the airflow sent out from the cooling fan5. The flow passage wall34B has a part curved along the periphery of the cooling fan5. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, similarly to the flow passage wall34A, the whole of the flow passage wall34B is curved. As illustrated inFIG.7B, the lower edge of the flow passage wall34A of the upper housing member30A is connected to the flow passage wall34B of the lower housing member30B in the upward-downward direction. The flow passage walls34A and34B are connected to each other to form one wall extending along the periphery of the cooling fan5. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the flow passage walls34A and34B function as a wall on the front side of the cooling fan5. The structure of the flow passage walls34A and34B is not limited to the example of the electronic apparatus1. For example, only either the upper housing member30A or the lower housing member30B may have a flow passage wall formed thereon. Then, the flow passage wall formed on the one housing member may extend upward or downward until reaching the other housing member. As illustrated inFIG.4, the electronic apparatus1has a front exterior panel35that covers the flow passage walls34A and34B as a part of exterior members. The front exterior panel35is located on the front side and right side of the curved flow passage walls34A and34B and covers the whole of the flow passage walls34A and34B. Due to the presence of the front exterior panel35, a degree of freedom can be secured for the shape of the flow passage walls34A and34B. A circuit board mounted with switches operated by the power button2aand the optical disk ejecting button2bmay be attached to the front exterior panel35, or a circuit board mounted with the connectors3aand3bmay be attached to the front exterior panel35. [Air Flow Passage on Lower Side of Circuit Board] As described above, the power supply unit60and the heat radiating device70are arranged on the upper surface of the circuit board50, and the power supply unit60and the heat radiating device70are abreast of each other in the left-right direction. The air sent out from the cooling fan5passes through the heat radiating device70and the power supply unit case61. Hence, an airflow is formed in the whole of a space between the circuit board50and the upper housing member30A. On the other hand, the lower side of the circuit board50may be provided with a member that reduces the width of an air flow passage between the circuit board50and the lower housing member30B. Then, the width of the air flow passage between the lower surface of the circuit board50and the lower housing member30B may be narrower than the width of the air flow passage between the upper surface of the circuit board50and the upper housing member30A. This facilitates securing of a speed of an airflow formed on the lower side of the circuit board50. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the optical disk drive6is disposed on the lower side of the circuit board50. The optical disk drive6reduces the width of the air flow passage between the circuit board50and the lower housing member30B. As illustrated inFIG.8B, the optical disk drive6is separated leftward from the cooling fan5as viewed in plan of the electronic apparatus1. The optical disk drive6has a disk drive case6a. A spindle motor (not illustrated) that rotates an optical disk, a pickup module (not illustrated), and the like are arranged within the disk drive case6a. As illustrated inFIG.8B, an air flow passage Sb from the cooling fan5to the exhaust port M (seeFIG.8A) is formed between the cooling fan5and the disk drive case6a. The disk drive case6alimits the air flow passage Sb to a right region on the circuit board50. The disk drive case6ahas a right side wall6bthat faces the cooling fan5and that extends in the front-rear direction at a position separated leftward from the cooling fan5. The air flow passage Sb is formed between the right side wall6band the cooling fan5. The plurality of fins81included in the heat radiating device80are arranged at a midpoint of the air flow passage Sb. A wall defining the air flow passage Sb may be formed on the lower housing member30B. As illustrated inFIG.4andFIG.8B, for example, the lower housing member30B may have a flow passage wall34cthat extends from the periphery of the cooling fan5toward the heat radiating device80. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the flow passage wall34cextends from a starting point of the above-described flow passage wall34B curved on the periphery of the cooling fan5, toward the heat radiating device80. Incidentally, the electronic apparatus1may not have the optical disk drive6. In such a case, a wall may limit the air flow passage Sb. A wall portion formed on the lower housing member30B may be used as a member that reduces the width of the air flow passage between the circuit board50and the lower housing member30B as compared with the air flow passage between the circuit board50and the upper housing member30A. As illustrated inFIG.4, an opening30ccorresponding in size and shape to the disk drive case6ais formed in the lower housing member30B. The lower surface of the disk drive case6amay be exposed downward from the opening30c. According to this structure, the width in the upward-downward direction of the electronic apparatus1can be reduced by the thickness of the lower housing member30B. [Dust Collecting Chamber] As illustrated inFIG.6B, a dust collecting chamber Ds may be provided to the flow passage wall34A. The dust collecting chamber Ds captures dust included in the airflow formed on the upper side of the circuit board50and collects the captured dust. According to this structure, it is possible to reduce an amount of dust entering devices arranged downstream of the dust collecting chamber Ds, the devices being the first heat sink71, the power supply unit60, and the like. The dust collecting chamber Ds is defined by a dust collecting chamber wall34C (seeFIG.5). The dust collecting chamber wall34C is in a box shape opening in two directions to be described later. The dust collecting chamber wall34C is, for example, formed integrally with the upper housing member30A. This makes it possible to secure the dust collecting chamber Ds without increasing the number of parts. In addition, because the upper housing member30A is a member that covers the whole of the internal devices, a degree of freedom of the position of the dust collecting chamber Ds can be secured when the dust collecting chamber wall34C is formed integrally with the upper housing member30A. As viewed in plan of the electronic apparatus1, the cooling fan5rotates in the clockwise direction about the rotational center line Cf. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the flow passage wall34A extends in the clockwise direction from the starting point34aof the flow passage wall34A along the periphery of the cooling fan5. The whole of the flow passage wall34A is curved. The dust collecting chamber Ds may be provided to the thus curved flow passage wall34A. More specifically, the dust collecting chamber Ds may be located at an end portion of the flow passage wall34A. The position of the dust collecting chamber Ds is not limited to the example of the electronic apparatus1. The dust collecting chamber Ds may be provided at a midpoint of the flow passage wall34A. Two devices each of which is a heat generating device or a heat radiating device may be disposed downstream of the air flow passage formed by the flow passage wall34A. The dust collecting chamber Ds may be located upstream of the two devices. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the power supply unit60and the first heat sink71are located downstream of the air flow passage defined by the flow passage wall34A. The dust collecting chamber Ds is located upstream of the power supply unit60and the first heat sink71. In such a manner, sending dust to the two devices can be prevented by the one dust collecting chamber Ds. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the dust collecting chamber Ds is located between the intake air wall61aof the power supply unit case61and the flow passage wall34A. As illustrated inFIG.12, the dust collecting chamber Ds has a first opening A1that opens in a direction along the circuit board50toward an air flow passage Sa defined by the flow passage wall34A and the intake air wall61a. Dust included in air flowing through the air flow passage Sa is captured from the first opening A1into the dust collecting chamber Ds. The dust collecting chamber Ds also has a second opening A2that opens to the outside of the air flow passage Sa in a direction intersecting the circuit board50. According to this structure of the dust collecting chamber Ds, the dust can be collected in the dust collecting chamber Ds, and the collected dust can be discharged through the second opening A2by relatively simple work. The direction in which the second opening A2opens is, for example, a direction orthogonal to the circuit board50. The second opening A2opens to the outside of the housing30, more specifically, to the upper side of the upper housing member30A. The upper exterior panel20A covers the second opening A2and prevents exposure of the second opening A2to the outside. A user can expose the second opening A2by removing the upper exterior panel from the upper housing member30A and extract the dust collected in the dust collecting chamber Ds. For example, the dust collected in the dust collecting chamber Ds can be sucked by a vacuum cleaner. In addition, because the upper exterior panel20A is used as a member that covers the second opening A2, an increase in the number of parts can be suppressed. The dust collecting chamber wall34C defining the dust collecting chamber Ds has a side wall34e(seeFIG.12) that extends downward from an edge of the second opening A2. As illustrated inFIG.6B, a part34fof the side wall34eis located between the flow passage wall34A and the intake air wall61aand faces the air flow passage Sa. (The part34fwill hereinafter be referred to as an “inner wall.”) The inner wall34fmay be curved in conformity with the flow passage wall34A. For example, the inner wall34fmay be formed along the curve of a function defining the curve of the flow passage wall34A (for example, a clothoid curve). Further, in another example, as indicated by a broken line inFIG.6B, the inner wall34fmay extend to the inside of the curve of the function defining the curve of the flow passage wall34A (for example, the clothoid curve). This can enlarge the first opening A1and increase an amount of air entering the dust collecting chamber Ds. As illustrated inFIG.12, the dust collecting chamber wall34C may have a bottom portion34glocated at a lower edge of the side wall34e. The dust captured in the dust collecting chamber Ds is collected on the bottom portion34g. The bottom portion34gmay have a bank portion34halong the edge of the first opening A1. According to this, it is possible to prevent the dust collected on the bottom portion34gfrom returning to the air flow passage Sa. The bottom portion34gmay be attached to the circuit board50by a boss34iand a screw59. Incidentally, when the upper exterior panel20A is attached to the upper housing member30A, a clearance may be formed between the edge of the second opening A2and the upper exterior panel20A. This facilitates formation of an airflow that enters the dust collecting chamber Ds from the first opening A1and that is discharged to the outside from the dust collecting chamber Ds through the second opening A2. Incidentally, the structure of the dust collecting chamber Ds is not limited to the example of the electronic apparatus1. For example, instead of using the upper exterior panel20A as a cover that covers the second opening A2, a dedicated cover (lid) that covers the second opening A2may be provided to the second opening A2. In another example, the dust collecting chamber Ds may be formed in the power supply unit case61instead of being formed in the upper housing member30A. As illustrated inFIG.27, a third opening A3may be formed in the upper housing member30A in addition to the second opening A2of the dust collecting chamber Ds. In an example illustrated inFIG.27, the upper housing member30A covers a heat radiating device170(seeFIGS.26A to26C) to be described later as a modification of the heat radiating device70. Fins171aof a heat sink171A on a front side are inclined with respect to the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. Therefore, a substantially triangular space is generated between a fin171clocated at an end portion in the heat sink171A and the right wall portion61fof the power supply unit case61. The third opening A3is located directly above this space. According to this structure, dust collected in the space between the heat sink171A on the front side and the right wall portion61fof the power supply unit case61can be extracted through the third opening A3. For example, the dust collected in this space can be sucked by a vacuum cleaner. [Heat Radiating Device on Upper Side] As illustrated inFIG.13B, the heat radiating device70has the plurality of heat pipes73A to73F in addition to the heat sinks71and72. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the heat radiating device70has six heat pipes73A to73F. However, the number of heat pipes may be two or three, or may be larger than six. In the following description, in cases where the plurality of heat pipes73A to73F are not distinguished from each other, a reference numeral73is used for the plurality of heat pipes73A to73F. In addition, as illustrated inFIG.13A, the heat radiating device70may have the base plate75. The heat sinks71and72are fixed to the upper side of the base plate75. The fins71aand72aof the heat sinks71and72are, for example, fixed to the base plate75by solder. As illustrated inFIG.14A, each heat pipe73has a heat receiving portion73athermally connected to the integrated circuit50amounted on the circuit board50. Here, the “heat receiving portion73athermally connected to the integrated circuit50a” means that the heat receiving portion73aand the integrated circuit50aare in direct contact with each other or connected to each other via a metallic part having a high thermal conductivity such as copper or aluminum such that the heat of the integrated circuit50ais transmitted to the heat receiving portion73a. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the heat receiving portion73ais a part located directly above the integrated circuit50a. The heat radiating device70may have a heat transfer member74disposed between the heat pipe73and the integrated circuit50a. The heat receiving portion73amay be connected to the integrated circuit50avia the heat transfer member74. As illustrated inFIG.14A, the heat receiving portions73aof the plurality of heat pipes73are abreast of each other in the left-right direction and may be in contact with the heat receiving portions73aof adjacent heat pipes73. The cross section of the heat receiving portions73ais substantially rectangular, and the heat receiving portions73ahave an upper surface, a lower surface, a left side surface, and a right side surface. Those side surfaces of the heat receiving portions73aare in contact with those of adjacent heat receiving portions73a. Two adjacent heat receiving portions73amay be in direct contact with each other or may be in contact with each other via a layer of a thermally conductive grease or the like. As illustrated inFIG.14A, each heat receiving portion73ahas a width W1 in the upward-downward direction and has a width W2 in the left-right direction. The width W1 in the upward-downward direction is larger than the width W2 in the left-right direction. According to this structure, it becomes easy to increase the number of heat pipes73. As a result, it becomes easy to increase the size of the heat sinks71and72to which the heat of the integrated circuit50ais transmitted through the heat pipes73. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the width W2 in the left-right direction is smaller than ¾ of the width W1 in the upward-downward direction. The width W2 in the left-right direction may be smaller than ⅔ of the width W1 in the upward-downward direction. The width W2 in the left-right direction may be larger than ½ of the width W1 in the upward-downward direction. As illustrated inFIG.14A, a total width Wa (width in the left-right direction) of the heat receiving portions73aof the plurality of heat pipes73may correspond to a width in the left-right direction of the integrated circuit50a. More specifically, a difference in width between the total width Wa and the integrated circuit50amay be smaller than the thickness of one heat pipe73(the width W2 in the left-right direction of a heat receiving portion73a). In the example of the electronic apparatus1, this difference is smaller than half of the thickness of one heat pipe73. Because the total width Wa thus corresponds to the width of the integrated circuit all of the heat pipes73can be made to function effectively. As illustrated inFIG.14A, the heat transfer member74has two side portions74bseparated from each other in the left-right direction and a groove74aformed between the two side portions74b. The width of the groove74ain the left-right direction corresponds to the total width Wa of the heat receiving portions73aof the plurality of heat pipes73. The heat receiving portions73aof all of the heat pipes73are arranged within the groove74a. The side surfaces of heat receiving portions73alocated at a respective right and left ends may be in contact with the inner surface (side portion74b) of the groove74aof the heat transfer member74. The depth of the groove74acorresponds to the width W1 in the upward-downward direction of the heat receiving portions73a. Therefore, the height of the upper surfaces of the heat receiving portions73aand the height of the upper surfaces of the side portions74bsubstantially coincide with each other. Lower edges of the fins71aincluded in the heat sink71are fixed to the upper surfaces of the side portions74b. The fins71aare fixed to the upper surfaces of the side portions74bby solder, for example. According to the side portions74b, heat can also be transmitted to the fins71alocated on the right side and left side of the heat receiving portions73a. The width in the upward-downward direction and the width in the left-right direction of the heat pipes73may be changed in the extending direction of the heat pipes73. Then, the heat pipes73may include a part whose width in the upward-downward direction is smaller than the width in the left-right direction in contrast to the heat receiving portions73a. This can facilitate bending of the heat pipes73and improve conductivity of heat from the heat pipes73to the heat sinks71and72. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the width in the upward-downward direction of all of the heat pipes73changes in the extending direction of the heat pipes73. Unlike the example of the electronic apparatus1, the width in the upward-downward direction of only a part of the heat pipes73may be changed in the extending direction of the heat pipes73. As illustrated inFIG.13B, each of the heat pipes73has parts73band73cin contact with the heat sinks71and72at positions separated from the heat receiving portion73a(seeFIG.14A) in the extending direction of the heat pipe73. In the following, the part73bin contact with the first heat sink71will be referred to as a first heat radiating portion, and the part73cin contact with the second heat sink72will be referred to as a second heat radiating portion. For example, as illustrated inFIG.14B, the heat pipes73C and73D have a second heat radiating portion73cthat extends rightward on the lower side of the second heat sink72and is connected to the lower edge of each fin72a. The heat pipes73E and73F have a second heat radiating portion73cthat extends rightward on the upper side of the second heat sink72and is connected to the upper edge of each fin72a. In addition, as illustrated inFIG.13B, the heat pipes73A to73F have a first heat radiating portion73bin contact with the lower edge of the first heat sink71. A width possessed by the second heat radiating portions73cin a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the second heat radiating portions73cand the upward-downward direction may be larger than a width possessed by the second heat radiating portions73cin the upward-downward direction. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, as illustrated inFIG.14B, the second heat radiating portions73chave a width W3 in the upward-downward direction and have a width W4 in the front-rear direction. Then, the width W4 in the front-rear direction is larger than the width W3 in the upward-downward direction. This makes it possible to transmit heat from the second heat radiating portions73cto the second heat sink72efficiently. Similarly, a width possessed by the first heat radiating portions73bin a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the first heat radiating portions73band the upward-downward direction may be larger than a width possessed by the first heat radiating portions73bin the upward-downward direction. This can improve thermal conductivity from the first heat radiating portions73bto the first heat sink71. In each of the heat pipes73, the width W1 in the upward-downward direction of the heat receiving portion73ais larger than the width in the upward-downward direction of the heat radiating portions73band73c(W1>W3). On the other hand, the width of the heat radiating portions73band73cin a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the heat radiating portions73band73cand the upward-downward direction (for example, the width W4 of the second heat radiating portions73c) is larger than the width of the heat receiving portions73ain a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the heat receiving portions73aand the upward-downward direction (that is, the width W2) (W4>W2). According to this structure, it is possible to avoid a change in outer circumferential length of the cross section of each heat pipe73. Incidentally, the heat radiating portions73band73cmay not be arranged on the upper side or lower side of the heat sinks71and72. For example, the second heat radiating portions73cmay extend in the left-right direction on the front side or the rear side of the second heat sink72. In such a case, the width in the upward-downward direction of the second heat radiating portions73cmay be larger than the width in the front-rear direction. Further, in another example, holes that penetrate the respective fins72aof the second heat sink72in the left-right direction may be formed in the fins72a. Then, the second heat radiating portions73cmay be inserted into the through holes. In such a case, the upper surfaces and/or lower surfaces of the second heat radiating portions73cmay be in contact with edges of the through holes of the heat sink72. Then, the width in the front-rear direction of the second heat radiating portions73cmay be larger than the width in the upward-downward direction. The radius of curvature of an angular portion73dof a heat receiving portion73a(seeFIG.14A) may be smaller than the radius of curvature of an angular portion or a side portion of the heat radiating portions73band73c(for example, a side portion73eillustrated inFIG.14B). Thus, the cross section of the heat receiving portion73aapproaches a rectangle, so that the plurality of heat pipes73can be arranged on the upper side of the integrated circuit50aefficiently. As illustrated inFIG.14C, each of the heat pipes73has an intermediate portion73hlocated between the integrated circuit50amounted on the circuit board50and the first heat sink71. The intermediate portion73his a part located between the heat receiving portion73aand the first heat radiating portion73b. As viewed in plan of the heat radiating device70, the intermediate portions73hof the plurality of heat pipes73spread in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of each heat receiving portion73a(left-right direction in the example of the electronic apparatus1) (seeFIG.13B). As illustrated inFIG.14C, an upper surface73iof the intermediate portion73his connected to the lower edge of a fin71aof the first heat sink71. The upper surface73iis parallel with the circuit board50and the lower edge of the fin71a. On the other hand, a lower surface73jof the intermediate portion73hmay be inclined such that a width W7 in the upward-downward direction of the intermediate portion73his gradually decreased with an increase in distance from the heat receiving portion73a. This can improve a degree of freedom of the layout of the electronic parts50cbelow the intermediate portion73h. Incidentally, the lower surface73jof the intermediate portion73hmay not necessarily be inclined. A plurality of steps may be formed in the lower surface73jsuch that the width W7 in the upward-downward direction of the intermediate portion73his gradually decreased. The base plate75has a bottom portion75clocated under the intermediate portion73h. A plurality of steps may be formed in the bottom portion75cto bias the lower surface73jof the intermediate portion73hto the heat sink71side. As described above, the second heat radiating portions73cof the heat pipes73E and73F are arranged along the upper side of the second heat sink72. Therefore, as illustrated inFIG.13A, the two heat pipes73E and73F may have a curved portion73gbending upward from the lower side of the first heat sink71to the upper side of the second heat sink72. As illustrated inFIG.9, the curved portion73ghas a width W5 in the upward-downward direction. In addition, the curved portion73ghas a width W6 in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the curved portion73gand the upward-downward direction (front-rear direction in the example illustrated inFIG.9). Then, the width W6 may be larger than the width W5 in the upward-downward direction. According to this structure of the heat pipes73E and73F, the heat pipes73E and73F are bent upward easily. Incidentally, the direction in which the curved portion73gis bent is not limited to the upward-downward direction. For example, in a case where the second heat radiating portion73cis disposed on the front side or the rear side of the second heat sink72, the curved portion73gmay be bent to the front side or the rear side. In such a case, the width of the curved portion73gin the upward-downward direction may be larger than the width of the curved portion73gin the front-rear direction. FIGS.26A to26Cis a diagram illustrating the heat radiating device170as a modification of the heat radiating device70.FIG.27is a plan view of the apparatus main body10having the heat radiating device170. InFIG.27, the heat radiating device170is covered by the upper housing member30A. In the heat radiating device170, the first heat sink71illustrated inFIG.13Aand the like is separated into two heat sinks171A and171B (two fin blocks) in a direction along the airflow (front-rear direction in the example of the electronic apparatus1), as illustrated inFIG.26A. The heat sinks171A and171B are fixed to the common base plate75. In addition, the heat sinks171A and171B are coupled to each other by common heat pipes73having heat receiving portions73athermally connected to the integrated circuit50amounted on the circuit board50. The heat sink171A on the front side is located leftward of the center line Cf of the cooling fan5, and a line along the left-right direction passes through the center line Cf and the heat sink171A (seeFIG.27). The heat transfer member74and the heat receiving portions73aof the heat pipes73are fixed to the heat sink171A on the front side (fin block on the front side). The heat sink171A on the front side is connected to the integrated circuit50athrough the heat transfer member74and the heat receiving portions73a. The heat sink171B on the rear side (fin block on the rear side) is located in the rear of the heat sink171A. The heat radiating portions73cof the plurality of heat pipes73are fixed to the heat sink171B on the rear side. The second heat sink72and the heat sink171B on the rear side are abreast of each other in the left-right direction. In the following description, the heat sink171A on the front side will be referred to as a first front heat sink, the heat sink171B will be referred to as a first rear heat sink, and the heat sink72will be referred to as a second heat sink as in the example ofFIG.13A. As illustrated inFIG.26A, the front edge of the first rear heat sink171B is separated rearward from the rear edge of the first front heat sink171A, and a gap Gn is secured between the front edge of the first rear heat sink171B and the rear edge of the first front heat sink171A. According to this structure, air that has passed through the rear edge of the first front heat sink171A is mixed in the gap Gn (that is, the flow of the air is disturbed in the gap Gn), and thereafter, the air enters the first rear heat sink171B. Therefore, the air into which heat is to be radiated is distributed to the whole of the first rear heat sink171B easily. As a result, it is possible to make effective use of the first rear heat sink171B and thus improve cooling performance. As illustrated inFIG.26A, in the heat radiating device170, the heat sinks171A and171B have a plurality of fins171aand171b, respectively, abreast of one another in the left-right direction. The fins171aincluded in the first front heat sink171A are inclined with respect to both the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. The wall61athat sends air to the first front heat sink171A (the intake air wall of the power supply unit case61, seeFIG.6B) is formed in front of the first front heat sink171A. Each of the fins171amay be inclined in the same direction as the wall61a. This enables air to pass through the heat sink171A smoothly. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the wall61aextends obliquely rearward and leftward from the front edge of the wall61a. Similarly to the wall61a, each of the fins171aextends obliquely rearward and leftward from the front edge of the fin171a. The fins171aand the wall61amay not be parallel with each other. On the other hand, each of the fins171bof the first rear heat sink171B is arranged along the front-rear direction. Therefore, the fins171aof the first front heat sink171A are inclined with respect to the fins171bof the first rear heat sink171B. The gap Gn preferably secures a size necessary for air to be mixed. The gap Gn may, for example, be larger than ⅕ of the width in the front-rear direction of the first front heat sink171A. The gap Gn may be larger than ¼ of the width in the front-rear direction of the first front heat sink171A. In the example illustrated inFIG.26A, the intermediate portions73hof the plurality of heat pipes73are exposed in the gap Gn. As illustrated inFIG.26B, the upper surfaces of the heat receiving portions73aof the heat pipes73and the upper surfaces of the heat transfer member74are in contact with the lower edges of the fins171aof the first front heat sink. The heat radiating portions73cof the plurality of heat pipes73are in contact with the lower edges of the fins171bof the first rear heat sink171B. Hence, in the example illustrated inFIGS.26A to26C, the heat sinks171A and171B are both in contact with parts of the heat pipes73in which the widths W1 and W3 (FIG.14AandFIG.14B) in the upward-downward direction of the heat pipes73are uniform. [Heat Radiating Device on Lower Side] As illustrated inFIG.15, the heat radiating device80disposed on the lower surface of the circuit board50includes a base plate82, a plurality of fins81, and a heat pipe83. As illustrated inFIG.16A, the heat pipe83is disposed between the lower board shield52and the circuit board50. An opening52ais formed in the lower board shield52. The fins81are arranged on the inside of the opening52aand are exposed to the outside of the lower board shield52(lower side of the lower board shield52in the example of the electronic apparatus1). The fins81are arranged in the above-described air flow passage Sb (seeFIG.8B) formed between the circuit board50and the lower housing member30B. The base plate82is, for example, a metallic plate of copper, aluminum, stainless steel, or the like. The base plate82is formed by pressing the metallic plate. That is, parts possessed by the base plate82are formed by one metallic plate. The plurality of fins81are supported by the base plate82. The fins81are, for example, fixed to the lower surface of the base plate82by solder, for example. As illustrated inFIG.15, the heat pipe83has a heat receiving portion83nat a position separated from the fins81. The heat pipe83is in an L-shape, for example. The heat receiving portion83nis disposed between the optical disk drive6and the circuit board50described above. The fins81are arranged in a region not overlapping the optical disk drive6(region on the right side of the optical disk drive6in the example of the electronic apparatus1). In a process of manufacturing the circuit board50(process of mounting electronic parts on the circuit board50), a jig may be pressed against the surface of the circuit board50to suppress a warp in the circuit board50. The heat pipe83may have a shape in conformity with a region against which the jig is pressed. The heat receiving portion83nis in contact with the electronic parts50cmounted on the lower surface of the circuit board50. The electronic parts50care, for example, power transistors that generate driving power for the integrated circuit50a(specifically, a CPU) mounted on the upper surface of the circuit board50, from power supplied from the power supply unit60. The parts and devices cooled by the heat radiating device80are not limited to transistors, and the heat radiating device80may be used to cool a memory. As illustrated inFIG.16A, the heat pipe83has a connecting portion83aon an opposite side from the heat receiving portion83n. The connecting portion83ais located between the fins81and the circuit board50and extends in the left-right direction. A holding recessed portion82fextending in the left-right direction is formed in the lower surface of the base plate82. The lower surface of the base plate82is recessed upward in the holding recessed portion82f. A first through hole82gthat penetrates the base plate82in the left-right direction is formed at a left end of the holding recessed portion82f. A second through hole82hthat penetrates the base plate82in the left-right direction is formed at a right end of the holding recessed portion82f. The connecting portion83ais inserted into the holding recessed portion82ffrom the first through hole82gon the left side, for example, and is held within the holding recessed portion82f. The connecting portion83ais, for example, fixed to the holding recessed portion82fby solder. The holding recessed portion82fand the connecting portion83aare both a part extending linearly. As illustrated inFIG.16A, gaps G1and G2are generated between edges of the opening52aof the lower board shield52and the fins81. Specifically, the gap G1is generated between the edge (left edge) of the opening52aand a fin81located at a left end, and the gap G2is generated between the edge (right edge) of the opening52aand a fin81located at a right end. As illustrated inFIG.16A, the base plate82may have a plate left portion82clocated on the left side of the holding recessed portion82f. The plate left portion82cmay cover the lower surface of the heat pipe83(surface on the board shield52side) and close the gap G1. This can prevent electromagnetic waves from being transmitted outside the lower board shield52from the gap G1. The plate left portion82cmay have a size larger than the gap G1in the front-rear direction and close the whole of the gap G1. Similarly, as illustrated inFIG.16A, the base plate82may have a plate right portion82dlocated on the right side of the holding recessed portion82f. The plate right portion82dmay cover the lower surface of the heat pipe83(surface on the board shield52side) and close the gap G2. This can prevent electromagnetic waves from being transmitted outside the lower board shield52from the gap G2. The plate right portion82dmay have a size larger than the gap G2in the front-rear direction and close the whole of the gap G2. As illustrated inFIG.16A, the plate left portion82chas a width T1 larger than a distance (gap G1) between the fin81located at the left end among the plurality of fins81and the edge (left edge) of the opening52aof the board shield52. Therefore, as viewed in plan of the circuit board50, the plate left portion82cis superposed on the fin81located at the left end and is also superposed on the edge of the opening52aof the board shield52. As a result, electromagnetic waves can be prevented from leaking from the gap G1effectively. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, a plurality of fins81are superposed on the plate left portion82c. As illustrated inFIG.16A, the plate right portion82dhas a width T2 larger than a distance (gap G2) between the fin81located at the right end among the plurality of fins81and the edge (right edge) of the opening52aof the board shield52. Therefore, as viewed in plan of the circuit board50, the plate right portion82dis superposed on the fin81located at the right end and is also superposed on the edge of the opening52aof the board shield52. As a result, electromagnetic waves can be prevented from leaking from the gap G2effectively. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, a plurality of fins81are also superposed on the plate right portion82d. As illustrated inFIG.16B, the base plate82has a plate front portion82aand a plate rear portion82blocated on opposite sides from each other in the front-rear direction with the holding recessed portion82finterposed therebetween. The plate front portion82a, the plate rear portion82b, the plate left portion82c, and the plate right portion82dare coupled to one another and surround the holding recessed portion82f. The four parts82ato82dare located in the same plane along the circuit board50. The edges of the fins81are fixed to the lower surface of the plate front portion82aand the lower surface of the plate rear portion82bby solder, for example. Heat transmitted from the heat pipe83to the holding recessed portion82fis transmitted to the fins81via the plate front portion82aand the plate rear portion82b. The plate front portion82aextends frontward from the holding recessed portion82fand is superposed on the edge of the opening52aof the board shield52. The plate rear portion82bextends rearward from the holding recessed portion82fand is superposed on the edge of the opening52aof the board shield52. Thus, the base plate82may be superposed on the entire perimeter of the edges of the opening52aof the board shield52. This can effectively prevent electromagnetic waves from leaking. Each of the parts82ato82dmay be fixed to the edge of the opening52aof the board shield52by a fixture such as a screw or a rivet. The fixing structure of the base plate82and the lower board shield52is not limited to the example of the electronic apparatus1. For example, only the plate front portion82aand the plate rear portion82bmay be provided with a fixture for fixing the base plate82to the lower board shield52. As illustrated inFIG.16B, a width W11 in the left-right direction of the first through hole82gmay be larger than a width (width in the left-right direction) of one fin81. Similarly, a width W12 in the left-right direction of the second through hole82hmay be larger than the width (width in the left-right direction) of one fin81. The first through hole82gis closed by the plurality of fins81. The second through hole82his also closed by the plurality of fins81. Each fin81has, at an upper edge thereof, a fixing portion81bbent to an adjacent fin81. The fixing portion81bis in contact with the adjacent fin81, and there is no gap between the two fins81adjacent to each other. This can also prevent electromagnetic waves from leaking from a range between the two fins81adjacent to each other. As illustrated inFIG.16B, the base plate82may have a stopper82kthat faces an end in the left-right direction (right end in the example of the electronic apparatus1) of the heat pipe83, in the left-right direction. When the connecting portion83aof the heat pipe83is inserted into the holding recessed portion82ffrom the left side in a process of manufacturing the heat radiating device80, the stopper82kcan reduce a relative positional displacement between the connecting portion83aand the holding recessed portion82f. Incidentally, in the example of the electronic apparatus1, the base plate82has the plate left portion82cand the plate right portion82dthat are superposed on the edges of the opening52aof the board shield52, on the right side and left side of the holding recessed portion82f, respectively. Unlike this example, only either the plate left portion82cor the plate right portion82dmay be superposed on the edge of the opening52aof the board shield52. Further, in another example, the base plate82may not have the holding recessed portion82f. In such a case, the heat radiating device80may have a back plate that sandwiches the connecting portion83aof the heat pipe83together with the base plate82.FIGS.17A to17Care diagrams illustrating an example of such a heat radiating device. In the example illustrated in these diagrams, a heat radiating device180has a base plate182and a back plate184. As illustrated inFIG.17B, the base plate182is disposed between the connecting portion83aof the heat pipe83and the fins81. The upper edges of the fins81are fixed to the base plate182. Unlike the base plate82described above, no holding recessed portion is formed in the base plate182. The back plate184covers the upper surface of the connecting portion83aand is attached to the base plate182. A holding recessed portion184athat extends in the left-right direction is formed in the back plate184. The connecting portion83aof the heat pipe83is fitted in this holding recessed portion. The back plate184has a plate front portion184band a plate rear portion184clocated on opposite sides from each other with the holding recessed portion184ainterposed therebetween. The parts184band184care attached to the base plate182. Incidentally, in the heat radiating device180, unlike the heat radiating device the connecting portion83aof the heat pipe83may be curved, for example, instead of being linear. In such a case, the holding recessed portion184amay be curved in conformity with the connecting portion83a. As illustrated inFIG.17C, the base plate182has a plate left portion182clocated on the left side of the fins81and a plate right portion182dlocated on the right side of the fins81. The plate left portion182ccloses the gap G1. The plate right portion182dcloses the gap G2. This can prevent electromagnetic waves from leaking from the gaps G1and G2. As illustrated inFIG.17C, the plate left portion182cextends leftward beyond the edge (left edge) of the opening52aof the board shield52and overlaps the board shield52. The plate right portion182dextends rightward beyond the edge (right edge) of the opening52aof the board shield52and overlaps the board shield52. This can prevent electromagnetic waves from leaking from the gaps G1and G2more effectively. As illustrated inFIG.17B, the base plate182has a plate front portion182aand a plate rear portion182blocated on opposite sides from each other in the front-rear direction with the connecting portion83ainterposed therebetween. The plate front portion182aand the plate rear portion182balso respectively extend frontward and rearward beyond the edges of the opening52aof the board shield52and overlap the board shield52. Thus, the base plate182may be superposed on the entire perimeter of the edges of the opening52aof the board shield52. This can effectively prevent electromagnetic waves from leaking. The back plate184may have substantially the same size as the base plate182in at least one of the left-right direction and the front-rear direction. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, as illustrated inFIG.17A, a size K2in the front-rear direction of the back plate184is the same as that of the base plate182. In addition, a size K1in the left-right direction of the back plate184is the same as that of the base plate182. According to this structure of the back plate184and the base plate182, heat transmitted from the heat pipe83to the back plate184is transmitted to the whole of the base plate182easily and is therefore transmitted to the whole of the fins81easily. Incidentally, the back plate184may have substantially the same size as the base plate182in only either the left-right direction or the front-rear direction. Here, the back plate184and the base plate182having the same size in the front-rear direction means that frontmost portions thereof can be attached to the board shield52by a common fixture (a screw or a rivet) and that rearmost portions thereof can be attached to the board shield52by a common fixture. For example, attachment holes into which a common fixture is to be inserted are formed in each of the frontmost portions and the rearmost portions of the plates184and182. Similarly, the back plate184and the base plate182having the same size in the left-right direction means that rightmost portions thereof can be attached to the board shield52by a common fixture and that leftmost portions thereof can be attached to the board shield52by a common fixture. In addition, according to this structure, unlike the base plate82described above, the holes penetrating the base plate182(through holes82gand82hdescribed above) are not formed. Therefore, a leakage of electromagnetic waves can be prevented more effectively. [Memory Housing Chamber] As illustrated inFIG.15, a ground pattern50fthat includes a conductor and functions as an electric ground is formed on the lower surface of the circuit board50. InFIG.15, the ground pattern50fis shaded. The ground pattern50fsurrounds the entire perimeter of a region B1on which electronic parts50cand50eand the like are mounted (the region will hereinafter be referred to as a shielded region). The lower board shield52covers the shielded region B1. The lower board shield52has ground contact portions52b(seeFIG.7C) fixed to the ground pattern50fby a fixture such as a screw. As illustrated inFIG.15, a memory connector50gfrom which a semiconductor memory55(seeFIG.18A) is detachable may be mounted on a region on the outside of the shielded region B1in the lower surface of the circuit board50. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the semiconductor memory55is disposed rightward from the memory connector50g. The lower board shield52may have a connector cover52c(seeFIG.18A) that covers the memory connector50g. A memory housing chamber R1(seeFIG.18A) that houses the semiconductor memory55is defined on the lower side of the circuit board50. As illustrated inFIG.18C, the lower board shield52has shield walls52eand52fformed along the memory housing chamber R1. According to this structure, it is possible to reduce an effect of static electricity on the semiconductor memory55while suppressing an increase in the number of parts. The shield walls52eand52fare walls higher than the semiconductor memory55and also have a length (width in the left-right direction) corresponding to the semiconductor memory55. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the memory housing chamber R1is defined near a front surface10a(seeFIG.8A) of the electronic apparatus1. As illustrated inFIG.15, the memory housing chamber R1is located forward of the center of the circuit board50in the front-rear direction and is, for example, formed along a front edge50hof the circuit board50. The shield wall52eis formed on the front side of the memory housing chamber R1. According to this structure, when the user touches the front surface10aof the electronic apparatus1, a flow of static electricity to the semiconductor memory55can be suppressed by the shield wall52e. As illustrated inFIG.18C, the shield wall52fmay be formed on the rear side of the memory housing chamber R1. According to this, the effect of static electricity on the semiconductor memory55can be suppressed more effectively. As illustrated inFIG.15, the ground pattern50fmay have ground portions50iand50jformed along the memory housing chamber R1. The ground portions50iand50j, for example, have a length (length in the left-right direction) corresponding to the memory housing chamber R1. The ground portion50iis formed on the front side of the memory housing chamber R1. The ground portion50jis formed on the rear side of the memory housing chamber R1. In the following, the ground portion50iwill be referred to as a front ground portion, and the ground portion50jwill be referred to as a rear ground portion. As illustrated inFIG.18C, the lower board shield52has a contact portion52gin contact with the front ground portion50iand a contact portion52hin contact with the rear ground portion50j. The shield wall52eon the front side extends downward from the contact portion52g. The shield wall52fon the rear side extends downward from the contact portion52h. According to this structure, distances from the shield walls52eand52fto the ground pattern50fof the circuit board50are decreased. As a result, the effect of static electricity can be reduced more effectively. Incidentally, the structure of the ground pattern50fand the structure of the lower board shield52are not limited to the example illustrated in the electronic apparatus1. For example, the ground pattern50fmay have only one of the two ground portions50iand50j(for example, the front ground portion50i). In such a case, the lower board shield52may have only one of the two contact portions52gand52h(for example, the contact portion52gon the front side). As illustrated inFIG.18A, the memory housing chamber R1may be covered by a memory cover56. The memory cover56includes, for example, a conductive material (for example, a metal such as copper, aluminum, or iron). The memory cover56is electrically connected to the shield walls52eand52f. According to this, the effect of static electricity on the semiconductor memory55can be suppressed even more effectively. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the memory cover56is electrically connected to the shield wall52ethrough a conductive cushion56a(FIG.18C) disposed between an edge of the memory cover56and an edge of the shield wall52eon the front side. In addition, the memory cover56is electrically connected to the shield wall52fthrough a conductive cushion56bdisposed between an edge of the memory cover56and an edge of the shield wall52fon the rear side. As illustrated inFIG.18C, an opening30dthat exposes the memory housing chamber R1is formed in the lower housing member30B. Supporting walls37a,37b, and37cthat surround the memory housing chamber R1may be formed on the lower housing member30B. The supporting walls37a,37b, and37care walls extending toward the circuit board50from edges of the opening30d. The supporting walls37a,37b, and37ccan secure a strength of the lower housing member30B on the periphery of the opening30d. As illustrated inFIG.18C, the shield walls52eand52fmay be located on the inside of the supporting walls37a,37b, and37c. The shield wall52eon the front side is, for example, disposed on the inside of the supporting wall37aon the front side and along the supporting wall37a. The shield wall52fon the rear side is, for example, disposed on the inside of the supporting wall37bon the rear side and along the supporting wall37b. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the board shield52does not have a shield wall located on the inside of the supporting wall37cformed on the right side of the memory housing chamber R1. Unlike the example of the electronic apparatus1, the board shield52may have a shield wall located on the inside of the supporting wall37c. The outer peripheral edge of the memory cover56is, for example, disposed at lower edges of the supporting walls37a,37b, and37c. As illustrated inFIG.18A, a projecting portion56cis formed at an end portion (left end in the example illustrated in the electronic apparatus1) of the memory cover56. An opening into which the projecting portion56cis fitted in a horizontal direction is formed in the lower housing member30B. An end portion on an opposite side (right end in the example illustrated in the electronic apparatus1) of the memory cover56is disposed on the supporting wall37cand is fixed to the supporting wall37c. For example, a hole is formed in the supporting wall37c, and the end portion of the memory cover56is fixed to this hole by a fixture such as a screw58a. The semiconductor memory55may be fixed to the circuit board50or the upper board shield51at a position separated from the memory connector50g. For example, as illustrated inFIG.18A, a right end55aof the semiconductor memory55may be fixed to a screw hole51bformed in the upper board shield51by a screw58b. In such a case, a spacer57may be disposed between the upper board shield51and the right end55aof the semiconductor memory55. A hole50kused for disposing the spacer57may be formed at a position corresponding to the screw hole51bin the circuit board50. The electronic apparatus1may allow a plurality of semiconductor memories having different storage capacities to be used selectively. Such semiconductor memories have different lengths in the left-right direction according to the storage capacities. Accordingly, as illustrated inFIG.18A, a plurality of screw holes51bmay be formed in the upper board shield51such that such a plurality of semiconductor memories having different lengths can be fixed to the upper board shield51. In addition, in the circuit board50, holes used for disposing the spacer57may be formed at positions corresponding to the screw holes51b. Vent holes H1(seeFIG.18AandFIG.18B) that allow a flow of air between the inside and the outside of the memory housing chamber R1in a state in which the memory cover56is closed may be formed in the memory housing chamber R1. This can improve a heat radiation property for the semiconductor memory55. As described above, the memory housing chamber R1is disposed near the front surface10aof the electronic apparatus1. The vent holes H1may be formed in a wall portion on the rear side of the memory housing chamber R1. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the vent holes H1may be provided in the shield wall52fon the rear side or the supporting wall37bon the rear side. In addition, the vent holes H1may open toward the rear side of the electronic apparatus1. According to this structure of the vent holes H1, the vent holes H1are distant from the front surface10aof the electronic apparatus1, and therefore, the vent holes H1can be effectively prevented from becoming a passage for static electricity. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, a plurality of gaps52i(seeFIG.19) are formed in the shield wall52fon the rear side. As illustrated inFIG.18B, the lower edge of the supporting wall37bof the lower housing member30B has recessed portions37eat positions corresponding to the gaps52i. The vent holes H1that open toward the rear side of the electronic apparatus1are formed between the recessed portions37eand an edge of the memory cover56. An attachment hole52j(seeFIG.18B) used for fixing the ground contact portion52hof the lower board shield52to the circuit board50may be formed in the gaps52i. The above-described lower flow passage Ub (seeFIG.20A) is formed between the lower surface of the lower housing member30B and the lower exterior panel20B. The vent holes H1open in the lower flow passage Ub. In addition, the vent holes H1open toward the inlet port31bof the lower housing member30B from the memory housing chamber R1(seeFIG.8A). Therefore, when the cooling fan5is driven, an airflow from the inside of the memory housing chamber R1to the inlet port31bthrough the vent holes H1is formed. In addition to the vent holes H1, holes opening to the outside of the memory housing chamber R1may be formed in the wall portions defining the memory housing chamber R1, the wall portions being the shield walls52eand52f, the supporting walls37a,37b, and37c, the circuit board50, and the like. When the cooling fan5is driven, air flows into the inside of the memory housing chamber R1through the holes. The holes opening to the outside of the memory housing chamber R1, that is, air intake holes, are, for example, the holes50kformed in the circuit board50to fix the semiconductor memory55. [Exterior Panel] As described above, the electronic apparatus1has the upper exterior panel20A attached to the upper surface of the apparatus main body10and the lower exterior panel attached to the lower surface of the apparatus main body10. The apparatus main body10has the upper housing member30A and the lower housing member30B combined with each other in the upward-downward direction. The upper exterior panel20A is attached to the upper surface of the upper housing member30A. The lower exterior panel is attached to the lower surface of the lower housing member30B. As illustrated inFIG.1C, the upper exterior panel20A may have, on a right side thereof, a right projecting portion20athat projects rightward beyond the position of a right side surface10bof the apparatus main body10(right side external surface of the front exterior panel35). In addition, the upper exterior panel20A may have, on a left side thereof, a left projecting portion20b(FIG.1G) that projects leftward beyond the position of a left side surface10cof the apparatus main body10(left side surface of the housing30). As illustrated inFIG.1B, the projecting portions20aand20bmay continue from a rear edge to a front edge of the upper exterior panel20A. The projecting portions20aand20bcan protect the apparatus main body10. For example, when the electronic apparatus1is placed vertically such that the right side surface10bof the electronic apparatus1is on the lower side, the right projecting portion20aabuts against a floor surface and supports the apparatus main body10, so that the side surface of the apparatus main body10can be prevented from being damaged or soiled. Similarly to the upper exterior panel20A, as illustrated inFIG.1C, the lower exterior panel20B may have, on a right side thereof, a right projecting portion20cthat projects rightward beyond the position of the right side surface10bof the apparatus main body10, and have, on a left side thereof, a left projecting portion20d(seeFIG.1G) that projects leftward beyond the position of the left side surface10cof the apparatus main body10. The projecting portions20cand20dmay continue from a rear edge to a front edge of the lower exterior panel According to this structure of the exterior panels20A and20B, the apparatus main body10can be protected more effectively. As illustrated inFIG.1E, the upper exterior panel20A may have, on a front side thereof, a front projecting portion20ethat projects frontward beyond the position of the front surface10aof the apparatus main body10(front surface of the front exterior panel35). Similarly, the lower exterior panel20B may have, on a front side thereof, a front projecting portion20fthat projects frontward beyond the position of the front surface10aof the apparatus main body10. According to this structure of the exterior panels20A and20B, the front surface10aof the apparatus main body10and parts arranged in the front surface10a(for example, the buttons2aand2b, the connector3aand3b, and the like) can be protected. The front projecting portion20econtinues from a right edge to a left edge of the upper exterior panel20A. The front projecting portion20fcontinues from a right edge to a left edge of the lower exterior panel20B. In addition, the exterior panels20A and20B may have a rear projecting portion that projects rearward beyond the position of the rear surface of the apparatus main body10(rear surface of the housing30). Incidentally, the exterior panels20A and20B may have projecting portions on only a part of the right side, the left side, and the front side thereof. For example, the exterior panels20A and20B may not have the projecting portions20eand20fon the front side. In addition, only one of the two exterior panels20A and20B may have the projecting portions. As illustrated inFIG.1A, the upper exterior panel20A has a shape obtained by gently curving one plate in a thickness direction thereof and does not have, at an outer peripheral edge thereof, a wall portion that drops toward the lower exterior panel20B. That is, the upper exterior panel20A is not in a box shape. Hence, the upper exterior panel20A has a right end surface20g(seeFIG.1E) facing rightward and having a width T3 (width in the upward-downward direction) corresponding to the thickness of the upper exterior panel20A. Similarly, the upper exterior panel20A has a left end surface facing leftward and having a width corresponding to the thickness of the upper exterior panel20A, a front end surface facing frontward and having a width corresponding to the thickness of the upper exterior panel20A, and a rear end surface facing rearward and having a width corresponding to the thickness of the upper exterior panel20A. Similarly to the upper exterior panel20A, the lower exterior panel20B does not have, at an outer peripheral edge thereof, a wall portion that extends toward the upper exterior panel20A. Hence, the lower exterior panel20B has a right end surface20h(seeFIG.1G) facing rightward and having a width T4 (width in the upward-downward direction) corresponding to the thickness of the lower exterior panel20B, a left end surface facing leftward and having a width corresponding to the thickness of the lower exterior panel20B, a front end surface facing frontward and having a width corresponding to the thickness of the lower exterior panel20B, and a rear end surface facing rearward and having a width corresponding to the thickness of the lower exterior panel20B. [Curve of Exterior Panel] The upper exterior panel20A may have a curved section in a cutting plane that is along the upward-downward direction and intersects the left-right direction. This can increase the strength of the exterior member when the electronic apparatus1is placed vertically, as compared with a case where the upper exterior panel20A is a flat plate. As illustrated inFIG.20AandFIG.20B, the upper exterior panel20A may have sections curved in different manners in two cutting planes that are along the upward-downward direction and intersect each other. Here, the two cutting planes are, for example, a cutting plane indicated by a line XXa-XXa illustrated inFIG.1Dand a cutting plane indicated by a line XXb-XXb. The cutting planes are not limited to the example illustrated inFIG.1Dand may, for example, be planes along the upward-downward direction and the front-rear direction. Also in such a case, the strength of the upper exterior panel20A (strength against a force acting in the left-right direction) can be increased. InFIG.1D, a first position P1, a second position P2located on an opposite side of a center Pc of the upper exterior panel20A from the first position P1, a third position P3, and a fourth position P4located on an opposite side of the center Pc of the upper exterior panel20A from the third position P3are set at four corners of the upper exterior panel20A. InFIG.1D, the first position P1is given at a right front corner, the second position P2is given at a left rear corner, the third position P3is given at a left front corner, and the fourth position P4is given at a right rear corner. When the four positions are thus defined in the example of the electronic apparatus1, a line L1that connects the first position P1and the second position P2to each other and is along the upper surface of the upper exterior panel20A is a curve bulging downward, as illustrated inFIG.20A. In other words, when a cutting plane along a first diagonal line of the electronic apparatus1is viewed, the upper exterior panel20A is curved along an arc about a point separated upward from the upper exterior panel20A. Here, the “first diagonal line” is the line XXa-XXa illustrated inFIG.1D. On the other hand, a line L2that connects the third position P3and the fourth position P4to each other and is along the upper surface of the upper exterior panel is a curve bulging upward, as illustrated inFIG.20B. In other words, when a cutting plane along a second diagonal line of the electronic apparatus1is viewed, the upper exterior panel20A may be curved along an arc about a point separated downward from the upper exterior panel20A. Here, the “second diagonal line” is the line XXb-XXb illustrated inFIG.1D. According to such curves of the upper exterior panel20A, as illustrated inFIG.20A, the thickness (width in the upward-downward direction) of the electronic apparatus1at the right front corner (first position P1) of the electronic apparatus1and the thickness (width in the upward-downward direction) of the electronic apparatus1at the left rear corner (second position P2) of the electronic apparatus1are increased. Therefore, when the electronic apparatus1is placed vertically, the attitude of the electronic apparatus1can be stabilized. For example, when the electronic apparatus1is placed vertically such that the right side surface of the electronic apparatus1is on the lower side, the right front corner (first position P1) having a large thickness is on the lower side and supports the electronic apparatus1. In addition, when the electronic apparatus1is placed such that the front surface of the electronic apparatus1is on the lower side, the right front corner (first position P1) having a large thickness is also on the lower side. When the electronic apparatus1is placed vertically such that the left side surface of the electronic apparatus1is on the lower side, on the other hand, the left rear corner (second position P2) having a large thickness is on the lower side and supports the electronic apparatus1. Hence, according to the above-described curves of the upper exterior panel20A, when the electronic apparatus1is placed vertically, the attitude of the electronic apparatus1can be stabilized. FIG.20Aillustrates a first distance D1at the first position P1(right front corner) and a second distance D2at the second position P2(left rear corner) as distances from the horizontal plane Hp1including the circuit board to the upper surface of the upper exterior panel20A. In addition,FIG.20Billustrates a third distance D3at the third position P3(left front corner) and a fourth distance D4at the fourth position P4(right rear corner) as distances from the horizontal plane Hp1including the circuit board50to the upper surface of the upper exterior panel20A. As described above, the line L1connecting the first position P1and the second position P2to each other, the first position P1and the second position P2being defined on a diagonal line of the upper exterior panel20A, is a curve bulging downward, and the line L2connecting the third position P3and the fourth position P4to each other, the third position P3and the fourth position P4being on another diagonal line of the upper exterior panel20A, is a curve bulging upward. Therefore, each of the first distance D1and the second distance D2is larger than each of the third distance D3and the fourth distance D4. It is therefore possible to realize smooth air intake and exhaust by arranging devices and parts of a cooling system near the first position P1and near the second position P2. For example, as illustrated inFIG.1D, as viewed in plan of the electronic apparatus1, a line connecting the center Pc of the upper exterior panel20A and the first position P1to each other (line XXa-XXa indicating a cutting plane) passes the inlet port Ea (seeFIG.1C) formed between the upper exterior panel20A and the upper surface of the upper housing member30A. In addition, the line connecting the center Pc of the upper exterior panel20A and the first position P1to each other passes the upper flow passage Ua (seeFIG.20A) formed between the upper exterior panel20A and the recessed plate portion32a(seeFIG.2A) of the upper housing member30A. This facilitates securing of a sufficient width in the upward-downward direction of the inlet port Ea and a sufficient width in the upward-downward direction of the upper flow passage Ua. In addition, as viewed in plan of the electronic apparatus1, a line connecting the center Pc of the upper exterior panel20A and the second position P2to each other (line XXa-XXa indicating a cutting plane) may pass a flow passage from the cooling fan5to the exhaust port M provided in the back surface of the electronic apparatus1. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the air flowing out of the cooling fan5passes through the inside of the power supply unit case61and is exhausted from the exhaust port M. As viewed in plan of the electronic apparatus1, the line connecting the center Pc of the upper exterior panel20A and the second position P2to each other (line XXa-XXa indicating a cutting plane) passes an air flow passage formed in the rear portion (case rear portion61c) of the power supply unit case61. Therefore, a sufficient size in the upward-downward direction of the rear portion of the power supply unit case61is secured easily, and exhaust efficiency can be improved. In addition, as viewed in plan of the electronic apparatus1, the line connecting the center Pc of the upper exterior panel20A and the second position P2to each other passes the rear wall61i(seeFIG.7C) of the power supply unit case61in which the exhaust holes61gare formed, and the rear portion61k(seeFIG.7C) of the upper wall61jin which the exhaust holes61hare formed. This facilitates securing of a sufficient size in the upward-downward direction of the rear wall61iof the power supply unit case61and securing of a sufficient width in the upward-downward direction of the air flow passage Se (seeFIG.7C) formed between the rear portion61kof the upper wall61jand the upper housing member30A. The lower exterior panel20B may also be curved as a whole. For example, as illustrated inFIG.20A, the lower exterior panel20B is curved when the cutting plane along the first diagonal line of the electronic apparatus1(line XXa-XXa inFIG.1D) is viewed. As illustrated inFIG.20B, when the cutting plane along the second diagonal line of the electronic apparatus1(line XXb-XXb inFIG.1D) is viewed, the lower exterior panel20B may be curved in a manner different from that in the cutting plane illustrated inFIG.20A. As described above, the optical disk drive6is disposed on the lower side of the circuit board50. The optical disk drive6is located in a left portion of the electronic apparatus1. Therefore, a left portion of the lower exterior panel20B is bulged downward so as to cover the lower side of the optical disk drive6. A right portion Br of the lower exterior panel20B may have a shape symmetric to a right portion of the upper exterior panel20A. Incidentally, the electronic apparatus1may not have the optical disk drive6on the lower side of the circuit board50. In such a case, the whole of the shape (curve) of the lower exterior panel20B may be symmetric to the shape (curve) of the upper exterior panel20A.FIG.21AandFIG.21Bare sectional views illustrating a lower exterior panel according to such a modification. In an example illustrated in these diagrams, a lower exterior panel120B and the upper exterior panel20A have shapes symmetric with respect to a horizontal plane Hp2.FIG.21Aillustrates sections of the exterior panels20A and120B which are obtained in the same cutting plane as the cutting plane indicated by the line XXa-XXa inFIG.1D.FIG.21Billustrates sections of the exterior panels20A and120B which are obtained in the same cutting plane as the cutting plane indicated by the line XXb-XXb inFIG.1D.FIG.21Cis a front view of an electronic apparatus101having the exterior panels20A and120B illustrated inFIG.21AandFIG.21B. In the example illustrated inFIG.21AandFIG.21B, a fifth position P5, a sixth position P6located on an opposite side of a center Pc of the lower exterior panel120B from the fifth position P5, a seventh position P7, and an eighth position P8located on an opposite side of the center Pc of the lower exterior panel120B from the seventh position P7are set at four corners of the lower exterior panel120B. For example, the fifth position P5is given at a right front corner of the lower exterior panel120B, the sixth position P6is given at a left rear corner of the lower exterior panel120B, the seventh position P7is given at a left front corner of the lower exterior panel120B, and the eighth position P8is given at a right rear corner of the lower exterior panel120B. Hence, as viewed in plan of the electronic apparatus1, the fifth position P5, the sixth position P6, the seventh position P7, and the eighth position P8respectively correspond to the first position P1, the second position P2, the third position P3, and the fourth position P4described above. When the four positions are thus defined in the lower exterior panel120B, a line L3that connects the fifth position P5and the sixth position P6to each other and is along the lower surface of the lower exterior panel120B may be a curve bulging upward, as illustrated inFIG.21A. On the other hand, a line L4that connects the seventh position P7and the eighth position P8to each other and is along the lower surface of the lower exterior panel120B may be a curve bulging downward, as illustrated inFIG.21B. Incidentally, the curved form of the upper exterior panel is not limited to the example of the electronic apparatus1. For example, the above-described four positions P1to P4defining the curved form of the upper exterior panel20A may not be the four corners of the upper exterior panel20A. For example, the first position P1may be defined at a center of the front edge of the upper exterior panel20A, the second position P2may be defined on an opposite side of the center Pc of the upper exterior panel20A from the first position P1, the third position P3may be defined at a center of the right edge of the upper exterior panel20A, and the fourth position P4may be defined on an opposite side of the center Pc of the upper exterior panel20A from the third position P3. When the four positions P1to P4are thus defined, the line that connects the first position P1and the second position P2to each other and is along the upper surface of the upper exterior panel20A may, for example, be a curve bulging downward. On the other hand, the line that connects the third position P3and the fourth position P4to each other and is along the upper surface of the upper exterior panel20A may be a curve bulging upward. In such a case, the curved form of the lower exterior panel20B may correspond to the curved form of the upper exterior panel20A. For example, the whole of the shape (curve) of the lower exterior panel20B may be symmetric to the shape (curve) of the upper exterior panel20A. Further, in another example, while only the upper exterior panel20A is curved as described above, the lower exterior panel20B may be in a flat plate shape. In yet another example, a part of the upper exterior panel or a part of the lower exterior panel20B may include a flat surface. [Exterior Panel Attachment Structures] As illustrated inFIG.2AandFIG.22, a plurality of attachment holes30eand30fare formed in the upper surface of the apparatus main body10(the upper surface of the upper housing member30A). A plurality of attachment target projecting portions21and22(seeFIG.2B) are formed on the lower surface of the upper exterior panel20A. The attachment target projecting portions21and22are fitted in the attachment holes30eand30f, respectively. The attachment holes30eand30fare, for example, holes that penetrate the upper housing member30A. InFIG.22, fitting directions in which the attachment target projecting portions21and22are respectively fitted into the attachment holes30eand30fare indicated by arrows Da. The fitting directions Da, for example, correspond to a direction in which the attachment target projecting portions21and22project from the lower surface of the upper exterior panel20A. In addition, the fitting directions Da, for example, correspond to a direction in which the attachment holes30eand30fpenetrate the upper housing member30A. Each of the fitting directions Da in which the plurality of attachment target projecting portions21and22are fitted into the attachment holes30eand30fis parallel with the other. The fitting direction Da may be inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to the upward-downward direction (horizontal plane Hp3parallel with the circuit board50inFIG.22). For example, the fitting direction Da may be a direction inclined with respect to the horizontal plane Hp3and along a plane parallel with the upward-downward direction and the left-right direction. As described above, the upper exterior panel20A is curved in manners different from each other in two cutting planes that are along the upward-downward direction and intersect each other. That is, the upper exterior panel20A is curved so as to bulge downward in the cutting plane along the first diagonal line (line XXa-XXa inFIG.1D) and is curved so as to bulge upward in the cutting plane along the second diagonal line (line XXb-XXb inFIG.1D). As illustrated inFIG.22, the upper surface of the apparatus main body10is also curved in conformity with the upper exterior panel20A. When the fitting direction Da is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane Hp3, the curved upper exterior panel20A can be attached to the upper surface of the apparatus main body10that is similarly curved, and the upper exterior panel20A and the upper surface of the apparatus main body10can be brought into close contact with each other. FIG.23is a schematic diagram of assistance in explaining this. In an example illustrated in this figure, a horizontal portion30iand an inclined portion are formed in the upper housing member30A. A horizontal portion20iand an inclined portion20jare also formed in the upper exterior panel20A. The attachment target projecting portions21and22project in the direction Da inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. The attachment holes30eand30fpenetrate the upper housing member30A in the direction Da inclined with respect to the horizontal plane Hp3. The fitting direction Da is inclined more greatly than the inclined portions30jand20j. That is, an angle θ1 formed between the horizontal plane Hp3and the fitting direction Da is larger than an angle θ2 formed between the horizontal plane Hp3and the inclined portions20jand30j. Therefore, the attachment target projecting portions21and20can be inserted into the attachment holes30eand30fwithout the occurrence of an interference between the inclined portion20jand the inclined portion30jand an interference between the horizontal portion20iand the horizontal portion30i. In addition, after the insertion of the attachment target projecting portions21and20, the inclined portion20jand the inclined portion30jcan be brought into close contact with each other, and the horizontal portion20iand the horizontal portion30ican be brought into close contact with each other. For a reduction in size in the upward-downward direction of the electronic apparatus1, a method is effective in which the upper exterior panel20A and the upper housing member30A are attached to each other by, for example, sliding the upper exterior panel20A with respect to the upper housing member30A in a right direction or a left direction. However, that method causes a gap between the inclined portions20jand30jand an interference between another inclined portion of the upper exterior panel20A and the upper housing member30A. On the other hand, in the example of the electronic apparatus1, the fitting direction Da is inclined more greatly than the inclined portions20jand30j, and therefore, the upper exterior panel20A can be attached to the upper housing member30A without causing such a gap or an interference. Hence, it is desirable that the fitting direction Da of the attachment target projecting portions21and22and the attachment holes30eand30fbe inclined with respect to the horizontal plane Hp3more greatly than a part inclined most greatly in the upper exterior panel20A. Incidentally, the plurality of attachment holes30eand are preferably distributed over the entire upper surface of the upper housing member30A. This can bring the whole of the upper exterior panel20A into close contact with the upper surface of the upper housing member30A. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the recessed plate portion32ais formed in the upper surface of the upper housing member30A. The attachment holes30eand30fare preferably distributed in a region other than the recessed plate portion32a. As illustrated inFIG.22, the attachment target projecting portion21has an engaging protruding portion21aat a base portion thereof. A recessed portion30his formed in the bottom surface of the attachment hole30e. The engaging protruding portion21ais fitted in the recessed portion30hand regulates slipping of the attachment target projecting portion21from the attachment hole30e. On the other hand, the attachment target projecting portion22has no protruding portion at a base portion thereof. The engaging protruding portion21ahas a surface21bthat faces a direction of pulling out the attachment target projecting portion21from the attachment hole30e. At the surface21b, the engaging protruding portion21aengages with the recessed portion (The surface21bwill hereinafter be referred to as a locking surface.) The upper exterior panel20A holds the upper surface of the upper housing member30A with the locking surface21bof the attachment target projecting portion21and the attachment target projecting portion22. A plurality of attachment target projecting portions22are arranged along a left edge of the upper exterior panel20A. Unlike the attachment target projecting portion21, no projecting portion may be formed at base portions of the attachment target projecting portions22. The structure for attachment of the lower exterior panel to the lower housing member30B may be the same as the structure for attachment of the upper exterior panel to the upper housing member30A. That is, as illustrated inFIG.2A, the lower exterior panel20B may have an attachment target projecting portion25having a protruding portion formed at a base portion thereof and an attachment target projecting portion24not having such a protruding portion formed thereon. Attachment holes into which the attachment target projecting portions24and25are to be fitted may be formed in the lower surface of the lower housing member30B. Incidentally, the structure for fixing the upper exterior panel20A to the upper housing member30A is not limited to the example of the electronic apparatus1. For example, as illustrated inFIG.24, engaging protruding portions26may be formed in the lower surface of the upper exterior panel20A in place of the engaging protruding portion21aformed on the base portion of the attachment target projecting portion21. The engaging protruding portions26may, for example, be formed such that center lines thereof are along the upward-downward direction. On the other hand, holes or recessed portions into which the engaging protruding portions26are to be fitted may be formed in the upper housing member30A. According to this structure, the size of the projecting portions is increased easily as compared with the engaging protruding portion21aof the attachment target projecting portion21. As a result, the strength of the engaging protruding portions can be increased. [Disk Insertion Slot] As illustrated inFIG.1BandFIG.25, a disk insertion slot23ainto which an optical disk is to be inserted toward the optical disk drive6may be formed in the lower exterior panel20B. The lower exterior panel20B has a front slope23on the front side thereof. The front slope23is a surface that extends obliquely downward and rearward from a front edge20kof the lower exterior panel20B. The disk insertion slot23ais formed in the front slope23. This can prevent the disk insertion slot23afrom being conspicuous. As illustrated inFIG.25, a guide curved surface23cconnected to the edge of the disk insertion slot23ais formed on an upper portion of the disk insertion slot23a. The guide curved surface23ccan function as a guide for an optical disk D. In a case where a front edge of the optical disk collides immediately below the front edge20kof the lower exterior panel20B at a time of insertion of the optical disk D, for example, the guide curved surface23cguides the optical disk D to the inside of the disk insertion slot23a. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the disk insertion slot23ais located in a left portion of the electronic apparatus1. The front slope23in which the disk insertion slot23ais formed is formed obliquely such that a right portion of the front slope23(part near the center in the left-right direction of the electronic apparatus1) is located forward of a left portion of the front slope23. Therefore, as illustrated inFIG.1H, a front edge23eof the disk insertion slot23ais inclined frontward from a left end of the front edge23eto the center (center in the left-right direction) of the electronic apparatus1in a bottom view of the electronic apparatus1. Therefore, at a time of insertion of the optical disk D, the guiding of the optical disk D starts early near the center of the electronic apparatus1. As illustrated inFIG.25, a slope23dis formed at a lower edge of the disk insertion slot23a. The slope23dextends obliquely rearward and upward from a front edge thereof. In a case where the front edge of the optical disk collides with the slope23d, the slope23dguides the optical disk D to an insertion opening6cformed in a front surface of the disk drive case6a. The insertion opening6cformed in the front surface of the disk drive case6ais located above a lower portion of the slope23d. Thus, a distance from the insertion opening6cto the disk insertion slot23aformed in the lower housing member30B is decreased. As a result, the work of inserting the optical disk D can be facilitated. As described above, in the electronic apparatus1, the housing30includes the upper housing member30A that covers the upper surface of the circuit board50, and the lower housing member30B that covers the lower surface of the circuit board50. The cooling fan5is disposed on the outside of the outer edge of the circuit board50. The cooling fan5has the rotational center line Cf along the upward-downward direction as the thickness direction of the circuit board50. The cooling fan5forms an airflow between the upper surface of the circuit board50and the upper housing member30A and an airflow between the lower surface of the circuit board50and the lower housing member30B. The upper housing member30A has the upper inlet port31adefined above the cooling fan5. The lower housing member30B has the lower inlet port31bdefined below the cooling fan5. According to the electronic apparatus1, one cooling fan5can send air to both surfaces of the circuit board50. It is therefore possible to cool parts disposed on both surfaces of the circuit board50without increasing the number of parts. In addition, because the upper inlet port31aand the lower inlet port31bare formed in the housing30, air can be taken in efficiently, so that cooling performance can be improved. In addition, the electronic apparatus1includes: the first heat sink71that allows air to pass through in the front-rear direction; the power supply unit60including the power supply circuit62and the power supply unit case61housing the power supply circuit62and having the intake air wall61ain which the plurality of air intake hole61bare formed; and the cooling fan5. The intake air wall61ais located in front of the first heat sink71. In addition, the intake air wall61ahas an external surface inclined with respect to both the front-rear direction and the left-right direction and facing the first heat sink71. The cooling fan5is disposed so as to send air to the intake air wall. Such an intake air wall61amakes it possible to secure an airflow to be supplied to the first heat sink71, and to cool the power supply unit60by a cold air (air not warmed by another heat generating device or heat radiating device) at the same time. When the power supply unit60can be cooled by the cold air, a clearance between the circuit parts62aand62bincluded in the power supply circuit62(for example, a transformer and a capacitor) can be reduced, so that the power supply unit60can be miniaturized. In addition, the electronic apparatus1includes: the circuit board50; the cooling fan5that forms an airflow for cooling parts mounted on the circuit board50; the flow passage wall34A that defines the flow passage of the airflow sent out from the cooling fan5; and the dust collecting chamber Ds that captures dust in the airflow and collects the captured dust, the dust collecting chamber Ds being provided to the flow passage wall34A. According to this structure, it is possible to reduce an amount of dust that enters devices arranged downstream of the dust collecting chamber Ds, the devices being the first heat sink71, the power supply unit60, and the like. In addition, the dust collecting chamber Ds has the first opening A1that opens toward the air flow passage Sa in a direction along the circuit board50, and the second opening A2that opens to the outside of the dust collecting chamber Ds in a direction intersecting the circuit board50. In the example of the electronic apparatus1, the direction in which the second opening A2opens is a direction orthogonal to the circuit board50. According to this structure of the dust collecting chamber Ds, the dust can be collected in the dust collecting chamber Ds, and the collected dust can be discharged through the second opening A2by relatively simple work. In addition, the heat radiating device70includes: the plurality of heat pipes73A to73F located above the integrated circuit50aand each having the heat receiving portion73athermally connected to the integrated circuit50a; and the heat sinks71and72connected to the plurality of heat pipes73A to73F. The heat receiving portions73aof the heat pipes73A to73F are abreast of each other in the left-right direction and are in contact with the heat receiving portions73aof adjacent heat pipes73. The heat receiving portions73ahave the first width W1 in the upward-downward direction and have the second width W2 smaller than the first width W1 in the left-right direction. According to this structure, it becomes easy to increase the number of heat pipes73. As a result, it becomes easy to increase the size of the heat sinks71and72to which the heat of the integrated circuit50ais transmitted through the heat pipes73. Cooling performance for the integrated circuit50acan therefore be improved. In addition, the electronic apparatus1includes: the circuit board50; the board shield52that covers the circuit board50and has the opening52aformed therein; and the heat radiating device80. The heat radiating device80includes: the plurality of fins81arranged on the inside of the opening52a; the heat pipe83that has the connecting portion83alocated between the plurality of fins81and the circuit board50and extending in the left-right direction along the circuit board50; and the base plate82or182that supports the plurality of fins81. The base plate82or182has the plate left portion82cor182c. The plate left portion82cor182ccovers the lower surface of the heat pipe83, the lower surface facing the board shield52side, and closes the gap G1between the left end of the plurality of fins81and the left edge of the opening52aof the board shield52. According to this structure, it is possible to effectively suppress a leakage of electromagnetic waves from the gap G1between the left end of the plurality of fins81and the left edge of the opening52aof the board shield52. As described above, in the electronic apparatus1, the lower surface of the circuit board50has the shielded region B1on which the electronic parts50cand50eare arranged, and the board shield52covers the shielded region. The memory housing chamber R1capable of housing the semiconductor memory55is defined on the outside of the shielded region. The board shield52has the shield walls52eand52falong the memory housing chamber R1. Because the shield walls52eand52fare formed on the board shield52in the electronic apparatus1, the semiconductor memory55can be protected from static electricity while an increase in the number of parts is suppressed. As described above, the electronic apparatus1includes the upper exterior panel20A having an upper surface. The upper surface of the upper exterior panel20A has, on a peripheral portion thereof, the first position P1, the second position P2defined on an opposite side of the center Pc of the upper surface from the first position P1, the third position P3, and the fourth position P4defined on an opposite side of the center Pc from the third position P3. The line L1that connects the first position P1and the second position P2to each other and is formed along the upper surface is a curve bulging downward. The line L2that connects the third position P3and the fourth position P4to each other and is formed along the upper surface is a curve bulging upward. According to the electronic apparatus1, an external appearance is improved, and a strength of the exterior panel20A is secured easily. Incidentally, there may be an application to an electronic apparatus not having the exterior panel20A. In such a case, the upper surface of a housing that houses internal devices such as the circuit board50may be curved as described above. In addition, the electronic apparatus1includes the apparatus main body10having an upper surface and the right side surface10band the curved upper exterior panel20A. The upper exterior panel20A covers the upper surface of the apparatus main body10and is attached to the upper surface. The upper exterior panel20A has, at an end portion of the upper exterior panel20A, the right projecting portion20abeyond the position of the right side surface10b. According to the electronic apparatus1, the apparatus main body10can be protected by the upper exterior panel20A when the electronic apparatus1is placed vertically such that the right side surface10bis on the lower side. In addition, because the upper exterior panel20A is curved, a strength of the upper exterior panel20A can be secured as compared with a case where the upper exterior panel20A is in a flat plate shape, for example. In addition, the upper exterior panel20A has a curved section in a cutting plane that is along the upward-downward direction and that intersects the left-right direction (specifically, a cutting plane indicated by the line XXa-XXa inFIG.1D). According to this, a sufficient strength of the exterior panel20A can be secured. The cutting plane that is along the upward-downward direction and intersects the left-right direction may, for example, be a plane along the upward-downward direction and the front-rear direction. Also in such a case, a sufficient strength of the exterior panel against an external force acting in the left-right direction can be secured. In addition, the upper exterior panel20A is a panel to be attached to the housing30having an upper surface and the right side surface10band disposed over the housing30. The upper exterior panel20is curved, has the plurality of attachment target projecting portions21and22to be respectively attached to the plurality of attachment holes30eand30fformed in the upper surface of the housing30, and has, at an end portion thereof, the right projecting portion20abeyond the position of the right side surface10b. According to the upper exterior panel20A, the apparatus main body10can be protected by the upper exterior panel20A when the electronic apparatus1is placed such that the right side surface10bis on the lower side. | 131,100 |
11943869 | DESCRIPTION The present invention is related to improved volumetric efficiency in electronic components and particularly to improvements in the use of embedded components in a circuit board. More specifically the present invention is a related to a circuit board core material which can be utilized in the construction of a circuit board that eliminates the need for manufacturing or forming vias after manufacturing to electrically connect cladding of the circuit board core material to the embedded electronic component. The instant invention provides a circuit board core material that is usable in the construction of a printed circuit board as a single layer circuit board or a multilayer circuit board. The circuit board core material includes an electronic component incorporated in the core thereof with a capacitor being a particularly preferred electronic component. In an embodiment the cathode and anode layers of the capacitor are substantially planer and in electrical contact with, preferably copper, clad layers of the circuit board core material. As will be realized from the description herein the instant invention provides several features not currently available in the art. Pass through regions can be incorporated and later accessed to provide vias from one face of the circuit board to the other. The vias are not required to access the embedded functionality but are used as is common in the art of circuit design to electrically connect traces and electronic components mounted on or to the circuit board. Another feature is an advantage in thickness wherein the inventive circuit board core material has a thickness which does not exceed that of the prepreg forming the core. The thickness advantage provides significant volumetric efficiency since additional functionality is incorporated in existing space. The inventive circuit board can be manufactured with internal electrical components having a high surface area to thickness ratio which is particularly advantageous for reducing inductance and impedance. The invention will be described with reference to the figures which form an integral, non-limiting, component of the disclosure. Throughout the various figures similar elements will be numbered accordingly. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.1which is a cross sectional schematic view of a valve metal capacitor foil, referred to as a foil capacitor, suitable for use as a capacitor element,109, in the invention. The valve metal capacitor foil comprises a capacitor core,105, and a porous valve metal layer,107, on the capacitor core. The porous valve metal layer comprises a porous layer of valve metal,1071with a dielectric,1072, formed on the porous surface of the valve metal. An external conductive counter electrode material,103, forms the counter electrode to the valve metal. The external conductive counter electrode material,103, comprises a conductive material which impregnates the porous layer of the valve metal layer wherein the external conductive counter electrode material is on the external surface of dielectric, and electrically isolated from the valve metal by the dielectric. A conductive paint,102, is preferably present on the external conductive counter electrode material. This conductive paint typically comprises carbon filled resin and a metal filed resin or a combination thereof without limit thereto. A metalized cathode layer,101, is provided, preferably on the outer surface of the conductive paint layer which functions as the first external termination for the electronic component represented in this example as the cathode termination of a capacitor. The metalized cathode layer,101, and conductive paint layer,102are optional but preferred. The conductive material impregnating the valve metal layer and the external conductive counter electrode material,103, are typically chosen from a conductive polymer or manganese dioxide for valve metal capacitors without limit thereto. The external conductive counter electrode material, conductive paint, and metalized cathode layer are collectively referred to as the cathode and the materials therein as the cathode materials. An optional but preferred isolation material,104, is provided around the perimeter of the capacitor component. This isolation material forms a region of electrical isolation between the cathode and anode regions which are not otherwise electrically isolated by the dielectric. The external conductive counter electrode material,103, conductive paint,102, and metalized cathode layer,101, may be present on any portion of the isolation material,104. The isolation material,104may also be above, below, or in plane with any surface of the capacitor element,109. Bonded to the capacitor core,105, is an optional but preferred anode conductive layer,106. The anode conductive layer functions as the second external termination of the electronic component which is an anode termination when the electronic component is a capacitor as used for the purposes of illustration. The anode conductive layer is electrically attached to the capacitor core,105. The porous valve metal, capacitor core and anode conductive layer are collectively referred to as the anode and the materials therein as anode materials. For demonstration of the invention copper is a particularly suitable material for use as the anode conductive layer,106, without limit thereto. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.2which is a cross sectional schematic view of a valve metal capacitor as a capacitor element,109.FIG.2includes elements fromFIG.1and further includes an anode isolating region,208. The anode isolating region is typically, but not limited to, an isolating material that prevents cathode material from intersecting a region of the capacitor when anode connecting vias intersect the capacitor element as will be discussed elsewhere herein. The anode isolating region may be formed from an electrically insulating material, as illustrated inFIG.2, or the anode isolating region may be formed by a vacancy of cathode material, or by the presence of other materials, as long as the anode isolating region prevents electrical connectivity of the anode via to the cathode layers of the device if a via is formed through the anode isolating region. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.3which is a cross sectional schematic view of a valve metal capacitor as a capacitor element,109.FIG.3includes elements fromFIG.1and additionally includes a cathode isolating region,308. The cathode isolating region is typically, but not limited to, an electrically insulating material that prevents anode material from electrical connectivity with the cathode connecting when vias are subsequently formed through the cathode isolating region as will be discussed further herein. The isolating region may be formed by an electrically insulating material, as illustrated inFIG.3, may be formed by the absence of anode material, or may be formed by other materials other than an isolating material as long as the cathode isolating region prevents the electrical connection of the cathode and anode when subsequent vias are formed. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.4which is a cross sectional schematic view of a capacitor element,109.FIG.4includes elements fromFIG.1and additionally includes a via pass through region,408. The via pass through region is preferably, but not limited to, an isolating material that prevents electrical connectivity between the anode and cathode when pass through vias are subsequently formed through the via pass through region as part of subsequent construction of a circuit board. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.5which is a cross sectional schematic view of a one-sided valve metal capacitor as the capacitor element,509.FIG.5includes elements fromFIG.1and additionally includes an anode conductive node,508, that is substantially planar with the cathode conductive layer,501, and functions as a second external termination. This facilitates the formation of a circuit board core material that has both anode and cathode connections on the same core clad layer. An embodiment of the invention is described with reference toFIG.6which is a cross sectional schematic view of prepreg layers,604and, preferably copper, clad layers,601and602, which will form the circuit board core material with the electronic component embedded therein. Prepreg with clad layers is widely available in the art and widely used in commerce and therefore further description is not warranted since the choice of prepreg and cladding materials is not particularly limited. Prepreg material such as supplied by Isola is particularly suitable for demonstration of the invention without limit thereto. One advantage of the present invention is the ability to utilize commercial materials that are currently used in the formation of printed circuit board core material. These printed circuit board cores are pre-manufactured components used to make printed circuit boards. They include resin or resin-glass systems such as prepreg,604, in an uncured state with foils, preferably copper foils on the exterior surface thereof referred to as clad layers or cladding. The printed circuit board core and clad are cured together to form a sandwich comprising two copper plates separated by the cured prepreg core. As part of the method of constructing the present invention it is ideal to use materials of common construction. To facilitate the inclusion of the capacitor elements a pocket,603, is formed in at least a portion of the prepreg,604. An additional embodiment includes removing a portion of the clad layers,601and602, to form the pocket. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.7which is a cross sectional schematic view of prepreg layers,604and, preferably copper, clad layers,601and602with multiple capacitor elements,109, inserted in the pockets,603. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.8which is a cross sectional schematic exploded view of prepreg layers,604, and, preferably copper, clad layers,601and602, with the capacitor element,109, between the two clad layers,601and602, and in the pocket,603. Clad bonding layers,804and805, are attached to the capacitor element,109. The clad bonding layer bonds to the respective copper clad layers,601and602to form a laminate. This bonding can occur, but is not limited to, when the prepreg system is cured forming a physical bond between the capacitor element,109, and the prepreg,604. During this curing step clad bonding layers,804and805, can also electrically bond the capacitor element,109, to the clad layers,601and602. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.9which is a cross sectional schematic view of a precursor to the circuit board core material. InFIG.9the components inFIG.7are illustrated after curing to from a laminate. The cured prepreg,704, has flowed and physically bonded with the capacitor element,109, at901to secure the capacitor element, bond the clad layers,601and602, and form a physical barrier around the perimeter of the capacitor between the cathode side of the capacitor element and the anode side of the capacitor element. The clad layers may be separated or in contact with the capacitor element at this stage. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.10which is a cross sectional schematic view of a precursor to the circuit board core material. The components ofFIG.9are included with the added feature of an electrical connection layer,1001, between the clad layers,601and602, and laminated to the capacitor element,109. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.11which is a cross sectional schematic view of a circuit board core material. The components ofFIG.9are included with the variant of an added feature of an electrical connection layer,1101, between the copper clad layers,601and602, and the capacitor element,109. In this embodiment the electrical connection layer,1101, is a layer formed over the entire surface of both the copper clad layers,601and602, and the capacitor element,109. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.12which is a cross sectional schematic view of a capacitor. The capacitor element,109, is physically bonded to the cured prepreg,704, and the anode and cathode portions of the capacitor element,109, are laminated to and electrically connected to the clad layers,601and602. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.13which is a cross sectional schematic view of a capacitor. The capacitor element,109, is physically bonded to the cured prepreg,704, and the anode and cathode portions of the capacitor element,109, are electrically laminated to the copper clad layers,601and602, through the clad bonding layer,804and805. It is preferable that the clad bonding layers,804and805, are bonded physically and electrically to the capacitor element,109, as a laminate during the prepreg lamination or curing step without limit thereto. It would be understood by those of skill in the art that the clad bonding,804and805, could be formed on the copper clad layers,601and602, or on the capacitor element,109, prior to forming the sandwiched arrangement or materials could be included as separate layer not bonded to either the clad layer or capacitor element until lamination. An embodiment of the invention will described with reference toFIG.14which is a cross sectional schematic view of a circuit board core material,1400. InFIG.14the circuit board core material provides electrical connection for the anode and cathode sides of capacitor element,109, to the same clad layer,1401. The clad layer,1402, may or may not be connected to either the anode or cathode or both of the capacitor element,109. An additional layer of prepreg,1403, may also be present in the laminate to prevent electrical connection to either side of the capacitor element,109. As would be realized to those of skill in the art the clad layer,1401, would be etched during the process of trace formation to insure the cathode and anode are not in electrical contact. Clad layer,1402may also be omitted as preferred if appropriate for the final use of the circuit board core material. A prior art version embedded capacitor will be described with reference toFIG.15. InFIG.15the capacitor element is laminated between two layers of cured prepreg material1504and1510. This could be formed by using two or more opposing layers of uncured prepreg, wherein, when laminated the capacitor element,109, the resin from the prepreg flows around the element to join with the prepreg resin from the opposite side. Thus, forming a capacitor embedded in the cured prepreg material. An alternative method is to form a pocket in a previously laminated prepreg,1505, such that the capacitor element,109, is placed in the pocket. This prepreg pocket would be encapsulating of the capacitor element and would prevent electrical or physical connection. An additional layer of prepreg would be laminated in a adjacent to other prepreg materials to form a layer capping the original pocket and embedding the capacitor element. In either method of embedding the capacitor element, vias must be drilled to intersect with the cathode or anode portions of the capacitor element. Without considering a present embodiment of this invention this via must be drilled from the outside of the formed layers and stop when it intersects the first layer of the capacitor element. This is called blind via drilling. Material must be applied into these vias,1509and1502, to form an electrical connection with the capacitor and the copper clad layers,1501and1514. Typically, this is done with plating or conductive paste. The new layers of material can then be pattern etched to form traces and subsequent processes applied. This is undesirable from several aspects in relation to the present invention. The via processing requires an added step to create an electrical connection to the capacitor elements. The processes used to form the electrical connection to capacitor material specifically may be undesirable on a customer level as those processes being currently well defined but potentially incompatible with the capacitor materials. Additionally, the added thickness resulting from prepreg layers being applied to the cathode and anode faces of the capacitor reduces the volumetric efficiency of the device. In the prior art device the capacitors are fully encompassed in the cured prepreg material to protect it from processing materials. The present invention eliminates a portion of those prepreg layers between the copper clad layers and the capacitor element. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.16which is a cross sectional schematic view of a circuit board core material. The capacitor element,109, comprises a ceramic capacitor,1605. The external terminations,1604, of the ceramic capacitor are laminated to the clad layers,1601and1602, which function as anode and cathode conductors to form an electrical connection with, but not limited to, previously described methods. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.17which shows a cross sectional schematic view of a press powder based capacitor,1707, which can be used as a capacitor element in the instant invention. This press powder based capacitor,1707, comprises an anode powder,1702, preferably tantalum pressed and sintered around an anode wire,1701. A pressed powder capacitor comprises an anode which is formed from a powder which is pressed to form a monolith and then sintered. The anode powder is anodized to form a dielectric on the surface of the inside porosity of the anode powder. Particularly preferred powders include aluminum, tantalum, niobium and conductive niobium oxide (NbO) with tantalum being preferred. A conductive cathode material,1703, is formed on the inside of the porosity and covers the dielectric wherein the dielectric electrically isolates the conductive cathode material from the anode. A cathode conductive paint,1704is formed on the surface of the external conductive cathode material,1703, and a metalized cathode layer,1705is formed on the surface of the conductive paint,1704as metallized cathode layer,1705, functions as the cathode termination. A conductive node,1706, is electrically connected to the anode wire,1701. It is preferred that this conductive node is a material that is compatible with the anode and the further processing of the capacitor core. Common materials are copper or nickel, but not limited thereto. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.18which shows a cross sectional schematic view of a circuit board core material using a press powder based capacitor,1707, as the capacitor element. The press powder based capacitor,1707, is electrically connected to clad layers,1801and1802, by lamination. The metalized cathode layer,1705, is connected to clad layer,1801, and clad layer,1802in the laminate. The conductive node,1706, is connected to core clad layer,1801. The cured prepreg,1803, would secure the press powder based capacitor. Many orientations and arrangements are possible in how the capacitor layers and the copper clad layers are arranged. Additionally, multiple capacitor elements, or other electrical components, can be arranged in the same device. As would be realized to those of skill in the art the clad layers,1801and1802, would be etched during the process of trace formation to ensure the cathode and anode are not in electrical contact. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.19which shows a cross sectional schematic view of a circuit board core material using a valve metal capacitor,1906, as the capacitor element. The terminal leads,1904and1905, of the valve metal capacitor,1906, are electrically connected to the copper clad layer,1901, by lamination wherein the copper clad layer,1901, functions as an anode conductor and a cathode conductor after etching. As would be realized to those of skill in the art the clad layer,1901, would be etched during the process of trace formation to ensure the cathode and anode are not in electrical contact. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.20which shows a cross sectional schematic view of a circuit board core material using a capacitor element In this embodiment the one-sided valve metal capacitor is electrically connected to the anode portion of clad layer,2001, by lamination wherein the, preferably copper, clad layer has been etched to pattern the clad layer thereby allowing anode portion of clad layer,2001, to function as the anode. The cathode portion of clad layer,2002, is in electrical contact with the metallized carbon,501, to from the cathode. In this embodiment the etching pattern provides an electrical separation between the anode and cathode portions of the one-sided capacitor element, along with forming traces that allow for various connection or operation of a printed circuit board. This figure represents the capacitor core processed so the anode and cathode portions are separated with regards to the clad layers. It should be understood that the device may also be considered complete without this patterned etching as it can be made functional at later steps by separating the anode and cathode portions. A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention is the suitability for use in the application of printed circuit board (PCB) which will be described with reference toFIG.21. InFIG.21, the circuit board core material,2104, is between two additional layers of a printed circuit board,2105and2106to form a primary laminate. Vias,2101, form anode and cathode connections to an electrical device,2102, mounted to the printed circuit board. The electrical device can be a passive electronic component or an active electronic component. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIG.22which shows a perspective schematic view of a circuit board core material,2201. The shape and location of capacitive element within the circuit board core material are not particularly limited herein. Other features are possible in the present invention. The valve metal capacitor foil is preferably a substantially planar material made from preferably a valve metal foil that has been treated to increase the surface area of the foil. Commercially this is commonly found in aluminum capacitor foils and recent advances have made tantalum foil of similar construction available. One advantage offered by valve metal foils is the large aspect ratio between two of the material's axes and the third axis, the thickness direction. This forms a sheet of material that passes current well along the core of the sheet. The high surface area is typically present on the face of the sheet like material. The total thickness of commercially available foil matches well with the commercially available prepreg material thicknesses. The foils are also naturally flexible which helps reduce damage during the processing. This flexibility is also a feature desired in the industry such that the cores can be made flexible for the operation of the device or the device may be shaped to fit a non-flat surfaces by being formed to the desired shape. The porous valve metal layer is a layer on the valve metal wherein the surface area has been increased. For aluminum this is typically done by etching and for tantalum it is typically achieved by sintered fine powders. Inside the porous, high surface area layer, a dielectric can be applied. This is commonly achieved by applying voltage to the valve metal and growing an anodic oxide that covers the surface of the valve metal. That dielectric provides the insulation and dielectric properties for forming the capacitor. A counter electrode material is used to form the cathode side of the capacitor. The cathode is a conductive material that impregnates the porous structure and interacts with the dielectric both physically and electrically. The cathode and anode, with a dielectric between the cathode and anode forms the capacitive couple. It is common for valve metals that the dielectric is polar and the cathode is the region on which the negative charge is present and the valve metal on the opposing side of the dielectric where the positive charge is present. It is not the intent of this invention to limit the scope and as such other capacitive forming constructions are also available. Other materials suitable for demonstration of the invention include, without limited thereto; ceramic, silicon, double layer (supercapacitors), and the like. For valve metal capacitors the conductive material is typically chosen from a material set that is compatible with the dielectric and, in the case of valve metals, preferably has a self-healing nature. This material is commonly conductive polymer or manganese dioxide. Other materials may also provide the desired properties. The external conductive counter electrode material is an interface layer that provides connection to the internal counter electrode material, such as the valve metal, and supports forming an external surface to contact additional layers. Typically, the external conductive layer can be formed from the same material, and further, from the same processes that form the internal counter electrode layer. This is not limiting as additional materials and variates of those materials are also used to form the external conductive counter electrode materials. When a conductive polymer is used as the cathode layer the polymer and method of forming the polymer is not limited herein. The polymer layer can be formed by in-situ polymerization, electrochemical polymerization or by the application of and pre-polymerized conductive polymer from a slurry or suspension. Self-doped conductive polymers are suitable for demonstration of the invention. Self-doped conductive polymers are soluble and completely dissolve in a solvent or solvent mixture without detectable particles. A particle size of below about 1 nm is considered below typical particle size detection limits and therefore defined as soluble. The solvent for the soluble conductive polymer can be water or organic solvents, or a mixture of water with miscible solvents such as alcohol and non-hydroxy polar solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and the like. A conductive polymer solution potentially can impregnate the pores of anodes as effectively as conductive polymers formed by in-situ methods and better than conductive polymer dispersion with detectable particles. Examples of soluble conductive polymers include conductive polymers of polyanilines, polypyrroles and polythiophenes each of which may be substituted. A particularly suitable self-doped polymer for demonstration of the invention comprises repeating units represented by Formula A: wherein:R1and R2independently represent linear or branched C1-C16alkyl or C2-C18alkoxyalkyl;or are C3-C8cycloalkyl, phenyl or benzyl which are unsubstituted or substituted by C1-C6alkyl, C1-C6alkoxy, halogen or OR3; or R1and R2, taken together, are linear C1-C6alkylene which is unsubstituted or substituted by C1-C6alkyl, C1-C6alkoxy, halogen, C3-C8cycloalkyl, phenyl, benzyl, C1-C4alkylphenyl, C1-C4alkoxyphenyl, halophenyl, C1-C4alkylbenzyl, C1-C4alkoxybenzyl or halobenzyl, 5-, 6-, or 7-membered heterocyclic structure containing two oxygen elements. R3preferably represents hydrogen, linear or branched C1-C16alkyl or C2-C18alkoxyalkyl; or are C3-C8cycloalkyl, phenyl or benzyl which are unsubstituted or substituted by C1-C6alkyl with the proviso that at least one of R1or R2is substituted with —SO3M, —CO2M or —PO3M wherein M is H or a cation preferably selected from ammonium, sodium, lithium or potassium;X is S, N or O and most preferable X is S;R1and R2of Formula A are preferably chosen to prohibit polymerization at the β-site of the ring as it is most preferred that only α-site polymerization be allowed to proceed; it is more preferred that R1and R2are not hydrogen and more preferably, R1and R2are α-directors with ether linkages being preferable over alkyl linkages; it is most preferred that the R1and R2are small to avoid steric interferences. In a particularly suitable conductive polymer the R1and R2of Formula A are taken together to represent —O—(CHR4)n—O— wherein:n is an integer from 1 to 5 and most preferably 2;R4is independently selected from a linear or branched C1to C18alkyl radical C5to C12cycloalkyl radical, C6to C14aryl radical C7to C18aralkyl radical or C1to C4hydroxyalkyl radical, wherein R4is substituted with —SO3M, —CO2M or —PO3M and optionally substituted with at least one additional functional group selected from carboxylic acid, hydroxyl, amine, substituted amines, alkene, acrylate, thiol, alkyne, azide, sulfate, sulfonate, sulfonic acid, imide, amide, epoxy, anhydride, silane, and phosphate; hydroxyl radical; orR4is selected from —(CHR5)a—R16; —O(CHR5)aR16; —CH2O(CHR5)aR16; —CH2O(CH2CHR5O)aR16, orR4is —SO3M, —CO2M or —PO3M;R5is H or alkyl chain of 1 to 5 carbons optionally substituted with functional groups selected from carboxylic acid, hydroxyl, amine, alkene, thiol, alkyne, azide, epoxy, acrylate and anhydride;R16is —SO3M, —CO2M or —PO3M or an alkyl chain of 1 to 5 carbons substituted with —SO3M, —CO2M or —PO3M and optionally further substituted with at least one functional group selected from carboxylic acid, hydroxyl, amine, substituted amines, alkene, thiol, alkyne, azide, amide, imide, sulfate, amide, epoxy, anhydride, silane, acrylate and phosphate;a is integer from 0 to 10; andM is a H or cation preferably selected from ammonium, sodium, lithium or potassium. Exemplary self-doped conductive polymers are represented by S1 and S2. S1 is a commercial polymer as a 2% solution in water. S2 is a commercial polymer as a 2% solution in water. Self-doped conductive polymers can be formed in-situ by polymerization of monomers during deposition of the self-doped conductive polymer as well known in the art. It is preferable to use previously prepared self-doped conductive polymer wherein the self-doped conductive polymer is formed, preferably, in the presence of functional additives. Preformed self-doping conductive polymers are preferable due to reduced current leakage and an increase in break-down voltage. The conductive paint layer is common in the industry of valve metal capacitors. These conductive paints provide an electrical connection between cathode layers. They also prevent damage of adjacent layers and other layers that can occur if the layers are incompatible. Additionally, they may improve the physical or electrical performance of the capacitor. In the case of valve metal capacitors, it is common that conductive paint layers include a carbon ink layer deposited on the surface of the conductive polymer layer, and a metal filled resin system deposited on the carbon ink. While those are common in the industry, they are not the only methods and materials used and any conductive coating which provides a conductive interface within the cathode layers is suitable for use. The isolation material is commonly used in capacitor manufacturing to limit the areas for any cathode materials to be present. This includes limiting the presence of the cathode material in the porous valve metal layer and external surfaces. Regions that are surrounded by isolation material are commonly used to form areas of the valve metal structure that contain the cathode materials and define the capacitance areas. These isolation materials may also be chosen in such a manner as to support either cathode or anode regions so as to help isolate those regions electrically in any direction or plane of the device. The anode conductive layer is a layer formed on the region of the capacitor core, preferably on the anode portion of the capacitor element, that provides electrical and physical properties that are favorable for electrical connection between the core and external copper clad layer. One aspect of this is the choice of material and its interaction with the processes that form the electrical connection between the anode and the copper clad layer. One embodiment of the present invention is the use of copper plating on plastic to bridge the electrical gap that may exist after curing the prepreg layers and copper clad layers. During that curing step the layers are compressed and heated and the resin in the prepreg flows to bond to the capacitor element to form a laminate. The copper clad layer and the anode portion of the capacitor element at this stage are not electrically connected. One embodiment for this connection is common methods involving plating on plastics. In modern circuit board production processes this is done using a series of chemical dips that end with a copper plating process. The anode valve metal materials are not always compatible with those processes and will result in damage to the capacitor or poor electrical connection. A more preferred method is to provide an anode conductive layer that is compatible with the PCB plating processes, ideally copper is the most common material without limit thereto. It is not the intent of the current invention to limit this material set or its absence or presents as processing methods may exist and be acceptable to either users or manufactures of the circuit board core material that do not require the use of the anode conductive layer. The use of the anode conductive layer is a variant chosen to best match the final end use, but is not required in the present invention. The anode isolating regions and cathode isolating regions, also referred to as pass throughs, for the respective anode or cathode, are regions formed in such a manner that when a through via or similar process is used to access the anode or cathode portion of the capacitor element the through via does not intersect the cathode portions if an anode via is desired, or anode portions if a cathode via is desired. Prior art embedded capacitor designs rely on the use of blind vias to connect to the capacitor anode or cathode layers. Blind vias are more complex than through vias, and an advantage of the invention is to mitigate the necessity of using complex blind vias by allowing through vias to work in the same region of the capacitor without the negative impact of electrical bridging between the anode and cathode. This feature can be formed by many methods including, but not limited to, forming isolating material to prevent the presence of cathode or anode material from being formed in the process or the removal of material at any stage in the manufacturing of the device. In some applications at the customer level it may be desirable to pass non-interacting vias through the capacitors. These vias can carry signals or serve other electrical purpose but are not intended to interact with the capacitor portion of the circuit board core material. It may be required by a design that this must happen where the capacitor is also required in the circuit. To facilitate this a portion of the capacitor element may be formed with no anode or cathode portions present in a region. This pass-through region would allow vias to pass through the capacitor without intersecting its electrical portions. This can be achieved by, but is not limited to, leaving a portion of the capacitor element free of material or processing in such a way as nonconductive material that does not have an electrical connection are present where the vias are intended. It is possible that portions of either the anode or cathode may be left in this region, but are electrically isolated from the capacitor. For simplicity it is stated in figure, description, and examples that the circuit board core material uses a prepreg material to form its nonconductive portions. While this material is the most advantageous due to commonality, cost, compatibility, and other factors, it is not the purpose of this present invention to limit the scope to only the use of prepreg materials. Any material that electrically isolates the two copper clad layers can be used to achieve the goal. A prepreg is advantageous since it serves the purpose of this isolation between clad layer, and also bonds and protects portions of the capacitor elements. This can be achieved with other materials including, but not limited to, glass, resin only, or any other isolating material. The circuit board core material formed in the examples using prepreg may also be formed using a plurality of materials wherein any of the materials can serve any purpose related to the core. Where the term prepreg is used it should be assumed that these other material types and processes can be substituted by similar components or combinations of resins and related materials and additives. It is known to one of skilled in the art that prepreg systems contain an, at least partially, uncured resin. That resin is cured as part of the lamination steps described in the present invention. The term cured use in the present invention does not limit the scope of the material or its processes. Additional but not limiting descriptors of cured include, adhesives (requiring no further curing), potting, thermosetting, tacking, press fitting, support from other elements, or other processes that secure the capacitor element to the prepreg layer. Clad layers are conductive layers, preferably comprising copper, that form opposing sides of the prepreg material. Circuit board core material in the PCB industry has copper material bonded to both sides of a cured prepreg material. These copper layers are commonly manufactured as films of copper that are compressed and fused to both sides of the prepreg material during the curing step for the prepreg. This results in a thin sheet of material that has two isolated layers of copper on opposing sides. Customers will typically drill vias, plate the vias, and then etch away unwanted copper to form pads and traces for further layer lamination or final use of the circuit. These clad layers in the current invention are intended to work to provide common functionality of the clad layers while also being incorporated with the capacitor elements present in the internal layer of prepreg. While it may be common for these clad layers to be formed from preformed sheets of copper any method of creating a useable conductive layer for the customer is considered part of the present invention. This layer may be of other materials or may be applied in different methods such as, but not limited to, plating on plastic or sputtering. The pocket described in the present invention is one embodiment of how to form the present invention. It is one purpose of this present invention to avoid the use of blind vias to access the capacitor element embedded in internal layers, as is common in the art, by removing the presence of the barrier between the clad layers and capacitor element terminations, wherein the capacitor element terminations and the clad layers are substantially planar. In that event the vias are not necessary to form electrical connection to the capacitors. This saves complexity and thickness of the overall part design. While there are other methods to achieve the desired results, forming a pocket in the uncured prepreg layers facilitates both the reduction in via and thickness and also facilitates the capacitor element bonding to the inner layers. The present invention avoids the need for prepreg or vias between the clad layers and the capacitor element. To facilitate the connection between those layers a clad bonding layer may be implemented. This is a layer formed between the electrical surface of the capacitor elements and the clad layers. The material could be applied directly to the capacitor elements or clad layers, or it could be an independent material added during the lamination between the two layers. This clad bonding layer may be selected from, but not limited to, metal filled resin system, solder, transient liquid phase solders, sintered metal powders, or anisotropic conductive films or any material that forms a electrical connection between the capacitor element and the clad layers. An additional method to connect the capacitor element and clad layers is the use of an electrical connection layer. This layer is formed after curing the prepreg layer with the capacitor elements and clad layers. Ideally this is a plated copper layer that spans the potentially physical or electrical gap present between the capacitor element and clad layers after the curing and assembly of the prepreg, clad layers, and capacitor elements. While this is the preferred method, other methods are contemplated within the invention, including forming the circuit board core material assembly with only the prepreg and capacitor elements and forming the electrical connection and clad layers from the same electrical connection layer, such as plating copper. This electrical connection layer is preferably copper and more preferably plated, but may be selected from any conductive material compatible with the capacitor elements and clad layers. Methods to apply this electrical connection layer, include but are not limited to, plating, sputtering, chemical vapor deposition, flame spray, arc spray, or sintering. As described in this invention the connection to the capacitor element to surface conductors provides an embedded capacitor within a laminate. It would be known to one skilled in the art that the meaning of that connection would be that at least a portion of the cathode layers of the capacitor element are connected to one portion of the clad layers and at least a portion of the anode layers of the capacitor element is connected to at least a separate portion of the clad layers. In a preferred embodiment the anode and cathode portions are connected to different clad layers on opposing sides of the prepreg material. However, also provided by the instant invention is a construction wherein the cathode and anode portions of the capacitor element can be connected to the same clad layer as preferred in the design of the final device. This connection is any method by which physical and electrical connection is made. While this may result in a nonfunctioning capacitor to one skilled in the art, the prepreg and cladding is designed to be post processed at the customer level and that processing can result in the electrically shorted cathode and anode portions of the capacitor being separated, resulting in a functional device. In this present invention capacitors have been used as the example device, and more preferably valve metal capacitors. Capacitors are particularly advantageous to demonstrate the invention, however, other passive components could be utilized in the place of a capacitor throughout the description. Particularly advantageous are the thinner overall finished core for the same value of capacitance, lack of blind via processing, and common processing technology. Furthermore, multiple components can be utilized in a similar manner wherein the multiple components are electrically connected, to provide functionality, or the multiple components are electrically independent. Particularly preferred components are selected from the group consisting of ceramic capacitors, valve metal capacitors, resistors, resistor films, active silicon dies, diodes, inductive materials, magnetic devices, or other electrical components that can benefit from very thin core structure described in the present invention. Manufacturing the present invention incorporates existing techniques and therefore the invention can be demonstrated without significant alteration or replacement of manufacturing facilities and equipment. EXAMPLES Example 1 In a representative construction a circuit board core material would be prepared comprising a capacitor as a representative electronic component. The capacitor would comprise an anode with porous layer with and a dielectric thereon. An isolation material would be formed on a portion of the anode. A conductive polymer layer would be formed on the porous layer wherein the conductive polymer layer would be circumscribed by the isolation material. A carbon ink layer would be formed on the conductive polymer layer. A copper layer would be formed on the carbon ink layer. A copper layer would be formed on the anode layer thereby completing the capacitor. A hole would be cut in a portion of uncured prepreg. A hole would be cut in a portion of a top and bottom copper foil. The prepreg layer and copper foils would be stacked so that the holes aligned. The electronic component, represented by the capacitor, would be placed within the aligned hole of the prepreg and copper foils. The capacitor, prepreg, and copper foils would be laminated under compression so that the copper foils are compressed to the prepreg and the heat of lamination would make the prepreg resin bond to the copper foil and form around the capacitor element. A conductive layer would be formed on a portion of the exposed prepreg resin. Copper plating would be formed on the prepreg, copper foils, and capacitor elements so that the copper plating bridges between the capacitor element and the copper foils. Example 2 In a representative construction a circuit board core material would be prepared comprising a capacitor as a representative electronic component. A capacitor would be formed comprising an anode with a porous layer and a dielectric on the porous layer. An isolation material would be formed on the porous layer. A conductive polymer layer would be formed on the porous layer wherein the conductive polymer layer is circumscribed by the isolation material. A carbon ink layer would be formed on the conductive polymer layer. A copper layer would be formed on the carbon ink layer. A copper layer would be formed on the anode layer to complete the capacitor element. A hole would be cut in a portion of uncured prepreg. A conductive paste layer would be formed on the anode and cathode surfaces of the capacitor. The capacitor would be inserted into the hole portion of the prepreg. Copper foils would be applied to both sides of the prepreg and capacitor element. The capacitor, prepreg, and copper foils would be laminated so that the copper foils are compressed to the prepreg and the heat of lamination would make the prepreg resin bond to the copper foil and form around the capacitor. Electrical bonds would be formed between the capacitor and copper foils with conductive paste. Example 3 In a representative construction a circuit board core material would be prepared comprising a ceramic capacitor as a representative electronic component. A ceramic capacitor would be prepared by forming a plurality of layers of dielectric and conducive plates and fusing a copper glass mixture to opposing ends of the dielectric and conductive plates. The copper glass mixture would form terminals of the ceramic capacitor element. A hole would be cut into a portion of an uncured prepreg. A hole would be cut in a portion of a top copper foil and a bottom copper foil. The prepreg layer and copper layers would be stacked so that the holes aligned. The ceramic capacitor would be inserted into the hole portion of the prepreg and copper foils. The ceramic capacitor, prepreg, and copper foils would be laminated so that the copper foils are compressed to the prepreg and the heat of lamination would make the prepreg resin bond to the copper foil and form around the ceramic capacitor element. A conductive layer would be formed on a portion of the exposed prepreg resin. Copper plating would be formed on the prepreg, the copper foils, and the ceramic capacitor so that the copper plating bridges between the ceramic capacitor terminals and the copper foils. Example 4 In a representative construction a circuit board core material would be prepared comprising a capacitor as a representative electronic component. An anode would be prepared with a porous layer and a dielectric on the porous layer. An isolation material would be formed on a portion the anode. A conductive polymer would be formed on the porous layer wherein the conductive polymer was circumscribed by the isolation material. A carbon ink layer would be formed on the conductive polymer layer. A copper layer would be formed on the carbon ink layer. A copper layer would be formed on the anode layer in plane with a portion of the cathode copper layer to form a capacitor element. A hole would be cut in a portion of uncured prepreg. A hole would be cut in a portion of a copper foil. An uncut copper foil layer, an uncut prepreg layer, cut prepreg layer and cut copper foil layer would be stacked so that the holes aligned. The capacitor would be placed within the hole portion of the prepreg and copper foil. The assembly comprising the capacitor element, prepreg, and copper foils would be laminated so that the copper foils are compressed to the prepreg and the heat of lamination would make the prepreg resin bond to the copper foil and form around the capacitor element. A conductive layer would be formed on a portion of the exposed prepreg resin. Copper plating would be formed on the prepreg, copper foils, and capacitor elements so that the copper plating bridges between the capacitor element and the copper foil. Example 5 In a representative construction a circuit board core material would be prepared comprising a capacitor as a representative electronic component. An anode would be prepared comprising a porous layer with a dielectric thereon. An isolation material would be formed on a portion of the anode. A conductive polymer layer would be formed on the porous layer wherein the conductive polymer layer is circumscribed by the isolation material. A carbon ink layer would be formed on the conductive polymer layer. A copper layer would be formed on the carbon ink layer. A copper layer would be formed on the anode layer to form a capacitor element. A hole would be cut in a portion of uncured prepreg. The capacitor element would be inserted in the hole portion of the prepreg. The capacitor element and prepreg would be laminated so that the heat of lamination would make the prepreg resin form around the capacitor element. A conductive layer would be formed on a portion of the exposed prepreg resin. Copper plating would be formed on the prepreg and capacitor elements to form the copper clad layers. The invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments without limit thereto. One of skill in the art would realize additional embodiments which are described and set forth in the claims appended hereto. | 51,167 |
11943870 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment disclosed in the present specification is described. First, a configuration of component mounting line10will be described with reference toFIGS.1to4. Component mounting line10is configured by arranging multiple component mounters12in a row along a conveyance direction (X-direction) of circuit board11, and a solder printer (not shown) that prints solder on circuit board11, feeder storage device19that stores automatically exchangeable feeder14, and the like are installed on a board carry-in side of component mounting line10. As shown inFIG.2, each component mounter12is provided with two conveyors13that convey circuit board11, feeder setting section24that sets multiple automatically exchangeable feeders14to be exchangeable (detachable), mounting head15that holds a suction nozzle (not shown) that picks up a component supplied from feeder14set in feeder setting section24and mounts the component on circuit board11, head moving device16(XY-robot) that moves mounting head15in XY-directions (left, right, forward, and rearward directions), and component imaging camera17(refer toFIG.4) that images the component picked up by the suction nozzle from below. Mark imaging camera18(refer toFIG.4) that images a reference mark (not shown) of circuit board11is attached to head moving device16so as to move integrally with mounting head in the XY-directions. In addition, as shown inFIG.4, input device21such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel, storage device22such as a hard disk, ROM, or RAM that stores various programs or various data for control, display device23such as a liquid crystal display, or CRT, and the like are connected to control device20of component mounter12. Control device20of each component mounter12is connected, via a network, to production management computer70that manages production of the entire component mounting line10, such that the production of the entire component mounting line10is managed by production management computer70. Each component mounter12of component mounting line10conveys circuit board11conveyed from component mounter12on an upstream side to a predetermined position with conveyor13, clamps and positions circuit board11with clamping mechanism (not shown), images the reference mark of circuit board11with mark imaging camera18, recognizes the position of the reference mark (a reference position of circuit board11), picks up the component supplied from feeder14with the suction nozzle of mounting head15, moves the component from the pickup position to the imaging position, images the component from a lower face side with component imaging camera17, and determines a pickup positional deviation amount of the component, and then moves mounting head15to correct the pickup positional deviation amount and mounts the component on circuit board11, which is on conveyor13, to produce a component mounting board. As shown inFIG.1, automatic exchanging device26that performs automatic exchange (set and/or removal) of feeder14to feeder setting section24of each component mounter12is installed on a front face side of component mounting line10. Below feeder setting section24of each component mounter12, stock section71that accommodates multiple feeders14to be set in feeder setting section24is provided. Automatic exchanging device26is configured to, when an automatic exchange request of feeder14is generated in any one of multiple component mounters12constituting component mounting line10, move to component mounter12in which the automatic exchange request is generated, take out exchange target feeder14from feeder setting section24of component mounter12, collect feeder14to stock section71, take out necessary feeder14from stock section71, and set it in feeder setting section24. Incidentally, depending on the automatic exchange request, there is a case where automatic exchanging device26performs only the operation of collecting feeder14taken out from feeder setting section24to stock section71or, in reverse, there is a case where automatic exchanging device26performs only the operation of setting feeder14taken out from stock section71in an empty slot of feeder setting section24. On the front face side of component mounting line10, guide rail75that moves automatic exchanging device26along the arrangement of component mounters12in the X-direction (left-right direction) is provided so as to extend in the X-direction over the entire component mounting line10. The board carry-in side of guide rail75extends to feeder storage device19, such that automatic exchanging device26moves to the front face side of feeder storage device19and automatic exchanging device26takes out feeder14necessary for automatic exchange from feeder storage device19or returns used feeder14to feeder storage device19. Position detection device34(refer toFIG.4) that detects position of automatic exchanging device26with respect to component mounting line10is provided in automatic exchanging device26. When the automatic exchange request is generated in any one of component mounters12, control device90of automatic exchanging device26causes automatic exchanging device26to move to component mounter12in which the automatic exchange request is generated to perform the automatic exchange of feeder14, while detecting the position of automatic exchanging device26based on a detection signal of position detection device34. Incidentally, in addition to the automatic exchange of feeder14, although not shown, automatic exchanging device26can also automatically exchange a cassette-type nozzle exchange unit accommodating the suction nozzle for exchange, a cassette-type calibration component supply unit supplying a calibration component, and the like with respect to feeder setting section24. Production management computer70(control device) monitors whether the automatic exchange request is generated in any one of multiple component mounters12constituting component mounting line10during the production, and when the automatic exchange request is generated in any one of component mounters12, transmits the information to control device90of automatic exchanging device26, such that automatic exchanging device26is moved to the front of component mounter12in which the automatic exchange request is generated. Alternatively, control device90of automatic exchanging device26may directly acquire the information of component mounter12in which the automatic exchange request is generated from component mounter12via the network, and automatic exchanging device26may move to the front of component mounter12. Incidentally, feeder14automatically exchanged by automatic exchanging device26is, as shown inFIG.2, a reel accommodation-type feeder (cassette-type feeder) that accommodates tape reel41therein, but depending on the type and size of the component to be mounted on circuit board11, as shown inFIG.3, since the size of tape reel42around which the component supply tape is wound is larger than the size of feeder43set in feeder setting section24and tape reel42cannot be accommodated in feeder43, in some cases, it is necessary to use reel holder-type feeder43that holds tape reel42in reel holder44provided outside feeder43. Since such reel holder-type feeder43cannot be automatically exchanged by automatic exchanging device26, it is necessary for the operator to exchange manually. Therefore, in component mounting line10of the present embodiment, as shown inFIG.5, the automatic exchange area in which the exchange operation of feeder14with respect to feeder setting section24of component mounter12is automatically performed by automatic exchanging device26and the manual exchange area in which the exchange operation of feeder43with respect to feeder setting section24of component mounter12is manually performed by the operator are provided. Automatic exchanging device26is configured to move only in the automatic exchange area and not in the manual exchange area. As in the present embodiment, when only one automatic exchanging device26is provided in component mounting line10, the manual exchange area is needed to be provided at an end of component mounting line10(most upstream side or most downstream side). When two or more automatic exchanging devices26are provided in component mounting line10, the manual exchange area may be provided in the middle of component mounting line10. In short, the manual exchange area may be provided adjacent to an end of the automatic exchange area where one automatic exchanging device26moves. In general, the components to be mounted on circuit board11tend to be mounted in order from a small-sized component, and finally a large-sized component is mounted. The small-sized component can be supplied by reel accommodation-type feeder14that can be automatically exchanged by automatic exchanging device26, but the large-sized component cannot be supplied by reel accommodation-type feeder14, such that in some cases, it is necessary to use reel holder-type feeder43that holds large-sized tape reel42in reel holder44provided outside. In consideration of this point, in the present embodiment, the manual exchange area is provided at the most downstream side of component mounting line10. Here, a size of the manual exchange area need only be set depending on the number of reel holder-type feeders43necessary for the production, one or two or more component mounters12at the most downstream side of component mounting line10may be entirely set as the manual exchange area, or only a part of a downstream side of one component mounter12on the most downstream side of component mounting line10may be set as the manual exchange area. In this case, with respect to one component mounter12on the most downstream side of component mounting line10, an upstream side is the automatic exchange area, and the downstream side is the manual exchange area. Incidentally, the feeder manually exchanged by the operator in the manual exchange area may be only reel holder-type feeder43, or in addition to reel holder-type feeder43, a small number of automatically exchangeable reel accommodation-type feeder14may be included. On the other hand, the feeder automatically exchanged by automatic exchanging device26in the automatic exchange area is only reel accommodation-type feeder14that accommodates tape reel41therein. In the present embodiment, in a step of optimizing the feeder arrangement of component mounting line10, the feeder arrangement of component mounting line10is optimized, such that only reel accommodation-type feeder14that can be automatically exchanged by automatic exchanging device26is arranged in the automatic exchange area, and reel holder-type feeder43that cannot be automatically exchanged by automatic exchanging device26is arranged only in the manual exchange area. Furthermore, production management computer70of component mounting line10or control device20of each component mounter12functions as the feeder arrangement monitoring section that monitors the arrangement status of automatically exchangeable feeder14set in feeder setting section24of each component mounter12and, when it is determined that the empty space (empty slot) of feeder setting section24of any one of component mounters12is equal to or larger than a predetermined value, with a value of which creating the empty space into which the operator may mistakenly put his or her hand, based on a monitoring result, thereafter such information is transmitted to cause control device90of automatic exchanging device26to set the automatically exchangeable unit in the empty space of feeder setting section24of component mounter12. Thus, automatic exchanging device26sets the automatically exchangeable unit in the empty space of feeder setting section24of component mounter12. Here, as the automatically exchangeable unit that is set in the empty space of feeder setting section24, for example, feeder14not used in the current production (feeder14used in a next production or in a subsequent production), a dummy feeder not supplying components (such as feeder14from which tape reel41is removed or a feeder from which a built-in electrical component such as tape reel41or a tape feeding device is removed), or any unit supplying things other than components (such as the suction nozzles or the calibration components) may be used. In short, any unit may be used as long as a unit that can be automatically exchanged with respect to the empty space of feeder setting section24by automatic exchanging device26. Automatically exchangeable unit to be set in the empty space of feeder setting section24may be accommodated in feeder storage device19or stock section71of each component mounter12in advance. As a method for monitoring the arrangement status of feeder14set in feeder setting section24of each component mounter12, production management computer70or control device20of each component mounter12may detect presence or absence of feeder14of each slot of feeder setting section24of each component mounter12, and monitor the arrangement status of feeder14of each component mounter12based on the detection result. Alternatively, production management computer70or control device20of each component mounter12may monitor the arrangement status of feeder14of each component mounter12based on feeder arrangement data of each component mounter12designated in the production job (production program). Further, production management computer70or control device20of each component mounter12monitors set status of the automatically exchangeable unit set in the empty space of feeder setting section24of each component mounter12, stops the production of component mounter12when it is determined the automatically exchangeable unit is mistakenly removed by the operator, and restarts the production of component mounter12after setting the automatically exchangeable unit in the empty space of feeder setting section24of component mounter12. As a result, the safety of component mounter12can be enhanced. According to the present embodiment described above, since production management computer70of component mounting line10or control device20of each component mounter12monitors the arrangement status of feeder14set in feeder setting section24of each component mounter12and controls the operation of automatic exchanging device26, when it is determined that the empty space of feeder setting section24of any one of component mounters12is equal to or larger than the predetermined value, which is a value at which the operator may mistakenly put his or her hand into the empty space, based on a monitoring result, such that the automatically exchangeable unit is set in the empty space of feeder setting section24of component mounter12, each time the empty space into which the operator may mistakenly put his or her hand is generated in feeder setting section24of any one of component mounters12during the production, the empty space of feeder setting section24of component mounter12can be automatically filled with the automatically exchangeable unit by automatic exchanging device26. In this manner, it is possible to reliably prevent the operator from mistakenly putting his or her hand in the empty space of feeder setting section24of component mounter12and to enhance the safety of component mounting line10. Moreover, in the present embodiment, since component mounting line10is provided with the manual exchange area in which the exchange operation of feeder43with respect to feeder setting section24of component mounter12is manually performed by the operator, the large-sized component or the like that cannot be supplied by reel accommodation-type feeder14, which is automatically exchanged by automatic exchanging device26, can be supplied by reel holder-type feeder43, which is set in the manual exchange area, to component mounter12. In this manner, a component mounting board mounting the large-sized component or the like that cannot be supplied by reel accommodation-type feeder14, which is automatically exchanged by automatic exchanging device26, can be produced in component mounting line10with automatic exchanging device26. It is needless to say that the present disclosure is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment, and can be implemented by various modifications within a range not departing from the gist, such as changing the configuration of component mounting line10, changing the configuration of each component mounter12, or changing the configuration of automatic exchanging device26. REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10. . . Component mounting line,11. . . Circuit board,12. . . Component mounter,14. . . Reel accommodation-type feeder,15. . . Mounting head,19. . . Feeder storage device,20. . . Control device of the component mounter (feeder arrangement monitoring section),24. . . Feeder setting section,26. . . Automatic exchanging device,41,42. . . Tape reel,43. . . Reel holder-type feeder,44. . . Reel holder,70. . . Production management computer (feeder arrangement monitoring section, control device),71. . . Stock section,90. . . Control device of the automatic exchanging device | 17,158 |
11943871 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, one embodiment disclosed in the present description will be described by use of drawings. First, the configuration of component mounter10will be described based onFIGS.1to7. A conveyor13for conveying circuit board12is provided on base platform11of component mounter10(hereinafter, a conveyance direction of circuit board12by conveyor13is referred to as an X-direction). Of support members15a,15bthat support two conveyor rails13a,13band two conveyor belts14a,14bthat constitute this conveyor13, first support member15ais fixed to a certain position, while a position of second support member15b, which is located in an opposite position to first support member15a, in a Y-direction (a position in a direction perpendicular to the X-direction) is made to be adjusted along guide rail16by a feeding screw mechanism (not shown) or the like, whereby the width of conveyor13(an interval between conveyor rails13a,13b) can be adjusted so as to match the width of circuit board12. Tray-type component supply device20(tray feeder) is set to a side of conveyor13. Magazine21, which is configured to be lifted up and lowered by a lifting and lowering mechanism (not shown), is provided in an interior portion of tray-type component supply device20, and pallet23loaded with one or multiple trays22is housed in each of multiple slots provided in this magazine21in a stacked fashion. Pallet pull-out table27, which is configured to move pallet23(tray22) that is pulled out from magazine21by a pallet pull-out mechanism (not shown) to a component suction station of component mounter10, is provided on a back side (a side facing conveyor13) of tray-type component supply device20. Head moving mechanism25is provided on component mounter10so as to move mounting head24in XY-directions between the component suction station (above pallet pull-out table27) where a component suction or pickup operation is performed and a component mounting station (above conveyor13) where a component mounting operation is performed. Multiple suction nozzles26are held to rotary head section29of mounting head24at predetermined intervals (pitches) in a circumferential direction so as to pick up electronic component30(refer toFIGS.4to6) arranged on tray22on pallet23that is pulled out on to pallet pull-out table27of tray-type component supply device20. As shown inFIG.2, mounting head24includes rotary head section18securely fitted on a lower end of R shaft17extending in an up-down direction, multiple nozzle holders19that are held to an outer circumferential portion of rotary head section18at predetermined pitches, and multiple suction nozzles26held to those multiple nozzle holders19in such a manner as to be exchanged as required. R-axis gear46of R-axis driving mechanism45(a head rotating mechanism) is securely fitted on an upper end of R-shaft17, and gear49, which is fixed to rotary shaft48of R-axis motor47, meshes with this R-axis gear46, so that R-axis gear46rotates as a result of rotation of gear49of R-axis motor47to thereby cause rotary head section18to rotate about R-shaft17, whereby multiple nozzle holders19are caused to revolve in a circumferential direction of rotary head section18together with multiple suction nozzles26. Upper and lower two Q-axis gears51,52of Q-axis driving mechanism50(a nozzle rotating mechanism) are rotatably passed over R-shaft17, and gear53securely fitted on an upper end of each nozzle holder19meshes with lower Q-axis gear52. Gear56fixed to rotary shaft55of Q-axis motor54meshes with upper Q-axis gear51, so that Q-axis gears51,52integrally rotate as a result of rotation of gear56of Q-axis motor54to thereby cause individual gears53to rotate, whereby individual nozzle holders19are caused to rotate about axes of those individual nozzle holders19, thereby allowing for correction of the directions (angles) of electronic components30that are picked up by suction nozzles26held to those individual nozzle holders19. Further, multiple Z-axis driving mechanisms32a,32bare provided which are configured to cause suction nozzles26to be lowered in stop positions at multiple locations on a revolving track of suction nozzles26so that suction nozzles26so lowered can pick up electronic components30on tray22. In the present embodiment, as shown inFIGS.2and3, Z1-axis driving mechanism32aand Z2-axis driving mechanism32bare provided at two locations on a circumference of rotary head section18, so that two suction nozzles26are simultaneously lowered to be positioned individually on two different trays22by Z1-axis driving mechanism32aand Z2-axis driving mechanism32bso as to allow two suction nozzles26so lowered to pick up electronic components30on those two trays22. The number of suction nozzles26that are to be held on to mounting head24is an integral multiple of the number of suction nozzles26that are to be lowered simultaneously (two in the present embodiment). The positions of Z1-axis driving mechanism32aand Z2-axis driving mechanism32bare, for example, positions of 0° and 180° or positions of 90° and 270° when expressed by rotation angles of rotary head section18. Here, 0° and 180° denote an X-direction (a board conveyance direction) and an opposite direction thereto, whereas 90° and 270° denote a Y-direction (a direction perpendicular to the board conveyance direction) and an opposite direction thereto. In addition, the positions of Z1-shaft driving mechanism32aand Z2-shaft driving mechanism32bmay be any of positions of 0°+θ°, 0°−θ°, positions of 90°+θ° and 90°−θ°, positions of 180°+θ° and 180°−θ°, and 270°+θ° and 270°−θ°. However, θ° is an angle of one pitch or an integral multiple thereof of the nozzle pitch. In short, a positional relationship only needs to be provided in which a straight line connecting two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously is parallel to an X-axis or a Y-axis. Each of Z1-axis and Z2-axis driving mechanisms32a,32buses Z-axis motor37as an actuator and causes Z-axis motor37to rotate feeding screw38so as to move Z-axis slide39in the up-down direction, whereby Z-axis slide39so moved is brought into engagement with engagement piece40provided at an upper end of nozzle holder19of rotary head section18to move that nozzle holder19in the up-down direction, thereby causing suction nozzle26held at a lower section of nozzle holder19in question to move in the up-down direction. Z-axis slides39of Z1-axis and Z2-axis driving mechanisms32a,32bare held so as to move only in a Z-direction while being prevented from moving in the XY-directions, so that positions of Z-axis slides39in the XY-directions are made to stay unchanged, causing Z-axis slides39to stay in certain positions even though rotary head section18operates rotationally. A linear motor may be used as Z-axis motor37to move Z-axis slide39in the up-down direction. Alternatively, a linear solenoid, an air cylinder, or the like may be used in place of the linear motor. Pallet23of tray-type component supply device20is configured such that the position of at least one of two adjacent trays22is adjusted so as to cause an interval defined between two electronic components30that are located individually on those two adjacent trays22and are to be picked up simultaneously to become the same as interval α defined between two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously. In the present embodiment, as shown inFIGS.4to6, magnet61is provided in, for example, each of two diagonal corner portions of each tray placement area where to place tray22on an upper surface of pallet23as a means for holding tray22so placed without any positional deviation. A magnetic material portion (not shown) such as an iron plate or the like is provided at least in a position corresponding to magnet61on a lower surface of each tray22, so that tray22is held in place on pallet23by securely attracting the magnetic material portion on the lower surface of tray22by means of a magnetic attraction force of magnet61on pallet23. In this case, when the position of tray22is shifted in accordance with interval α between two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously, tray22is then held in place in the shifted position by means of the magnetic attraction force of magnet61. Although magnets61may be provided on all the tray placement areas on pallet23, magnets61may be provided only on one of the two tray placement areas on which two suction nozzles26, which are lowered simultaneously, are individually located. The positions of magnets61on each tray placement area are also not limited to the two diagonal corner portions, and hence, magnets61may be provided in four corner portions of the tray placement area. In addition, a magnet may be provided on a lower face of tray22, while a magnetic material portion such as an iron plate or the like may be provided on the tray placement area of pallet23. Further, interval display section62is provided on pallet23so as to have a guide to interval α measured by an operator in performing a position adjusting operation of adjusting the position of at least one of two adjacent trays22in accordance with interval α defined between two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously. In a case that mounting heads24are made to be exchangeable, when mounting heads24are exchanged, there is a possibility that interval α defined between two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously is changed. Then, interval display section62may be made to display multiple intervals α in association with multiple types of exchangeable mounting heads24. In place of interval display section62, the operator may visually measure interval α using a measurement jig such as a scale or the like. On the other hand, there are provided on component mounter10mark imaging camera35(refer toFIG.7) configured to move together with mounting head24to image a reference position mark on circuit board12from thereabove and component imaging camera36(refer toFIG.7) configured to image a component picked up by and held to suction nozzle26from therebelow. Control device41of component mounter10has one or multiple computers (CPUs) and peripheral devices thereof, and connected thereto are input device42such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel and the like, storage device43such as HDD, SSD, ROM, RAM and the like for storing various types of control programs such as a simultaneous pickup operation control program shown inFIGS.8to10, which will be described later, data, and the like, display device44such as a liquid crystal display, CRT or the like, and the like. In addition, control device41of component mounter10not only controls functional operations of component mounter10but also functions as an image processing device for imaging electronic component30on tray22using mark imaging camera35, recognizing the position of electronic component30by processing the image of electronic component30so obtained, and controlling the positions of suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously based on the results of the recognition so made. As this occurs, control device41causes head moving mechanism25to move mounting head24so that two suction nozzles26, which are lowered simultaneously, are located individually on two adjacent trays22on pallet23, causes Z1-axis and Z2-axis driving mechanisms32a,32bto lower two suction nozzles26simultaneously, and causes two suction nozzles26so lowered to simultaneously pick up electronic components30on those two adjacent trays22. In this case, since the number of suction nozzles26provided on mounting head24is an integral multiple of the number of suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously (two in the present embodiment), control device41of component mounter10executes a simultaneous pickup operation on two adjacent trays22a number of times corresponding to the integral multiple in a pickup operation step of electronic components30to cause all of suction nozzles26on mounting head24to pick up electronic component30, while in a step of mounting electronic components30so picked up on circuit board12, control device41causes suction nozzles26to be lowered one by one so as to mount electronic components30held thereto on circuit board12one by one. Further, as shown inFIG.4, in a case that an interval at which electronic components30at the beginning on two adjacent trays22are spaced apart coincides with interval α defined between two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously, enabling electronic components30at the beginning on those two adjacent trays22to be picked up simultaneously, control device41of component mounter10starts picking up electronic components30sequentially from those electronic components30at the beginning on those two adjacent trays22. In this case, all areas of those two adjacent trays22constitute areas where a simultaneous pickup is enabled, whereby all electronic components30on those two adjacent trays22can be picked up simultaneously. Here, the position of the beginning of tray22takes the position of any one corner portion in four corner portions of tray22. In the example shown inFIG.4, the position of a left upper corner portion of each tray22constitutes the position of a beginning thereof, and electronic components30on two adjacent trays22are sequentially picked up simultaneously from electronic components30located at the beginning of two adjacent trays22in a vertical direction (or in a lateral direction) two at a time, and when all electronic components30in first columns (rows) on those two adjacent trays22have been picked up completely, electronic components30on second columns (rows) are then picked up sequentially two at a time, this simultaneous pickup operations being repeated from then on. As this occurs, when the pickup order of electronic components30(the movement direction of mounting head24) is reversed for each column (row), electronic components30on each tray22can be picked up simultaneously with good efficiency while mounting head24only needs to move over its shortest moving distance. In addition, in a case that electronic component30located at the beginning on first tray22of two adjacent trays22cannot be picked up simultaneously together with electronic component30located at the beginning on second tray22as shown inFIG.5, control device41of component mounter10causes electronic components30on first and second trays22that fall within a simultaneous pickup enabling area to be simultaneously picked up in sequence from electronic components30located at the beginning on first and second trays22within the area in question, informs visually or audibly an operator that the directions of those two adjacent trays22are to be rotated reversely by 180° at a point in time when all electronic components30on first and second trays22that fall within the simultaneous pickup enabling area have simultaneously been picked up completely, and causes electronic components30remaining on those two adjacent trays22to be simultaneously picked up in sequence after the operator rotates reversely the direction of those two adjacent trays22by 180° as shown inFIG.6. It should be noted that, depending on the size of tray22and the size of electronic component30, all of electronic components30on each tray22on pallet23cannot always be sucked simultaneously, and hence there may be a case in which electronic components30remain which cannot be picked up simultaneously. Then, control device41of component mounter10causes electronic components30on two adjacent trays22on pallet23that are positioned within the simultaneous pickup enabling area to be simultaneously picked up, while control device41causes electronic components30on those two adjacent trays22that are positioned out of the simultaneous pickup enabling area to be picked up one by one. The simultaneous pickup operation of electronic components30located on those two adjacent trays22described above is controlled by control device41of component mounter10in accordance with a simultaneous pickup operation control program shown inFIGS.8to10. Hereinafter, processing details of the simultaneous pickup operation control program shown inFIGS.8to10will be described. The simultaneous pickup operation control program shown inFIGS.8to10is a control example for a case in which two columns of trays22are arranged left and right on pallet23and two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously are positioned in a left-right direction (an X-direction), as shown inFIGS.4to6. The present program is activated every time pallet23on pallet pull-out table27of tray-type component supply device20is exchanged with pallet23that is newly provided or every time mounting heads24are exchanged. When the present program is activated, first, in step101, data is obtained on the size of trays22on pallet23and interval α defined between two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously. Here, a method of obtaining the size of tray22may be, for example, such that tray22is imaged with mark imaging camera35and the size of tray22is measured by processing the image of tray22so captured. Alternatively, another size obtaining method may be adopted in which information on the size of tray22is recorded in a free space on tray22in question in the form of a barcode, a two-dimensional code or the like, the bar code, the two-dimensional code or the like so provided on tray22is imaged using mark imaging camera35, and the image so captured is subjected to image processing to read out the size of tray22in question. Alternatively, a further size obtaining method may be adopted in which a tray ID, which is identification information of tray22, is recorded in a free space of tray22in question in the form of a barcode, a two-dimensional code or the like, data on sizes of trays22for use for production are registered in a production management server or the like in association with tray IDs, the barcode, the two-dimensional code or the like recorded in tray22in question is imaged using mark imaging camera35, the recorded tray ID is read out by processing the image captured, and the data on the size of tray22corresponding to the tray ID is obtained from the production management server or the like. In addition, data on interval α defined between two suction nozzles26that are simultaneously lowered can be obtained from the production management server or the like. In a case that mounting heads24are exchangeable, a method may be adopted in which data on intervals α defined between two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously are registered in association with head IDs which constitute identification information of mounting head24in the production management server or the like for each of multiple exchangeable mounting heads24, and the data on interval α that corresponds to the head ID obtained at the time of an automatic exchange of mounting heads24is obtained from the production management server or the like. Thereafter, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step102, where control device41of component mounter10determines whether left and right trays22are both such that electronic components30can be picked up simultaneously from electronic components30located at the beginning (that is, whether the interval defined between electronic components30located at the beginning of left and right trays22coincides with interval α defined between two suction nozzles26) based on interval α defined between two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously and the size of tray22. As a result, if control device41determines that left and right arrays22are both such that electronic components30can be picked up simultaneously from electronic components30located at the beginning thereof, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step103, where electronic components30located at the beginning of those left and right trays22are imaged using mark imaging camera35, and positions (XY-coordinates) of electronic components30located at the beginning of those left and right trays22are measured by processing the images thereof so captured. Thereafter, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step104, where electronic components30of those left and right trays22are simultaneously picked up in sequence from electronic components30located at the beginning thereof. As this occurs, a configuration may be adopted in which every time electronic components30are picked up simultaneously, positions of subsequent electronic components30that will be picked up simultaneously are measured through image processing. Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which data on component arrangement pitches of electronic components30on tray22in the X-direction and the Y-direction are obtained from a recording section of component information of tray22, the production management server or the like so as to calculate positions of subsequent electronic components30that will be picked up simultaneously based on the component arrangement pitches so obtained. Every time all of electronic components30on two left and right trays22are picked up completely, the simultaneous pickup of electronic components30is shifted to two left and right trays22on a subsequent adjacent row. Thereafter, at a point in time when it is determined in step105that all electronic components30on all trays22on pallet23are picked up completely, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step106, where the operator is visually or audibly guided to provision of new pallet23so that current existing pallet23is exchanged for new pallet23that will be so provided. On the other hand, if it is determined negatively or as “No” in step102before, that is, if first or left tray22is such that electronic components30cannot be picked up simultaneously from electronic component30located at the beginning thereof, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step107shown inFIG.9, where control device41determines whether there exist electronic components30on left tray22which can be picked up simultaneously. As a result, if control device40determines that there exist no electronic component30on left tray22which can be picked up simultaneously, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step108, where control device41causes electronic components30on both trays22to be picked up one by one (individual pickup). If control device41determines in step107that there exist electronic components30on left tray22, and they can be picked up simultaneously, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step109where positions of electronic components30located at the beginning on left and right trays22which fall within a simultaneous pickup enabling area are measured through image processing. In the example shown inFIG.5, a simultaneous pickup enabling area on left tray22constitutes a right half-area of left tray22, and electronic component30located at the beginning in the simultaneous pickup enabling area on left tray22constitutes first electronic component30at a left end in the right half-area of left tray22. A simultaneous pickup enabling area on right tray22constitutes a left half-area on right tray22, and electronic component30located at the beginning in the simultaneous pickup enabling area on right tray22constitutes first electronic component30at a left end in right tray22. It should be noted that depending on interval α defined between two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously, there may be a case in which the simultaneous pickup enabling areas on left and right trays22are greater or smaller than a half of each tray22. Thereafter, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step110, where electronic components30in the simultaneous pickup enabling areas on left and right trays22are simultaneously picked up in sequence from electronic components30located at the beginning thereof. Every time all electronic components30in the simultaneous pickup enabling areas of two left and right trays22are picked up completely, the simultaneous pickup operation control program shifts to a simultaneous pickup of electronic components30in simultaneous pickup enabling areas on two left and right trays22in a subsequent adjacent row. Thereafter, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step112, at a point in time when control device41determines in step S111that all electronic components30in the simultaneous pickup enabling areas on all trays22on pallet23are picked up completely, and the operator is visually or audibly informed that the directions of all trays22on pallet23need to be rotated reversely by 180° in step112. Then, the simultaneous pickup operation control program waits to proceed until the directions of trays22on pallet23are rotated reversely by 180° in step113. Thereafter, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step114at a point in time when the directions of trays22on pallet23have been rotated reversely by 180°, where positions of electronic components30located at the beginning in the simultaneous pickup enabling areas on left and right trays22are measured through image processing. Thereafter, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step115, where electronic components30in the simultaneous pickup enabling areas on left and right trays22are simultaneously picked up in sequence from electronic components30located at the beginning thereof. Every time all electronic components30in the simultaneous pickup enabling areas of two left and right trays22are picked up completely, the simultaneous pickup operation control program shifts to a simultaneous pickup of electronic components30in simultaneous pickup enabling areas on two left and right trays22in a subsequent adjacent row. Thereafter, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step117at a point in time when control device41determines in step S116that all electronic components30in the simultaneous pickup enabling areas on all trays22on pallet23are picked up completely, and in step117, control device41determines whether there remain on individual trays22on pallet23electronic components30that cannot be picked up simultaneously. In the example shown inFIGS.5,6, all electronic components30on individual trays22can be picked up simultaneously; however, there may be a case in which the simultaneous pickup enabling areas on left and right trays22are smaller than a half of each tray22when interval α defined between two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously is narrow. In this case, even though the directions of individual trays22on pallet23are rotated reversely by 180°, there remain on individual trays22electronic components30that cannot be picked up simultaneously. If control device41determines in step117that there remain on individual trays22on pallet23no electronic components30that cannot be picked up simultaneously, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step120, where control device41causes a provision guidance to be outputted visually or audibly so that existing pallet23can be exchanged for new pallet23. On the other hand, if control device41determines in step117that there remain on individual trays22on pallet23electronic components30that cannot be picked up simultaneously, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step118, where control device41causes electronic components30remaining on individual trays22on pallet23to be picked up one by one (individual pickup). Thereafter, the simultaneous pickup operation control program proceeds to step120at a point in time when control device41determines in step119that all electronic components30on individual trays22on pallet23are picked up completely, where control device41causes a provision guidance to be outputted visually or audibly so that existing pallet23can be exchanged for new pallet23. As has been described before, in a case that multiple trays22are placed on pallet23, the size of one tray22is smaller than a case in which one tray is placed on pallet23, and the size of electronic components30that are arranged on tray22is smaller accordingly; however, interval α defined between two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously remains constant even though the sizes of tray22and electronic component30are smaller. Then, in the present embodiment, since electronic components30on two trays22are made to be picked up simultaneously by moving mounting head24so that two suction nozzles26that are lowered simultaneously are located individually on two trays22on pallet23, electronic components30on multiple trays22on pallet23can be picked up with good efficiency, thereby making it possible to improve the production cycle. In the embodiment that has been described heretofore, while two suction nozzles26of mounting head24are described as being lowered simultaneously, a configuration may be adopted in which the Z-axis driving mechanism is provided at three or more locations on the circumference of mounting head24so that three or more suction nozzles26can be lowered simultaneously, whereby three or more electronic components30are picked up simultaneously with those three or more suction nozzles26. In addition, the present description is not limited to the embodiment that has been described heretofore, whereby the present description can be carried by being modified or altered variously without departing from the spirit and scope of the present description, and hence, for example, the configuration of mounting head24may be modified, the processing of the simultaneous pickup operation control program shown inFIGS.8to10may be modified, or the like. REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10. . . component mounter,12. . . circuit board,20. . . tray-type component supply device,21. . . magazine,22. . . tray,23. . . pallet,24. . . mounting head,25. . . head moving mechanism,26. . . suction nozzle,27. . . pallet pull-out table,29. . . rotary head section,30. . . electronic component,32a. . . Z1-axis driving mechanism,32b. . . Z2-axis driving mechanism,41. . . control device,61. . . magnet,62. . . interval display section | 30,204 |
11943872 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.FIG.1is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating an example of mounting system10of the present disclosure.FIG.2is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating an outline of a configuration of mounting device15.FIG.3is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of board DS and substrate S.FIG.4is an explanatory diagram of information stored in memory section42. In the present embodiment, a left-right direction (X axis), a front-rear direction (Y axis), and an up-down direction (Z axis) are as illustrated inFIGS.1and2. Mounting system10is configured as, for example, a production line in which mounting devices15performing a mounting process for components P on substrate S serving as a mounting target are arranged in a conveyance direction of substrate S. Here, a mounting target is described as substrate S but is not particularly limited as long as component P is mounted thereon, and may be a base material having a three-dimensional shape. As illustrated inFIG.1, mounting system10is configured to include printing device11, printing inspection device12, storage section13, management PC14, mounting device15, automatic conveyance vehicle16, loader18, host PC60, and the like. Printing device11is a device that prints a solder paste or the like on substrate S. Printing inspection device12is a device that inspects a state of a printed solder. Board DS is a mounting target including multiple substrates S. As illustrated inFIG.3, board DS includes multiple substrates Sa to Sf on which components Pa to Pd are disposed at the same positions. Here, components Pa to Pd are collectively referred to as component P, and substrates Sa to Sf are collectively referred to as substrate S. Board DS is configured to obtain multiple substrates S by dividing board DS along grooves formed on a top surface after a mounting process and a reflow process. Mounting device15is a device that picks up component P and mounts component P on substrate S. Mounting device15has a function of executing a mounting/inspection process for inspecting component missing of substrate S or a state of a component disposed on substrate S. Mounting device15includes substrate processing section22, component supply section24, pickup/imaging section26, mounting section30, and mounting controller40. As illustrated inFIG.2, mounting controller40is configured as a microprocessor centered on CPU41, and controls the entire device. Mounting controller40includes memory section42and inspection section49. As illustrated inFIG.4, memory section42stores mounting condition information43, reference information44, substrate reference information45, component information46, substrate information47, and the like. Mounting condition information43is a production job, and includes information such as information of component P, a disposition order in which component P is mounted on substrate S, a disposition position, and an attachment position of feeder25from which component P is picked up. Reference information44includes, for example, data such as an image serving as a reference for detecting dispositional deviation or missing of component P. Reference information44includes substrate reference information45, component information46, and the like. Substrate reference information45is information regarding substrate S on which an inspection process is executed, and includes information regarding substrate S, such as an image, a size, and a shape of substrate S, in a manner associated with an identifier (ID) of substrate S. Component information46is information regarding component P on which an inspection process is executed, and includes information regarding component P, such as an image, a size, and a shape of component P, in association with an identifier (ID) of component P. Substrate information47is information for managing a mounting state or the like of substrate S, and includes, for example, information regarding a disposition position of disposed component P, information regarding the type or a position of a disposition error component that has missed or is disposed to be greatly deviated as a result of inspection, and information a skip region that is a region where a disposition error has occurred. Component missing means that component P is not present at a disposition position on substrate S due to some factor although a mounting process for component P is performed. In mounting device15, when a disposition error of component P occurs, in order to prevent further loss of component P, it is possible to select a skip mode in which a predetermined region (for example, specific substrate S) is subjected to a skip process and a process for restricting a mounting process for further components P is executed. In mounting device15, in order to suppress the frequent occurrence of skipping, when a disposition error is repeated a predetermined number of times (for example, three times) at the same disposition position, a process of stopping the device and notifying an operator is executed. This substrate information47is transmitted to host PC60and stored as a substrate information database for production management. Error information48is information for managing the number of times for which a disposition error has occurred at the same disposition position. Error information48includes an identifier (ID) of a mounting device in which a disposition error has occurred, a mounting position (coordinates), a type or an ID of a component, the number of errors, and the like. Error information48is transmitted to host PC60and stored as an error information database for production management. Mounting device15stores substrate information47and error information48in memory section42after the mounting process is started. Inspection section49is, for example, a functional block that inspects a state of substrate S or disposed component P based on a captured image of substrate S. Mounting controller40outputs control signals to substrate processing section22, component supply section24, and mounting section30, and also receives signals from substrate processing section22, component supply section24, and mounting section30. Substrate processing section22is a unit that carries in, conveys, fixes at a mounting position, and carries out substrate S. Substrate processing section22has a pair of conveyor belts extending in the left-right direction and spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction inFIG.2. Substrate S is conveyed by these conveyor belts. Substrate processing section22includes two pairs of the conveyor belts, and can convey and fix two substrates S simultaneously. Component supply section24is a unit that supplies component P to mounting section30. Component supply section24attaches feeder25including a reel around which a tape serving as a holding member holding component P is wound to at least one attachment portion. Component supply section24includes a mounting attachment portion attached with feeder25used for a mounting process and a buffer attachment portion attached with preliminary feeder25in upper and lower stages thereof. Feeder25includes a controller (not illustrated). The controller stores information such as an ID of a tape included in feeder25, and the type and the remaining number of components P. When feeder25is attached to the attachment portion, the controller transmits information regarding feeder25to mounting controller40. Component supply section24may include a tray unit having a tray as a holding member on which multiple components P are arranged and placed. Pickup/imaging section26is a device that captures images of one or more components P in a state of being picked up and held by mounting head32. Pickup/imaging section26is disposed between substrate processing section22and component supply section24. An imaging range of pickup/imaging section26is located above pickup/imaging section26. Pickup/imaging section26captures an image of component P when mounting head32holding component P passes over pickup/imaging section26, and outputs the captured image to mounting controller40. Based on the captured image and the reference image of reference information44, mounting controller40may execute, for example, inspection of whether a shape and a part of component P are normal, or detection of a deviation amount of a position, rotation, or the like at the time of picking up component P. Operation panel27includes display section28that displays a screen, and operation section29that receives an input operation from an operator. Display section28is configured as a liquid crystal display, and displays an operating state and a setting state of mounting device15on a screen. Operation section29includes a cursor key for moving a cursor in the up-down direction and the left-right direction, a cancel key for canceling an input, a determination key for determining a selected content, and the like, and thus an instruction from the operator can be keyed in. Mounting section30is a unit that picks up component P from component supply section24and disposes component P on substrate S fixed to substrate processing section22. Mounting section30includes head moving section31, mounting head32, nozzle33, inspection/imaging section34, and nozzle storage section35. Head moving section31includes a slider moved by being guided by guide rails in the XY-directions, and a motor that drives the slider. Mounting head32picks up one or more components P and is moved in the XY-directions by head moving section31. Mounting head32is detachably attached to the slider. One or more nozzles33are detachably attached to a lower surface of mounting head32. Nozzle33picks up component P by using a negative pressure. A pickup member that picks up component P may be a mechanical chuck or the like that mechanically holds component P in addition to nozzle33. Inspection/imaging section34is a camera that captures an image of a region below mounting head32, and captures an image of, for example, not only component P disposed on substrate S but also a reference mark, a 2D code, or the like formed on substrate S. Inspection/imaging section34is disposed on the lower surface side of the slider to which mounting head32is attached, and is moved in the XY-directions in accordance with the movement of mounting head32. Inspection/imaging section34outputs image data of substrate S on which component P is disposed to mounting controller40. Mounting controller40causes inspection section49to analyze the image data. Nozzle storage section35accommodates one or more types of nozzles33to be attached to mounting head32. Nozzle33for picking up component P subjected to a mounting process by another mounting device15may be accommodated in a preliminary accommodation section of nozzle storage section35. Storage section13is a storage location for temporarily storing feeder25used in mounting device15. Storage section13is provided under a conveyance device between printing inspection device12and mounting device15. Storage section13has an attachment portion in the same manner as component supply section24. When feeder25is connected to the attachment portion, the controller of feeder25transmits the information regarding feeder25to management PC14. In storage section13, feeder25may be transported by automatic conveyance vehicle16or feeder25may be transported by an operator. Management PC14is a device that manages feeder25, stores execution data or the like executed by loader18, and manages loader18. Automatic conveyance vehicle16automatically conveys feeder25, a member used in mounting system10, and the like between a warehouse (not illustrated) and storage section13. The warehouse stores feeder25, other members, and the like. Loader18is a mobile work device, which is a device that is moved in a movement region in front of mounting system10(refer to dotted lines inFIG.1), and automatically collects and provides members or the like necessary for a mounting process, such as feeder25of mounting device15. Loader18includes movement controller50, memory section53, accommodation section54, exchange section55, moving section56, and communication section57. Movement controller50is configured as a microprocessor centered on CPU51and controls the entire device. Movement controller50controls the entire device such that feeder25is collected from component supply section24or feeder25is provided to component supply section24, and feeder25is moved to and from storage section13. Memory section53is, for example, an HDD that stores various data such as a processing program. Accommodation section54has an accommodation space for accommodating feeder25. Accommodation section54is configured to accommodate, for example, four feeders25. Exchange section55is a mechanism that moves feeder25in and out as well as moving feeder25in the up-down direction (refer toFIG.2). Exchange section55has a clamp portion that clamps feeder25, a Y-axis slider that moves the clamp portion in the Y-axis direction (front-rear direction), and a Z-axis slider that moves the clamp portion in the Z-axis direction (up-down direction). Exchange section55executes attachment and detachment of feeder25at a mounting attachment portion, and attachment and detachment of feeder25at a buffer attachment portion. Moving section56is a mechanism that moves loader18in the X-axis direction (the left-right direction) along X-axis rail19disposed in front of mounting device15. Communication section57is an interface that performs exchange of information with external devices such as management PC14and mounting device15. Loader18outputs the current position or details of executed work to management PC14. Loader18is capable of collecting and providing feeder25, but may be configured to collect and provide members related to the mounting process, such as mounting head32, nozzle33, a solder cartridge, a screen mask, and a backup pin for supporting a substrate. Host PC60(refer toFIG.1) is configured as a server that stores and manages information used by each device of mounting system10, such as a production plan database including multiple pieces of mounting condition information43, a substrate information database including multiple pieces of substrate information47, and error information48. Host PC60may input and edit image data, a size, a shape, a color, and the like in reference information44. A control section of host PC60outputs updated reference information44to any device of mounting system10, such as mounting device15. Next, an operation of mounting system10of the present embodiment configured as described above, particularly, a process in which mounting device15mounts component P on substrate S and inspects mounted component P will be described. Here, for convenience of description, a mounting process for component P on board DS is assumed to be equivalent to a mounting process for component P on substrate S. Here, the description will focus on a case where a skip mode is selected.FIG.5is a flowchart illustrating an example of a mounting/inspection process routine executed by CPU41of mounting controller40of mounting device15. This routine is stored in memory section42of mounting device15and executed in accordance with a starting instruction from an operator. When this routine is started, CPU41reads and acquires mounting condition information43and reference information44of substrate S to be produced this time (S100). CPU41is assumed to read mounting condition information43or reference information44acquired from host PC60and stored in memory section42. Next, CPU41reads and acquires substrate information47of board DS (substrate S) subjected to a mounting process this time, and causes substrate processing section22to convey substrate S to a mounting position and to perform a fixing process (S110). Next, CPU41executes a mounting process (S120). In this mounting process, CPU41sets a component that is a pickup target based on mounting condition information43, causes mounting head32to pick up component P from feeder25at a preset position, moves mounting head32to a disposition position of component P, and executes a process of disposing component P. In the mounting process, CPU41restricts the mounting process, that is, does not execute the mounting process in order to suppress a loss of component P with respect to a predetermined region in which a disposition error has occurred. Next, CPU41executes an inspection process for disposed component P (S130). In the inspection process, CPU41causes inspection/imaging section34to capture an image of component P subjected to the mounting process by the present mounting device thereof, and acquires an inspection result of each component P based on whether component P is disposed at a predetermined disposition position or whether dispositional deviation such as positional deviation or rotational deviation is within a predetermined allowable range. The inspection result includes inspection pass in which there is no component missing, dispositional deviation is small, and a shape is within a designated shape, a dispositional deviation error, a component missing error, and a shape error. Regarding the component missing error, component P may be subjected to a mounting process by mounting device15subsequent to the present mounting device. In S120and S130, CPU41may execute the inspection process collectively after the present mounting device performs the mounting process on all components P, or may repeatedly perform the mounting process and the inspection process. After S130, CPU41determines whether there is an error, when there is an error, stores the error in substrate information47or error information48, and sets a predetermined region that includes component P having an error and on which the mounting process will be skipped by subsequent mounting device15(S150). Next, CPU41determines whether the corresponding error has reached a predetermined number of times set in advance (S160), and when the predetermined number of times is reached, stops the device, and notifies the operator of checking of reference information44(S170). The term “predetermined number of times” means a threshold value for determining error detection, and includes not only the occurrence of the same error a predetermined number of times on the same substrate S, but also the repetition of the same error a predetermined number of times on different multiple substrates S. For example, the reference data of reference information44may be different from component P that is actually used, such as a difference in a brightness value (color) differing or a difference in a shape (a lead is long or short), depending on the operator's discrepancy, or a lot or a vendor of component P. In such a case, even if component P is appropriately disposed on substrate S, CPU41may erroneously determine that an error has occurred. Here, CPU41notifies the operator whether there are any such errors. This notification may be performed, for example, by performing a process of displaying a message, an icon, or the like on operation panel27, by lighting a lamp, or by outputting sound, voice, or the like. The operator notified of the checking of reference information44checks, for example, whether the content of reference information44in host PC60and component P used in mounting device15are different from each other. In a case where there is no problem in reference information44, the operator operates operation panel27to input information indicating that the process is continued, whereas in a case where reference information44is changed, the operator inputs information indicating that reference information44is newly updated. Next, CPU41acquires the input content from the operator from operation panel27, and when acquiring the input in which reference information44has been updated, CPU41re-inspects a mounting region that has been subjected to the mounting process prior to the present mounting device by using updated reference information44(S190). As described above, since a result of the inspection process in mounting device15different from the present mounting device may not be correct, CPU41performs a re-inspection process using correct reference information44on the region that is not subjected to the mounting process by the present mounting device, and thus obtains a more appropriate inspection result. When the re-inspection process is performed, CPU41extracts a component missing error from the inspection result, and stores the inspection result including the component missing error in reference information44(S200). In mounting device15, component missing is naturally detected in a predetermined region on which the mounting process is skipped in the skip mode. Subsequently, when there is a component missing error, CPU41executes a remounting process (S210to S240). Specifically, CPU41determines whether component P to be mounted by mounting device15prior to the present mounting device can be picked up by mounting section30of the present mounting device (S220). This determination may be performed based on, for example, whether there is corresponding nozzle33in nozzle storage section35, based on correspondence information in which corresponding component P is correlated with mounting head32and nozzle33that can pick up component P. When corresponding component P can be picked up by the present mounting device, CPU41determines whether component P to be remounted by the present mounting device is present in component supply section24(S220). Feeder25used in another mounting device15and not used in the present mounting device may be preliminarily attached to a preliminary attachment portion of component supply section24. When component P to be remounted is not present in component supply section24, CPU41outputs a command for providing feeder25holding component P to be remounted to component supply section24, to management PC14(S230). Management PC14outputs a storage position in the storage section13storing corresponding feeder25and a position of component supply section24of mounting device15that requires the provision to loader18, and causes loader18to provide feeder25. After S230or when component P to be remounted is present in component supply section24in S220, CPU41causes mounting section30to execute the remounting process (240). Mounting section30disposes component P to be remounted that is not scheduled to be subjected to a mounting process by this mounting device15on substrate S. After executing the remounting process in S240, CPU41executes the processes in and after S130. That is, CPU41executes an inspection process on remounted component P, and repeatedly performs processes of determining whether there is an error, setting a predetermined region when there is an error, and determining whether the corresponding error has been repeated a predetermined number of times (S140to S160). Since reference information44is updated in S180, the frequency of error detection in mounting device15is reduced. In a case where there is no error in the inspection result in S140, when the corresponding error has not reached a predetermined number of times in S160, or after a continuous input is acquired without updating reference information44in S180, or when it is not possible to pick up component P to be remounted by the present mounting device in S210, CPU41determines whether the mounting process for current substrate S has been completed (S250). When the mounting process for the current substrate has not been completed, CPU41executes the processes in and after S120. That is, CPU41continuously executes the mounting process and the inspection process (S120and S130). On the other hand, when the mounting process for current substrate S has been completed, CPU41updates substrate information47and controls substrate processing section22to discharge substrate S (S260). CPU41determines whether production of all substrates S set in mounting condition information43has been completed (S270). When the production of all substrates S has not been completed, CPU41executes the processes in and after S110. On the other hand, when the production of all substrates S has been completed, this routine is finished. Since such a mounting process is executed by each of mounting devices15, information regarding which position an error is likely to occur on specific substrate S is integrated and stored in substrate information47. Here, a specific example of the mounting/inspection process will be described.FIG.6is an explanatory diagram for describing a specific example of a process of skipping the inspection process and the mounting process, in whichFIG.6Ais a diagram illustrating a case where substrate S1is inspected by mounting device15abased on inappropriate reference information44,FIG.6Bis a diagram illustrating a case where substrate S1is skipped by the next mounting device15b, andFIG.6Cis a diagram illustrating a case where substrate S1is skipped by mounting device15c, substrate S2is skipped by mounting device15b, and a device is stopped.FIG.7is an explanatory diagram for describing a specific example of update of component information46and the remounting process, in whichFIG.7Ais a diagram illustrating a case where reference information44is updated and the re-inspection process is performed based on updated reference information44,FIG.7Bis a diagram illustrating a case where loader18is supplemented with feeder25to be remounted,FIG.7Cis a diagram illustrating a case where the remounting process is performed, andFIG.7Dis a diagram illustrating a case where remaining components P to be mounted by the present mounting device are mounted. Here, a case where reference information44in which a brightness value of a reference image of component Pa is different from that of an actual component is used in board DS inFIG.3will be described as a specific example. In mounting condition information43, it is assumed that mounting device15ais set to perform a mounting process and an inspection process on an upper stage of substrate S, the next mounting device15bis set to perform a mounting process and an inspection process on an intermediate stage of substrate S, and the next mounting device15cis set to perform a mounting process and an inspection process on a lower stage of substrate S. It is assumed that a predetermined number of times, which is an allowable number of repetitions of errors, is three, and a skip region is set on one substrate S of board DS. InFIGS.6and7, board DS1including substrate Sa1, board DS2including substrate Sa2, and board DS3including substrate Sa3are sequentially supplied to mounting devices15a,15b, and15cfrom the upper part to the lower part in the drawing over time, and only substrates Sa1to Sa3of boards DS1to DS3are illustrated for convenience. In the following descriptions ofFIGS.6and7, processes for substrates Sb to Sf of board DS are assumed to be the same process as that for substrate Sa of board DS, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. First, as illustrated inFIG.6A, mounting device15aexecutes a mounting process and an inspection process on substrate Sa1of board DS1(S120and S130). Since an image of component Pa of reference information44differs from actual component Pa, inspection section49of mounting device15aerroneously detects that component Pa is missing even though component Pa is appropriately mounted on substrate Sa1, and sets entire substrate Sa1in a predetermined region where the mounting process is skipped (S150). Next, as illustrated inFIG.6B, board DS1is conveyed to mounting device15b(S260), and board DS2is carried into mounting device15a(S110). Also in substrate Sa2of board DS2, similarly to substrate Sa1, it is determined that component Pa that is appropriately mounted is missing, and entire substrate Sa2is set in a predetermined region where the mounting process is skipped. Since entire substrate Sa1is the skip region, mounting device15bdoes not execute the mounting process on component P. Next, as illustrated inFIG.6C, board DS1is conveyed to mounting device15c, board DS2is conveyed to mounting device15b, and board DS3is carried into mounting device15a. Also in substrate Sa3, similarly to substrates Sa1and Sa2, it is determined that component Pa that is appropriately mounted is missing, and entire substrate Sa3is set in a predetermined region where the mounting process is skipped. Since entire substrates Sa1and Sa2are the skip regions, mounting devices15band15cdo not execute the mounting process on component P. The corresponding error reaches a predetermined number of times, that is, three times (S160), mounting devices15ato15care stopped and notify an operator of checking of reference information44(S170). Here, as illustrated inFIG.7A, the operator checks component Pa and the reference image of reference information44, and updates reference data to correct reference data in host PC60.FIG.8is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of reference information update screen70displayed on a display of host PC60. Reference information update screen70is a screen displayed when information regarding component P, such as image data, a size, a brightness value, and a characteristic value included in component information46is input and updated. On reference information update screen70, cursor71, substrate reference information display field72, pre-change component information display field73, post-change component information display field74, input key75, and the like are displayed. Cursor71is used for an operator to give an instruction for selection and entry to an entry field disposed on the screen, and is moved on the screen by operating an input device of host PC60. An image of component P disposed on substrate S is displayed in substrate reference information display field72. Pre-change component information display field73is a field in which reference data, information, and the like currently used for component P selected in substrate reference information display field72are displayed. Post-change component information display field74is a field to which updated data of component P displayed in pre-change component information display field73is entered. Input key75includes a selection key, an edit key, a save key, an end key, and the like. The operator checks the displayed contents, presses the edit key to edit the contents, and presses the save key to store reference information44of which the reference data is updated in the memory section of host PC60. Host PC60transmits updated reference information44to mounting devices15ato15c. Mounting devices15ato15cexecute a re-inspection process by using updated reference information44(S190). In this case, mounting devices15ato15cobtain an inspection result indicating that there is no missing in component P subjected to a mounting process by mounting device15a, and store the inspection result in substrate information47(S200). Substrate information47stores information indicating that component Pa is not missing with respect to substrate IDs corresponding to substrates Sa1, Sa2, and Sa3. Next, mounting devices15ato15cextract a missing component caused by skipping or the like (S200), and execute a remounting process for the missing component (S210to S240). In this case, in mounting devices15ato15c, when remounted component P to be mounted prior to the present mounting device can be picked up by the present mounting device and component P is not present, feeder25is provided to loader18as illustrated inFIG.7B(S230). Subsequently, as illustrated inFIG.7C, mounting device15cexecutes a mounting process for component P to be mounted by mounting device15b(S240). As illustrated inFIG.7C, in mounting devices15band15c, a mounting process for component P that is originally to be subjected to a mounting process by each device is executed after remounting (S120). As illustrated inFIG.7C, by executing the above re-inspection process and remounting process, it is possible to remove component missing without loss of substrate S or component P, and return to processing states in which mounting devices15ato15care originally to be. Here, correspondence relationships between constituents of the present embodiment and constituents of the present disclosure will be clarified. Mounting section30of the present embodiment corresponds to a mounting section of the present disclosure, inspection section49corresponds to an inspection section, mounting controller40corresponds to a control section, loader18corresponds to a mobile work device, and component supply section24corresponds to a supply section. In the present embodiment, an example of the inspection/mounting method of the present disclosure is also clarified by describing the operation of mounting device15. In mounting device15of the present embodiment described above, when reference information44is updated after an error in component P that has been subjected to the mounting process prior to mounting device15is detected, inspection section49is caused to execute an inspection process using updated reference information44also on component P that has been subjected to the mounting process prior to mounting device15. Reference information44of mounting device15may differ according to component P, for example, due to a difference in a manufacturing company or a difference in a lot. When reference information44different from actual component P is used, mounting device15may determine an error even if component P is mounted within an allowable range. In mounting device15, even component P mounted on mounting device15prior to this mounting device15is inspected by using updated reference information44, and thus even a result in which an error has been detected by mistake can be changed to an appropriate inspection result without being extracted from the device. Therefore, in mounting device15, it is possible to more efficiently reduce the loss of substrate S (board DS) that is a mounting target subjected to a mounting process. Mounting controller40causes inspection section49to execute an inspection process using reference information44on component P subjected to a mounting process by mounting section30, and when reference information44is updated after an error in component P subjected to the mounting process prior to present mounting device15is detected, causes inspection section49to execute an inspection process using updated reference information44on component P subjected to the mounting process by mounting section30of present mounting device15. In mounting device15, since component P mounted by mounting device15is inspected by using updated reference information44, even a result in which an error has been detected by mistake can be changed to an appropriate inspection result without being extracted from the device. Mounting controller40has a skip mode in which, when there is an error in a predetermined region including component P subjected to a mounting process prior to mounting device15, and an operation of mounting section30is restricted such that a mounting process is skipped without being performed on the predetermined region in which there is the error, and when reference information44is updated, causes inspection section49to execute the inspection process using updated reference information44on the skipped predetermined region. In mounting device15, even a result in which an error has been detected by mistake in the skipped predetermined region having an error can be changed to an appropriate inspection result without being extracted from the device. in this mounting device, it is possible to further reduce the loss of component P by restricting component P from being disposed in a predetermined region having an error due to the skip mode. After reference information44is updated, when component P to be subjected to a mounting process on the skipped predetermined region is present in component supply section24, mounting controller40causes mounting section30to execute the mounting process on the skipped predetermined region. In mounting device15, by disposing component P in the skipped predetermined region, it is possible to further reduce the loss of substrate S subjected to a mounting process. In mounting device15, component supply section24is attached with feeder25having a tape as a holding member that holds component P, and mounting system10further includes loader18as a mobile work device including accommodation section54that accommodates feeder25, collecting feeder25from component supply section24, and/or moving feeder25to component supply section24. When component P to be subject to a mounting process on the skipped predetermined region can be picked up by mounting section30and is not in component supply section24, mounting controller40outputs, to loader18, information for moving feeder25holding component P to be mounted to component supply section24. In mounting device15, the loss of substrate S can be reduced by automatically providing component P with loader18. When an error is detected in a predetermined number of substrates S at a specific disposition position, mounting controller40stops mounting section30and inspection section49, notifies an operator to check reference information44, and restarts the processes of mounting section30and inspection section49when reference information44is updated. In mounting device15, it is possible to appropriately prompt the review of reference information44, and consequently, it is possible to more efficiently reduce the loss of substrate S. Since reference information44includes information regarding one or more of a shape of component P, a brightness value of component P, and a characteristic value of component P, the loss of substrate S can be reduced more efficiently by using specific reference information. A mounting target is board DS including multiple substrates S, and a predetermined region where a mounting process is skipped is a region of substrate S. By restricting the mounting of component P on a specific region, it is possible to more efficiently reduce the loss of component P. Needless to say, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment that has been described, and can be carried out in various forms without departing from the technical scope of the present disclosure. For example, in the above embodiment, the predetermined region where there is an error has been described as the region of substrate S included in board DS, but the present disclosure is not particularly limited thereto, and may be a region of single substrate S not included in board DS, or may be a region inside substrate S. In the above embodiment, mounting device15performs the skip process on the predetermined region where there is an error, but the skip process may be omitted. Also in mounting device15, appropriate inspection can be executed by using updated reference information44. In the above embodiment, the remounting process is executed on the skipped predetermined region, but the present disclosure is not particularly limited thereto, and CPU41may execute the remounting process as long as remounting is possible regardless of the skipped predetermined region. In the above embodiment, when there is no component P to be remounted, loader18provides component P, but the present disclosure is not particularly limited thereto, and loader18may be omitted, and component P may be provided by automatic conveyance vehicle16or may be provided by an operator. Alternatively, loader18may be omitted, and feeder25used in another mounting device15may be attached to a free attachment portion of component supply section24so as not to require provision. In the above embodiment, the device is stopped when an error is detected for a predetermined number of times in substrate S at a specific disposition position, but an operator may be notified without stopping the device. In consideration of the loss of substrate S, it is preferable that CPU41stops the device. Although not described in detail in the above embodiment, in a case where missing component P cannot be picked up by mounting section30of current mounting device15after reference information44is updated, component P may be remounted by mounting device15as long as component P to be remounted by mounting device15further downstream thereof can be picked up. In mounting system10, since production of substrate S can be more reliably completed, it is possible to more efficiently reduce the loss of substrate S. In the above embodiment, in the inspection process, although an inspection process for dispositional deviation of component P or component missing has been mainly described, CPU41may execute the inspection process of inspecting characteristics of component P, for example, a resistance value of component P, a shading rate of component P, or the like. CPU41may cause mounting section30to pick up and discard component P having an error in the characteristic value, and may remount new component P. A mounting target has been described as board DS including multiple substrates S in the above embodiment, but is not particularly limited to this, and may be substrate S other than board DS, a three-dimensional solid object, or the like. Reference information44may include information regarding one or more of the shape, the brightness value, and the characteristic value of the component. The inspection process may include one or more of inspection as to whether a component is disposed, inspection as to a deviation amount of a component, and inspection as to the characteristic value of a component. In the above embodiment, the present disclosure has been described as mounting system10or mounting device15, but may be an inspection/mounting method executed by mounting device15or a program for realizing the inspection/mounting method of mounting device15. Here, the mounting device, the mounting system, and the inspection/mounting method of the present disclosure may be configured as follows. For example, in the mounting device of the present disclosure, the control section may cause the inspection section to execute an inspection process using the reference information on a component subjected to a mounting process by the mounting section, and when the reference information is updated after an error in the component subjected to a mounting process prior to the mounting device is detected, cause the inspection section to execute the inspection process using the updated reference information on the component subjected to the mounting process by the mounting section of the mounting device. In this mounting device, since a component mounted by the mounting device is inspected by using the updated reference information, even a result in which an error has been detected by mistake can be changed to an appropriate inspection result without being extracted from the device. In the mounting device of the present disclosure, the control section may have a skip mode in which, when there is an error in a predetermined region including the component subjected to a mounting process prior to the mounting device, and an operation of the mounting section is restricted such that a mounting process is skipped without being performed on the predetermined region in which there is the error, and cause the inspection section to execute the inspection process using the updated reference information on the skipped predetermined region when the reference information is updated. In this mounting device, even a result in which an error has been detected by mistake in the skipped predetermined region having an error can be changed to an appropriate inspection result without being extracted from the device. in this mounting device, it is possible to further reduce the loss of components by restricting a component from being disposed in a predetermined region having an error due to the skip mode. In the mounting device of the present disclosure in an aspect of skipping a mounting target, the control section may cause the mounting section to execute the mounting process on the skipped predetermined region when the component to be subjected to a mounting process on the skipped predetermined region is present in the supply section after the reference information is updated. In this mounting device, it is possible to further reduce the loss of the mounting target subjected to a mounting process by disposing a component in the skipped predetermined region. Alternatively, in the mounting device of the present disclosure in the aspect of skipping a mounting target, the supply section may be attached with a holding member that holds the component, and the mounting system may further include a mobile work device including an accommodation section that accommodates the holding member to collect the holding member from the supply section and/or move the holding member to the supply section, in which the control section may output, to the mobile work device, information for moving the holding member holding the component to be mounted to the supply section when the component to be subjected to the mounting process on the skipped predetermined region can be picked up by the mounting section and is not present in the supply section. In this mounting device, it is possible to reduce the loss of a mounting target by automatically providing components with the mobile work device. In the mounting device of the present disclosure, when the error is detected in a predetermined number of the mounting targets at a specific disposition position, the control section may stop the mounting section and/or the inspection section, notify an operator to check the reference information, and restart processes of the mounting section and/or the inspection section when the reference information is updated. In this mounting device, it is possible to appropriately prompt the review of the reference information, and consequently, it is possible to more efficiently reduce the loss of a mounting target. The mounting device of the present disclosure may have any of the following features (1) or (2). Also in this mounting device, it is possible to more efficiently reduce the loss of a mounting target in specific reference information or mounting target. (1) The reference information includes information regarding one or more of a shape of the component, a brightness value of the component, and a characteristic value of the component. (2) The mounting target is a board including multiple substrates, and the predetermined region is a region of the substrate. The mounting device of the present disclosure includes multiple mounting devices described above. The mounting system can achieve an effect according to an aspect employed by the above mounting device. The inspection/mounting method according to the present disclosure is an inspection/mounting method used in a mounting system including multiple mounting devices each performing a mounting process on a mounting target and including a mounting section that picks up a component from a supply section holding the component and performs the mounting process for the component on the mounting target, and an inspection section that performs an inspection process on the component disposed on the mounting target by using reference information, the inspection/mounting method including a step of, when the reference information is updated after an error in the component subjected to a mounting process prior to the mounting device is detected, causing the inspection section to execute the inspection process using the updated reference information on the component subjected to the mounting process prior to the mounting device. In this inspection/mounting method, similarly to the mounting device described above, even a component before being mounted by this mounting device is inspected using the updated reference information, and thus even a result in which an error has been detected by mistake can be changed to an appropriate inspection result without being extracted from the device. Therefore, also in this inspection/mounting method, it is possible to more efficiently reduce the loss of a mounting target subjected to a mounting process. This inspection/mounting method may employ the aspect of the mounting device described above, or may include a step of expressing the function of the mounting device described above. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The mounting device, the mounting system, and the inspection/mounting method of the present disclosure can be used in electronic component mounting fields. REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10Mounting system,11Printing device,12Printing inspection device,13Storage section,14Management PC,15,15a,15b,15cMounting device,16Automatic conveyance vehicle,18Loader,19X-axis rail,22Substrate processing section,24Component supply section,25Feeder,26Pickup/imaging section,27Operation panel,28Display section,29Operation section,30Mounting section,31Head moving section,32Mounting head,33Nozzle,34Inspection/imaging section,35Nozzle storage section,40Mounting controller,41CPU,42Memory section,43Mounting condition information,44Reference information,45Substrate reference information,46Component information,47Substrate information,48Error information,49Inspection section,50Movement controller,51CPU,53Memory section,54, Accommodation section,55Exchange section,56Moving section,57Communication section,60Host PC,70Reference information update screen,71Cursor,72Substrate reference information display field,73Pre-change component information display field,74Post-change component information display field,75input key, DS, DS1to DS3Board, P, Pa to Pd component, S, Sa to Sf, and Sa1to Sa3substrate | 49,894 |
11943873 | DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.FIG.1is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating an example of mounting system10of the present disclosure.FIG.2is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of mounting device15and loader18that is a movable work device.FIGS.3to5are explanatory diagrams illustrating examples of region information45A to45C stored in memory section42of management PC14. In the present embodiment, a leftward-rightward direction (X-axis), a front-rear direction (Y-axis), and an upward-downward direction (Z-axis) are as illustrated inFIGS.1and2. Mounting system10is configured as, for example, a production line in which mounting devices15that perform a mounting process for mounting components on board S that is a mounting target are arranged in a conveyance direction of board S. Here, the mounting target is described as board S, but is not particularly limited to this as long as components are mounted thereon, and a substrate having a three-dimensional shape may be used. As illustrated inFIG.1, mounting system10is configured to include printing device11, print inspection device12, storage section13, management PC14, mounting devices15, automatic conveyance vehicle16, loader18, host PC19, and the like. Printing device11is a device that prints a solder paste or the like on board S. Print inspection device12is a device that inspects a state of the printed solder. Mounting devices15are devices that pick up components and mount the components on board S. Mounting device15includes mounting control section20, memory section23, board processing section26, supply section27, mounting section30, and communication section35. Mounting control section20is configured as a microprocessor centered on CPU21and controls the entire device, as illustrated inFIG.2. Mounting control section20outputs control signals to board processing section26, supply section27, or mounting section30to cause mounting section30to pick up the components, and receives signals from board processing section26, supply section27, or mounting section30. Mounting condition information24, disposition state information25, and the like are stored in memory section23. Mounting condition information24is a production job and includes information such as information regarding a component, a disposition order in which components are mounted on board S, a component disposition position, and an attachment position of feeder17from which a component is picked up. Mounting condition information24is generated by host PC19according to a pickup order and a disposition order having high mounting efficiency, and is transmitted from host PC19to be stored into memory section23. Disposition state information25is information including the type and a usage state (component type, the remaining number of components, or the like) of feeder17that is currently attached to supply section27of mounting device15. In a case in which feeder17is attached or detached, disposition state information25is appropriately updated to the current details. Communication section35is an interface that performs exchange of information with external devices such as management PC14and host PC19. Board processing section26is a unit that performs carrying in, conveyance, fixation of board S at a mounting position, and carrying out thereof. Board processing section26has a pair of conveyor belts that are provided to be spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction and are stretched in the leftward-rightward direction inFIG.2. Board S is conveyed by the conveyor belts. Board processing section26includes two pairs of the conveyor belts, and can convey and fix two boards S simultaneously. Supply section27is a unit that supplies components to mounting section30. Supply section27has feeders17each of which includes a reel around which a tape as a holding member holding a component is wound and which are attached to one or more attachment portions. As illustrated inFIG.2, supply section27has two upper and lower attachment portions to which feeders17are attachable at the front. The upper stage is mounting attachment portion28from which the component can be picked up by mounting section30, and the lower stage is buffer attachment portion29from which the component cannot be picked up by mounting section30. Here, mounting attachment portion28and buffer attachment portion29are collectively referred to as attachment portions. Feeder17from which the component is picked up by mounting head32is attached to mounting attachment portion28. Buffer attachment portion29is used in a case in which feeder17that is to be used next or feeder17which has been used is temporarily stored. Buffer attachment portion29is served in advance with provision feeder17that is replaced due to component shortage, feeder17for setup change that is used in the next production, or the like. Supply section27has an attachment portion including multiple slots38arranged in the X direction at predetermined intervals, into which rail members of feeders17are inserted, and connection parts39into which connectors provided at the distal ends of feeders17are inserted. Feeder17includes a controller (not illustrated). The controller stores information such as an ID of the tape included in feeder17, the component type, the remaining number of components, or the like. In a case in which feeder17is connected to connection part39, the controller transmits the information regarding feeder17to mounting control section20. Mounting section30is a unit that picks up a component from supply section27and disposes the component on board S fixed to board processing section26. Mounting section30includes head movement portion31, mounting head32, and nozzle33. Head movement portion31includes a slider moved by being guided by guide rails in the XY-directions, and a motor that drives the slider. Mounting head32picks up one or more components and is moved in the XY-directions by head movement portion31. Mounting head32is detachably attached to the slider. One or more nozzles33are detachably attached to a lower surface of mounting head32. Nozzle33picks up a component by using a negative pressure. Instead of nozzle33, a pickup member that picks up a component may be a mechanical chuck or the like that mechanically holds a component. Storage section13is a storage location for storing feeders17used in mounting device15. Storage section13is provided under a conveyance device between print inspection device12and mounting device15. Storage section13has an attachment portion provided with slots38and connection parts39similar to those of supply section27. When feeder17is connected to the attachment portion, the controller of feeder17transmits information regarding feeder17to management PC14. The attachment portions of storage section13may be managed in the unit of a storage module grouped into a predetermined number (for example, four or twelve). In this mounting system10, an example having three storage modules will be mainly described (refer toFIGS.3to5that will be described later). In storage section13, feeder17may be conveyed by loader18or feeder17may be conveyed by an operator. Management PC14is a device that manages feeder17, stores execution data executed by loader18, and manages loader18. As illustrated inFIG.1, management PC14includes management control section40, memory section42, communication section47, display section48, and input device49. Display section48is a liquid crystal screen that displays various information. Input device49includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like used for an operator to input various commands. Management control section40is configured as a microprocessor centered on CPU41and controls the entire device. Memory section42stores mounting condition information43, storage position information44, region information45, rearrangement disposition information46, and the like as information for controlling loader18. Mounting condition information43includes the same details as those of mounting condition information24, and is transmitted from host PC19and is stored in memory section42. Storage position information44includes information regarding storage positions of provision feeder17and recovery feeder17temporarily stored in storage section13. Storage position information44includes the type and a use state of feeder17(the component type, the remaining number of components, and the like) that is currently attached to an attachment portion of storage section13. When the attachment or detachment of feeder17to or from storage section13is performed, management PC14appropriately updates storage position information44to the current content. Region information45is information including ranges of a recovery storage region and a provision storage region set in storage section13. Region information45includes ranges of a recovery storage region and a provision storage region that are freely set in advance by an operator. For example, management PC14may enable an operator to select any of region information45A to45C as illustrated inFIGS.3to5. As illustrated inFIG.3, region information45A includes a portion in which a recovery storage region and a provision storage region are defined in the storage module unit of storage section13including multiple storage modules (storage modules 1 and 3). Region information45A also includes a portion in which the recovery storage region and the provision storage region are defined as a group in the storage module (storage module 2). As illustrated inFIG.4, region information45B defines a recovery storage region and a provision storage region as a group in the storage module (storage modules 1 to 3). As illustrated inFIG.5, in region information45C, a recovery storage region is defined as multiple regions in the storage module, and a provision storage region is defined as multiple regions (storage modules 1 to 3). In region information45A to45C, the recovery storage region is present on a warehouse side (on the left side inFIG.1), and the provision storage region is present on a mounting device15side (on the right side inFIG.1), either as a whole or as a storage module of storage section13. In region information45A, an operator can easily understand a storage position and the type of feeder17that is temporarily stored. In region information45B, the feeder can be managed for each storage module. In region information45B, since steps occur in a movement distance of loader18in each region of each storage module, such as being closer to the warehouse or being closer to mounting device15, it is possible to perform operations according to the necessity of feeder17. In region information45C, since the respective regions are interlaced with each other such that recovery and provision of loader18can be performed simultaneously, it is possible to minimize a movement distance of loader18and thus to reduce the time. Rearrangement disposition information46is information used when feeders17that are temporarily stored in storage section13as appropriate for each region are rearranged. Rearrangement disposition information46is information created by management PC14when there is an idle time in loader18based on mounting condition information43, storage position information44, and region information45. Rearrangement disposition information46includes information such as an attachment position of recovery feeder17and provision feeder17in storage section13, and a rearrangement order of these feeders17. Automatic conveyance vehicle16automatically conveys feeder17, a member used in mounting system10, and the like between the warehouse (not illustrated) and storage section13. The warehouse stores feeders17or other members. Loader18is a movable work device and is a device that is moved within a movement region in front of mounting system10(refer to a dotted line inFIG.1) and automatically recovers and provides feeders17of mounting device15. Loader18includes movement control section50, memory section53, accommodation section54, exchange section55, movement section56, and communication section57. Movement control section50is configured as a microprocessor centered on CPU51and controls the entire device. Movement control section50controls the entire device to recover feeder17from supply section27or provide feeder17to supply section27and to move feeder17to and from storage section13. Memory section53is, for example, an HDD that stores various data such as a processing program, and stores disposition state information, attachment portion use information, and the like. Accommodation section54has an accommodation space in which feeders17are accommodated. Accommodation section54is configured to be able to accommodate, for example, four feeders17. Exchange section55is a mechanism that carries feeder17in and out and moves feeder17to upper and lower stages (refer toFIG.2). Exchange section55has a clamp portion that clamps feeder17, a Y-axis slider that moves the clamp portion in the Y-axis direction (front-rear direction), and a Z-axis slider that moves the clamp portion in the Z-axis direction (upward-downward direction). Exchange section55performs attachment and detachment of feeder17in mounting attachment portion28and attachment and detachment of feeder17in buffer attachment portion29. Movement section56is a mechanism that moves loader18in the X-axis direction (leftward-rightward direction) along X-axis rail18adisposed in front of mounting device15. Communication section57is an interface that performs exchange of information with external devices such as management PC14and mounting device15. Loader18outputs the current position and executed work details to management PC14. The host PC19(refer toFIG.1) is configured as a server creating and managing information used by each device of mounting system10, such as mounting condition information24. Next, an operation of mounting system10according to the present embodiment configured as described above, particularly, a mounting process executed by mounting device15will be first described. In the mounting process, CPU21of mounting device15executes a process of reading and acquiring mounting condition information24, causing mounting section30to pick up a component from feeder17attached to supply section27based on the information included in mounting condition information24, and disposing the component on board S conveyed and fixed to board processing section26. When component shortage occurs in feeder17during the execution of the mounting process, CPU21outputs a signal to management PC14, and causes loader18to execute an operation of replacing feeder17in which the component shortage has occurred. As described above, mounting device15continues the mounting process while replacing feeder17. Next, an operation of mounting system10according to the present embodiment configured as described above, particularly, a process in which management PC14sets rearrangement disposition information46will be described.FIG.6is a flowchart illustrating an example of a rearrangement disposition information creation process routine executed by CPU41included in management control section40of management PC14. This routine is stored in memory section42of management PC14, and executed by CPU41after mounting system10is activated. Here, it is assumed that any of region information45A to45C among region information45is selected by an operator in advance. When this routine is started, CPU41reads and acquires mounting condition information43from memory section42(S100), and determines whether there is any idle time in loader18(S110). The idle time of loader18may be determined, for example, based on whether a replacement operation due to component shortage of feeder17is within a predetermined time period from the present time based on mounting condition information43. The presence or absence of the replacement operation of feeder17due to the component shortage may be detected based on the remaining number of components of feeder17and an amount of component consumption per unit time. The idle time may be set as, for example, a time (for example, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 30 minutes) for which a rearrangement operation for feeder17can be executed in storage section13between a replacement operation including movement of loader18and the next replacement operation. The idle time may be set, for example, by empirically obtaining a rearrangement time required for movement of loader18or rearrangement of feeder17, and based on the rearrangement time. When there is an idle time in loader18in S110, CPU41reads and acquires storage position information44and region information45from memory section42(S120), and ascertains, for example, the type or a position of feeder17currently disposed in storage section13. CPU41acquires the currently selected recovery storage region and provision storage region from region information45. Next, CPU41generates disposition information in which provision feeders having a higher usage order are rearranged in order from the side closer to mounting device15, based on usage orders of feeders17included in mounting condition information24(S130). Regarding the usage order of provision feeder17, for example, similarly to the above-described component shortage, a time point at which the component shortage occurs may be obtained for each feeder17based on the remaining number of components of feeder17and an amount of component consumption per unit time, and the usage order may be made higher from an order of the earlier time point. For example, in a case where region information45A inFIG.3is selected, CPU41creates an disposition order for rearranging provision feeders17in an order of the attachment portion numbers36,35, . . . . Next, CPU41creates disposition information for rearranging recovery feeders17in order from the warehouse side of the recovery storage region (S140). For example, in a case where region information45A inFIG.3is selected, CPU41creates an disposition order for rearranging recovery feeders17in an order of the attachment portion numbers1,2, . . . . Since recovery feeder17may not have a temporal order, CPU41may define a disposition position such that a movement distance of feeder17is reduced. Subsequently, CPU41sets a rearrangement order for rearranging provision feeders17first such that feeder17is moved to the defined disposition position (S150). Since replacement of feeder17in which component shortage occurs in supply section27is prioritized, loader18may interrupt rearrangement in storage section13. Thus, CPU41sets a rearrangement order in which provision feeders17are preferentially rearranged. In step S150, in a case where another feeder17is already attached at a position where the corresponding provision feeder is to be disposed, CPU41may set a rearrangement order for moving the corresponding provision feeder to the position after moving another feeder17to a nearby free attachment portion. As described above, after a rearrangement order of provision feeders17is set, CPU41sets a rearrangement order of recovery feeders17. CPU41stores a disposition position of feeder17after the set rearrangement and the set rearrangement order into rearrangement disposition information46, and outputs rearrangement disposition information46to loader18(S160). Loader18having acquired rearrangement disposition information46executes a rearrangement operation on provision and recovery feeders17in storage section13based on details of rearrangement disposition information46. After S160, CPU41determines whether the production of board S is completed by mounting system10(S170), and executes the processes in and after S110when the production is not completed. On the other hand, when the entire production of board S is completed in S170, the routine is finished. In storage section13, since recovery or provision feeder17is temporarily stored in a determined region, for example, even in a case where an operator performs an operation, the operator can easily understand the type of feeder17. Next, a process of executing a replacement operation of loader18will be described.FIG.7is a flowchart illustrating an example of a loader operation process routine executed by CPU51of movement control section50. This routine is stored in memory section53, and is executed by CPU51after mounting system10is activated. When this routine is started, CPU51determines whether there is a replacement command due to component shortage (S200), and, when there is a replacement command, receives provision feeder17from storage section13or buffer attachment portion29based on the replacement command, and executes a replacement operation of replacing feeder17in supply section27(S210). Next, CPU51moves recovered feeder17to storage section13, attaches feeder17to any of free attachment portions of storage section13(S220), and executes the processes in and after S200. CPU51may move recovery feeder17to storage section13after temporarily attaching recovery feeder17to buffer attachment portion29. On the other hand, when there is no component replacement command in S200, CPU51determines whether there is a rearrangement command in storage section13(S230). This determination may be performed based on whether rearrangement disposition information46has been acquired. When there is a rearrangement command, CPU51executes a rearrangement operation on recovery feeders17or provision feeders17in storage section13based on rearrangement disposition information46(S240), and executes the processes in and after S200. CPU51performs rearrangement in the set rearrangement order such that provision feeders17are disposed in the provision storage region, and recovery feeders17are disposed in the recovery storage region. when there is a component shortage replacement command during execution of the rearrangement operation, CPU51executes the replacement operation by prioritizing the replacement command. On the other hand, when there is no rearrangement command in S230, CPU51determines whether there is a setup change command for starting the next production (S250). When there is a setup change command, CPU51executes a setup changing operation for feeder17based on the following mounting condition information (S260). In this case, loader18also moves used feeder17to storage section13as recovery feeder17. After S260or when there is no setup change command in S250, CPU51determines whether the production of board S is entirely completed (S270), and executes the processes in and after S200when the production of board S is not completed. On the other hand, when the production of board S is completed, CPU51finishes the routine. Here, a correspondence relationship between the constituent elements of the present embodiment and the constituent elements of the present disclosure will be clarified. Mounting device15of the present embodiment corresponds to a mounting device, management PC14corresponds to a management device, and loader18corresponds to a movable work device. Management control section40corresponds to a management control section, mounting attachment portion28and buffer attachment portion29correspond to attachment portions, mounting section30corresponds to a mounting section, mounting control section20corresponds to a mounting control section, and movement control section50corresponds to a movement control section. Storage position information44corresponds to storage position information, region information45corresponds to region information, rearrangement disposition information46corresponds to rearrangement disposition information, and board S corresponds to a mounting target. In the present embodiment, an example of a management method of the present disclosure is also clarified by describing the operation of management control section40. In mounting system10described above, management control section40creates rearrangement disposition information46in which provision feeders17are rearranged in a provision storage region and recovery feeders17are rearranged in a recovery storage region among feeders17temporarily stored in storage section13based on storage position information44regarding storage positions of provision feeder17and recovery feeder17temporarily stored in storage section13and region information45including the recovery storage region and the provision storage region set in storage section13, and outputs created rearrangement disposition information46to loader18. In management PC14, since feeders17temporarily stored in storage section13can be rearranged in the predefined recovery storage region or provision storage region by using rearrangement disposition information46, it is possible to perform more appropriate storage according to the type of feeder such as a provision feeder or a recovery feeder in the storage section that temporarily stores feeders17. Management control section40acquires usage order information including a usage order of provision feeders17from mounting condition information43, and creates rearrangement disposition information46for rearranging provision feeders17having a higher usage order from a side closer to mounting device15. In management PC14, since provision feeders17are arranged in an array according to the usage order, it is possible to further improve the operation efficiency related to feeder replacement. Since management control section40creates rearrangement disposition information46in which recovery feeders17are rearranged in order from the warehouse side, that is, the side farther from mounting device15, it is easy to remove recovery feeders17from storage section13. Mounting system10includes loader18that moves feeder17to be recovered from supply section27or feeder17to be supplied to supply section27, and management control section40outputs rearrangement disposition information46to loader18such that loader18executes a rearrangement operation of rearranging feeders17. In management PC14, since loader18rearranges feeders17, it is possible to further reduce the operation load on an operator. Since management control section40creates and outputs rearrangement disposition information46between movement operations executed by loader18to cause loader18to execute a rearrangement operation, feeder17can be temporarily stored more appropriately while giving priority to a movement operation for feeder17. Management control section40uses any of region information45A in which the recovery storage region and the provision storage region are defined in the storage module unit of storage section13including multiple storage modules, region information45A and45B in which the recovery storage region and the provision storage region are defined as a group in the storage module of storage section13including one or more storage modules, and region information45C in which the recovery storage region is defined as multiple regions and the provision storage region is defined as multiple regions in the storage module of storage section13including one or more storage modules. In management PC14, it is possible to temporarily store feeder17in storage section13more appropriately by using more suitable region information. Since mounting system10includes management PC14that sets rearrangement disposition information46, it is possible to perform more appropriate storage in storage section13according to the type of feeder17. It is obvious that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be implemented in various aspects as long as the aspects belong to the scope of the present disclosure. For example, in the above embodiment, rearrangement disposition information46for rearranging provision feeders17having a higher usage order from the side closer to mounting device15is created; however, the configuration is not particularly limited to this as long as provision feeders17are disposed in the provision storage region. For example, management control section40may allow a part of the disposition in which usage orders is exchanged, and may set rearrangement disposition information46in a tendency for provision feeder17having a higher usage order to be disposed at a position closer to mounting device15. Management control section40may set rearrangement disposition information46for disposing provision feeder17in the provision storage region regardless of a usage order. Also in storage section13, since predetermined feeder17is disposed in a predetermined region, it is possible to perform more appropriate storage according to the type of feeder such as a provision feeder or a recovery feeder. In the above embodiment, recovery feeders17are rearranged in order from the side farther from mounting device15; however, the configuration is not particularly limited to this as long as recovery feeders17are disposed in the recovery storage region. Also in storage section13, since predetermined feeder17is disposed in a predetermined region, it is possible to perform more appropriate storage according to the type of feeder such as a provision feeder or a recovery feeder. In the above embodiment, the rearrangement operation is executed by loader18between the movement operations for feeder17executed by loader18; however, the configuration is not particularly limited to this, and the rearrangement operation may be executed at a predetermined timing, such as a defined time, before recovery to a warehouse, or before provision to supply section27. Also in storage section13, since predetermined feeder17is disposed in a predetermined region, it is possible to perform more appropriate storage according to the type of feeder such as a provision feeder or a recovery feeder. In the above embodiment, mounting system10includes loader18, and loader18moves and attaches feeder17; however, the configuration is not particularly limited to this, and automatic conveyance vehicle16may perform the rearrangement operation for feeders17. Alternatively, mounting system10may not include loader18and notify an operator of rearrangement disposition information46, and the operator may execute the rearrangement operation for feeders17based on details of rearrangement disposition information46. When the operator is notified of rearrangement disposition information46, management PC14may display and output rearrangement disposition information46on display section48, or may output sound from a speaker (not illustrated). Also in this mounting system10, since predetermined feeder17is disposed in a predetermined region, it is possible to perform more appropriate storage according to the type of feeder such as a provision feeder or a recovery feeder. In the above embodiment, mounting system10includes printing device11, print inspection device12, storage section13, management PC14, and mounting device15; however, the configuration is not particularly limited to this, and one or more of the above devices may be omitted, or a device (for example, a reflow device) other than the above devices may be added. In the above embodiment, management PC14provided in storage section13has been described as creating rearrangement disposition information46; however, the configuration is not particularly limited to this, and other devices such as host PC19, mounting device15, and loader18may create rearrangement disposition information46. In the above embodiment, the present disclosure is applied to the form of mounting system10, but the present disclosure may be applied to management PC14(management device), loader18(movable work device), a management method, and a program causing a computer to execute the management method. Here, the management device, the movable work device, the mounting system, and the management method of the present disclosure may be configured as follows. For example, in the management device of the present disclosure, the management control section may acquire usage order information including a usage order of the provision feeders, and may create the rearrangement disposition information for rearranging the provision feeders having a higher usage order in order from the side closer to the mounting device. In this management device, since the provision feeders are arranged in an array according to the usage order, it is possible to further improve the operation efficiency related to the feeder replacement. In the management device of the present disclosure, the management control section may create the rearrangement disposition information for rearranging recovery feeders in order from the side farther from the mounting device. In this management device, the recovery feeder can be easily removed from the storage section. In the management device of the present disclosure, the mounting system may include a movable work device including a movement control section configured to execute a movement operation for moving the feeder to be recovered from the supply section or to be provided to the supply section, in which the management control section may output the rearrangement disposition information to the movable work device, and cause the movable work device to execute a rearrangement operation for rearranging the feeder. In this management device, since the movable work device rearranges the feeders, it is possible to further reduce the work load on the operator. In the management device according to the present disclosure, the management control section may cause the movable work device to execute a rearrangement operation between the movement operations executed by the movable work device. In this management device, it is possible to temporarily store the feeder more appropriately while giving priority to the movement operation for the feeder. In the management device, the management control section may create the rearrangement disposition information between the movement operations, may output the rearrangement disposition information to the movable work device between the movement operations, or may output an execution command for the rearrangement disposition information to the movable work device between the movement operations. Here, the term “between the movement operations” indicates, for example, an idle time for which the rearrangement operation for the feeder can be executed between the movement operation of the movable work device and the next movement operation. The idle time may be set, for example, by empirically obtaining a necessary rearrangement time that is required for movement of the movable work device or rearrangement of the feeder, and based on the necessary rearrangement time. In the management device of the present disclosure, the management control section may create the rearrangement disposition information by using any region information among the region information in which the recovery storage region and the provision storage region are defined in units of storage modules of the storage section including multiple storage modules, the region information in which the recovery storage region and the provision storage region are defined as a group in the storage module of the storage section including one or more storage modules, and the region information in which the recovery storage region is defined as multiple regions and/or the provision storage region is defined as multiple regions in the storage module of the storage section including one or more storage modules. In this management device, it is possible to temporarily store the feeder in the storage section more appropriately by using more suitable region information. The movable work device of the present disclosure is a movable work device used in a mounting system including a mounting device including a mounting section configured to mount a component on a mounting target, a supply section having attachment portion to which a feeder holding the component is attached, and a mounting control section configured to cause the mounting section to pick up the component from the holding member, and a storage section provided in a production line configured by the mounting device and configured to temporarily store provision feeders to be provided to the supply section and recovery feeders recovered from the supply section, and includes a movement control section configured to execute a movement operation of moving the feeders such that the feeders are recovered from the supply section or the feeders are provided to the supply section, and execute a rearrangement operation of rearranging the recovery feeders in a recovery storage region and rearranging the provision feeders in a provision storage region, among the feeders temporarily stored in the storage section, based on rearrangement disposition information, the movement operation being executed based on storage position information regarding storage positions of the provision feeders and the recovery feeders temporarily stored in the storage section, and based on region information including the recovery storage region and the provision storage region set in the storage section. The movable work device performs a movement operation of moving the feeder such that the feeder is recovered from the supply section or the feeder is provided to the supply section. The movable work device executes a rearrangement operation of rearranging the recovery feeders in the recovery storage region and rearranging the provision feeders in the provision storage region among the feeders temporarily stored in the storage section based on the rearrangement disposition information that is created by using the storage position information regarding storage positions of the provision feeders and the recovery feeders temporarily stored in the storage section and the region information including the recovery storage region and the provision storage region set in the storage section. In the movable work device, since the feeders temporarily stored in the storage section can be rearranged in a predefined recovery storage region or predetermined provision storage region by using the rearrangement disposition information, it is possible to perform more appropriate storage according to the type of feeder in the storage section. The mounting system of the present disclosure includes a mounting device including a mounting section configured to mount a component on a mounting target, a supply section having attachment portion to which a feeder holding the component is attached, and a mounting control section configured to cause the mounting section to pick up the component from the holding member; a storage section provided in a production line configured by the mounting device and configured to temporarily store provision feeders to be provided to the supply section and recovery feeders recovered from the supply section; any one of the management devices; and a movable work device including a movement control section configured to execute a movement operation of moving the feeders such that the feeders are recovered from the supply section or the feeders are provided to the supply section, and execute a rearrangement operation of rearranging the feeders based on the rearrangement information. Since the mounting system includes the management device described above, it is possible to perform more appropriate storage in the storage section according to the type of feeder. The management method of the present disclosure is a management method used in a mounting system including a mounting device including a mounting section configured to mount a component on a mounting target, a supply section having attachment portion to which a feeder holding the component is attached, and a mounting control section configured to cause the mounting section to pick up the component from the holding member, and a storage section provided in a production line configured by the mounting device and configured to temporarily store provision feeders to be provided to the supply section and recovery feeders recovered from the supply section, and includes (a) a step of creating rearrangement disposition information for rearranging the recovery feeders in a recovery storage region and rearranging the provision feeders in a provision storage region among the feeders temporarily stored in the storage section by using storage position information regarding storage positions of the provision feeders and the recovery feeders temporarily stored in the storage section and region information including the recovery storage region and the provision storage region set in the storage section, and (b) a step of outputting the created rearrangement disposition information. In this management method, similarly to the management device described above, since the feeders temporarily stored in the storage section can be rearranged in a predefined recovery storage region or predetermined provision storage region by using the rearrangement disposition information, it is possible to perform more appropriate storage according to the type of feeder in the storage section that temporarily stores the feeder. In the management method, various aspects of the management device described above may be employed, or steps for realizing each function of the management device described above may be added. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present disclosure is applicable to the technical field of devices that pick up and mount components. REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10Mounting system,11Printing device,12Print inspection device,13Storage section,14Management PC,15Mounting device,16Automatic conveyance vehicle,17Feeder,18Loader,18aX-axis rail,19Host PC,20Mounting control section,21CPU,23Memory section,24Mounting condition information,25Disposition state information,26Board processing section,27Supply section,28Mounting attachment portion,29Buffer attachment portion,30Mounting section,31Head movement portion,32Mounting head,33Nozzle,35Communication section,38Slot,39Connection part,40Management control section,41CPU,42Memory section,43Mounting condition information,44Storage position information,45Region information,46Rearrangement disposition information,47Communication section,48Display section,49Input device,50Movement control section,51CPU,53Memory section,54Accommodation section,55Exchange section,56Movement section,57Communication section, S Board | 42,434 |
11943874 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS The illustrations in the drawings are schematically presented. In different drawings, similar or identical elements are provided with the same reference signs. Before referring to the drawings, exemplary embodiments will be described in further detail, some basic considerations will be summarized based on which exemplary embodiments of the invention have been developed. By providing separator bodies having a low roughness, a high temperature robustness (for instance up to 300° C.) and a non-adhesive property preventing contamination of component carriers with foreign materials, a highly appropriate structure is provided for separating adjacent arrays of component carriers in a stack during back-end processing. Highly advantageously, a material of such a separator body or sheet may be made of a sulfur-free material for providing compatibility with gold surface finish manufacturing processes. By separating arrays of component carriers by separator bodies during back-end processing, a high throughput and yield may be obtained also in case of critically small line/space values of the component carriers. Thus, a fully automated interleaf adopted system may be provided using such separator bodies for disabling a direct contact between adjacent arrays. In component carrier manufacturing technology, unit sizes are getting smaller and as a matter of fact, by tightening the inspection requirements, a back-end defect rate may increase. This particularly holds for the defects of scratching and undesired transfer of process residues. In terms of embodiments of the present invention, it has been surprisingly found that a main cause for such and other defects is the fact that conventionally stacked arrays are in direct contact with each other so that the component carriers of the arrays are in direct face-to-face contact and are therefore prone to scratches and the transfer of undesired process residues. By interposing separator bodies between neighbored arrays of a stack, such a direct contact between arrays may be prevented and the arrays may be protected against failure. According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, an automated interleaf system for back-end processes and in particular for a baking procedure during back-end processing component carriers on array level may thus be provided. An interleaf loader and unloader function may automatically form the stack, when possible during back-end processing. However, when unstacking is desired for certain back-end procedures (such as carrying out an electric test, for which the stack should be unstacked into the individual arrays, or for proper optical inspection), the loader and unloader function may be of advantage. Advantageously, a baking process may be carried out with separator bodies between adjacent arrays, which is particularly efficient. Preferably, the separator bodies may be heat-resistant, for instance up to 300° C., to withstand a baking process without being damaged. By separating adjacent arrays by a respective separator body, the defect rate may be decreased, and the yield may be increased. This particularly applies to a significant reduction of failures and defects such as scratching and undesired carryover of process residues. Furthermore, such a separator body may prohibit foreign materials to stick on the array surface, in particular during high temperature treatment. Conventionally, adjacent arrays remain in direct physical contact with each other in production processes and also for a nitrogen baking procedure. Face to face contact between arrays in back-end processing may however cause a high rate of process residue and scratches. As confirmed by tests, a higher rate of such and other defects comes from stacked arrays without any intermediate layer. As confirmed by tests as well, a higher rate of such defects also comes from relative sliding movements of arrays without any intermediate layer. If there is any foreign material or residual material from the manufacturing process, such materials may stick on an array surface of arrays in direct physical contact with each other, for instance in a baking process. Consequently, this kind of attached particles cannot be removed afterwards which may result in a dramatic yield loss in terms of component carrier manufacture. In order to at least partially overcome the above-mentioned and/or other shortcomings, exemplary embodiments of the invention may implement a fully automated interleaf handling. In particular, baking may be utilized with interleaf or separator sheet, and thus it may be highly advantageous to provide a heat resistant interleaf or separator sheet. In particular, a fully automated interleaf adopted system according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention may include at least one of the following:1) A fully automated interleaf handling for the whole back-end process.2) Baking utilized with interleaf (for instance a paper type separator sheet). Thus, an exemplary embodiment of the invention may use a paper type interleaf or separator sheet to reduce defect rates and the influence of foreign material. Hence, an embodiment of the invention may add an interleaf (such as a separator paper) into back-end processes of component carrier manufacture. This may decrease a defect rate and may increase the yield especially what concerns process residue and scratches. An exemplary embodiment may therefore implement an automated interleaf handling to prevent additional defects caused by manual interleaf handling. More specifically, a baking process may be utilized with interleaf so as to prohibit foreign material particles to stick to an array surface, in particular during high temperature processing, to increase yield. Embodiments may be implemented with low effort and properly compatible with different technologies (such as high-density integration (HDI), modified semi-additive processing (mSAP) and semi-additive processing (SAP)). Thus, it may become possible to use automatically fed interleafs in a back-end process for protecting stacked arrays from defects. FIG.1illustrates a block diagram of a method of back-end processing component carriers100according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. Firstly, an overview of the method is given. Thereafter, the individual procedures will be described in further detail based on the blocks shown inFIG.1. The reference numerals used for the following description relate toFIG.2andFIG.4. In terms of such a method of processing component carriers100, it may be possible to provide a plurality of arrays104each comprising a plurality of component carriers100. Furthermore, a plurality of separator bodies106may be provided. It may furthermore be possible to form an alternating stack108of the arrays104and the separator bodies106so that each adjacent pair of stacked arrays104is spaced by a respective separator body106. Moreover, it may be possible to carry out at least one back-end process using the stack108. More specifically, the method may comprise carrying out said at least one back-end process while the arrays104remain stacked with the separator bodies106. For instance, said at least one back-end process comprises baking. Advantageously, the method may also comprise maintaining the stack108between subsequent back-end processes, and individually picking each array104from the stack108for carrying out a respective one of said back-end processes with the respective picked array104. For example, said at least one back-end process may comprises a functional electric test, an automatic optical inspection and/or laser marking a defective array104or a defective component carrier100of the array104. In an embodiment, the method may also comprise again forming an alternating stack108of the arrays104and the separator bodies106so that each adjacent pair of stacked arrays104is spaced by a respective separator body106after said back-end process carried out with the respective picked array104. It may be possible to provide the separator bodies106and the arrays104so that main surface areas110of each separator body106are equal to main surface areas112of each array104. The described procedure may allow forming the line/space ratio of the component carriers100manufactured based on the arrays104smaller than 30 μm, in particular in a range between 1 μm and 30 μm. It may be possible to reuse or throw away the separator bodies106after the back-end processing. Advantageously, it may be possible to automatically handle separator sheets106for spacing arrays104, preferably without touching by a human operator. Furthermore, the method may comprise unstacking and restacking the stack108of the arrays104and the separator bodies106between subsequent back-end processes. Referring now toFIG.1, block200illustrates the process of providing a plurality of arrays104each comprising a plurality of component carriers100. For instance, the arrays104may be separated from a panel during processing component carriers100such as printed circuit boards or IC (integrated circuit) substrates. As can be taken from a block210, the method may further comprise providing a plurality of separator bodies106, such as high temperature-stable paper sheets with a smooth surface being non-adhesive for foreign material. As can be taken from block220, an alternating stack108of the arrays104and the separator bodies106may be formed. Thus, each array104is spatially separated from other arrays104so as to render impossible a direct physical contact with other arrays104. The spatial separation may be accomplished by sandwiching a respective separator body106between two arrays104. Also, an exposed exterior surface of an array104may be covered with a respective separator body106to prevent contamination from the environment. Thereafter, as shown in block230inFIG.1, one or more back-end processes may be carried out using the stack108, i.e., based on the stacked configuration of arrays104and separator bodies106. As indicated by a block240, one or more of the back-end processes may be carried out while the stack of arrays104and separator bodies106remains connected. An example is a baking process for dewarping and deoxidizing the arrays106and their preforms of component carriers100. As indicated by block250, one or more other back-end processes may be carried out with the arrays104individually, i.e., after unstacking the stack108for individual back-end treatment of each array104. Corresponding procedures which can be carried out with the arrays104individually are an electric functional test, automatic optical inspection, laser marking, etc. As indicated by block260, the procedures according to block240and block250may be separated by a repeated stacking and unstacking of the individual arrays104and separator bodies106. Block270shows that, after having carried out the back-end processing, the separator bodies106may be reused or disposed. FIG.2illustrates a cross-sectional view of a separator sheet106for separating arrays104of component carriers100during back-end processing of component carriers100according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The separator sheet106illustrated inFIG.2is configured for spacing arrays104each comprising a plurality of component carriers100. For this purpose, the separator sheet106is made of material which is temperature stable at least up to 300° C. (so as to be capable of withstanding thermal load during baking). Furthermore, the material of the separator sheet106may have a surface roughness Ra preferably below 2 μm and a surface roughness Rz preferably below 10 μm (so that no scratching of arrays104occurs). Moreover, the material of the separator sheet106may be non-adhesive with respect to foreign particles, so that no contamination of the arrays104with foreign particles such as dust may occur. Preferably, a material of the separator sheet106is paper so that it can be manufactured with low effort. It is furthermore advantageous that the separator sheet106is sulfur-free, to achieve compatibility with gold processes. For instance, the separator sheet106may be made of sulfur free paper. Just as an example, the separator sheet may have dimensions in length and width directions of 95 mm×240.5 mm, with a thickness of 65 μm. In an embodiment, each of the aforementioned dimensions may vary by ±50% around the mentioned values. A separator sheet106according toFIG.2and having the described properties may thus be highly appropriate for spacing the arrays104of preforms of component carriers100during at least part of back-end processing the arrays104, or even during the entire back-end process. FIG.2shows that each of the separator bodies106may be embodied as a sheet of paper with the mentioned small roughness values Ra, Rz. The material of the paper should be selected so as to be heat-resistant up to 300° C. The surface of the paper should be smooth enough for preventing undesired adhesion of foreign particles to the surface of the separator sheet106for preventing undesired contamination of the component carriers100of the arrays104. This is in particular important for critically small line/space ratios below 30 μm. At the same time, the smooth surface of the separator body106reduces the risk of scratching of the arrays104. InFIG.2, a single layer separator body106is shown which is particularly simple and cheap in manufacture. It is however also possible that the separator bodies106are multi-layer structures, such as a plastic core layer covered with a smooth non-adhesive surface layer, such as PTFE. FIG.3illustrates a block diagram illustrating processing stages during back-end processing of arrays104comprising preforms of component carriers100according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. FIG.3shows an overview of a back-end process in which the concept of separator bodies106has been integrated. In a routing procedure300, a panel may be separated into multiple arrays104. In a subsequent high-pressure rinse procedure310, the arrays104may be cleaned and potential burrs may be removed. As indicated by reference numeral320, thereafter the concept of separator bodies106according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention is initiated. A stack108may be formed as an alternating sequence of an array104, a separator body106, an array104, a separator body106, and so on. Procedure330denotes an electric test during which the stack108of arrays104and separator bodies106may be temporarily unstacked. During such an electric test it is tested whether a respective component carrier100of a respective array106works electrically properly or not. In a subsequent automatic visual inspection procedure, see reference numeral340, each array104is imaged, and the array image is compared with a reference image. During such an automatic optical inspection, it is possible to identify potential defects, such as erroneously connected traces or erroneously disconnected traces of a component carrier100of the array104. Also, during automatic visual inspection in block340, it is possible to temporarily unstack the stack108of separator bodies106and arrays104. Block350indicates an automated handling of the stack. By final inspection, see block360, the arrays104may be individually manually inspected by a human operator. Alternatively, this task may be accomplished by a machine. For this purpose, the stack108of separator bodies106and arrays104may be again unstacked so as to allow individual inspection of each array104. Laser marking, see block370, can also be done individually, i.e., after unstacking the stack108to laser mark each array104or component carrier100thereof individually. Thereafter, see reference numeral380, a further high-pressure rinse procedure may be carried out for cleaning the individual arrays104. This may be done in a stacked or preferably in an unstacked configuration of the arrays104. A baking procedure, see block390, is carried out preferably in nitrogen atmosphere and is done for dewarping and deoxidizing the component carriers100of the array104. For this purpose, the entire stack108, as shown inFIG.4, can be inserted as a whole in an oven so that the separator bodies106may also be placed in the oven during the baking process. It has turned out that the separator sheets106are capable of withstanding the high temperatures of typically up to 300° C. in such a baking oven. Thereafter, the interleaf procedure320is completed. The commonly baked stack108is unstacked and the individual component carriers100or arrays104are made subject to vacuum packing, see reference numeral395. FIG.4illustrates a stack108with an alternating sequence of arrays104of component carriers100and separator sheets106during back-end processing according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention. FIG.4shows a cross-sectional view of the stack108of separator bodies106and arrays104. The stack108is configured so that none of the arrays104has an exposed main surface, since both opposing main surfaces of each array104are covered by a respective separator body106. Therefore, two separator bodies106also form the upper and lower limits of the stack108. As can be taken fromFIG.4as well, the stack108may be formed based on individual stack130of separator bodies106only and individual stack132of arrays104only. As also indicated schematically, the stack108may be subject to a common nitrogen baking process, see reference numeral390, or to any other appropriate back-end process, see reference numeral397. FIG.5illustrates a flowchart of a method of processing component carriers100according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention. FIG.5descriptively summarizes certain aspects of embodiments of the invention. A highly advantageous aspect is the combination of an automated handling of arrays104and separator bodies106, as indicated by a block400. This may be advantageously combined with a configuration of each separator body106with a high heat resistance and using the same for a common baking procedure (see block410). As a result, as indicated schematically in a block420, manufacture of component carriers100can be carried out with low cost and a reduced defect rate, which is also applicable to very different types of manufacturing plants. Again, referring to block400, automated handling may be accomplished with tools being equipped with a built-in stacking/unstacking system, see reference numeral430. Furthermore, it may be advantageous to provide a fully automated interleaf system, see block440. Manual interactions on array level after a routing process (during which a panel may be separated into the arrays) may thus be reduced, as indicated in a block450. Advantageously, a baking process may be carried out with a heat-resistant separator body, see block460. As indicated by a block470, the process capability may thereby be improved. It should be noted that the term “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps and the article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. Also, elements described in association with different embodiments may be combined. Implementation of the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments shown in the figures and described above. Instead, a multiplicity of variants is possible which variants use the solutions shown and the principle according to the invention even in the case of fundamentally different embodiments. | 19,485 |
11943875 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures, and members have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts may be exaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the present disclosure. The term “comprising,” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in the so-described combination, group, series, and the like. Referring toFIGS.1and2, a circuit board100is provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The circuit board100includes a circuit substrate10, at least one first protective layer20formed on the circuit substrate10, and a second protective layer30formed on each first protective layer20. In one embodiment, the circuit substrate10includes a base layer101, two inner wiring layers102, two insulating layers103, and two outer wiring layers104. The two inner wiring layers102are formed on two opposite surfaces of the base layer101. The two insulating layers103are formed on the two inner wiring layers102. The two outer wiring layers104are formed on the two insulating layers103. That is, in this embodiment, the circuit board100totally has four wiring layers. Furthermore, in this embodiment, two first protective layer20and two second protective layers30are included in the circuit board100. The two first protective layer20are formed on the outer wiring layers104. The two second protective layers30are formed on the two first protective layers20. The circuit substrate10defines a via hole11penetrating the outer wiring layers104, the insulating layers103, the inner wiring layers102, and the base layer101. The outer wiring layers104and the inner wiring layers102are electrically connected to each other through the via hole11. In detail, the via hole11includes a through hole and a conductive layer formed on the inner sidewall of the through hole. The through hole penetrates the outer wiring layers104, the insulating layers103, the inner wiring layers102, and the base layer101. The conductive layer electrically connecting the outer wiring layers104to the inner wiring layers102. The number of the wiring layers of the circuit substrate10can be varied. In another embodiment, the circuit substrate10may only include two wiring layers, for example, an inner wiring layers102formed on the base layer101, and an outer wiring layer104formed on the inner wiring layers102. In other embodiments, the circuit substrate10may only include two wiring layers, for example, two outer wiring layers104formed on two opposite surfaces of the base layer101. Each first protective layer20is further formed on an inner sidewall of the via hole11. Each second protective layer30is formed on the first protective layer20(the second protective layer30also formed on the inner sidewall of the via hole11having the first protective layer20). The first protective layer20is made of a white oil. The white oil is a particularly preferred refined grade of mineral oil. The white oil substantially includes only hydrogen and carbon molecules that are formed by passing hydrocarbons through a hydrogenation unit to remove aromatic groups and other possibly deleterious substances. The white oil has a good anti-corrosion performance. Thus, probability of corrosion happened to the via hole11and the outer wiring layers104is reduced. In one embodiment, the first protective layer20is formed by silk-screen printing, which improves the uniformity of the first protective layer20and also reduces the stress in the first protective layer20. The silk-screen printing is usually used to print a mark50(for example, a certification mark) on the circuit substrate10. In this embodiment, the silk-screen printing is also used to form the first protective layer20when printing the mark50, so as to avoid an increase of additional steps during the manufacturing. That is, the mark50and the first protective layer20are formed by a same printing process. The second protective layer30, which is formed on the first protective layer20, further reduce the probability of corrosion happened the via hole11and the outer wiring layers104. The second protective layer30is made of a three proofing paint. The three proofing paint may be an acrylic three proofing paint, a polyurethane three proofing paint, or a silicone three proofing paint. In this embodiment, the second protective layer30is also formed by the silk-screen process. In another embodiment, the second protective layer30may be formed by coating. Referring toFIG.1, the circuit board further includes at least one electronic component40are formed on the circuit substrate10. Each electronic component40can be mounted on and electrically connected to at least one of the outer wiring layers104. Referring toFIG.3, a method for manufacturing a circuit board100is provided by way of example, as there are a variety of ways to carry out the method. Each block shown in the figure represents one or more processes, methods, or subroutines, carried out in the example method. Furthermore, the illustrated order of blocks is illustrative only and the order of the blocks can change. Additional blocks can be added or fewer blocks may be utilized or the order of the blocks may be changed, without departing from this disclosure. The method can begin at block S10. In block S10, a circuit substrate10is provided. The circuit substrate10includes a base layer101, an inner wiring layer102, an insulating layer103, and an outer wiring layer104. The inner wiring layer102, the insulating layer103, and the outer wiring layer104are successively formed on the base layer101. The circuit substrate10further defines via hole11penetrating the circuit substrate10. The outer wiring layer104and the inner wiring layer102are electrically connected to each other through the via hole11. In block S20, a silk-screen printing is performed on an inner sidewall of the via hole11and on the outer wiring layer104to form a first protective layer20. The first protective layer20is made of a white oil. Before forming the first protective layer20, a plurality of electronic components40can be installed on the outer wiring layer104. In block S30, a second protective layer30is formed on the first protective layer20to obtain the circuit board100. The second protective layer30further reduces the probability of corrosion happened to the via hole11and the outer wiring layer104. The second protective layer30is made of a three proofing paint. In this embodiment, the second protective layer30is also formed by the silk-screen printing. In another embodiment, the second protective layer30may be formed by coating. Referring toFIG.4, an electronic device200is also provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device200includes the above-mentioned circuit board100. The electronic device200may be a tablet computer, a server, a smart phone, and so on. Example A circuit substrate was provided, including a base layer, an inner wiring layer, an insulating layer, and an outer wiring layer. A via hole was defined in the circuit board, which electrically connecting the inner wiring layer to the outer wiring layer. A first protective layer was formed on an inner sidewall of the via hole and on the outer wiring layer by silk-screen printing. The first protective layer was made of a white oil. Then, a second protective layer was formed on the first protective layer by silk-screen printing to obtain the circuit board. The second protective layer was made of a three proofing paint. Comparative Example Different from the above example, the first protective layer in the Comparative example was omitted. A neutral salt spray (NSS) test was performed on the circuit boards formed by the Example and the Comparative example. Results show that the circuit board formed by the Example generates no corrosion after more than 3 h in the test, while the circuit board obtained in the Comparative example cannot withstand the test for 0.5 h. Thus, the first protective layer made of white oil can better reduce the probability of corrosion happened to the via hole and the outer wiring layer. Even though information and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the present embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present embodiments to the full extent indicated by the plain meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed. | 9,392 |
11943876 | Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Elements are not to scale unless otherwise noted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following description and examples illustrate some exemplary implementations, embodiments, and arrangements of the disclosed invention in detail. Those of skill in the art will recognize that there are numerous variations and modifications of this invention that are encompassed by its scope. Accordingly, the description of a certain example embodiment should not be deemed to limit the scope of the present invention. Definitions In order to facilitate an understanding of the various embodiments described herein, a number of terms are defined below. The term “analyte” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and furthermore refers without limitation to a substance or chemical constituent in a biological fluid (for example, blood, interstitial fluid, cerebral spinal fluid, lymph fluid or urine) that can be analyzed. Analytes can include naturally occurring substances, artificial substances, metabolites, and/or reaction products. In some embodiments, the analyte for measurement by the sensor heads, devices, and methods is analyte. However, other analytes are contemplated as well, including but not limited to acarboxyprothrombin; acylcarnitine; adenine phosphoribosyl transferase; adenosine deaminase; albumin; alpha-fetoprotein; amino acid profiles (arginine (Krebs cycle), histidine/urocanic acid, homocysteine, phenylalanine/tyrosine, tryptophan); andrenostenedione; antipyrine; arabinitol enantiomers; arginase; benzoylecgonine (cocaine); biotinidase; biopterin; c-reactive protein; carnitine; carnosinase; CD4; ceruloplasmin; chenodeoxycholic acid; chloroquine; cholesterol; cholinesterase; conjugated 1-ß hydroxy-cholic acid; cortisol; creatine kinase; creatine kinase MM isoenzyme; cyclosporin A; D-penicillamine; de-ethylchloroquine; dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate; DNA (acetylator polymorphism, alcohol dehydrogenase, alpha 1-antitrypsin, cystic fibrosis, Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy, analyte-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, hemoglobin A, hemoglobin S, hemoglobin C, hemoglobin D, hemoglobin E, hemoglobin F, D-Punjab, beta-thalassemia, hepatitis B virus, HCMV, HIV-1, HTLV-1, Leber hereditary optic neuropathy, MCAD, RNA, PKU, Plasmodium vivax, sexual differentiation, 21-deoxycortisol); desbutylhalofantrine; dihydropteridine reductase; diptheria/tetanus antitoxin; erythrocyte arginase; erythrocyte protoporphyrin; esterase D; fatty acids/acylglycines; free ß-human chorionic gonadotropin; free erythrocyte porphyrin; free thyroxine (FT4); free tri-iodothyronine (FT3); fumarylacetoacetase; galactose/gal-1-phosphate; galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase; gentamicin; analyte-6-phosphate dehydrogenase; glutathione; glutathione perioxidase; glycocholic acid; glycosylated hemoglobin; halofantrine; hemoglobin variants; hexosaminidase A; human erythrocyte carbonic anhydrase I; 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone; hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase; immunoreactive trypsin; lactate; lead; lipoproteins ((a), B/A-1, ß); lysozyme; mefloquine; netilmicin; phenobarbitone; phenytoin; phytanic/pristanic acid; progesterone; prolactin; prolidase; purine nucleoside phosphorylase; quinine; reverse tri-iodothyronine (rT3); selenium; serum pancreatic lipase; sissomicin; somatomedin C; specific antibodies (adenovirus, anti-nuclear antibody, anti-zeta antibody, arbovirus, Aujeszky's disease virus, dengue virus, Dracunculus medinensis, Echinococcus granulosus, Entamoeba histolytica, enterovirus,Giardia duodenalisa, Helicobacter pylori, hepatitis B virus, herpes virus, HIV-1, IgE (atopic disease), influenza virus, Leishmania donovani, leptospira, measles/mumps/rubella,Mycobacterium leprae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Myoglobin, Onchocerca volvulus, parainfluenza virus, Plasmodium falciparum, poliovirus,Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respiratory syncytial virus,rickettsia(scrub typhus), Schistosoma mansoni, Toxoplasma gondii, Trepenoma pallidium,Trypanosoma cruzi/rangeli, vesicular stomatis virus, Wuchereria bancrofti, yellow fever virus); specific antigens (hepatitis B virus, HIV-1); succinylacetone; sulfadoxine; theophylline; thyrotropin (TSH); thyroxine (T4); thyroxine-binding globulin; trace elements; transferrin; UDP-galactose-4-epimerase; urea; uroporphyrinogen I synthase; vitamin A; white blood cells; and zinc protoporphyrin. Salts, sugar, protein, fat, vitamins, and hormones naturally occurring in blood or interstitial fluids can also constitute analytes in certain embodiments. The analyte can be naturally present in the biological fluid, for example, a metabolic product, a hormone, an antigen, an antibody, and the like. Alternatively, the analyte can be introduced into the body, for example, a contrast agent for imaging, a radioisotope, a chemical agent, a fluorocarbon-based synthetic blood, or a drug or pharmaceutical composition, including but not limited to insulin; ethanol; cannabis (marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol, hashish); inhalants (nitrous oxide, amyl nitrite, butyl nitrite, chlorohydrocarbons, hydrocarbons); cocaine (crack cocaine); stimulants (amphetamines, methamphetamines, Ritalin, Cylert, Preludin, Didrex, PreState, Voranil, Sandrex, Plegine); depressants (barbituates, methaqualone, tranquilizers such as Valium, Librium, Miltown, Serax, Equanil, Tranxene); hallucinogens (phencyclidine, lysergic acid, mescaline, peyote, psilocybin); narcotics (heroin, codeine, morphine, opium, meperidine, Percocet, Percodan, Tussionex, Fentanyl, Darvon, Talwin, Lomotil); designer drugs (analogs of fentanyl, meperidine, amphetamines, methamphetamines, and phencyclidine, for example, Ecstasy); anabolic steroids; and nicotine. The metabolic products of drugs and pharmaceutical compositions are also contemplated analytes. Analytes such as neurochemicals and other chemicals generated within the body can also be analyzed, such as, for example, ascorbic acid, uric acid, dopamine, noradrenaline, 3-methoxytyramine (3MT), 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), Homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5HT), and 5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid (FHIAA). The terms “microprocessor” and “processor” as used herein are broad terms and are to be given their ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and are not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and furthermore refer without limitation to a computer system, state machine, and the like that performs arithmetic and logic operations using logic circuitry that responds to and processes the basic instructions that drive a computer. The term “calibration” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and furthermore refers without limitation to the process of determining the relationship between the sensor data and the corresponding reference data, which can be used to convert sensor data into meaningful values substantially equivalent to the reference data, with or without utilizing reference data in real time. In some embodiments, namely, in analyte sensors, calibration can be updated or recalibrated (at the factory, in real time and/or retrospectively) over time as changes in the relationship between the sensor data and reference data occur, for example, due to changes in sensitivity, baseline, transport, metabolism, and the like. The terms “calibrated data” and “calibrated data stream” as used herein are broad terms and are to be given their ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and are not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and furthermore refer without limitation to data that has been transformed from its raw state to another state using a function, for example a conversion function, including by use of a sensitivity, to provide a meaningful value to a user. The term “algorithm” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and furthermore refers without limitation to a computational process (for example, programs) involved in transforming information from one state to another, for example, by using computer processing. The term “sensor” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and furthermore refers without limitation to the component or region of a device by which an analyte can be quantified. A “lot” of sensors generally refers to a group of sensors that are manufactured on or around the same day and using the same processes and tools/materials. Additionally, sensors that measure temperature, pressure etc. may be referred to as a “sensor”. The terms “glucose sensor” and “member for determining the amount of glucose in a biological sample” as used herein are broad terms and are to be given their ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and are not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and furthermore refer without limitation to any mechanism (e.g., enzymatic or non-enzymatic) by which glucose can be quantified. For example, some embodiments utilize a membrane that contains glucose oxidase that catalyzes the conversion of oxygen and glucose to hydrogen peroxide and gluconate, as illustrated by the following chemical reaction: Glucose+O2→Gluconate+H2O2 Because for each glucose molecule metabolized, there is a proportional change in the co-reactant O2and the product H2O2, one can use an electrode to monitor the current change in either the co-reactant or the product to determine glucose concentration. The terms “operably connected” and “operably linked” as used herein are broad terms and are to be given their ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and are not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and furthermore refer without limitation to one or more components being linked to another component(s) in a manner that allows transmission of signals between the components. For example, one or more electrodes can be used to detect the amount of glucose in a sample and convert that information into a signal, e.g., an electrical or electromagnetic signal; the signal can then be transmitted to an electronic circuit. In this case, the electrode is “operably linked” to the electronic circuitry. These terms are broad enough to include wireless connectivity. The term “determining” encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, “determining” may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like. Also, “determining” may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also, “determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing, calculating, deriving, establishing and/or the like. Determining may also include ascertaining that a parameter matches a predetermined criterion, including that a threshold has been met, passed, exceeded, and so on. The term “substantially” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and furthermore refers without limitation to being largely but not necessarily wholly that which is specified. The term “host” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and furthermore refers without limitation to mammals, particularly humans. The term “continuous analyte (or glucose) sensor” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and furthermore refers without limitation to a device that continuously or continually measures a concentration of an analyte, for example, at time intervals ranging from fractions of a second up to, for example, 1, 2, or 5 minutes, or longer. In one exemplary embodiment, the continuous analyte sensor is a glucose sensor such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,067, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The term “sensing membrane” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and furthermore refers without limitation to a permeable or semi-permeable membrane that can be comprised of two or more domains and is typically constructed of materials of a few microns thickness or more, which are permeable to oxygen and may or may not be permeable to glucose. In one example, the sensing membrane comprises an immobilized glucose oxidase enzyme, which enables an electrochemical reaction to occur to measure a concentration of glucose. The term “sensor data,” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and are not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and furthermore refers without limitation to any data associated with a sensor, such as a continuous analyte sensor. Sensor data includes a raw data stream, or simply data stream, of analog or digital signals directly related to a measured analyte from an analyte sensor (or other signal received from another sensor), as well as calibrated and/or filtered raw data. In one example, the sensor data comprises digital data in “counts” converted by an A/D converter from an analog signal (e.g., voltage or amps) and includes one or more data points representative of a glucose concentration. Thus, the terms “sensor data point” and “data point” refer generally to a digital representation of sensor data at a particular time. The terms broadly encompass a plurality of time spaced data points from a sensor, such as from a substantially continuous glucose sensor, which comprises individual measurements taken at time intervals ranging from fractions of a second up to, e.g., 1, 2, or 5 minutes or longer. In another example, the sensor data includes an integrated digital value representative of one or more data points averaged over a time period. Sensor data may include calibrated data, smoothed data, filtered data, transformed data, and/or any other data associated with a sensor. The term “sensor electronics,” as used herein, is a broad term, and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and refers without limitation to the components (for example, hardware and/or software) of a device configured to process data. As described in further detail hereinafter (see, e.g.,FIG.2) “sensor electronics” may be arranged and configured to measure, convert, store, transmit, communicate, and/or retrieve sensor data associated with an analyte sensor. The terms “sensitivity” or “sensor sensitivity,” as used herein, are broad terms, and are to be given their ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and refer without limitation to an amount of signal produced by a certain concentration of a measured analyte, or a measured species (e.g., H2O2) associated with the measured analyte (e.g., glucose). For example, in one embodiment, a sensor has a sensitivity from about 1 to about 300 picoAmps of current for every 1 mg/dL of glucose analyte. The term “sample,” as used herein, is a broad term, and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and it is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and refers without limitation to a sample of a host body, for example, body fluids, including, blood, serum, plasma, interstitial fluid, cerebral spinal fluid, lymph fluid, ocular fluid, saliva, oral fluid, urine, excretions, or exudates. The term “distal to,” as used herein, is a broad term, and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and refers without limitation to the spatial relationship between various elements in comparison to a particular point of reference. In general, the term indicates an element is located relatively far from the reference point than another element. The term “proximal to,” as used herein, is a broad term, and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and refers without limitation to the spatial relationship between various elements in comparison to a particular point of reference. In general, the term indicates an element is located relatively near to the reference point than another element. The terms “electrical connection” and “electrical contact,” as used herein, are broad terms, and are to be given their ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and are not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and refer without limitation to any connection between two electrical conductors known to those in the art. In one embodiment, electrodes are in electrical connection with (e.g., electrically connected to) the electronic circuitry of a device. In another embodiment, two materials, such as but not limited to two metals, can be in electrical contact with each other, such that an electrical current can pass from one of the two materials to the other material and/or an electrical potential can be applied. The term “elongated conductive body,” as used herein, is a broad term, and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and refers without limitation to an elongated body formed at least in part of a conductive material and includes any number of coatings that may be formed thereon. By way of example, an “elongated conductive body” may mean a bare elongated conductive core (e.g., a metal wire), an elongated conductive core coated with one, two, three, four, five, or more layers of material, each of which may or may not be conductive, or an elongated non-conductive core with conductive coatings, traces, and/or electrodes thereon and coated with one, two, three, four, five, or more layers of material, each of which may or may not be conductive. The term “ex vivo portion,” as used herein, is a broad term, and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and refers without limitation to a portion of a device (for example, a sensor) adapted to remain and/or exist outside of a living body of a host. The term “in vivo portion,” as used herein, is a broad term, and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and refers without limitation to a portion of a device (for example, a sensor) adapted for insertion into and/or existence within a living body of a host. The term “potentiostat,” as used herein, is a broad term, and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and refers without limitation to an electronic instrument that controls the electrical potential between the working and reference electrodes at one or more preset values. The term “processor module,” as used herein, is a broad term, and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and are not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and refers without limitation to a computer system, state machine, processor, components thereof, and the like designed to perform arithmetic or logic operations using logic circuitry that responds to and processes the basic instructions that drive a computer. The term “sensor session,” as used herein, is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and refers without limitation to a period of time a sensor is in use, such as but not limited to a period of time starting at the time the sensor is implanted (e.g., by the host) to removal of the sensor (e.g., removal of the sensor from the host's body and/or removal of (e.g., disconnection from) system electronics). The terms “substantial” and “substantially,” as used herein, are broad terms, and are to be given their ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art (and are not to be limited to a special or customized meaning), and refer without limitation to a sufficient amount that provides a desired function. “Coaxial two conductor wire based sensor”: A round wire sensor consisting of a conductive center core, an insulating middle layer and a conductive outer layer with the conductive layers exposed at one end for electrical contact. “Pre-connected sensor”: A sensor that has a “sensor interconnect/interposer/sensor carrier” attached to it. Therefore this “Pre-connected sensor” consists of two parts that are joined: the sensor itself, and the interconnect/interposer/sensor carrier. The term “pre-connected sensor” unit refers to the unit that is formed by the permanent union of these two distinct parts. Other definitions will be provided within the description below, and in some cases from the context of the term's usage. As employed herein, the following abbreviations apply: Eq and Eqs (equivalents); mEq (milliequivalents); M (molar); mM (millimolar) μM (micromolar); N (Normal); mol (moles); mmol (millimoles); μmol (micromoles); nmol (nanomoles); g (grams); mg (milligrams); μg (micrograms); Kg (kilograms); L (liters); mL (milliliters); dL (deciliters); μL (microliters); cm (centimeters); mm (millimeters); μm (micrometers); nm (nanometers); h and hr (hours); min. (minutes); s and sec. (seconds); ° C. (degrees Centigrade) ° F. (degrees Fahrenheit), Pa (Pascals), kPa (kiloPascals), MPa (megaPascals), GPa (gigaPascals), Psi (pounds per square inch), kPsi (kilopounds per square inch). Overview/General Description of System In vivo analyte sensing technology may rely on in vivo sensors. In vivo sensors may include an elongated conductive body having one or more electrodes such as a working electrode and a reference electrode. For example, a platinum metal-clad, tantalum wire is sometimes used as a core bare sensing element with one or more reference or counter electrodes for an analyte sensor. This sensing element is coated in membranes to yield the final sensor. Described herein are pre-connected sensors that include an analyte sensor attached to a sensor carrier (also referred to herein as a “sensor interposer”). The analyte sensor may include a working electrode and a reference electrode at a distal end of an elongated conductive body. The sensor carrier may include a substrate, one or more electrical contacts coupled to one or more electrical contacts of the sensor, and circuitry such as one or more additional or external electrical contacts for coupling the one or more electrical contacts that are coupled to the sensor contact(s) to external equipment such as a membrane dip coating station, a testing station, a calibration station, or sensor electronics of a wearable device. In some embodiments, the substrate can be referred to as an intermediate body. The following description and examples described the present embodiments with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, reference numbers label elements of the present embodiments. These reference numbers are reproduced below in connection with the discussion of the corresponding drawing features. Sensor System FIG.1depicts an example system100, in accordance with some example implementations. The system100includes an analyte sensor system101including sensor electronics112and an analyte sensor138. The system100may include other devices and/or sensors, such as medicament delivery pump102and glucose meter104. The analyte sensor138may be physically connected to sensor electronics112and may be integral with (e.g., non-releasably attached to) or releasably attachable to the sensor electronics. For example, continuous analyte sensor138may be connected to sensor electronics112via a sensor carrier that mechanically and electrically interfaces the analyte sensor138with the sensor electronics. The sensor electronics112, medicament delivery pump102, and/or glucose meter104may couple with one or more devices, such as display devices114,116,118, and/or120. In some example implementations, the system100may include a cloud-based analyte processor490configured to analyze analyte data (and/or other patient-related data) provided via network409(e.g., via wired, wireless, or a combination thereof) from sensor system101and other devices, such as display devices114,116,118, and/or120and the like, associated with the host (also referred to as a patient) and generate reports providing high-level information, such as statistics, regarding the measured analyte over a certain time frame. A full discussion of using a cloud-based analyte processing system may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/788,375, entitled “Cloud-Based Processing of Analyte Data” and filed on Mar. 7, 2013, published as U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0325352, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some implementations, one or more steps of the factory calibration algorithm can be performed in the cloud. In some example implementations, the sensor electronics112may include electronic circuitry associated with measuring and processing data generated by the analyte sensor138. This generated analyte sensor data may also include algorithms, which can be used to process and calibrate the analyte sensor data, although these algorithms may be provided in other ways as well. The sensor electronics112may include hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof, to provide measurement of levels of the analyte via an analyte sensor, such as a glucose sensor. An example implementation of the sensor electronics112is described further below with respect toFIG.2. In one implementation, the factory calibration algorithms described herein may be performed by the sensor electronics. The sensor electronics112may, as noted, couple (e.g., wirelessly and the like) with one or more devices, such as display devices114,116,118, and/or120. The display devices114,116,118, and/or120may be configured for presenting information (and/or alarming), such as sensor information transmitted by the sensor electronics112for display at the display devices114,116,118, and/or120. In one implementation, the factory calibration algorithms described herein may be performed at least in part by the display devices. In some example implementations, the relatively small, key fob-like display device114may comprise a wrist watch, a belt, a necklace, a pendent, a piece of jewelry, an adhesive patch, a pager, a key fob, a plastic card (e.g., credit card), an identification (ID) card, and/or the like. This small display device114may include a relatively small display (e.g., smaller than the large display device116) and may be configured to display certain types of displayable sensor information, such as a numerical value, and an arrow, or a color code. In some example implementations, the relatively large, hand-held display device116may comprise a hand-held receiver device, a palm-top computer, and/or the like. This large display device may include a relatively larger display (e.g., larger than the small display device114) and may be configured to display information, such as a graphical representation of the sensor data including current and historic sensor data output by sensor system100. In some example implementations, the analyte sensor138may comprise a glucose sensor configured to measure glucose in the blood or interstitial fluid using one or more measurement techniques, such as enzymatic, chemical, physical, electrochemical, spectrophotometric, polarimetric, calorimetric, iontophoretic, radiometric, immunochemical, and the like. In implementations in which the analyte sensor138includes a glucose sensor, the glucose sensor may comprise any device capable of measuring the concentration of glucose and may use a variety of techniques to measure glucose including invasive, minimally invasive, and non-invasive sensing techniques (e.g., fluorescence monitoring), to provide data, such as a data stream, indicative of the concentration of glucose in a host. The data stream may be sensor data (raw and/or filtered), which may be converted into a calibrated data stream used to provide a value of glucose to a host, such as a user, a patient, or a caretaker (e.g., a parent, a relative, a guardian, a teacher, a doctor, a nurse, or any other individual that has an interest in the wellbeing of the host). Moreover, the analyte sensor138may be implanted as at least one of the following types of analyte sensors: an implantable glucose sensor, a transcutaneous glucose sensor, implanted in a host vessel or extracorporeally, a subcutaneous sensor, a refillable subcutaneous sensor, an intravascular sensor. Although the disclosure herein refers to some implementations that include an analyte sensor138comprising a glucose sensor, the analyte sensor138may comprise other types of analyte sensors as well. Moreover, although some implementations refer to the glucose sensor as an implantable glucose sensor, other types of devices capable of detecting a concentration of glucose and providing an output signal representative of glucose concentration may be used as well. Furthermore, although the description herein refers to glucose as the analyte being measured, processed, and the like, other analytes may be used as well including, for example, ketone bodies (e.g., acetone, acetoacetic acid and beta hydroxybutyric acid, lactate, etc.), glucagon, acetyl-CoA, triglycerides, fatty acids, intermediaries in the citric acid cycle, choline, insulin, cortisol, testosterone, and the like. In some manufacturing systems, sensors138are manually sorted, placed and held in fixtures. These fixtures are manually moved from station to station during manufacturing for various process steps including interfacing electrical measurement equipment for testing and calibration operations. However, manual handling of sensors can be inefficient, can cause delays due to non-ideal mechanical and electrical connections, and can risk damage to the sensor and/or testing and calibration equipment and can induce sensor variability that can lead to inaccurate verification data being collected in manufacturing. In addition, the process of packaging sensor138with the sensor electronics112into a wearable device involves further manual manipulation of the sensor that can damage the sensor138. Various systems, devices, and methods described herein help to reduce or eliminate manual interaction with a sensor. For example, a pre-connected sensor may be provided that includes a sensor interconnect or sensor carrier electrically coupled to sensor electrodes and having mechanical and electrical features configured to accurately interface with wearable electronics, automation equipment and/or robustly connect to measurement equipment. Identification and other data associated with each sensor may be stored on the sensor carrier for logging and tracking of each sensor during manufacturing, testing, calibration, and in vivo operations. Following testing and calibration operations, the sensor carrier may be used to connect the sensor to sensor electronics of a wearable device, such as an on-skin sensor assembly, in an arrangement that is sealed and electrically robust. FIG.2depicts an example of electronics112that may be used in sensor electronics112or may be implemented in a manufacturing station such as a testing station, a calibration station, a smart carrier, or other equipment used during manufacturing of device101, in accordance with some example implementations. The sensor electronics112may include electronics components that are configured to process sensor information, such as sensor data, and generate transformed sensor data and displayable sensor information, e.g., via a processor module. For example, the processor module may transform sensor data into one or more of the following: filtered sensor data (e.g., one or more filtered analyte concentration values), raw sensor data, calibrated sensor data (e.g., one or more calibrated analyte concentration values), rate of change information, trend information, rate of acceleration/deceleration information, sensor diagnostic information, location information, alarm/alert information, calibration information such as may be determined by factory calibration algorithms as disclosed herein, smoothing and/or filtering algorithms of sensor data, and/or the like. In some embodiments, a processor module214is configured to achieve a substantial portion, if not all, of the data processing, including data processing pertaining to factory calibration. Processor module214may be integral to sensor electronics112and/or may be located remotely, such as in one or more of devices114,116,118, and/or120and/or cloud490. For example, in some embodiments, processor module214may be located at least partially within a cloud-based analyte processor490or elsewhere in network409. In some example implementations, the processor module214may be configured to calibrate the sensor data, and the data storage memory220may store the calibrated sensor data points as transformed sensor data. Moreover, the processor module214may be configured, in some example implementations, to wirelessly receive calibration information from a display device, such as devices114,116,118, and/or120, to enable calibration of the sensor data from sensor138. Furthermore, the processor module214may be configured to perform additional algorithmic processing on the sensor data (e.g., calibrated and/or filtered data and/or other sensor information), and the data storage memory220may be configured to store the transformed sensor data and/or sensor diagnostic information associated with the algorithms. The processor module214may further be configured to store and use calibration information determined from a factory calibration, as described below. In some example implementations, the sensor electronics112may comprise an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)205coupled to a user interface222. The ASIC205may further include a potentiostat210, a telemetry module232for transmitting data from the sensor electronics112to one or more devices, such as devices114,116,118, and/or120, and/or other components for signal processing and data storage (e.g., processor module214and data storage memory220). AlthoughFIG.2depicts ASIC205, other types of circuitry may be used as well, including field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), one or more microprocessors configured to provide some (if not all of) the processing performed by the sensor electronics12, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, or a combination thereof. In the example depicted inFIG.2, through a first input port211for sensor data the potentiostat210is coupled to an analyte sensor138, such as a glucose sensor to generate sensor data from the analyte. The potentiostat210may be coupled to a working electrode211and reference electrode212that form a part of the sensor138. The potentiostat may provide a voltage to one of the electrodes211,212of the analyte sensor138to bias the sensor for measurement of a value (e.g., a current) indicative of the analyte concentration in a host (also referred to as the analog portion of the sensor). The potentiostat210may have one or more connections to the sensor138depending on the number of electrodes incorporated into the analyte sensor138(such as a counter electrode as a third electrode). In some example implementations, the potentiostat210may include a resistor that translates a current value from the sensor138into a voltage value, while in some example implementations, a current-to-frequency converter (not shown) may also be configured to integrate continuously a measured current value from the sensor138using, for example, a charge-counting device. In some example implementations, an analog-to-digital converter (not shown) may digitize the analog signal from the sensor138into so-called “counts” to allow processing by the processor module214. The resulting counts may be directly related to the current measured by the potentiostat210, which may be directly related to an analyte level, such as a glucose level, in the host. The telemetry module232may be operably connected to processor module214and may provide the hardware, firmware, and/or software that enable wireless communication between the sensor electronics112and one or more other devices, such as display devices, processors, network access devices, and the like. A variety of wireless radio technologies that can be implemented in the telemetry module232include Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low-Energy, ANT, ANT+, ZigBee, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, cellular radio access technologies, radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), paging network communication, magnetic induction, satellite data communication, spread spectrum communication, frequency hopping communication, near field communications, and/or the like. In some example implementations, the telemetry module232comprises a Bluetooth chip, although Bluetooth technology may also be implemented in a combination of the telemetry module232and the processor module214. The processor module214may control the processing performed by the sensor electronics112. For example, the processor module214may be configured to process data (e.g., counts), from the sensor, filter the data, calibrate the data, perform fail-safe checking, and/or the like. Potentiostat210may measure the analyte (e.g., glucose and/or the like) at discrete time intervals or continuously, for example, using a current-to-voltage or current-to-frequency converter. The processor module214may further include a data generator (not shown) configured to generate data packages for transmission to devices, such as the display devices114,116,118, and/or120. Furthermore, the processor module214may generate data packets for transmission to these outside sources via telemetry module232. In some example implementations, the data packages may include an identifier code for the sensor and/or sensor electronics112, raw data, filtered data, calibrated data, rate of change information, trend information, error detection or correction, and/or the like. The processor module214may also include a program memory216and other memory218. The processor module214may be coupled to a communications interface, such as a communication port238, and a source of power, such as a battery234. Moreover, the battery234may be further coupled to a battery charger and/or regulator236to provide power to sensor electronics112and/or charge the battery234. The program memory216may be implemented as a semi-static memory for storing data, such as an identifier for a coupled sensor138(e.g., a sensor identifier (ID)) and for storing code (also referred to as program code) to configure the ASIC205to perform one or more of the operations/functions described herein. For example, the program code may configure processor module214to process data streams or counts, filter, perform the calibration methods described below, perform fail-safe checking, and the like. The memory218may also be used to store information. For example, the processor module214including memory218may be used as the system's cache memory, where temporary storage is provided for recent sensor data received from the sensor. In some example implementations, the memory may comprise memory storage components, such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), dynamic-RAM, static-RAM, non-static RAM, electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), rewritable ROMs, flash memory, and the like. The data storage memory220may be coupled to the processor module214and may be configured to store a variety of sensor information. In some example implementations, the data storage memory220stores one or more days of analyte sensor data. The stored sensor information may include one or more of the following: a time stamp, raw sensor data (one or more raw analyte concentration values), calibrated data, filtered data, transformed sensor data, and/or any other displayable sensor information, calibration information (e.g., reference BG values and/or prior calibration information such as from factory calibration), sensor diagnostic information, and the like. The user interface222may include a variety of interfaces, such as one or more buttons224, a liquid crystal display (LCD)226, a vibrator228, an audio transducer (e.g., speaker)230, a backlight (not shown), and/or the like. The components that comprise the user interface222may provide controls to interact with the user (e.g., the host). The battery234may be operatively connected to the processor module214(and possibly other components of the sensor electronics12) and provide the necessary power for the sensor electronics112. In other implementations, the receiver can be transcutaneously powered via an inductive coupling, for example. A battery charger and/or regulator236may be configured to receive energy from an internal and/or external charger. In some example implementations, the battery234(or batteries) is configured to be charged via an inductive and/or wireless charging pad, although any other charging and/or power mechanism may be used as well. One or more communication ports238, also referred to as external connector(s), may be provided to allow communication with other devices, for example a PC communication (com) port can be provided to enable communication with systems that are separate from, or integral with, the sensor electronics112. The communication port, for example, may comprise a serial (e.g., universal serial bus or “USB”) communication port, and allow for communicating with another computer system (e.g., PC, personal digital assistant or “PDA,” server, or the like). In some example implementations, factory information may be sent to the algorithm from the sensor or from a cloud data source. The one or more communication ports238may further include an input port237in which calibration data may be received, and an output port239which may be employed to transmit calibrated data, or data to be calibrated, to a receiver or mobile device.FIG.2illustrates these aspects schematically. It will be understood that the ports may be separated physically, but in alternative implementations a single communication port may provide the functions of both the second input port and the output port. In some analyte sensor systems, an on-skin portion of the sensor electronics may be simplified to minimize complexity and/or size of on-skin electronics, for example, providing only raw, calibrated, and/or filtered data to a display device configured to run calibration and other algorithms required for displaying the sensor data. However, the sensor electronics112(e.g., via processor module214) may be implemented to execute prospective algorithms used to generate transformed sensor data and/or displayable sensor information, including, for example, algorithms that: evaluate a clinical acceptability of reference and/or sensor data, evaluate calibration data for best calibration based on inclusion criteria, evaluate a quality of the calibration, compare estimated analyte values with time corresponding measured analyte values, analyze a variation of estimated analyte values, evaluate a stability of the sensor and/or sensor data, detect signal artifacts (noise), replace signal artifacts, determine a rate of change and/or trend of the sensor data, perform dynamic and intelligent analyte value estimation, perform diagnostics on the sensor and/or sensor data, set modes of operation, evaluate the data for aberrancies, and/or the like. FIGS.3A,3B, and3Cillustrate an exemplary implementation of analyte sensor system101implemented as a wearable device such as an on-skin sensor assembly600. As shown inFIG.3, on-skin sensor assembly comprises a housing128. An adhesive patch126can couple the housing128to the skin of the host. The adhesive126can be a pressure sensitive adhesive (e.g. acrylic, rubber based, or other suitable type) bonded to a carrier substrate (e.g., spun lace polyester, polyurethane film, or other suitable type) for skin attachment. The housing128may include a through-hole180that cooperates with a sensor inserter device (not shown) that is used for implanting the sensor138under the skin of a subject. The wearable sensor assembly600can include sensor electronics112operable to measure and/or analyze glucose indicators sensed by glucose sensor138. Sensor electronics112within sensor assembly600can transmit information (e.g., measurements, analyte data, and glucose data) to a remotely located device (e.g.,114,116,118,120shown inFIG.1). As shown inFIG.3C, in this implementation the sensor138extends from its distal end up into the through-hole180and is routed to an electronics module135inside the enclosure128. The working electrode211and reference electrode212are connected to circuitry in the electronics module135which includes the potentiostat. FIG.3Dillustrates one exemplary embodiment of an analyte sensor138which includes an elongated body portion. The elongated body portion may be long and thin, yet flexible and strong. For example, in some embodiments, the smallest dimension of the elongated conductive body is less than about 0.1 inches, 0.075 inches, 0.05 inches, 0.025 inches, 0.01 inches, 0.004 inches, or 0.002 inches. While the elongated conductive body is illustrated herein as having a circular cross-section, in other embodiments the cross-section of the elongated conductive body can be ovoid, rectangular, triangular, or polyhedral, star-shaped, C-shaped, T-shaped, X-shaped, Y-shaped, irregular, or the like. In the implementation ofFIG.3D, the analyte sensor138comprises a wire core139. At a distal, in vivo portion of the sensor138, the wire core139forms an electrode211a. At a proximal, ex vivo portion of the sensor138, the wire core139forms a contact211b. The electrode211aand the contact211bare in electrical communication over the length of the wire core139as it extends along the elongated body portion of the sensor138. The wire core can be made from a single material such as platinum or tantalum, or may be formed as multiple layers, such as a conducting or non-conducting material with an outer coating of a different conducting material. A layer104surrounds a least a portion of the wire core139. The layer104may be formed of an insulating material, such as polyimide, polyurethane, parylene, or any other known insulating materials. For example, in one embodiment the layer104is disposed on the wire core139and configured such that the electrode211ais exposed via window106. In some embodiments, the sensor138further comprises a layer141surrounding the insulating layer104like a sleeve that comprises a conductive material. At a distal, in vivo portion of the sensor138, the sleeve layer141forms an electrode212a. At a proximal, ex vivo portion of the sensor138, the sleeve layer141forms a contact212b. The electrode212aand the contact212bare in electrical communication over the length of the sleeve layer141as it extends along the elongated body portion of the sensor138. This sleeve layer141may be formed of a silver-containing material that is applied onto the insulating layer104. The silver-containing material may include any of a variety of materials and be in various forms, such as, Ag/AgCl-polymer pastes, paints, polymer-based conducting mixture, and/or inks that are commercially available, for example. This layer141can be processed using a pasting/dipping/coating step, for example, using a die-metered dip coating process. In one exemplary embodiment, an Ag/AgCl polymer paste is applied to an elongated body by dip-coating the body (e.g., using a meniscus coating technique) and then drawing the body through a die to meter the coating to a precise thickness. In some embodiments, multiple coating steps are used to build up the coating to a predetermined thickness. The sensor138shown inFIG.3Dalso includes a membrane108covering at least a portion of the distal in vivo portion of the sensor138. This membrane is typically formed of multiple layers, which may include one or more of an interference domain, an enzyme domain, a diffusion resistance domain, and a bioprotective domain. This membrane is important to support the electrochemical processes that allow analyte detection and it is generally manufactured with great care by dip-coating, spraying, or other manufacturing steps. It is preferable for the distal in vivo portion of the sensor138to be subject to as little handling as possible from the time the membrane108is formed to the time the distal in vivo portion of the sensor138is implanted into a subject. In some embodiments, electrode211aforms a working electrode of an electrochemical measuring system, and electrode212aforms a reference electrode for that system. In use, both electrodes may be implanted into a host for analyte monitoring. Although the above description is applicable specifically to a coaxial wire type structure, the embodiments herein are also applicable to other physical configurations of electrodes. For example, the two electrodes211aand212acould be affixed to a distal in vivo portion of an elongated flexible strip of a planar substrate such as a thin, flat, polymer flex circuit. The two contacts211band212bcould be affixed to the proximal ex vivo portion of this flexible planar substrate. Electrodes211a,212acould be electrically connected to their respective contacts211b,212ba circuit traces on the planar substrate. In this case, the electrodes211aand212aand the contacts211band212bmay be adjacent to one another on a flat surface rather than being coaxial as shown inFIG.3D. Also shown inFIG.3Dis an illustration of the contact211band the contact212belectrically coupled to a simple current-to-voltage converter based potentiostat210. The potentiostat includes a battery320that has an output coupled to an input of an operational amplifier322. The output of the operational amplifier322is coupled to a contact324that is electrically coupled to the working electrode contact211bthrough a resistor328. The amplifier322will bias the contact324to the battery voltage Vb, and will drive the current imrequired to maintain that bias. This current will flow from the working electrode211athrough the interstitial fluid surrounding the sensor138and to the reference electrode212a. The reference electrode contact212bis electrically coupled to another contact334which is connected to the other side of the battery320. For this circuit, the current imis equal to (Vb−Vm)/R, where Vm, is the voltage measured at the output of the amplifier322. The magnitude of this current for a given bias on the working electrode211ais a measure of analyte concentration in the vicinity of the window106. The contacts324and334are typically conductive pads/traces on a circuit board. There is always some level of parasitic leakage current ipover the surface of this board during the test. If possible, this leakage current should not form part of the measurement of current due to analyte. To reduce the effect this leakage current has on the measured current, an optional additional pad/trace336may be provided between the biased contact324and the return contact334that is connected directly to the battery output. This optional additional pad/trace may be referred to as a “guard trace.” Because they are held at the same potential, there will be essentially no leakage current from the biased contact324and the guard trace336. Furthermore, leakage current from the guard trace336to the return contact334does not pass through the amplifier output resistor328, and therefore is not included in the measurement. Additional aspects and implementations of a guard trace may be found in paragraphs [0128] and [0129] of U.S. Patent Publication 2017/0281092, which are incorporated herein by reference. During manufacturing, various coating, testing, calibration, and assembly operations are performed on the sensor138. However, it can be difficult to transport individual sensors and electrically interface the sensors with multiple testing and calibration equipment installations. These processes also subject the sensors to damage from handling. To help address these issues, the sensor138may be provided as a part of a pre-connected sensor that includes a sensor carrier as described in greater detail below. FIG.4Ashows a schematic illustration of a pre-connected sensor400. As shown inFIG.4A, pre-connected sensor400includes sensor carrier402permanently attached to sensor138. In the example ofFIG.4A, sensor carrier402includes an intermediate body such as substrate404, and also includes one or more contacts such as first internal contact406, and second internal contact408. First internal contact406is electrically coupled to a first contact on a proximal end of sensor138and contact internal contact408is electrically coupled to a second contact on the proximal end of sensor138. The distal end of sensor138is a free end configured for insertion into the skin of the host. Contacts406and408may, for example, correspond to contacts324and334ofFIG.3Din some implementations. As shown inFIG.4A, first internal contact406may be electrically coupled to a first external contact410and second internal contact408may be electrically coupled to a second external contact412. As described in further detail hereinafter, external contacts410and412may be configured to electrically interface with sensor electronics112in wearable device600. Furthermore, external contacts410and412may be configured to electrically interface with processing circuitry of manufacturing equipment such one or more testing stations and/or one or more calibration stations. Although various examples are described herein in which two external contacts410and412on the sensor carrier are coupled to two corresponding contacts on sensor138, this is merely illustrative. In other implementations, sensor carrier402and sensor138may each be provided with a single contact or may each be provided with more than two contacts, for example, any N number of external contacts (e.g., more than two external contacts410and412) of the sensor carrier and any M number of contacts (e.g., more than two contacts406and408) of sensor138that can be coupled. In some implementations, sensor carrier402and sensor138may have the same number of contacts (i.e., N=M). In some implementations, sensor carrier402and sensor138may have a different number of contacts (i.e., N≠M). For example, in some implementations, sensor carrier402may have additional contacts for coupling to or between various components of a manufacturing station. As described in further detail hereinafter, substrate404may be configured to couple with sensor electronics112in wearable device600. In some embodiments, substrate404may be sized and shaped to mechanically interface with housing128and electrically interface with sensor electronics112inside housing128. Further, substrate404may be sized and shaped to mechanically interface with manufacturing equipment, assembly equipment, testing stations and/or one or more calibration stations. As described in further detail hereinafter, sensor carrier402may be attached and/or electrically coupled to sensor138. Sensor138may be permanently coupled to a component of sensor carrier402(e.g. substrate404) by using, for example, adhesive (e.g. UV cure, moisture cure, multi part activated, heat cure, hot melt, etc.), including conductive adhesive (e.g. carbon filled, carbon nanotube filled, silver filled, conductive additive, etc.), conductive ink, spring contacts, clips, wrapped flexible circuitry, a conductive polymer (e.g. conductive elastomer, conductive plastic, carbon filled PLA, conductive graphene PLA), conductive foam, conductive fabric, a barrel connector, a molded interconnect device structure, sewing, wire wrapping, wire bonding, wire threading, spot welding, swaging, crimping, stapling, clipping, soldering or brazing, plastic welding, or overmolding. In some embodiments, sensor138may be permanently coupled to substrate404by rivets, magnets, anisotropic conductive films, metallic foils, or other suitable structures or materials for mechanically and electrically attaching sensor carrier402to sensor138before or during assembly, manufacturing, testing and/or calibration operations. In some embodiments, sensor carrier402may be 3-D printed around sensor138to form pre-connected sensor400. Additionally, sensor carrier402may include datum features430(sometimes referred to as datum structures) such as a recess, an opening, a surface or a protrusion for aligning, positioning, and orienting sensor138relative to sensor carrier402. Sensor carrier402may also include, or may itself form, one or more anchoring features for securing and aligning the analyte sensor during manufacturing (e.g., relative to a manufacturing station). Additionally, sensor carrier402may include an identifier450configured to identify the sensor. In some embodiments, identifier450is formed on substrate404. Identifier450will be explained further below. FIG.4Billustrates another schematic of a pre-connected analyte sensor400. The pre-connected analyte sensor400shown inFIG.4Bmay include similar components of pre-connected analyte sensor400shown inFIG.4A.FIG.4Bis shown without optional cover460for clarity.FIG.4Cillustrated an exploded view of pre-connected analyte sensor400shown inFIG.4B. In the example ofFIG.4B, sensor carrier402includes an intermediate body such as a substrate404, and also includes one or more traces such as first trace414and second trace416. First trace414may include a first internal contact406and a first external contact410. Second trace416may include a second internal contact408and a second external contact412. In some embodiments, first internal contact406is electrically coupled to a first contact on a proximal end of sensor138and second internal contact408is electrically coupled to a second contact on the proximal end of sensor138. The distal end of sensor138is a free end configured for insertion into the skin of the host. The electrical coupling is described in connection with various embodiments herein, such as clips, conductive adhesive, conductive polymer, conductive ink, metallic foil, conductive foam, conductive fabric, wire wrapping, wire threading or any other suitable methods. In some embodiments, a non-conductive adhesive426(e.g. epoxy, cyanoacrylate, acrylic, rubber, urethane, hot melt, etc.) can be used to attach the sensor138to substrate404. Non-conductive adhesive426may be configured to affix, seal, insulate, or provide a strain relief to the sensor138. Sensor138may be attached to substrate404by other methods, such as those described inFIG.4Aabove. As shown inFIG.4C, a pressure sensitive adhesive428may be configured to isolate an exposed end of traces414and416. For instance, pressure sensitive adhesive428may laminate sensor138between substrate404and cover460. In such instances, sensor138, substrate404, pressure sensitive adhesive428, and cover460may form a laminated configuration. In the laminated configuration, sensor138and its connection to one or more contacts (e.g. first internal contact406and second internal contact408) are isolated from one or more exposed contacts (e.g. first external contact410and second external contact412). Furthermore, the laminated configuration may create a moisture sealed region surrounding the sensor138. The moisture seal may be created as embodied by a combination of a pressure sensitive adhesive428and a non-conductive adhesive426. In other embodiments, the laminated structure can be created by one or a combination of the following materials and methods: A non-conductive adhesive, a pressure sensitive adhesive tape, an elastomer, heat bonding, hot plate welding, laser welding, ultrasonic welding, RF welding, or any suitable type of lamination method. The cover460may consist of a polymer sheet, structure, or film that at least partially covers the substrate404. The cover460may optionally contain an identifier450, which can identify the sensor138. In some embodiments, identifier450may incorporate various identification protocols or techniques such as, but not limited to, NFC, RFID, QR Code, Bar code, Wi-Fi, Trimmed resistor, Capacitive value, Impedance values, ROM, Memory, IC, Flash memory, etc. Guide fixture420, which is an optional component, is an exemplary embodiment of an interface with a work station, such as a testing station, a calibration station, an assembly station, a coating station, manufacturing stations, or as part of the wearable assembly. The guide fixture420includes datum features (or datum structures)430, such as a recess, an opening, a surface or a protrusion for aligning, positioning, and orienting sensor138relative to sensor carrier402. Datum features430may be used in manufacturing and for assembly into a wearable electronic component. In some embodiments, datum features430are raised protrusions configured to align with corresponding datum features432of substrate404. Corresponding datum features432of substrate404may feature cutouts, slots, holes, or recesses. The corresponding datum features432in the sensor carrier may be placement features that can interface with datum features430in a work station, such as a testing station, a calibration station, an assembly station, a coating station, or other manufacturing stations. Guide fixture420may be configured to ensure proper placement of the sensor carrier402to align the exposed external contacts410and412for connecting to a work station, such as a testing station, a calibration station, an assembly station, a coating station, or other manufacturing stations. In other embodiments, datum features430may consist of female features to engage with male corresponding datum features432. FIG.4Dillustrates a schematic view of an array480of pre-connected analyte sensors400having a plurality of pre-connected sensors400with optional identifiers450. In FIG.4D, an array formed as a one-dimensional strip of pre-connected analyte sensors400is shown, but a two-dimensional array could also be implanted. In some embodiments, the array480of pre-connected analyte sensors may be disposed in a cartridge. Each of the plurality of pre-connected sensors400can be singulated. In some embodiments, scoring4020may be provided to facilitate singulation into individual pre-connected sensors400. In some embodiments, the array480can be used in facilitating manufacturing, testing and/or calibrating multiple sensors138individually in sequential or random manners. In some embodiments, the array480can be used in facilitating manufacturing, testing and/or calibrating multiple sensors138concurrently. FIGS.5A-5Eshow block diagrams of various machines and assemblies the pre-connected analyte sensor400may be associated with during its pre-implant lifetime. Such machines and assemblies may include manufacturing equipment such as one or more manufacturing stations5091, one or more testing stations5002and/or one more calibration stations5004, and an on-skin wearable assembly600. At least some of these are configured to receive sensor carrier402and to communicatively couple the machines and assemblies to sensor138via sensor carrier402. It is one aspect of some embodiments that the sensor138is coupled to the sensor carrier402before the membrane108described above is applied. With the sensor138attached to the sensor carrier, and potentially with multiple carrier mounted sensors attached together as shown inFIG.4D, subsequent device production steps such as membrane coating, testing, calibration, and assembly into a wearable unit can be performed with easier mounting and dismounting from manufacturing and testing equipment, less sensor handling, less chance of damaging the membrane, producing a significant overall improvement in production efficiency. Another benefit of the pre-connected sensor construction is that it is easier to separate different kinds of manufacturing and testing among different facilities that are better equipped to handle them. For example, fabricating the electrodes may require various kinds of metal forming/extrusion machines, whereas membrane application, testing, and calibration requires a wet chemistry lab and sensitive electronic test equipment. Accordingly, the sensor electrodes may be formed and mounted on the carrier in one facility in one location, and then shipped to a different remote facility that is equipped for membrane application, testing, and calibration. Remote in this context means not in the same production facility in the same building. It can even be advantageous for different commercial entities to perform the different tasks that specialize in the appropriate manufacturing and testing technologies. Manufacturing station5091may comprise a testing station as described herein, a calibration station as described herein, or another manufacturing station. Manufacturing station5091may include processing circuitry5092and/or mechanical components5094operable to perform testing operations, calibration operations, and/or other manufacturing operations such as sensor straightening operations, membrane application operations, curing operations, calibration-check operations, glucose sensitivity operations (e.g., sensitivity slope, baseline, and/or noise calibration operations), and/or visual inspection operations. The pre-connected analyte sensor400may be connected to one or more testing stations5002having processing circuitry5012configured to perform testing operations with sensor138to verify the operational integrity of sensor138. Testing operations may include verifying electrical properties of a sensor138, verifying communication between a working electrode and contact408, verifying communication between a reference electrode or additional electrodes and contact406, and/or other electronic verification operations for sensor138. Processing circuitry5012may be communicatively coupled with sensor138for testing operations by inserting substrate404into a receptacle5006(e.g., a recess in a housing of testing station5002) until contact410is coupled to contact5010of testing station5002and contact412is coupled to contact5008of testing station5002. System5000may include one or more calibration stations5004having processing circuitry5020configured to perform calibration operations with sensor138to obtain calibration data for in vivo operation of sensor138. Calibration data obtained by calibration equipment5004may be provided to on-skin sensor assembly600to be used during operation of sensor138in vivo. Processing circuitry5020may be communicatively coupled with sensor138for calibration operations by inserting substrate404into a receptacle5014(e.g., a recess in a housing of calibration station5004) until contact410is coupled to contact5018of testing station5002and contact412is coupled to contact5016of testing station5002. In the examples ofFIGS.5A-5E, testing station5002and calibration station5004include receptacles5006and5014. However, this is merely illustrative and sensor carrier402may be mounted to testing station5002and calibration station5004and/or manufacturing station5091using other mounting features such as grasping, clipping, or clamping figures. For example, manufacturing station5091includes grasping structures5093and5095, at least one of which is movable to grasp sensor carrier402(or a carrier having multiple sensor carriers and sensors). Structure5093may be a stationary feature having one or more electrical contacts such as contact5008. Structure5095may be a movable feature that moves (e.g., slides in a direction5097) to grasp and secure sensor carrier402in an electrically coupled position for manufacturing station5091. In other implementations, both features5093and5095are movable. Sensor carrier402may also include an identifier450(see, e.g.,FIGS.4A-4D). Identifier450may be formed on or embedded within substrate404. Identifier450may be implemented as a visual or optical identifier (e.g., a barcode or QR code pre-printed or printed on-the-fly on substrate404or etched in to substrate404), a radio frequency (RF) identifier, or an electrical identifier (e.g., a laser-trimmed resistor, a capacitive identifier, an inductive identifier, or a micro storage circuit (e.g., an integrated circuit or other circuitry in which the identifier is encoded in memory of the identifier) programmable with an identifier and/or other data before, during, or after testing and calibration). Identifier450may be used for tracking each sensor through the manufacturing process for that sensor (e.g., by storing a history of testing and/or calibration data for each sensor). In other words, the identifier450identifies any of the analyte sensor, calibration data for the analyte sensor, and a history of the analyte sensor. For example, identifier450may be used for binning of testing and calibration performance data. Identifier450may be a discrete raw value or may encode information in addition to an identification number. Identifier450may be used for digitally storing data in non-volatile memory on substrate404or as a reference number for storing data external to sensor carrier402. Testing station5002may include a reader5011(e.g., an optical sensor, an RF sensor, or an electrical interface such as an integrated circuit interface) that reads identifier450to obtain a unique identifier of sensor138. Testing data obtained by testing station5002may be stored and/or transmitted along with the identifier of sensor138. Calibration station5004may include a reader5011(e.g., an optical sensor, an RF sensor, or an electrical interface) that reads identifier450to obtain a unique identifier of sensor138. Calibration data obtained by calibration station5004may be stored and/or transmitted along with the identifier of sensor138. In some implementations, calibration data obtained by calibration station5004may be added to identifier450by calibration station5004(e.g., by programming the calibration data into the identifier). In some implementations, calibration data obtained by calibration station5004may be transmitted to a remote system or device along with identifier450by calibration station. As shown inFIGS.5A-5Eand described in further detail hereinafter, on-skin sensor assembly600may include one or more contacts such as contact5022configured to couple internal electronic circuitry to contacts410and412of sensor carrier402and thus to sensor138. Sensor carrier402may be sized and shaped to be secured within a cavity5024in or on the housing128such that sensor138is coupled to electronics in the housing128via sensor carrier402, and sensor138may be positionally secured to extend from the housing128for insertion for in vivo operations. Although one calibration station and one testing station are shown inFIGS.5A-5E, it should be appreciated that more than one testing station and/or more than one calibration station may be utilized in the manufacturing and testing phase of production. Although calibration station5004and testing station5002are shown as separate stations inFIGS.5A-5E, it should be appreciated that, in some implementations calibration stations and testing stations may be combined into one or more calibration/testing stations (e.g., stations in which processing circuitry for performing testing and calibration operations is provided within a common housing and coupled to a single interface5006). Wearable assembly600may also include a reader (e.g., an optical sensor, an RF sensor, or an electrical interface) positioned near the contacts5022that reads identifier450to obtain a unique identifier of sensor138. Sensor electronics may obtain calibration data for in vivo operation of sensor138based on the read identifier450. The calibration data may be stored in, and obtained, from identifier450itself, or identifier450may be used to obtain the calibration data for the installed sensor138from a remote system such as a cloud-based system. FIGS.6-8are schematic illustrations of various implementations of securement of a pre-connected sensor400within wearable assembly600. In the example ofFIG.6, sensor carrier402is in direct contact with a base wall605and housing128, and contact5022includes multiple contacts on the housing128for contacting both contacts410and412of sensor carrier402(e.g., both located on a top surface of sensor carrier402). In the example ofFIG.7, a mechanical receiver700is provided on base wall605for mechanically securing sensor carrier402. In the example ofFIG.8, mechanical receiver800is provided on base wall605for mechanically securing sensor carrier402in cooperation with receiver702. In the example ofFIG.8, receiver702includes an additional contact704for contacting contact410of sensor carrier402located on a rear surface of the sensor carrier. FIG.9shows a detailed example of a sensor module300including a pre-connected sensor400and a sealing structure192. As shown, sealing structure192may be disposed on a substrate404, in which sealing structure192may be configured to prevent moisture ingress toward contacts410and412. Furthermore, contacts410and412may be implemented as leaf spring contact for coupling to sensor electronics. In some embodiments, pre-connected sensor400includes at least one contact. In some embodiments, pre-connected sensor400includes at least two contacts. In some embodiments, pre-connected sensor400includes at least three contacts. In some embodiments, pre-connected sensor400includes at least four contacts. An adhesive126can couple the housing128to the skin130of the host. The adhesive126can be a pressure sensitive adhesive (e.g. acrylic, rubber based, or other suitable type) bonded to a carrier substrate (e.g., spun lace polyester, polyurethane film, or other suitable type) for skin attachment. As shown inFIG.9, substrate404may include at least one arm202or other mechanical features for interfacing with corresponding mating features on base128(e.g., mechanical interlocks such as snap fits, clips, and/or interference features) to mechanically secure substrate404to housing128. Coupling features such as arm902and/or other features of substrate404may be sized and shaped for releasably mechanically attaching substrate404to a connector associated with manufacturing equipment such as one or more of connectors5006,5014, and/or5093/5095ofFIGS.5A-5Efor testing and/or calibration operations during manufacturing and prior to attachment to features900of housing128. FIG.10illustrates a perspective view of the sensor module400in an implementation in which contacts406and408are implemented using coil springs306. In the example ofFIG.10, protrusions308on substrate404can align sensor138and secure springs306to substrate404. (Not all the protrusions308are labeled in order to increase the clarity ofFIG.10.) Protrusions308can protrude distally. At least three, at least four, and/or less than ten protrusions308can be configured to contact a perimeter of a spring306. Protrusions308can be separated by gaps. The gaps enable protrusions308to flex outward as spring306is inserted between protrusions308. A downward force for coupling electronics unit500to base128can push spring306against sensor138to electrically couple spring306to the sensor138. Sensor138can run between at least two of protrusions308. Testing station5002and/or calibration station5004may also have a mating connector structure that, when substrate404is inserted into recess5006or5014, compresses springs306to couple springs306electrically between sensor138and processing circuitry5012or5020. Sensor138may include a distal portion138aconfigured for subcutaneous sensing and a proximal portion138bmechanically coupled to sensor carrier402having an electrical interconnect (e.g., springs306) mechanically coupled to the substrate404and electrically coupled to proximal portion138b. Springs306can be conical springs, helical springs, or any other type of spring mentioned herein or suitable for electrical connections. Substrate404may have a base portion312that includes at least two proximal protrusions308located around a perimeter of spring306. Proximal protrusions308are configured to help orient spring306. A segment of glucose sensor138is located between the proximal protrusions308(distally to the spring306). Base portion312may be configured to be mechanically coupled to the housing128, to manufacturing equipment5091, testing equipment5002, and/or calibration equipment5004. For example, base portion312includes anchoring features such as arms202. Anchoring features may include arms202and/or may include features such as one or more notches, recesses, protrusions, or other features in base312, arms202, and/or substrate404that mechanically interface with corresponding features of, for example, a receptacle such as one of receptacles5006of5014ofFIGS.5A-5Eor a clamping connector formed by clamping connector features such as features5093and5095ofFIGS.5A-5Eto secure and align sensor138. In one suitable example, a slidable (or otherwise actuable or rotatable) feature such as feature5095ofFIGS.5A-5Emay be arranged to slide over, around, or otherwise engage with one or more of arms202, base312, and/or sensor carrier402altogether to secure sensor carrier402to the manufacturing equipment. For example, in other implementations of sensor carrier402in which arms202are not provided, a receptacle connector such as one of receptacles5006of5014ofFIGS.5A-5Eor a clamping connector formed by clamping connector features such as features5093and5095ofFIGS.5A-5Emay include a clamshell component, a sliding component, or other movable component that bears against or covers sensor carrier402to latch sensor carrier402to the manufacturing, testing, and/or calibration equipment. Referring now toFIGS.11and12, another implementation of sensor module400is shown that includes a base portion312d; a glucose sensor138having a distal portion138aconfigured for subcutaneous sensing and a proximal portion138bmechanically coupled to base portion312d; and an electrical interconnect (e.g., leaf springs306d) mechanically coupled to substrate404and electrically coupled to the proximal portion138b. Leaf springs306dcan be configured to bend in response to pressure from testing station contacts, calibration station contacts, and/or electronics unit500coupling with base128while pre-connected sensor400is disposed between electronics unit500coupling with base128. As used herein, cantilever springs are a type of leaf spring. As used herein, a leaf spring can be made of a number of strips of curved metal that are held together one above the other. As used herein in many embodiments, leaf springs only include one strip (e.g., one layer) of curved metal (rather than multiple layers of curved metal). For example, leaf spring306dinFIG.11can be made of one layer of metal or multiple layers of metal. In some embodiments, leaf springs include one layer of flat metal secured at one end (such that the leaf spring is a cantilever spring). As shown inFIGS.11and12, base portion312dincludes a proximal protrusion320dhaving a channel322din which at least a portion of proximal portion138bis located. The channel322dpositions a first area of proximal portion138bsuch that the area is electrically coupled to leaf spring306d. As shown in the cross-sectional, perspective view ofFIG.12, leaf spring306darcs away from the first area and protrudes proximally to electrically couple with testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or wearable assembly600. At least a portion of leaf spring306dforms a “W” shape. At least a portion of leaf spring306dforms a “C” shape. Leaf spring306dbends around the proximal protrusion320d. Leaf spring306dprotrudes proximally to electrically couple testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500. Seal192is configured to impede fluid ingress to leaf spring306d. Leaf spring306dis oriented such that coupling sensor carrier402to testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500presses leaf spring306dagainst a first electrical contact of the testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500and a second electrical contact of the glucose sensor138to electrically couple the glucose sensor138to the testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500. The proximal height of seal192may be greater than a proximal height of leaf spring306dsuch that the testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500contacts the seal192prior to contacting the leaf spring306d. Springs306and/or leaf springs306dmay cooperate with underlying features on substrate404(e.g., features308) and/or channel322d, as shown, to form datum features that secure and align sensor138with respect to sensor carrier402(e.g., for manufacturing, calibration, testing, and/or in vivo operations). FIGS.13A and13Bshow perspective views of an embodiment of a wearable assembly600including a pre-connected sensor400. Wearable assembly600may include sensor electronics and an adhesive patch (not shown). Pre-connected sensor400may include a sensor carrier such as sensor carrier402described inFIGS.4A-4D. The sensor carrier402may be placed in or on housing128. Housing128may be composed of two housing components, top housing520and bottom housing522. Top housing520and bottom housing522can be assembled together to form housing128. Top housing520and bottom housing522can be sealed to prevent moisture ingress to an internal cavity of housing128. The sealed housing may include an encapsulating material (e.g. epoxy, silicone, urethane, or other suitable material). In other embodiments, housing128is formed as a single component encapsulant (e.g. epoxy) configured to contain sensor carrier402and sensor electronics.FIG.13Aillustrates an aperture524within top housing520configured to allow for an insertion component (e.g. hypodermic needle, C-needle, V-needle, open sided needle, etc.) to pass through the wearable assembly600for insertion and/or retraction. Aperture524may be aligned with a corresponding aperture in bottom housing522. In other embodiments, aperture524may extend through an off-center location of housing128. In other embodiments, aperture524may extend through an edge of the housing128, forming a C-shaped channel. In some embodiments the aperture524includes a sealing material such as a gel, adhesive, elastomer, or other suitable material located within aperture524. FIG.13Bshows a perspective view of the bottom of wearable assembly600. As illustrated, pre-connected sensor400may be disposed within the housing128. Pre-connected sensor400may be installed within an aperture526of bottom housing522. As shown in the figure, sensor138may extend out from aperture526. Aperture526may be sized and shaped to retain pre-connected sensor400. Furthermore, aperture526may be sized and shaped to retain pre-connected sensor400in which sensor138extends approximately parallel to the skin surface and forms a 90 degree bend for insertion into the skin. It should be understood that the bottom surface of bottom housing522can contain an attachment member (e.g. an adhesive patch) for adhering the wearable assembly to the skin surface of a user. FIG.13Cshows an exploded view of the wearable assembly600. Various electronic components such as the potentiostat210and other components illustrated inFIG.2may be mounted on or to an electronics assembly substrate530, typically some form of printed circuit board. It is contemplated that sensor carrier402has an electrical coupling with electronics assembly substrate530. Various methods may be used to establish electrical connection (e.g. pins, solder, conductive elastomer, conductive adhesive, etc.) between one or more contacts of pre-connected sensor400, such as external contacts410and412and electronics assembly substrate530. Sensor carrier402may be configured to interface with electronics assembly substrate530through the bottom housing522. In other implementations, the sensor carrier402may be configured to interface with the electronics assembly substrate530through top housing520. In some other implementations, the sensor carrier402is configured to interface with the electronics assembly substrate530through the side of wearable assembly600. Also shown in the figure, an optional sealing member528may be configured to insulate at least a portion of sensor carrier402from potential moisture ingress. In some instances, the sealing member528may be liquid dispensed (e.g., adhesive, gel) or a solid material (e.g., elastomer, polymer). The sealing member528may be an assembled component that is welded (e.g., laser or ultrasonic, hot plate), or otherwise permanently attached (e.g., anisotropic adhesive film, pressure sensitive adhesive, cyanoacrylate, epoxy, or other suitable adhesive) to create a sealed region. The sealing member528may be used to physically couple and/or provide a sealed region for the sensor carrier402to the wearable assembly600. FIGS.14A-14Eillustrate another implementation of a wearable assembly600. The implementation ofFIGS.14A-14Eshare some similarities to the implementation shown inFIGS.13A-13C. As illustrated inFIG.14A, the wearable assembly600includes a housing formed as a top housing520and a bottom housing522. The wearable assembly also includes a through hole524for use during interstitial insertion of the sensor138into a subject. Referring especially toFIGS.14B, C, and D, the bottom housing522includes a recess726with a floor704. The floor704may include locating pins784and786that extend upward from the floor704and two apertures722and724. The locating pins may be formed as an integral part of the floor704, during for example molding of the housing, or they may be separate parts that are coupled to the floor with friction fit, adhesive, or any other means. In some embodiments, there is at least one locating pin. In some embodiments, there are at least two locating pins. In some embodiments, there are at least three locating pins. On the opposite side of the floor704is a printed circuit board530(visible inFIG.14E) with some or all of the sensor electronic circuitry (e.g. the potentiostat210or at least traces that connect to the potentiostat) mounted thereon. The printed circuit board530may also have conductive pins712and714mounted thereon which extend through apertures722and724in the floor704, forming an external electrical interface that is accessible without opening the housing. The pre-connected sensor400drops into this recess726. Holes794and796drop over locating pins784and786and conductive pins712and714extend through holes706and708in the sensor carrier substrate404. These holes706and708extend through plated metal (e.g. copper) contacts406and408on the substrate404, similar to those shown in a different embodiment inFIGS.4A to4C. Generally, the number of holes706,708in the substrate404correspond to the number of electrodes present in the sensor138, which may in turn correspond to the number of pins712,714. For example, a three-electrode system with a working, reference, and counter electrode may have three holes in the substrate corresponding to three pins extending up through floor704. The pins712and714may be electrically connected to the contacts408and406in a variety of ways such as solder, swaging, or conductive glue, paste, adhesive, or film. After this connection is made, the electronic circuitry for detecting and/or processing analyte sensor signals that is placed inside the housing becomes connected to the analyte sensor to receive signals therefrom. The connection material bonding the sensor138to the sensor carrier402is designated762and764inFIGS.14D and14E. These connections may be established by any of the methods described above with reference toFIG.4A. Once the substrate404is placed over the pins712,714, the proximal portion of the sensor138can be secured to the floor704with a pressure sensitive adhesive772to retain the proximal portion of the sensor on or near the housing prior to extending downward at the inserter opening524. This allows for accurate sensor insertion position and controls the bias force into the insertion needle. A variety of methods and/or structural features may be used to perform this retention function such as a protrusion or shelf in the floor704, an overmolded part, a snap-fit additional plastic piece installed over the sensor, or any sort of glue or adhesive placed before or after the pre-connected sensor is placed in the recess726. As is also shown inFIGS.13C, optional sealing members528aand528bmay be configured to seal and insulate at least a portion of sensor carrier402from potential moisture ingress. In some instances, the sealing member528may be liquid dispensed (e.g., adhesive, gel) or a solid material (e.g., elastomer, polymer). The sealing member528may be an assembled component that is welded (e.g., laser or ultrasonic, hot plate), or otherwise permanently attached (e.g., pressure sensitive adhesive, cyanoacrylate, epoxy, or other suitable adhesive) to create a sealed region. The sealing member528may be used to physically couple and/or provide a sealed region for the sensor carrier402to the wearable assembly600. The two sealing members528aand528bare partially separated by walls766and768. These walls allow two different sealing methods to be used in the two different portions of the recess726that are separated by the walls. For example,528bmay be a solid polymer that is press fit into the recess portion with opening524on one side of the walls. The other portion of the recess726may then be filled with a liquid UV cured epoxy which hardens to form sealing member528a. The depth of the two recess portions on either side of the walls may be the same or different. FIG.15Ashows an alternative embodiment of a sensor carrier402, also potentially taking the form of a printed circuit board. In this implementation, a guard trace407such as described above with reference to item336inFIG.3Dis provided on the substrate404of the sensor carrier402. As explained above, this guard trace407is positioned between contacts406and408and is connected to the bias voltage by the sensor electronics. The guard trace407can be coupled to the sensor electronics with or more conductive pins713(not shown inFIGS.14A to14E) that extend through the floor704similar to pins712and714. InFIG.15A, the pins are shown connected to castellated contacts on the side of the substrate404. An insulating layer780such as solder mask may be positioned over the guard trace407to eliminate the risk of the analyte sensor electrodes shorting to it. FIGS.15B and15Cillustrated other implementations of connecting a sensor carrier402having an analyte sensor138mounted thereon to electronic circuitry internal to a wearable sensor. InFIG.15B, the sensor138is coupled to the sensor carrier402with conductive adhesive762and764as shown above with reference toFIGS.14C and14D. On the other side of the sensor carrier substrate are conductive contact pads812and814. The circuit board530also has contact pads826and828bonded thereto and which are accessible through the floor704of the recess726. An anisotropic film820is used to electrically and mechanically bond the sensor carrier contact812to circuit board contact826and also sensor carrier contact814to circuit board contact828. The anisotropic film820is compressed with heat between the contacts, which makes conductive particles in the film820bridge the gap vertically between the contact pairs812/826and814/828. The conductive particles in the film820are spaced apart horizontally, so no shorting between the contact pairs occurs. This electrical and mechanical bonding technique has found widespread use in display applications for small electronics such as smart phones and lends itself to easy and consistent connections in production environments. InFIG.15C, the proximal region of sensor138is coupled to the sensor carrier402contacts812and814with anisotropic film820. A different area of the same anisotropic film820may be used to connect the sensor carrier contacts812and814to circuit board contacts826and828respectively. In this implementation, the area of the film820that connects the sensor138to the contacts812and814may be horizontally adjacent to or otherwise separated from the area of the film820that connects the circuit board contacts826and828to the sensor carrier contacts812and814. In the examples ofFIGS.10-15, pre-connected sensor400can be installed as a standalone interface between sensor138and the sensor electronics. However, it should be appreciated that, in some implementations described herein, pre-connected sensor400may include a sensor carrier that couples to an additional interface between the sensor138and the sensor electronics inside the wearable assembly600. For example, channel322dand leaf spring306dcan be formed on separate substrate that, following calibration and testing operations, mechanically attaches to base portion312dwithin seal192for installation into wearable assembly600. It is one benefit of the analyte sensor connection techniques described above that the fabrication of the pre-connected sensor400may be separated from the fabrication of the electronics enclosed within the housing. As described above with reference to the pre-connected sensor structure and the subsequent coating, testing and calibrating processes, the housing with the internally contained electronics can be manufactured in a separate facility from the one that attaches the pre-connected sensor400to the sensor electrical interface. This is made possible by providing an analyte sensor electronics interface that is accessible from outside the housing. The housing need not be opened to attach the sensor. In some advantageous methods, the electrodes for the pre-connected sensor are fabricated and mounted on the substrate in a first location and are shipped to a second location for coating testing and calibrating. The housing with internal electronics is manufactured in a third location. The housing with the electronics is shipped from the third location to the second location, where the completed analyte sensor is attached to the external electrical interface. The three locations can all be remote from each other. This minimizes handling of the sensitive membrane coated sensor, but still allows separate manufacturing of the other components of the complete device. FIG.16shows a top view of an implementation of sensor carrier402in which substrate404is a substantially planar substrate and sensor138is attached to substrate404with a conductive adhesive1500. As shown inFIG.16, conductive adhesive1500may be applied to contacts1000and1002of sensor138to mechanically attach sensor138to substrate404. Once applied the conductive adhesive1500on contacts1000and1002, may itself form contacts408and406for coupling to testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500.FIG.17shows an end view of sensor carrier402ofFIG.16in which conductive adhesive1500can be seen covering a portion of sensor138at the proximal end. In other embodiments, sensor138may be attached to substrate404with a conductive adhesive1500, or via any other suitable methods via the use of, for example, clips, conductive polymer, metallic foil, conductive foam, conductive fabric, wire wrapping, wire threading or via any other suitable methods. FIGS.18,19, and20show examples of substrate404ofFIG.16, with additional datum features for controlling the position and spatial orientation of sensor138on substrate404. In the example ofFIG.18, substrate404includes a v-shaped recess1700. Sensor138is disposed partially within recess1700to orient sensor138in a direction along the recess, and conductive adhesive1500substantially covers sensor138and fills in portions of recess1700not filled by sensor138to secure sensor138within the recess. In the example ofFIG.19, substrate404includes a first planar portion1800and a second planar portion1802extending at a non-parallel (e.g., perpendicular) angle with respect to the first planar portion, and sensor138is attached at the interface of the first and second planar portions by conductive adhesive1500. In the example ofFIG.20, substrate404includes a rounded recess1900in which sensor138is attached by conductive adhesive1500that substantially covers sensor138and fills in portions of recess1700not filled by sensor138to secure sensor138within the recess. FIGS.21A and21Bshow an example sensor carrier402with at least one pair of guide structures2106and2108formed on the substrate404, such as on one or both contacts406and408. These guide structures can assist placement of the sensor body138on the appropriate location when applying conductive adhesive to bond the two together. This can eliminate the need for external guide fixtures when assembling the sensor to the sensor carrier during manufacturing. The structures2106,2108can be made of solder or other conductive adhesive. Although not shown inFIGS.21A and21B, an additional adhesive bonding material can be provided between the guide structures to fix the sensor to the guide structures during manufacturing. Conductive adhesive1500may be, for example, a conductive liquid dispensed glue. The conductive liquid dispensed glue may be a one or two-part adhesive that cures (e.g., at room temperate or an elevated curing temperate). The conductive liquid dispensed glue may be a snap-cure adhesive. A two-part conductive liquid dispensed glue may include a base adhesive (e.g., epoxy, polyurethane, etc.) and a conductive filler (e.g., silver, carbon, nickel, etc.). Conductive adhesive1500may include, for example, an adhesive resin with one or more embedded conductive materials such as silver, copper or graphite. Conductive adhesive1500may be a heat curable conductive adhesive. FIG.22shows a top view of an implementation of sensor carrier402in which substrate404is a substantially planar substrate and sensor138is attached to substrate404with a conductive tape2000. As shown inFIG.22, conductive tape2000may be applied to one or more contacts (e.g. connection areas1000and1002) of sensor138to mechanically attach sensor138to substrate404. Once applied the conductive tape2000on contacts1000and1002, may itself form contacts408and406for coupling to testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500. Tape200may be applied over sensor138as shown inFIG.22, or may be interposed between substrate404and sensor138. In implementations in which tape2000is disposed between substrate404and sensor138, substrate404may be a flexible substrate that can be rolled or folded around sensor138as shown in the end view ofFIG.23. The rolled substrate ofFIG.23includes extending portions2100that can form one or more contacts (e.g.406or408). Conductive tape2000may be configured for use as a multi-zoned tape with one or more conductive tapes2000and non-conductive tape sections. The combination of conductive and non-conductive regions can be used to electrically isolate connection regions. Using a multi-zoned tape may simplify the assembly of multiple connection regions in a single assembly step. The pitch of the conductive regions on the tape may be matched to the targeted connection area of the sensor wire138. In other embodiments the pitch of the conductive region of the tape is significantly less than the spacing of the targeted connection area of the sensor wire138. A shorter pitch may allow for more variability in tape placement while ensuring isolated connection between the sensor138and the substrate404. Conductive tape2000may be formed from a polymer substrate with a conductive adhesive (e.g. carbon-impregnated adhesive, metal-impregnated adhesive). As another example, conductive tape2000may be a metallic substrate with conductive and non-conductive adhesive. Some examples of non-conductive substrates are polyimide, composite, polymers, etc. Some examples of conductive substrates are metals (e.g. Foils, plating, cladding, etc), conductive polymers, and conductive elastomers. Examples of non-conductive adhesive are epoxy, cyanoacrylate, acrylic, rubber, urethane, hot melt, etc. Examples of conductive adhesives are carbon filled adhesive, nano particle filled adhesive, metal filled adhesive (e.g. silver), conductive inks, etc. FIG.24shows a top view of an implementation of sensor carrier402in which substrate404is a substantially planar substrate and sensor138is attached to substrate404with a conducive plastic2200welded or bonded to a non-conductive (e.g., plastic) substrate404. As shown inFIG.24, conductive plastic2200may be applied to contacts1000and1002of sensor138to mechanically attach sensor138to substrate404. Once applied the conductive plastic2200on contacts1000and1002, may itself form contacts408and406for coupling to testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500. FIGS.25and26show an exemplary ultrasonic welding system for welding conductive plastic2200to substrate404. As shown inFIG.25, substrate404may be provided with a recess within which a protrusion on a conductive plastic member2200can be received. Sensor138may be disposed within a recess in the protrusion on conductive plastic member2200and conductive plastic member2200can be pressed in direction2302and vibrated by ultrasonic welding horn2300to form a melt region2400that, when horn2300is removed, solidifies to secure sensor138between substrate404and conductive plastic2200to form a conductive contact to sensor138. In some implementations, in order to provide a sensor138with additional surface area for clipping or soldering of contacts to substrate404, the proximal end of sensor138may be rolled or otherwise flattened as shown inFIG.27. As shown inFIG.27, contacts1000F and1002F may be flat contacts that converge into a cylindrical wire sensor138. As shown in the side view of sensor carrier402inFIG.28, flattened contacts1000F and1002F may be attached to substrate404with conductive attachment members2600and2602such as clips, solder welds, an anisotropic conductive film, a conductive tape, a plastic member with embedded conductors, conductive springs, or elastomeric conductive members (as examples). In one example, connectors such as contacts1000F and1002F (and/or other forms of contacts1000and1002described herein) may be laser soldered to corresponding contacts on substrate404. In implementations in which sensor138is laser soldered to substrate404, a trace surface of substrate404may be preheated by laser illumination at a soldering location. The surface heat emission may reflow a pre-deposited solder material on either side of sensor139. A guide such as a borosilicate glass “angle” may be placed over the sensor and per-deposited solder to retain the solder, driving molten solder towards the sensor. A resulting “cradle” bond may then securely anchor the sensor to the trace on substrate404which may help increase or maximize a trace-to-solder-sensor contact wire bonding area. Use of a guide such as a borosilicate glass angle may also protect printed circuit board assembly electronics that may be included on and/or in the substrate from solder debris during the hot portion of the soldering process. In another example, connectors such as contacts1000F and1002F (and/or other forms of contacts1000and1002described herein) may be soldered to corresponding contacts on substrate404without a laser. In these example, solder wire may be pre-fed onto a tip of a soldering iron to build up a blob of molten solder on the tip. The iron may then be moved down so the blob touches the sensor and conductive trace on the substrate. A coating on the sensor such as the Ag/AgCl coating described herein may be provided with a low thermal mass such that the sensor coating heats up quickly without freezing the solder. Once the coating is heated, the solder wets to the coating. The trace would also have minimal thermal mass so it will heat up quickly without freezing the solder. A solder mask may be provided around the trace that prevents the solder flowing off the edge of the trace. In some implementations, substrate404may be formed, at least in part, by a flexible circuit (e.g., a polyimide substrate having conductive traces or other suitable flex circuit) that folds over and/or around at least a portion of sensor138to conductive traces of the flex circuit.FIG.29shows a top view of a flex circuit implementation of substrate404in which substrate404is a flexible circuit having a central, non-conductive, elongated portion2702along which sensor138is oriented and having upper and lower extensions2700and2704that extend from central portion in a directed perpendicular to the elongated dimension of central portion2702. Extensions2700and2704respectively include conductive contacts2706and2708that form contacts408and406. Conductive contacts2706and2708may be coupled, via traces and/or conductive vias on or within substrate404to external contacts that form contacts412and410. In some instances, extensions2700and2704may allow for testing, calibration, sensor electronics or other equipment to connect to sensor carrier/sensor assembly in area that is not occupied by the sensor. This may allow for additional connection types and/or improve electrical coupling of connection. FIG.30shows an implementation of sensor carrier402in which substrate404includes a wedge-shaped base portion2800and a foldable flexible portion2802. Conductive contacts2804may extend from base portion2800to foldable portion2802so that, when sensor138is placed on base portion2800and optionally foldable portion2802is be folded over sensor138(e.g., in direction2820) to wrap over and around sensor138, contacts410and412electrically couple to sensor138. Base portion2800may be rigid and may taper in a direction away from sensor138. Base portion2800may include conductive contacts410and412at a narrow end. Base portion2800may, for example, be removably inserted into recesses5006and5014of testing station5002and calibration station5004for testing and calibration operations. In the examples ofFIGS.27and28, the flexible substrate may be folded over the sensor and secured (e.g., to the sensor and/or to itself to secure the sensor by a welding soldering, a mechanical crimp, spring contacts, rivets, adhesive such as epoxies, or the like. FIGS.31A and31Billustrate another embodiment of a sensor carrier402. In this embodiment, the sensor carrier402comprises a block404made of non-conducting material such as a polymer or ceramic. The block404includes a through-hole1420extending therethrough along the y-axis through which the proximal ex vivo portion of the analyte sensor138extends. Slots or blind holes1410and1412intersect the through-hole1420on an orthogonal z-axis to the through hole y-axis. Conductive contact material406and408is plated on the top surface and extends into the slots1410and1412. Additional holes1430and1432extending along the x-axis intersect both the through-hole1420and the slots1410and1412. Each hole1430and1432extends across its respective slot and partway into the block on the other side of each slot forming a blind hole or depression1442,1444on the other side. Plugs1451and1453, which may be conductive or non-conductive are inserted into the holes1430and1432and push the contacts212band211bof the wire analyte sensor into the depressions1442,1444, causing the contacts212band211bto come into electrical contact with the sensor carrier contacts406and408. FIG.32shows a top view of a sensor carrier having a substrate404, a datum feature2900, and a movable connector2902for each of contacts406and408. Sensor138may be aligned against datum features2900and movable connectors2902may be moved to secure each of contacts1000and1002between the corresponding datum feature and movable connector. Movable connectors2902and/or datum features2900conductively couple to contacts1000and1002. Movable connectors2902and/or datum features2900may be conductively coupled to other contacts (not shown) on substrate404that form contacts410and412.FIG.33is a perspective view of one of datum features2900and an associate movable contact2902, movable in a direction2904toward datum feature2900to secure sensor138. Contacts1000and1002may be flattened to enhance contact with datum feature2900and contact2902. Additional conductive material2906may be formed on substrate404between datum feature2900and contact2902to enhance electrical contact with sensor138if desired. The additional conductive material may be an exposed surface of a portion of an embedded conductive layer (e.g., a copper or other conductive metal layer) within substrate404or may be solder or a conductive adhesive (as examples). FIG.34shows a perspective view of a pre-connected sensor formed from a sensor carrier implemented as a barrel connector that substantially surrounds sensor138. In the example ofFIG.34, substrate404may be an insulating layer formed around sensor138with conductive bands that extend from an internal contact with contacts1000and1002to an external surface that forms contacts410and412. As shown inFIG.34, annular contacts410and412may be removable received by a press fit into conductive brackets3102and3104of a device3100(e.g., testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500). Conductive brackets3102and3104may establish electrical communication between sensor138and device3100(e.g., testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500). FIG.35Ashows an implementation of sensor carrier402in which a flexible circuit is wrapped over an end of sensor138such that a top portion3200and a bottom portion3202of the flexible substrate are formed on opposing sides of sensor138. As shown inFIG.35B, top portion3200and bottom portion3202may be wrapped over the ends of multiple sensors138such that a flex circuit strip3404forms a common sensor carrier for multiple sensors. Flex circuit strip3204may include pairs of internal contacts for coupling to contacts1000and1002of each sensor138and pairs of external contacts, each pair of external contacts coupled to a corresponding pair of internal contacts and forming contacts for coupling to testing station5002and/or calibration station5004. In this way, multiple sensors can be transported and coupled to testing and calibration equipment as a group. Strip sensor carrier3204may include identifiers for each sensor138so that testing and/or calibration data for each sensor can be logged and stored. Individual pre-connected sensors may be formed by singulating strip sensor carrier3204into individual sensor carriers for each sensor that can be installed in an electronics unit, such as the wearable sensor units ofFIGS.13and14. Strip3204may include singulation features3220(e.g., markings and/or scoring that facilitate singulation into individual pre-connected sensors. AlthoughFIGS.35A and35Bshow a flexible circuit strip that is wrapped around the ends of sensor138, this is merely illustrative. It should be appreciated that a flex strip carrier for more one or more sensors138may be attached to the sensor(s) in other ways. For example, the ends or other portions of sensors138may extend into a substrate of flexible circuit strip3204to couple to internal conductive contacts in the strip or the ends or other portions of sensors138may be attached to a surface of flexible circuit strip3204(e.g., using an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) or other conductive adhesive, a laser solder or other solder, a clip or other attachment mechanisms and/or datum features that position and align the sensor). FIG.36shows an implementation of sensor carrier302in which a crimp connector3301extends through a portion of substrate404. As shown inFIG.36, crimp connector3301may have a base portion3300that extends from a first side of substrate404(e.g., to form one of contacts410and412). Crimp connector3301also includes arms3302extend from an opposing second side of substrate404. As shown inFIG.37, arms3302can be pressed together or crimped to mechanically secure and conductively couple to sensor138, thereby forming, for example, contact406.FIG.38shows a side view of the sensor carrier ofFIGS.36and37and shows how two crimp connectors may be provided that extend through substrate404and form contacts406and408on a first side and contacts410and412on a second side. Although contacts410and412are formed on the second side of substrate404inFIG.38, it should be appreciated that contacts410and412can be formed on the first side, or on a sidewall or edge of substrate404(e.g., by including one or more bends or other conductive couplings within substrate404). FIG.39shows an implementation of pre-connected sensor in which sensor carrier402includes a distally oriented channel358that directs sensor138distally such that sensor138includes a bend that is at least 45 degrees and/or less than 135 degrees. A channel cover362secures the glucose sensor138in the distally oriented channel358. In the example ofFIG.39, one or more contacts (e.g.408and406) are implemented using conductive elastomeric members1400. In other embodiments contacts may be any suitable type (e.g. coil springs306, leaf spring306d). Contacts (e.g. conductive elastomeric members1400) form a conductive coupling between sensor138and external equipment (e.g., testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or on-skin sensor assembly600). Contacts may cooperate with underlying features on substrate404(e.g., protrusions308) and/or channel322d, as shown, to form datum features that secure and align sensor138with respect to sensor carrier402(e.g., for manufacturing, calibration, testing, and/or in vivo operations). In some implementations, the sensor138maybe bent, glued, or bonded so as to be affixed within sensor carrier402. FIG.40shows an implementation of sensor carrier402in which substrate404is a molded interconnect device. In the example ofFIG.40, substrate404is formed from molded thermoplastic or thermoset (e.g., acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, a liquid crystal polymer, a polyimide/polyphthalamide plastic, or other thermoplastic or thermoset polymer materials) that includes conductive traces3702. Conductive traces3702may be formed on a surface of substrate404and/or may pass into and/or through portions of substrate404to form suitable connections. Conductive traces may be formed on the molded substrate using a variety of techniques (e.g. selective plating via laser etching, combining platable and non platable substrate polymers, or other suitable methods). In other embodiments, a conductive material (e.g. conductive polymer, metal stamping, plated polymer, metallic structure) may be overmolded with a non-conductive material. To create suitable electrical connections as shown inFIG.40, conductive traces3702are electrically coupled between contacts (e.g. contact region1000and1002on sensor138) and external contacts (e.g. contacts410and412). Although contacts (e.g.410and412) are formed on the same surface of substrate404to which sensor138is attached in the example ofFIG.37, this is merely illustrative. It should be appreciated that contacts (e.g. contacts410and412) may be formed on an opposing surface or on an edge or sidewall of substrate404and coupled to contacts (e.g. contacts408and406) by conductive materials (e.g. conductive layers, structures, adhesive, clips, solder, or interconnects) within or on substrate404. For example, contacts (e.g. contacts410and412) may form a designated area to interface electrical coupling on a different surface or region of substrate404on which sensor138is attached. The designated area may form a channel, groove, recess, slot, or similar alignment feature for orienting the sensor. Molded thermoplastic substrate404may be an injection-molded substrate having features that facilitate various aspects of testing, calibration, and wearable device installation for sensor138. For example, molded thermoplastic substrate404may include datum features or other locating features or positioning features such as a recess3700having a shape that is complementary to the shape of the proximal end of sensor138. For example, recess3700may include three or more stepped regions that correspond to the steps between the different layers of the coaxial analyte sensor such as shown inFIG.3D. In other configurations, molded thermoplastic substrate404may include a flat-walled recess as in the example ofFIG.18, a wall that forms a corner as in the example ofFIG.19, or a rounded recess as in the example ofFIG.20. In yet other configurations, molded thermoplastic substrate404may include raised features or protrusions on the surface that position and align sensor138. For example, a raised channel having a shape corresponding to the shape of sensor138may be provided on the surface of molded thermoplastic substrate404. As another example one more posts may extend from the surface of molded thermoplastic substrate404. For example, one or more lines of protrusions can be formed on the surface of molded thermoplastic substrate404against which and/or between which sensor138can be positioned and aligned. In this way, various configurations can be provided for a molded thermoplastic substrate404including datum features that orient sensor138in a preferred direction at a preferred position. Molded thermoplastic substrate404may also include other shaped features such as finger holds3720on opposing sides the substrate that facilitate grasping, holding, and transporting of sensor138. Molded thermoplastic substrate404may also include other shaped features such as anchoring features corresponding to the shape of connectors for manufacturing equipment5091, testing equipment5004, and calibration equipment5004such as grasping connector features5093/5095of manufacturing equipment5091and/or recess connectors5006and5014of testing equipment5002and calibration equipment5004. Anchoring features formed on molded thermoplastic substrate404and/or by molded thermoplastic substrate404itself may include one or more protrusions such as posts, snap-fit features, arms such as arms202(see, e.g.,FIGS.11-14), recesses, notches, hooks, and/or tapered portions similar to the tapered portions shown inFIG.28(as examples). In some examples, a portion of molded thermoplastic substrate404or the entire molded thermoplastic substrate404may have a shape that corresponds to the shape of a mounting receptacle on or within one or more of manufacturing equipment5091, testing equipment5002, calibration equipment5004, carriers, and/or a wearable device. Although substrate404is shown inFIG.40as being substantially rectilinear, a molded thermoplastic substrate404can be provided with features3720and/or an overall shape such as a handle shape for inserting, pulling, or otherwise manipulating sensor138during manufacturing and assembly operations. For example, molded thermoplastic substrate404may include a main portion configured to mechanically and electrically interface with manufacturing equipment5091, testing equipment5002, calibration equipment5004, and/or a wearable device, and a gripping portion that extends from the main portion. The gripping portion may extend from the manufacturing equipment5091, testing equipment5002, or calibration equipment5004during manufacturing operations to facilitate removal of sensor carrier402and sensor138from the equipment after or between the manufacturing operations. The gripping portion may be integrally formed with the main portion or may be a separate component that extends from the surface of, or from within, molded thermoplastic substrate404. The gripping component may be a post, a stock, a shaft, or an arched handle shaped for gripping by a gripping tool or by hand (e.g., by a technician). As shown inFIG.40, sensor138may be placed in recess3700and secured to substrate404using adhesive3704(e.g., a conductive adhesive as described herein). Adhesive3704may be applied to couple contact1000of sensor138to a first conductive trace3702on substrate404to form contact408between sensor138and sensor carrier402. Adhesive3704may be also applied to couple contact1002of sensor138to a second conductive trace3702on substrate404to form contact406between sensor138and sensor carrier402. In this way, molded thermoplastic substrate404can provide a handle and/or a strain relief member for moving and/or otherwise handling sensor138. FIG.41shows a top view of sensor carrier402ofFIG.40. As shown inFIGS.40and41, the first conductive trace3702may extend from a contact portion with contact1000within recess3700to form one or more exposed portions on the surface of substrate404that form external contact412for coupling to testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500. The second conductive trace3702may extend from a contact portion with contact1002within recess3700to form one or more exposed portions on the surface of substrate404that form external contact410for coupling to testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500. FIG.42shows a specific implementation of sensor carrier402as illustrated inFIGS.40and41. In this implementation of sensor carrier402, sensor138is attached to substrate404with a conductive coupler3900, such as, for example, clips, conductive adhesive, conductive polymer, metallic foil, conductive foam, conductive fabric, wire wrapping, wire threading or via any suitable methods. As shown inFIG.43, a substrate4000may have an elongated dimension along which parallel conductive strips4001and4002are formed. Multiple sensor138may be attached to substrate4000and extend beyond an edge of the substrate in a direction perpendicular to the elongated dimension of the substrate. Singulation features such as scoring4020may be provided that facilitate singulation of substrate4000into individual sensor carrier substrates404for each sensor and/or that electrically isolate portions of conductive strips4001and4002for each sensor. Each sensor may be attached to substrate4000using, for example clips3900or any other methods including, via the use of conductive adhesive, conductive polymer, metallic foil, conductive foam, conductive fabric, wire wrapping, wire threading or any other suitable methods. An identifier450for each sensor may be provided on a corresponding portion of substrate4000. Sensors138may each have a pair of sensor electrical contacts (e.g., contacts1000and1002) coupled to a corresponding pair of electrical contacts formed from strips4001and4002on the substrate. Openings in substrate4000and/or vias that extend through substrate4000may provide exposed portions of strips4001and4002that form a plurality of pairs of electrical contacts for coupling each sensor138to testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500(e.g., an electronics unit of a wearable device). Each of the plurality of pairs of electrical contacts is coupled to an associated pair of portions of strips4001and4002via the substrate. FIGS.44-46show various contact configurations on sensor carriers that can be singulated from a sensor carrier strip of the type shown inFIG.43. In the example ofFIG.44, a z-shaped contact configuration on substrate4000has been singulated to form a pre-connected sensor on a smaller portion of the substrate, referred to as substrate404. In this instance, the z-shaped contact configuration may allow for greater distance between connectors (e.g., larger pitch connection) on testing, manufacturing, or calibration equipment, though a z-shaped substrate is not necessary to generate the greater distance and other substrate shapes can be used. In the example ofFIG.45, a square portion of substrate4000has been singulated to form a pre-connected sensor on the substrate404. In the example ofFIG.46a square portion of substrate4000has been singulated to form a pre-connected sensor and an opening4300(e.g., an air gap) is provided in the singulated substrate404to improve electrical isolation between singulated contact strip portions4001and4002. As shown inFIG.47A, in some implementations, an elongate substrate4000that forms a sensor carrier for multiple sensor138can be provided with a feed-guide strip4402that runs along an elongated edge of the elongate substrate. Feed-guide strip4402may include locating features4404that can be accessed and manipulated to move and register a strip of pre-connected sensors through one or more manufacturing stations. In the implementation ofFIG.47A, sensors138can be attached to substrate4000in bulk and singulated on substrate404after manufacturing or testing operations. As shown inFIG.47B, a strip of pre-connected sensors as shown inFIG.47Acan be provided on a reel4410for bulk storage and/or transportation and optionally automatically pulled from the reel using feed-guide strip4402to be moved through one or more testing stations and/or one or more calibration stations.FIG.48shows a pre-connected sensor having a sensor carrier that has been singulated from substrate4000and separated from a singulated portion4402of feed-guide strip4402. Alternatively, feed-guide strip4402can be separated as a strip prior to singulation of individual pre-connected sensors. In other embodiments, the feed guide is integrated into the final product configuration and not removed from the sensor carrier during or after singulation. FIG.49shows an implementation of sensor carrier402in which a plurality of sets of contacts406and408are formed from receptacles4600having a slot for receiving a corresponding plurality of sensors138. In some implementations, the receptacles4600may be an elongated member comprising a resilient or flexible material. The receptacles4600may have slots that optionally pierce through an insulation layer or deform a portion of the outer layer so as to make contact with the sensors138. FIG.50shows an implementation of a sensor carrier for multiple sensors138having recesses4700that form datum features to hold each sensor in an accurate alignment and position. Complementary magnetic features may be provided on sensor138and substrate404to hold each sensor in an accurate alignment and position and thereby facilitate accurate sensor processing. FIG.51Ashows an implementation of an elongate substrate4800formed using printed circuit board technology from either a rigid, flexible, or a combination rigid/flexible substrate, from which multiple sensor carriers402can be singulated. Flexible portion of the substrate may be manufactured from a material such as polyimide, PEEK, polyester or any suitable type. Rigid portion of the substrate may be manufactured from a material such as FR4, FR5, FR6, insulated metal substrate (IMS), PTFE, or any suitable type. As shown inFIG.51A, each sensor carrier may include a sensor connection portion4804and an interface or processing portion4802. In some implementations, each sensor carrier may include a sensor connection portion4804that extends from a rigid or flexible portion and an interface or processing portion4802that extends from a rigid or flexible portion. In these implementations, one or more contacts, such as contacts406and408can be formed on the sensor connection portion4804of each sensor carrier402. Sensor connection portions4804of substrate4800may contain anchoring or datum features of sensor carriers402. FIG.51Bshows another implementation of an elongate substrate4800as shown inFIG.51Awith an optional electrical connection interface4850for connecting to a work station, such as a testing station, a calibration station, an assembly station, a coating station, or other manufacturing stations. The optional electrical connection interface4850may be coupled to one or more sensor carriers402through electrical traces configured on one or more layers of the circuit board. As shown inFIG.51B, a plurality of sensor carriers402are assembled in a panel, and each of the sensor carrier402may include a sensor connection portion4804that extends from a flexible or rigid portion and an interface or processing portion4802that extends from a flexible or rigid portion. In these implementations, one or more contacts, such as contacts406and408can be formed on the sensor connection portion4804of each sensor carrier402. Sensor connection portions4804of substrate4800may contain anchoring or datum features of sensor carriers402. In some implementations, the elongate substrate4800shown inFIG.51Bmay be configured to allow the sensor138to extend beyond the edge of the substrate. This may be accomplished by removing a portion of the elongated substrate4860for further processing. In some embodiments a perforation (e.g. V-score, mouse bites, or other suitable type) is included in elongated substrate4800for enabling the removal of the bottom portion of the panel4860for dipping or calibration. In this implementation, the elongated substrate4800can be configured for dipping or calibration, as described inFIG.52B. Now referring toFIG.52A, an implementation of a sensor carrier402is shown with one or more sensor contacts (e.g. contacts406and408) on sensor connection portion4804and one or more one or more interface contacts (e.g. contacts410and412) on an interface or processing portion4802. One or more interface contacts (e.g.,410and412) may be formed on sensor carrier402for coupling to testing station5002, calibration station5004, and/or electronics unit500. In this configuration, testing and/or calibration operations can be performed by coupling portion4802to the testing and/or calibration equipment. FIG.52Bshows an example panel implementation of a plurality of sensor carriers402with electrical connection interface4850for interfacing with electronics of a work station, such as a testing station, a calibration station, an assembly station, a coating station, or other manufacturing stations. The illustration ofFIG.52Bshows the elongate substrate4800ofFIG.48after the bottom panel portion4860has been removed (from the illustration ofFIG.51B) and with sensor138attached via one or more sensor contacts (e.g. contacts406and408). In some implementations, the sensors can be permanently connected (e.g. conductive adhesive, conductive polymer, conductive ink, solder, welding, brazing, or other suitable methods) to the sensor carriers402and both components can be calibrated together or separately. In other implementations, the sensors can be releasably attached (e.g. via clips, metallic foil, conductive foam, conductive fabric, wire wrapping, wire threading or any other suitable methods). Following testing and/or calibration operations, flexible portion4802may be folded around, folded over, wrapped around, wrapped over, or manipulated to envelope portion4804for installation into on-skin sensor assembly600. In the example ofFIG.53A, portion4802may form a standalone processing circuit for sensor138(e.g., an implementation of sensor electronics112. In other implementations, portion4802may be coupled directly to signal processing circuit for assembly600, to a system in package (SIP) implementation of the sensor electronics or a main printed circuit board for the sensor electronics. In the example ofFIG.53B, the flexible portion4804is folded to envelope portion4802for installation into on-skin sensor assembly600so as to have sensor138positionally secured to extend (e.g. through opening4808) for insertion for in vivo operations. FIG.54shows an implementation in which sensor carrier402is manufactured using printed circuit board technology as a daughter board for a main printed circuit board5100for the sensor electronics. As shown inFIG.54, one or more contacts such as contacts5104(e.g., solder contacts) may be formed between sensor carrier402and main PCB5100to form sensor electronics unit for sensor138in on-skin sensor assembly600. Conductive traces5102may couple contacts5104to sensor138via a conductive attachment mechanism5103(e.g., solder, conductive adhesive, a conductive tape, or other conductive attachment as discussed herein). FIG.55shows an implementation of sensor carrier402in which a pinch clip5200is provided to close the arms5204of a crimp connector5202to secure sensor138to substrate404. Connector5204may be formed form a conductive material that forms one of contacts410and412. As shown inFIG.55, pinch clip5200includes clasping arms5208with ramped surfaces that push the arms outward as pinch clip5200is move toward substrate404in direction5206and snap back to secure pinch clip5200to substrate404. In other implementations, pinch clip5200may be provided without clasping arms5208so that pinch clip5200is removable after arms5204are pinched closed so that pinch clip5200does not form a part of the sensor carrier. As shown inFIG.55, one or more electrode breakouts5220may be provided to form, for example, one or more of contacts410and412on substrate404. Although breakout5220is formed on a surface of substrate404that is opposed to the surface to which sensor138is attached in the example ofFIG.55, this is merely illustrative. It should be appreciated that breakouts for contacts such as contacts410and412may be formed on the opposing surface, on the same surface as sensor138, or on an edge or sidewall of substrate404and coupled to contacts408and406by conductive vias or other conductive layers, structures, or interconnects within or on substrate404. In some implementations, a pinch clip5200may be used to apply bias force against sensor138in combination with crimp connector5202or directly against substrate without crimp connector5202. Pinch clip5202may apply force radially, axially, or in a suitable direction to provide a biasing force on sensor138and conductive pathway. FIG.56shows an implementation of sensor carrier402in which contacts406and408are formed from foldable conductive clips5300. Sensor138may be inserted through openings5302in each clip5300and mechanically secured to substrate404and conductively coupled to clips5300by a folding a portion5304of each of clips5300over onto sensor138. Portions5304of clips5300may also form contacts410and412for coupling to external equipment such as a manufacturing station (e.g., a testing station, a calibration station, an assembly station, a coating station, or other manufacturing stations). However, this is merely illustrative. In other implementations, one or more electrode breakouts that are conductively coupled to clips5300may be provided to form, for example, one or more of contacts410and412on substrate404. Such breakouts may be formed on a surface of substrate404that is opposed to the surface to which sensor138is attached, on the same surface as sensor138, or on an edge or sidewall of substrate404and coupled to clips5300by conductive vias or other conductive layers, structures, or interconnects within or on substrate404. Clips5300also form datum features for positioning and aligning sensor138relative to substrate404. Substrate404may be sized and shaped (or may include structural features) that form anchoring features for substrate404relative to manufacturing stations and/or a housing of a wearable device. In this way, sensor carrier402may be used to easily position and align sensor138for both manufacturing and assembly operations (e.g., using the datum features to align the sensor relative to substrate404and the anchoring features to align the substrate relative to the manufacturing or wearable equipment). The conductive components of the sensor carrier402in the various embodiments described herein are electrically isolated from each other and the environment when installed in on-skin sensor assembly600. For example, contacts406,408,410, and412may be electrically isolated from each other and the environment, using a non-conductive adhesive such as a one or two-part epoxy, using a polyurethane, using a low pressure overmolding such as a moldable polyamide or a moldable polyolefin, using an injection overmolded thermoplastic or thermoset, using a non-elastomer such as welded clamshell plastic, adhesively bonded clamshell, single or 2-sided cavity potted with sealant, e.g., epoxy, urethane, silicone, etc., or using a factory pre-compressed elastomer such as a constrained two-part cavity that holds an elastomer in a compressed state. The two-part cavity may hold the elastomer in the compressed state by a snap fit, a bonding such as an ultrasonic weld, a laser weld, a solvent bond, or a heat stake, or a mechanical fastener such as a screw, rivet, clip, or other fastener. Illustrative operations that may be performed for manufacturing and using a pre-connected analyte sensor are shown inFIG.57. At block5400, an analyte sensor such as analyte sensor138may be provided. As described herein the analyte sensor may have an elongated body (e.g., an elongated conductive body with an elongated conductive core), and a working electrode on the elongated body (e.g., at a distal end of the elongated body). The analyte sensor may also include one or more electrical contacts at a proximal end or elsewhere along the elongated body and coupled, respectively, to the working electrode and/or the reference electrode. At block5402, a sensor carrier such as one of the implementations of sensor carrier402described herein may be attached, for example, to the proximal end of the elongated body. Attaching the sensor carrier includes coupling one or more contacts (e.g., on a substrate) of the sensor carrier to one or more corresponding electrical contacts on the elongated body. At block5403, a work station such as a manufacturing station is provided. As described herein, a manufacturing station can be configured to perform one or more dip coating processes to form the membrane108described above on the working electrode. At block5404, the analyte sensor may be coupled to at least one testing station (e.g., testing station5002) by coupling the sensor carrier to circuitry of the at least one test station. Coupling the sensor carrier to the circuitry of the at least one test station may include mechanically coupling one or more anchoring features such as a substrate of the sensor carrier to a mating interface of the test station such that one or more external contacts on the substrate are coupled to one or more corresponding contacts at the test station. An identifier for the sensor on the sensor carrier may be read by the testing station. Test data obtained by the test station may be stored and/or transmitted, in association with the identifier, by the test station. At block5406, the analyte sensor may be coupled to at least one calibration station (e.g., calibration station5004) by coupling the sensor carrier to circuitry of the at least one calibration station. Coupling the sensor carrier to the circuitry of the at least one calibration station may include mechanically coupling the one or more anchoring features such as the substrate of the sensor carrier to a mating interface of the calibration station such that one or more external contacts on the substrate is coupled to one or more corresponding contacts at the calibration station. An identifier for the sensor on the sensor carrier may be read by the calibration station. Calibration data obtained by the calibration station may be stored and/or transmitted, in association with the identifier, by the calibration station. Calibration data may be stored on the sensor carrier or transmitted for later use by an on-skin sensor assembly600during in vivo use of sensor138. Sensor carrier402may be coupled to one or more additional manufacturing stations as desired. The additional manufacturing stations may include potentiostat measurement stations, sensor straightening stations, membrane dipping stations, curing stations, analyte sensitivity measurement stations, and/or inspection stations. At block5408, the sensor carrier may be coupled to sensor electronics (e.g., sensor electronics112of electronics unit500) of a wearable device such as on-skin sensor assembly600. Coupling the sensor carrier to the sensor electronics may include coupling the one or more external contacts on the sensor carrier to corresponding contacts of the sensor electronics. In some embodiments, coupling the sensor carrier to the sensor electronics may include securing the sensor carrier between a base such as base128and electronics unit500as described herein. A reader in the on-skin sensor assembly600may obtain an identifier of the sensor from the sensor carrier. Calibration data for the sensor may be obtained based on the identifier. At block5410, in vivo signals from the working electrode (e.g., and a reference electrode) may be obtained and processed with the sensor electronics. The in vivo signals from the working electrode (e.g., and a reference electrode) may be received by the sensor electronics from the sensor through the circuitry of the sensor carrier. The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions for achieving the described methods. The method steps and/or actions may be interchanged with one another without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is specified, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims. For example, the operations described above in connection with blocks5404and5406may be reversed and/or may be performed in parallel. In some scenarios, it may be desirable to couple sensor138to one or more contacts on a substrate in a preferred position and orientation.FIG.58shows an exemplary apparatus5531in which sensor138is oriented to substrate5530using an elastomeric tube. As shown inFIG.58, apparatus5531may include a substrate5530having one or more conductive contacts such as contacts5532and5534(e.g., exposed copper pads on a printed circuit substrate), and an elastomeric tube5500. Elastomeric tube5500may be formed from a non-conductive elastomer. As shown, elastomeric tube5500may be formed with a “D”, “O”, oval, pyramidal, or hemispherical shaped cross-section having an elongated cutout5503in the bottom portion of the elastomeric tube5500within which sensor138is disposed. In this way, sidewalls of the elongated cutout of elastomeric tube5500can align sensor138relative to substrate5530. Bottom portions5502on either side of cutout5503may be attached to substrate5530. The bottom portions5502may be attached to substrate using adhesive5504such as a pressure-sensitive adhesive. The elongated opening5501and cutout5503in the elastomeric tube5500provides sufficient space that, in order to assemble the apparatus, tube5500can be placed over sensor138while sensor138is in place on substrate5530. FIG.59shows an exploded perspective view of the apparatus ofFIG.55in which contacts5532and5534can be seen on substrate5530. Sensor138may be positioned over one or more contacts such as contacts5532and5534. Sensor138may be loosely held within opening5501of tube5500during initial placement of the tube over the sensor, and then be fixed to the substrate5530by the tube when the tube is compressed (e.g., by an upper housing of a wearable device). In this way, sensor138may be communicatively coupled and mechanically fixed to a substrate without soldering or other bonding operations. During manufacturing operations and/or during in-vivo use of sensor138, sensor138may be held in place on substrate404by external compression of tube5500.FIG.60shows an example in which sensor138is held in place by compression of tube5500by a housing structure. For example, housing5700(e.g., a housing of a wearable device or a lid or clip for a manufacturing station) may include a protruding member5702that, in an assembled configuration, compresses tube5500to secure sensor138. As noted above in connection with, for example,FIGS.35B,43,47A,47B,50, and51, during manufacturing operations, multiple sensors138may be carried by a common sensor carrier. However, in some scenarios, a common carrier such as an intelligent carrier may be provided for manufacturing operations for multiple pre-connected sensors.FIG.61shows an example of a carrier for multiple pre-connected sensors. As shown inFIG.58, a carrier5800may include a housing5802with interfaces5804for multiple pre-connected sensors. Housing5802may be a substantially solid substrate or may be a housing that forms an interior cavity within which other components are mounted and/or connected. Each interface5804may be configured to receive a sensor carrier402in any of the implementations described herein. For example, each interface5804may include one or more features that interface with one or more corresponding anchoring features of a sensor carrier as described herein in accordance with various implementations. Carrier5800may include circuitry5806(e.g., one or more processors and/or memory) configured to communicate with sensors138and/or external computing equipment. Circuitry5806may include communications circuitry such as one or more antennas for transmitting and/or receiving data from external equipment. Housing5802may include one or more structures5810(e.g., clips, clasps, protrusions, recesses, notches, posts, or the like) for mechanically coupling carrier5800to manufacturing equipment. One or more conductive contacts5808may be provided on housing5802that communicatively couple manufacturing equipment to sensors138through the carrier. As shown, each interface5804may be associated with a particular identification number (represented, as an example, inFIG.58as I1, I1. . . IN-1, and IN). Circuitry5806may electronically identify sensors mounted in interfaces5804of carrier5800with the identification number associated with that interface. However, this is merely illustrative. In other implementations, sensors138may be uniquely identified by circuitry5806using a reader in each of interfaces5804that reads an identifier such as identifier450on the sensor carrier. Testing and/or calibration data may be gathered by processing circuitry5806and stored and/or transmitted along with an identifier for each sensor. During manufacturing, one or more pre-connected sensors may be loaded carrier5800. Carrier5800may secure the pre-connected sensors therein and perform potentiostat measurements for each sensor (e.g., using circuitry5806). Sensors138may be secured to interfaces5804by individual mounting features or carrier5800may be provided with a locking mechanism such as a slidable bar5812. Slidable bar5812may be slidable (e.g., by a handle5814) between an open position as shown, in which sensor carriers can be inserted into and removed from interfaces5804, to a closed position in which bar5812blocks removal of the sensor carriers from the interfaces. In some scenarios, an initial measurement test may be performed by carrier5800to test the potentiostat connection through the sensor interconnect electrodes and the sensor surfaces. Manufacturing operations that may be performed for sensors138coupled to carrier5800may include physical manipulation of the sensor such as straightening of the sensors. Carrier5800may facilitate more efficient manufacturing by allowing multiple sensors to be straightened in a single operation using automated straightening equipment. Carrier5800may facilitate potentiostat and/or other measurements at various stages of manufacturing for sensors138. Potentiostat measurements may be performed before, during, and/or after straightening operations and information regarding sensor damage or any other mechanical stress that might be introduced by the straightening may be saved and/or transmitted along with associated sensor ID's. Manufacturing operations that may be performed for sensors138coupled to carrier5800may also include a membrane process in which dipping operations are performed to form a membrane such as membrane508for each sensor. Straightened sensors138mounted in carrier5800may be concurrently dipped. Potentiostat measurements may be performed before, during, and/or after membrane operations and information associated with the electrochemistry of the sensors and dipping process may be gathered, processed, stored, and/or transmitted by carrier5800. Manufacturing operations that may be performed for sensors138coupled to carrier5800may also include a curing process. Performing curing for groups of sensors138mounted in carrier5800may allow the curing process to take less space, which can reduce the footprint of the manufacturing area used by curing equipment. Potentiostat measurements may be performed before, during, and/or after curing operations and information associated with the electrochemistry of the sensors and curing process may be gathered, processed, stored, and/or transmitted by carrier5800. Manufacturing operations that may be performed for sensors138coupled to carrier5800may also include calibration operations. Because carrier5800can perform connection testing early in the manufacturing process, improved analyte/electrochemical calibration can be performed by carrier5800itself and/or in cooperation with external manufacturing equipment. Calibration data may be gathered, processed, stored, and/or transmitted by carrier5800. Gathering calibration and/or testing data with carrier5800can save time in connecting and disconnecting additional external equipment. Gathering calibration and/or testing data with carrier5800, particularly when data is gathered and stored automatically in connection with sensor ID's, can also reduce calibration/testing errors because the data is gathered by the same equipment throughout various processes. Manufacturing operations that may be performed for sensors138coupled to carrier5800may also include analyte concentration measurements. For example, carrier5800may be moved by manufacturing equipment (e.g., a robotic arm) to expose the sensors138mounted in the carrier through various analyte baths (e.g., glucose baths). Carrier5800may gather electrical potential measurements during the various bath exposures. Information associated with the electrical potential measurements during the various bath exposures may be gathered, processed, stored, and/or transmitted by carrier5800. Manufacturing operations that may be performed for sensors138coupled to carrier5800may also include analyte sensitivity measurements. Sensitivity measurements that may be performed by carrier5800may include baseline measurements that indicate the signal from each sensor without analyte exposure, slope measurements that indicate the signal change for a given amount of an analyte, and/or noise measurements. These sensitivity measurements may be stored, and/or transmitted by carrier5800. Manufacturing operations that may be performed for sensors138coupled to carrier5800may also include visual inspection operations (e.g., by a technician). Providing a group of pre-connected sensors, mounted in carrier5800, that have already been through all of the testing/calibration/manufacturing operations described above may allow a more efficient and/or more automated visual inspection and rejection (e.g., because the exact physical location of each sensor within carrier5800is known). Sensors138that have exhibited unusual electrochemistry or mechanical stress during manufacturing operations can be flagged by carrier5800(e.g., using a display, a visual indicator, or transmission of flag information to an external device) for retesting or rejection. The connections between the elements shown in some figures illustrate exemplary communication paths. Additional communication paths, either direct or via an intermediary, may be included to further facilitate the exchange of information between the elements. The communication paths may be bi-directional communication paths allowing the elements to exchange information. Various operations of methods described above may be performed by any suitable means capable of performing the operations, such as various hardware and/or software component(s), circuits, and/or module(s). Generally, any operations illustrated in the figures may be performed by corresponding functional means capable of performing the operations. The various illustrative logical blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with the present disclosure (such as the blocks ofFIG.2) may be implemented or performed with a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array signal (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. In one or more aspects, various functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise various types of RAM, ROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, WiFi, Bluetooth®, RFID, NFC, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray® disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Thus, in some aspects a computer readable medium may comprise non-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., tangible media). In addition, in some aspects a computer readable medium may comprise transitory computer readable medium (e.g., a signal). Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Certain aspects may comprise a computer program product for performing the operations presented herein. For example, such a computer program product may comprise a computer readable medium having instructions stored (and/or encoded) thereon, the instructions being executable by one or more processors to perform the operations described herein. For certain aspects, the computer program product may include packaging material. Software or instructions may also be transmitted over a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of transmission medium. Further, it should be appreciated that modules and/or other appropriate means for performing the methods and techniques described herein can be downloaded and/or otherwise obtained by a user terminal and/or base station as applicable. For example, such a device can be coupled to a server to facilitate the transfer of means for performing the methods described herein. Alternatively, various methods described herein can be provided via storage means (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage medium such as a compact disc (CD) or floppy disk, etc.), such that a user terminal and/or base station can obtain the various methods upon coupling or providing the storage means to the device. Moreover, any other suitable technique for providing the methods and techniques described herein to a device can be utilized. It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components illustrated above. Various modifications, changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the methods and apparatus described above without departing from the scope of the claims. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) are to be given their ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and are not to be limited to a special or customized meaning unless expressly so defined herein. It should be noted that the use of particular terminology when describing certain features or aspects of the disclosure should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being re-defined herein to be restricted to include any specific characteristics of the features or aspects of the disclosure with which that terminology is associated. Terms and phrases used in this application, and variations thereof, especially in the appended claims, unless otherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open ended as opposed to limiting. As examples of the foregoing, the term ‘including’ should be read to mean ‘including, without limitation,’ ‘including but not limited to,’ or the like; the term ‘comprising’ as used herein is synonymous with ‘including,’ ‘containing,’ or ‘characterized by,’ and is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps; the term ‘having’ should be interpreted as ‘having at least;’ the term ‘includes’ should be interpreted as ‘includes but is not limited to;’ the term ‘example’ is used to provide exemplary instances of the item in discussion, not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof; adjectives such as ‘known’, ‘normal’, ‘standard’, and terms of similar meaning should not be construed as limiting the item described to a given time period or to an item available as of a given time, but instead should be read to encompass known, normal, or standard technologies that may be available or known now or at any time in the future; and use of terms like ‘preferably,’ ‘preferred,’ ‘desired,’ or ‘desirable,’ and words of similar meaning should not be understood as implying that certain features are critical, essential, or even important to the structure or function of the invention, but instead as merely intended to highlight alternative or additional features that may or may not be utilized in a particular embodiment of the invention Likewise, a group of items linked with the conjunction ‘and’ should not be read as requiring that each and every one of those items be present in the grouping, but rather should be read as ‘and/or’ unless expressly stated otherwise. Similarly, a group of items linked with the conjunction ‘or’ should not be read as requiring mutual exclusivity among that group, but rather should be read as ‘and/or’ unless expressly stated otherwise. Where a range of values is provided, it is understood that the upper and lower limit and each intervening value between the upper and lower limit of the range is encompassed within the embodiments. With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity. The indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope. It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention, e.g., as including any combination of the listed items, including single members (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.” All numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, reaction conditions, and so forth used in the specification are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term ‘about.’ Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth herein are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of any claims in any application claiming priority to the present application, each numerical parameter should be construed in light of the number of significant digits and ordinary rounding approaches. All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. To the extent publications and patents or patent applications incorporated by reference contradict the disclosure contained in the specification, the specification is intended to supersede and/or take precedence over any such contradictory material. Headings are included herein for reference and to aid in locating various sections. These headings are not intended to limit the scope of the concepts described with respect thereto. Such concepts may have applicability throughout the entire specification. Furthermore, although the foregoing has been described in some detail by way of illustrations and examples for purposes of clarity and understanding, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that certain changes and modifications may be practiced. Therefore, the description and examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention to the specific embodiments and examples described herein, but rather to also cover all modification and alternatives coming with the true scope and spirit of the invention. Various system and methods described may be fully implemented and/or controlled in any number of computing devices. Typically, instructions are laid out on computer readable media, generally non-transitory, and these instructions are sufficient to allow a processor in the computing device to implement the method of the invention. The computer readable medium may be a hard drive or solid state storage having instructions that, when run, are loaded into random access memory. Inputs to the application, e.g., from the plurality of users or from any one user, may be by any number of appropriate computer input devices. For example, users may employ a keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, joystick, trackpad, other pointing device, or any other such computer input device to input data relevant to the calculations. Data may also be input by way of an inserted memory chip, hard drive, flash drives, flash memory, optical media, magnetic media, or any other type of file—storing medium. The outputs may be delivered to a user by way of a video graphics card or integrated graphics chipset coupled to a display that maybe seen by a user. Alternatively, a printer may be employed to output hard copies of the results. Given this teaching, any number of other tangible outputs will also be understood to be contemplated by the invention. For example, outputs may be stored on a memory chip, hard drive, flash drives, flash memory, optical media, magnetic media, or any other type of output. It should also be noted that the invention may be implemented on any number of different types of computing devices, e.g., personal computers, laptop computers, notebook computers, net book computers, handheld computers, personal digital assistants, mobile phones, smart phones, tablet computers, and also on devices specifically designed for these purpose. In one implementation, a user of a smart phone or wi-fi—connected device downloads a copy of the application to their device from a server using a wireless Internet connection. An appropriate authentication procedure and secure transaction process may provide for payment to be made to the seller. The application may download over the mobile connection, or over the WiFi or other wireless network connection. The application may then be run by the user. Such a networked system may provide a suitable computing environment for an implementation in which a plurality of users provide separate inputs to the system and method. In the below system where factory calibration schemes are contemplated, the plural inputs may allow plural users to input relevant data at the same time. | 169,557 |
11943877 | DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS FIG.1AtoFIG.1Jare schematic cross-sectional views of a manufacturing method of a circuit board structure according to some embodiments of the disclosure. Referring toFIG.1A, a circuit substrate110is provided. The circuit substrate110may be a single-layered circuit substrate, a double-layered circuit substrate, or a multi-layered circuit substrate. In some embodiments, the circuit substrate110may include a core layer111, a first dielectric layer112A and a second dielectric layer112B respectively formed on the core layer111, a first circuit layer113A and a second circuit layer113B respectively formed on/in the first dielectric layer112A and the second dielectric layer112B, and conductive through core vias114penetrating through the core layer111to be in contact with the first circuit layer113A and the second circuit layer113B. For example, the core layer111has a first side111aand a second side111bopposite to each other, the first dielectric layer112A and the first circuit layer113A are formed on the first side111aof the core layer111and may be collectively viewed as a first circuit structure115A, while the second dielectric layer112B and the second circuit layer113B are formed on the second side111bof the core layer111and may be collectively viewed as a second circuit structure115B. The material of the core layer111may be a dielectric material which is harder than material(s) of the first dielectric layer112A and/or the second dielectric layer112B to serve as a structural support for the overall circuit substrate110. The core layer111may be a single dielectric material or a stack of multiple different dielectric materials. The material and number of layers of the first dielectric layer112A on the first side111amay be substantially the same as those of the second dielectric layer112B on the second side111b. In some embodiments, the first dielectric layer112A and the second dielectric layer112B may use different dielectric materials and/or may have different number of layers. The material and the number of layers of the first circuit layer113A on the first side111amay be substantially the same as those of the second circuit layer113B on the second side111b, or may use different conductive materials and/or have different number of layers. The number of layers of the first circuit layer113A and the second circuit layer113B are not limited in the disclosure. Each of the first circuit layer113and the second circuit layer113B may include conductive lines, conductive vias, conductive pads, etc. In some embodiments, a portion of the first circuit layer113A (e.g., the first conductive pads113Ap) and a portion of the second circuit layer113B (e.g., the second conductive pads113Bp) may be respectively formed on the outer surface112At of the first dielectric layer112A and the outer surface112Bt of the second dielectric layer112B for further electrical connection. Two ends of the respective conductive through core via114may be respectively in direct contact with and electrically coupled to the first circuit layer113A and the second circuit layer113B to provide vertical electrical conduction on two opposite sides of the core layer111. In the illustrated embodiment, the conductive through core vias114are hollow. In other embodiments, the conductive through core vias114may be solid and plated conductive pillars or the insulating material coated with the conductive layer. It should be understood that the circuit substrate110illustrated inFIG.1Ais merely an illustrative example, the circuit substrate of the disclosure may have more (or less) component than the circuit substrate110and construes no limitation. Referring toFIG.1B, a first leveling dielectric material121A′ and a second leveling dielectric material121B′ are respectively formed on the first dielectric layer112A and the second dielectric layer112B. For example, the first leveling dielectric material121A′ and the second leveling dielectric material121B′ may be a material including insulating resins and inorganic fillers (e.g., Ajinomoto Build-up Film (ABF)) or other suitable dielectric material, and may be formed by using a lamination process or other suitable deposition process. The first conductive pads113Ap may be embedded in the first leveling dielectric material121A′ formed on the outer surface112At of the first dielectric layer112A. Similarly, the second conductive pads113Bp may also be embedded in the second leveling dielectric material121B′ formed on the outer surface112Bt of the second dielectric layer112B. Referring toFIG.1Cand with reference toFIG.1B, a leveling process is performed on the first leveling dielectric material121A′ and the second leveling dielectric material121B′, respectively. The leveling process may be or may include grinding process or other suitable thinning/planarizing process. After the leveling process, the planarized first leveling dielectric material121A″ and the planarized second leveling dielectric material121B″ are respectively formed. After the leveling process, the first conductive pads113Ap are still buried in the planarized first leveling dielectric material121A″ without being exposed, and the second conductive pads113Bp are still buried in the planarized second leveling dielectric material121B″ without being exposed. The maximum thickness TA1of the planarized first leveling dielectric material121A″ is greater than a thickness TA2of the respective first conductive pad113Ap on the first dielectric layer112A, and the maximum thickness TB1of the planarized second leveling dielectric material121B″ is greater than a thickness TB2of the respective second conductive pad113Bp on the second dielectric layer112B. In some embodiments, a portion of the planarized first leveling dielectric material121A″ formed directly over the first conductive pad113Ap has a thickness TA1′, where the value of the thickness TA1′ is non-zero. A portion of the planarized second leveling dielectric material121B″ formed directly over the second conductive pad113Bp has a thickness TB1′, where the value of the thickness TB1′ is also non-zero. By respectively forming the planarized first leveling dielectric material121A″ and the planarized second leveling dielectric material121B″ at two opposing sides of the circuit substrate110, the total thickness variation (TTV) of the resulting structure may be reduced in order to facilitate the subsequent fabrication of the redistribution layer that requires higher planarity. In addition, by forming the planarized first leveling dielectric material121A″ and the planarized second leveling dielectric material121B″ to meet the requirement of reducing the total thickness variation value, the first circuit layer113A and the second circuit layer113B of the circuit substrate110are not affected by the grinding process or other planarizing process resulting in burring or cracking, so as to maintain its integrity. Referring toFIG.1Dand with reference toFIG.1C, a dielectric material is respectively formed on the planarized first leveling dielectric material121A″ and the planarized second leveling dielectric material121B″, where the dielectric material may be or may include photo-imageable dielectric (PID) or other materials suitable for thin-circuitry dielectric layers, and may be formed by using, for example, lamination or other suitable deposition process. Next, a portion of the dielectric material formed on the planarized first leveling dielectric material121A″ and the planarized first leveling dielectric material121A″ underlying the portion of the dielectric material are removed to respectively form a first thin-film dielectric layer122A and a first leveling dielectric layer121A. For example, a drilling process is performed on the dielectric material formed on the planarized first leveling dielectric material121A″ and the planarized first leveling dielectric material121A″ to form the first thin-film dielectric layer122A with openings OP1and the first leveling dielectric layer121A with the corresponding openings OP2, where these openings OP1and OP2collectively expose at least a part of the first conductive pads113Ap to facilitate subsequent electrical connection. For example, the maximum thickness TA1of the first leveling layer121A is greater than the maximum thickness TA3of the first thin-film dielectric layer122A, and the maximum thickness TB1of the planarized second leveling dielectric material121B″ is greater than the maximum thickness TB3of the second dielectric thin-film material122B′. The second dielectric thin-film material122B′ formed on the planarized second leveling dielectric material121B″ then remains covering the planarized second leveling dielectric material121B″, and the drilling process is not performed at this stage. In some embodiments, the maximum thickness TA1of the first leveling dielectric layer121A and the maximum thickness TB1of the planarized second leveling dielectric material121B″ are equal, or the difference between the maximum thicknesses TA1and TB1is within about ±5%. In some embodiments, the maximum thickness TA3of the first thin-film dielectric layer122A and the maximum thickness TB3of the second dielectric thin-film material122B′ are equal, or the difference between the maximum thicknesses TA3and TB3is within about ±5%. By configuring the respective dielectric layers formed on the two opposite sides of the circuit substrate110to have equal or similar thicknesses, such symmetrical configuration may reduce warpage issues caused by the CTE mismatches during fabrication. Referring toFIG.1E, a seed layer SD1may be conformally formed on the first thin-film dielectric layer122A by using, for example, sputtering process or other suitable deposition process. The seed layer SD1may be formed on the upper surface of the first thin-film dielectric layer and formed in the openings OP1and OP2to be in direct contact with the first conductive pads113Ap that are exposed by the openings OP1and OP2. Next, a patterned photoresist layer PR1may be formed on the seed layer SD1using lithography process, where the patterned photoresist layer PR1has openings OP3to expose a portion of the seed layer SD1. Subsequently, a conductive material CM1is formed in the openings OP3of the patterned photoresist layer PR1and formed on the seed layer SD1exposed by the patterned photoresist layer PR1by using, for example, plating process or other suitable deposition process. Referring toFIG.1Fand with reference toFIG.1E, after forming the conductive material CM1, the patterned photoresist layer PR1may be removed by suitable process. Next, a portion of the seed layer SD1that is not covered by the conductive material CM1may be removed by suitable process to form a first redistributive layer123A. As the enlarged view inFIG.1F, the first redistributive layer123A includes the conductive material CM1and the underlying patterned seed layer SD1′. In some embodiments, the first redistributive layer123A has via portions123Av connected to the first conductive pads113Ap, pad portions123Ap connected to the via portions123Av, and line portions123Aw connected to the pad portions123Ap, where the pad portions123Ap and the line portions123Aw are disposed on the upper surface of the first thin-film dielectric layer122A, the via portions123Av are laterally and directly covered by the first thin-film dielectric layer122A and the underlying first leveling dielectric layer121A. In some embodiments, the line width/spacing of the first redistributive layer123A is finer than the line width/spacing of the first circuit layer113A. For example, one of thickness TA4of the pad portions123Ap and the line portions123Aw disposed on the upper surface of the first thin-film dielectric layer122A is less than the thickness TA5of the respective first conductive pad113Ap formed on the first dielectric layer112A. Referring toFIG.1G, a third dielectric thin-film material124A′ and a fourth dielectric thin-film material124B′ are respectively formed on the first thin-film dielectric layer122A and the second dielectric thin-film material122B′ by using lamination process or other suitable deposition process. The third dielectric thin-film material124A′ may cover the first redistributive layer123A formed on the first thin-film dielectric layer122A. For example, material(s) of the third dielectric thin-film material124A′ and the fourth dielectric thin-film material124B′ may be the same as or similar to that of the first thin-film dielectric layer122A and the second dielectric thin-film material122B′, and thus an interface between the first thin-film dielectric layer122A and the third dielectric thin-film material124A′ and an interface between the second dielectric thin-film material122B′ and the fourth dielectric thin-film material124B′ may (or may not) exist; therefore, the dashed lines are used to indicate those interfaces may (or may not) exist. In some embodiments, the maximum thickness TA6of the third dielectric thin-film material124A′ and the maximum thickness TB6of the fourth dielectric thin-film material124B′ are equal, or the difference between the maximum thicknesses TA6and TB6is within about ±5%. Referring toFIG.1Hand with reference toFIG.1G, a portion of the third dielectric thin-film material124A′ is removed to form a third thin-film dielectric layer124A within openings, where the openings of the third thin-film dielectric layer124A expose a portion of the first redistributive layer123A to facilitate the subsequent electrical connection. The third thin-film dielectric layer124A is formed with the openings at the predetermined positions by lithography and etching process or other suitable removal process. Next, a second redistributive layer125A may be formed on the third thin-film dielectric layer124A. The forming process of the second redistributive layer125A may be similar to that of the first redistributive layer123A, and thus the details are not repeated herein. As the enlarged view inFIG.1H, the second redistributive layer125A includes via portions125Av connected to the pad portions123Ap of the first redistributive layer123A and pad portions125Ap connected to the via portions125Av. In some embodiments, the via portions125Av of the second redistributive layer125A are finer (e.g., the height and the width are less) than the via portions123Av of the first redistributive layer123A. The pad portions125Ap of the second redistributive layer125A and the pad portions123Ap of the first redistributive layer123A may be thinner than the thickness of the first conductive pads113Ap of the circuit substrate110. For example, the second redistributive layer125A may be referred to as a fine circuitry and the circuit layer113A of the circuit substrate110may be referred to as a coarse circuitry. Subsequently, a fifth thin-film dielectric layer126A may be formed on the third thin-film dielectric layer124A and a sixth dielectric thin-film material126B′ may be formed on the fourth dielectric thin-film material124B′. The material of the fifth thin-film dielectric layer126A may be the same as or similar to the material of the underlying third thin-film dielectric layer124A, and the fourth dielectric thin-film material124B′ and the sixth dielectric thin-film material126B′ may also be the same or similar materials; therefore, the dashed lines are used to indicate the interfaces therebetween. In some embodiments, the maximum thickness TA7of the fifth thin-film dielectric layer126A and the maximum thickness TB7of the sixth thin-film dielectric layer126B′ are equal, or the difference between the maximum thicknesses TA7and TB7is within about ±5%. In some embodiments, the maximum thickness TA8of all of the first thin-film dielectric layer122A, the third thin-film dielectric layer124A, and the fifth thin-film dielectric layer126A is equal to the maximum thickness TB8of all of the second dielectric thin-film material122B′, the fourth dielectric thin-film material124B′, and the sixth dielectric thin-film material126B′, or the difference between the maximum thicknesses TA8and TB8is within about ±5%. When the redistribution structure is fabricated on the first side110aof the circuit substrate110, a certain number of layers (or corresponding layers) of dielectric thin-film materials are also stacked on the second side110bof the circuit substrate110at the same time, and the respective dielectric layers on these two of the first side110aand the second side110bare designed to have equal or similar thicknesses. Such a symmetrical configuration may effectively reduce the warpage issues caused by the CTE mismatches when forming the dielectric thin-film material of the redistribution structure. Further, when the redistribution structure is fabricated, the overall structure may still maintain certain planarity, thereby improving the electrical performance of the redistribution structure. In some embodiments, the fifth thin-film dielectric layer126A may have openings to expose a portion of the second redistributive layer125A to facilitate the subsequent electrical connection. The forming process of the fifth thin-film dielectric layer126A may be similar to that of the third thin-film dielectric layer124A, and thus the details are not repeated herein. More thin-film dielectric layers and more redistributive layers may be formed in/on the fifth thin-film dielectric layer126A by the way of forming the second redistributive layer125A and the third thin-film dielectric layer124A. More layers of dielectric thin-film material may also be stacked on the sixth dielectric thin-film material126B′. For example, the same number of thin-film dielectric layers as those on the first side110aof the circuit substrate110may be stacked on the second side110bof the circuit substrate110, or thin-film dielectric layers are stacked on the second side110bof the circuit substrate110in a slightly smaller number than that on the first side110aof the circuit substrate110. It should be understood thatFIG.1His merely an example; the number of layers of the thin-film dielectric layer and the redistributive layer are not limited in the disclosure which may be increased or decreased depending on the requirements of circuit design. In some embodiments, as shown inFIG.1H, a top redistributive layer127A (e.g., including conductive pads) may be formed on the fifth thin-film dielectric layer126A for electrical connection to a chip (not shown) having fine-pitched conductive terminals. For example, the first leveling dielectric layer121A, the first thin-film dielectric layer122A, the first redistributive layer123A, the third thin-film dielectric layer124A, the second redistributive layer125A, the fifth thin-film dielectric layer126A, and the top redistributive layer127A that are disposed on the first side110aof the circuit substrate110may be collectively referred to as a redistribution structure120A. As compared to the first circuit structure115A of the circuit substrate110underlying and connected to the redistribution structure120A, the overall thickness of the redistribution structure120A is thinner than the overall thickness of the first circuit structure115A. The distribution density per unit area of each redistributive layer in the redistribution structure120A is denser than the distribution density per unit area of one of the circuit layer in the first circuit structure115A, and the line width/spacing of each redistributive layer in the redistribution structure120A is finer than that of the one of the circuit layer in the first circuit structure115A. Such configuration facilitates electrical connection of the redistribution structure120A to a chip (not shown) with fine-pitched conductive terminals. Referring toFIG.1Iand with reference toFIG.1H, portions of the planarized second leveling dielectric material121B″, the second dielectric thin-film material122B′, the fourth dielectric thin-film material124B′, and the sixth dielectric thin-film material126B′ are removed to respectively form a second leveling dielectric layer121B, a second thin-film dielectric layer122B, a fourth thin-film dielectric layer124B, and a sixth thin-film dielectric layer126B that have openings OP4. The second leveling dielectric layer121B, the second thin-film dielectric layer122B, the fourth thin-film dielectric layer124B, and the sixth thin-film dielectric layer126B may be collectively referred to as a dielectric structure120B, where the dielectric structure120B may be free of conductive wirings. For example, a drilling process, an etching process, a combination thereof, or other suitable removal processes may be used to form the openings OP4which penetrate through the respective dielectric materials on the second side110bof the circuit substrate110, where the openings OP4expose at least a part of the second conductive pads113Bp for the subsequent electrical connection. In some embodiments, the maximum thickness110T of the circuit substrate110is thicker than the maximum thickness120AT of the redistribution structure120A, and the maximum thickness120AT of the redistribution structure120A is thicker than the maximum thickness120BT of the dielectric structure120B. It should be understood that the thickness of each structure may be adjusted according to product requirements, which is not limited thereto. Referring toFIG.1J, a surface finishing layer123B is formed on the second conductive pads113Bp exposed by the openings OP4of the dielectric structure120B to form conductive terminals (not shown; such as solder balls) thereon. The surface finishing layer123B may include a thin film formed by utilizing an electroless-nickel-palladium-immersion-gold (ENEPIG) technique to increase bonding reliability between the subsequently-formed conductive terminals. Other suitable processes may also be used to form the surface finishing layer123B. It is worth to mention that the dielectric structure120B may be directly used as a solder resist layer, so there is no need to form an additional solder resist layer before forming the conductive terminals. Up to here, the fabrication of the circuit board structure100is substantially completed. In summary of the above, the circuit board structure of the disclosure includes circuit substrate, and the redistribution structure and the dielectric structure are respectively formed on two opposing sides of the circuit substrate, where the redistribution structure has a finer and denser redistributive layer than the circuit layer of the circuit substrate to have the chips with fine-pitched conductive terminals directly mounted on the redistribution structure of the circuit board structure. In addition, by forming the leveling dielectric layer on the circuit substrate of the circuit board structure and then forming the redistributive layer thereon, the conductive pads on the circuit substrate will not be affected by the leveling process and will not result in cracking or burring. Meanwhile, the total thickness variation of the resulting structure may also be reduced to facilitate the subsequent fabrication of the redistribution layer that requires higher planarity. Furthermore, while the redistribution structure is formed on one side of the circuit substrate, a certain number of layers (or a corresponding number of layers) of dielectric thin-film material is formed on the opposite side of the circuit substrate. This may suppress the warpage of the overall structure and help to improve the electrical performance and reliability of the circuit board structure. Although the disclosure has been described with reference to the above embodiments, they are not intended to limit the disclosure. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that modifications to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the disclosure will be defined by the attached claims and their equivalents and not by the above detailed descriptions. | 24,064 |
11943878 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. The same reference numbers indicate the same or like components throughout the specification, and therefore, a redundant description thereof may not be repeated. In the attached figures, the thickness of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to limit the example embodiments described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, expressions such as “at least one of,” “one of,” and “selected from,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Further, the use of “may” when describing embodiments of the present disclosure refers to “one or more embodiments of the present disclosure”. Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” “bottom,” “top,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the drawings. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. For example, if the device in the drawings is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” or “over” the other elements or features. Thus, the term “below” may encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations), and the spatially relative descriptors used herein should be interpreted accordingly. As used herein, the terms “substantially,” “about,” and similar terms are used as terms of approximation and not as terms of degree, and are intended to account for the inherent deviations in measured or calculated values that would be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art. “About” or “approximately,” as used herein, is inclusive of the stated value and refers to within an acceptable range of deviation for the particular value as determined by one of ordinary skill in the art, considering the measurement in question and the error associated with measurement of the particular quantity (i.e., the limitations of the measurement system). For example, “about” may refer to within one or more standard deviations, or within ±30%, 20%, 10%, 5% of the stated value. It will also be understood that when a layer is referred to as being “on” another layer or substrate, it can be directly on the other layer or substrate, or one or more intervening layers may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element, there are no intervening elements present. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. Terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless expressly so defined herein. Hereinafter, specific embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG.1is a perspective view of a display device according to an embodiment.FIG.2is a perspective view of the display device in a folded state according to an embodiment.FIG.3is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A′ ofFIG.1.FIG.4is a cross-sectional view illustrating a display panel according to an embodiment. Hereinafter, a first direction X, a second direction Y, and a third direction Z are different directions intersecting each other. For example, the first direction X may be a length direction, the second direction Y may be a width direction, and the third direction Z may be a thickness direction. The first direction X, the second direction Y, and the third direction Z may include two or more directions (e.g., directions forming an axis). For example, the third direction Z may include an upward direction toward an upper side in the drawing and a downward direction toward a lower side in the drawing. In this case, one surface of a member disposed to face in the upward direction may be referred to as an upper surface, and the other surface of the member disposed to face in the downward direction may be referred to as a lower surface. However, each of the directions should be understood as referring to a relative direction and are not limited to the above example. A display device1according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include various suitable devices displaying a screen or an image. The display device1may include, for example, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), a television, a game machine, a wrist watch-type electronic device, a head-mounted display, a PC monitor, a laptop computer, a vehicle navigation device, a vehicle instrument panel, a digital camera, a camcorder, an outdoor billboard, an electric sign board, various suitable medical devices, various suitable inspection devices, various suitable household appliances including a display unit DPA such as a refrigerator and a washing machine, and a device for the Internet of Things, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Referring toFIG.1, the display device1may have a rectangular shape in a plan view. In an embodiment, the display device1may have two long sides extending in the first direction X and two short sides in the second direction Y intersecting the first direction X in the plan view. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the display device1may have various suitable shapes. The display device1may include a display area DA and a non-display area NDA. A video or an image may be displayed on the display area DA. A plurality of pixels may be disposed in the display area DA. As shown inFIG.1, the display area DA may be disposed on an upper surface of the display device1. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the display area DA may be further disposed on at least one of a lower surface and a side surface of the display device1. A video or an image may not be displayed on the non-display area NDA. The non-display area NDA may be disposed around the display area DA. The non-display area NDA may surround the display area DA. For example, the non-display area NDA may be an area in which a light-blocking member such as a black matrix is disposed. In an embodiment, the display area DA may have a rectangular shape, and the non-display area NDA may be disposed around the four sides of a display unit, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Referring toFIG.2, the display device1may be a foldable device. For example, at least a portion of the display device1may be bent to be reversibly folded or unfolded. Specifically, the display device1may be bent such that a portion of the display device1overlaps (e.g., overlaps in a plan view) another portion of the display device1, the portion of the display device1is inclined with respect to the other portion of the display device1, or the portion of the display device1and the other portion of the display device1are unfolded and aligned to form a flat surface. In an embodiment, when the portion of the display device1and the other portion of the display device1are unfolded, the entirety of the display device1is unfolded (e.g., flatly unfolded). However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, a portion of the display device1may be folded to be greater than about 0° and less than 180° with respect to the other portion of the display device1or may be unfolded to form an inclination of about 180° with respect the other portion of the display device1. The display device1may be in-folded or in-folding. As shown inFIG.2, the in-folding may refer to a portion of a surface on which the display area DA of the display device1is positioned being folded to face another portion of the surface on which the display area DA is positioned. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the display device1may be out-folded. For example, out-folding or out-folded may refer to a portion of a surface, which is opposite to the surface on which the display area DA is positioned, being folded to face another portion of the opposite surface such that the portion of the surface on which the display area DA is positioned does not face (e.g., faces away from) the other portion of the surface on which the display area DA is positioned during folding. The display device1may be a bidirectional foldable device that is in-foldable as well as out-foldable. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The display device1may have a folded state or an unfolded state. The folded state includes a state in which the display device1is bent. Specifically, the folded state may be a state in which a portion of the display device1is bent to be inclined with respect to the other portion of the display device1, and the unfolded state may be a state in which a portion of the display device1is disposed to be coplanar and parallel with the other portion of the display device1. Alternatively, the folded state may be a state in which an angle between a portion of the display device1and the other portion of the display device1is about 0° or more and less than 180° and/or is greater than 180° and less than 360°, and the unfolded state may be a state in which an angle between a portion of the display device1and the other portion of the display device1is about 180°. Here, the portion of the display device1and the other portion of the display device1may be non-folding areas NFA1and NFA2to be described in more detail below, respectively. The folded state may refer to an in-folded state in which the display device1is in-folded and an out-folded state in which the display device1is out-folded. The display device1may be divided into a folding area FA, a first non-folding area NFA1, and a second non-folding area NFA2. In an embodiment, members constituting the display device1may also be divided into the first non-folding area NFA1, the second non-folding area NFA2, and/or the folding area FA. The folding area FA is an area that is foldable or bendable as the display device1is folded or bent. The non-folding areas NFA1and NFA2are areas that are not foldable or bendable. The non-folding areas NFA1and NFA2may include the first non-folding area NFA1and the second non-folding area NFA2. In an embodiment, the first non-folding area NFA1and the second non-folding area NFA2may be arranged in the first direction X, and the folding area FA may be disposed between the first non-folding area NFA1and the second non-folding area NFA2. In an embodiment, one folding area FA and two non-folding areas NFA1and NFA2are defined in the display device1, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, any suitable number of folding areas and non-folding areas may be defined in the display device1. Referring toFIG.3, the display device1may include a display panel DP, an upper stack structure US on (e.g., stacked on) an upper surface of the display panel DP, and a lower stack structure on (e.g., stacked on) a lower surface of the display panel DP. The upper surface of the display panel DP may be a surface on which a video or an image is displayed, and the lower surface of the display panel DP may be a surface opposite to the upper surface. The display panel DP, the upper stack structure US, and the lower stack structure LS may be disposed throughout the first non-folding area NFA1, the folding area FA, and the second non-folding area NFA2. At least one of members constituting the upper stack structure US and the lower stack structure LS may be separated based on the folding area FA. Due to the separation as described above, it is possible to reduce bending stress generated when the display device1is folded and/or to reduce an amount of torque to fold the display device1. The display panel DP is a panel on which a screen or an image is displayed. Examples of the display panel DP include self-luminous display panels such as an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel, an inorganic electro-luminescence (EL) display panel, a quantum dot light-emitting display (QLED) panel, a micro light-emitting display (micro LED) panel, a nano LED panel, a plasma display panel (PDP), a field emission display (FED) panel, and a cathode ray tube (CRT) display panel as well as light-receiving display panels such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel and an electrophoretic display (EPD) panel. The display panel DP may further include a touch member. The touch member may be provided as a panel or film separate from the display panel DP and attached onto the display panel DP or may be provided in the form of a touch layer inside the display panel DP. In the following embodiment, a case will be described in which the touch member is provided inside the display panel DP and included in the display panel DP, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Referring toFIG.4, the display panel DP may include a substrate SUB, a circuit driving layer DRL on the substrate SUB, a light-emitting layer EML on the circuit driving layer DRL, an encapsulation layer ENL on the light-emitting layer EML, and a touch layer TSL on the encapsulation layer ENL. The substrate SUB may be a flexible substrate including a flexible polymer material such as polyimide (PI). Accordingly, the display panel DP may be bendable, foldable, or rollable. The circuit driving layer DRL may be disposed on the substrate SUB. The circuit driving layer DRL may include a circuit for driving the light-emitting layer EML of the pixel. The circuit driving layer DRL may include a plurality of thin film transistors. The light-emitting layer EML may be disposed on the circuit driving layer DRL. The light-emitting layer EML may include an organic light-emitting layer. The light-emitting layer EML may emit light with various levels of luminance according to a driving signal transmitted from the circuit driving layer DRL. The encapsulation layer ENL may be disposed on the light-emitting layer EML. The encapsulation layer ENL may include an inorganic film or a stacked film of an inorganic film and an organic film. The touch layer TSL may be disposed on the encapsulation layer ENL. The touch layer TSL may be a layer that detects a touch input and may perform a function of a touch member. The touch layer TSL may include a plurality of sensing areas and a plurality of sensing electrodes. Referring again toFIG.3, the upper stack structure US may include a polarization member POL, a cover window CW, and a cover window protection layer CWP which are stacked (e.g., sequentially stacked) upward from the display panel DP. The polarization member POL may be disposed on the upper surface of the display panel DP. For example, the polarization member POL may be disposed on the upper surface of the display panel DP with a third upper coupling member UCM3therebetween. The polarization member POL may polarize light passing therethrough. The polarization member POL may serve to reduce the reflection of external light. The polarization member POL may be a polarization film. The polarization member POL may be replaced with a plurality of color filters and a black matrix disposed therebetween. The cover window CW may be disposed on an upper surface of the polarization member POL. For example, the cover window CW may be disposed on an upper surface of the polarization member POL with a second upper coupling member UCM2therebetween. The cover window CW serves to protect the display panel DP. The cover window CW may be made of a transparent material. The cover window CW may be made of, for example, glass or plastic. In an embodiment, the cover window CW may be made of glass, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The cover window protection layer CWP may be disposed on an upper surface of the cover window CW. For example, the cover window protection layer CWP may be disposed on an upper surface of the cover window CW with a first upper coupling member UCM1therebetween. The cover window protection layer CWP may be implemented as, for example, a transparent polymer film including at least one selected from among polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), PI, polyarylate (PAR) polycarbonate (PC), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), and a cycloolefin polymer (COP) resin. The upper stack structure US may include upper coupling members (e.g., a first upper coupling member UCM1, a second upper coupling member UCM2, and a third upper coupling member UCM3) which couple adjacent stacked members to each other. The upper coupling members UCM1, UCM2, and UCM3may be optically transparent. The upper coupling members UCM1, UCM2, and UCM3may include an optically transparent adhesive, an optically transparent resin, a pressure sensitive adhesive, and the like. In an embodiment, a first upper coupling member UCM1may be disposed between the cover window protection layer CWP and the cover window CW to couple the cover window protection layer CWP and the cover window CW to each other, a second upper coupling member UCM2may be disposed between the cover window CW and the polarization member POL to couple the cover window CW and the polarization member POL to each other, and a third upper coupling member UCM3may be disposed between the polarization member POL and the display panel DP to couple the polarization member POL and the display panel DP to each other. The lower stack structure LS may include a polymer film layer PF, a cover panel CPNL, a functional layer FL, and a support member SM which are stacked (e.g., sequentially stacked) downward from the display panel DP. The polymer film layer PF may be disposed on the lower surface of the display panel DP. For example, the polymer film layer PF may be disposed on the lower surface of the display panel DP with a first lower coupling member LCM1therebetween. The polymer film layer PF may perform a function of protecting the display panel DP. The polymer film layer PF may include PI, PET, PC, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polysulfone (PSF), PMMA, tri-acetyl cellulose (TAC), COP, or the like. The cover panel CPNL may be disposed on a lower surface of the polymer film layer PF. For example, the cover panel CPNL may be disposed on a lower surface of the polymer film layer PF with a second lower coupling member LCM2therebetween. In an embodiment, the cover panel CPNL may be provided as a plurality of layers, and the plurality of layers may each be made of a rigid material or an elastic material. The cover panel CPNL may perform a function of supporting the display panel DP, a function of reinforcing the rigidity of the display panel DP, a function of buffering an impact applied to the display panel DP, and the like. The functional layer FL may be disposed on a lower surface of the cover panel CPNL. For example, the functional layer FL may be disposed on a lower surface of the cover panel CPNL with a third lower coupling member LCM3therebetween. The functional layer FL may include, for example, at least one of a digitizer, an electromagnetic wave-shielding layer, an impact absorption layer, and a heat dissipation layer. In an embodiment, the functional layer FL may be included in the cover panel CPNL or may be omitted. As shown inFIG.3, portions of the functional layer FL may be disposed to be separated from or spaced from each other with the folding area FA interposed therebetween. For example, the functional layer FL may not be present in the folding area FA. In an embodiment, portions of the functional layer FL facing each other with the folding area FA interposed therebetween may define a space in the folding area FA as shown inFIG.3. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the functional layer FL may be provided as a plurality of layers, and one or more of the plurality of layers of the functional layer FL may be integrally disposed in the first non-folding area NFA1, the folding area FA, and the second non-folding area NFA2. In addition, one or more of the plurality of layers may be disposed between the cover panel CPNL and the display panel DP. The support member SM may be disposed on a lower surface of the functional layer FL. For example, the support member SM may be disposed on a lower surface of the functional layer FL with a fourth lower coupling member LCM4therebetween. The support member SM may perform a function of supporting members on (e.g., stacked on) an upper surface of the support member SM. The support member SM may include a metal. The support member SM may serve as a heat dissipation member that discharges heat generated from the display device1to the outside. As shown inFIG.3, the support member SM may be integrally disposed throughout the first non-folding area NFA1, the folding area FA, and the second non-folding area NFA2, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the support member SM may be provided as a plurality of layers, and one or more of the plurality of layers may be disposed to be separated from each other with the folding area FA interposed therebetween. In an embodiment, the support member SM and the portions of the functional layer FL facing each other with the folding area FA interposed therebetween may define a space in the folding area FA as shown inFIG.3. When members disposed on the lower surface of the display panel DP, such as the cover panel CPNL or the functional layer FL, are disposed to be separated from each other with the folding area FA interposed therebetween, a gap (or a space) may be formed in the folding area FA, and a foreign material may permeate through the gap. The above-described permeation of the foreign material may be blocked by a foreign material blocking member MF (e.g., seeFIG.5) of the support member SM to be described in more detail below. The lower stack structure LS may further include lower coupling members (e.g., a first lower coupling member LCM1, a second lower coupling member LCM2, a third lower coupling member LCM3, and a fourth lower coupling member LCM4) which couple adjacent stacked members to each other. For example, a first lower coupling member LCM1may be disposed between the display panel DP and the polymer film layer PF to couple the display panel DP and the polymer film layer PF to each other, a second lower coupling member LCM2may be disposed between the polymer film layer PF and the cover panel CPNL to couple the polymer film layer PF and the cover panel CPNL to each other, a third lower coupling member LCM3may be disposed between the cover panel CPNL and the functional layer FL to couple the cover panel CPNL and the functional layer FL to each other, and a fourth lower coupling member LCM4may be disposed between the functional layer FL and the support member SM to couple the functional layer FL and the support member SM to each other. Hereinafter, the support member SM will be described in more detail with reference toFIGS.5to8. FIG.5is a perspective view of a support member according to an embodiment.FIG.6is a plan view of the support member according to an embodiment.FIG.7is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B′ ofFIG.5.FIG.8is a cross-sectional view of the support member in a folded state according to an embodiment. For convenience of description, the illustration of an upper support member MPLT1is omitted inFIG.6. Referring toFIGS.5and6, a support member SM may include the upper support member MPLT1, a lower support member MPLT2, and a foreign material blocking member MF. The upper support member MPLT1may be disposed on an upper surface of the foreign material blocking member MF, and the lower support member MPLT2may be disposed on a lower surface of the foreign material blocking member MF. Further referring toFIG.3, the upper support member MPLT1may be attached onto a lower surface of a cover panel CPNL or a lower surface of a functional layer FL by a fourth lower coupling member LCM4. The functional layer FL may be a digitizer or an electromagnetic wave-shielding layer. The upper support member MPLT1may include a first upper support member MPLT1_1and a second upper support member MPLT1_2. The first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2may be disposed to be separated from or spaced from each other based on a folding area FA. The first upper support member MPLT1_1may be in (e.g., mainly disposed in) a first non-folding area NFA1, and the second upper support member MPLT1_2may be in (e.g., mainly disposed in) a second non-folding area NFA2. The lower support member MPLT2may include a first lower support member MPLT2_1and a second lower support member MPLT2_2. The first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may be disposed to be separated from or spaced from each other based on the folding area FA. The first lower support member MPLT2_1may be in (e.g., mainly disposed in) the first non-folding area NFA1, and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may be in (e.g., mainly disposed in) the second non-folding area NFA2. The first upper support member MPLT1_1, the second upper support member MPLT1_2, the first lower support member MPLT2_1, and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may each be formed as a plate-shaped member and may have an approximately rectangular shape in a plan view. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the first upper support member MPLT1_1, the second upper support member MPLT1_2, the first lower support member MPLT2_1, and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may be any suitable shape. The first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2may be disposed to have symmetrical shapes based on the folding area FA, and the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may also be disposed to have symmetrical shapes based on the folding area FA, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Edges of the first upper support member MPLT1_1, the second upper support member MPLT1_2, the first lower support member MPLT2_1, and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may be aligned at boundaries of the first non-folding area NFA1and the second non-folding area NFA2, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The first upper support member MPLT1_1, the second upper support member MPLT1_2, the first lower support member MPLT2_1, and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may each be disposed in the first non-folding area NFA1and the second non-folding area NFA2or may be disposed such that a portion thereof is in the folding area FA. The first upper support member MPLT1_1and the first lower support member MPLT2_1may have the same shape in a plan view to overlap (e.g., completely overlap) each other, and the second upper support member MPLT1_2and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may have the same shape in a plan view to overlap (e.g., completely overlap) each other, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may have shapes and sizes different from those of the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2, respectively. Further referring toFIGS.7and8, the first lower support member MPLT2_1may overlap the first upper support member MPLT1_1in a thickness direction of the first upper support member MPLT1_1, and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may overlap the second upper support member MPLT1_2in a thickness direction of the second upper support member MPLT1_2. The first upper support member MPLT1_1, the second upper support member MPLT1_2, the first lower support member MPLT2_1, and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may include a metal. In an embodiment, the first upper support member MPLT1_1, the second upper support member MPLT1_2, the first lower support member MPLT2_1, and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may each be a metal plate or metal film. The metal may be a metal having excellent thermal conductivity, such as copper, nickel, ferrite, or silver. InFIGS.5to8, the upper support member MPLT1may be a member separate and different from other members on (e.g., stacked on) a lower surface of a display panel DP, for example, a polymer film layer PF, the cover panel CPNL, and the functional layer FL, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the upper support member MPLT1may include members stacked between the display panel DP and the foreign material blocking member MF, such as the polymer film layer PF, the cover panel CPNL, and the functional layer FL. As shown inFIGS.5,7, and8, the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2may be disposed to be spaced from each other by a set distance (e.g., a predetermined distance) in a first direction X, and the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may be disposed to be spaced from each other by a set distance (e.g., a predetermined distance) in a first direction X. Gaps having a slit shape elongated in a second direction Y may be formed between the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2and between the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2. The gaps may be formed in the folding area FA. The gaps may at least partially overlap the folding area FA in a thickness direction (e.g., a thickness direction of the display panel DP). A width (e.g., a width in the first direction X) of the gap between the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2may be substantially the same as a width (e.g., a width in the first direction X) of the gap between the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2but is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the width of the gap between the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2may be different from the width of the gap between the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2. For example, the width of the gap between the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2may be smaller than the width of the gap between the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2. In an embodiment, the upper support member MPLT1may further include a connection member disposed in the folding area FA to connect the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2. Similarly, in an embodiment, the lower support member MPLT2may further include a connection member disposed in the folding area FA to connect the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2. A pattern for mitigating rigidity may be formed on the connection members. The lower support member MPLT2may have the same thickness as the upper support member MPLT1, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the thickness of the lower support member MPLT2may be smaller than the thickness of the upper support member MPLT1. Referring again toFIGS.5and6, the foreign material blocking member MF may be disposed between the upper support member MPLT1and the lower support member MPLT2. The foreign material blocking member MF may be disposed throughout the first non-folding area NFA1, the folding area FA, and the second non-folding area NFA2. The foreign material blocking member MF may be made of a material having flexibility. The foreign material blocking member MF may include a plastic material such as PE, PP, polystyrene, PET, PI, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, PC, or polyvinylidene chloride. The foreign material blocking member MF may be implemented as, for example, a thin film-type member that is made of PET and has a thickness of about 50 μm to about 80 μm, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The foreign material blocking member MF may include a blocking part MF_BP, a first stretchable part MF_PP1, a second stretchable part MF_PP2, a first fixing part MF_FP1, and a second fixing part MF_FP2. The foreign material blocking member MF may be divided into a plurality of areas according to whether a pattern to be described in more detail below is disposed. For example, the blocking part MF_BP, the first fixing part MF_FP1, and the second fixing part MF_FP2may be a first non-pattern area, a second non-pattern area, and a third non-pattern area, respectively, and the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be a first pattern area and a second pattern area, respectively. The blocking part MF_BP may be in (e.g., mainly disposed in) the folding area FA. In an embodiment, a width of the blocking part MF_BP in the first direction X may be greater than a width of the folding area FA in the first direction X. In this case, opposite sides of the blocking part MF_BP may be disposed in the first non-folding area NFA1and the second non-folding area NFA2respectively. The blocking part MF_BP may overlap a portion of the first non-folding area NFA1, the folding area FA, and a portion of the second non-folding area NFA2in a thickness direction of the blocking part MF_BP. A side of the blocking part MF_BP positioned in the first non-folding area NFA1may be connected to the first stretchable part MF_PP1, and another side of the blocking part MF_BP positioned in the second non-folding area NFA2may be connected to the second stretchable part MF_PP2. The width of the blocking part MF_BP in the first direction X may be greater than the width of the gap between the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2in the first direction X and/or the width of the gap between the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2in the first direction X. The width of the gap between the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2in the first direction X and the width of the gap between the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2in the first direction X may refer to a distance between the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2in the first direction X and a distance between the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2in the first direction X, respectively. The blocking part MF_BP may be disposed to cross the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2, and the blocking part MF_BP may be disposed to cross the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2. The blocking part MF_BP may overlap a portion of the first upper support member MPLT1_1a portion of the second upper support member MPLT1_2in a thickness direction of the blocking part MF_BP, and the blocking part MF_BP may overlap a portion of the first lower support member MPLT2_1and a portion of the second lower support member MPLT2_2in a thickness direction of the blocking part MF_BP. The blocking part MF_BP may be disposed to overlap the gap between the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2and the gap between the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2in the thickness direction of the blocking part MF_BP. In an embodiment the blocking part MF_BP may be between the gap between the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2and the gap between the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2. The blocking part MF_BP may cover the gap between the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2, and the gap between the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2. When a display device1is folded and unfolded, the blocking part MF_BP may block a foreign material from permeating into the display device1from the outside through the gaps. Further referring toFIGS.2and8, when the display device1is folded, at least a portion of the blocking part MF_BP may be bent to have an approximately “C”-shaped cross section. Referring again toFIGS.5and6, the first stretchable part MF_PP1may be disposed at a side of the blocking part MF_BP, and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be disposed at another side of the blocking part MF_BP. InFIG.6, the side of the blocking part MF_BP may be a left side of the blocking part MF_BP, and the other side of the blocking part MF_BP may be a right side of the blocking part MF_BP. In other words, the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be disposed at respective, opposite sides of the blocking part MF_BP. The first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be disposed in the first non-folding area NFA1and the second non-folding area NFA2, respectively. In an embodiment, a portion of the first stretchable part MF_PP1and a portion of the second stretchable part MF_PP2may each be disposed in the folding area FA. The first stretchable part MF_PP1may be disposed between the blocking part MF_BP and the first fixing part MF_FP1, and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be disposed between the blocking part MF_BP and the second fixing part MF_FP2. The first stretchable part MF_PP1may connect the blocking part MF_BP and the first fixing part MF_FP1, and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may connect the blocking part MF_BP and the second fixing part MF_FP2. Specifically, a side of the first stretchable part MF_PP1may be connected to a side of the blocking part MF_BP, and another side of the first stretchable part MF_PP1may be connected to the first fixing part MF_FP1. A side of the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be connected to another side of the blocking part MF_BP, and another side of the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be connected to the second fixing part MF_FP2. In an embodiment, the side of the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the other side of the first stretchable part MF_PP1may be opposite to each other, and the side of the second stretchable part MF_PP2and the other side of the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be opposite to each other. Further referring toFIGS.2,7and8, patterns for increasing a strain rate with respect to stress applied to the first and second stretchable parts MF_PP1and MF_PP2may be formed in the first and second stretchable parts MF_PP1and MF_PP2. Because the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2have a strain rate greater than that of the blocking part MF_BP, the first fixing part MF_FP1, and the second fixing part MF_FP2, when the display device1is folded and unfolded, the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be stretched and compressed in a direction that intersects and/or is perpendicular to a thickness direction thereof. The pattern may be, for example, a mesh pattern including a plurality of openings OP (e.g., seeFIG.9), but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The first fixing part MF_FP1may be disposed at a side of the blocking part MF_BP, and the second fixing part MF_FP2may be disposed at another side of the blocking part MF_BP. The first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2may be disposed to be spaced from the blocking part MF_BP. InFIG.6, one side of the blocking part MF_BP may be the left side of the blocking part MF_BP, and the other side of the blocking part MF_BP may be the right side of the blocking part MF_BP. In other words, the side of the blocking part MF_BP and the other side of the blocking part MF_BP may be opposite to each other. The first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2may be disposed in the first non-folding area NFA1and the second non-folding area NFA2, respectively. The first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2may be disposed to be further spaced from the blocking part MF_BP than the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be spaced from the blocking part MF_BP, respectively. The first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2may be disposed closer to the edges (e.g., outer edges) of the support member SM than the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be to the edges of the support member SM, respectively. The first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2may be fixed to the upper support member MPLT1and the lower support member MPLT2. The first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2may refer to parts which are attached to corresponding portions (e.g., the first upper support member MPLT1_1or the second upper support member MPLT1_2) of the upper support member MPLT1and corresponding portions (e.g., the first lower support member MPLT2_1or the second lower support member MPLT2_2) of the lower support member MPLT2so that positions of the first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2relative to the corresponding portions of the upper support member MPLT1and the corresponding portions of the lower support member MPLT2do not change when the display device1is unfolded and folded. On the contrary, the blocking part MF_BP, the first stretchable part MF_PP1, and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be coupled to the upper support member MPLT1and the lower support member MPLT2so that positions of the blocking part MF_BP, the first stretchable part MF_PP1, and the second stretchable part MF_PP2relative to the upper support member MPLT1and the lower support member MPLT2may change when the display device1is unfolded and folded. Referring toFIG.6, the blocking part MF_BP, the first stretchable part MF_PP1, the second stretchable part MF_PP2, the first fixing part MF_FP1, and the second fixing part MF_FP2may have an approximately rectangular shape in a plan view, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the blocking part MF_BP, the first stretchable part MF_PP1, the second stretchable part MF_PP2, the first fixing part MF_FP1, and the second fixing part MF_FP2may have any suitable shape. The first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may have an area greater than that of the blocking part MF_BP, the first fixing part MF_FP1, and the second fixing part MF_FP2in a plan view. The blocking part MF_BP may have an area greater than that of the first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2in a plan view. The blocking part MF_BP, the first stretchable part MF_PP1, the second stretchable part MF_PP2, the first fixing part MF_FP1, and the second fixing part MF_FP2may have different widths in the first direction X. In this case, the blocking part MF_BP, the first stretchable part MF_PP1, the second stretchable part MF_PP2, the first fixing part MF_FP1, and the second fixing part MF_FP2may have approximately the same width in the second direction Y, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Specifically, the width of the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2in the first direction X may be greater than that of the blocking part MF_BP, the first fixing part MF_FP1, and the second fixing part MF_FP2. The width of the blocking part MF_BP in the first direction X may be greater than that of the first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2. Accordingly, the blocking part MF_BP may cover (e.g., sufficiently cover) the gap formed between the first upper member and the second upper member and the blocking part MF_BP may cover (e.g., sufficiently cover) the gap formed between the first lower member and the second lower member, and a strain amount per unit area (or unit length) of the first and second stretchable parts MF_PP1and MF_PP2may be relatively reduced so that the durability of the first and second stretchable parts MF_PP1and MF_PP2may be improved. In addition, an amount of torque to fold and unfold the display device1may also be reduced, thereby enabling folding and unfolding (e.g., smooth folding and unfolding). However, the size relationship and/or area relationship between the blocking part MF_BP, the first stretchable part MF_PP1, the second stretchable part MF_PP2, the first fixing part MF_FP1, and the second fixing part MF_FP2are not limited to the above examples and may be variously changed in a suitable manner according to a design of the display device1according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG.6, the foreign material blocking member MF may further include recessed portions RS. The recessed portions RS may be disposed at both sides of the foreign material blocking member MF extending in the first direction X. The recessed portion RS may be disposed to cross a portion of the first non-folding area NFA1, the folding area FA, and a portion of the second non-folding area NFA2. The recessed portion RS may be disposed between the upper support member MPLT1and the lower support member MPLT2. The recessed portion RS may have a shape recessed from an edge of the foreign material blocking member MF toward the inside of the foreign material blocking member MF in a plan view. In this case, the width of the first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2in the second direction Y may be greater than that of the blocking part MF_BP, the first stretchable part MF_PP1, and the second stretchable part MF_PP2, and the blocking part MF_BP, the first stretchable part MF_PP1, and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may have approximately the same width in the second direction Y. The recessed portions RS may provide spaces in which coupling members to be described in more detail below are disposed. In an embodiment, the recessed portion RS may be formed to have “L”-shaped corners in a plan view, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Referring toFIGS.5to8, the support member SM may further include a first coupling member CM1, a second coupling member CM2, a third coupling member CM3, and a fourth coupling member CM4which couple the upper support member MPLT1and the lower support member MPLT2. The first coupling member CM1and the second coupling member CM2may be symmetrically disposed based on the folding area FA. Similarly, the third coupling member CM3and the fourth coupling member CM4may be symmetrically disposed based on the folding area FA. The first coupling member CM1and the third coupling member CM3may be disposed in the first non-folding area NFA1. The first coupling member CM1and the third coupling member CM3may be interposed between the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the first lower support member MPLT2_1to couple the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the first lower support member MPLT2_1to each other. The first coupling member CM1and the third coupling member CM3may block a foreign material from permeating through the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the first lower support member MPLT2_1. The first coupling member CM1and the third coupling member CM3may each have a rectangular shape elongated in the first direction X in a plan view, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the first coupling member CM1and the third coupling member CM3may be any suitable shape. The first coupling member CM1and the third coupling member CM3may be disposed along (e.g., adjacent to) respective, opposite sides of the first stretchable part MF_PP1extending in the first direction X. The first coupling member CM1and the third coupling member CM3may be symmetrically disposed based on the first stretchable part MF_PP1, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The first coupling member CM1and the third coupling member CM3may overlap the first stretchable part MF_PP1in the second direction Y. A side of each of the first coupling member CM1and the third coupling member CM3adjacent to the folding area FA may overlap a portion of the blocking part MF_BP disposed in the first non-folding area NFA1in the second direction Y. The second coupling member CM2and the fourth coupling member CM4may be disposed in the second non-folding area NFA2. The second coupling member CM2and the fourth coupling member CM4may be interposed between the second upper support member MPLT1_2and the second lower support member MPLT2_2to couple the second upper support member MPLT1_2and the second lower support member MPLT2_2to each other. The second coupling member CM2and the fourth coupling member CM4may block a foreign material from permeating through the second upper support member MPLT1_2and the second lower support member MPLT2_2. The second coupling member CM2and the fourth coupling member CM4may each have a rectangular shape elongated in the first direction X in a plan view, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the second coupling member CM2and the fourth coupling member CM4may have any suitable shape. The second coupling member CM2and the fourth coupling member CM4may be disposed along (e.g., adjacent to) respective, opposite sides of the second stretchable part MF_PP2extending in the first direction X. The second coupling member CM2and the fourth coupling member CM4may be symmetrically disposed based on the second stretchable part MF_PP2, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The second coupling member CM2and the fourth coupling member CM4may overlap the second stretchable part MF_PP2in the second direction Y. A side of each of the second coupling member CM2and the fourth coupling member CM4adjacent to the folding area FA may overlap a portion of the blocking part MF_BP disposed in the second non-folding area NFA2in the second direction Y. The first coupling member CM1, the second coupling member CM2, the third coupling member CM3, and/or the fourth coupling member CM4may each include an adhesive member for bonding the upper support member MPLT1and the lower support member MPLT2to each other. The adhesive member may be, for example, adhesive tape but is not limited thereto. The first coupling member CM1, the second coupling member CM2, the third coupling member CM3, and the fourth coupling member CM4may be disposed in the recessed portions RS. Specifically, the first coupling member CM1and the second coupling member CM2may be disposed in the recessed portion RS provided at a side of the foreign material blocking member MF extending in the first direction X. The second coupling member CM2and the fourth coupling member CM4may be disposed in the recessed portion RS provided at another side of the foreign material blocking member MF extending in the first direction X. For example, the side and the other side of the foreign material blocking member MF may be a lower edge and an upper edge ofFIG.11, respectively. In other words, the side of foreign material blocking member MF and the other side of the foreign material blocking member MF may be opposite to each other. The support member SM may further include a fifth coupling member CM5and a sixth coupling member CM6which couple the foreign material blocking member MF and the upper support member MPLT1to each other and a seventh coupling member CM7and an eighth coupling member CM8which couple the foreign material blocking member MF and the lower support member MPLT2to each other. The fifth coupling member CM5and the sixth coupling member CM6may each have a rectangular shape elongated in the first direction X in a plan view, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the fifth coupling member CM5and the sixth coupling member CM6may be any suitable shape. In an embodiment, the seventh coupling member CM7and the eighth coupling member CM8may also have substantially the same or similar shapes as the fifth coupling member CM5and the sixth coupling member CM6, respectively. The fifth coupling member CM5and the sixth coupling member CM6may be disposed to cover (e.g., cover most) of the first fixing part MF_FP1and cover (e.g., cover most) of the second fixing part MF_FP2in a plan view, respectively. The remaining area of the first fixing part MF_FP1in which the fifth coupling member CM5is not disposed may be smaller than that of the fifth coupling member CM5. Similarly, the remaining area of the second fixing part MF_FP2in which the sixth coupling member CM6is not disposed may be smaller than that of the sixth coupling member CM6. For example, the fifth coupling member CM5and the sixth coupling member CM6may be disposed to cover about 80% of the first fixing part MF_FP1and about 80% of the second fixing part MF_FP2in a plan view, respectively, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the seventh coupling member CM7and the eighth coupling member CM8may be disposed to cover (e.g., cover most) of the first fixing part MF_FP1and cover (e.g., cover most) of the second fixing part MF_FP2in a plan view, respectively. Accordingly, a sufficient coupling force may be secured between the foreign material blocking member MF and the upper support member MPLT1and between the foreign material blocking member MF and the lower support member MPLT2. The fifth coupling member CM5and the seventh coupling member CM7may be disposed on an upper surface of the first fixing part MF_FP1and a lower surface of the first fixing part MF_FP1, respectively. The fifth coupling member CM5may be interposed between the first fixing part MF_FP1and the first upper support member MPLT1_1, and the seventh coupling member CM7may be interposed between the first fixing part MF_FP1and the first lower support member MPLT2_1. The fifth coupling member CM5and the seventh coupling member CM7may be symmetrically disposed based on the first fixing part MF_FP1, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The sixth coupling member CM6and the eighth coupling member CM8may be disposed on an upper surface of the second fixing part MF_FP2and a lower surface of the second fixing part MF_FP2, respectively. The sixth coupling member CM6may be interposed between the second fixing part MF_FP2and the second upper support member MPLT1_2, and the eighth coupling member CM8may be interposed between the second fixing part MF_FP2and the second lower support member MPLT2_2. The sixth coupling member CM6and the eighth coupling member CM8may be symmetrically disposed based on the second fixing part MF_FP2, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. A thickness of each of the fifth coupling member CM5, the sixth coupling member CM6, the seventh coupling member CM7, and the eighth coupling member CM8may be smaller than that of the foreign material blocking member MF. For example, the fifth coupling member CM5, the sixth coupling member CM6, the seventh coupling member CM7, and the eighth coupling member CM8may have a thickness of about 8 μm, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The fifth coupling member CM5, the sixth coupling member CM6, the seventh coupling member CM7, and/or the eighth coupling member CM8may include adhesive members for bonding the foreign material blocking member MF and the upper support member MPLT1to each other and adhesive members for bonding the foreign material blocking member MF and the lower support member MPLT2to each other. The adhesive member may be, for example, a pressure sensitive adhesive but is not limited thereto. A coupling force (or adhesive force) of the fifth coupling member CM5, the sixth coupling member CM6, the seventh coupling member CM7, and the eighth coupling member CM8may be different from a coupling force (or adhesive force) of the first coupling member CM1, the second coupling member CM2, the third coupling member CM3, and the fourth coupling member CM4. For example, an adhesive force of the adhesive member applied to the fifth coupling member CM5, the sixth coupling member CM6, the seventh coupling member CM7, and the eighth coupling member CM8may be greater than an adhesive force of the adhesive member applied to the first coupling member CM1, the second coupling member CM2, the third coupling member CM3, and the fourth coupling member CM4. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent or reduce the deformation and/or separation of the foreign material blocking member MF to which a tensile force or a compressive force is applied during folding. In an embodiment, the first lower support member MPLT2_1and the second lower support member MPLT2_2may be omitted, and the first coupling member CM1, the second coupling member CM2, the third coupling member CM3, the fourth coupling member CM4, the seventh coupling member CM7, and the eighth coupling member CM8, which couple the first and second lower support members MPLT2_1and MPLT2_2to the first upper support member MPLT1_1, the second upper support member MPLT1_2, and/or the foreign material blocking member MF, may also be omitted. In this case, the first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2of the foreign material blocking member MF may be fixed only to the first upper support member MPLT1_1and the second upper support member MPLT1_2. Referring toFIGS.7and8, as described above, each of the first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2may be attached and fixed to corresponding portions (e.g., the first upper support member MPLT1_1or the second upper support member MPLT1_2) of the upper support member MPLT1and corresponding portions (e.g., the first lower support member MPLT2_1or the second lower support member MPLT2_2) of the lower support member MPLT2. On the other hand, the blocking part MF_BP, the first stretchable part MF_PP1, and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may not be directly attached or fixed to the upper support member MPLT1and the lower support member MPLT2and thus may move independently from the upper support member MPLT1and the lower support member MPLT2in order to compensate for a distance between members changing when the support member SM is folded. In this case, the relative position, the size, and/or the length of the blocking part MF_BP, the first stretchable part MF_PP1, and the second stretchable part MF_PP2with respect to the upper support member MPLT1and the lower support member MPLT2may change. For example, when the display device1is folded, the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be stretched in a direction intersecting a thickness direction thereof, and a portion of the blocking part MF_BP, which overlaps the upper support member MPLT1and the lower support member MPLT2in a thickness direction thereof, may be decreased. When the display device1is unfolded, the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may be compressed in the direction intersecting the thickness direction thereof, and a portion of the blocking part MF_BP, which overlaps the upper support member MPLT1and the lower support member MPLT2in the thickness direction thereof, may be increased. In this case, the blocking part MF_BP, the first stretchable part MF_PP1, and the second stretchable part MF_PP2may slide with respect to the first upper support member MPLT1_1and/or the second upper support member MPLT1_2in the direction intersecting the thickness direction thereof and with respect to the first lower support member MPLT2_1and/or second lower support member MPLT2_2in the direction intersecting the thickness direction thereof. When the display device1is folded and unfolded, the blocking part MF_BP, the first fixing part MF_FP1, and the second fixing part MF_FP2may be stretched and compressed in a direction intersecting a thickness direction thereof similar to the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2, but a strain amount thereof may be smaller than that of the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2. FIGS.9A,9B, and9Cshow plan views illustrating patterns of a first stretchable part and a second stretchable part according to various embodiments. As described above, patterns may be disposed on a first stretchable part MF_PP1and a second stretchable part MF_PP2. The patterns may include a plurality of openings OP for changing the shape of the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2. A mesh structure may be provided to the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2by the plurality of openings OP. The shape of the opening OP may be variously changed in a suitable manner. For example, as shown inFIG.9A, the opening OP may have a rectangular shape elongated in a direction in a plan view. Further referring toFIGS.1to6, the direction may be a second direction Y but is not limited thereto. As another example, as shown inFIG.9B, the opening OP may have a hexagonal shape in a plan view. As still another example, as shown inFIG.9B, the opening OP may have a square shape in a plan view. However, the shape of the plurality of openings OP disposed in the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2is not limited thereto, and the plurality of openings OP may have various suitable shapes such as a polygonal shape, a circular shape, and an elliptical shape. FIG.10is a perspective view of a support member according to an embodiment.FIG.11is a plan view of the support member according to an embodiment.FIG.12is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C′ ofFIG.10.FIG.13is a cross-sectional view of the support member in a folded state according to an embodiment. Referring toFIGS.10and11, widths of a first stretchable part MF_PP1, a second stretchable part MF_PP2, a first fixing part MF_FP1, and a second fixing part MF_FP2of a foreign material blocking member MF may be variously changed in a suitable manner. The widths of the first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2in a first direction X may be greater than the widths of the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2in the first direction X. A width of a blocking part MF_BP in the first direction X may be greater than the width of the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2in the first direction X and may be smaller than the width of the first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2in the first direction X. Because the first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2are disposed to have a relatively large area in a plan view, areas, in which a fifth coupling member CM5, a sixth coupling member CM6, a seventh coupling member CM7, and an eighth coupling member CM8disposed on the first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2, may also be increased. For example, as shown inFIGS.11and12, widths of the fifth coupling member CM5and the sixth coupling member CM6in the first direction X may be greater than the widths of the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2in the first direction X. Widths of the seventh coupling member CM7and the eighth coupling member CM8in the first direction X may also be greater than the widths of the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2in the first direction X. In this case, widths of a first coupling member CM1, a second coupling member CM2, a third coupling member CM3, and a fourth coupling member CM4in the first direction X may be greater than the widths of the first stretchable part MF_PP1and the second stretchable part MF_PP2in the first direction X and may be smaller than the widths of the first fixing part MF_FP1and the second fixing part MF_FP2in the first direction X. Because areas and/or sizes, in which the fifth coupling member CM5, the sixth coupling member CM6, the seventh coupling member CM7, and the eighth coupling member CM8are disposed, are increased, a coupling force between the foreign material blocking member MF and an upper support member MPLT1and between the foreign material blocking member MF and a lower support member MPLT2may be increased, thereby preventing or reducing the separation, deformation, and/or damage of the foreign material blocking member MF that occur during repeated folding. In the embodiments ofFIGS.10to13, except for the foreign material blocking member MF, components are substantially the same as or similar to those of the embodiments ofFIGS.1to8, and thus redundant descriptions thereof may not be repeated. According to a display device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to block a foreign material from being introduced from the outside. Effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the embodiments set forth herein and more diverse effects are included in the present specification. In concluding the detailed description, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations and modifications can be made to the embodiments without substantially departing from the principles of the present disclosure. Therefore, the disclosed preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. While the present disclosure has been particularly shown and described with reference to embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the following claims and their equivalents. | 67,361 |
11943879 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS In this description, it will be understood that when an element (or a region, a layer, portion, etc.) is referred to as being “on,” “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it can be directly on, connected or coupled to the other element or a third intervening element may be present. Like reference symbols refer to like elements. Also, in the figures, the thicknesses, the ratios, and the dimensions of elements may be exaggerated for effective illustration of technological contents. The term “and/or” includes all of one or more combinations that can be defined by associated elements. Although the terms such as “first” and “second” may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. The terms are only used to distinguish one element from other elements. For example, without departing from the scope of the disclosure, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component. Singular forms may include plural forms unless clearly defined otherwise in context. Terms such as “below,” “lower,” “above,” and “upper” may be used to describe the relationship between features illustrated in the figures. The terms have relative concepts and are described with respect to directions illustrated in the figures. It should be further understood that the terms “include” or “have,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or combinations thereof. In the specification and the claims, the phrase “at least one of” is intended to include the meaning of “at least one selected from the group of” for the purpose of its meaning and interpretation. For example, “at least one of A and B” may be understood to mean “A, B, or A and B.” Unless otherwise defined or implied herein, all terms (including technical terms and scientific terms) used in this specification have the same meaning as that generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the disclosure pertains. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the disclosure and should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal sense unless clearly so defined herein. Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIGS.1A to1Care schematic perspective views of an electronic device ED according to an embodiment.FIG.1Aillustrates an unfolded state andFIGS.1B and1Cillustrate folded states. Referring toFIGS.1A to1C, an electronic device ED according to an embodiment may include a display surface DS defined by a first direction DR1and a second direction DR2intersecting the first direction DR1. The electronic device ED may provide a user with an image IM through the display surface DS. The display surface DS may include a display region DA and a non-display region NDA adjacent to the display region DA. The display region DA may display an image IM, and the non-display region NDA may not display an image IM. The non-display region NDA may surround the display region DA. However, the embodiments are not limited thereto, and the shapes of the display region DA and the non-display region NDA may be changed. The display surface DS may further include a signal transmission region TA. The signal transmission region TA may be a region of the display region DA, or a region of the non-display region NDA. The signal transmission region TA has a higher transmittance than the display region DA and the non-display region NDA. Natural light, visible light, or infrared light may propagate through the signal transmission region TA. The electronic device ED may further include a sensor which captures an external image by using the visible light passing through the signal transmission region TA or determines whether an external object is approaching by using infrared light. In an embodiment, the signal transmission region TA may not be spaced apart from the non-display region NDA and may extend from the non-display region NDA. Multiple signal transmission regions TA may be provided. Hereinafter, a direction intersecting the plane defined by the first direction DR1and the second direction DR2may be defined as a third direction DR3. In this description, the term “on a plane” or “in a plan view” may be defined as a state of being viewed from above in the third direction DR3. Hereinafter, the first to third directions DR1, DR2and DR3may be directions respectively indicated by the first to third directional axes and be referred to by same reference symbols. The electronic device ED may include a folding region FA and non-folding regions NFA1and NFA2. The non-folding regions NFA1and NFA2may include a first non-folding region NFA1and a second non-folding region NFA2. In the second direction DR2, the folding region FA may be disposed between the first non-folding region NFA1and the second non-folding region NFA2. As illustrated inFIG.1B, the folding region FA may be folded with respect to a folding axis FX parallel to the first direction DR1. The folding region FA has a predetermined curvature and a radius R1of curvature. The first non-folding region NFA1and the second non-folding regions NFA2may face each other, and the electronic device ED may be inwardly folded so that the display surface DS is not exposed to the outside. In an embodiment, the electronic device ED may be outwardly folded or out-folded so that the display surface DS is exposed to the outside. In an embodiment, the electronic device ED may be configured so that in-folding or out-folding is alternately repeated from an unfolding operation, but the embodiments are not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the electronic device ED may be configured so that any one among an unfolding operation, an in-folding operation, or an out-folding operation may be selected. As illustrated inFIG.1B, the distance between the first non-folding region NFA1and the second non-folding region NFA2may be substantially equal to the radius R1of curvature, but as illustrated inFIG.1C, the distance between the first non-folding region NFA1and the second non-folding region NFA2may be smaller than the radius R1of curvature.FIGS.1B and1Care illustrated with respect to the display surface DS, and a case EDC (seeFIG.2A) that forms the outer appearance of the electronic device ED may also come into contact with each other at end regions of the first non-folding region NFA1and the second non-folding region NFA2. FIG.2Ais a schematic exploded perspective view of an electronic device ED according to an embodiment.FIGS.2B and2Care schematic cross-sectional views of window modules WM according to an embodiment.FIG.2Dis a schematic cross-sectional view of a display module DM according to an embodiment.FIGS.2B to2Deach illustrate a cross-section corresponding to line I-I′ ofFIG.2A. As illustrated inFIG.2A, the electronic device ED may include a display device DD, an electronic module EM, a power supply module PSM, and a case EDC. Although not shown separately in the drawings, the power supply module PSM may further include a mechanical structure for controlling the folding operation of the display device DD. The display device DD may generate an image and detect an external input. The display device DD may include a window module WM and a display module DM. The window module WM may provide the front surface of the electronic device ED. The window module WM will be described below in detail. The display module DM may include at least a display panel DP.FIG.2Aillustrates the display panel DP in a laminate or stacked structure of the display module DM, but the display module DM may further include elements disposed above and below the display panel DP. The laminate structure of the display module DM will be described below. The display panel DP may include a display region DP-DA and a non-display region DP-NDA which respectively correspond to the display region DA (seeFIG.1A) and the non-display region NDA (seeFIG.1A) of an electronic device ED. In this description, if a region/portion “correspond to” another region/portion, the region/portion overlaps another region/portion and is not limited to a same area. The display module DM may include a drive chip DIC disposed on the non-display region DP-NDA. The display module DM may further include a flexible circuit film FCB connected to the non-display region DP-NDA. Although not shown in the drawings, the flexible circuit film FCB may be connected to a main circuit board. The display panel DP may further include a signal transmission region DP-TA. The signal transmission region DP-TA may be an opening or a region having a lower resolution than the display region DP-DA. Therefore, the signal transmission region DP-TA may have higher transmittance than the display region DP-DA and the non-display region DP-NDA. The drive chip DIC may include drive elements for driving pixels of the display panel DP, for example, a data drive circuit.FIG.2Aillustrates a structure in which the drive chip DIC is mounted on the display panel DP, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. For example, the drive chip DIC may be mounted on a flexible circuit film FCB. The electronic module EM may include a main controller. The electronic module EM may include a wireless communication module, a camera module, a proximity sensor module, an image input module, an audio input module, an audio output module, a memory, an external interface module, or the like. The modules may be mounted on the circuit board, or be electrically connected via a flexible circuit board. The electronic module EM may be electrically connected to the power supply module PSM. The main controller may control overall operations of the electronic device ED. For example, the main controller may activate the display device DD in response to a user input or deactivate the display device. The main controller may control the operations of the display device DD and other modules. The main controller may include at least one microprocessor. The case EDC may accommodate the display module DM, the electronic module EM, and the power supply module PSM.FIG.2Aillustrates case EDC as including separate two cases EDC1and EDC2, but the embodiments are not limited thereto. Although not shown, the electronic device ED may further include a hinge structure for connecting the two cases EDC1and EDC2. The case EDC may be connected to the window module WM. The case EDC may protect the elements, such as the display module DM, the electronic module EM, and the power supply module PSM, accommodated in the case EDC. Referring toFIGS.2B and2C, the window module WM may include a thin film glass substrate UTG, a window protection layer PF disposed on the thin film glass substrate UTG, and a bezel pattern BP disposed on the lower surface of the window protection layer PF. In this embodiment, the window protection layer PF may include a plastic film. Accordingly, the window module WM may further include a first adhesive layer AL1for connecting the plastic film PF and the thin film glass substrate UTG. Hereinafter, unless separately specified, the window protection layer PF may be described as a plastic film and denoted by a same reference symbol. The bezel pattern BP may overlap the non-display region DP-NDA illustrated inFIG.2A. The bezel pattern BP may be disposed on a surface of the thin film glass substrate UTG or a surface of the plastic film PF. As an example,FIG.2Billustrates the bezel pattern BP disposed on the lower surface of the plastic film PF. The embodiments are not limited thereto, and the bezel pattern BP may also be disposed on the upper surface of the plastic film PF. The bezel pattern BP may be a colored light shielding film and formed by, for example, a coating method. The bezel pattern BP may include a base material and a dye, or a pigment mixed in the base material. In a plan view, an outer region of an inner edge B-IE of the bezel pattern BP may correspond to the non-display region NDA illustrated inFIG.1A. The bezel pattern BP may have a closed line shape in a plan view. An inner region of the inner edge B-IE of the bezel pattern BP may correspond to the display region DA illustrated inFIG.1A. The thickness of the thin film glass substrate UTG may be about 15 μm to about 45 μm. The thin film glass substrate UTG may be a chemically reinforced glass. The thin film glass substrate UTG may minimize occurrence of wrinkles even in case that folding and unfolding are repeated. The thickness of the plastic film PF may be about 50 μm to about 80 μm. The plastic film PF may include polyimide, polycarbonate, polyamide, triacetylcellulose, polymethylmethacrylate, or polyethylene terephthalate. Although not shown in the drawings, at least any one among a hard coating layer, a fingerprint prevention layer, or a reflection prevention layer may be disposed on the upper surface of the plastic film PF. The first adhesive layer AL1may be a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) film or an optically clear adhesive (OCA). Adhesive layers to be described below may be the same as the first adhesive layer AL1and include a general adhesive. The first adhesive layer AL1may be separated from the thin film glass substrate UTG. Since the strength of the thin film glass substrate UTG is lower than that of the plastic film PF, scratches may be relatively easily caused. After the first adhesive layer AL1and the plastic film PF are separated from each other, a new plastic film PF may be attached to the thin film glass substrate UTG. In a plan view, an edge U-E of the thin film glass substrate UTG may overlap the bezel pattern BP. As the above-described conditions are satisfied, the edge U-E of the thin film glass substrate UTG is exposed from the bezel pattern BP, and fine cracks caused on the edge U-E of the thin film glass substrate UTG may be inspected by an inspection device. In a plan view, the edge U-E of the thin film glass substrate UTG may be disposed between an edge P-E of the plastic film PF and an outer edge B-OE of the bezel pattern BP. The edge U-E of the thin film glass substrate UTG may sufficiently be exposed from the bezel pattern BP. In a plan view, an edge P-E of the plastic film PF and an edge A-E of the first adhesive layer AL1may be aligned with each other. The plastic film PF and the first adhesive layer AL1may have a same area and a same shape. As illustrated inFIG.2C, in a plan view, the outer edge B-OE of the bezel pattern BP may be aligned to an edge P-E of the plastic film PF. The thin film glass substrate UTG and the plastic film PF may have substantially a same shape and area. Although not separately shown, the window protection layer PF may include a plastic resin layer directly disposed on the upper surface of the thin film glass substrate UTG. The plastic resin layer contacting the upper surface of the thin film glass substrate UTG may be formed by using an insert molding method. Before the plastic resin layer is formed, the bezel pattern BP may be formed on the upper surface of the thin film glass substrate UTG. Accordingly, the plastic resin layer may cover or overlap the bezel pattern BP. Referring toFIG.2D, the display module DM may include a display panel DP, an input sensor IS disposed on the display panel DP, an optical film LF disposed on the input sensor IS, and a lower member LM disposed under the display panel DP. An adhesive layer may be disposed between the display panel DP, the input sensor IS, the optical film LF, and the lower member LM as desired. The display panel DP may include a base layer, a circuit element layer disposed on the base layer, a display element layer disposed on the circuit element layer, and a thin film sealing layer disposed on the display element layer. The base layer may include a plastic film. For example, the base layer may include polyimide. The planar shape of the base layer may be substantially identical to that of the display panel DP illustrated inFIG.3Adescribed below. The circuit element layer may include an organic layer, an inorganic layer, a semiconductor pattern, a conductive pattern, a signal line, or the like. An organic layer, an inorganic layer, a semiconductor layer, and a conductive layer may be formed on the base layer by a method such as coating or deposition. Subsequently, the semiconductor pattern, the conductive pattern, and the signal line may be formed by selectively patterning the organic layer, the inorganic layer, the semiconductor layer, and the conductive layer by one or more photolithography process. The semiconductor pattern, the conductive pattern, and the signal line may form a pixel drive circuit and signal lines SL1-SLm, DL1-DLn, EL1-ELm, CSL1, CSL2and PL of the pixels PX illustrated inFIG.3Ato be described below. The pixel drive circuit may include at least one transistor. The display element layer may include the light-emitting elements of the pixels PX illustrated inFIG.3Ato be described below. The light-emitting element may be electrically connected to at least one transistor. The thin film sealing layer may be disposed on the circuit element layer so as to seal or overlap the display element layer. The thin-film sealing layer may include an inorganic layer, an organic layer, and an inorganic layer which are sequentially laminated (or stacked). The laminate structure of the thin film sealing layer is not particularly limited. The input sensor IS may include sensing electrodes (not shown) for sensing an external input, trace lines (not shown) electrically connected to the sensing electrodes, and an inorganic layer and/or an organic layer for insulating/protecting the sensing electrodes or the trace lines. The input sensor IS may be an electrostatic capacitive sensor, but the embodiment is not particularly limited. The input sensor IS may be formed directly on the thin film sealing layer by a continuous process when the display panel DP is manufactured. In this description, the input sensor IS-integrated display panel DP may be defined as an electronic panel EP. However, the embodiment is not limited thereto, and the input sensor IS may be manufactured as a separate panel from the display panel DP and be attached to the display panel DP by an adhesive layer. The sensing electrodes may overlap the display region DP-DA (seeFIG.3A). The trace lines are disposed so as to overlap the non-display region DP-NDA. The trace lines may extend toward the lower end of a second region AA2via a bending region BA (seeFIG.3A) so as to be adjacent to a pad PD illustrated inFIG.3A. The trace lines may be disposed on a layer different from that of the signal lines SL1-SLm, DL1-DLn, EL1-ELm, CSL1, CSL2and PL of the circuit element layer. The trace lines may be electrically connected to the signal lines (input signal lines) provided for the input sensor IS of the display panel DP in a first region AA1illustrated inFIG.3A. The input signal lines may be signal lines different from the signal lines SL1-SLm, DL1-DLn, EL1-ELm, CSL1, CSL2and PL illustrated inFIG.3A, but the input signal lines and any one of the signal lines may be disposed on a same layer. The input signal lines may each be electrically connected to a corresponding pad PD. Therefore, the trace lines and the signal lines of the circuit element layer may be electrically connected to a same flexible circuit film FCB. The optical film LF may lower the reflectivity of external light. The optical film LF may include a retarder and/or a polarizer. The optical film LF may include at least a polarization film. The lower member LM may include various functional members. The lower member LM may include a light blocking layer for blocking light incident on the display panel DP, a shock absorbing layer for absorbing an external shock, a support layer for supporting the display panel DP, a heat dissipation layer for dissipating heat generated by the display panel DP, or the like. The stacked structure of the lower member LM is not particularly limited. FIG.3Ais a schematic plan view of a display panel DP according to an embodiment.FIG.3Bis a schematic cross-sectional view of a display device DD according to an embodiment.FIG.3Cis a schematic cross-sectional view of a display device DD according to an embodiment.FIG.3Billustrates a schematic cross-section corresponding to line II-II′ ofFIG.3A.FIG.3Cillustrates a portion of a cross-section of the bending region BA in a bent state. Referring toFIG.3A, the display panel DP may include a display region DP-DA and a non-display region DP-NDA in the vicinity of the display region DP-DA. The display region DP-DA and the non-display region DP-NDA may be classified according to whether pixels PX are disposed therein. The pixels PX may be disposed in the display region DP-DA. A scan drive part SDV, a data drive part, and an emission drive part EDV may be disposed in the non-display region DP-NDA. The data drive part may be one or more circuits configured in the drive chip DIC illustrated inFIG.3A. In this embodiment, the signal transmission region DP-TA may be a region having a lower resolution than the display region DP-DA. In case that four pixels are disposed per unit area in the display region DP-DA, two pixels may be disposed per unit area in the signal transmission region DP-TA. A light signal may propagate through a region which is in the signal transmission region DP-TA and in which the pixels are not disposed. The display panel DP may include a first region AA1, a second region AA2, and a bending region BA which are divided in the second direction DR2. The second region AA2and the bending region BA may be some regions of the non-display region DP-NDA. The bending region BA may be disposed between the first region AA1and the second region AA2. FIG.3Billustrates a state in which the display panel DP is unfolded before being bent. In case that the display panel DP is installed in the electronic device ED, the first region AA1and the second region AA2of the display panel DP may be disposed on different planes in a state in which the electronic device ED is unfolded. This is illustrated inFIG.3C. The bent shape of the bending region BA will be described with reference toFIG.3C. Referring again toFIG.3A, the first region AA1may be a region corresponding to the display surface DS ofFIG.1A. The first region AA1may include a first non-folding region NFA10, a second non-folding region NFA20, and a folding region FA0. The first non-folding region NFA10, the second non-folding region NFA20, and the folding region FA0may respectively correspond to the first non-folding region NFA1, the second non-folding region NFA2, and the folding region FA ofFIGS.1A to1C. In the first direction DR1, the lengths of the bending region BA and the second region AA2may be smaller than that of the first region AA1. The smaller the length of a region in the bending axis direction is, the easier the region may be bent. The display panel DP may include pixels PX, scan lines SL1-SLm, data lines DL1-DLn, emission lines EL1-Elm, first and second control lines CSL1and CSL2, a power line PL, and pads PD. Here, m and n are natural numbers. The pixels PX may be electrically connected to the scan lines SL1-SLm, the data lines DL1-DLn, and the emission lines EL1-Elm. The scan lines SL1-SLm may extend in the second direction DR2and be electrically connected to the scan drive part SDV. The data lines DL1-DLn may extend in the second direction DR2and be electrically connected to the drive chip DIC via the bending region BA. The emission lines EL1-ELm may extend in the first direction DR1and be electrically connected to the emission drive part EDV. The power line PL may include a portion extending in the second direction DR2and a portion extending in the first direction DR1. The portion extending in the first direction DR1and the portion extending in the second direction DR2may be disposed on different layers. The portion extending in the second direction DR2in the power line PL may extend to the second region AA2via the bending region BA. The power line PL may provide a first voltage to the pixels PX. The first control line CSL1may be electrically connected to the scan drive part SDV and extend toward the lower end of the second region AA2via the bending region BA. The second control line CSL2may be electrically connected to the emission drive part EDV and extend toward the lower end of the second region AA2via the bending region BA. In a plan view, the pads PD may be disposed adjacent to the lower end of the second region AA2. The drive chip DIC, the power line PL, the first control line CSL1, and the second control line CSL2may be electrically connected to the pads PD. The flexible circuit film FCB may be electrically connected to the pads PD through an anisotropic conductive adhesive layer. Referring toFIGS.3B and3C, the display device DD may include a window module WM and a display module DM. The window module WM may be any one among the window modules WM described above with reference toFIGS.2A to2C, and the embodiments are not limited thereto. The display module DM may include an optical film LF, a display panel DP, a panel protection layer PPL, a barrier layer BRL, a support layer PLT, a cover layer SCV, a digitizer DTM, an electromagnetic shield layer EMS, a metal plate MP, and second to ninth adhesive layers AL2-AL9. The second to ninth adhesive layers AL2-AL9may include a pressure sensitive adhesive or an optically clear adhesive. In an embodiment, a portion of the above-described elements may be omitted. For example, the metal plate MP and the ninth adhesive layer AL9associated therewith may be omitted. The optical film LF may be disposed in the first region AA1illustrated inFIG.3A. The optical film LF may cover or overlap at least a display region DP-DA. The second adhesive layer AL2may connect the optical film LF and the window module WM, and the third adhesive layer AL3may connect the optical film LF and the display panel DP. Although the display panel DP is illustrated inFIG.3B, an input sensor IS may further be disposed between the display panel DP and the third adhesive layer AL3similar to the electronic panel EP illustrated inFIG.2D. The panel protection layer PPL may be disposed under the display panel DP. The panel protection layer PPL may protect a lower portion of the display panel DP. The panel protection layer PPL may include a flexible plastic material. For example, the panel protection layer PPL may include polyethylene terephthalate. In an embodiment, the panel protection layer PPL may not be disposed in a folding region FA. The panel protection layer PPL may include a first panel protection layer PPL-1for protecting the first region AA1of the display panel DP and a second panel protection layer PPL-2for protecting the second region AA2. The fourth adhesive layer AL4may bond the panel protection layer PPL to the display panel DP. The fourth adhesive layer AL4may include a first portion AL4-1corresponding to the first panel protection layer PPL-1and a second portion AL4-2corresponding to the second panel protection layer PPL-2. As illustrated inFIG.3C, in case that the bending region BA is bent, the second panel protection layer PPL-2may be disposed under the first region AA1and the first panel protection layer PPL-1together with the second region AA2. Since the panel protection layer PPL is not disposed in the bending region BA, the bending region BA may be more readily bent. The bending region BA may have a curvature and a radius of curvature. The radius of curvature may be about 0.1-0.5 mm. A bending protection layer BPL may be disposed at least in the bending region BA. The bending protection layer BPL may overlap the bending region BA, the first region AA1, and the second region AA2. The bending protection layer BPL may be disposed on a portion of the first region AA1and on a portion of the second region AA2. The bending protection layer BPL may be bent together with the bending region BA. The bending protection layer BPL may protect the bending region BA from an external shock and may control the neutral surface of the bending region BA. The bending protection layer BPL may control the stress in the bending region BA so that the neutral surface is close to the signal lines CSL1and CSL2disposed in the bending region BA. As illustrated inFIGS.3B and3C, the fifth adhesive layer AL5may bond the panel protection layer PPL to the barrier layer BRL. The barrier layer BRL may be disposed under the panel protection layer PPL. The barrier layer BRL may enhance the resistance against compressive force caused by external pressing. Therefore, the barrier layer BRL may function to prevent deformation of the display panel DP. The barrier layer BRL may include a flexible plastic material such as polyimide or polyethylene terephthalate. The barrier layer BRL may be a colored film having low light transmittance. The barrier layer BRL may absorb light incident from the outside. For example, the barrier layer BRL may be a black plastic film. In case that the display device DD is viewed from over the window protection layer FP, the elements disposed under the barrier layer BRL may not be visually recognized by a user. The sixth adhesive layer AL6may bond the barrier layer BRL to the support layer PLT. The sixth adhesive layer AL6may include a first portion AL6-1and a second portion AL6-2which are spaced apart from each other. The distance D6(or interval) between the first portion AL6-1and the second portion AL6-2may correspond to the width of the folding region FA0and is greater than a gap GP to be described below. The distance D6between the first portion AL6-1and the second portion AL6-2may be about 7-15 mm and may also be about 9-13 mm. In this embodiment, the first portion AL6-1and the second portion AL6-2may be defined as different portions of an adhesive layer, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. In case that the first portion AL6-1is defined as a single adhesive layer (for example, a first adhesive layer), the second portion AL6-2may be defined as another adhesive layer (for example, a second adhesive layer). The support layer PLT may be disposed under the barrier layer BRL. The support layer PLT may support the elements disposed above the support layer and may maintain the unfolded and folded states of the display device DD. The support layer PLT may include a first support part PLT-1that corresponds to at least the first non-folding region NFA10and has insulating property; and a second support part PLT-2that corresponds to the second non-folding region NFA20and has insulating property. The first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2may be spaced apart from each other in the second direction DR2. As in this embodiment, the support layer PLT may correspond to the folding region FA0, be disposed between the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2, and further include a folding part PLT-F in which openings OP are defined. The folding part PLT-F may prevent permeation of foreign substances into a region of the barrier layer BRL opened from the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2during the folding operation illustrated inFIGS.2B and2C. In an embodiment, the folding part PLT-F may be omitted. The folding part PLT-F may have a greater elastic modulus than the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2. The folding part PLT-F may include a material having an elastic modulus of not less than about 60 GPa, and a metallic material such as stainless steel. For example, the folding part PLT-F may include SUS304, but the embodiment is not limited thereto, and the folding part PLT-F may include various metallic materials. The first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2may be formed of a material selected from materials that is capable of passing a magnetic field generated by the digitizer DTM to be described below without loss or with minimum loss. The first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2may include a non-metallic material. The first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2may include plastic, glass fiber reinforced plastic, or glass. The plastic may include polyimide or polyethylene terephthalate and is not limited to a particular material. The first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2may include a same material. Openings OP may be defined in regions of the support layer PLT corresponding to the folding region FA0. The flexibility of the support layer PLT may be improved by the openings OP. The flexibility of the support layer PLT may be improved by not disposing the sixth adhesive layer AL6in a region corresponding to the folding region FA0. The seventh adhesive layer AL7may bond the support layer PLT to the cover layer SCV, and the eighth adhesive layer AL8may bond the cover layer SCV to the digitizer DTM. The cover layer SCV may cover the openings OP defined in the support layer PLT. The cover layer SCV may have a lower elastic modulus than the support layer PLT. For example, the cover layer SCV may include thermoplastic polyurethane, rubber, and silicone, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. The cover layer SCV may be manufactured in a sheet shape and be attached to the support layer PLT. The eighth adhesive layer AL8may include a first portion AL8-1and a second portion AL8-2which are spaced apart from each other. The distance between the first portion AL8-1and the second portion AL8-2may correspond to the width of the folding region FA0and may be greater than a gap GP to be described below. The flexibility of the cover layer SCV may be improved by not disposing the eighth adhesive layer AL8in a region corresponding to the folding region FA0. The distance between the first portion AL8-1and the second portion AL8-2of the eighth adhesive layer AL8may correspond to the distance D6between the first portion AL6-1and the second portion AL6-2of the sixth adhesive layer AL6. The digitizer DTM may also be referred to as an electromagnetic radiation (EMR) sensing panel and may include loop coils for generating a magnetic field having a resonance frequency preset with respect to an electronic pen. The magnetic field generated by the loop coils may be applied to an LC resonance circuit composed of an inductor (a coil) and a capacitor of the electronic pen. The coils may generate current from the received magnetic field and deliver the generated current to the capacitor. Therefore, the capacitor may be charged from the current input from the coils and may discharge the charged current to the coils. Therefore, a magnetic field having the resonance frequency may be generated from the coils. The magnetic field discharged by the electronic pen may be absorbed again by the loop coils of the digitizer, and thus, it is possible to determine whether the electronic pen approaches a location on a touch screen. The digitizer DTM may include a first digitizer DTM-1attached to a first portion AL8-1of the eighth adhesive layer AL8and a second digitizer DTM-2attached to the second portion AL8-2of the eighth adhesive layer ALB. The first digitizer DTM-1and the second digitizer DTM-2may be disposed spaced apart from each other with a gap GP therebetween. The gap GP may be about 0.3-3 mm and correspond to the folding region FA0. The digitizer DTM will be described below in detail. The electromagnetic shield layer EMS may be disposed under the digitizer DTM. In order to block the influence of the electromagnetic wave, generated by the electronic module EM illustrated inFIG.2A, on the digitizer as noise, the electromagnetic shield layer EMS may be added. The electromagnetic shield layer EMS may include a first electromagnetic shield layer EMS-1and a second electromagnetic shield layer EMS-2which respectively correspond to the first digitizer DTM-1and the second digitizer DTM-2. The electromagnetic shield layer EMS may include magnetic metal powder (MMP). The magnetic metal powder (MMP) may be directly formed on the lower surface of the digitizer DTM by coating and curing processes. In an embodiment, the electromagnetic shield layer EMS may be omitted. The ninth adhesive layer AL9may bond the electromagnetic shield layer EMS to the metal plate MP. The ninth adhesive layer AL9may include a first portion AL9-1and a second portion AL9-2which are spaced apart from each other. The metal plate MP may include a first metal plate MP-1and a second metal plate MP-2which are respectively attached to the first portion AL9-1and the second portion AL9-2. The metal plate MP may improve heat dissipation and protect the elements disposed above the metal plate MP in case that the second panel protection layer PPL-2is bent and fixed as illustrated inFIG.3C.FIG.3Cdoes not illustrate an adhesive layer between the metal plate MP and the second panel protection layer PPL-2. FIG.4Ais a schematic plan view of a support layer PLT according to an embodiment.FIG.4Bis a schematic partial plan view of a support layer PLT according to an embodiment.FIG.4Cis a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a display device DD according to an embodiment.FIG.4Dis a schematic partial plan view of a support layer PLT according to an embodiment.FIG.4Eis a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a display device DD according to an embodiment.FIG.4Fis a schematic partial plan view of a support layer PLT according to an embodiment.FIG.4Gis a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a display device DD according to an embodiment.FIGS.4H and4Iare schematic partial cross-sectional views of a display device DD according to an embodiment.FIG.4Jis a schematic plan view of a support layer PLT according to an embodiment.FIG.4Kis a schematic partial plan view of a support layer PLT according to an embodiment.FIG.4Lis a schematic plan view of a support layer PLT according to an embodiment.FIG.4Mis a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a display device according to an embodiment. The partial cross-sectional views of the display device DD illustrated below are enlarged views of some of the elements illustrated inFIG.3B. Referring toFIGS.4A to4C, in a plan view, the folding part PLT-F may be spaced apart from the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2. As illustrated inFIG.4B, the folding part PLT-F may be spaced apart from the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2by a first distance D1. The first distance D1may be about several micrometers to about several tens of micrometers.FIG.4Bis an enlarged view of a portion AA ofFIG.4A. As illustrated inFIG.4B, the openings OP formed in the folding part PLT-F may be disposed in a lattice shape. As inFIG.1B, in case that the electronic device ED is folded, the folding part PLT-F may be elongated and may thus be more readily folded. The folding part PLT-F, the first support part PLT-1, and the second support part PLT-2may be bonded to the seventh adhesive layer AL7as illustrated inFIG.4C. Thus, in case that the electronic device ED is folded as inFIG.1B, the folding part PLT-F, the first support part PLT-1, and the second support part PLT-2which are separate from each other may operate as a single member. As illustrated inFIGS.4D and4E, the support layer PLT may further include coupling parts PLT-C respectively coupled to the folding part PLT-F, the first support part PLT-1, and the second support part PLT-2. The coupling parts PLT-C may be disposed in a region in which the folding part PLT-F and the first support part PLT-1are spaced apart from each other and in a region in which the folding part PLT-F and the second support part PLT-2are spaced apart from each other. The coupling parts PLT-C may include plastic and couple the folding part PLT-F to each of the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2by an insert molding method. After the folding part PLT-F is disposed in a mold so as to be spaced apart from the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2, the coupling parts PLT-C may be formed by injecting thermoplastic plastic in the region in which the folding part PLT-F and the first support part PLT-1are spaced apart from each other and in the region in which the folding part PLT-F and the second support part PLT-2are spaced apart from each other. The coupling parts PLT-C may be formed in a state in which a film for covering the openings OP of the folding part PLT-F is attached to the folding part PLT-F. As illustrated inFIGS.4F and4G, the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2may each be directly coupled to the folding part PLT-F. The first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2may include plastic. The first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2may each be coupled to the folding part PLT-F by an insert molding method. As illustrated inFIG.4H, the support layer PLT may further include a flattened part PLT-U that is integral with the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2and disposed on the folding part PLT-F, the first support part PLT-1, and the second support part PLT-2. In an embodiment, an interface may be formed between the flattened part PLT-U, and the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2. As illustrated inFIG.4I, the support layer PLT may include a folding part PLT-F, a first support part PLT-1, and a second support part PLT-2which are spaced apart from each other in the second direction DR2. As illustrated inFIG.3B, the integrate sixth adhesive layer AL6may be bonded to the folding part PLT-F, the first support part PLT-1, and the second support part PLT-2. Thus, in case that the electronic device ED is folded as inFIG.1B, the folding part PLT-F, the first support part PLT-1, and the second support part PLT-2which are separate from each other may operate as a single member. Different from the embodiment as illustrated inFIG.3B, a seventh adhesive layer AL7including three portions may be used. The first portion AL7-1may bond the first support part PLT-1to the first digitizer DTM-1. The second portion AL7-2may bond the second support part PLT-2to the second digitizer DTM-2. The third portion AL7-3may bond the folding part PLT-F to the cover layer SCV. Different from the embodiment as illustrated inFIG.3B, the cover layer SCV may not overlap the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2. Different from the embodiment as illustrated inFIG.3B, the eighth adhesive layer AL8may be omitted. As illustrated inFIGS.4J and4L, the support layer PLT may further include an edge part PLT-E which extends from the folding part PLT-F and surrounds side surfaces SS of the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2. The edge part PLT-E may surround portions or the entirety of the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2which do not contact the folding part PLT-F.FIG.4Kis an enlarged view of a region BB ofFIG.4J. The support layer PLT may further include a reinforcing part PLT-I which overlaps corresponding portions of the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2and extends from a side to another side of the edge part PLT-E. This embodiment illustrates a first reinforcing part PLT-I1and a second reinforcing part PLT-I2which respectively overlap the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2. The first reinforcing part PLT-I1and the second reinforcing part PLT-I2may extend in the first and second directions DR1and DR2intersecting each other. In an embodiment, at least one of the first reinforcing part PLT-I1and the second reinforcing part PLT-I2may be omitted. In an embodiment, first reinforcing parts PLT-I1and second reinforcing parts PLT-I2may be disposed. FIG.4Millustrates a cross-section from the panel protection layer PPL to the digitizer DTM. A distance D8between the first portion AL8-1and the second portion AL8-2of the eighth adhesive layer AL8may be smaller than the width of the folding region FA0. The distance D8between the first portion AL8-1and the second portion AL8-2of the eighth adhesive layer AL8may be smaller than the distance D6between the first portion AL6-1and the second portion AL6-2of the sixth adhesive layer AL6. In a plan view, the entirety of the folding part PLT-F may be disposed in the region between the first portion AL6-1and the second portion AL6-2of the sixth adhesive layer AL6, and a portion of the folding part PLT-F may be disposed in the region between the first portion AL8-1and the second portion AL8-2of the eighth adhesive layer AL8. The above-described structure may be formed such that the first portion AL8-1and the second portion AL8-2of the eighth adhesive layer AL8may overlap the folding part PLT-F. The coupling of the folding part PLT-F to the digitizer DTM may be reinforced by the overlap of the first portion AL8-1and the second portion AL8-2and both edge portions of the folding part PLT-F. Even in case that the display device DD is folded, the eighth adhesive layer AL8may securely bond the folding part PLT-F to the digitizer DTM in the third direction DR3. FIG.5Ais a schematic plan view of a digitizer DTM according to an embodiment.FIG.5Bis a schematic plan view of a sensing region SA1of a digitizer DTM according to an embodiment.FIG.5Cis a schematic cross-sectional view of a sensing region SA1(along line IV-IV′ ofFIG.5B) of a digitizer DTM according to an embodiment.FIG.5Dis an image obtained by imaging a digitizer according to an embodiment.FIG.5Eis a schematic plan view of a digitizer DTM-10according to an embodiment. As illustrated inFIG.5A, the digitizer DTM may include a first digitizer DTM-1and a second digitizer DTM-2. A first flexible circuit film FCB1and a second flexible circuit film FCB2may respectively be electrically connected to the first digitizer DTM-1and the second digitizer DTM-2. The first flexible circuit film FCB1and a second flexible circuit film FCB2may be electrically connected to a same circuit board. The first flexible circuit film FCB1and the second flexible circuit film FCB2may respectively be electrically connected to a main circuit board to which the flexible circuit film FCB illustrated inFIG.2Ais electrically connected. The first flexible circuit film FCB1and the second flexible circuit film FCB2may be replaced with a single circuit film. The first digitizer DTM-1and the second digitizer DTM-2may respectively include a first sensing region SA1and a second sensing region SA2and respectively include a first non-sensing region NSA1and a second non-sensing region NSA2. The first non-sensing region NSA1and the second non-sensing region NSA2may be disposed adjacent to the first sensing region SA1and the second sensing region SA2. The configurations of the first digitizer DTM-1and the second digitizer DTM-2are substantially the same, and the first digitizer DTM-1will be mainly described hereinafter. As illustrated inFIG.5B, the sensing region SA1may include first loop coils510(hereinafter referred to as first coils) and second loop coils520(hereinafter referred to as second coils). The first coils510may be referred to as drive coils, and the second coils520may be referred to as sensing coils, but the embodiment is not limited thereto, and the first coils510and the second coils520may be reversed with each other. The first coils510may be each arranged in the first direction DR1and extend in the second direction DR2. The second coils520may each extend in the first direction DR1and be spaced apart from each other in the second direction DR2. Unlike inFIG.5B, the first coils510may be arranged so that adjacent coils thereof overlap each other. Bridge patterns may be disposed in regions in which the first coils510intersect each other. The second coils520may be arranged so that adjacent coils thereof overlap each other. Bridge patterns may be disposed in regions in which the second coils520intersect each other. An alternating current (AC) current may sequentially be provided to first terminals510tof the first coils510. Terminals other than the first terminals510tof the first coils510may be grounded. Signal lines may be electrically connected to each of the first terminals510tof the first coils510, but the signal lines are not illustrated inFIG.5B. These signal lines may be disposed in the non-sensing region NSA1illustrated inFIG.5A. In case that a current flows in the first coils510, magnetic lines of force may be induced between the first coils510and the second coils520. The second coils520may sense induced electromagnetic force discharged from an electronic pen and output the force as a sensed signal to second terminals520tof the second coils520. Terminals other than the second terminals520tof the second coils520may be grounded. Signal lines may be electrically connected to each of the second terminals520tof the second coils520, but the signal lines are not illustrated inFIG.5B. These signal lines may be disposed in the non-sensing region NSA1illustrated inFIG.5A. As illustrated inFIG.5C, the first digitizer DTM-1may include a base layer BL, first coils510disposed on a surface of the base layer BL, and second coils520disposed on another surface of the base layer BL. The base layer BL may include a plastic film, for example, a polyimide film. The first coils510and the second coils520may include metal such as gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), or aluminum (Al). A protective layer which protects the first coils510and the second coils520may be disposed on the surface and the other surface of the base layer BL. In this embodiment, the protective layer may include a first protective layer PL-D1disposed on the first coils510and bonded by a first adhesive layer AL-D1and a second protective layer PL-D2disposed on the second coils520and bonded by a second adhesive layer AL-D2. The first protective layer PL-D1and the second protective layer PL-D2may each include plastic, for example, a polyimide film. As illustrated inFIG.5C, protrusions and recesses may be formed on the upper and lower surfaces of a first digitizer DTM-1. As illustrated inFIG.5D, this may cause defects in which in case that the display device DD is viewed from above a window module WM, the first coils510and the second coils520are visually recognized by a used. However, according to an embodiment, as described inFIGS.4A to4K, the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2may prevent the protrusions and the recesses formed by the first coils510and the second coils520, from being visually recognized from above. Therefore, the support layer PLT may prevent defects in which the first coils510and the second coils520disposed thereunder are visually recognized from above the display device DD. As described above, since the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2have insulating property, a magnetic field may pass through the support layer PLT. The digitizer DTM disposed under the support layer PLT may sense an external input. In case that a support part formed as a metal plate is used in the digitizer DTM, a magnetic field may be shielded by the metal plate, and thus the sensitivity of the digitizer DTM may decrease, but the embodiments avoid such issues. As illustrated inFIG.5E, the digitizer DTM-10may include a first sensing region SA1, a second sensing region SA2, and a non-sensing region NSA. An opening OP-D may be defined between the first sensing region SA1and the second sensing region SA2. As illustrated inFIG.1B, an opening OP-D may be disposed in a region corresponding to a folding region FA of an electronic device ED, so that in case that the electronic device ED is folded, the stress occurring in the digitizer DTM-10may be decreased.FIG.5Eillustrates, as an example, the opening OP-D extending in the first direction DR1, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. A portion extending in the second direction DR2from the opening OP-D may further be defined. The opening OP-D may not be formed in the non-sensing region NSA, and a region disposed between the first sensing region SA1and the second sensing region SA2may be defined as a passage region NSA-P. The opening OP-D may not extend to the passage region NSA-P. Signal lines electrically connected to loop coils disposed in the second sensing region SA2may pass through the passage region NSA-P. Ends of these signal lines may be aligned in a bonding region of a flexible circuit film FCB-1. Ends of signal lines electrically connected to loop coils disposed in the first sensing region SA1may also be aligned in the bonding region. Therefore, the first sensing region SA1and the second sensing region SA2may be activated by a single flexible circuit film FCB-1. FIG.6Ais a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a display device DD according to an embodiment.FIG.6Bis a schematic cross-sectional view of a digitizer DTM according to an embodiment.FIG.6Cis a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a display device DD according to an embodiment.FIG.6Dis a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a display device DD according to an embodiment.FIGS.6A,6C, and6Dillustrate enlarged views of some elements of a display device DD, andFIG.6Billustrates a cross-section corresponding to that ofFIG.5C. Referring toFIGS.6A and6B, the display device may further include a flattened layer PLL disposed on the upper surface of the digitizer DTM. The flattened layer PLL may be disposed between an eighth adhesive layer AL8and the digitizer DTM and remove protrusions and recesses formed on the upper surface of the digitizer DTM. The flattened layer PLL may include a first flattened layer PLL-1and a second flattened layer PLL-2which respectively correspond to a first digitizer DTM-1and a second digitizer DTM-2. As illustrated inFIG.6B, the first flattened layer PLL-1may directly be disposed on a first protective layer PL-D1. The flattened layer PLL may include at least one of a resin layer or an adhesive layer. The resin layer may be coated on the upper surface of the digitizer DTM. The adhesive layer may be an optically clear adhesive (OCA) member, may further include a separate adhesive layer from an eighth adhesive layer AL8, and may increase the thickness of the eighth adhesive layer AL8that may also be an OCA member. Referring toFIG.6C, in another embodiment, different from the embodiments described above, the fifth adhesive layer AL5and the barrier layer BRL may be omitted. A sixth adhesive layer AL6may bond a panel protection layer PPL to a support layer PLT. A first portion AL6-1of the sixth adhesive layer AL6may bond a panel protection layer PPL to a first support part PLT-1, and a second portion AL6-2of the sixth adhesive layer AL6may bond the panel protection layer PPL to a second support part PLT-2. Referring toFIG.6D, different from the embodiments described above, a folding part PLT-F is omitted. The cover layer SCV and the seventh adhesive layer AL7are also omitted. A gap between a first support part PLT-1and a second support part PLT-2may correspond to the above-described gap GP. FIG.7Ais a schematic cross-sectional view of a display device DD according to an embodiment.FIG.7Bis a graph illustrating a relationship between strain and stress.FIG.7Acorresponds toFIG.3B. Hereinafter, detailed descriptions of the same elements as those described above with reference toFIGS.1A to6Dwill be omitted. Referring toFIG.7A, a hole TA-T (or an opening) may be formed in a portion of the display device DD in the third direction DR3. The hole TA-T may pass through from a second adhesive layer AL2to a metal plate MP. The hole TA-T may be formed after the elements of the display device DD illustrated inFIG.7Aare stacked each other, or be formed by stacking elements, in which through-holes are respectively formed, with each other. Although not shown separately in the drawings, the hole TA-T may also pass through from a fifth adhesive layer AL5to the metal plate MP in an embodiment. This is intended to avoid forming a through-hole in the display panel DP. As illustrated inFIG.7A, the through-hole may be formed only in the first support part PLT-1of the first support part PLT-1and the second support part PLT-2. While the hole TA-T is formed, the first support part PLT-1may include plastic, for example, polyethylene terephthalate, to prevent a crack from occurring on the first support part PLT-1. Occurrence of a crack around the through-hole may be prevented by adopting plastic having relatively low brittleness in the first support part PLT-1. Hereinafter, this will be described in detail with reference toFIG.7B. First graph GP1ofFIG.7Billustrates a relationship between strain and stress of glass. Second graph GP2illustrates a relationship between strain and stress of first type plastic. Third graph GP3illustrates a relationship between strain and stress of second type plastic. Since the glass has brittleness, brittle fracture may occur by external stress on the glass. Therefore, the glass may not be suitable for the first support part PLT-1. Since the first support part PLT-1is disposed in a lower part of the display device DD, a physical interference may occur between the first support part PLT-1and another elements constituting the electronic device ED. For example, a physical interference may occur between a circuit board of a camera module and the first support part PLT-1. Such a physical interference may cause an additional crack in the first support part PLT-1in which a through hole is formed. It is more suitable for the first support part PLT-1to include a material in which ductile fracture occurs as in plastic. Since a crack may occur in such materials only after a substantial plastic deformation occurs, a crack may not readily occur even in case that a physical interference occurs, for example, between the circuit board of the camera module and the first support part PLT-1. Second graph GP2has a plastic deformation section (or a plastic section) smaller than an elastic deformation section (or an elastic section). The first support part PLT-1may include plastic having a plastic deformation section greater than an elastic deformation section as in third graph GP3. This is because a crack does not occur relatively easily in such plastic. Polyethylene terephthalate may be deformed by external pressure as in third graph GP3. According to the disclosure, a digitizer disposed under a support layer may sense an external input. This is because a magnetic field signal may pass through the support layer. A digitizer disposed under the support layer may prevent a defect in which loop coils are visually recognized from above a display panel. This is because a first support part and a second part prevent protrusions and recesses, which are formed by loop coils, from being visually recognized from the above. Defects in the digitizer may be reduced by allowing the digitizer not to overlap a folding region or to overlap only a minimal region even in case that a folding operation is repeated. So far, embodiments have been described with reference to embodiments. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the disclosure without departing from the spirit and technical area of the disclosure be set forth in claims. Therefore, the technical scope of the disclosure shall not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification, but determined by the claims. | 60,192 |
11943880 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following description includes the best mode presently contemplated for practicing the described implementations. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but rather is made merely for the purpose of describing general principles of various implementations. The scope of invention should be ascertained with reference to issued claims. FIG.1shows an example of a system100that includes a stand200that includes a base210and an upright230and two or more arms220-1,220-2and220-3mountable to the upright230where each of the arms220-1,220-2and220-3includes a display mount223-1,223-2and223-3, which may be a standardized type of display mount. As an example, a display mount may be a VESA standard display mount or another type of display mount. As shown inFIG.1, two or more displays300-1,300-2and300-3can be carried by the stand200where each of the display mounts223-1,223-2and223-3couples to a respective one of the displays300-1,300-2and300-3. As to the VESA standard, it defines dimensions of a four-hole attachment interface on the back of displays and screws used to fit those holes. It also dictates the placement of the hole pattern on the display. For attachment to VESA mounts, ideally the standardized hole pattern can be centered on a display's back side as a center-positioned pattern can help to minimize torqueing forces applied to the mount, allowing it to hold a heavier load. In the example ofFIG.1, the display mounts223-1,223-2and223-3can be adjustable with various degrees of freedom (DoF) using mechanisms of the arms220-1,220-2and220-3and/or mechanisms of the display mounts223-1,223-2and223-3(e.g., joints, sliders, etc.). As to degrees of freedom (DoF), consider six total DoF in a 3D Cartesian coordinate space with x, y and z axes. With six DoF, three correspond to rotational movement around the x, y, and z axes, commonly termed pitch, yaw, and roll, while the other three correspond to translational movement along those axes, which can be thought of as moving forward or backward, moving left or right, and moving up or down. As mentioned, in various instances, a hole pattern is centered on a display's back to minimize torque forces applied to a stand (e.g., via a mount on an arm). As to torque, the mass of a display can be a factor along with center of mass. The center of mass is the mean position of the mass in an object and the center of gravity is the point where gravity appears to act, which, for many objects, these two points are in exactly the same location as the gravitational field is typically uniform across an object. As shown inFIG.1, the stand200can be fit with the displays300-1,300-2and300-3where a user may align the displays300-1,300-2and300-3such that side edges are parallel; however, over some amount of time, one or more of the displays300-1,300-2and300-3can move due to one or more forces such as gravitational force, vibrational force, contact force, etc., such that side edges of the different displays300-1,300-2and300-3are no longer parallel. For example, as to gravitational force, movement responsive to torque may occur or creeping movement may occur. Torque may result in rotational and/or translational movement, depending on factors such as structural arrangement, number of joints, types of joints, etc. Creep can occur responsive to application of force where creep can result in elastic and/or plastic deformation of one or more components. As to vibrational force, consider vibration from machinery, typing on a keyboard, foot tapping, etc., that can be transferred to a stand and hence arms and display mounts. As to contact force, consider a user that makes contact with a stand, a display or displays when reaching for an object on a desk and/or when plugging and/or unplugging one or more cables (e.g., power, video, data, etc.). As shown inFIG.1, the displays300-1,300-2and300-3can become misaligned for one or more reasons such that a user has to re-align them from time to time. In such an example, the user may learn to live with a stable state of the displays300-1,300-2and300-3that is not an aligned state because the aligned state is transitory and does not last for a sufficiently long period of time. FIG.2shows an example of a portion of the stand200with an example of an accessory arm420with an accessory mount430. As shown, the arm220includes a first member and a second member coupled via a joint and the arm420includes a first member and a second member where the second member can be telescoping. As shown, each of the arms220and420includes a respective mount assembly for coupling to the upright230of the stand200. In the example ofFIG.2, various coordinate system parameters are shown, including a Cartesian coordinate system with axes X, Y, and X, z1as an axis of the upright230, z2as an axis of pin joints of the mount assemblies, z3as an axis of another pin joint of one of the mount assemblies, z4and z5as axes of a dual-axis hinge joint of the arm220, axes z6and z7of the display mount230, axes z8, z9, z10and z11of a four-bar linkage of the second member of the arm220, and axes z12and z13of the accessory mount430. In the example ofFIG.2, an X,Y-plane can be substantially parallel and/or even with a surface of a desktop, a tabletop, a countertop, etc., which may be or include a workspace surface (e.g., for a mouse, a keyboard, etc.). As shown, the upright230can be perpendicular (e.g., normal) to the X,Y-plane and extending upwardly where the upright230includes various features for supporting one or more arms. In the example ofFIG.2, a series of features for supporting an arm or arms may be spaced axially along the upright230. As to the base210, it may be fixed or removable from the upright230. For example, consider a base that is formed with an upright as a unitary piece, a base that is welded to an upright, a base that is bolted or otherwise removably connected to an upright, etc. In various instances, an upright may have a threaded socket, a threaded extension, etc., that may provide for connection to a threaded extension, a threaded socket, etc. (e.g., of a desktop, a tabletop, a countertop, a pole, etc.). As an example, an upright may be telescoping. For example, consider an upright with two members where one can extend axially with respect to the other where each of the two members may include features for coupling of an arm or arms and/or a port or ports (e.g., data and/or power). In the example ofFIG.2, the various coordinate system parameters also include r1as a radial direction of the first member of the arm220as measured from the axis z2of a pin joint of the mount assembly of the arm220, r2as a multiple degrees of freedom radial direction of the arm420, and r3as a radial direction of the second member of the arm220as movable via the four-bar linkage of the second member. Various angles are also shown, including θ1as an angle of the first member of the arm220with respect to the axis z2, θ2as an angle of the arm420with respect to the axis z2, θ3as an angle between the first and second members of the arm220, and84as an angle of a plate of the display mount230with respect to the axis z6. As illustrated, the “θ” angles are in planes that can be defined as being parallel to each other where each respective “z” axis is normal to the corresponding plane. For example, consider cylindrical coordinate systems associated with each of the “z” axes where the “θ” angles can be azimuthal coordinate angles. Other angles in the example ofFIG.2are “ϕ” angles, which include ϕ1as an altitudinal angle of the arm420(e.g., as may be referenced to an altitudinal angle of the member of the arm220), ϕ2as an altitudinal angle of the display mount230and ϕ3as an altitudinal angle of the accessory mount430. In the example ofFIG.2, the arm420, as mentioned, can be telescoping. For example, the arm420can include the first member and the second member where the second member can be translatable with respect to the first member. For example, consider a dimension Δr2as indicating a translatable direction and dimension of the second member. As shown, the first member is coupled to the upright230via the mount assembly, noting that the arm420may include more than two members that can provide for translatable adjustment. As shown in the example ofFIG.2, the mount assembly of the arm220can be a single degree of freedom stand mount assembly that includes a pin joint where such a pin joint can include an axle (e.g., a pin) disposed at least in part in a bushing. The mount assembly of the arm220inFIG.2allows for one degree of freedom of movement of the first member of the arm220in a plane (e.g., a plane defined by r1and el). As mentioned, the second member can include a four-bar linkage that provides an additional degree of freedom (e.g., in a plane defined by r3and ϕ3). Further, one or more degrees of freedom may be provided via the display mount230, which can be defined in part via a normal Np, for example, a normal vector of a plate portion of the display mount230. In such an example, the plate portion can be suitable for mounting of a display where the normal Npmay correspond to a normal of a surface of the display. As an example, the arm220may be utilized for mounting of a display where various features of the arm220, as mounted to the upright230, provide for adjusting the display (e.g., up/down, left/right, tilt back/front, tilt side/side, etc.). As shown in the example ofFIG.2, the mount assembly of the arm420can be a multiple degrees of freedom stand mount assembly that includes multiple pin joints. In such an example, each of the multiple pin joints can include an axle disposed at least in part in a bushing. As an example, the mount assembly of the arm420may include a ball joint. For example, consider a ball joint that includes at least a portion of a ball and at least a portion of a ball socket. In such an example, the ball joint may provide for various degrees of freedom (DoF) of movement of the first member of the arm420. FIG.3shows the stand200as including at least two arms220-1,220-2and220-3and optionally one or more accessory arms420-1,420-2and420-3. As explained, positions of displays, and one or more optional accessories, may change over time such that alignment is not maintained, if even initially achievable. As explained, a stand can include various components that provide for mounting equipment (e.g., a display, displays, an accessory, accessories, etc.), where such components provide for various degrees of freedom (DoF). In such an approach, given some amount of independence as to mounts, equipment coupled to such mounts can move over time due to one or more physical phenomena (e.g., contact, torque, vibration, creep, etc.). In a stand such as the stand200, friction, locking, directional movement, etc., of joints can differ and depend on mechanics, mass of equipment, etc., such that movement can occur that may change an aligned arrangement of equipment coupled to the stand to a misaligned arrangement of the equipment coupled to the stand. FIG.4shows an example of an interlocking display600that includes a rectangular display panel640; and a housing606that includes a rectangular frame620that surrounds the rectangular display panel640, where at least one short or side edge621and622of the rectangular frame620can include one or more sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2. As shown, the rectangular frame620can include the side edges621and622(e.g., short edges), a top edge623and a bottom edge624(e.g., long edges) where one or more of the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2, as interlocking structures, are at one or more of the side edges621and622, the top edge623and the bottom edge624. In such an example, other equipment (e.g., one or more displays, one or more accessories, etc.) that includes a matching set of keys and keyways can be interlocked with the interlocking display600to help maintain a desired alignment. In such an example, some amount of movement can exist in one or more degrees of freedom (DoF) between interlocked equipment where, overall, the interlocking of keys and keyways reduces the number of degrees of freedom (DoF) between such interlocked equipment. As an example, the rectangular frame620can include one or more of the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2as integral features and/or as features coupled thereto. For example, at least a portion of the rectangular frame620can be formed, machined, etc., as a unitary piece of material that includes one or more of the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2. In such an example, an injection molding process may be utilized where an injection mold includes features to form one or more keys and keyways and/or a machining process may be utilized to cut into material to form one or more keys and/or keyways. Where a set of keys and keyways is formed as a separate piece, it may be attached to a display to make the display an interlocking display. For example, consider attachment via glue, connectors, magnets, ferromagnetic material, etc., which may provide for attachment and detachment of a set of keys and keyways. As an example, a set of keys and keyways can attach to a display using a magnetic attraction force where the set of keys and keyways and/or the display includes one or more magnets (e.g., permanent magnets). In such an example, one or more pieces of ferromagnetic material may be utilized that can be attracted to a magnet or magnets. As shown, the interlocking display600can include a back side626, a raised back side628, vents629, a mount630, and connectors652and654where, for example, the connectors652are disposed on the raised back side628and the connectors654are disposed near the side edge621. In the example ofFIG.4, the interlocking display600can include dimensions dx of the top edge623and the bottom edge624and dz of the side edges621and622where dx is greater than dz. While the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2are shown on the side edges621and622, one or more set of keys and keyways may be on the top edge623and/or the bottom edge624. As to a thickness of the interlocking display600(e.g., in a direction along a y-axis), it may be relatively constant along the edges621,622,623and624and can increase with respect to the raised back side628. As an example, the housing606can be made of one or more materials. As an example, the housing606can include a bezel as an integral or separate piece or pieces that surround at least a portion of the rectangular display panel640. As an example, the rectangular frame620can include a bezel or bezel portions. As an example, a user or users may view the rectangular display panel640from a display side625(e.g., a front side) of the interlocking display600where the rectangular frame620can surround the rectangular display panel640. As explained, a display can include a mount as a back side mount, which may be positioned in a central location, which may be centered along one or more dimensions. In the example ofFIG.4, the mount630is centered along the x dimension dx while being offset from a center of the z dimension dz. As shown, the interlocking display600includes circuitry670that can be coupled to the connectors652and654. For example, the circuitry670can include power circuitry, display circuitry operatively coupled to the rectangular display panel640, audio circuitry, data circuitry, etc. For example, consider power circuitry that can regulate power from a power source (e.g., a wall outlet, a battery, etc.) for other circuitry of the interlocking display600. As to display circuitry, such circuitry can include one or more types of light emitting circuits (e.g., LED, OLED, LCD, etc.) that can form at least a portion of the rectangular display panel640. As to audio circuitry, consider one or more speakers that can generate sound waves responsive to audio signals. As to data circuitry, consider instructions to control circuitry, touch response signals from touch sensing circuitry, stylus response signals from stylus sensing circuitry (e.g., digitizer circuitry), etc. As an example, the interlocking display600may include a touch-display panel (e.g., touch screen display) and/or a digitizer display panel that operates in conjunction with a passive and/or active stylus. As to applications involving touch, a finger and/or a stylus touch may apply force to the display side625of the interlocking display600. In such an example, one or more of the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2may interlock with another interlocking display and/or other component(s) in a manner that may help to stabilize the interlocking display600when forcibly contacted by a finger and/or a stylus such that an alignment of the interlocking display600with respect to another component (e.g., another interlocking display, an accessory, etc.) can be maintained. As an example, the interlocking display600may be supported by a stand that couples to the mount630and/or by one or more components that couple to one or more of the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2. As an example, consider a stand that includes two arms that include matching sets of keys and keyways that can couple to the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2and/or a stand with a top edge that includes a set of keys and keyways that can couple to a set of keys and keyways at the bottom edge624of the interlocking display600. FIG.5shows examples of assemblies where the interlocking display600may be supported by a stand502or a stand504that couples to one or more of the sets of keys and keyways610-1,610-2and610-3. As shown, the stand502includes two arms520-1and520-2that include matching sets of keys and keyways that can couple to the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2and the stand504includes a top edge that includes a set of keys and keyways that can couple to the set of keys and keyways610-3at the bottom edge624of the interlocking display600. In the example ofFIG.5, the arms520-1and520-2can include sets of keys and keyways on one or more sides. For example, one of the arms520-1or520-2may be a stand for two interlocking displays were one interlocking display couples to one side of the stand and another interlocking display couples to another side of the stand such that the stand is in the middle between the two interlocking displays. FIG.6shows an assembly that includes at least two of the interlocking displays600-1,600-2and600-3with sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2. For example, the interlocking display600-1can be mounted to the stand200via a back side mount while the interlocking displays600-2and600-3can be coupled to the interlocking display600-1via the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2. In the example ofFIG.6, a key component612-1and a keyway component612-2are shown in various arrangements. As shown in the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2, these components612-1and612-2may be alternated in a stack. As shown, the key component612-1can included a rounded end that is convex to form a key and the keyway component612-2can include a rounded end (e.g., a rounded seat) that is concave to form at least a portion of a keyway. These rounded ends can mate in a manner that allows for some pivoting with respect to one another, for example, about an axis. As shown, each rounded end can define an axis where, once mated, the axes can align. As an example, the key component612-1can form a planar extension and the keyway component612-2can form at least part of a planar slot. For example, a set of keys and keyways can include planar extensions (e.g., each with a rounded end) and can include planar slots (e.g., each with a rounded seat). As shown inFIG.6, various dimensions can define a key and a keyway. For example, the key component612-1is shown as being defined at least in part by a key thickness dzkand a key radius rkwhile the keyway component612-2is shown as being defined at least in part by a keyway thickness dzkwand a keyway radius rkwwhere the thicknesses dzkand dzkwcan be approximately equal and the radii rkand rkwcan be approximately equal. In the example ofFIG.6, the radii rkand rkwcan be measured from axes zkand zkw, which can be a common axis when the key component612-1and the keyway component612-2mate such that interlocking occurs. As illustrated in the example ofFIG.6, a common axis can be a rotational axis about which rotation of the key component612-1and the keyway component612-2can rotate with respect to each other. As an example, a thickness of an interlocking display at an edge or edges may be approximately equal to twice a key component radius (e.g., a key component diameter) or twice a keyway component radius (e.g., a keyway component diameter). As an example, a stack of key components and keyway components can be alternated in the stack. As explained, key components and keyway components can define a pivot axis for pivotal movement of an interlocking display without translational movement of the interlocking display for interlocking contact between an edge of the interlocking display and an edge of another instance of the interlocking display and/or one or more accessories. As an example, a pivot axis can be a rotational axis for rotational movement (see, e.g., the angle β inFIG.8, etc.). As shown in the example ofFIG.6, an edge of an interlocking display can include a number of keys and keyways as a set. For example, consider a number of keys in a range from 2 to 100 and a number of keyways in a range from 2 to 100. As shown, each of the set of keys and keyways610-2and610-1includes 10 keys and 10 keyways. As an example, an edge may include the same number of keys as keyways or may include a different number of keys and keyways. As an example, where an interlocking display includes long edge and short edge keys and keyways, a number, size, shape, etc., may be the same or may differ between the long edge and the short edge. As an example, a set of keys and keyways can be made of one or more materials such as, for example, a polymeric material that can be characterized by a hardness, a Young's modulus, etc. As an example, such a material can be rated with an amount of friction with respect to itself. As an example, a set of keys and keyways can be stacked in a manner that provide for an interference fit with another set of keys and keyways. In such an example, an interference fit may help to physically stabilize interlocking between sets of keys and keyways. As an example, a set of keys and keyways can include one or more magnets that can provide at least a magnetic attraction force with respect to another set of keys and keyways, which may include magnets and/or ferromagnetic material. For example, consider components as including magnets with magnetic polarity where mating components can include magnets of opposite magnetic polarity. As an example, a set of keys and keyways can include translucent and/or transparent material that may be suitable to operate as a light guide. For example, consider one or more LEDs as emitting light that can be carried by a set of keys and keyways where, for example, the brightness, color, etc., of the one or more LEDs can be controllable. In such an example, an interlocking display may provide for aesthetic and/or utilitarian lighting. As to aesthetic lighting, consider lighting controlled with respect to a game application, music, etc. As to utilitarian lighting, consider lighting that can help to illuminate a workspace for one or more purposes. FIG.7shows the interlocking display600as inFIG.4along with one or more covers615-1and615-2for the one or more sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2. In such an example, one or more sets of keys and keyways can be hidden, for example, to provide a smooth edge or smooth edges for the interlocking display600. In such an approach, a cover may or may not include an equivalent number of keys and keyways. For example, a cover may include fewer features than one of the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2as the function of a cover may be to protect (e.g., from dust, contact, etc.) rather than for alignment of the interlocking display600with another component (e.g., a stand, another interlocking display, etc.). As an example, where a user desired to use a set of keys and keyways for interlocking, the user may remove a cover and store the cover, as may be desired. As an example, a cover or covers may be utilized for handling, shipping, etc., such that a set or sets of keys and keyways are not damaged. As an example, a cover may be translucent, transparent and/or opaque. As an example, a cover may include one or more magnets and/or ferromagnetic material, which may provide a magnetic attraction force with a set of keys and keyways (e.g., to secure the cover to the set of keys and keyways). FIG.8shows an example of an assembly800that includes two interlocking displays600-1and600-2where the interlocking display600-1is mounted to the stand200. In the example ofFIG.8, the interlocking displays600-1and600-2can be aligned corresponding edges in a manner that can allow for some amount of freedom such as rotational freedom along an axis z defined by the mating interlocking sets of keys and keyways. In such an example, a user may rotate the interlocking display600-2inward such that an angle β is less than 180 degrees with respect to the interlocking display600-1. As an example, the angle may be adjustable in a range that can include 180 degrees and at least some angles less than 180 degrees. For example, consider a range that includes approximately 90 degrees and approximately 180 degrees. In the example ofFIG.8, the interlocking display600-1may include a cover615-1and the interlocking display600-2may include a cover615-2such that edges of the assembly800are relatively smooth. As an example, utilization of interlocking features for multiple displays can help to address one or more of the issues described with respect toFIG.1. For example, an approach as inFIG.8can help to prevent misalignments as shown inFIG.1(lower scenario where originally aligned parallel side edges become misaligned and other than parallel). FIG.9shows an example of the interlocking display600that includes sets of keys and keyways610-1,610-2,610-3and610-4on each of its edges.FIG.9also shows an example of an accessory900that includes a set of keys and keyways910that can interlock with one or more of the sets of keys and keyways610-1,610-2,610-3and610-4. As explained, interlocking can limit one or more degrees of freedom of movement between one component and another while allowing for some movement. For example, consider the accessory900as be pivotable with respect to an edge of the interlocking display600. As an example, the accessory900can include one or more features that provide for movement. For example, consider the set of keys and keyways910as being part of a base of the accessory900where a joint (e.g., ball joint, etc.) can allow for movement of another part of the accessory900with respect to the base. As shown, the set of keys and keyways910can include key components912-1and keyway components912-2. In the example ofFIG.9, the accessory900may include various types of circuitry. For example, consider camera circuitry, microphone circuitry, lighting circuitry, speaker circuitry, etc. As an example, one or more accessories can be coupled to an interlocking display. For example, consider left and right speakers, a lower base speaker, etc. As an example, an accessory may be a holder for one or more devices. For example, consider a mobile phone holder where a user can place a mobile phone in a manner whereby a display of the mobile phone may be visible to the user along with one or more interlocking display screens. In the example ofFIG.9, the interlocking display600is shown with respect to a Cartesian coordinate system X, Y and Z that can be utilized to define dimensions of the interlocking display600such as a thickness dy, a width dx and a height dz. As mentioned, a thickness of an interlocking display may be approximately equal to twice a key component radius or approximately equal to twice a keyway component radius (see, e.g.,FIG.6). FIG.10shows an example of interlocking displays600-1and600-2that include sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2. As shown, the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2can be grooved with teeth forming peaks and valleys between the teeth. In the example ofFIG.10, the interlocking displays600-1and600-2can be rotatable with respect to each other via meshed interlocking of the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2. In the example ofFIG.10, the interlocking display600-1is shown having an edge that includes the set of keys and keyways610-2with keys and keyways as teeth forming peaks at a radius rtand valleys between the teeth at a lesser radius rv. In such an example, a number of teeth may range from approximately three to more than 20 where an angular span of the teeth may be in a range from approximately 270 degrees to approximately 90 degrees; noting that a greater angular span may provide for greater amount of movement. InFIG.10, the interlocking display600-1can be defined by an edge thickness dy that is approximately twice the teeth radius rt(e.g., dy is +/−10 percent of twice the teeth radius rt). As shown, the interlocking display600-2can include matching features that can mate with the features of the interlocking display600-1. As shown in the example ofFIG.10, the interlocking displays600-1and600-2can be movable along a z-axis direction of a Cartesian coordinate system X, Y and Z. For example, the teeth and valleys can be longitudinal, extending along a Z-axis direction. In such an approach, rotation can occur for the interlocking displays600-1and600-2with respect to each other via meshed engagement of opposing teeth and valleys. FIG.11shows an example of a back side of the interlocking displays600-1and600-2where a back surface of the interlocking display600-1includes a recess618-1and a back surface of the interlocking display600-2includes a recess618-2. As shown, a bridge680can be shaped for insertion, at least in part, into both of the recesses618-1and618-2to bridge the interlocking displays600-1and600-2with the sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2mated. In such an example, the bridge680can include lobes or other shapes that match corresponding shapes of the recesses618-1and618-2. As an example, the bridge680can include a polymer or mixture of polymers that provide elastomeric properties. As an example, the bridge680may be interference fit (e.g., press-fit) into the recesses618-1and618-2such that it does not fall out in an undesirable manner. As an example, the bridge680may flexible to allow for some amount of rotation of the interlocking displays600-1and600-2with respect to each other. As an example, the bridge680may be rigid such that rotation of the interlocking displays600-1and600-2with respect to each other is limited (e.g., prevented). As shown in the example ofFIG.11, the recesses618-1and618-2can be defined by a depth dy, and the bridge680can be defined by a thickness dyb, which may be approximately equal to the depth of the recesses618-1and618-2. As shown, the depth of the recesses618-1and618-2is less than a thickness dy of the interlocking displays600-1and600-2. As shown, each of the recesses618-1and618-2can extend to an edge of its respective interlocking display600-1and600-2. As to the shape of the bridge680in the example ofFIG.11, it may be defined as a modified dogbone or a modified dumbbell shape. A dogbone can be defined as including a central shaft and two lobes at each end of the central shaft and a dumbbell shape can be defined as including a central shaft and one lobe at each end of the central shaft. In the example ofFIG.11, the bridge680can be symmetric such that it can be inserted into the recesses618-1and618-2at various angles and optionally front side in or back side in. FIG.12shows an example of an assembly1200that includes an example of the interlocking display600and examples of the bridges680,680-1and680-2. As shown, the interlocking display600can include back surface recesses618-1and618-2where each of the recesses618-1and618-2can include a connector619-1and619-2. As shown, each instance of the bridge680can include connectors689-1and689-2the connectors689-1and689-2are connected via circuitry687, which may be a wire or wires or, for example, an optical fiber or optical fibers. In such an example, one interlocking display can be bridged to another interlocking display or a component (e.g., stand, accessory, etc.) that includes a mating connector. In the example ofFIG.12, the bridges680,680-1and680-2can be defined as a modified dogbone shape or a dumbbell shape. As shown, the lobes may be defined using a radius, a diameter, etc. For example, a lobe can be circular in shape or in part circular in shape. In the example ofFIG.12, the bridges680,680-1and680-2can include some amount of symmetry, whether with or without the connectors689-1and689-2. As an example, the connectors689-1and689-2can be orientation agnostic connectors such as, for example, a USB-C type of connector. In such an approach, a bridge can be inserted when at 0 degrees (e.g., horizontal) or when rotated by 180 degrees (e.g., horizontal) where connections may be made. As an example, where the connectors689-1and689-2are not to be used, the bridge680may be flipped and inserted such that the connectors689-1and689-2face outwardly rather than inwardly. In the example ofFIG.12, the interlocking display600is shown with particular sets of keys and keyways610-1and610-2, which may be shaped as shown inFIG.9and/orFIG.10and/or in one or more other manners. As an example, an accessory may include a recess such that an accessory can be bridged to an interlocking display via a bridge. For example, consider the accessory900ofFIG.9as including a recess, which may or may not include a connector. As an example, a recess of an interlocking display may extend to a top edge, a bottom edge and/or a side edge. For example, a recess may provide for bridging to a side and to a top or to a side and to a bottom, optionally with features for electrical connection. As an example, a bridge can provide for transmission of power and/or data without utilization of a separate cable. For example, rather than stringing multiple cables to multiple interlocking displays, a bridge or bridges may be utilized where such a bridge or bridges includes connectors. As an example, a bridge can include serial transmission connectors for transmission of at least one of data and power. As an example, such connectors may be universal serial bus ports (e.g., USB ports), which may comport with one or more USB standards (e.g., USB Type A, USB Type B, USB Type C, etc.). An interlocking display and/or an accessory may include a hub such as a USB hub. As to USB specifications, USB 3.0 is known as SuperSpeed (SS) with data rates of 5 Gbps (e.g., consider USB 3.1 Gen 1, Gen 2, etc., which can provide data rates in excess of 5 Gbps). As to power, SuperSpeed devices may be rated at 0.75 W (low-power) and 4.5 W (high-power). USB can be used to charge batteries, by delivering up to 25 W from a charger, a host device with a dedicated charging port (DCP) or a charging downstream port (CDP), the latter of which also provides a data signal. The 2012 specification for USB Power Delivery (PD) provides compatible downstream devices to request greater supply voltage and current from compatible host equipment (e.g., up to 10 W at 5 V, increasing to 36 W/60 W at 12 V and 60 W/100 W at 24 V). USB can utilize both active and passive cables. USB Type C includes 24 contacts or wires and can be plugged in either of two different orientations. USB Type C includes various operating modes (e.g., Alternate Mode, Accessory Mode, etc.). As to power, as mentioned, SuperSpeed had a maximum of 4.5 W. In contrast, Type C can provide 15 W over a VBUS connection (e.g., via currents of 1.5 A and 3 A at 5 V). USB Type C supports the Power Delivery 2.0 specification. As an example, power can be transmitted to power an interlocking display, interlocking displays, an accessory, accessories, etc. As an example, a connector may be suitable for carrying USB 3.X and DisplayPort (DP) signals, as well as power. As an example, a PERICOM/Diodes Incorporated PI3USB31532 Type C crossbar switch chip, a PERICOM/Diodes Incorporated PI3EQX1002B ReDriver chip and a USB 3.X hub can be utilized. As an example, one or more types of display connectors, display connection technologies, etc., may be utilized (e.g., HDMI, DP, etc.). As explained, various joints of arms of a stand can allow for movement of the arms such that one or more devices may be appropriately positioned where, for example, there may be different classes of devices. For example, consider a heavy weight class and a light weight class where the heavy weight class is for devices with a mass greater than approximately 0.5 kg (e.g., greater than approximately 1 lb). As an example, classes may be dependent on mounting type. For example, planar devices such as displays may be suitable for mounting using a plate type of mount (e.g., VESA, etc.); whereas, some media capture types of devices and/or associated devices (e.g., lighting, etc.) may be suitable for mounting using a socket type of mount (e.g., a “tripod” type of mount, whether male and/or female). As explained, an interlocking display can include features that provide for coupling, mounting, etc., a stand, one or more additional interlocking displays and/or one or more accessories. In various examples, a stand may suffice with a single arm. For example, consider mounting an interlocking display to a single arm of a stand and then mounting one or more additional components to the interlocking display via one or more sets of keys and keyways. As an example, an accessory device may be a device other than a microphone, a camera or an illumination device. For example, consider a smartphone holder, a speaker (e.g., wired and/or wireless), a watch holder, a wireless charging station, a memory card device, a biometric reader (e.g., fingerprint, eye, etc.), an electronic sketch pad, a touchpad, a digitizer tablet, a divider/privacy panel, a voice recorder, a rechargeable battery, one or more solar cells, a port, etc. FIG.13shows examples of assemblies1302and1304that include two or more interlocking displays600-1,600-2,600-3and600-4and one or more accessory devices900,900-1,900-2and900-3. As shown, the assembly1302includes three interlocking displays600-1,600-2and600-3supported by a stand200where the interlocking displays600-2and600-3can pivot at the edges of the interlocking display600-1. For example, consider an inward pivot such that the interlocking displays600-2and600-3provide for a surround experience. As an example, a pivot angle may be in a range from greater than 0 degrees to approximately 90 degrees. As shown, the accessory device900may be mounted to the interlocking display600-1at an edge where interlocking keys and keyways provide for pivoting of the accessory device900, which may be, for example, a camera or cameras, optionally with one or more microphones, face lights, flashes, etc. As shown, the assembly1304includes four interlocking displays600-1,600-2,600-3and600-4that form a two-by-two grid, noting that various grids may be formed (e.g., two-by-three, three-by-three, etc.). As shown inFIG.13, the assembly1304can include the accessory devices900-1and900-2as, for example, left and right speakers that may be pivoted as desired by a user to improve an audio experience. In the example ofFIG.13, the assembly1304also includes the accessory device900-3, which is a holder and/or charger for a cellular phone910; noting that a holder may be provided for one or more other devices (e.g., a stylus, a mouse, ear buds, a headset, etc.). In such an example, the accessory device900-3may be pivoted to provide a suitable viewing angle for a user such that the user can see content rendered to the interlocking displays600-1,600-2,600-3and600-4and content rendered to a display of the cellular phone910. As an example, an accessory device may be another interlocking display that may be smaller in area than the interlocking displays600-1,600-2,600-3and600-4. For example, consider a tablet sized interlocking display that can include a set of keys and keyways that can be interlocked with another set of keys and keyways. For example, consider a tablet of the size of the accessory device900-3that can be coupled to an interlocking display and pivoted to a desired viewing angle about an axis defined by interlocking keys and keyways. As explained, multi-monitor configurations even when using the same monitor models can be difficult to align perfectly. As explained, various stands, mounts, etc., provide for horizontal, vertical, tilt, and rotational controls; however, they can lack an ability to guarantee alignment and eliminate drift, for example, due to bumps and vibrations to a surface that supports a stand (e.g., a desktop, a table top, a wall, etc.). Approaches that utilize double sided tape can be problematic as adhesive may age, stick to a display, etc. Further, a double sided tape approach can be fixed and not amenable to adjustment without replacing the double sided tape. As to single sided tape, it may be applied to back surfaces but can fail to prevent drooping, etc. As explained, sets of keys and keyways can interlock in a manner that helps to maintain alignment, which may be perfect alignment. Such an approach can be suitable for horizontal and/or vertical alignment. As an example, a bridge and bridge recesses may be utilized where the bridge and the bridge recesses may include connectors. In various examples, a bridge can provide for mechanical coupling and may provide for electrical coupling. As explained, a bridge or bridges can be utilized in combination with sets of keys and keyways to reduce risk of misalignment, drooping, etc., optionally while retaining an ability to pivot components with respect to one another. For example, keys and keyways can include teeth, peaks, valleys, protrusions, sockets, etc. Interlocking of keys and keyways can provide for alignment along one or more dimensions of devices in a Cartesian coordinate space, etc. Interlocking can involve some amount of force such as a press-fit force to assure sets of keys and keyways remain engaged and/or can involve utilization of one or more bridges that can provide force sufficient to maintain physical contact between sets of keys and keyways. As explained, pivoting may allow for adjustments while alignment along at least one dimension is maintained. For example, consider the assembly1304ofFIG.13where various manners of pivoting exist while horizontal and/or vertical alignment can be maintained. In such an approach, a user may adjust an angle of an interlocking display, an accessory device, etc., while sets of keys and keyways remain engaged (e.g., mated). As an example, a display can include a rectangular display panel; and a housing that includes a rectangular frame that surrounds the display panel, where a short edge of the rectangular frame includes keys and keyways, which can be a set of keys and keyways. As an example, keys and keyways can be arranged as a stack of planar extensions and planar slots. For example, consider each of the planar extensions as including a rounded end and each of the planar slots as including a rounded seat (see, e.g., the example key and keyway components612-1and612-2ofFIG.6). As an example, a stack of keys and keyways can define a pivot axis for pivotal movement of a display without translational movement of the display for interlocking contact between a short edge of the display and a short edge of another display. For example, consider a pivot axis, which may be a rotational axis, whereby two planar displays can be oriented with respect to each other over a range of angles that can include an angle of approximately 180 degrees and angles less than 180 degrees (e.g., consider a range from approximately 90 degrees to approximately 180 degrees or more). As an example, a display can include keys and keyways that include longitudinal teeth and longitudinal valleys where, for example, peaks of the longitudinal teeth define an outer radius of an edge of the display, which may be a short edge. As an example, a display can include one or more covers that can cover keys and keyways. For example, consider a display that includes keys and keyway over at least a portion of a short edge of the display where a cover can cover the keys and keyways and may cover the entire short edge. In such an example, the cover may be referred to as a short edge cover (see, e.g., the example covers615-1and615-2inFIG.7). In such an example, the short edge cover can interlock with at least one of the keys, with at least one of the keyways or with at least one of the keys and at least one of the keyways. As an example, a short edge cover can include an elastomer. For example, consider an elastomeric material that can deform elastically to couple to keys and/or keyways and/or to a portion of a display (e.g., a bezel portion, etc.). While a short edge is mentioned, a display can include one or more covers, which can include one or more long edge covers and/or one or more short edge covers. As an example, a display can include a housing that includes a back surface and a bridge recess in the back surface of the housing. In such an example, the bridge recess may include an electrical connector. As an example, a display can include a bridge, where a portion of the bridge is receivable in a bridge recess. As an example, such a bridge may include at least two electrical connectors. For example, consider interlocking displays that include bridge recesses in their back surfaces where a bridge can be positioned in part in each of the bridge recesses where the bridge may or may not include electrical connectors that can couple to electrical connectors of the interlocking display such that circuitry of the interlocking display may be electronically coupled. In such an example, circuitry can include display circuitry such that display signals can be received by a bridged interlocking display from another bridged interlocking display for purposes of rendering content to a display panel. As to some examples of connectors, consider HDMI, DP, etc. As an example, a display can include an accessory that includes an edge that includes keys and keyways interlockable with at least a portion of keys and keyways of the display. In such an example, the keys and keyways of the display may be on a short edge or on a long edge of the display. As an example, a system can include a first display that includes a first rectangular display panel and a first housing that includes a first rectangular frame that surrounds the first rectangular display panel, where a short edge of the first rectangular frame includes a first set of keys and keyways; and a second display that includes a second rectangular display panel and a second housing that includes a second rectangular frame that surrounds the second rectangular display panel, where a short edge of the second rectangular frame includes a second set of keys and keyways, where the first set of keys and keyways interlock with the second set of keys and keyways. In such an example, the first set of keys and keyways and the second set of keys and keyways can define a pivot axis for pivotal movement between the first display and the second display. In such an example, the first set of keys and keyways and the second set of keys and keyways can interlock to prevent translational movement between the first display and the second display. As an example, a system can include a first housing that includes a first back surface and a first bridge recess in the first back surface of the first housing and a second housing that includes a second back surface and a second bridge recess in the second back surface of the second housing. In such an example, the system can include a bridge that includes a first portion that fits into the first bridge recess and a second portion that fits into the second bridge recess. As an example, a bridge may include electrical connectors that connect to a first electrical connector of a first bridge recess of a first display and a second electrical connector of a second bridge recess of a second display. The term “circuit” or “circuitry” is used in the summary, description, and/or claims. As is well known in the art, the term “circuitry” includes all levels of available integration (e.g., from discrete logic circuits to the highest level of circuit integration such as VLSI, and includes programmable logic components programmed to perform the functions of an embodiment as well as general-purpose or special-purpose processors programmed with instructions to perform those functions) that includes at least one physical component such as at least one piece of hardware. A processor can be circuitry. Memory can be circuitry. Circuitry may be processor-based, processor accessible, operatively coupled to a processor, etc. Circuitry may optionally rely on one or more computer-readable media that includes computer-executable instructions. As described herein, a computer-readable medium may be a storage device (e.g., a memory chip, a memory card, a storage disk, etc.) and referred to as a computer-readable storage medium, which is non-transitory and not a signal or a carrier wave. While various examples of circuits or circuitry have been discussed,FIG.14depicts a block diagram of an illustrative computer system1400. The system1400may be a computer system, such as one of the ThinkCentre® or ThinkPad® series of personal computers sold by Lenovo (US) Inc. of Morrisville, NC, or a workstation computer system, such as the ThinkStation®, which are sold by Lenovo (US) Inc. of Morrisville, NC; however, as apparent from the description herein, a system, a device, an assembly, etc., or other machine may include other features or only some of the features of the system1400. As an example, a monitor or display may include features such as one or more of the features included in one of the LENOVO® IDEACENTRE® or THINKCENTRE® “all-in-one” (AIO) computing devices (e.g., sold by Lenovo (US) Inc. of Morrisville, NC). For example, the LENOVO® IDEACENTRE® A720 computing device includes an Intel® Core i7 processor, a 27 inch frameless multi-touch display (e.g., for HD resolution of 1920×1080), a NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 630M 2 GB graphics card, 8 GB DDR3 memory, a hard drive, a DVD reader/writer, integrated Bluetooth® and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi®, USB connectors, a 6-in-1 card reader, a webcam, HDMI in/out, speakers, and a TV tuner. As an example, an interlocking display may include at least some of the features of an AIO computing device, which can include at least some of the features of the system1400. As shown inFIG.14, the system1400includes a so-called chipset1410. A chipset refers to a group of integrated circuits, or chips, that are designed (e.g., configured) to work together. Chipsets are usually marketed as a single product (e.g., consider chipsets marketed under the brands INTEL®, AMD®, etc.). In the example ofFIG.14, the chipset1410has a particular architecture, which may vary to some extent depending on brand or manufacturer. The architecture of the chipset1410includes a core and memory control group1420and an I/O controller hub1450that exchange information (e.g., data, signals, commands, etc.) via, for example, a direct management interface or direct media interface (DMI)1442or a link controller1444. In the example ofFIG.14, the DMI1442is a chip-to-chip interface (sometimes referred to as being a link between a “northbridge” and a “southbridge”). The core and memory control group1420include one or more processors1422(e.g., single core or multi-core) and a memory controller hub1426that exchange information via a front side bus (FSB)1424. As described herein, various components of the core and memory control group1420may be integrated onto a single processor die, for example, to make a chip that supplants the conventional “northbridge” style architecture. The memory controller hub1426interfaces with memory1440. For example, the memory controller hub1426may provide support for DDR SDRAM memory (e.g., DDR, DDR2, DDR3, etc.). In general, the memory1440is a type of random-access memory (RAM). It is often referred to as “system memory”. The memory controller hub1426further includes a low-voltage differential signaling interface (LVDS)1432. The LVDS1432may be a so-called LVDS Display Interface (LDI) for support of a display device1492(e.g., a CRT, a flat panel, a projector, etc.). A block1438includes some examples of technologies that may be supported via the LVDS interface1432(e.g., serial digital video, HDMI/DVI, display port). The memory controller hub1426also includes one or more PCI-express interfaces (PCI-E)1434, for example, for support of discrete graphics1436. Discrete graphics using a PCI-E interface has become an alternative approach to an accelerated graphics port (AGP). For example, the memory controller hub1426may include a 16-lane (×16) PCI-E port for an external PCI-E-based graphics card. A system may include AGP or PCI-E for support of graphics. As described herein, a display may be a sensor display (e.g., configured for receipt of input using a stylus, a finger, etc.). As described herein, a sensor display may rely on resistive sensing, optical sensing, or other type of sensing. The I/O hub controller1450includes a variety of interfaces. The example ofFIG.14includes a SATA interface1451, one or more PCI-E interfaces1452(optionally one or more legacy PCI interfaces), one or more USB interfaces1453, a LAN interface1454(more generally a network interface), a general purpose I/O interface (GPIO)1455, a low-pin count (LPC) interface1470, a power management interface1461, a clock generator interface1462, an audio interface1463(e.g., for speakers1494), a total cost of operation (TCO) interface1464, a system management bus interface (e.g., a multi-master serial computer bus interface)1465, and a serial peripheral flash memory/controller interface (SPI Flash)1466, which, in the example ofFIG.14, includes BIOS1468and boot code1490. With respect to network connections, the I/O hub controller1450may include integrated gigabit Ethernet controller lines multiplexed with a PCI-E interface port. Other network features may operate independent of a PCI-E interface. The interfaces of the I/O hub controller1450provide for communication with various devices, networks, etc. For example, the SATA interface1451provides for reading, writing or reading and writing information on one or more drives1480such as HDDs, SDDs or a combination thereof. The I/O hub controller1450may also include an advanced host controller interface (AHCI) to support one or more drives1480. The PCI-E interface1452allows for wireless connections1482to devices, networks, etc. The USB interface1453provides for input devices1484such as keyboards (KB), one or more optical sensors, mice and various other devices (e.g., microphones, cameras, phones, storage, media players, etc.). On or more other types of sensors may optionally rely on the USB interface1453or another interface (e.g., I2C, etc.). As to microphones, the system1400ofFIG.14may include hardware (e.g., audio card) appropriately configured for receipt of sound (e.g., user voice, ambient sound, etc.). In the example ofFIG.14, the LPC interface1470provides for use of one or more ASICs1471, a trusted platform module (TPM)1472, a super I/O1473, a firmware hub1474, BIOS support1475as well as various types of memory1476such as ROM1477, Flash1478, and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM)1479. With respect to the TPM1472, this module may be in the form of a chip that can be used to authenticate software and hardware devices. For example, a TPM may be capable of performing platform authentication and may be used to verify that a system seeking access is the expected system. The system1400, upon power on, may be configured to execute boot code1490for the BIOS1468, as stored within the SPI Flash1466, and thereafter processes data under the control of one or more operating systems and application software (e.g., stored in system memory1440). An operating system may be stored in any of a variety of locations and accessed, for example, according to instructions of the BIOS1468. Again, as described herein, a satellite, a base, a server or other machine may include fewer or more features than shown in the system1400ofFIG.14. Further, the system1400ofFIG.14is shown as optionally include cell phone circuitry1495, which may include GSM, CDMA, etc., types of circuitry configured for coordinated operation with one or more of the other features of the system1400. Also shown inFIG.14is battery circuitry1497, which may provide one or more battery, power, etc., associated features (e.g., optionally to instruct one or more other components of the system1400). As an example, a SMBus may be operable via a LPC (see, e.g., the LPC interface1470), via an I2C interface (see, e.g., the SM/I2C interface1465), etc. Although examples of methods, devices, systems, etc., have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as examples of forms of implementing the claimed methods, devices, systems, etc. | 57,896 |
11943881 | DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like reference numerals identify similar structural features or aspects of the subject invention. For purposes of explanation and illustration, and not limitation, a partial view of an exemplary embodiment of an arc flash management system in accordance with the invention is shown inFIG.1and is designated generally by reference character100. Other embodiments of the system in accordance with the invention, or aspects thereof, are provided inFIGS.2-7, as will be described. The methods and systems of the invention can be used to direct and pacify an arc flash produced within an electrical box. FIGS.1and2show an arc flash management system including a cabinet100having multiple walls102a-d. The cabinet100houses electrical equipment104(shown inFIG.2), such as switches and cabling. During operation the equipment104might produce arc flash due to a build-up of gasses and current. One of the cabinet walls102cincludes at least one aperture106and an arc exhaust attachment108threadably coupled to the wall102cfor directing possible arc flash away from the cabinet100. The arc exhaust attachment108allows arc energy to be directed away from the door and seams of the cabinet and away from an operator or passerby standing in front of the cabinet100. A threadable connection allows the arc exhaust attachment108to be removed and replaced as well as being customized for each location and application, but other methods of coupling and uncoupling of the arc exhaust attachment108to the wall102aare also conceived. FIG.3shows a detailed view of the arc exhaust attachment108. The arc exhaust attachment108includes a first portion108adirected in a first direction away from the cabinet100, and a second portion108bcurving in a second direction which points gravitationally down. This arrangement further helps ensure that arc flashes are directed away from operators or passerbys standing outside of the cabinet100. It is also conceived that the arc exhaust attachment108includes a metallic material and has a melting point above arc flash temperature.FIGS.2and3further show a series of metal or plastic filters110housed within the arc exhaust attachment108. The series of filters110prevent pollutants from entering the cabinet100and also diffuse and cool arc flashes directed through the arc exhaust attachment108. The filters110can be pressure fit within the arc exhaust attachment108, it is also considered that a first end of the attachment111can have a larger diameter than a second end113, allowing the filters110to slide into the arc exhaust attachment108by the first end111for easy installation. The ends111and113also prevent the filters from sliding out of the arc exhaust attachment108. It is also conceived that each of the filters110can be threaded into the arc exhaust attachment108. Each of the filters110can also be pressed into a sleeve116(shown inFIG.6) coupling each of the filters together, and maintaining a distance between each of the filters110. The sleeve116can then be pressed or otherwise installed into the arc exhaust attachment108. The filters110can be installed, inspected, and changed-out individually or as a group if any are damaged by the arc flash. The filters110can include a combination of various porosities, combinations of metal mesh and metal screens which restrict and re-direct airflow to cool arc gasses. The filters110can be positioned such that adjacent filters direct gasses at opposing angles in order to further diffuse heat and gasses. FIGS.2-5further shows a cap118. The cap118is installed within the arc exhaust attachment108. When the cap118is initially installed, it is pressed in, such that no portion of the cap is visible to a user. When an arc flash occurs the cap118is partially forced out (as shown inFIG.7) signifying to users that the event occurred. The cap118further protects the arc flash gasses from escaping the arc exhaust attachment108, prevents moisture build up within the cabinet100, and also prevents dust particles from getting inside. The cap118can be cylindrical with two rims. The upper rim120prevents the cap118from sliding all the way out of the arc exhaust attachment108, while the lower rim122, having at least one gap122awithin the rim122, is configured to break and allow cap118to slide partially out of the arc exhaust attachment108during an arc flash event. FIGS.6and7demonstrate what happens within the arc exhaust attachment108during an arc flash event.FIG.6shows the state of the arc exhaust attachment108before the event. Cap118is held in place by rim122and by a lip124of the second end113of the arc exhaust attachment108. As an arc flash even occurs (indicated by bold arrows inFIG.7) the energy presses through the filters110, and forces cap118through the second end113. The lip124engages the rim122breaking it, but stopping at rim120. A top of cap126can also be forced out further absorbing a portion of the arc flash energy. It is also considered that at least one of the walls102a-dof the cabinet can include a removable portion112that, when removed, produces a second aperture to receive a second conduit (not shown). This allows cabinets to be retrofitted with the aforementioned arc exhaust attachment108and filter110system as described above and which would allow for twice as much space from which to discharge the arc flashes. The methods and systems of the present disclosure, as described above and shown in the drawings, provide for an electrical cabinet with superior properties including increased reliability and stability, and arc flash control. While the apparatus and methods of the subject disclosure have been showing and described with reference to embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that changes and/or modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and score of the subject disclosure. | 5,925 |
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